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Show H r VVll"Mnl MMI IIIMJIWMMMBMWMHWWWWWMMMMMWWMMWMWJW i Making Tomorrow's I World UBy WJILTEH WILLIAMS, LL.D, Ioan aflh School a JmmilUm tflht Untttnlta eAfiisoarO m a ' in...... m4 I LAND MONOPOLY IN GREAT BRITAIN. t London, England. Eng-land. Moro than one-half tho land of England nnd Wales Is owned by 4,300 persons. Nearly 30,000,000 or two-thirds of tho entire population popu-lation nro lnnd-less. lnnd-less. Eight por cent of ,tuo population pop-ulation of Great Britain llvo In houseB with only ono bedroom. Estimating Es-timating tho total to-tal national In-como In-como Is divided one-half to flvo and one-half mil- - Hon porsons and one-half to tho re- j mnlnlng thlrty-nlno millions of tho j population. One-Third of Land for Pleasure. 1 Excluding Scotland and Ireland. J nt $9,205,000,000, this incomo 1b divided one-half to flvo and ono-half million 3 persons and ono-half to tho remaining I llvo in houses with only ono bedroom. 8 Estimating tho total national incomo i "whero tho condition is worso, in ling-B ling-B land nnd Wales one-third ef all tho fig land Is unused for agriculture, InduB- -try or housing. In tho striking phrase R of tho Into Sir Henry Campbell-Banff nerman, it Is "moro of a pleasure H ground for tho rich than a treasuro R houso for tho nation." Four hundred n peers and peeresses, to uso Mr. 1. G. m Chlozza Money's carefully prepared flgurcB. own 5,730,000 acres; 1,300 H groat landowners own 8,500,000 acros; ffl ''-2,C00 Bquircs own 4,320,000; 9,600 m greator yeomen own 4,780,000; 24,400 S lesser yeomen own 4,140,000; 220,000 M . small proprietors own 4,000,000; 700,-W 700,-W 000 cottagers own 150,000; wbilo of tho remaining 3,000,000 acres half is 9 owned by public bodies and half lies m waste. If tho ownership be averaged, W it will bo found that a peer holds an OS uverago of 14,325 acres; a great land- hns promoted agricultural depression, low wages, unemployment and discontent. discon-tent. "It Is notorious," Bald a city of London barrister, "that largo areas of land which might bo with advantage farmed by deslrnblo tenants willing to pay a fair market rent nro kept bnck by owrfers, who either sit on tho property prop-erty in tho hopo of being ovcntually ablo to hatch a higher price, ir pro-servo pro-servo It for tho purposo of gnmo or ornamont for rcnsonB of social proo-tlgo proo-tlgo or sheer sporting Instinct Tho extont of this retention of lnnd is conclusively con-clusively evidenced by tho numerous applications that How In for overy farm that is thrown upon tho markot and by tho frequent nbortlvo endeavors endeav-ors by actual or would-ho small farmers farm-ers to obtain at current market rnto now or additional land for agricultural agricultur-al purposes." Tho ovlls of this stato of affairs aro manifest. Not only aro many persons thus deprived of tho employment which othcrwiso they would bo enjoying, but this swelling of the ranks of tho unemployed, somo of whom remain in the country and somo go to tho cjtles, tends to diminish wnges, and, so fnr as farm products aro concorncd, to Increase prices. Poverty, taxation, ugrlculturo, . unemployment, unem-ployment, housing, tho wholo economy of the social system, aro affected by tho land problem. Very "Soft" for Noble Duke. Tho unnecessary burden which falls upon Industry by landlordism In tho form of mining royalties is another ovil result. Mr. Lloyd-Georgo, tho Liberal Lib-eral chancelor, estimated It at $40,-000,000 $40,-000,000 a year. Tho average amount of royalty on Iron ore is GO conts a ton on overy ton brought to tho Burf-aco Burf-aco and 18 cents on coal. This is paid to landlords for mining royalties In addition to ordinary leases or "dead rents," In British phraso. Of tho coal mines visited ono examplo will suffice suf-fice A coal mlno oporntlng company fourteen years ago sank tho mine at an expenso of $2,500,000, and, although as yet no coal has been taken out, tho compnny has paid In mining royalties to tho duke of Nowcastlo moro than Village on Duke of Norfolk's Estate. owner, 6,538; a squiro, 1,661; a greater yeoman, 496; a lesser yeoman, 170; a (small proprietor, 18, and a cottagor, less than half an aero. 300,000 Leave Farr.-.s In Decade. What is tho effect of this concentration concen-tration of land in tho hands of tho fow? "Land is tho mother and labor tho father of wealth," a distinguished economist has written. Land concentrated concen-trated In a fow hands increases the problem of povorty, which Mr. Horace B. Samuel doflncs as "tho economic discomfort occasioned to vast masBos jg of tho population by tho unequal dls- 9 trlbutlon of wealth!,' Tho uso of tho jl land la nocosBary for economic produc- tion, whether agricultural or Indus- Ij trial, and for housing, whother In city A or country. Tho wholo trend of clvill- ij zatlon just now is away from agrlcul- j turo and toward industrialism. In 1 England this tendency Is most markod. I Less thnn nine per cent, of tho popu- M latlon of England are now engaged in agiiculturo, 300,000 having abandoned I tho farm In tho last ten years, as I many leaving tho farm in a single jj decado ns the entire number of farm owners In tho stato of Missouri.' In i ' tho United Stages one person In three I is engaged in agriculture In somo form; in all Great Britain and Ireland only ono in ton is so engaged, and the proportion Is growing rapidly less. I Tho goneral tendency of tho situation, I to quoto tho significant and measured ' words of Mr. Asqulth, tho British prlmo minister, is "a process of deplo-( deplo-( tion at one end and congestion at tho other, by which every yoar freBh ad- J dltlons of recruits aro being mado to i tho ranks of tho casual and unem- ployed." 1 Lnnd Hogging 8pawns Great Evils. 2 Land concentration in Great Britain I V $500,000. Nearby Is a quarry from which tho landlord drew $7,500 for tho clay extracted. As In ngriculturo and in mining, so in tho towns for factory and bUBlnesB sitCB tho land concentration makes for highor burdonB. Some concreto Instances, In-stances, vouched for by Mr. II. It. Stockman, who has mado a study of tho quostlon, will Bhow tho result "Tho obvious-creator of land wealth," Bald that oanny Scotchman, Andrew Carncgio, "Is not tho individual, but tho community." Mr. Balfour, in an nddress In tho houso of commons, said: "Tho valuo of all land, any-whoro, any-whoro, Just as tho value of a railway, wherever it may bo and by whomsoever whomso-ever It was mado, by tho state or by private individuals, tho valuo of this, na well as of overy other kind of property, prop-erty, dopendB upon tho community." But to whom does tho unearned increment incre-ment go 7 Unearned Fortunes for Landlords. In fifty years tho ground rent of tho town of Burton-on-Trent Increased from $10,000 to $350,000. An absontoo owner, tho marquis of Anglesey, aB landlord receives this rent. His local taxeB or rateB aro $390. Sheffield, one of tho greatest manufacturing manu-facturing cities in England, Is owned, In greator part, by tho duke of Nor-folk. Nor-folk. A dry goods merchant In that city hold a leaeo on land nt $75 n yoar. 8ovon years boforo tho loaso would havooxpirod tho duko granted a ronowal on condition that tho tenant ten-ant surrendered tho unexpired part of tho lease, paid $750 n yoar ront instead in-stead of $75, spent $5,000 in Improving tho building and continued to pjy all tho taxes. A largo part of tho ground upon whioh London'H buildings stand la owned by certain rich peers. Land la not eold by thorn, but IcAsod or rented. The rentor erects, at hla own oxpenso, such buildings na ho needs, and pays all tho taxes. When his lease expires ho must pay "v9 'used .nt which his own impAjo. .,ta mnko posslblo to charge, or else move, abandoning his own building. Some recent sales show tho almost fabulous prlco which the absentee landowner receives when ho docs sell London real osiato in tho moro favored sections. Whnt Is Great Britain to do about UT Democracy, which la, or nt least should bo, tho pollcomnn and tho partner part-ner of Industry, Is already in tho United Uni-ted Kingdom doing something nnd plans to do more. "Lot well enough alone" no longor Bntlslles, much less "let bad alono, lest the chaugo bring worso." National Ownership Makes Headway. Three general planB of lnnd reform have boon seriously considered, nnd each, to a degree, has been adopted. Tho threo plans nro nationalization of tho land, tho small holdings policy, and taxation. Twenty years ago the great Gladstono said: "If tho time comes when tho British nation flndc that the land should bo nationalized, and It is wise to do it, thoy have a porfect right to do so." Nationalization, Nationaliza-tion, which means tho ownership by all tho pcoplo of all tho land, is opon-ly opon-ly talked. Indeed, it is put into practical prac-tical offect to a degree In government purchnso and ownership in tho land purchase nets. That striking form ol nationalization known as tho single tax, which "prides Itself on being .effected .ef-fected without compensation nnd bj tho confiscation by tho stato of economic eco-nomic rent," has many strong advocates. advo-cates. Rent being a valuo created by tho whole community, say its support ers, should belong to tho wholo community. com-munity. All economic rent, tho ront of tho actual land npart from tho Improvements, Im-provements, Is unearned Increment Tho slnglo taxors would confiscate not tho land to tho state, but tho rent Compulsory Sale and Leasing. Another form of land nationalization Is considered, though not Borlously. This Involves tho taking ovor of all the land by tho stato, with compensation compensa-tion to tho landlord. Small holdings by compulsory purchases nnd small holdings by compulsory leasing nro other plans actually pursued. Under theso schemoB tho landlord Is compelled com-pelled to sell or lease small acreages for actual farm uso. Land hire by the state and land purchaso are involved in this goneral scheme. A moro drastic dras-tic measure has just boon proposed by Mr. Will Thorno on tho houso of commons. com-mons. Under tho Thorno bill it would bo illegal for any person to hold, In agricultural ag-ricultural districts, any land, exceeding exceed-ing fifty acres in extent in a wasto or uncultivated state, unless It shall not bo posslblo to cultivate such land at a profit or inlona It-oh all -havo boon dovoted to somo purposo of public utility. "A Tax to Burst Land Monopoly." Tho real attack upon tho ovlls of tho present land ownership, tho ono about which tho flercost contention has taken ta-ken placo, is that in Lloyd-George's budget of taxation. Many forms of land taxation have boon proposod, considered nnd, occasionally, adopted. Land valuo taxation, In somo form, on-ters on-ters into discusBlon overywhoro. This now land taxation, howover, rocontly enrried Into effect by tho Liberal government, gov-ernment, is not a tax to raise revenue, but, to quoto tho pungent phraso of tho chancelor of tho exchequer in proposing pro-posing it, "a tnx to burst tho land monopoly." This new system of taxation taxa-tion included flvo por cent, duty on mining royalties, a taxation of gifts oi naturo or wlndfnlls. It included a tax on tho capital valuo of unworked minerals, min-erals, thus stimulating tho exploitation of mines hlthorto unworked. Tho important im-portant principles of tho now taxation, however, aro involved in tho increment incre-ment tax, tho tnx on undeveloped building lnnd nnd on leasehold rever-, sions. Under these sections two tax values aro placed on land, tho site valuo and tho Improved valuo. Tho tendency of tho tax, as Bhown by Ite actual workings, Is to bring moro building land Into tho market, thus relieving congestion in tho cities and tho country. Under tho system of long leaseholds, lease-holds, which is peculiar to Groat Britain, Bri-tain, the owner of tho froehold obtains, ob-tains, on tho expiration of tho lease its "falling In," to employ on English phrase "a property which has substantially sub-stantially Increased in valuo by reason of tho goneral growth of tho community commun-ity and Independently of any expenditure expendi-ture of labor or entorprlso on tho part of tho ownor." Tho budget levies ton per cent duty upon tho margin by which tho leasehold lease-hold has appreciated since it waB last granted. Agricultural loasoB aro ox-orapt ox-orapt from this duty, as aro all leasoa mado within tho last twonty-ono yearn. 20 Per Cent Increment Duty. "Founded on tho uamo ptmclplo," pointed out Mr, Horace B, Samuel. n discussing this effort to burat tho land monopoly, "Is tho actuul lncrome.r duty ltaolf. This la a dutv ,' j por cent, lovled nt death, a. transfer, or at intervals of fifteen ytiirs (about tha arerago period at which all land in tho United Kingdom, through ono causa or another, changes hands) on tho actual ac-tual slto valuo." Supplementary to theso novel forms of taxation regard-od regard-od by many in Great Britain as rovolu-tlonary rovolu-tlonary Is a provision for a unlvorsal valuation of nil tho land affected. Tho organization of opportunity for all, is tho program of tho British dom-ocrncy dom-ocrncy today. To this end, monopoly ot ownership of land, which limits op- I portunlty to tho fow, must in some J way be abolished. To this hrgh task ! does Great Britain address hcrsolf. The result is on tho knooB of tho godB. (Copyright 1913. by Joseph B. Bowles.) , -ii iiisa |