Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1910. THE LAND VALUES LEAGUE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10132, 31 October 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1910. THE LAND VALUES LEAGUE.

There has recently been started in Wellington an organisation by the name of the "Land Values League." The object of the League is identical with that of the "Single-Tax League," and the members of the latter body are being absorbed in the former. The name "Single Tax," which has been so closely associated with that of Henry George, and P. J. O'Regan, and other Socialists, is apparently not good enough for the modern land-taxer. Ho wants something which will provoke enthusiasm without exciting contempt. For he knows that the very name of "single-tax" stinks in the nostrils of political economists. However, "**a rose by other name would smell as sweet." The Single-taxers are not likely to capture public opinion by a subterfuge. The idea that all taxation should be derived from the laud is as old as the hills. It is excellent in theory, but impossible in practice. If everybody were directly, or indirectly, interested in the land, there might be some just'lfica- ! tion for a single-tax. But, as quite a considerable section of the community subsists upon speculative enterprises such as insurance, shipping ! and mining, it will at once be seen ! that a tax upon land would be inequitable and unjust. It is surprising to find a man like the member for Master ton, a large portion of whoso constituents are small farm? ers, supporting such an unfair proposal. There are, however, visionaries in every community, and the single-taxer is only one of them. In the eyes of some people, the man who owns more than a limited area of land belongs to the criminal class, and should be treated as a menace to society, whilst the wealthy merchant or share-gambler, tvho enjoys all the luxuries of city life and follows a course of exploitation, or spoliation,should be treated as a public benefactor and absolved from all taxation. In truth, if the large land-owner is a criminal, so, of necessity, must be every man who possesses a greater share of this world's goods than, on the law of average, he is entitled to. But, as it has been found inconvenient to adjust wealth on the. basis of average, society will, perforce, be compelled to endure the differentiation as it has done in the past, and the criminals,

if such they be, will continue to molest it. Meanwhile, it is surprising to find what a large section of the community is obsessed of the criminal taint, and how ambitious are oven the land-leaguers and singletaxers to be included in the category of wealth-owners.