THE CAUSE OF STRIKES.

Evening Star, Issue 17636, 15 April 1921, Page 6

THE CAUSE OF STRIKES.

TO THE EUITOE. Sir, —Your correspondent “ JJoor Landowner” attributes to me some propositions which do not appear in my letters, and he has entirely failed to deal with the question; "Is land monopoly the cause of strikes?” 1 assert that the following facts prove that the monopoly is the cause of strikes, as of so many other evils, including social inequalities, comparative poverty of the producers of wealth, slumps in trade, and unemployment:—(l) Land is as necessary to human life as air ; therefore unrestricted land monopoly holds the lives and liberties of the landless. (2) The landless, being nnfreo, are compelled to work for landowners or for capitalists who are in a position to impose their own terms of service so far as the law permits them ; whereas the workers would work only on their own terms if they had a sufficiency of land on which to exert their labor; and, working for employers on their own terms, they would not strike.

As to the remedy. The remedy is to tax out the community-created value of laud for the benefit of the whole community. 'this can be done by a 5 per cent, tax on land values, remitting other taxation to the amount of the tax. Thus about four-fifths of the land holders would bo fully compensated, while they would also gain very much by the generally improved state of things. In regard to the remaining one-fifth, lot strict justice bo done to them by a court of equity. This is the true policy of Lalxir, and it is the only policy that will bring social peace and concord. It is simple, just, and practicable. Therefore all true men and women might to unite to give, the policy legislative effect. I am. etc., Demos. April 14.