MOUNT ROSKILL RATING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20072, 9 October 1928, Page 14

MOUNT ROSKILL RATING.

Sir.—There is a vital difference between * the holding of goods and the holding of ■'« land. Merchants hold stocks for buyers' 'convenience. Land speculators withhold land in. order to exploit. Commodities may be duplicated ad infinitum, and dealers are thus prevented from making profits (wages) for which they do not render a full return. Land, fixed in area, lends itself to monopoly, and owners are able to mako profits by merely keeping land away from those who would use it. "Sine Nominee" says "both classes of , holders (merchants and land speculators) will part with their property at a price . . . ." The merchant's price is "cost," for his "profit" is merely his "wages." " The landowner often refuses to sell;- say- - ing " my laud is not in the market." If holding some land unused is not against the public interest, holding all land Uti- I used would not be: thus is reduced to absurdity your correspondent's argument. " "Hundreds of owners of vacant land would - be glad to sell at cost, plus a reasonable amount of interest on outlay." It may. y "cost" an owner a sum in interest to hold land unused, but that fact does not concern the community, it does not benefit them in any way. "Sine Nominee" has not understood three words I wrote or lie. would not say I was "rough on the •, banker, merchant, etc." I denied the right ~ to make money out of what one has not produced directly or "indirectly (by exchange)." 'Any economist would have known that these three final words cover 1 all who render useful service to the com- * munity. The man who sells a plough is as much a producer (in the true sense) as the man who holds the handles while it is pulled over the ground. C.H.N.

Sir, —"Economic Student," in reply to_ my letter on "Eating £ind Unimproved Land Values," stated that this form of rating appreciated, rather than depreciated, the value of house property. House property value consists o!i Ihe cost of tho building and the price of the section averaging, say, from £31)0 to £7OO, and . "Economic Student," in the course of his search fcr information, will probably have noticed that one of the trump cards of unimproved rating enthusiasts is tho claim that their form of rating will force down the price of sections, which, they claim, are too high. It certainly does, for the men who own sections of property are now pleased to quit them at a very low price, -but by so doing the price of every other property in the district suffers, the house' property worse than others, because prospective buyers buy cheap sections instead and build 5n any way that suits their pocket. Perhaps, from a student's point of view, "'Economic Student will follow the matter better by quoting a parallel, i.e.: A man places oranges in cool storage at 3d a case per month, the price of storage is then raised to Is per month. The man then finds it unprofitable to keep the oranges any longer and floods the market with them. Down drops tho price of all other oranges held for sale.. The same law applies to every other com-, modity—land inclusive. Harold Schmidt.

Sir, —Referring in the Herald to tho above subject, Mr. Harold Schmidt mentioned tin closely-congested areas in the suburbs as "being excellent targets for gas bombs ii- the next war, and said "it was surely time for legislation to step m ana make the cities spread out, and this can only be done by encouraging residents to have large sections round their homes." Our little but wonderful islands are not like continents with vast spaces,, wherein residential, or industrial, or commercial buildings can bo set far apart to .avoid gas bombs. Without considering tho wants of a largely-increased population. imagine a treble extension of tho acreage now owned in tho city and suburbs, including the extensive areas that "should bi provided" for recreation, aesthetic culture and sport. Calculate tho mileage required for public utilities to safeguard health and supply tho modern comforts now indispensable. t The enormous cost would inevitably raise the ratings on capital values to an almost prohibitive extent In or near the city a quarter acre will suflico for home use, wherein married people can nourish their children, always providing there ara public playgrounds easily available. With State loans on easy terms, ornate cottages costing about £6OO can be erected. Tho mean houses mentioned can be prevented.Unimproved land rating will abolish tho "baneful impost" levied on capital values and also minimise the pernicious effects; ensuing from gambling in land, and allow vacant land to be bought at reasonable prices, the buyers also acquiring some of tho unearned increment. Kumcu. William 35. Kba*. V