1890, to 65 billions; in 1900 it is estimated by some at 94 billions of dollars. The average amount of property in 1850 for each inhabitant was therefore $308; in 1860, $514; in 1870, $780; in 1880, $870; in 1890, $1,036; in 1900, $1,235.1 This property, which is transferred from one generation to another, consisting of the machinery of production, and of improved farms, city buildings lots and buildings, includes nearly all of the taxable property in a community, and it will be seen at a glance what a difference in that power which capital gives there is in the United States owing to increase of the taxable wealth of 1850 over that of 1900. The taxable wealth of 1900 is $1,235 per individual inhabitant, while that of 1850 was only $308. The individual of 1900 is represented by four times as much realized wealth, and therefore can bear a burden of taxation equal to four times that of 1850 with greater ease, because the larger the income from vested property, the greater the tax possible without stinting the individual in his necessities. In 1880, after studying the census and such other sources of information as then were accessible as to the earnings and taxable property of the United States and Great Britain, I constructed a table stating as nearly as I could ascertain the actual annual income of the nation from various sources for the years 1850 and 1880. When the census report of 1890 had become available in 1895 and 1896, I continued the comparison so as to include 1890. It is not yet quite time to construct such a table for the year 1900, but two of the three most important items have been accessible for some time, and I have partially reconstructed my table so as to include 1900 in four of its items, agricultural and manufacturing items being accesssible in the census returns. The items needed are the statistics of the productions of mines, freight by water, fisheries, and a number of small items. There is no study more illuminating in political economy than the study of the actual earnings of a people in the several classes of productions. The actual total earnings of the United States in 1890 I made to be 51.5 cents per day per inhabitant. This was an increase over the earnings of 1880, which summed up 44.5 cents per day for each person. The earnings for 1850, calculated on the same basis, but with less reliable data to go upon, were 30 cents a day for each person; for 1900, 58.12 cents. See United States Census for 1890, Wealth, Debt, and Taxation, p. 14. PER CAPITA WEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES FROM CENSUS REPORTS, 1850-90 I insert the results of my studies in the two tables following: TABLE I EARNINGS PER DAY PER INHABITANT OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1900 EARNINGS PER DAY PER INHABITANT OF THE UNITED STATES AT DIFFERENT EPOCHS A city that has a history extending back for eight generations has accumulated vast property in the way of buildings and improvements, graded streets, sewers, bridges, water-works, etc., and can realize a large sum of money for the support of its city government, charities, schools, etc., from a comparatively small tax rate. In considering school finances, one must remember that the borderland, with the unfinished condition of its public and private property, has by far more needs for taxation for the purpose of public and private improvements than the old and thickly settled states; while, on the other hand, it has a small assessed value to be taxed even for the absolutely necessary expenses of the year, without counting in any investments for new public works. Contrast the city of Boston with St. Louis, Kansas City, or even Chicago. The population of Boston is estimated at 621,000 people for the year 1905; its assessed valuation of all taxable property and its real valuation are the same—one and one-quarter billions of dollars ($1,237,038,851). Chicago has more than three times the population (1,968,800) and less than one-third of the assessed valuation ($411,424,280) of the taxable prop erty. The real value of the property of Chicago, however, is something more than two billions of dollars ($2,057,121,400); for it is assessed at only one-fifth of its true value; its tax on the real value of its property is about one and onesixth per cent., against one and one-half per cent. in Boston. The Boston tax yields about $30 per inhabitant; the Chicago tax yields about $11 per inhabitant. The population of St. Louis is estimated at 750,000; it is assessed at $466,201,650; but its true value is $666,000,000. Its annual tax is about one and one-third per cent. on the true value, and yields $13.60 per inhabitant. City land can reimburse itself, whatever its rate of taxes, from the rentals paid by its tenants. If the business is sufficient to afford the rental, the lessee can afford to pay it. If not rented or rentable, the property must fall in value until it reaches an assessable value which can be covered by the rental; for the rental must cover the proper interest on the real value of the property, and its annual taxes; if not, the assessment must be corrected. This is the weak point in the single-tax theory; for the agriculturist cannot recover his tax from the crops he raises, having to compete with all other localities. But the city has its reason for existence in local conditions, which force a transfer of merchandise there, it being necessary to collect and redistribute at that point. Whatever profits are made by collection and redistribution create the rental price of the land which must be used there for commerce and the accompanying manufactures, and this real value cannot be arbitrarily affected. Inequality of the census divisions as regards the amount of wealth: In 1890 the total real wealth of the South Atlantic Division of states per individual was $579. This is not quite one-half of the average value in the North Atlantic Division, which was $1,232. The per capita wealth in the South Central Division was $569. In the North Central Division the wealth equaled $1,129 per individual—almost exactly one-half of the amount of wealth per inhabitant in the Western Division ($2,250). The average inhabitant of the South Atlantic Division would procure by taxation, at the rate of 1 per cent. on the taxable wealth, less than one-half as much money for schools as the average inhabitant would procure in the North Atlantic Division. And in the North Central Division, where the taxable wealth is nearly the same as in the North Atlantic Division, the amount procured by a 1 per cent. tax would be one-half what each inhabitant of the Western Division of states would procure at the same rate of tax. If we compare these census divisions as to their annual earnings in agriculture and manufactures, the disparity is quite as great, for the daily earnings of each inhabitant in the South Central Division for 1900 amounted to 5.6 cents for manufactures, and 14.9 for agriculture, which makes 20.5 cents earnings for each inhabitant per day; while the North Atlantic Division produced 38.4 for manufactures, and 6.4 for agriculture—a total of 44.8 cents per day for each inhabitant. That of the South Atlantic Division was nearly the same as that of the South Central Division, being 20.3 cents per day per inhabitant. (See Table III.) Therefore, in these two most important items of production the inhabitant of the Gulf states or of the South Atlantic states produced as daily earnings less than one-half what the inhabitant of the North Atlantic Division produced. The North Central Division produced 18.7 in manufactures, and 18.6 in agriculture, making a total of 37.3 cents per inhabitant per day, as against 44.8 in the North Atlantic Division. The Western Division averaged 17.5 in manufactures and 19.3 in agriculture, making 36.8 cents per day per individual-half a cent per day less than the North Central Division. The less received from taxation at a given rate for public expenses—say, school expenditure-the more the individual must pay from his own earnings; that is to say, if he is to expend an equal amount with a census division that possesses a greater amount of assessable wealth per capita. Hence, if the inhabitants of the South Atlantic and South Central Divisions, possessing less than one-half of the amount of assessable wealth per capita, are to continue their schools for the same length as the school session in the North Atlantic Division, and if they are to pay as high salaries as in that division, a very large sum would have to be made up from the annual earnings of the individuals, or else a rate of taxation nearly double that in the North Atlantic Division must be adopted. But the individual earnings in that section, as it appears, are less than one-half those in the North Atlantic Division, and any tax paid by the individual for schooling is to the average citizen of the South a far greater burden than in the northern community. I quote here from my annual report for 1902 a series of tables, showing a comparison of 1880, 1890, and 1903, as to the true valuation of real and personal property in the several states, together with the amounts expended for current expenses of public schools, and also for the three epochs, 1880, 1890, and 1903, showing the number of cents actually expended on each $100 of true valuation of all property. The amount on the $100 valuation varies from 53 cents on the $100 in New Jersey to 22.5 cents in Connecticut. Contrasting this with the South Atlantic Division, as to the amount of school expenditure per $100 of true valuation, the South Atlantic Division expends from 43 cents in West Virginia down to 14 cents in North Carolina, the average for the whole division being 23 cents on $100, while it is 27 cents in the North Atlantic Division. Taking these figures in connection with those above discussed—namely, the fact that the assessment in the North Atlantic Division is more than twice as great as in the South Atlantic Division-it will be seen that the amount of money raised by the rate percentage in the South is less than one-half of that raised in the North. In the North Central Division the amount expended on $100 varies from 47.5 cents in North Dakota to 16 cents in Wisconsin, and the average is 27.5 cents. The Western Division varies from 40 cents on $100 in Utah to 10.3 cents in Wyoming and Nevada. (See Tables IV-IX). The next set of tables (X-XV) shows the average monthly salaries of teachers for the different sections of the United States and the average number of days' schooling given. Here we find the results of the figures as to daily earnings and as to amount of taxable property. The North Atlantic Division, with its double of daily earnings and double the amount of taxable property, gives $58.64 per month for its male teachers and $39.50 for its female teachers, |