LVTFan's Blog

Bengough: The Declaration of Independence Vindicated

This appeared in Single Tax Review in Autumn, 1905.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE VINDICATED.
(For the Review.)
By J. W. BENGOUGH.

There are some people in the United States who take the position more or less openly that the Declaration of Independence is an out-worn document; that whatever its practical merits may once have been, it is now no more than a cherished relic having certain spectacular uses on Fourth-of-July occasions. There are other Americans—constituting the vast majority—who regard such sentiments as savoring of blasphemy, but who, nevertheless, are ardent supporters of the prevailing policy of Protection. The real difference between these two classes of citizens is merely this: That the one consciously repudiates the Declaration, and the other virtually does so.

The fundamental doctrine of the Declaration is that "All men are endowed with certain inalienable rights, amongst which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The meaning of this is clear enough. The fathers undoubtedly intended to assert that whatever the duties of men might be in civilized society, however they might differ in mind, body or estate, all alike were entitled to the enjoyment of certain natural rights, which rights were inalienable—that is, could not be justly taken away, curtailed or invaded by any human power, so long as they were exercised by each man with due respect for the similar rights of every other. Amongst these rights three are enumerated: The right to Life, involving necessarily the right of access to food, clothing and shelter, the right to Liberty of mind and body, so that a man’s ownership of himself might be vindicated, and his powers applied to the securing of the things necessary to life; and the right to the pursuit of Happiness, the freedom to move about and to hold such relations with his fellow men as would conduce to the enjoyment of a full and harmonious life.

The writers of the Declaration had but recently experienced the tyrannical power of taxation, and it might almost seem that the weapon of unjust taxation, like Macbeth’s dagger, was floating before their mental vision when the memorable words above quoted were penned. For certainly there is no more effective way in which man’s right to life can be abridged than by levying taxes upon the results of his labor; and his right to liberty, and the pursuit of happiness can be abrogated in no way more surely than by means of a system which interferes with his impulse to trade.

"Proputty" --- A Lecturette in Rhyme, by J. W. Bengough

John Wilson Bengough was a skilled artist and cartoonist, but he was also skilled with words.  This appeared in Single Tax Review, Winter 1906.

“PROPUTTY.”
(For the Review.)
A LECTURETTE IN RHYME.

I took up my Tennyson lately and read his dialect verse
Of the sturdy old “Northern Farmer,” whose soul was in his purse;
How he berated Sam, his son, who wanted to marry for “loove,”
And the folly of such a notion sought earnestly to prove.

“ ’Ear my ’erse’s legs,” says he, “as they canters and canters awaay,
Proputty, proputty, proputty—that’s wot I ’ears ’em saay!”
“Proputty, proputty, proputty”—that was the only thing
That to him was of real importance concerning a wedding ring.

Gentleness, truth and sweetness; a pretty figure and face,
These, and a passionate love, are all very well in their place;
But to be of any account in blushing, prospective brides,
“Proputty, proputty, proputty”—that must be there, besides!

Now, to many who read the poem this Northern Farmer seems
A sordid old grasping wretch, who only of riches dreams;
“Proputty, proputty, proputty.”—so runs his one refrain,
“Proputty, proputty, proputty”—hoarding, profit and gain.

Seeing the Cat --- Have You Seen the Cat?

If you've been reading about Henry George's ideas for a while, particularly in older writings, you might have come across references to "seeing the cat."   It might be "have you seen the cat?" or "how I saw the cat" or more commonly, "do you see the cat?"   It is a shorthand for "have you seen the big picture?"  "do you get how all this fits together to solve what otherwise seems to be unsolvable?" 

It started with a speaker at an Anti-Poverty Society meeting in Manhattan on a Sunday night in November 1887.   The speaker was Judge James Maguire of California, later to be a congressman.  The Anti-Poverty Society had held its first public meeting in May, 1887, on a Sunday night, and thereafter met nearly every Sunday night in one or more large halls in Manhattan, filling all the seats and the standing room. The speeches given there, week after week, were extraordinary, and should be collected.  (That will happen.)  These were not short speeches -- some ran 2 hours, interrupted by enthusiastic audiences.  But they come alive on paper and on screen, 130 years later. For now, I'll share an excerpt from Judge Maguire's speech as it appeared in The Standard, Issue #045, 1887-11-12.

“Judge Maguire, who followed Dr. McGlynn, was greeted by round after round of applause when he came forward. When it had ceased he said:

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen — The way that people rise up to defend this cause when they fully understand it reminds me of Mr. George’s story about the cat. There are men who have listened to an address on this question or that have read something about it who declare to you that they don't see anything in it at all, and though they look at it again and again some of them still don’t see it, and you point to different principles that are involved in it and still they fail to see it. You have seen little pictures in store windows with trees, animals, birds and some grass and some plants for a background. At first glance you don't think there is much of anything to one of these, but when you see a fellow standing and staring at a show window, the strongest impulse in the world comes upon you to find out what he is looking at, and you go up and look too. When you inquire what he is looking at he answers: “I am looking at that picture. Don't you see that question down at the bottom, ‘Where is the cat?'” You look, but don’t see any cat. By and by somebody comes along who has seen the picture before or who has had the cat pointed out to him. He asks: “Don't you see that twig?” “Yes.”

Natural Public Revenue -- sourced to 1825

I had thought that this phrase came from J. W. Bengough, in 1914.   (For quite some time, I thought I'd originated it, in the shower one morning around 2010, and was later delighted to find that Bengough, creator of The Up-to-Date Primer: A First Book of Lessons for Little Political Economists In Words of One Syllable, With Pictures (1895) and weekly cartoonist in The Public, had used it in his Chalk Talks.)  But today, searching for references, I discovered one from 1825 and a 2nd edition from 1827.  

"Principles of Political Economy and of Population; including an Examination of Mr. Malthus's Essay on Those Subjects" by John M. McIniscon, a Fisherman (1825) online at https://books.google.com/books?id=wF1U5_IXlWsC.  Google says that "Maciniscon" is a pseudonym for J. C. Ross.

Two years later, another edition appeared: "An Examinations of Opinions Maintained in the 'Essay on the Principles of Population' by Malthus; and in the 'Elements of Political Economy' by Ricardo; with some Remarks in reply to Sir James Graham's 'Address to the Land-Owners'." (1827)   Its title page at https://books.google.com/books?id=h1hJSjgJxIAC lists the author as J. C. Ross and google says "[A reissue, with additional material, of “Principles of Political Economy and of Population,” published under the pseudonym John MacIniscon.]"  The additional material is the 65 page "Remarks."   

at pages 83-84 of the McIniscon (1825) edition:

It follows, from what we have observed, that the legislature should equally abstain from any attempts at the forcible creation of fictitious capital, as of offering artificial incitements to the increase of population.* The rent of the soil of the country, which is the only natural public revenue of the State, should be put in a course of resumption, and faithfully applied to the public service and benefit, in defraying the just expense of its government; in the endowment of seminaries of useful and necessary education, under regulations which should render them effective for that purpose, and hold out to ingenious persons the means of attaining the respective objects they may have in view, for the benefit of the community, whether these be travel—learning—the cultivation of knowledge or the inventing and perfecting of improvements in the arts and sciences—or the fitting men for all the higher and more difficult duties of society, and for becoming superintendants in all the more important works by which the domination of the human species is extended over the powers of nature—and to employ the surplus revenue in the cultivation and improvement of the country. These, together with the providing for the external and internal protection of the community, are the only legitimate objects of just legislation and good government.

*The employment of capital unproductively, and especially in war, is an artificial incitement of the most mischievous description; it causes their existence, and, at the same time, destroys the funds by which that existence should be maintained.

I commend these to your attention.  You might consider going to the 1827 edition and skipping over the "Remarks" until you've read the rest.

Searching just on McIniscon, I find, among other things, https://www.routledgehistoricalresources.com/economic-thought/sets/malthus-and-the-population-controversy-1803-1830/volumes/an-examination-of-opinions-maintained-in-the-essay-on-the-principles-of-population-two-lectures-on-population 

And I've collected a number of other references to Natural Public Revenue.    I don't think Thomas G. Shearman uses the phrase, but he certainly has the idea -- see his Natural Taxation.