I

102  THE  A  B  C  OF  TAXATION
Mr.  George,  although  he  immediately  followed
Mr.  Atkinson,  made  no  attempt  then  or  later  to  contradict ­
  Mr.  Atkinson’s  representation,  nor  did  the  other
principal  speakers  in  opposition,  Professors  Andrews,
Clark,  and  Seligman,  charge  Mr.  George  with  advocating ­
  the  abolition  of  private  property  in  land.
Mr.  Atkinson  said:
Mr.  George  and  myself  concur  in  one  point:  namely,  that
there  is  no  absolute  property  in  land  in  any  States  which  are
founded  on  the  English  common  law.  In  fact,  there  is,  I
believe,  no  absolute  property  in  land  anywhere.  Conditional
property  in  land  —  i.  e.,  peaceful  individual  possession  of  specific
parcels  of  land  ■—■  is  admitted  to  be  necessary  to  its  use  by  Mr.
George  and  myself.  .  .  .  Mr.  George  holds  throughout
his  argument  to  the  absolute  necessity  of  giving  conditional
ownership,  or  complete,  full,  and  peaceable  possession  of  land
to  those  who  may  chose  to  take  it  under  the  new  condition;  and
he  has  justified  this  ownership  in  many  ways,  not  only  in  fact,
but  in  words.  He  says,  “In  applying  to  public  use  the  power
of  drawing  on  the  general  wealth  which  pertains  to  the  ownership ­
  of  land,  we  discourage  ownership  without  use.”  In  that
phrase  he  admits  the  ownership  which  he  later  justifies  in  the
following  words:  “It  (i.  e.,  ownership)  arises  from  the  necessity
which  comes  from  the  highest  use  of  land  of  giving  individual
possession,  and  comes  from  the  difference  in  the  capacity  of
land.”  And,  finally,  after  advocating  the  single  tax  on  land
valuation,  he  justifies  it  only  in  these  significant  words:  “Under
such  conditions,  men  would  not  care  to  hold  land  which  they
did  not  want  to  use;  and  users  of  land,  where  their  use  was  more
than  transient,would  become  the  legal  owners,  having  the  assured
privilege  of  peaceable  possession  and  transfer  as  long  as  the
tax  was  paid.”  .  .  .  What  is  the  right  of  transfer  except
the  right  of  purchase  and  sale  ?  What  is  peaceable  possession
and  legal  ownership,  except  a  grant  of  property  in  land  by  the
State  ?  .  .  .  Mr.  George  sustains  the  necessity  of  private