THIRD  BOSTON  OBJECT  LESSON  85

put  is  squarely  upon  the  shoulders  of  ground  rent,  what
the  land  is  worth  for  use,  its  gross  annual  value.
Take,  for  taxation,  a  portion  of  ground  rent,  and  you
have  a  basis  for  assessment  that  is  stable,  in  that  it  is
a  value  not  affected  by  taxation.  The  selling  value,
or  the  assessed  valuation,  is  not  the  shoulders,  but
the  rump,  or  the  small  of  the  back,  that  will  “slip  the
yoke,”  as  the  farmers  say,  as  soon  as  real  estate  moves.
By  fact  and  reason  we  are,  not  led,  but  driven,  to
the  conclusion  that  more  than  1650,000,000  of  capital
invested  in  Boston  land  to-day  escapes  entirely  the
burden  of  the  tax  which  is  assessed  upon  capital
invested  in  buildings;  and  the  happy  landlord  of  land
and  buildings  bears  no  land  tax  burden,  shifts  his
buildings  tax  upon  his  tenant,  and  thus  himself  entirely
escapes  the  tax  burden.  This  statement  is  a  corollary,
or  consequent,  of  the  accepted  economic  principle,  that
the  selling  value  of  land  is  reduced  by  the  capitalised
tax  that  is  laid  upon  it.
This  view  is  in  literal  harmony  with  the  substantial
agreement  of  the  economists,  that  the  only  direct  tax
(with  the  possible  exception  of  taxes  on  incomes  and
inheritances)  —  the  tax  which  cannot  be  shifted  or
evaded  —  is  a  tax,  not  upon  the  assessed  valuation  of
land,  nor  upon  the  selling  value  of  the  land,  but  upon
ground  rent,  or  its  capitalised  value,  the  gross  value
of  land.
Chambers  of  commerce,  merchants’  associations,
Manufacturers,  and  dealers  are  constantly  seeking  to
find  or  make  the  best  and  largest  market  for  their
commodities.  The  best  market,  it  is  fair  to  say,  is  the
largest  number  of  persons  who  are  able  to  buy  the
^ares  they  want.  The  greater  the  number  of  people