A short time ago a county official said to the writer, only way this county can keep going is to keep all the land in private ownership, and if the owners are not able to pay the taxes every year they may at least pay them some years, and if they cannot pay the full tax we should accept a partial payment. In this statement the official casually but accurately epitomized the philosophy which still prevails with respect to land ownership and land taxes. Many people apparently do not realize that as this country approaches a stationary population land must be valued on its productive capacity and not by capitalizing an expected increment. Moreover, the margin of cultivation for agriculture is being steadily contracted, and nonagricultural land must be put to other productive use if it is to make its full contribution to the support of population. Private capital, having exploited our natural resources, may not be willing or able to undertake the renewal of these resources and to carry the investment during the long waiting period. The retention of nonincome-producing land in private ownership almost invariably leads either to the collapse of the tax collecting procedure or to the further destruction of the resource. Certainly it operates against the conversion of the land to new uses and the restoration of economic stability. lTo urge the retention of all land in private ownership in order to preserve sufficient tax base to support local government overlooks two important facts. First, in a county with diminishing resources the tax base is being reduced regardless of what is listed on the tax roll, and taxes cannot continue indefinitely to be paid out of capital. Second, there is no need to perpetuate every political unit established to meet conditions of an earlier period. If our natural resources are to be renewed and conserved and each type of land put to its best use, tax policies must be shaped to that end. This does not necessitate the granting of subsidies; it requires only the proper recognition of the use-capabilities of different grades of land and their valuation for taxation accordingly. It also demands an easy and direct means of