The Red Cloud chief., 1882-09-01
the bo.ine.. and pu.laS inso.Ns-

having no power, they are Of no coase'
eucnce), and then these officers Are fur.
pished with an e~nhrtainnent 81 tss o..
tense o. al the inhabitanss Of the town.
But the roadf mike the most complaint N
every woman this, owns property; they oil
know ~ well As We do that they would not
be made a. they are before their bousss II
they could sts- We have every reason
Ia think hat the officers Of the town add
what they please ~ our tsx1- Last wear
they added 600 TO our homestead without
giving Us any notice, and the same amount
70 two widows in the neighborbocd,
who cannst work their land, and nct .
man had his property raised, for be could
find II out and q woman could not.
We have paid the town Of Glastonbury
during the last six years more than $1,000,
and for what /? 10 De ruled over and be put
under what all the citizens know 20 be the
lowest and most worthless Of any in the
place Why should we be outlawed' We
where We were born and have always lived,
the little time we rave 10 stay, and 70 be
buried with our family and ancestors, but
its plessantness has gone, for we know we
do not hold it in security as our neigh
bOrs old theirs; that II is liable TO be
taken from US whenever the town sees
ft.
The town collector called for our taIes
on Monday ut sun.ef-the last day and
hou he could call. We told him We would
prefer to wait until we had been heard by
the town, for il they gave US no hopes Of
voting, We wanted them 10 sell our farm
for the taxes, for it was but reasonable, IL
.iey owned it, to get the taxes from it, we
could not and we wished they would be-
gin Mt the east end and come into the street,
for we wanted TO save our homestead while
VI lived, and thought IL would last us.
He said he hoped he should not be the
collector then. He agreed 10 all the in
justice Of which We complained.
He said, rs many do, he thought women
that had property ought 10 vo;" We said
those tina. had none, needed IT more. II
they could have the power TO vote against
the grog-sbops their drunken husbands
would never dare ~ abuse them ms they
did, but they could do II now with impu.
nifty, for the town officers would not punish
q voter"
The address was quietly listened TO, and
It's suggestions entirely ignored. The
Misses Smith declined 10 pay their winter
tax, in accordance with their declared
purpose, saying if the town owns our
farm (about 1870 acres, it belongs to the
men to get out Of il what they claim we
should pay, for zee never could and II
surely does not belong TO us to assist them
n any way, having no voice in the matter.
Our money we own, and we are not will
ing, any more, 70 take what we own TO
pay for what we do not own"
The collector called again New Years
day with an attachment. The sisters
pleaded hard for a respite till they could
petition the men, they said, ''to let us own
our land rs they owned theirs, and then
we would willingly pay our taxes; and how
much better it would be to have the money
paid freely than to have all this trouble
about il? The town had waited on a fac
tory company for their taxes for years, till
the company failed, and they lost several
thousand dollars by it. We had our share
of this money to paw, u larger share, as II
appeared by his books, than any other Of
the inhabitants, and there is no risk in
waiting for us to pay. But they were men
and We are women" "Now," sail we,
Mr.. A., you would not be willing, per-
sonaily, to take a woman's property be-
cause she can not vote to defend IL; no
other man in town would, though you will
agree together TO do it. But numbers can
never make IL right"
The collector seized and drove of seven
of = herd of eight Alderney cows which
one Of the sisters had raised, TO satisfy his
bill Of $1Ol. 80. Four Of the cows were
bid in to I'LL the towns demand. This
sale, not only of their property but OF
their pets, was looked upon as an arbitrary
proceeding, all the more for the reason that
on two previous occasions the collector had
assured them that their tax could lie by re-
turning twelve per cent. interest, which
they consented to pay, and at the very
time when their cows were being sold
there were more than $1,000 OF uncollec.
ted taxes, and no one seemed able to
explain why this mount should be al.
lowed to run and two defenseless women
brought so very vigorously up to the very
letter of the law.
Prom that time to the present the Misses
Smith, with old-fashioned Yankee grit,
have persisted in their refusal TO pay taxes
under the existing conditions. And year
by year their property has been seized and
sold for taxes. Some women who hold
property in their own right are "cOnstruc-
lively" represented in town meetings and at
the polls BY y male relxtive-father, broth. !
er or husband, as the case may be. But
these women are not even "constructively" i
represented; their disfrAnchisemeut has
been complete and absolute. Their de-
msnd is that their disfranchisement shall
cease, that they shall be given in future an
equal voice with their neighbors and
townsmen in assessing and expanding the
tow taxes. Is this demand Just or IL 1t
not? Is taxation without representation
which was wrong at Boston in l77A, right
at Glastonbury in 1874? This is the is
sue forced upon the intelligent, justice.
loving people Of Connecticut, and through
them the entire country. This is the issue
that meets US face to face here in Nebraska. /
The men of Glastonbury are no worse
than other men. We are told "they can
not consent to grant the wishes Of the
Misses Smith, without inaugurating q 70
be~llion." The common reply has been,
Z" Let the foolish women pay their taxes,
and then they can milk their own cows In
peace" DR.. Samuel johnson said the
same thing TO Sam Adams in . little pam.
phiet called Iaration no Tyranny. But
Sam Adams was not converted, and the
Colonies were not converted. We all sp-
plsud their resisting the collector, and un-
dertaking "A long and doubtful and wasting
war rather than submit TO pay taxes upon
their propertv which ihev had M voice in