Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-19
FEMALE TYRANNY AND TAXATION
WITHOUT REPRESENTATION.

stephen St. Clair put up such a coax
ingly pretty, womanly appeal for the
last word that we had not the heart to
deny her. But on looking over her COM
munication second time we stumbled
upon that old gag of taxation without
representation is tyranny" The fathers
would never have used it even as a plati-
tude or glittering generality had they
foreseen that the female suffragist down
through all time including that of Susan
B. Anthony. would go gading about the
land getting it off.
Now to Mrs. Steph. St. c., to Mrs.
Lease, and to Mrs. all other female suf-
fragistS, who are in the habit Of quoting
that now meaningless declaration, we
want to say that there is no such thing
in this country as taxation without rep
resentation." Its only a high sailing
peroration rounded out to prejudice the
weak and capture the unwary. Mrs. st.
G. nor any other woman i'll Kansas pays
tax Of any character. Those women,
however, who persist in voting ought to
pay an Individual tax Or otherwise the
men ought to be relieved of it. The only
Individual tax known to this country is
the poll-tax, and women are not asked
to pay it, because they don't vote.
There are licenses, of course, repre-
scented by the privilege secured in the
payment Of stipulated sum to the local
or general government, but such tax is
represented by the license granted.
We hope that our ears will no longer
be dinned by that old gag of taxation
without representation IS tyranny"
individuals or persons don't pay taxes
except in such cases where they are rep
resented. Its the property that pays the
taxes without any reference to the sex
Of its owner. In other words all prop
erty is called on for its just proportion Of
the necessary expense of governmental
protection. Individual owners, male nor
female cut any figure in the matter
further than that of an almoner or rep
resentative. To make this plain to these
females the auffragists who are ever
dreaming that they are taxed and not
represented Take the Zimmerly building
in this city. Neither the heirs, the late
Mrs. Zimmerly, Mrs. Lee jerome or Mr..
Jerome pays the taxes of that building.
The state, county and city taxes on that
building, lie. its ust proportion of the eX-
pense Of government, would come, come
sure, come promptly and come without
possibility of failure, though its owner
was a native of Russia and life-prisoner
in Siberia.
Take another, the Wichita & Western
railway for instance. II its New England
owners paid the taxes and were denied,
as they are, the right to vote in Kansas
that would be an instance of taxation
without representation, we suppose. But
Sedgwick county don't care, nor the
state of Kansas don't care, whether the
owners of the Wichita & Western live
in New England or Old England, or
whether they live at all or not, or whether
there are any owners or not. We have
nothing to do with them, individually,
as a county or state, whoever or what
ever they may be, or whether they
be at all But we tax the
road, which is paid directly by
the road from the earnings or other
resources Of the road. However, it
having paid its just proportion of taxes
for governmental protection, If a mob of
our citizens should destroy it, or permit
its destruction by others, we as a people,
i. e., as government, would be COM
PEELED to make it good to the owner on
demand, though he dwelt at the antipo-
des.
Therefore, there is but one individual
tax known to our government, which
is called ''poll-tax," and which wo-
men are not compelled to pay.
All property tax has represen-
tation in the fact of its govern
mental protection. Consequently all this |
cry upon the part Of female suffragist,
about taxation without representation is
the merest humbug, for the simple rea-
son there can be no such thing as taxa
ton without direct ard adequate repre-
5entation to, for, and of the thing taxed. |
If the simple fact of the payment OF
taxes on their property entitled the tax
payer to the privileges of voter then |
every infant, idiot, convict or habitual |
irunkard who happens to have little |
taxable property would be entitled to
vote.