The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-06-28
Stop Dead-Beat Voters.

TIE most sansiDie idea that hiss
struck o1r politicians Tor some time is
their BOW y ident purpose TO stop pay
ing taxes for dead beat voters. Chair
man ROrke of The Republican aud
Chairman johnson of the Democratic
City Committees have publicly declared
their Willingness 10 enter into a COM
pact foTbIdding either side from paying
for poll tax receipts and il they are
level headed tbeV will execute the bond
and faithfully obey it.
The horse sense of the eountIy people
of all parties gave the Philadelphia
politicians a healthy brain clout by the
over helmiEg vote cast against dead
beat suffrage. The suffrage amend>
meni Simply meant that county people
must paw taxes and ci'y people could be
exempt, but the rural voters pulled
themselves together and just mOpped
up the floor with the city jugglers in
dead-beat suffrage.
As there will be one important cleo
tIOD before the next Legislature meets;
one that involves Governor, State offl-
GERS, Senator, Congressman and Legis-
lature, the issue must he met before
legislative relief can be had and the
only way to meet it is for the commit
tees and leaders of all parties TO unite
in the determination not to pay one
cent for dead beat voters. lT that
policy shall be adopted. the loss and
gain of both parties will be equal, and
the priceless prerogatiye of the noblest
citizenship OF The world will be rescued
from the reprOach of the hummer.
The next Legislature will of necessi-
~ Ike a healthy advance in dignifying
suffrage. AS the petty politicians and
the dead beats they have protected and
multiplied are knocked out of dead d
beat suffrage. there is no longer hope of
abolishing the tax standard and one
of the first acts OF the new Legislature
of 1891 will be To require every citizen
to attend personally to his own assess
ment and to the payment of his taxes.
The law should be absolutely prohibito-
ry of either registration or payment of
taxes without appearing in person !;
aud the tax should be made coliectable
as all other taxes are now collectable,
so that dead beat citiZ=Ds would have
To pay some time, with costs, even if
they did not qualify themselves to vo,e.
The hum blest citizen of the Republic
is protected not only IN person aud
property at home by his government,
but in every cline Of the world his
citizenship IS protected agains: wrong
and his religious freedom is as Gnre-
strained as are his civil rights. Then
every ci,iZ-n Is made sovereign of he
free government, and the man who
won't pay twenty five cents a year for
the support of such a government should
De refused the right OF suffrage and be
made stranger TO its citizenship.
Now that the people themselves, by an
entirely unprecedented majority have
declared against the degradation of
suffrage TO the demands of dead beats,
let all parties make a patriotic advance
for the elevation of the sovereignty of
the nation. Let all, as with one voice,
declare that the man who fails 10 estab-
.ish his citizenship by registration, OF
fails 10 pay his taxes in person,
shall be disfIanchised and his taxSs
collected by process of law. That poll
cy once adopted would efface dead
beat voters from the list OF citizens
they now disgrace, and American suf-
rage and American sovereignty would
be respected at home and abroad. Step
dead beat voters -Phild. Times.