Omaha daily bee., 1907-03-03
SPARE THE POOR BACHELOR
Champion of the Unmarried Says They
should Not BE Specially
Taxed.

To insist, as some do, that If spinsters
be taxed bachelors likewise should be COM
PEELED to contribute to the general fund,
is, to our mind absurd. The two classes
are quite distinct.
From time to time special taxes have
been imposed upon single men in Great
Britain and Ireland, but only 1t was
always carefully stated, for the purpose
of increasing revenues. In France, on the
other hand, fear of depopulation is said to
be at the root Of the present movement,
unsuccessful thus far to exact toll for
celibacy 1t will be seen then, that the
actuating causes have varied widely, but,
generally speaking, the discrimination has
rested on the Spartan principle that 1t Is
the duty to the state of every citizen to
rear up legitimate children, although there
is room for suspicion that in some In
stances the henpecked married men who
made the law felt that bachelors should
pay well for happiness that seemed to
them exceptional.
OF the 100000 persons of both sexes OF
a marriage age in this country more than
1900, 900 remain single. This number seems
large enough TO justify our chief magis-
trate's recent insistence that from the
viewpoint of far-seeing ruler DESTROYS of
large navy, the indefinite continuance Of
such a condition is intolerable. Lest he
may suddenly direct the various states to
enact laws that would bear unduly upon
married men or suffer them TO be brought
under the provisions of the interstate COM
merce act along with old maids we
earnestly beseech reflection upon certain
facts established by our federal census.
According to the statistics OF 1900 for
example, the country contained only l,l&,-
29S widowers, or only per cent of the en-
tire male population, as against 2,7A ,564
widows or 73 per cent OF all the females.
This surprising disparity surely merits Sc
Hous consideration. We may assume, for
chivalric reasons, that our delicately nu-
tured women are Of tougher fiber and
more enduring physical nature than their
husbands, hence we are driven to the
conclusion that the hazard of matrimony
is vastly greater for men than for women,
as is evidenced by the great disparity in
the actual fatalities. Moreover the total
OF divorced men is only 4,SOs, or 2 per
cent as against l14,965, or per cent. of
divorced women, showing clearly that even
after being freed from irksome bonds a
comparatively small proportion Of men
have sufficient strength left TO Withstand
the effect OF their previous existence.
That these significant facts do or should
escape the thoughtful attention of a pru-
dent bachelor is not to be expected, realiz-
ing as he must from study of the statis-
tics the comparative paucity OF his chances
of longevity during the matrimonial period
and the virtual certainty of his discour-
aged spirit wasting away soon after d.
vorce is he not reasonably warranted in
evading In all seemly ways the wiles OF
the spinster. and should he in equity be
taxed for so doing? Clearly, It seems to
us-and we trust It will seem TO the presi-
dent-such a course finds ample Justihca-
ton in the mere instinct of self-preserva-
ton which induces even a soldier to avoid
engagements against undue odds.-North
American Review.