The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1907-05-16
ATTACKS ON BACHELORS. .
Reasons Why T! ~ oousht Not to be
Taxed


To insist, as some do, that If spin
sters be taxed, bachelors likewise
should be compelled to contribute to
the general fund, is to our mind, alb.
surd. The two classes are quite dis.
tinct.
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
the depopulation Is said to be at the
root OF the present movement, unsuc'
cessful thus far, to exact toll for cell.
bacy 1t will be seen, then, that the
actuating causes have varied widely;
but, generally speaking, the descrim-
nation has rested upon the Spartan
principle that 1t is the duty OF 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 laws felt that bachelors
should pay well for happiness that
seemed to them exceptional.
or the forty millions of persons OF
both sexes of manageable age in
this country, more than twelve mil
lions remain single. This number
seems large enough to Justify our
Chief Magistrates recent inslstence
that, from the viewpoint OF a far
seeing ruler, DESTROYS Of providing
cadets and midshipmen for 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 unmarried men or suffer
them TO be brought under the pro-
visions of the Interstate Commerce
Act, alone with old maids, we earnest
ly beseech reflection upon certain
facts established by our Federal
census
According to the statistics of 1900,
for example, the country contained
only 1,lS2,293 widowers, or only 3
percent of the entire male population,
as against 2,721, 564 widows, or 7.3
percent Of all the females. This sur.
prising disparity surely merits serious
consideration. We may not assume,
for chivalric reasons, that our deli.
cately nurtured ladies are of tougher
fibre and more enduring physical ma
ture 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 evil
denced by the great disparity in the
actual fatalities. Moreover, the total
of divorced men is only S4,9OS, or 2
percent, as against 1l4,9G5, or 3 per.
cent, of divorced women, showing
clearly that even after being freed
from irksome bonds a comparatively
small proportion of men have suf-
fcient strength left TO withstand the
effect Of their previous existence.
That these significant facts do, or
should, escape the thoughtful atten.
ton of a prudent bachelor, is not to
be expected; realizing as he must
from study Of the statistics, the
comparative paucity of his chances
of longevity during the matrimonial
period and the virtual certainty OF
his discouraged spirit wasting away
soon after divorce, is he not reason.
ably warranted in evading in all
seemly ways the wiles of the spinster
and should he in equity be taxed for
so doing? Clearly 1t seems to us,
and we trust it will seem to the Presi.
dent, such a course finds ample justi-
fication, which induces even a soldier
to avoid engagements against undue
odds.-George Harvey in the North
American Review.