Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1908-06-12
TAXATION OF BACHELORS.
Some Facts that Should Be Borne
in Mind.

in Mind.
To insist, as some do, that if spin
sters be taxed bachelors likewise should
be compelled to contribute to the gem
eral fund is to our mind absurd. The
two classes are quite distinct, says the
North American Review.
From time to time special taxes have
been imposed upon single men in Great
Britain and Ireland, but only, it was
always carefully stated, for the DUR
pose Of increasing revenues In France,
OH 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 upon 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 laws felt that bachelors
seemed to them exceptional.
OF the 100000 of persons of both
sexes Of marriageable age in this coun-
try. more than 100000 remain single
This number seems large enough to ius-
tify our chief magistrates recent in
sistence that, from the viewpoint of
far-seeing ruler, DESTROYS of providing
cadets and midshipnen for a large
navy, the indefinite continuance of such
a condition is intOlerable. Lest he NAV
suddenly direct the various States to
>nact laws that would bear unduly
upon unmarried men or suffer them to
be brought under the provisions of the
Interstate commerce 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 1882 93 widowers or only per
cent of the entire population, as against
2,721,564 widows, or 7.3 per cent of
all the females. This surprising dis
parity surely merits serious considera-
ton. We may not assume, for chival-
rlc reasons, that our delicately nur-
tCred ladies are of tougher fiber and
more enduring physical nature than
weir husbands; hence. we are driven
10 the conclusion that the hazard of
matrimOny is vastly greater for men
han for women as Is evidenced by the
Aeat disparity in the actual fatalities
Moreover, the total of divorced men
Is only S4,9O3, or per cent, as against
114,965, or per cent, of divorced
women, showing clearly that even after
being freed from irksome, bonds a COM
paratively small proportion of men
have sufficient strength left to with
stand the effect of their previous exist
ence.
That these significant facts do, or
should, escape the thoughtful attention
of prudent bachelor is not to be ex-
pected; realizing, as he must from a
study Of the statistics, the compare
tive 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 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
President, such a course finds ample
justification in the mere instinct Of
self-preservation, which induces even a
soldier to avoid engagements against
undue Odds