The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-21
COLONlSTS' SLOGAN
NOT JUSTIFIED NOW
Mrs. J. A. Mahon Says Cry of Sufra.
gists Against Tyranny" of Taxa
ton Is Groundless.

| To the Editor of The Herald: Tax
alton without representation is tyran-
NY" is the cry now of the suffragists.
from Gertrude Foster Brown. president
New York Woman Suffrage Associa
ton. all along the line. Would it not
| b" we'll to analyze that slogan" of
the Anne ricau colonies of 1175:
| When tn" colonies complained Of
| British taxation they did so with much
| reason. and there was great differ
eDcc between their case and that of
! the unrepr"Sentcd in this country. The
| British Parliament nor their represent
! atfvcs would have paid farthing of
the tax they imposed on the-cOlonIes;
| but quite otherwise. Their property
would have been eNonerated in exact
proportion 10 the burdens they laid on
the colonists. Expressions therefore
without end. and taxes without reason
| or public necessity would have been
the fate of the American people had
they submitted TO British usurpation.
| Now all that is different. The rep
| resentativcS themselves, well as
| their immediate constituents. must suf-
| fer the tax imposed in exact proper
ton as does all other property taxed.
therefore. it cannot be supposed that
taxes will be laid where the public
good does not absolutely demand il. So
no injustice is possible. as the men
voting the tax pay the larger part
/ of il.
Only about one-eiGhth of the direct
or indirect taxes are paid by women
| OF voting age. (The only taxpayers
are people who have incomes or earn
ing money! AS the men pay seven
eiEhths of the taxes. lay the tax. are
not women more justly taxed than if
seven-eighths of nontaxpayers should
vote the tax? AS men earn many
| times more money than women. the
men pay many more times the taxes
| than women. both direct and indirect.
| Very few women owning property in
! their own right have accumulated
that property. it has ben given to
them, willed to them, or put i'll thier
: name for some reason. The property
| in the beginning was the result of
| mans work of some kind. Therefore
the money coming from that property
| to pay the tax with, comes indirectly
from the man who accumulated the
price of the property.
| Suffrarists have said that all con-
| sumers pay taxes. \ little child is
| a consumer, but does it pay indirect
tax on what il eats or wears? Does
| not the one who supports the child.
and not the child who is the con-
sumner. pay the tax? \ woman who is
supported by her husband Gas all
| married women should be) pays SIS
| for a spring hat; who pays the indf-
| rect tax on that hat, the man or
the woman?
If a person owns property in one
! State and lives in another State, he
has no voice in laying the tax upon
| that property, as he can only vote
where his political residence is. The
same holds good even If the property
| is in a different part of the State
| from where his home Is; except the
State tax, and then ne can only vote
for the representative he thinks will
| vote the tax as he would have il.
The representative must vote such
| taxes as are required to pay the ex-
penses of the State government.
What are taxes laid for? Why must
direct and indirect taxes be paid? To
run the governemnt, that we may be
protected in person and property.
That we may have our homes. our
business and all that government
means. Those owning the most prop
erty of any kind. and pay the most
most protection.
Suppose a widow owns a large farm
and manages 1t herself. She is obliged
to hire. We will say, thirty men to do
the work She says, IAN these men who
are working for me can vote and can
not. j pay large taxes and they pay
small amount Is 1t JUST" She gets all
the protection she pays for and needs.
and the laborer gets the amount he needs
and pays for. II women voted, no doubt,
each man the woman farmer hires would
have one or more women voters In his
family. and in the place Of the woman
farmer having thirty votes to her one.
who were taxpayers. might have double
that number who would be nontaSpay-
ers. Would she not be more justly treat
ed with men only voting. and who were
taxpayers?
There Is another side to this question.
IL the woman's life and property were In
danger from a foe, the government would
have the power to call upon each of
those men. put q gun In his hand and