The Washington times., 1917-08-28
Logic, Not Violence
National American Woman Sur Association makes powerful
appeal for woman suffrage that applies equally to male
suffrage in the Dis trict Of Columbia.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

Why has the picketng by the militants been so obec
onabei Because it unseemly to the eyei Mo- but be-
cause was the voice OF anger not of reason 1t the
language of force not oche language of anarchy not
democracy. And when Justice Pugh sentencing the mill
ants directed their attention to the hundreds of thousands
of and of the District of Columbia who did not
have VOTE but who nevertheless did not resort to VIC
ence he emphasized the powerful kind of appeal For
the citizens of Washington not peulant, but patient
They going to depend for the of their effort to
obtain suffrage the power of logic and And when
the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the
larger and more respected body championing su
frage issues such it did recently argu
with convincing emphasis the merits of their cause
be hoped that the President and Congress will be impress
ed by it. Because logic and not violence pleading Says
the head of the National American Woman Suffrage Assoca
ton:
eff the income tax exemption is lowered to ST. 900
for unmarried persons may estimate that three to
four million dollars of the taxes will be contributed
by the wageearning women of the country-women who
have earned it under the hard conditions of economic
inequality due to their political Acknowledgement Think
of the thousands of teachers for instance and
clerical workers in Government and private employ
most of whom, although unmarried, have of the
obligations of married men, the small salary of little
than 81 900 year. Unless those women live In the
Western States, where women vote they are unrepre
sened in the national law making body Yet part Of
their actual living is taken by act of that body
"Ihen there are the women of greater means. Mil
lions OF dollars will be paid in direct taxes by these
many of them stockholders in the corporations
that being taxed for Of the stockhod
of the Pennsylvania railroad, for example, 48 per
cent women These women will pay the taxes will
ngy because it is the law, and this is emergency.
But most of them may not choose their representatives
in Congress- may the male stockholders of the
corporations.
''Women giving to this war, moreover, not only
their wages and their incomes They are giving their
services their very lfes blood-and that for Govern
ment which has far refused them political acknowl-
edgement We protest not at women Is taxation for
revenue, but at the injustice of Withholding from them
any voice in the Government they called sup
port Congress must realize that will demand, as
the next war measure justice to womanhood-justce,
political and economic, which will come only by writing
C0nafI tuti0n onfrar
chising all the women of the nation
Every word of the above applies with equal force the
situation in the District of Columbia with respect to male
suffrage Are the and of the city of Washington
exempt from the payment of income taxsf Are they exempt
from any of the obligations of citizenship Of not
Then why they not enjoy of its prvlegesf What
earthly objection there be- for instance permitting
100000 people in the District of Columbia to vote for
President and Vice President entirely aside from the ques
ton of eecng municipal ocersi Both the Democratic and
Republican national conventions accept delegates from the
District of Columbia enabling them to participate in
nominating candidates for President of the United States
But election day. the people here have voice in passing
upon those nominations.
This to be age of taxation. Should it not be
the beginning for the District of Columbia of age Of
representation