The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-02-08
g !; 7fANCHISING
VOTERS WHO OWN
NO P R0PERTY
Mrs. Fisher Condemns Bill Be
fore Legislature
UNAMERICAN MEASURE
Would Place the Direction Of Town
Affairs in Hand0 of Those Who
Owned Real Estate.

Editor Of The Banner: Tin not
much of pclitically-m nded woman.
and | have paid lite attention to
what is being done In our Leg stature,
because it didn't occur to me that
anything very dangerous could be
done there But friends have called
my attention to hill which was
presented last Friday, bill H-172.
presented by Mr.. But er OF Jamaica,
which seems to them outragec usly
un-Amercan and which makes my
halr stand up n horror. -. What are
we coming to, anyhow?
IT is the bill which provides for the
disfranch.sement of Amer can citl-
zens who have no property, which
makes the Amer can vote matter Of
dollars and cents, which PROV des just
as Pruss a used to (but even they
have gene beyond that now that a
man with money is better than man
without 1t seems incredible and i
wonder u. they are not ..i-informed. /
can't believe that any Vermoner
would seriously introduce bill Of
that sort before the Americans in our
House. The b.ll prov des that clti-
zens who do not c wn property, shall
be d,sfranch sed when the vote is
concerned with sum larger than the
town grand fst
This means that the real direction
OF town a fairs is to be put into the
hands of the capitalists, and that
worhngmen shall have no share in
the own communities affairs. Since
In Vermont the large sums are usual
ly voted for schools this would mean
that a working-man who is raising ten
children TO good citizenship Eve have
such fam ly right herel would have
no vote in matter VIII ch yita'ly
concerns his family, because he hap
pens to live in rented house While
q ha fwitted degenerate who has in-
herited an old shack in back valley
can vote, can even cast the decid ng
vote.
Or II means that all our young men
the best NEST Intelligent and active
voters In many cases would have to
stand helpless while the large proper
ty-owners voted conditions which
would ruin the future Of such young
men. leaving them no recourse but to
move away.
And Of course 1t strikes directly
tperhaps was intended for that at
the new women voters OF Vermont
since most American MARI ed women
do not own property In their own
names and most Am~-rcan, unmarried ID
women, the school teachers, the work
ers, do not own property at all
Can you heat 1t, for perfect be.
trayal of al that we thought the
American republic was founded on?
Now of course, YOU must know
from your experience how such a
measure s not only shockingly react
ionary and kn f'ng-in-the back OF
the principles our country is founded
Sn; but Is entirely impractical Don't
Won remember what happened wher
they tried to make the distincticr
about women voters. some years ago.
The law prov ded that women who
had property could have a vote on the
school matters But as no American
legislature quite | ked to 90 so far a:
to say that the vote would cost yot
twenty-five hundred dollars, and yor
couldn't have 1t If you had twenty foul
hundred and ninety-nine, no definite
statement was made as to what con
81 tuted property" Then the newt
able happened. A lot of women pu
down the sum cf one dollar on th'
Town Grand l. st as their Property,
and they paid a tax of two or thre,
cents on It, which cost the town thre,
times that to collect
They got their vote, and they drag
ged the principle OF law abidingnes
in the mud and offered the most per
.nc'ous example to our young peop
Of successful eyad MS of a law, TIL
same thing would happen If such
measure as Mr. Buffers went through
Of course.
But I can hardly believe it rossibl
that It can be seriously considered!
! | do hope your speak out in th
matter Lots of Arlington people ar
hoping that somebody Will 1t look
to me like a mighty good chance t
). stand un for the elementary prmcinle
of our country. I'll be looking care
= ly for something in tho Banner Ca
you think Of anything | can do in tn
matter, I'd he so glad to write an.
q thing | could get pupnsned.
With best regards and h gh hope
= Yours for America,
Dorothy Garfield Fisher
, Arlington, Vermont, rCsruary 7th.