Taxes for Single Women
Nyles Fletcher:
Nyles Fletcher told us about how the town would forgive some or all of the taxes due from widowed or divorced women if they couldn't pay. This could have been a common practise that may or may not have been formalized into a Bylaw.
The Industrial era saw many women entering the workforce. Nyles Fletcher told us about how the town would forgive some or all of the taxes due from widowed or divorced women if they couldn't pay. We looked at the issues of labor equality for women, dependence, social status, and divorce in a society where being a single woman had social, physical, and financial implications. " We brought in experts to help us to understand the context, we decided to re-create scenes that would have forced the town to pass a law about things that we initially thought were funny or silly. Students began to have an understanding of how difficult it would have been for people to figure out how to get along together and to respect each other's rights. Through the study, and the experience of actually going to the carriage center and talking with "experts", they were able to do what writers do. Again, students worked with an expert, Mrs. Elizabeth Olsen. How do you write a radio play? Who are the experts in your community that can help your stories come to life?
Taxes – Impossible for Women Alone
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Single women living alone at the turn of the century face many more problems in raising their families and meeting their obligations than women with husbands at the turn of the century. |
Should Single women go to Jail
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The issue of taxes came up when one of our local divorcees tried to run up more credit at the mercantile. She claimed that she was doing everything she could and still was having difficulty catching up her bill. It appeared that she was not the only single woman with financial trouble. Mrs. Dudley, from a family in good standing prior to the untimely death of her husband, was left to raise her eight children alone and could |
not pay her taxes. Under the new taxation bylaws, anyone not paying their taxes were subject to a jail term. In addition, it has come to light that even a woman working the same job as a man, only made half the wages her male counterpart would. |
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Taxation for Single Women
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Single women were not able to pay their taxes because they couldn’t work or weren’t paid as much as men. Taxes were a problem for Ms. Dudley; a widower in the town of Magrath. Eight kids was enough, but it got worse. This radio play starts out with Ms. Dudley going to the grocery store and getting food for her kids. But she has a problem with her credit, and she can’t pay it off. Mr. Wayne puts more credit on her bill for her to pay. In the middle the mayor is arguing with Mrs. Freight because she doesn’t like what Miss. Pamwell tells the mayor. In the end the mayor has made up his mind, and single women won’t have to pay taxes. |
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Kym: Ms. Dudley & Ms. Kinderal Tex: Mayor & radio guy Kolbee: Mrs. Freight & Miss. Pamwell Ezra: Mr. Wayne (owner of the Mercantile) |
