Mary Cain (editor)

Mary Dawson Cain (August 17, 1904 – May 6, 1984) was an American newspaper editor, political activist, and gubernatorial candidate in Mississippi. A Democrat, she advocated for conservative causes and is particularly remembered for her campaigns against the Social Security tax. She ran for Governor of Mississippi in 1951 and 1955, the first woman to do so.

Life

Cain was born in Burke, Louisiana, the daughter of Charles Goodrich Dawson and Tulula Bryant Dela Garza Dawson.[1] She was educated in public schools in Louisiana and Mississippi, and graduated from Hillman College. She married mechanic and business owner John Lambdin Cain in 1924.[2]

Cain owned and edited The Summit Sun, a weekly newspaper in Pike County, Mississippi, contributing "Mary Cain's Column".[3] Cain used her paper to promote segregation and conservative causes, and was particularly critical of the federal government, especially the Social Security tax.[4][5]

Cain became the first woman ever to run for Governor of Mississippi in 1951, when she led an unsuccessful campaign as a Democrat.[6] She ran again in 1955.[7]

Cain came to national attention in 1952 when she refused to pay $42.87 in Social Security taxes, calling the program "unconstitutional, immoral and un-American".[7][8] She attempted to dodge the Internal Revenue Service by selling The Summit Sun to her niece for a nominal sum of $1 and closing her bank accounts. Later that year the IRS seized the paper and padlocked the door; Cain responded by cutting the chains with a hacksaw and sending them back to the agency, earning herself the nickname "Hacksaw Mary".[9][10] Her tax battle went to the Supreme Court; Cain lost, but the government subsequently dropped the suit.[7]

In 1965, she appeared in an NBC News documentary titled Mississippi: A Self Portrait, where she proclaimed her support for segregation and its values, particularly in Mississippi. "I think Mississippi has done wonders with our race relations, she said. I think that is has been a marvelous thing that our Negroes has come as far as they have, and I feel no sense of guilt and I do not have to apologize for what we have done for them." Later she elaborated on her views on race, framing them on theological grounds. "Now I feel that God had a purpose in creating the races separate,” she said. I am so proud of Negroes who are proud of being Negroes. They are what God made them. And I'm proud of being White because I am what my White race has made me. I am White today because my parents practiced segregation, and I wouldn't be anything but White. And I love Negroes who wouldn't be anything but Negroes."[11]

Cain died on May 6, 1984, at the age of 79 in McComb, Mississippi.[7]

References
  1. Durward Howes – American Women – Volumes 1–3 1935, p. 140 "CAIN, Mary Dawson (Mrs. John Lambdin Cain), newspaper editor, pub. ; b. Burke, La., Aug. 17, 1904 : d. Charles Goodrich and Tulula Bryant (Dela Garza) Dawson ; m. John Lambdin Cain, Sept. 20, 1924.
  2. John Lambdin Cain (1899–1984) – Find A Grave Memorial "Birth: Jan. 3, 1899. Death: Jan. 7, 1984. Burial: Woodlawn Cemetery Summit Pike County Mississippi, USA Plot: Section 1, Lot 11. "
  3. Elizabeth V. Burt Women's Press Organizations: 1881–1999, 2000, p. 310 "43. Mary Cain, "Mary Cain's Column," Summit (Mississippi) Sun, 30 July 1964, p. 1. 44. Mary Cain, Ibid., 11 June 1964, p. 1. 45. Ibid. 46. Mary Cain, "Mary Cain's Column," Summit Sun, 25 June 1964, p. 1. 47."
  4. Wilkie, Curtis (2002). Dixie: A Personal Osyssey Through Historic Events That Shaped the Modern South, pp. 55–56, 61. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743226046. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  5. Charles W Eagles The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss 2009 Page 189 "From southern Mississippi, Mary D. Cain's editorial, 'Something Rotten at Ole Miss,' claimed that 'there is no middle ground here: One is either for segregation or for integration.' Suspecting Murphy and Farley really favored integration, she suggested both should be 'summarily fired'."
  6. Curtis Wilkie Dixie: A Personal Osyssey Through Historic Events That Shaped the ... 2002 -p61 "More than governmental experience, the most important prerequisite for holding high office in Mississippi appeared to be a gift for public speaking. The male candidates excelled in the art, but Mary Cain was the most memorable of the bunch."
  7. "Mary Cain, Mississippi Editor Who Fought U.S. Taxes, Dies". The New York Times. May 8, 1984. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  8. The American Mercury – Volume 81, p. 148, 1955 "But she has not been sent to jail, although she has paid no Social Security tax for 1952, 1953, and 1954. So far, the government has not done Mary Cain the favor of making a martyr out of her. Mary Cain is not the jailbird type. Far from it."
  9. Wilkie, Curtis (2002). Dixie: A Personal Osyssey Through Historic Events That Shaped the Modern South, pp. 62. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0743226046. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  10. Gross, David M. (2014). 99 Tactics of Successful Tax Resistance Campaigns. Picket Line Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-1490572741.
  11. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Mississippi: A Self Portrait: Mary Cain - www.NBCUniversalArchives.com. YouTube.
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