The Labor enquirer., 1883-05-26


century. God speed brother Messenger
in the good work.
3 f Az Who Pays the Taxes.
To the Editor of The Labor Enquirer.
DENVER, May 24-Mr. Editor, with
your permission l will ask your very
numerous readers, "Who pays the
taxes ?" What answer will be returned
to this very pertinent query? Every
workingman, should make this a per-
sonal question and not rest satisfied un-
til he is able to give an intelligent an
swer, if not to others, at least to himself :;
as upon the proper understanding of
this in great measure depends the fu-
ture veal or woe of the large class to
which we belong. Ignorance upon this
all important point of the labor question
wall efectually disqual.fy us for either
acting or voting so as to promote our
future well-being.
What is the reason that the laboring
classes are in such deplorable condi-
ton throughout the world to-day? The
reason is men do not think; and for
this reason alone they are not, able to
better their condition. Did men but
think, this would lead to action and
would enable them to see through the
fraudulent and false teaching by which
they are being missled from day to day
by the persons whose business and in
terest it is to keep them in ignorance,
in order that they may become the
ready tools of designing and corrupt
men, who are personally interested in
removing the load from their own shoul-
ders on to the poor but willing beasts of
burthen that we are; thus allowing
every knave that comes along to lay the
burthen that he himself should bear,
upon the poor who make no complaint
of either the weight or the load or the
inequalities of the burthen we bear.
These persons are continually talking
about tariff, protection and free trade, as
though this free trade was some awful
bugaboo; and as these are things about
which we know little and think less, we
begin to get frightened and imagine
from what is said, that if protection is
abolished and the tariff taken off, that
we would be ruined in some way by the
pauper labor of Europe and come to
want for bread, beef and beer, and that
60 without clothing and food.
While this protective tariff" is taxing
US III every article of clothing we wear,
be it silk or satin, Woolen or jeans, fan
mel or Gotten, outer or underwear, or the
ribbons that adOrn his wife's bonnet or
his children's neck or waist, by which
the wife endeavors to make them beau
tiful as they really are in the eyes of the
husband and father. 1t taxes his coat,
vest, pants and socks-whateve the ma
terial used--his watch, clock, sewing
machine; his stove, tinware, cooking
utensils and garden tools; his tobacco
snuff, beer spirits and the soap with
which be cleanses his person and cloth
ing; even the matches with which he
lights his fire or his pipe are taxed in
fact, what is there that the poor man
uses that they do not tax under this pro-
tective tariff. All articles or tools made
of iron and steel, in all that he drinks,
in all that he wears, in all articles of
furniture for either use or ornament,
even lis bed-clothing in which he rests
his weary bones at night and all this
time it may be, he is Congratulating
himself that he owns his real estate, and
that he evades the poll tax; and he
thinks that others pay the taxes, while,
poor dupe that he is, he is being taxed
to the tune of about so per cent upon all
that he spends, and in most cases that
is all that he gets.
And all this is the result of the want
of thought on the part of the working
class of this and other countries-for
there is no separating our interests in
this matter. If labor is deprecated in
Europe the laborers come over here to
find better market for their wares. In
this respect, if no other, we are all
brothers we stand or fall together.
Brothers it is not protective tariff
that keeps wages up; but supply and de-
mand. Do you ever find the American
manufacturer paying So, where he can
get man as good for 81, that would do
the same work? Do large corporations
pay So per day when they can get men
for $3.50? Do they pay you as much
in winter, when labor is plenty, as they
do in summer, when labor is scarce?
And yet you continue to vote for a
protective tariff. Oh, why not begin to
vote to protect yourselves
A UNIONIsT.