The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-06-12

ton on the poor while letting the rich
escape? Whether you want me to or
not / will hot do it,
That, as your employers say, a SER
viceable cloak can be bought in Berlin
at S1.20 affords no reason in my mind
for keeping the tariff up. On the con-
trary, it is the strongest reason for
abolishing it altogether. There are lots
of women in this country who would
be rejoiced to get clodks so cheaply;
| lots of women who must now pinch and
strain to get a cloak; lots of women
who cannot now afford to buy cloaks,
and must wear old or cast-off gar
ments or shiyer with cold. Is it not
common justice that we Should abolish
every tax that makes 1t harder for
them to clothe themselves?
No; | will do nothing to keep UP du-
ties. I will do everything can to put
them down. / do not believe in tax
/ ing one citizen for the purpose of en-
riching another citizen. You elected
me on my declaration that l was OPP
posed to projection, believing it but a
scheme for enabling the few to rob the
many. and that l was opposed even to
tariff for revenue, believing that the
only Just way of raising revenues is by
the single tax upon land values So
long as l continue to represent you in
Congress l shall act upon the principle
of equal rights to all and special priv
| leges to none. Whenever l can abolish
any OF the taxes that are now levied on
labor or the products of labor | will do
| it. and where | cannot abolish L will
do my best to reduce. When you get
| tired OF that you can elect some one in
my place who suits you better. If you
want duties kept up, you may get ~
honest protectionist who will serve yea;
| you cannot get an honest free-trader.
| But believe that you have only to
| think of the matter to see that in adj
herring to that principle 1 will be acting
| for the best interests of all working
men and women, yourselves among the
number This demand for protective
duties for the benefit of the American
workingnlan is the veriest sham. You
cannot protect labor by putting import
duties on goods. Protection makes it
harder for the masses of our people to
live. 1t may increase the profits of
| favored capitalists; it may build up
trusts and create great fortunes, but it
cannot raise wages. You know for
yourselves that what your employers
pay you in wages does not depend on
what any tariff may enable them to
make, but on what they can get others
! to take your places for.
! You have to stand the competition Of
the labor market. Why. then should
you try to shut yourselves out from the
goods market should give to you? 1t
is not protection that makes wages
higher here than in Germany They
were higher here before we had any
protection, and in the saturnalia of
protection that has reigned here for
some years past you have seen wages
go down. until the country Is now
crowded with tramps and hundreds of
thousands of men are now supported
| by charity. What labor needs lis not
protection, but Justice; not legalized
restrictions which permit one set of
men to tax their fellows, but the free
opportunity to all for the exertion of
their own powers. The real struggle
for the rights Of labor and for those
fair wages that consist in The full earn
ings of the laborer is the struggle for
freedom and against monopclies and
restrictions. In the effort to cut down
protection this struggle is tin1idly be-
ginning. I shall support the Wilson
bill with all my ability and all my
strength. Yours, very respectfully.
TOM L. JOHNSON.