Bisbee daily review., 1904-02-21
ANXIOUS WORKINCMEM.
The Cost of Living Does Not
 Go Down With Wages.
HEAVY BURDEN OF TARIFF TAM.a

Five-sixths of Those Taxes Go to Fat 4
 ten the Trusts-ShOuld Come on as
 Once-ROosevelt's Message silent on l the subject-workers Must suaesI Four Years Longer.
 The Journal of the Knights of LaboxI for November says: That most excellent and carefully edited labor paper. the National Labor Tribune of Pittsburg in its last issue gives this pointer: 1 Wages are expected to come dove. at the first of the year in all directions Many crafts, iron and steel workers not ably, have been reduced already. Jus tice requires that other things shOulef come down in proportion. Let rent an0 taxes both be lowered if the working man is not to be ground between the upper and the neither millstones." 1 Apparently a new idea has occurred. to these labor papers. If it can be made to work, the wage earners wife not in future have to carry the heavier end of the burden of industrial depreG- sions. They can unload on somebody
 
 loads on them. When the dema nd for goods fails off and the manufacturers profits begin to diminish the manufae turer reduces his working force or re duces wages, or both. When the de mand for labor slackens and iabor's earnings grow less. why cannot he have his rent, taxes and other costs of living reduced accordingly? How nice 1t would be if he could pass this trost ble along.
 But we fear that the workers wifi nod get relief in these directions. Land lords refuse to reduce rents much be cause they know that there are just sa many houses and so many people wia have to live somewhere-that is. untd they starve or freeze. State, county and local taxes could not be reduced without reducing the salaries of the of fcehOlders, and it is absurd to supposs. that our political friends are going tG vote lower taxes and lower salaries ts themselves.
 The other kind of taxes are internak revenue and tariff taxes. The internaS revenue taxes are mostly on liquors- aho tobdNNo. IL hOuiu Dt dusiS- able to reduce these much until ths tariff duties on the necessities oe fife are greatly reduced. These tariff taxes. which but few people know anything about, really constitute more than two thirds of all taxes paid by the average family. The total taxes of the average family are about $i25 year, of whic,a S10 goes for state and local taxes, $2J, for internal revenue and 800 for tariff taxes. Of the tariff taxes only about S15 goes to the government, the rel maining $15 going to the tariff trustsl and other protected interests.
 There is no good reason why this S7:,i a year of tariff taxes which goes to thet protected trusts should not be ta,:craf off. even when times are good amsi when wages are high. When wages, are low and men are out of work every. unnecessary burden sLonid certainIyi be lifted from labor's weak back. This burden can be frightened only by act off congress. and, unfortunately for t,tes workingmen, they have elected thet. wrong set of men to congress Tlie5 stand patters" are nov on deck in Washington, and they would see thu workingmen of this country sweat blood before they would think of offer ing relief that could be given only by stopping the graft of the trusts.
 So little do the Republicans at Wash ington care about the sufferings of tIIs people because of high tariff taxes for the benefit of trusts that President Roosevelt in his message to congress did not even mention the word tariff He last year joined the stand patters'' on the tariff. and the whole Republican outfit now says that the tariff should not be disturbed until after the next presidential election. Of course the 2 real reason for this docisicn is that the protected manufacturers have paid for the privilege of tariff taxing the people and will not consent to let go of this privilege. The Republicans might be willing to break faith with rhe trusts if they could next year look elsewhere than to these same trusts for a biz campaign fund. The Republicans hava never revised the tariff downward and probably never will do so while grass grows
 The outlook for worlingmen is not. rosy. There are two hard wintersl ahead, and the cost of living is about the highest ever known. thanks to thel trusts. which charge Us all the taridf will allow, but sell their goods to forl1 eigners at very low prices Possibly the voters may find out by Dext years how to reduce their taxes in the onlys way worth considering. but it is iIni probable that their burdens can bef frightened before 1907 for a Republican,, senate stands between the people and lower tariff taxes. It looks as if the workingman would have to be ground between those mill stones four years longer. Sorry, but it. is their own fault
 BYRON W. HOLT.