Bisbee daily review., 1904-02-20
ANXIOUS WORKING MEN.
The Cost of Living Does Not
 Go Down With Wages.
HEAVY BURDEN OF TARIFF TAKE;

i Five-sIxths of Those Taxes Go to Fat.
 ten the Trusts-ShouId Come on as Once-Rooseveit's Message Silent OF
 the Subjcct-Workers Must Suffer Four Years Longer.
 The Journal of the Knights of Laboi 1 for November says: That most excellent | and carefully edited labor paper, the ! National Labor Tribune of Pittsburg in its last issue gives this pointer: Wages are expected to come dowE
 Rt 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 should come down in proportion. Let rent anG
 taxes both be lowered if the working.
 man is not to be ground between the upper and the neither millstones." Apparently a new idea has occurred
 to these labor papers. If it can be
 made to work, the wage earners will not in future have to carry the heavier end of the burden of industrial depree,
 siOns. They can unload on somebody
 else, just as the manufacturer now un-
 loads on them. When the demand for
 goods falls off and the manufacturers
 profits begin to diminish the manufac.
 turer reduces his working force or re
 duces wages, or both. When the de
 mand for labor slackens and labors earnings grow less. why cannot inc have his rent, taxes and other costs of living reduced accordingly? How nice it would be if he could pass this trou- ble along.
 But we fear that the workers will not get relief in these directions Land lords refuse to reduce rents much be cause they know that there are just as many houses and so many people who have to live somewhere-that is, until 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 suppose that our political friends are going to vote lower taxes and lower salaries to themselves.
 The other kind of taxes are internal revenue and tariff taxes. The internal revenue taxes are mostly on liquors and tobacco. It would hardly be advis- able to reduce these much until the tariff duties on the necessities of life 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 S125 a year, of which, SlO goes for state and local taxes, $2. for internal revenue and 800 for tarifI taxes. Of the tariff taxes only about Sl5 goes to the government. the re- maining $IJ going to the tariff trusts and other protected interests. T
 There is no good reason why this S1a year of tariff taxes which goes to the protected trusts should not be taken off, even when times are good and when wages are high. When wagesi are low and men are out of work every unnecessary burden should certainly be lifted from labor's weak back. Thisi burden can be frightened only by act of congress, and, unfortunately for the. workingmen. they have elected the wrong set of men to congress. The stand patters" are now on deck in Washington. and they would see the of this country sweat blood before they would think of offer ing relief that could be given only by the graft of the trusts
 So little do the Republicans at Wash lngton care about the sufferings of the 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' )n 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 real reason for this decision is that the protected manufacturers have paid for the privilege of tariff taxing the people md will not consent to let go of this privilege. The Republicans might be willing to break faith with the trusts if hey could next year look elsewhere han to these same trusts for biz fund. The Republicans have lever revised the tariff downward and never will do so while grass ;rows.
 The outlook for workingmen is not 'osy. There are two hard wintersE head, and the cost of living is about be highest ever known, thanks to the| rusts, which charge us all the tariff. will allow, but sell their goods to forf igncrs at very low prices Possibly, he voters may find out by next year. LOW to reduce their taxes in the only vay worth considering. but it is i'm robable that their burdens can be ghtened before 1907. for Republican, enate stands between the people and. ower tariff taxes.
 It looks as if the workingman would ave to be ground between those miu- tones four years longer. Sorry. but it , their own fault
 BYRON W. HOLT.