Bisbee daily review., 1904-05-17
ANXIOUS WORKING
The Cost of Living Does Moi
 Go Down With Wages.
HEAVY BURDEN OF TARIFF TAXES

Five-sixths of Those Taxes Go to Fat.
 ten the Trusts-should Come on as Once-Roosevelfs Message silent or
 the subject-workers Must Suffer
 Four Years Longer.
 The Journal of the Knights of Labor for November says: That most excellent and carefully edited labor paper, the National Labor Tribune of Pittsburg in it's last issue gives this pointer:
 Wages are expected to come dowr 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 should come down in proportion. Let rent and 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 deprer sions. They can unload on somebody else just as the manufacturer now un- 1 loads on them. When the demand for goods falls off and the manufacturers profits begin to diminish the manufac 1 turer reduces his working force or re l duces wages, or both. When the de mand for labor slackens and labor's earnings grow less, why cannot hs have his rent, taxes and other costs of living reduced accordingly? How nice 1t would be if he could pass this trou ble along.
 | But we fear that the workers will no, | 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 whc have to live somewhere-tbat is. until they starye or freeze. State, county and local taxes could not be reduced without reducing the salaries of the of E~eholders, and it is absurd to suppose that our political friends are going to vote lower taxes and lower salaries tc 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 i family. The total taxes of the average family are ab@dt $12J a year, of which | s10 goes for state and local taxes, S25 [ for internal revenue and S9O for tarin taxes. Of the .ariff taxes only about e15 goes to the government. the re maining s75 going to the tariff trusts and other protected interests.
 There is no good reason why this $7s year of tariff taxes which goes to the ] protected trusts should not be taken oil, even when times are good and when wages are high. When wages are low and men are out of work every unnecessary burden should certainly be lifted from iabor's weak back. This burden can be frightened only by act of congress, and, unfortunately for the workingmen, they have elected ths wrong set of men to congress. Th4 stand patters" are now on deck iD Washington. and they would see the workiDgmeD of this country sweat blood before they would think of offer. ing relief that could be given only by stopping tine graft of the trusts.
 So little do the Republicans at Wash ington 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" on tfre tariff. and the whole Republican outfit now says that the tariff should not be disturbed until after the next presidential election. Of conrse the real reason for this decision 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 the trusts tf they could next year look elsewhere than to these same trusts for a big campaign fund. The Republicans have never revised the tariff downward and probably never will do so while grass grows. The outlook for workingmen is not rosy. There are two hard winters ahead, and the cost of living is about the highest ever known, thanks to the trusts, which charge us all the tariff will allow. but sell their goods to for. eigners at very low prices. Possibly the voters may find out by next yeai how to reduce their taxes in the only way worth considering. but 1t is i'm probable that their burdens can be frightened before 1907, for a Republican senate stands between the people and lower tariff taxes.
 i It looks as if the workingman would have to be ground between those mill stones four years longer. Sorry. but ii is their own fault.