OCR Text |
Show MKIll'liA.NT LICKVSK. In his annual report to the mayor and council Treasurer Wai.ddn advocated the abolishing of the merchants license. His reasons for this change were fully set forth, and the council w ill do well to carefully weigh them. Further, L'D'J merchants of the city have endorsed his recommendation by petition to the council; tho entire press of the city regardless re-gardless of politics has approved of it, and the chamber of commerce voluntarily volun-tarily communicated to the council its hearty endorsement. In other words, an informal demand has been made by tho people upon the council to relievo re-lievo our merchants of this unfair tax upon their enterprise'. I'nforlunately, few members of tho council are merchants, merch-ants, and consequently they are ill prepared pre-pared to appreciate tho leel'mg in this mailer. While other inequalities may yet exist ex-ist in tho matter of city license, nil of which aro susceptible to adjustment as time rolls on, it is ovidctit the treasurer has taken up the greater evils, nnd desires de-sires that they should take precedence in the action of the council. In reaching reach-ing out for trade Salt Lake's competitors competit-ors are Missouri river cities Chicago, San Francisco, St. Louis aud Denver, none of w hich charge a merchant's license. li-cense. Our merchants today are paying pay-ing a double tax. Tho principle is neither democratic uor republican, liberal nor mormon. Tr.o system sys-tem was instituted by our city fathers in the primeval days of yore. aud should be abolished now, as times have changed. With the light, before us we believe thu treasurer's position is unassailable, and in tho interest of progress. If the council wills otherwise, if it insists that our merchants shall still bo placed under this unfair discrimination, discrimina-tion, it should vouchsafe us a reason therefor, a reason at once terse and convincing, and fully borne out by fact3. |