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Show THE MERCHANTS' LICENSE. Its Repeal Would Be a Graceful Act on the Part of the City Council. In regard to the merchants' license, Mr. Louis Cohn, of the well-known firm of Cohn Bros., this morning said: "The repeal of the merchants' license at this time would be a graceful act on the part of the city council, and quite opportune, coming as it would right on the heels of the payment of the city, county and territorial taxes. The public does not realize what an enormous strain this has been on the merchant mer-chant class, and I do not blame my friends for putting on their fighting clothes when they are called upon to pay perhaps $100 for a license right after they have drawn their checks for f 1200 or more for annual taxes, and then on top of that $100 for a water tax. "The average merchant is harrassed beyond be-yond endurance; every kind of public charity char-ity is more or less dependent on the merchant mer-chant class for its principal support. Rents, too, have been "boomed" up to figures so enormously high that no legitimate business can pay. I understand that all the larger cities of the country have lonjr ago abolished abol-ished the merchants' license. I am of the opinion that this is the proper time to take the same step here, and I venture to predict that it will be taken on aext Tuesday evening." |