This letter is in regards to the editorial "Wage law good for Chicago" July 28. This kind of law in Chicago and other cities and your defense of it, besides violating the rights of citizens to choose for themselves who to work for and trade with, is also very shortsighted. What if Wal-Mart and other stores agree to pay such artificially high wages? The small businesses this law claims to be protecting will not be able to compete with such wages. Why would employees choose to work for minimum wage at a smaller store when they can make roughly double that working at Wal-Mart and get some benefits besides? I can't think of a better way to destroy small business than by passing such laws as these.