Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-10-11
From McKiniey's Speech in MiIwau-
kee October 9th.

"My fellow citizens, we have got
everything we had in 1892 but good
times. We have got the same dinner
pail we had then, but not so much
dinner in it. (Laughter) All, but
they say that their bill is better than
ours because it reduces tariffs. Well, it
does reduce duties. It does cut down
the tariff on nearly everything that we
import. That is true. But what does
it do it for? It tells you what it does it
for. 1t says it is done to increase the
revenue. Well we need it badly
enough. (Laughter.) But how can you
increase the revenue by reducing
duties? Did you ever ask yourself that
question? Why, yes, in one way, and
that is by increasing your purchases
from abroad. If you want to produce
more revenue with lower duties you
must import more foreign goods, mustn't
you? Take that tumbler for example
Exhibiting glass from the table, The
protective duty on that was 60 per cent.
for example. Every 500 worth of that
kind Of ware that came from Europe
put into the public treasury $50 Now
the Democratic tariff is 80 per cent.
Suppose you want to put $50 of revenue
into the public treasury under 80 per
cent duty. Then you will have to
import 5000 worth, won't you? One
hundred dollars worth under so per
cent; it makes $50. Two hundred
dollars worth under 80 per cent. duty
makes $50. So if you put the same
amount INTO the treasury under 80 per
cent. tariff as you do under 60 per cent.
you have got to import just twice as
many of these tumblers, haven't you?
and every tumbler you import into this
country displaces tumbler which
ought to be made and is now made by
an American workman. (Applause.)
For every additional shipload of this
kind Of ware you bring from Europe
you displace just that quantity that is
made in the United States, don't YOU?
And when you displace that quantity
you displace the number of American
Workmen who are required to make it,
don't you? And you put more money
into the public treasury, but you do it
at the expense of your own labor. ZAP
plause.) You put more money into the
public treasury, because you employ
foreign labor to make your glassware;
but while you are doing that your own
workmen are idle upon the Streets"
Our embarrassment is not with the
character Of money we have, or the
volume of money we have got, but how
to get it out into circulation among the
people. To get it into circulation
among the people we must have some
thing to sell which somebody wants and
which that somebody is able to pay for;
and no matter what we have got to sell,
if we can find nobody who wants it and
who can pay for it, we have got to keep
it; and if we keep it oyer and on hand
we lose in whole or in part what it costs
us to produce it; and as soon as we
have got great quantity on hand we
won't make any more of the same thing
and if we don't make any more Of it,
we won't employ any labor to help us
make it; and if We don't employ any
labor to hel p us make it, We won't pay
wages; and if we don't pay wages,
wages will be stopped and one great
factor in the distribution is stopped;
and if we had twice as much money as
we have got to-day, we would have 10
get it out by the same process. Now
ANYBODY who teaches any other
doctrine lisa false teacher" (Applause.)
''There are just two ways to maintain
the American Workshop for the Ameri-
can working man, TO preserve the
American market for the American
producer. One way is to put the tariff
on the foreign product that completes
with our own high enough to discourage
the foreign importation, and encourage
home production. (ApplaHse.) That
is the Republican way. The other
way to do it, and it will accomplish the
same thing, is to reduce the wages Of
labor so low in this country that no
other country can manufacture as
cheaply as we can. (Laughter.) In
that way we can keep the whole world
out. That is the Democratic, British,
free trade, revenue-for tariff, Brice-
Cleveland-Gorman way. Now I don't
know what you think about it here in
Milwaukee, but would ten thousands
times rather make it harder for the
foreign produce to get into this country
than to make it harder for the Ameri-
can citizen to live in this country