Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1896-11-13
MAJOR M'KINLEY SAYS POINT
EDLY THAT THE GOVERN
MENT DOES NOT.
u Neglected the Opportunity, How
svev. to Name the Power That Does,
ana 10 IL Hoped That He VIII Cor
rect the Oversight.

Ing as to how the government gets Its
money and how 1t pays it out. There
are some people who seem to believe
that the way the government gets its
money is to make it. The government
gets its money by taxation, and can
get It in no other way. 1t takes about
f430, 100000 year to conduct this gov
eminent. A million and one-third dol
lars for every day is required to keep
Its wheels in operation. Now II the
government had the power to make
money, as some people seem to Deileve'
or had the power to double the value
Of thing by its stamp or fiat, 1t would
not need to resort to taxation-lt would
simply set its minis to work and make
the necessary amount of money to pay
Its running expenses. 1t would nave
paid off the national debt long years
ago in this way. There Is announcer
thing I would have you all know
that the government cannot get gold
or silver except through the custom
houses or the internal revenue offices
without giving something for 1t, just
as you and have to give something
for it If we want gold or silver. Now
how does the government distribute
this money? Somebody asked me this
question the other day. The govern
ment distributes its annual receipts I'M
der appropriations Of congress to Its
creditors. That is the way the money
OF the government is distributed. 1t
is distributed to the army and the
navy, for public improvements, for riV-
ers and harbors, for the great postal
service of the country, for the expenses
of congress, for sustaining the judi
ciary, to pay the principal and interest
Of the public debt, and to pay the pen
sions of soldiers and to other creditors
of the government; and there is no
other way for the government to dis
tribute any money except to poy it to
the people to whom it owes money.
There is no such thing as general dis
tribution Of money by the government
Of the United States. The point l
want to make in the little talk l am
giving to you this morning is this
that the government does not create
money, that it can not create money
and that whatever money 1t needs 1t
has to collect from taxes, either by a
system of direct taxation or by a sys-
tenn of indirect taxation, known as
tariff land that if the government wants
to have any gold or silver minted for
its own uses it has to pay for that
gold and that silver just as you and
would have to pay for 1t If we wanted
it for our purposes. The idea that the
government can create wealth Is
mere myth. There is nothing that can
create wealth except labor"
This is plain, very plain, but plain
as it is, the major could have vastly
simplified matters if he had only given
his audience the name Of the power
that can and does create money"
Everybody knows that money exists,
and that in this country it is divided
into different denominations, as dimes,
dollars, cents, ETC., and everybody
knows, or at least everybody who has
attained to years of discretion, with the
usual complement Of sense, knows that
the individual who undertakes to "cre-
ate money" will speedily find himself
In the penitentiary, and that, too, by
the order of the very government
which the major says cannot and does
not "create money!
OF course, being great statesman,
the major knows the name of the
power that "creates money" and Of
rougse being a member of a Christian
church in good standing, he wouldn't
lie to the people, but while this all
follows as a matter of course, he, hav-
ing excited the curiosity Of the masses,
has a duty to perform in the premises,
and that is to tell them what power
"creates money" unless, in fine, the
knowledge they desire Is state Sc
cret." in which event they will have
to content themselves as they are, and
in which event 1t would really have
been much better for the interests he
represents, as well as much kinder to
the people, had he not mentioned the
matter at all. There are quite a good
many people who are really and truly
Of the belief that government does
"create money" and the majors hint
that they, being correct, the national
debt" might easily be paid and ma
tional taxes" dispensed with, instead
Of operating to convince them of their
folly, may suggest to them new meth
DDS of getting money into circulation.
Just think a moment what the adop-
ton of these ideas would mean to the
bond holding interest absorbing gen.
tlemen who buy $4,000 dogs and in
other ways encourage home industry
and home talent represented by the
gallant major! Why, dog that cal
be bought now for the Insignificant
sum of $4,000 would then cost at least
10000! and a handsome golf suit,
costing now $50, would advance in
price to not less than 5000, and that
would mean the utter destruction of
the dog trade and a very wet blanket