The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-24
NOTABLE SPEECH.
McF<inIey's Talk to Railway Men ant
Others from Kansas.

Nick KinIey's Talk to Railway Men and
Others from Kansas.
To the delegation from Topeka, Kan,
which was introduced by 4. M. Baird, Ma
jor Mckinley said:
My Fellow-citizens of Kansas-This is
indeed a very great pleasure to me. You
have journeyed farther than any other dele
CATION of the United States that has hon.
ored me with visit at my home, and |
appreciated your call more than | can find
any words that Could be uttered by any
man what is in your mlnds ana hearts, ana
what your purposes are t9udn1ng dl &c tne @ eaeo
ber. You are interested In the prosperity
of your country There was time when
some men were in the habit of saying that
it did not make any difference to the rail-
road men of the country whom you repre-
sent what kind of financial legislation we
had or what kind of a tariff policy we
pursued in the United States l have heard
it said a thousand times from the public
rostrum that while the tariff might help
the men engaged in the factories it had
no influence upon the wages OF the men
who were enga ged upon the great transpor-
tation lines 6f the country. If any of you
believed that statement tour years ago you
do not believe it now. because you know
that upon the general prosperity of the
country depends the prosperity of our great
railroads and upon their prosperity depends
your employment and wages. You Will
have nothing to do if there is nothing to
haul, and the more there IS to haul, the
more and steadier employment. you Will
have and the better wages you VIII get Tor
yourselves and families.
In the last three years and half no
character of property has suffered cred more el,e
been compelled to go into bankruptcy, into
the hands of receivers. Many of them have
been unable to pay either their bonds or
the interest on them; and that is only, be-
cause the change of 1892 settled paralysis
upon the business of the United States
Now what we want to do is to get back
our prosperity. Whatever will do that Is
what all of us ought to be IN favor or no
| hn
tions and enployments. A number of rea-
sons are offered fCf this congested condi-
scriptions are offered for it's cure. The
most prominent one is that we VIII all be
made prosperous and happy If we only open
up our mints to the coinage OF all the silver
in the world. Can any workingman or en-
poye of the Santa Fe system tell me how
the free coinage of the silver of the world
traffic or transportation? WIN it increase
consumers in the East OF On, me Proaaets t6a 0a
demand for a single days labor anywhere?
Will it increase the wages OF any working
men to have this government declare that
the pieces of silver that you can buy any
where in the world for 81 cents shall be
coined as dollars by the. government with
ing them dollars? VIII that help anybody?
Will that help any American interest any
where? All it will do will viii be e to g. increase erid
and with the increased production OF silver
will come its certain depreciation, and
still further depreciation of the silver coins
of the United States. Surely no man wants
that. :.
'It is not the nints we want to start 1t
is the great industrial enterprises of the
United States that must start. You are
prosperous when every factory in the coun-
try is busy and every workingman en-
ployed, making products in the East that
are shipped % ito to st tRe Me ha aa and sbpped TO
the East And what we want is, first
market for the products of the great " est,
I~o,1 t1,,oc.a I'M
the West to the Eastern shore and not have
products sent tham from the other side of
the Atlantic. You want that as ihteresteo
railroad men, but you do not want cheap
dollar, anyhow. This is not a cheap coun-
try Ca voice, And his is not a cheap
crowd!D, and, as my Trend says, this is not
a cheap crowd. crowd that will journey
more than a thousand miles, give up more
than twenty-four hours of time to make
future prosperity of our common country,
which all of US love so well.
II do not know of any patriotic citizen
who wants us to adopt the financial system
of either Mexico or China. We have to-day
lar, the silver dollar, the paper dollar. each
worth one hundred cents, because each has
the government of the United States be-
US. and we have enough of it. but the
trouble is it doesn't circulate Everybody
that has 800 is boarding it. for he doesn't
know what the future is going to bring.
There is not a man in the audience who
has 800 that is willing to loan it out unless
he is certain he will get it back, principal
and interest. Is not that so? There is not
railroad employe Of the United States
on to it until he knows what the future
currency of the United States is to be-.
LAS you feel in regard to your savings.
so the men with thousands and millions of
dollars under control are unwilling to part
with that money so long as there is a great
party in this country threatening to
pudiate not only debts public. but debts
private. and, as | have said before, money
does not make business: business makes
Money does not bring work work
my public life I have been advocat-
tect the American producer against the
cheaper products of other countries and
policy that protected and defended the
American workshop against the products
of the alien or the stranger. who comes
from another land and owes no ALLEGIANCE
to the flag of our country and contributes
not dollar in taxation to the support of
this great government of ours.
There is no place. my fellow-citizens,
like home. and the United States is
home, and it is blessed home-the best
beneath the sun. 1t is our business to
make our home an ideal one and for a
third Of century. the United States was an
every occupation. We abandoned the
splendid policy three years and half ago.
and when we ned it we
want to do to-day is to get them back
again. How can we get them back? You
can get them back by steadily and firmly
setting your faces against the doctrine of
repudiating the public or private debts of
the country and against the debasement
of it's currency. and by voting for the res
toration of the policy that will not only
protect every American citizen and invest
ment but will put enough money into the
public treasury every twenty-four hours to
nay every debt of the government of the
United States.
Now. my fellow-citizens, I have talked
TO you as long as | ought. Other delega-
tons are coming. What will Kansas do on
the Sd day of November? (Here the crowd
shouted: Kansas! Kansas, Rip, Ra. Rel
She is for McKinlee! Tremendous ap-
for, the returns on the evening of Nov. 3.
and do not doubt for single instant that
the glorious old State of Kansas will vote
on the side of country. on the side of public
honor. and on the si6e of a public policy
that looks after our own interests and LET'S
other nations take care of themselves. 7
thank you all, and it, will give me extreme
pleasure TO grasp each of you by the hand
(Three rip-roaring cheers We're then eix,an
for The next President of the United