The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-13
WHAT LINCOLN WAS
TRIBUTES ON HIS BIRTHDAY TO
THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Particular Stress Laid at This Juncture
Upon HIS Genius as a Master of Eco
nomIc Questions Utterances on the
Principle and Policy of Protection
Quoted by the Greatest Exponent of the
Doctrine In This Day-LincoIn's Part in
Shaping the Republican Psrty-Tributes
From other Noted Speakers
Chicago, Feb. 12.-When William Nc
Kinley arose 10 speak tonight at the
banquet in the Auditorium given by the
Marquette club, in commemoration of
. the birth of Abraham Lincoln, 1900
men cheered the Ohioan with the vehe-
mence of enthusiastic admirat ton.
1t was the tenth annual banquet CIV
| sn by the club, and it was intended
! that there should be 200 guests. More
than that number, by 800, came and an
overflow banquet was necessary.Ihe
guest of honor was Mr.. Mckinley. He
! spoke to the toast abraham Lincoln
The occasion was particularly nota-
ble as the first public appearance OF
/ Ohio's famous son in another state
since his return from the governorship
| to a private citizen.
Among those at the speakers table
/ besides Mr.. Mckinley were the Repub-
| licaln governor of Wisconsin and the
Republican senators from Nebraska
/ and North Carolina.
At every reference 10 the name of
KMcKinley. or the word protection"
outbursts of cheering followed. The
address Of the ex-governor was a char
acteristically magnificent piece of ora
tory.
After giving a comprehensive sketch
and tribute TO Lincoln, in which allu-
sion is made to the principal events in
his life, Major Mckinley devoted him.
self 70 a consideration Of corrupt pOliti-
cal question, as exemplified by the
speeches and writings Of MIR. Lincoln.
He said:
"a profound common sense is the
best genius for craftsmanship, and
/ there IS no substitute for it. Lincoln is
certainly the most sagacious and far
seeing statesman in the annals of our
American history. His whole life JUS
titles this estimate of him. It IS no.
table that his stand en all public ques-
tiOns in his earlier as well a his later
career stamp him as the wisest expo
nent of political truths We have ever
had.
witnessing the government as we
do today, with it's debt-incre3 sing, bond
issuing, gold-depleting, labor-destroy-
ing, low-tariff policy, with what mighty
force the words Of Lincoln written more
than half a century ago, come TO US IN
this hour and emergency! They read
as II written for the living present, not
Tor the past. Why, do you know, that
IS far back as March /, 1913, at a Wing
meeting in Springfield, Mr.. Lincoln Of
fered a series Of resolutions relating to
the tariff, which could be well accepted
here tonight? They were then IN
stantly and unanimously adopted, and
Mr.. Lincoln was himself appointed to
prepare an address to the people Of the
state upon the subjects which they en-
braced. Let me read from this ad-
dress his profound observations upon
tariff and taxation and their relation to
the condition Of the country.
The first Of our resolutions said
Mr.. Lincoln, declares a tariff of duties
upon foreign impOrtations, producing
sufficient revenue for the support of
tine general government and so adjust
ed as to protect American industry, to
be indespe nsably necessary to the pros
pertty Of the American people; and the
second declares direct taxation for a
national revenue to be improper.
For several years past the revenues
Of the government have been unequal
to its expenditures, and consequently
loan after loan, sometimes direct and
sometimes indirect in form, has been
resorted to. BY this means a new ma
tional debt has been created, and is still
growing on US with a rapidity fearful
TO contemplate rapidity only reason
ably to be expected in time Of war. This
state OF things has been produced by
prevailing unwillingnesS either to in
crease the tariff or to resor 10 direct
taxation. But the one or The other
must come. Coming expenditures must
be met. and the present debt must be
paid; and money cannot always be Dor
rowed for these objects. The system
Of loans is but temporary in its nature,
and must soon explode. 1t is a sys-
TEN not only ruinous while it lasts, but
one that must soon fail and leave us
destitute As an individual who I'M
dertakes to live by borrowing soon finds
his original means devOured by interest
end, next, no one left to borrow from,
so must il be with the government.
We repeat. then, that a tariff suffi
Client for revenue. or direct tax, must
soon be resOrted 10, and indeed, We be-
lleve this alternative is now denied by
one. But which system shall be adopt
ed? Some of our opponents, in theory,
admit the propriety Of a tariff sufIl-
Gent FOR revenue; but even then they
VIII not in practice vote for such a
tariff; while others boldly advocate d.
rect taxation. Inasmuch, therefore,
as some Of them boldly advocate direct
taxation, and all the rest--Or so nearly
all as t. make exceptions needless-re-
fuse to adopt the tariff. We think Ii do
ing them ne injustice 10 class them as
advocates of direct taxation. Indeed,
we believe they are only delaying an
open avOwal Of the system, till they
can assure themselves that the people
will tolerate il. Let us then briefly
compare the two systems. The tariff
is the cheaper system because the du-
ties, being collected in large paroles a.
a few commercial points. viii require
comparatively few officers in their col
lection; while by the direct tax system
the land must be literally covered with
assessors and collectors. going forth
Ike swarms Of Egyptian locusJs devou-
ing every blade Of grass and other
ST55n thing.
BY this system (the pToteCtivel the
man who contents himself to live upon
The products. Of his own country pays
nothing at all Surely our country il
extensive enough and its products
abundant ana varied enough, 70 answer
all the real wants OF its people. In short.
by the protective system the burden Of
revenue falls almost entirely upon the
wealthy and luxurious few, while the
<rSSr NTr