The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-28
GOOD TARIFF ARGUMENT.
Speech to a Delegation of Working
men from Cleveland.

speech to Delegation of Working
men from Cleveland.
In response to an address by William Nc
Kenzie in behalf of the Upson Nut Com
pany Lamson G. Sessions and the Peck,
Stowe & Wilcox Sound money clubs, of
Cleveland, Major Mckinley spoke as fol-
lows:
MY Fehow-citizens-I give sincere well
come to the representatives of the three
corporations of the city of Cleveland, for
which your spokesman has already pre-
Sehted assurances OF goou Will and sup
port. / have observed in the course of this
campaign The great interest which the men
OF toll have for the rightful settlement of
the questions which are presented to the
American people for their ballots this year.
do not know of any portion of our pop
personally, more vitality interested in the
success of right principles than the men
who depend upon their daily toll for liv
ing:
'This whole question of American devel-
opment is to a larger degree a question of
labor than anything else. We have in this
country just good machinery as they
have in Europe and just skilled work
ingmen; workingmen that possess as much
inventive genius as can be found In the
world and the only reason we want tariff
aside from revenue purposes is to protect
the American workingfnen and the Ameri-
can scale of wages against the cheap labor
and the low rate of wages prevailing in
other parts of the world. have always be-
lieved that it was true craftsmanship to
adopt that policy that would give to labor
and American citizenship just high
reward for it's toll as possible. 1 have
never believed that free trade or partial
free trade would be a. good thing for the
United States, for l have always recognized
the old world and the new. have always
recognized, what every thoughtful man
must recognize, that free trade would open
up our markets to foreign products as free
ly as to American products and that this
would mean idleness or cheap wages to our
workingmen and that this would bring our
standard down to the European standard.
To this l have always stood and will al
ways stand unalterably opposed.
II believe it is the business of every ma
ton to work out the highest destiny of it's
own people. We are a peculiar nation, diff
ferent from any other in the world in this,
that every man in our country is given a
voice in the control of the government. We
must, therefore, have, as far ae possible,
free and independent citizenship, which
cannot come with extreme poverty and re-
duced wages, but must come with better
wages that will give us better homes and
more cheer and comfort Ours is a govern
ment that cannot afford TO divide its
people into classes. 1t cannot afford to
array one part against the other: it cannot
afford to array one section against another,
because are all equal citizens and have
oar people are, the heeter citizens they
are, and the better citizens we have the
lie life, in talking to my friends and neigh
bors, [ have insisted upon tariff high
enough to protect American products
against those foreign products which COM
pete with them, and to make UP the diff
ference between the wages paid in Europe
and those paid in America.
You have tried the other policy. Since
1861 we have been living, until 1924, under a
protective tariff, when a change was made
under the new administration. So 1t was
hard for the people to believe that industri-
al conditions had anything to do with
wages; but they have discovered, in the
last three years and half that cheap
foreign goods and labor displace American
goods and labor and the American work
ngman You have the best argument in
the world that mint from @
perience. This government cannot get on
without money. 1t takes more than IA mil
lion dollars every twenty -four hours to
run the government. and the only way to
products or by direct taxation of our peo-
pie upon their incomes, wages and lands.
Is there any question about how best to
raise the money to run this government?
1t is better TO tax the products of other
people than our own, and SO protect our
own people, shops and manufacturers. You
will have opportunity to settle that
question by your votes next Tuesday, for
this is a government that rests upon the
next Tuesday so will our governmental pol
icy be for the next four years.
Besides, we want to advise the whole
world that we are not a nation of reDudi-
ators. We want. when we have worked a
full day, to be paid in full dollars. that
are any Of YOU of foreign birth who want
to send a little back to the old folks in
your fatherland. you want to be sure that
it is just good there as in the United
States. Then we want. by policy of
sound money and protective tariff, to re-
store confidence to the business world; and
you cannot restore confidence to the bust
ness world by threatening the reputation
of our debts.
II have talked longer than I had any
idea of doing, but, looking into your earn
est faces, / could not help feeling that
you intend to vote next Tuesday what in
your own conscience you consider best-not
for my party. not for me. but for your
selves and your common country.