The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-25
FIRST SPEECH OF THE DAY.
Major Mckinley Discusses Protection
and Sound Money.

Hon. W. S. Vandyke spoke for the West
Newton division of the Westmoreand del
egation, and Mr.. Mckinley responded in
these words:
Mr.. Vandyke, and my Fellow-citizens-
L had not expected to meet the people of
Westmoreland county in sections. L had
supposed that you would come to me to-
day in united body and that L might have
an opportunity OF addressing you all to-
gether, but il seems there are SO many
Il journey they have to come in sections.
daughter and cries of That's SOD There
is sort of objection to being divided
now, but | trust that the third day of
November you will all be united. (Cries of
We will!D 1 count it very great personal
pleasure to meet and greet the people of
West Newton. / recall your busy and en-
terprising city with great satisfaction; l
remember the only. visit ever paid to you,
and that time L found your city one of
the most active and the most prosperous
IN the whole country. | regret to hear
from your spokesman that all that has
changed. and where plenty and prosperity
then presided, want and despair now sit
Andrthat naturally leads to the inquiry,
whata has occasioned it? That is the
thought in every mans mind; that is the
question in every mans thought. We
have the same country that had four
years ago; we have the same splendid re-
cources; the same farms. the fac
tories; the same mines; the same sturdy
enterprising people that he had then; and
what is the reason have not the same
prosperity now? The reason is not hard
For more than thirty years we lived in
this country under protective tariff; q
tariff that protected and encouraged Ameri-
can industry tariff that made US in that
period of time the greatest Nation in the
world in manufacturing, in mining and in
agriculture a system that protected every
thing made in this country against
similar things made in Europe; a protection
to every American interest against con-
fiicting foreign interests. Now that pro-
lection has been partially removed and
when the people of this country, in 1892.
decreed that there was to be a change of
policy and that we were TO go from a
protective policy to a partial free-trado
policy, or a revenue tariff policy, then I'M
certainty hung over this country and no
man knew what to do. No man could
count on what the future would bring: no
man knew when he mined coal how much
he would get for it; no man knew when
he put the raw material into one end of the
factory how much he could get for it when
he went out at the other; and on account
of the uncertainty which hung over us be-
cause of the anticipated competition from
other countries, the business OF this conn-
try was at once depressed and for four
years we have been suffering because our
industries We're not prosperous, ana Whlle
our own industries were not prosperous,
the industries of other countries were.
Nov / am one OF thCae no DelieVe that
il is the business of this country to make
laws for the benefit of this country. Gap
plause) l believe the business of this free
government is to preserve the American
market to the American producer, whether
in the factory or on the farm and to pre-
serve the American mines and American
factories for the American Workingmen.
(Cries of That's right ard applause.) And
that is all there is of a protective tariff
We want enough tariff in this country put
upon foreign goods that compete with ours
10 make up the difference between the
wages paid labor in Europe and the wages
paid labor in the United States. CTremen-
dous applause.) We want the difference be-
tween American conditions and European
conditions made up by q protective tariff
upon a foreign product that competes with
the American product. That is the policy
pursued by the Republican party ever since
IL came into power.
Then, we want. my fellow-citizens. to