The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-08
SPEECH TO INDIANIANS.
Mckinley Tells the GoodIand DeIeEa-
tion How Wealth Is Created.
Major McKinleys brief speech to the In
diana delegation follows:

Maj jor McKinley's brief speech to the IN
diana delegation follows:
MY Fellow-citizens of Goodland, Ind;-It
gives me great pleasure to meet you here
at my home this morning 1t is always
a distinction to have Il political organiza-
ton adopt ones name. 1t IS especially
gratifying to me to be assured that if you
are not the first club in the United States
to give me that honor. You are certainly
tile first in the State of Indiana and thank
you for 1t.
1--WE are engaged this year in d great ma
tiolial contest, the result of which will de-
termine for years to come the public poll
cies which shall govern this country. Gov
ernment is always an interesting study.
There is d deal of misunderstanding as TO
how the government gets its money and
how it pays it out. There are some people
who seem to believe that the way the
government gets its money is to make it,
Government gets its money by taxation,
and can get it no other way. There are
three or four sources from which the gov
ernment of the United States gets money.
The chief sources of revenue are through
government gets some money from the sale
of it's public lands and from its postal
service and from the several sources there
comes the money that is annually required
to meet and discharge the public expenses.
1t takes about S43o 000 900 a year to conduct
this government. A million and one third
dollars for every day are required to keep
its wheels in operation Now, If the gov
ernment had the power 10 make money,
as some people seem 70 believe, Or had the
power to double the value of thing by
it's stamp fiat, it would not resort to taxa
t1On--lt would simply set lis mint TO WOrk
and make the necessary amount of money
to pay its running expenses. 1t could have
paid off the national debt long years ago
in this way
There is another thing would have you
all know, that the government cannot get
gold or silver except through the custom
houses or the internal revenue offices with
out giving something for it, just as you
and l have to give something for 1t if We
want gold silver
Nov. how does the government distrfb-
butte this money? Somebody asked me this
question the other day. The government
distributes its annual receipts under APP
pYopriations of Congress TO its creditors.
That is the way the money of the govern
ment is distributed Il is distributed to the
nents, for rivers and harbors. for the great
postal service of the country. for the ex-
penses of Congress, for sustaining the
judiciary, to pay the principal and interest
of the public debt and to pay the PEN
sions of soldiers and TO the other creditors
of the government. and there is no other
way for the government to distribute any
money except to pay it to the people to
whom it owes money. There Is no such
thing as q general distribution OF money
by the government of the United States.
The point / want to make in the little
talk I am giving to YOU this morning is
this. that the government does not create
money that it cannot create money, and
that whatever money it needs it has To col
lect from taxes either by system Of direct
taxation or by a system of indirect taxa
ernment wants to have any gold and silver
nlinted for its own uses 1t has to pay for
that gold and that Sl1yef lust as you and
/ would have 90 pay for it if we wanted
it fer our purposes.
''rrhe idea that the government can cre-
ate wealth is a mere myth. There is Moth
ing that can create wealth except labor as
my friend 70 the right puts it,
Now. the best way to get this money
is Of the serious questions in this cam
paign. 1t is easier to raise il BY direct tax
alton, by taxing the people IN their oceu-
pations. on their property and on their
lands, but is il not better TO raise it by
putting the tax upon the foreign products
that come into this country TO seek 4 mar
ket in the United States. tApplause and
cries of You are right Majort) The latter
is the policy and purpose of the Republican
party. The Republican party believes that