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A Supplement to A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents by William McKinley
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receipts, as has been the case during the past two years. Nor must
it be forgotten that however much such loans may temporarily relieve
the situation, the Government is still indebted for the amount of the
surplus thus accrued, which it must ultimately pay, while its ability
to pay is not strengthened, but weakened by a continued deficit. Loans
are imperative in great emergencies to preserve the Government or its
credit, but a failure to supply needed revenue in time of peace for
the maintenance of either has no justification.

The best way for the Government to maintain its credit is to pay as it
goes--not by resorting to loans, but by keeping out of debt--through an
adequate income secured by a system of taxation, external or internal,
or both. It is the settled policy of the Government, pursued from the
beginning and practised by all parties and Administrations, to raise the
bulk of our revenue from taxes upon foreign productions entering the
United States for sale and consumption, and avoiding, for the most part,
every form of direct taxation, except in time of war. The country is
clearly opposed to any needless additions to the subject of internal
taxation, and is committed by its latest popular utterance to the system
of tariff taxation. There can be no misunderstanding, either, about the
principle upon which this tariff taxation shall be levied. Nothing has
ever been made plainer at a general election than that the controlling
principle in the raising of revenue from duties on imports is zealous
care for American interests and American labor. The people have declared
that such legislation should be had as will give ample protection and
encouragement to the industries and the development of our country.
It is, therefore, earnestly hoped and expected that Congress will, at
the earliest practicable moment, enact revenue legislation that shall
be fair, reasonable, conservative, and just, and which, while supplying
sufficient revenue for public purposes, will still be signally
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