pay everything he owes, the creditors will allow him to keep his business
going taking the greater part of his earnings for his debts until he has
paid them all off. But whichever way his affairs are settled, the man who
owes money is the unhappy slave of his creditors until his last debts are
paid.

The affairs of a country are precisely the same as those of an individual,
and President McKinley, understanding well what must happen unless some
change is made, is doing his best to save us from the unhappy position of
a poor debtor.

He is prudently trying to stop the trouble before it gets the mastery of
us.

A country is different from an individual in the fact that there are
certain expenses that are not exactly necessary, and yet which must be
provided for, for the honor of the country. A man who is in money
difficulties can cut down his expenses to the mere cost of food, house,
and clothes. In this way a man is better off than a country. But, on the
other hand, a man can only earn just so much money; he cannot force people
to buy his goods, or pay him better prices; he has to do the best he can
with what he can earn; while a country can, by taxes, force people to give
it the money it needs, and so it is better off than an individual.

Some of the expenses of a country that must be met are the salaries of all
the officers who preserve law and order, the judges, soldiers, sailors,
and the police; the pensions of the old soldiers, and of their families;
the building of forts and warships, and of the guns to arm them; the
making and issuing of money, and the handling and delivering of letters.