debts we owe,
and so we are obliged to borrow gold from these foreign countries at
ruinous interest, to pay back again to them.

President McKinley hopes that we may arrange with other countries to take
silver or gold equally the one with the other, just whichever happens to
be most plentiful at the time.

He went on to say that we must be economical, and try to reduce our
national debt, and that the Government should not be allowed to spend more
than its income, but that if it was necessary to increase the income to
meet the just expenses of pensions for soldiers and sailors who had fought
for us, and for the widows and orphans of the brave men who died for our
country, he thought the money should not be raised by loans, which put the
country still more deeply into debt, but by taxes, whereby each man could
take his share of the expense of the Government which protected his home.

He then spoke about the _Tariff_, and said that the tariff laws which he
hoped to see made would bring in enough money to supply all needs, without
directly taxing the people--which was a thing he did not approve of,
except in time of war. The tariff is a tax put on all foreign products
brought into this country.

He then touched upon _Trusts_, and very severely, too. He approved
entirely of the efforts that had been made by Mr. Cleveland's Government
to suppress trusts, and he said that his Government would follow
steadfastly in its footsteps--enforcing the laws that already existed, and
making such new ones as were necessary.

He spoke about _Immigration_. President Cleveland vetoed the immigration
bill, about which we were speaking; but President McKinley approves of
restricting immigration, and will probably sign the bill if it is brought
before him.

One very interesting point that he touched on was the subject of _American
Merchant Marine_.

At the present time we have so few of our own ships sailing the seas, that
we can be said to have no merchant marine at all. The ships that crowd our
ports are from foreign countries.

President McKinley said he would like Congress to take the matter in hand,
and assist in restoring our merchant navy to its former greatness.

Then he spoke on _Foreign Policy_. This is also a very interesting
subject, because it shows us the attitude President McKinley will take
toward poor little Cuba.

He said he believed in peace and friendship with other countries, and that
war should never be entere