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Memorial CUttion
COMPLETE LIFE OF
William McKinley
AND
/
Story of His Assassination
AN AUTHENTIC AND OFFICIAL MEMORIAL EDITION, CONTAINING
EVERY INCIDENT IN THE CAREER OF THE IMMORTAL
STATESMAN, SOLDIER, ORATOR AND PATRIOT
BY
MARSHALL EVERETT
The Great Descriptive Writer and Friend of the Martyr President
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH FULL-PAGE
PHOTOGRAPHS OF
THE ASSASSINATION SCENE
Portraits of President McKinley, His Cabinet, Famous Men of His
Adminstration and Vivid Life-Like Pictures of Eventful
Scenes in His Great and Grand Career
Copyright 1901 by Maisliall Everett
,\^
• 1
PREFACE.
No figure of modern American history appeals so strongly to the patriot-
ism and love of the American people as William McKinley, and no volume
can have greater interest and value at the present day, or be more dearly
prized, than a history of his life in which every event of his great career as a
noble youth, a gallant soldier, an able lawyer, a brilliant orator, a grand
statesman, a brave patriot and an heroic martyr is set forth accurately, and
in a spirit of love and reverence.
The author of this memorial edition has produced exactly the volume
described.
In graphic words he has described the assassination of President Mc-
Kinley. It is a word picture that will linger forever in the memory of every
reader, calling forth sympathy and patriotism on behalf of the martyr Presi-
dent and undying contempt and horror of the assassin and the foul and
cowardly thing called anarchy. Every detail of that now historic scene is
told so vividly that the reader sees it as if he were an eye-witness.
McKinley's gallant fight for life, his cheerfulness, his patience, his tender
solicitude for his invalid wife, his trust in God and all the beautiful attributes
of his grand Christian spirit are recorded with fidelity to truth and a just
appreciation of the nobility of such a grand character.
Nothing in history is more touching and beautiful than the author's de-
scription of the death-bed scene of President McKinley — the tender parting
of devoted husband and loving, clinging wife, and the noble resignation of
the dying man to the will of the Creator as expressed in the last words he
uttered, addressed to his sorrowing wife: "God's will, not ours, be done!"
Another chapter describes the efforts of surgical and medical science to
save and prolong the life so dear to the nation.
With the closing of the last chapters of that fearful scene at Buffalo, the
painless death and the national funeral services, the author takes up the boy-
hood hfe of William McKinley and follows it step by step, up, up and ever
upward to the very summit of his greatness when he fell a martyr to liberty
and lawful government.
His early Christian training by his noble mother— -"Mother McKinley"
3
4 OPREFACE.
as the whole nation learned to call her — who lived to see her boy in the White
House, and all the events which went to shape his character are depicted
with interest.
Next in order is his career as a soldier in the Civil War — in which the
author gives every thrilling incident and exciting experience in which
William McKinley figured during that great struggle. Later, it is told how
in after years he did so much to reunite the sections of his country and wipe
out all bitter memory of that war between brothers.
As a congressman, governor and President, nothing is omitted in this
history that is a part of the life of this great American statesman. The his-
tory of his campaigns and administrations is given in full, together with his
management of the Spanish war, *the policy of expansion, the growth of
national commerce and all the other great achievements and policies that
were a part of his life work.
In other words, this volume is exactly what it purports to be, a COM-
PLETE life of William McKinley.
The beautiful illustrations in this volume have been made from actual
photographs, and reproduced by the well-known half-tone process. There
are hundreds of scenes of interest in the life, death and funeral of President
McKinley. The pictures of the assassination, the death-bed scene and the
places and people of the great tragedy are true to life in every particular and
have an historic interest and value for every American citizen.
This volume is in every respect truly a memorial edition of the Complete
Life of William McKinley, whose memory will ever remain in the minds of
loyal Americans inseparably associated with his two fellow martyr-Presi-
dents, Lincoln and Garfield, and the record of whose patriotic and noble life
is contained herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
A graphic and vivid description of the Shooting of the President by Leon Czolgosz,
an Anarchist, at the Pan-American Exposition, Bufifalo — Two shots fired from a
derringer concealed by the assassin under a handkerchief which looked like a
bandage — Different accounts by eye-witnesses — Assassin seized by James F. Parker,
a colored man — Saved from the mob by the President's words, "Let no one hurt
him" — Scenes among the horror-stricken crowds in the Temple of Music — The
President taken on a gallop to the Emergency Hospital — Description of his
wounds — How the great man bore the ordeal 33
CHAPTER II.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
The fateful week at the house of President Milburn of the Exposition where President
McKinley lay wounded — His coolness, bravery and cheerfulness — Physicians and
country hopeful — President shows signs of recovery — How he was nourished —
Scenes in the President's apartment — His sudden relapse — Hopes of the nation
dashed by the news 41
CHAPTER III.
DEATHBED SCENE OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
Friends and officials called back — President regains consciousness after first relapse —
Pathetic parting between the President and Mrs. McKinley — The farewell Kiss —
"God's will, not ours, be done," his last words to her — "Nearer My God to Thee"
Dr. Rixey remains to the end — Unconscious for hours before dissolution — A
Christian deathbed scene that will remain forever, a beautiful and inspiring
memory 57
CHAPTER IV.
THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
Description of Czolgosz the assassin — A Pole by birth — Boasted that he was an
Anarchist and believed in killing the rulers of all nations — Became an Anarchist
under the teachings of Emma Goldman — How and why he went to Buffalo —
Followed the President for three days seeking an opportunity to kill him — A
monstrous confession — His father and mother found in Cleveland — Poor and
ignorant, but nothing known against them — People vv^ho knew the assassin tell of
his belonging to Anarchist clubs and always preaching Anarchy 65
5
< , . TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
EMMA GOLDMAN, WOMAN LEADER OF ANARCHISTS.
Description of the woman from whom the assassin learned the teachings of Anarciiy
— Text of Emma Goldman's speech which Czolgosz says inflamed him to commit
assassination — Emma Goldman's career as an Anarchist in New York and Europe
■ — Her arrest in Chicago — Arrest of the "Free Society" branch of Anarchists in
Chicago 76
CHAPTER VL
ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
Definition of anarchy — No two Anarchists agree — Some of the leaders who have talked,
written and acted anarchy in this country and in Europe — A hellish doctrine that
has caused many of the world's greatest men to fall by the hands of assassins —
Complete history of anarchy from Proudhon to the present day — Review of anar-
chistic agitation and murder — Story of the Haymarket assassinations in Chicago.. 89
CHAPTER VII.
SCENES AT BUFFALO FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION.
Wild anger of the people at the appalling crime — How the assassin was guarded against
the popular wrath — Grief and anger mingled — The location of the Milburn house —
The President's clothes — What he had in his pockets — Senator Hanna's remarkable
dream of warning — The devotion of Private Secretary Cortelyou 99
CHAPTER VIII.
DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
How the American people watched and waited, hoped and prayed while the President
lay ill — All the civilized world shared in the sorrow and anxiety — World-wide grief
at the President's death — Rulers of the world eulogize the dead President — Their
messages of sympathy 107
CHAPTER IX.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH.
Greatest speech ever made by the President delivered on the day before the assassina-
tion— World-wide in its influence and uniting the American people in praise of his
wise statesmanship — Great honors shown the nation's chief on the day before his
assassination — Events of a day to be memorable in American history 115
CHAPTER X.
WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD.
His Scotch-Irish ancestry — His sturdy sire, William McKinley, Sr. — The Christian in-
fluence of Mother McKinley, who lived to see her boy in the White House — Early
occupations of the future President — Supporter of Fremont and Lincoln — Early
days at Niles and Poland, Ohio 123
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7
CHAPTER XL
McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Enlisted as a private and won a commission by gallant and heroic conduct — Under fire
at Antietam and other historic battles — Promoted by General, afterwards President,
Hayes — Brave and modest — Stories of his experiences in battle I2g
CHAPTER XII.
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
Elected in the Centennial year — Soon gave evidence of legislative ability — Chairman of
the Ways and Means Committee and leader of his party in the Lower House of
Congress — Fourteen years of memorable work — Some of his memorable speeches
and debates — How his district was "gerrymandered" in order to defeat him — A
marvelous legislative record 141
CHAPTER XIII.
McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA.
First champion of Protection for Protection's sake— Made his policy the policy of his
party and the nation — Growth of the country's industry — His last speech substituted
Reciprocity for Protection 161
CHAPTER XIV.
McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
Twice chosen as chief executive of his state — First nomination by acclamation — A
campaign that carried the people with him — Governor McKinley and the labor
troubles — Always stood for law and order and sympathized with honest labor.... 169
CHAPTER XV.
McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
His winning personality in politics — Believed in the people and knew how to convert
men to his way of thinking — His methods of campaigning — His wonderful knowl-
edge of politics — Campaigns of education — McKinley a wonderful speechmaker —
Talks to workingmen and business men on the lawn at Canton 177
CHAPTER XVL
GOVERNOR McKINLEY'S FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
In trying to assist a friend his small fortune is swept away — Governor McKinley and his
wife turn over all of their property to meet his obligation — Friends come to the
rescue and he is relieved from owing any man a cent — The story of how W. R. Day,
H. H. Kohlsaat, Myron T. Herrick and Marcus A. Hanna stood by Governor
McKinley in his hour of need — Governor McKinley's attitude above criticism.... 18.^
CHAPTER XVII.
McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, BLAINE AND HARRISON.
Friendship between three great statesmen — McKinley always an enthusiastic Blaine
man — His honorable attitude toward the Ohio statesman — Thrilling scene in ■
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
National convention when delegates attempt to stampede to McKinley — Kow he
stopped his own nomination for President and brought about the nomination of
General Harrison by acclamation 189
CHAPTER XVIII.
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
The sentiment of the people strong for McKinley's nomination in 1896 — The other
candidates — History of the great National Republican Convention at St. Louis in
1896 — Foraker set the delegates wild with his speech nominating McKinley — First
ballot secures his nomination — Historic political scenes and characters — Hobart
named for the second place 19S
CHAPTER XIX.
THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
Men and issues of a memorable national campaign — William Jennings Bryan as Mc-
Kinley's opponent — Gold vs. Silver — How the issues were stated by leading de-
baters— Bryan's speech-making tour — Pilgrimages of the people to Canton —
McKinley receives thousands of voters at his home 213
CHAPTER XX.
THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
How President McKinley exhausted every means in his power to honorably settle the
Cuban trouble and avert war with Spain — Brief history of the causes leading to the
war with Spain — Wisdom and patriotism of President McKinley — A war for
humanity 221
CHAPTER XXI.
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
In a celebrated state paper the President reviews the entire history of the Spanish war
— His able conduct of the war — Every great historical detail of the struggle for
humanity set forth by President McKinley — An historical document that will
remain forever as a true record of President McKinley's humane and wise states-
manship 227
CHAPTER XXIL
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
Great amount of territory acquired by the United States under President McKinley —
The story of American expansion — President's policy toward the people of our new
possessions — The greatness of President McKinley's Expansion policy — What it
meant to the nation 251
CHAPTER XXin.
SECOND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF McKINLEY.
Complete history of the Philadelphia convention of 1900 — McKinley's renomination a
foregone conclusion — Senator Wolcott's great eulogy of President McKinley —
Theodore Roosevelt named for Vice-President 263
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 0
CHAPTER XXIV.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND THE CHINESE CRISIS.
Prompt action by the President following the boxer uprising — Cause of the trouble —
The siege of Peking — The United States joins the powers to rescue the besieged
legations — China appeals to the United States to prevent the powers from dividing
the Empire — President McKinley's attitude results, in a just settlement of the
trouble — A remarkable chapter on President McKinley's wise diplomacy 271
CHAPTER XXV.
McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
A complete history of the foreign policy of President McKinley during his two admin-
istrations— How he built up the nation to be one of the great powers of the work!
— ^The master work of his life was in giving the United States its proper place in
the family of nations — Results that will rank with those of Washington and Lincoln
in adding to the greatness of the American nation 281
CHAPTER XXVI.
PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.
A model son and husband — His courtship of Ida Saxton — Their marriage — Two chil-
dren bless the union, only to die in infancy — Mrs. McKinley's health shattered —
The "Major's" devotion to his invalid wife — William McKinley, the highest type
of American manhood, and a model for every American boy and man 293
CHAPTER XXVII.
McKINLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
Full text of an address delivered by President McKinley on President Lincoln's Birth-
day anniversary 298
CHAPTER XVIII.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES THE OATH OF OFFICE.
The new President sworn in at Buffalo — A simple ceremony tinged with the gloom of
tragedy — Biography of President Roosevelt, soldier, author, statesman — A review
of one of the most remarkable careers in history 304
CHAPTER XXIX.
GREAT EVENTS OF THE WORLD DURING PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S
ADMINISTRATION.
A chapter of happenings of world-wide importance, many of which were influenced by
the late President 321
CHAPTER XXX.
THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
Private funeral of William McKinley, the man and citizen, held at the Milburn house
— Touching scenes of last farewell — Simple but beautiful services 330
10 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXXI.
LYING IN STATE AT BUFFALO.
Body of the President viewed by thousands in the city hall— All classes of people
present — Italian women remove the shawls from their heads — Indians drop flowers
on the casket — Eloquent tributes of Indian chiefs — Thousands brave a storm and
drenching rain to gaze on the features of the nation's beloved dead 339
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
Thousands line the route — Bells toll, choral societies sing, people stand uncovered and
reverently bow their heads as the train passes — Outward signs and emblems of a
nation's grief such as were never before witnessed in the world — Complete story of
the journey to the National Capital 345
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
President's body taken to the White House from the funeral train — Awe-inspiring
scenes at the station — President McKinley's happy departure for Buffalo recalled —
Body placed in the great East Room 349
CHAPTER XXXIV.
FUNERAL SERVICES AND PROCESSION AT WASHINGTON.
National funeral services held in the rotunda of the Capitol, directly under the dome —
Body brought from the White House— Description of the procession— Rev. Dr.
Naylor's eloquent prayer — Bishop Andrews' funeral sermon 357
CHAPTER XXXV.
LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
Crowds throng the Capitol building at Washington for a last look at the martyr-
President— Complete description of the scene— A panic caused by immense crush-
Beautiful floral designs— The last day at the seat of national government 367
^ CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
While the President's body was lying in state in the National Capitol, the assassin was
arraigned in court and attorneys enter plea of "not guilty"— Text of the indict-
ment 375
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
Route of the funeral train from the National Capital to the Ohio home lined with
mourners — Journey through Maryland and Pennsylvania— Touching incidents on
the way— Through Ohio— Arrival at Canton, a city of sorrow 381
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 11
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
How the people of Canton received the body of their fellow townsman — Grief in every
heart 387
CHAPTER XXXIX.
FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
First Sunday after the death of President McKinley — All sects and creeds unite in
eulogy — Sad and impressive scenes 395
CHAPTER XL.
CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
Friends and neighbors take their last view of the dead President — Many pathetic and
beautiful incidents mark the final leave-taking 404
CHAPTER XLI.
McKINLEY LAID AT REST.
Complete account of the funeral and burial of President McKinley — Beautiful and im-
pressive ceremonies — Soldiers guard the tomb 415
CHAPTER XLII.
NATION OBSERVES BURIAL DAY.
Services held in every part of the United States — The old world joins in observing
McKinley's burial day — Five minutes of silence 425
CHAPTER XLIII.
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
Complete story of the manner in which our other two martyr-presidents were shot
down by assassins 43:
NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS AND ATTEMPTS OF RECENT
TIMES.
George III. of England, attempt by Margaret Nicholson on August 2,
1786, and by James Hatfield on May 15, 1800.
Napoleon I. of France, attempt by use of an infernal machine on December
24, 1800.
Czar Paul of Russia, killed by nobles of his court on March 24, 1801.
Spencer Percival, Premier of England, killed by Bellingham on May 11, 1812.
George IV. of England, attempt on January 28, 1817.
August Kotzebue of Germany, killed by Earl Sand for political motives on
March 23, 1819.
Charles due de Berri, killed on February 13, 1820.
Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, attempt on January 30,
1835.
Louis Philippe of France, six attempts: By Fieschi, on July 28, 1835; by
Alibaud, on June 25, 1836; by Miunier, on December 27, 1836; by
Darmos, on October 16, 1840; by Lecompte, on April 14, 1846; by
Henry, on July 19, 1846.
Denis AfTre, Archbishop of Paris, on June 2^, 1848.
Rossi, Comte Pellegrino, Roman statesman, on November 15, 1848.
Frederick William IV. of Prussia, attempt by Sofelage on May 22, 1850.
Francis Joseph of Austria, attempt by Libenyi on February 18, 1853.'
Ferdinand, Charles III., Duke of Parma, oa March 2"], 1854.
Isabella II. of Spain, attempts by La Riva on May 4, 1847; by Merino on
February 2, 1852; by Raymond Fuentes on May 28, 1856.
Napoleon III., attempts by Pianori on April 28, 1855; by Bellemarre on
September 8, 1855; by Orsini and others (France) on January 14, 1858.
Daniel, Prince of Montenegro, on August 13, i860.
Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, at Ford's Theater, Wash-
ington, by John Wilkes Booth, on the evening of April 14; died on
April 15, 1865.
Michael, Prince of Servia, on June 10, 1868.
Frim, Marshal of Spain, on December 28; died on December 30, 1870.
13
14 NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS.
George Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, by communists, on May 24, 1871.
Richard, Earl of Mayo, Governor General of India, by Shere Ali, a convict,
in Andaman Islands, on February 8, 1872.
Amadeus, Duke of Aosta, when King of Spain, attempt on July 19, 1872.
Prince Bismarck, attempt by Blind on May 7, 1866; by Kullman on July
13, 1874.
Abdul Aziz, Sultan of Turkey, on June 4, 1876.
Hussein Avni and other Turkish Ministers, by Hassan, a Circassian officer,
on June 15, 1876.
William I. of Prussia and Germany, attempts by Oscar Becker on July 14,
1861; by Hodel on May 11, 1878; by Dr. Nobiling on June 2, 1878.
Mehemet Ali, Pasha, by Albanians on September 7, 1878.
Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India, attempt by Busa on December 12, 1878.
Alfonso XII. of Spain, attempts by J. O. Moncasi on October 25, 1878; by
Francisco Otero Gonzalez on December 30, 1879.
Loris Melikofif, Russian General, attempt on March 4, 1880.
Bratiano, Premier of Roumania, attempt by J. Pietraro on December 14,
1880.
Alexander II. of Russia, attempts by Karakozow at St. Petersburg on April
16, 1866; by Berezowski at Paris on June 6, 1867; by Alexander Solo-
vieff on April 14, 1879; by undermining a railway train on December
I, 1879; by explosion of Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, on February
17, 1880; killed by explosion of a bomb thrown by a man who was
himself killed, St. Petersburg, on March 13, 1881.
James A. Garfield, President of the United States, shot by Charles J. Guiteau
on July 2, 1881.
Mayor Carter H. Harrison of Chicago, shot by Prendergast on October 28,
1893-
Marie Francois Carnot, President of France, stabbed mortally at Lyons by
Cesare Santo, an Anarchist, on Sunday, June 24, 1894.
Stanislaus Stambulofif, ex-Premier of Bulgaria, killed by four persons, armed
with revolvers and knives, on July 25, 1895.
Nasr-ed-din, Shah of Persia, was assassinated on May i, 1896, as he was
entering a shrine near his palace. The man who shot him was disguised
as a woman and is believed to have been the tool of a band of con-
spirators. He was caught and suffered the most horrible death that
Persian ingenuity could invent.
NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS. 16
Antonio Canovas del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain, shot to death by
Michel Angolillo, alias Colli, an Italian Anarchist, at Santa Agueda,
Spain, while going to the baths, on August 8, 1897.
Juan Idiarte Borda, President of Uruguay, killed on August 25, 1897, at
Montevideo by Avelino Arredondo, officer in Uruguayan army.
President Diaz, attempt in the City of Mexico by M. Arnulfo on September
20, 1897.
Jose Maria Reyna Barrios, President of Guatemala, killed at Guatemala City
on February 8, 1898, by Oscar Solinger.
Empress Elizabeth of Austria, stabbed by Luchini, a French-Italian Anar-
chist, at Geneva, Switzerland, on September 10, 1898.
William Goebel, Democratic claimant to the Governorship of Kentucky,
shot by a person unknown on Tuesday, January 30, 1900, while on his
way to the State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky.
Humbert, King of Italy, shot to death on July 29, 1900, at Monza, Italy,
by Angelo Bresci.
Albert Edward, then Prince of Wales, now King of England, attempt by
Brussels Anarchist on April 4, 1900.
William McKinley, President of the United States, shot at Buffalo on Sep-
tember 6, 1901. Died September 14, 1901.
L
^UxonoXoQVi
OF
ptesibent Mflliam riDclRinle^
Born Niles, Ohio, January 29, 1843.
School-teacher, Poland, Ohio, 1860.
Enlisted Union Army June, 1861.
Second Lieutenant September 24, 1862.
First Lieutenant February 7, 1863.
Captain July 25, 1864.
Brevet Major for gallantry, 1865.
Admitted to the Ohio bar 1867.
Elected state's attorney 1869.
Elected first to Congress 1876.
Ee-elected 1878, 1880, 1882, 1884 to 1890.
Elected Governor of Ohio 1891.
Re-elected Governor of Ohio 1893.
Elected President United States 1896.
Re-elected President United States 1900.
Shot by an assassin September 6, 1901.
Died Buffalo, N. Y., September 14, 1901.
PRESIDENT AlcKIXLEY'S FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPH.
(He signed over 2,000 of these and presented them to personal friends.)
PRESIDENT W:M. McKINLEY.
MRS. WILLIAM McKINLEY.
MR AND MRS. McKINLEY AND THEIR HOME AT
CANTON, OHIO.
MRS. McKINLEY, MOTHER OF THE PRESIDENT.
Copyright, 1901, by Clinedinst, Washington, Photographer to the President.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY IN HIS LIBRARY.
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PRESIDENT McKIXLEY AND MARSHALL EVERETT IN CONSUL-
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ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY
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OF
President William McKinley
CHAPTER I.
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
On Friday, September 6, 1901, the blackest Friday in American history,
the American people were shocked and stunned by the news that their
beloved President, William McKinley, had been shot down by a cowardly
assassin, while attending the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo.
It was like a flash of lightning from a clear sky. The people were stunned
into momentary silence. The sign of grief was on the face of every loyal
American, and the hearts of the people beat as one in sympathy for the
stricken chief.
The horror of the tragic event grew when It was learned that the assassin
was an anarchist, and not an insane man as was first supposed.
Then came the full realization that the murderous bullet of the assassin
was aimed not only at the foremost citizen of the Republic, but that the
Red Thing called Anarchy had raised Its blood-stained hand against govern-
ment, against all peaceable authority and law. It was a blow struck at all
the Institutions of society that men hold dear and sacred.
With that wonderful self-control that distinguishes the American people,
loyal citizens restrained the rising passion In their breasts, and their sup-
pressed rage was further held In check by the word of hope which followed
that the President was yet alive.
Alas! It was but a hope, destined to linger but a few days.
The scene of the assassination was the Temple of Music, at the Exposi-
tion grounds. Tlie day previous was President's day at the Exposition, and
President McKinley had delivered v.-hat many believed to be the greatest
Z2
34 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
speech of his hfe. Praises for his wisdom and statesmanship were ringing
around the world.
On the fateful day the President attended the Exposition, as a visitor,
and in the afternoon held a reception in the Temple of Music.
The reception to the President was one to which the general public
had been invited. President John G. Milburn of the Exposition had intro-
duced the President to the great crowd in the Temple, and men, w^omen
and children came forward for a personal greeting.
Among those in line was Leon Czolgosz, whose right hand was wrapped
in a handkerchief. Folded in the handkerchief was a 32-caliber self-acting
revolver holding five bullets.
A httle girl was led up by her father and the President shook hands
with her. As she passed along to the right the President looked after her
smiHngly and waved his hand in a pleasant adieu.
Next in line came a boyish-featured man about 26 years old, preceded
by a short Italian who leaned backward against the bandaged hand of his
follower. The officers, who attended the President, noted this man, their
attention being first attracted by the Italian, whose dark, shaggy brows and
black mustache caused the professional protectors to regard him with sus-
picion.
The man with the bandaged hand and innocent face received no atten-
tion from the detectives beyond the mental observation that his right hand
was apparently injured, and that he would present his left hand to the
President.
The Italian stood before the palm bower. He held the President's right
hand so long that the officers stepped forward to break the clasp, and
make room for the man wath the bandaged hand, wdio extended the lefi
hand towards the President's right.
THE FATAL SHOTS.
The President smiled and presented his right hand in a position to meet
the left of the approaching man. Hardly a foot of space intervened between
the bodies of the two men. Before their hands met two pistol shots rang
out, and the President turned slightly to the left and reeled.
The bandage on the hand of the tall, innocent looking young man had
concealed a revolver. He had fired through the bandage without removing
any portion of the handkerchief.
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 35
The first bullet entered too high for the purpose of the assassin, who
had fired again as soon as his finger could move the trigger.
On receiving the first shot President McKinley lifted himself on his toes
with something of a gasp. His movement caused the second shot to enter
just below the navel. With the second shot the President doubled slightly
forward and then sank back. Secret Service Detective Geary caught the
President in his arms and President Milburn helped to support him.
ASKS IF HE IS SHOT.
When the President fell into the arms of Detective Geary he coolly
asked: "Am I shot?"
Geary unbuttoned the President's vest, and, seeing blood, replied: "I
fear you are, Mr. President."
It had all happened in an instant. Almost before the noise of the second
shot sounded a negro waiter, James F. Parker, leaped upon the assassin,
striking him a terrific blow and crushing him to the floor. Soldiers of the
United States artillery detailed at the reception sprang upon them, and he
was surrounded by a squad of'exposition police and secret service detectives.
Detective Gallagher seized Czolgosz's hand, tore away the handkerchief and
took the revolver.
The artillerymen, seeing the revolver in Gallagher's hand, rushed at the
assassin and handled him. rather roughly. Meanwhile Detective Ireland and
the negro held the assassin, endeavoring to shield him from the attacks of the
infuriated artillerymen and the blows of the policemen's clubs.
Supported by Detective Geary and President of the Exposition Milburn,
and surrounded by Secretary George B. Cortelyou and half a dozen exposi-
tion officials, the President was assisted to a chair. His face was white, but
he made no outcry.
When the second shot struck the President he sank back with one hand
holding his abdomen, the other fumbling at his breast. His eyes were open
and he was clearly conscious of all that had transpired. He looked up into
President Milburn's face and gasped: "Cortelyou," the name of his private
secretary. The President's secretary bent over him. "Cortelyou," said the
President, "my wife, be careful about her; don't let her know."
Moved by a paroxysm he writhed to the left and then his eyes fell on the
prostrate form of the assassin, Czolgosz, lying on the floor bloody and help-
less beneath the blows of the guard.
36 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
The President raised his right hand, red with his own blood, and placed
it on the shoulder of his secretary. "Let no one hurt him," he gasped, and
sank back in the chair, while the guards carried Czolgosz out of his sight.
The ambulance from the exposition hospital was summoned immediately
and the President, still conscious, sank upon the stretcher. Secretary Cortel-
you and Mr. Milburn rode with him in the ambulance, and in nine minutes
after the shooting the President was awaiting the arrival of surgeons, who
had been summoned from all sections of the city, and by special train from
Niagara Falls.
The President continued conscious and conversed with Mr. Cortelyou
and Mr. Milburn on his way to the hospital. "I am sorry," he said, "to have
been the cause of trouble to the exposition."
Three thoughts had found expression with the President — first, that the
news should be kept from his wife; second, that the would-be assassin should
not be harmed; and, third, regret that the tragedy might hurt the exposition.
The news that the President had been shot passed across the exposition
grounds with almost incredible speed, and the crowd around the Temple
grew until it counted 50,000 persons. This big crowd follovv^ed the ambu-
lance respectfully to the hospital, then divided itself into two parts, one
anxious to learn the condition of the President and to catch every rumor
that came from the hospital; the other eager to find the assassin and to pun-
ish him.
Certain it is that if the offipials had not used remarkable diligence in tak-
ing Czolgosz out of the way of the crowd he would have been mobbed and
beaten to death.
Czolgosz had been carried into a side room at the northwest corner of the
Temple. There he was searched, but nothing was found upon him except a
letter relating to lodging. The officers washed the blood from his face and
asked him who he was and why he had tried to kill the President. He made
no answer at first, but finally gave the name of Nieman. He offered no ex-
planation of the deed except that he was an Anarchist and had done his duty.
A detail of exposition guards was sent for a company of soldiers. A car-
riage was summoned. South of the Temple a space had been roped off. The
crowd tore out the iron stanchion holding the ropes and carried the ropes
to the flagpole standing near by on the esplanade.
"Lynch him," cried a hundred voices, and a start was made for one of the
entrances of the Temple. Soldiers and police beat back the crowd. Guards
and people were wrangling, shouting and fighting.
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 37
In this confusion, Czolgosz, still bleeding, his clothes torn, and scarcely
able to walk, was led out by Captain James F. Vallaly, chief of the exposition
detectives; Commandant Robinson, and a squad of secret service men.
Czolgosz was thrown into a carriage and three detectives jumped in with
him. Captain Vallaly jumped on the driver's seat and lashed the horses into
a gallop.
Six doctors were at the President's side within thirty seconds after his
arrival at the hospital, among them the President's family physician, Dr.
P. M. Rixey. Dr. Roswell Park, a surgeon of national reputation, was sum-
moned from Niagara Falls, where he was performing an operation, and
Dr. Herman Mynter arrived soon after.
The surgeons consulted and hesitated about performing an operation.
The President reassured them by expiressing his confidence, but no decision
was reached when Dr. Mann of the exposition hospital staff arrived. After
another consultation Dr. Mann informed the President that an operation
was necessary. *
"All right," replied the PIresident. "Go ahead. Do whatever is proper."
The anesthetic administered was ether, and for two» and a half hours
the President was under the influence of this.
The wound in the breast proved tO' be only a flesh wound. The bullet
struck a button and was somewhat deflected. It entered the middle of the
breast above the breast bone, but did not penetrate far. When the President
was undressed for the operation the bullet fell from his clothing upon the
table.
The second and serious wound was a bullet hole in the abdomen, about
five inches below the left nipple and an inch and a half to the left of the
median line. The bullet which caused that wound penetrated both the inte-
rior and posterior walls of the stomach, going completely through that
organ.
It was found also that as a consequence of the perforation the stomach
fluid had circulated about the abdominal cavity.
Further examination disclosed that the hole made by the entrance of
the bullet was small and clean cut, while that on the other side of the stomach
was large and ragged.
A five-inch incision was made and through that aperture the physicians
were enabled to turn the organ about so as to suture the largeir bullet hole.
After that had been sewed the abdominal cavity was washed with a salt
solution.
38 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
The operation performed on President McKinley at the emergency
hospital left no need for a second operation to follow it almost immediately.
Dr. Mann, who performed the operation, had for his first assistant Dr.
Herman Mynter. His second assistant was Dr. John Parmenter. Plis third
assistant was Dr. Lee of St. Louis, who happened to be on the exposition
grounds at the time of the tragedy, and placed his services at the disposal
of the President. Dr. Nelson W. Wilson noted the time of the operation,
and took notes. Dr. Eugene Wasdin of the marine hospital gave the
anesthetic. Dr. Rixey arrived at the latter part of the operation, and held
the light. Dr. Park arrived at the close of the operation. It was Dr. Mann
who v/ielded the knife.
The operation lasted almost an hour. A cut about five inches long was
made. It was found necessary to turn up the stomach of the President in
order to trace the course of the bullet. The bullet's opening in the front
wall of the stomach was small and it was carefully closed with sutures, after
which a search was made for the hole in the back wall of the stomach.
This hole, where the bullet went out of the stomach, was larger than the
hole in the front wall of the stomach ; in fact, it was a wound over an inch in
diameter, jagged and ragged. It was sewed up in three layers. This wound
was larger than the wound where the bullet entered the stomach, because
the bullet, in its course, forced tissues through ahead of it.
In turning up the stomach, an act that was absolutely necessary, and
was performed by Dr. Mann with rare skill, the danger was that some of the
contents of the stomach might gO' intoi the abdominal cavity, and as a result
cause peritonitis. It so' happened that there was little in the President's
stomach at the time of the operation. Moreover, subsequent developments
tended to show that this feature of the O'peration was successful and that
none of the contents of the stomach entered the abdominal cavity. If any
of the contents had entered the cavity the probability is that peritonitis would
have set in.
The weapon used by the assassin proved to be a five-barreled double-action
revolver of 32 caliber. Every chamber contained a bullet, and three remained
in the weapon after the shooting.
It was at first reported that the weapon was a derringer, but this proved to
be incorrect.
Many of the accounts of the assassination vary in detail, which is quite
natural under the excitement of the moment, and the fact that no two persons
see and hear alike. One account, given by an eye-witness, which differs in
THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 39
some respects from the one with which this chapter begins, is as follows:
"It was about four o'clock, near the close of the reception in the Temple
of Music, and the President, in his customary cordial manner, was reaching
forward, with a pleasant smile, to take the hands of the good-natured crowd
that was pushing forward. A six-foot colored man, who proved to be a
waiter in the Plaza, named James F. Parker, had just shaken hands with
the President and was smiling all oveir with enjoyment, when suddenly, behind
him, pressed forward the slight figure of a smooth-faced but muscular young
man, whose eyes were wild and glaring, whose head was drooping, and who
seemed to me to have sprung up from the floor, as I had not observed him
before. The President took no special notice of him, but simply stooped
over to shake his hand, without looking, apparently, at the individual.
"Their palms had hardly touched before I heard two shots in quick succes- '
sion. A hush and quiet instantly followed. The President straightened
up for a moment and stepped back five or six feet. Secretary Cortelyou, who
had been standing at his side, burst into tears, and exclaimed, 'You're shot!'
The President murmured, 'Oh, no, it cannot be!' But Secretary Cortelyou
and Mr. Milburn had torn open the President's vest, and the telltale blood,
flowing from the wound in the abdomen, revealed the fearful truth. The
President had dropped into a chair and now turned deathly pale. Meanwhile,
the other wound in the breast had been uncovered and both Mr. Milburn and
Secretary Coirtelyou were in tears. The President, seeing their emotion, put
up his hand and gently murmured that he was all right, or some reassuring
words, and appeared to faint away.
"The Secret Service men, Foster and Ireland, at one bound seized the
assassin, before the smoke had cleared away, and, in fact, before the sound of
the second shot was heard. The negro, Parker, also turned instantly and
confronted Czolgosz, whose right hand was being tightly held behind him, by
the detectives and whose face was thrust forward. Parker, widi his clenched
fist, smashed the assassin three times squarely in the face, and was apparently
wild to kill the creature, while all the crowd of artillerymen, policemen, and
O'thers, also set upon the object of their w:rath.
"The women in the vast audience were hysterical, and the men were little
less than crazy. The transformation from the scene of smiles and gladness
o«f a moment before, to the wild, rushing, mighty roar of an infuriated crowd,
was simjply awful. The police and military at once set about the task of
clearing the building, which they accomplished with amazing celerity and
40 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
igood judgment, considering the fact that a crowd oi 50,000 at the outside
was pressing into the entrance."
A third narrative is still somewhat different. The narrator recites that
the President, after he had been shot, was calm, seemed to grow taller, and
had a look of half reproach and half indignation in his eyes as he turned
and started toward a chair unassisted. Then Secretary Cortelyou and Mr.
Milbiirn w^ent to his help. Secret Service Agent S. R. Ireland and George
F. Foster had grappled with the assassin, but, quicker than both, was a
gigantic negro-, James F. Parker, a waiter in a restaurant in the Plaza, who
had been standing behind Czolgosz, awaiting an opportunity, in joyous
expectation, to shake the President's hand. He stood there, six feet four
inches tall, with two hundred and fifty pounds of muscular enthusiasm,
grinning happily, until he heard the pistol shots. With one quick shift of his
clenched fist he knocked the pistol from the assassin's hand. With another
he spun the man around like a top, and, with a third, he broke Czolgosz's nose.
A fourth split the assassin's lip and knocked out several teeth, and when the
officers tore him away from Parker the latter, crying like a baby, exclaimed,
"Oh, for only ten seconds more !"
CHAPTER II.
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
The courage exhibited on the battlefield, when the whole being is aroused
and the nerves are tingling with a thrill of excitement, is worthy of the high-
est praise, but to show fortitude and resigned courage in a battle for life,
when the approach of death is heralded by unfailing signs, requires a hero.
Such was the lamented Chief Executive in the trying hours following the at-
tack of the assassin. Few of those about President McKinley on that mem-
orable day expected to see him survive the night.
Prompt work on the part of the surgeons and a rugged constitution pre-
vailed over wounds considered mortal. The President was under the care
of the most skillful practitioners, who were encouraged by the favorable turn,
and they, by their bulletins, which were full of hopefulness and buoyancy, led
the nation and the entire world to believe that their distinguished patient
w^ould soon be back at his desk. All realized the gravity of the situation;
nevertheless few anticipated any but a favorable outcome.
Beginning on the eventful Friday night, the official statements sent out
were encouraging. While the normal pulse is about 80, the fact that Mc-
Kinley's was from 120 to 128 was not considered cause for alarm. In all
cases where an operation is undergone, a high pulse follows for some days.
During the week the President lay wounded his averaged 120, high
under normal conditions, but not alarming in the case of a wounded man.
Dr. P. M. Rixey, the family physician, was the most constant watcher at
the bedside of the wounded man. After McKinley had recovered sufficiently
to talk, which was on the third day, he would ask regarding the condition of
Mrs. McKinley. The assurance that she was bearing up bravely seemed to
act beneficially on the President.
Mrs. McKinley was permitted to see her husband daily, but only for a
few minutes at a time. As was his wont in former days to cheer his invalid
wife, so it was a pleasure for her to show a reciprocal spirit, which she did.
The daily meetings were those of true lovers, and every eye in the sick room
would be wet ere the parting kiss of the day would be given.
These visits, at all times brief, were still a source of deep satisfaction to
the stricken President. The outcome of the struggle vitally interested Mc-
41
43 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
Kinley, more because of the effect his death would have on his wife and on
the nation than for personal reasons.
A man of sterling Christian character, pious and devout, he did not fear
death. The end had no terrors for him, but he felt it would leave a void, a
vacancy, which none other could fill. The invalid who for 30 years had relied
on him alone as her support and protector, her aid and comfort, still needed
him. It was parting from her that made him feel reluctant to lay down his
life's work.
Cares of state engrossed little of his attention during that week spent in
the Milburn residence. He had builded well, and the dedication, as it were,
of his noble edifice of national policy, in which all culminated, was in the
memorable speech of the day preceding the fateful Friday. Several times
during his last days he smiled upon being complimented for that truly great
oration, but he did not live to learn how thoroughly it was appreciated
throughout the length and breadth of the land.
Dr. Charles McBurney, the eminent New York specialist, was summoned
to Buffalo the evening of the shooting. He did not arrive until Sunday
morning, however.
The President passed the first night after the shooting fairly comfortably.
His temperature increased from 100° to 100.6° between i and 3 a. m., and
fears were entertained that peritonitis might set in. The doctors chosen to
care for the case — P. M. Rixey, M. B. Mann, Roswell Park, H. !\Iynter and
Eugene Wasdin — were in attendance at the President's bedside all night,
watching carefully each symptom.
At 10:40 p. m. the doctors issued this bulletin: 'The President is rallying
satisfactorily and is resting comfortably. Temperature, 100.4°; pulse, 124;
respiration, 24."
At 1 :30 a .m. the bulletin read: "The President is free from pain and rest-
ing well. Temperature, 100.2°; pulse, 120; respiration, 24."
Saturday, the day following the shooting, was one of grave anxiety. The
President, while holding his own, was approaching, so the doctors said, a
crisis. It was thought that Sunday would decide what effect the shots fired
by Czolgosz would be. Dr. Rixey gave it as his opinion that the President
would recover. The other physicians refused to commit themselves, saying
that they could not make promises until further developments.
An X-ray apparatus was brought from Thomas A. Edison's laboratory
with which it was intended to locate the bullet which lodged in the back.
It was not used. On Sunday morning at 5 o'clock the physicians issued thig
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 43
bulletin: "The President has passed a fairly good night. Pulse, 122; tem-
perature, 102.4°; respiration, 24."
Sunday proved a rather uneventful day after all. The anticipated crisis
did not materialize. The news was good throughout the day. It was not
merely negative good news, but news of a distinct improvement. The Presi-
dent's temperature on Sunday evening was a degree lower than it was during
the morning, the pulse was slower and the respiration easier.
Dr. McBurney arrived during the day and held a consultation with the
other doctors at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon.
Immediately following the consultation this bulletin was issued: "The
President since the last bulletin (3 p. m.) has slept quietly, four hours alto-
gether, since 9 o'clock. His condition is satisfactory to all the physicians
present. Pulse, 128; temperature, 101°; respiration, 28." This bulletin was
signed by Drs. Rixey, Mann, Park, Mynter, Wasdin and McBurney.
DR. McBURNEY'S STATEMENT.
Later Dr. McBurney said in an interview:
"The fact that there is no unfavorable symptom is a most favorable sign.
What we are all waiting for is the lapse of time without the occurrence of in-
flammation or septic conditions.
"I want to say right here that in my opinion everything has been done
for him that could and should have been done. The case has been most
handsomely handled. If he lives he will owe his life to the promptness and
skill of the physicians here.
"The question of time is of the greatest importance in a case of this kind.
An operation could not have been performed too soon. It was performed
in one of the quickest times on record. It will be famous in the history of
surgery."
This report from so eminent a surgeon served to allay all doubts, and the
reports sent out from Buffalo cheered millions of Americans, who had spent
a sorrowing Sunday. Prayers had gone up for the President from thousands
of hearts and their invocations seemed to be answered by a divine Provi-
dence.
Telegrams of sympathy and condolence were changed to congratulations
over the good tidings. Hopes rose high, and the somber spirits which had
pervaded the land for three days changed to those of a brighter hue. Inti-
mate friends were permitted to see the President for a few moments at a
44 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
time, and each one on leaving the Milbiirn home brought cheering news.
The bulletins were optimistic, and the members of the Cabinet who had been
hastily summoned began to discuss returning.
Vice-President Roosevelt had hurried to Buffalo from Vermont. Senator
Hanna had come from Cleveland, his home, and Abner McKinley sped from
Denver, with Dr. and Mrs. Herman Baer, the latter being the favorite niece
of the stricken President. Roosevelt soon departed for the Adirondack re-
gions on a hunting trip. Hanna returned to Cleveland and hopes ran high,
for the departure of these men was taken as proof positive that no serious
results were apprehended by the corps of physicians.
The President improved so rapidly on Monday that his friends declared
he would be able to attend the duties of his office, at least to a moderate
extent, within a month. The worst danger was regarded as past, peritonitis
seemed no longer probable, and the only cause for fear was the possibility
of a sinking spell. The X-ray instrument was still in the house, but had not
been used. It was decided by the doctors that so long as the bullet did not
prove immediately dangerous, no serious attejnpt should be made to locate it,
much less to remove it. If it were imbedded in a muscle, or was even loose
in the abdominal cavity, it was not regarded as likely to cause much trouble
for the time being.
There seemed only one contingency which would necessitate its immediate
removal ; if it should press against the spinal column it might cause paralysis
sooner or later, and would have to be removed to save life. This contingency,
however, was remote.
The bulletins throughout Monday were hopeful. One said the President
has passed a somewhat restless night, sleeping fairly w^ll; and another
declared the President's condition was "becoming more and more satisfactory,"
and adding that "untoward incidents are less likely to occur." One issued
at 3 p. m. stated: "The President's condition steadily improves and he
is comfortable, without pain or unfavorable symptoms. Bowel and kidney
functions normally performed."
The last bulletin for the day, issued at 9 130 p. m., said : "The President's
condition continues favorable. Pulse, 112 ; temperature, loi ; respiration, 27."
Mrs. IMcKinley felt so encouraged that she took a drive during the after-
noon. She had just left the President, after an interview in which she dis-
played quite as much fortitude as the President. She seated herself beside
his bed and took his hand. They said little. In each other's eyes they
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 45
seemed to read what each would say. Then the President remarked quietly :
".We must bear up. It will be better for both."
There were tears in her eyes as j\Irs. McKinley bowed her head in assent.
Soon afterward Dr. Rixey lead her g-ently from the room.
Mrs. McKinley paid another brief visit to the President that evening.
They were alone for a moment only, barely sufficient for her to kiss him
good night and murmur a few words of cheer.
The way Mrs. McKinley is regarded in the Presidential circle is well
expressed by Secretary Wilson.
"It is a little less than wonderful," he said, "how remarkably well the
noble woman bore her trial. She was shocked and frightened, but never
for a moment did she show the slightest sign of collapse. Tears came to
her relief, and perhaps it is foirtunate for her that they did, as such an
expression of grief undoubtedly lessened the strain."
News from the bedside on Tuesday was more favorable than on the
preceding day. The danger point was regarded as past, and fast recovery
was the general prediction. The doctors had only two services — aside, of
course, from careful watching — ^to perform. One was to open in part the
President's outside wound to remove some foreign substances, and the other
was to give him food for the first time. It developed that a portion of the
President's clothing had been carried into the wound by the bullet, and this
had not all been removed at the first operation. As slight irritation was
caused by the cloth, the surgeons removed it. The operation caused no
harm, and little annoyance to the patient.
The President felt so well that he asked for some newspapers to read. The
request was denied. Tlie President enjoyed the food given him — beef extract.
At 10:30 o'clock on Tuesday night the physicians issued this bulletin: "The
condition of the President unchanged in all important particulars. His tem-
perature is 100.6; pulse, 114; respiration, 28,"
Whenever the physicians would permit the wounded man to talk, he
would show his hopefulness. Jokingly he assured the constant watchers
that his wants were all filled except one — his desire to smoke. McKinley loved
a good cigar and smoked from ten to twenty each day. The craving for a
cigar was constant and only by great self-denial did he keep from demanding
one. The weakness of his heart, ^^'hich later was one of the contributing
causes of his death, was in part due to the sudden change from free use of
cigars toi the absolute prohibition which the doctors imposed.
The consultation held by the physicians in attendance upon President
46 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
McKinley lasted from 9 :20 until 1 1 :20 o'clock Tuesday night. Half an
hour after they left the Milburn residence the following bulletin was issued :
"The condition of the President is unchanged in all important par-
ticulars. His temperature is 100.6, pulse 114, respiration 28. When the
operation was done on Friday last it was noted that the bullet had carried
with it a short distance beneath the skin a fragment of the President's coat.
Tliis foreign material was, of course, removed, but a slight irritation of the
tissues was produced, the evidence of which has appeared only to-night. It
has been necessary on account of this slight disturbance to remove a few
stftches and partially open the skin wound. This incident cannot give rise
to other complications, but it is communicated to the public, as the sur-
geons in attendance wish to make their bulletins entirely frank. In conse-
quence of this separation of the edges of the surface w^ound the healing of
the same will be somewhat delayed. The President is now well enough to
begin to take nourishment by the mouth in the form of pure beef juice.
"P. M. Rixey.
"M. D. Mann.
"Roswell Park.
"Plerman Mynter.
"Charles McBurney.
"George B. Cortelyou,
"Secretary tO' the President."
Before the 'doctors appeared, Secretaries Smith, Wilson, and Hitchcock
came out of the house, followed by Secretaries Hay and Root. They said
the doctors were still engaged in their consultation, and had not come down
stairs. They had been informed, though, they said, that the satisfactory
conditions still continued.
Very soon after the doctors had left the morning visitors began coming.
First came Comptroller Charles G. Dawes, Senator Fairbanks, and Judge
Day. They went into the house about 10:50 o'clock. They were only there
a few minutes when Senator Hanna and Secretary Hitchcock, Postmaster-
General Smith and Congressman Grosvenor of Ohio appeared. They all
expressed themselves as confident of the outcome. The bulletin of the
physicians was not taken to indicate anything serious, and the visitors con-
firmed the hopefulness of the situation. The President showed so much .
improvement in his condition the people began to send flowers to him. Shortly
before noon Tuesday a wagon load of flowers arrived at the Milburn house,
the gift of Governor Gregory of Rhode Island to the President. They were
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 47
accompanied by a message of the tenderest sympathy and encouragement.
The flowers, which were in baskets, were placed on the lawn and were
photographed before being taken into the house. Two large bouquets came
from the First Signal corps, and some of the friends of the Milburns sent
other baskets.
While interest at Buffalo materially centered at the Milburn house, the
prison in which Czolgosz was confined received attention from many. The
President was interested in the assassin, and asked for information a number
of times. The physicians would not enter into details, but stated that the
man was undoubtedly insane, and that the general public attached no meaning
to the attack further than to attribute it to a diseased mind.
Roosevelt left Buffalo for the Adirondack woods Tuesday night. He
planned to hunt for a few days and then proceed to his home at Oyster Bay.
Senator Hanna and most of the members of the Cabinet left Tuesday or
Wednesday.
Wednesday was another day full of hopeful signs. The President con-
tinued to show remarkable recuperative powers and passed the day without
the slightest unfavorable symptom. He was able to retain food on his
stomach, and surprised and amused his doctors by again asking for a cigar.
He was not allowed tO' smoke, but he was placed in a new bed. He was also
given a bath. His highest temperature on Wednesday w^as 100.4. That
was at ten o'clock in the evening. The highest point reached by his pulse
was 120 — at six o'clock a. m. — and his respiration remained normal at 26.
Mrs. McKinley saw the President on Wednesday morning. When the
doctors arrived at the house for the consultation they passed her sitting in
the upper corridor of the residence at work on her knitting. She was in
good spirits, and after the visit of the doctors they gave their assent to her
entering the sick room again. She remained only a minute, as the physicians
were avoiding any sapping of the President's strength by prolonged visits,
even by those nearest to him.
Governor Yates of Illinois and State Senator Templeton, chairman of
the Exposition Commission of Illinois, called to pay their respects and advise
with Secretary Cortelyou as to the propriety of proceeding with the arrange-
ments for Illinois Day at the Exposition, which was set for the following
Monday.
Secretary Cortelyou told them that it was the President's own desire
that none of the features of the Exposition should be disturbed by his illness,
and assured them that there would not be the slightest impropriety in going
48 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
ahead with the arrangements. Such was the coniiclence displayed forty-eight
hours before McKinley's death.
The physicians announced that there was no intention of hurrying Mr,
McKinley away from Buffalo, which city is much cooler than either Canton
or Washington, and the home of the President of the Buffalo Exposition
is a first-class modern residence, admirably equipped for taking care of the
patient. It is in a residence part of town, and by utilizing the police and the
infantry had been completely isolated.
It was Mrs. McKinley's wish that they remain at Buffalo' until the Presi-
dent had recovered and then spend a month at the home at Canton in final
recuperation, after which they were to proceed to Washington. The Presi-
dent favoired going to Washington and the Cabinet officers favored this plan.
There was nO' pressing public business, but the routine duties are numerous.
Plans were under preparation for the journey toi Washington when the dis-
tinguished patient began to show signs oi a relapse.
It was on Thursday, just six days after the shooting, that the President
suffered a relapse. Everybody was still full of hopes until 8 130 oclock in the
evening, when the physicians announced officially that the President's condi-
tion was not SOI good. The problem of disposing of the food in the
stomach was becoming a serious one, and the danger of heart failure increased.
At midnight the situation was critical. Calomel and oil were given to flush
the bowels and digitalis to quiet the heart. The bowels moved soon after-
wards, and the patient improved. The pulse dropped to 120, and the prospect
was regarded as brighter.
Secretary Cortelyou announced that there would be no more bulletins
during the night, and the physicians departed.
Shortly after two o'clock, after a heavy thunderstorm, the physicians and
nurses who were left on watch detected a weakening of the heart action. The
pulse fluttered and weakened and the President sank toward a collapse. The
end appeared at hand. Restoratives were applied speedily, but they did not
at once prove effective. It was then decided to send for the other physicians,
relatives, members of the Cabinet, and close personal friends of the President.
Trouble began on Thursday afternoon through the failure of the digestive
organs to perform their functions. The necessity for nourishment had been
pressing for several days, and the partial failure of artificial means had led
to the adoption of natural means. The rectum, through which nourishment
had been injected previously to Wednesday, became irritated and rejected the
enemas.
•-0
"^ il«£.
%.
PRESIDENT McKIXLEY FALLING INTO ARMS OF CORTELYOU,
SAYING: "AM I SHOT?
4
PRESIDENT McKINLEY BEING PUT IN THE AMBULANCE
AFTER BEING SHOT,
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 5i
The physicians tried to feed him through the mouth, probably before the
stomach was prepared. The first administration of beef juice through the
mouth, however, seemed to agree with the patient, and the physicians were
highly gratified at the way the stomach seemed to receive the food.
Dr. McBurney was especially jubilant over the action of the stomach and
before his departure for New York dwelt upon the fact that the stomach
seemed to have resumed its normal functions. The breakfast of chicken
broth and toast given Thursday morning was spoken of by all the physicians
as strong evidence of the President's marked improvement. It was only
when it became apparent late in the morning that this food had not agreed
with the President that the first genuine anxiety appeared. The first note of
alarm was sounded in the official bulletin Thursday afternoon, which spoke of
the President's fatigue.
President IMcKinley, already weak from the ordeal of the tragedy and
suffering, complained of an increasing feeling of fatigue. He had heretofore
been so buoyant and cheerful that his complaints were regarded seriously.
The pulse was then also abnormally high, 126 beats to the minute. With a
temperature of 100.2 it should have been thirty beats lower.
The weakness of the heart began tO' arouse serious concern. Instead of
growing better, the President's condition after that grew steadily worse.
The staff of physicians, augmented by Dr. Stockton, who had temporarily
taken the place of Dr. McBurney, was summoned early in the evening, and
there was a conference.
At 8 -.30 the physicians announced officially that the President's condition
was not so good. The problem of disposing of the food in the stomach was
becoming a serious one and the danger of heart failure increased.
It was believed then that the opening of the bowels, which was effected,
would have the effect of allaying the wild pulsations of the heart. His pulse
did drop to 120 and the prospect was slightly brighter. But owing to the
President's extreme weakness and his fatigue no attempt was made to conceal
the serious apprehension which was felt. The feeling of depression increased
in volume and intensity.
Secretary Cortelyou insisted that the truth should he made public by the
doctors and the bulletins themselves were telling their unfortunate story
all too plainly. There was still hope that the worn and weary patient would
be better in the morning, and at midnight Secretary Cortelyou said it was
not probable that another bulletin would be issued until morning.
Hope came once more to the breasts of those who had waited for hours
41
B2 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
in anxiety. The physicians parted for the night and every sign was a cheering
one. There had been disquieting pulse action for several hours, but prac-
tically all of the unfavorable symptoms had been linked with the stomach
trouble, and it was thought they would probably disappear with the removal
of the cause which was supposed to have created them.
The unofficial reports at one o'clock and 1 130 o'clock were both of a satis-
factory nature and the watchers gathered about the house prepared for an
uninterrupted night.
Another thunderstorm came out of the north and a few minutes' play of
the lightning brought rain in a heavy downpour. A bluster wind blew up from
the west to complete the cheerlessness of the night.
Shortly after two o'clock the physicians and nurses detected a weakening
of the heart action. The pulse fluttered and weakened and the President
sank toward collapse. The end appeared tO) be at hand.
Restoratives were speedily applied and the physicians fought the battle
with all the reserve forces of science. Action was immediate and decisive.
Digitalis and strychnia were administered, and as a last resort saline solution
was injected into the veins.
A general alarm went speeding tO' the consulting physicians and trained
nurses as fast as messengers, the telegraph and telephone could carry it.
The restoratives did not at once prove effective and it was realized that the
President was in an extremely critical condition.
That realization, with the shadow of death behind it, led to^ another call,
and that a summons to the Cabinet, relatives and close personal friends of the
President.
The messengers who returned with the doctors and nurses were hurried
off after those within reach, and to those who were absent from the city tele-
grams conveying the painful tidings were quickly transmitted.
The scene about the house and in the storm-swept street was dramatic in its
action and setting, and the spirit of the tragedy w^as on those who looked
upon it, A messenger who darted into the rain and was whisked away in an
electric cab gave the outside watchers the first intimation of the ill news from
within.
At the same moment new lights burned within the windov/s of the Milbum
residence. Soon the word was passed out that the President had partly col-
lapsed and was critically ill. It was a confirmation that was hardly needed, for
the fact had been established by action that needed no words.
Mrs. McKinley went through the long night of sorrow as only tlie thor-
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 53
oughbred woman does. She slept, but that she could have slept much was
impossible. But no traces of the night's agony showed as she turned her
serene face upon early callers next morning.
Mrs. Barber, Mrs. McKinley's sister, was present, and with her the Misses
Barber, her daughters, and her son, Assistant Paymaster Barber of the Navy.
When the two sisters met, Mrs. McKinley came nearer to breaking down than
she had at any time. Her eyes overflowed and her voice broke. But she
soon recovered and was again the strong, consoling wife of a stricken mate.
When the serious condition of the President was realized, early Friday
morning. Secretaries Hitchcock and Wilson, the only Cabinet officers in
the city, were summoned at once and came in a short time. Drs. ]\lann and
Mynter and Dr. Park, who had been present at the consultations held during
the night, arrived just after them. The first two were together in an auto-
mobile. They leaped from it before it stopped and ran up tO' the house. Dr.
Park showed the same haste.
Miss Mackenzie, one of the nurses, arrived at 3 :io in a cab. She jumped
from her cab and ran up the steps. Mrs. Newell, another of the nurses,
followed her in five minutes in an automobile.
Secret Service men, summoned by Operator Foster, came and took pos-
session of the Western Union telegraph wires leading to the Milburn house.
Communication was attempted Vv'ith Vice-President Roosevelt. The Cabinet
ministers who were not in Buffalo' were sent word to come at once. Senator
Hanna was summoned from Cleveland, and answered that he would come as
fast as a chartered train could bring him.
Mrs. Lafayette McWilliams drove up to the house at 3 135 and went
directly to Mrs. McKinley, who at that time was still sleeping. Tlien the
procession of carriages arriving at the Milburn house at a gallop grew thicker,
bringing state dignitaries and friends of the President with their anxiety
marked on their faces.
When the immediate danger of death was considered passed the visitors
at the house began to depart, and some of the physicians left. At eight
o'clock the only person at the house besides doctors and regular attendants
were Secretaries Hitchcock and Wilson, Abner McKinley, Colonel Brown of
Fostoria, Ohio, John G. Milburn, Miss Alice Barber and Mrs. Lafayette
McWilliams.
Crowds of the curious had surrounded the house by that time, the news
of the President's extremity having circulated rapidly through the city. The
54 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
lines of police and soldiers were doubled, but the crowd grew and seemed
content to wait for news from the physicians.
Shortly after eight o'clock the physicians began to arrive at the house
again, some of them having gone home for breakfast and rest. Abner
McKinley did not go to his breakfast. Mrs. McKinley was still sleeping at
eight o'clock and Secretary Cortelyou had lain down tO' rest, as the strain and
anxiety of the night had exhausted him.
Major Diehl called at 9 130 and with him was former Postmaster-General
Bissel. They were informed by Dr. Mann that if the President survived the
day there was hope for him. The President was in a collapse, he said,
although his heart action was slightly strengthened.
A clergyman, Arthur O. Sykes, arrived soon after and caused much
excitement among the watchers, as his presence was interpreted as a sign of
extremity. It was learned, however, that he only came to bring messages
of sympathy from the citizens of Portsmouth, Va.
Senator Hanna arrived at the house in an automobile at 9:35. He
arrived at the Central Station on his special train but a few minutes before,
after a record-breaking run from Cleveland in a chartered train. Detective
Ireland met him at the train and the automobile brought him to the President
as fast as possible.
At eleven o'clock the President fell into a slumber. While he slept the
sun, whose beams had dispelled the rain clouds of the night, was again over-
cast. A chilling rain began to fall. Visitors still came intO' the house,
inquired of the President's condition and departed.
Governor Yates of Illinois was among them. He arrived shortly after
eleven o'clock. When he left he said the surgeons had informed him there
was a slight improvement in the President's condition, but not sufficient to
remove the grave apprehension felt.
Senator Chauncey M. Depew arrived shortly after noon with Colonel
Myron T. Herrick, who had gone to the depot to meet him. Senator Depew
had been summoned during the night. Colonel Herrick arrived on the same
train that brought Senator Hanna.
The news that came from the house at this time was still of the gravest
kind. Nothing more than a fighting chance was conceded by the physicians.
That was the news that Colonel Herrick brought out when he left the house
at 12 : 18 to go to dinner.
By far the most hopeful of the watchers was Senator Hanna, who declared
McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 55
his belief that the President had a good chance for his hfe. He sent for
Dr. Rixey and questioned him and the doctor repHed :
*'The President is gaining strength and has a good fighting chance but
for his heart. God knows what it will do."
The most noted heart specialist in the country, Dr. Janeway of Washing-
ton, was summoned during the morning.
The advance of death may be read in the bulletins which w^ere issued by
the physicians and others and sent by the newspaper reporters to their resj^ec-
tive papers.
Beginning at 10:28 a. m. Dr. Mynter announced that the President had a
fighting chance. Then came, at i 45, ''The President is sleeping and an
examination will be postponed until later,"
Then for a time no information came which would give the watchers
outside any clew as to the positive condition of the patient within. Suddenly
a carriage came up at a rapid speed and Dr. Stockton jumped out. He bore
what appeared to be a case of surgical instruments.
It was not until after this that the information came that during the
morning Mrs, McKinley had been in the room for a brief time, but the fact
that her husband was dying was not imparted to her, and every effort was
made to keep any suspicion of the true condition from her.
Colonel Alexander came from the house at 2 :20 and declared the Presi-
dent had just awakened from a sound sleep which lasted an hour and a half.
It was rumored, however, that the sleep was caused by the use of drugs and
that Mr. McKinley was really dying.
At 4 45 p. m. Secretary Hitchcock and Secretary Wilson arrived and
passed hurriedly intO' the house. They would answer no questions.
The anxiety of the watchers outside was abated somew'hat immediately
after this, however, by the appearance from the house of Mrs. Abner McKinley
and her daughter, Mrs. Herman Baer. The women drove aw^?y, and, it was
argued that, were the President in any immediate danger, they would not have
left the house.
The President's physicians issued a bulletin at 4:50 which stated that
there had been but a slight impro-vement since the last official bulletin w^as
issued. This notice said the pulse and temperature were practically the same.
A few minutes after the posting of this bulletin Harry Hamlin came from
the house. He w^ould not speak, and, summoning a carriage, he drove aw'ay
at full speed.
Though no statement was given out, the appearance of every one alx>ut
56 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE.
the Milbiirn house indicated that the President's death was expected any
moment. Figures moved about swiftly but noiselessly within the house.
The end seemed at hand when the physicians announced at 5 125 that the
condition of the President was very bad — in fact, could not be worse.
Tlie news was flashed to the White House from an official source at
Buffalo that at 5 45 the President's condition was most grave. That his
heart was responding but poorly to stimulants. Secretary Root, accompanied
by Carlton Sprague, reached the Milburn residence a few minutes after live
o'clock. It was said that Secretary Long would arrive at 1 1 140 o'clock.
To those who were so anxiously waiting for Vice-President Roosevelt
or knowledge of his whereabouts, word came from the train dispatcher at
Saratoga that at 7 130 p. m. Mr. Roosevelt had not been found, so far as he
knew, by the guides who were scouring the Adirondack woods for him. The
Vice-President had not reached North Creek, fifty-nine miles north of
Saratoga.
At eight o'clock word came that under the influence of oxygen the Presi-
dent regained consciousness for a moment. Dr. McBurney arrived at the
house at eight o'clock, and a moment later a guard was placed around
the tent in which was located the direct v^^ire to the White House.
CHAPTER III.
DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States, died at
fifteen minutes past two o'clock on the morning of Saturday, September 14,
1 90 1, at the age of fifty-eight years. He had lived just six and a half days
after receiving his wound at the hands of Leon Czolgosz, the anarchist.
From the time President McKinley was carried to the bed in the Mil-
burn home, at Buffalo, there had been a continually rising barometer of hope.
Frightful as had been the shock of his wound, serious as were the conse-
quences in a bullet necessarily retained in his body, the great reserves of
courage and of strength had come to the President's rescue, and he had
seemed to mend from the start. As the days passed following the assault,
the whole nation emerged from that black pall of gloom which fell in the
hour when men first whispered: "The President is shot!" Usual vocations
were taken up again. Social activities were renewed. The people in gen-
eral, scarcely pausing from the pressure of a necessary labor, caught the note
of encouragement, and were happy as they worked. Apprehension almost
faded away as the days of the week followed each other, and every succeed-
ing bulletin painted but brighter the scene in the sick room. By Wednesday
the millions of Americans who were watching with eyes of love at that
bedside — however near or remote they might be — had quite dismissed the
thought of a fatal ending to the President's case. They accepted his speedy
recovery as a fact to be shared with jubilation, and had forgotten the grip
of dismay and fear which seized them when the first news came.
And out of this rising glow of happiness came, late Thursday night,
another shock — the bitterer for the hope which had preceded it.
"The President is worse." That was the message men whispered to each
other. After bulletins which exhausted the possibility of variety in state-
ment came one which chilled the warm heart of the nation, and frightened
far away the hope which had seemed so certain. The Thursday morning
statement of physicians and secretary reported all that could be argued from
the sanguine statements of preceding days.
At three o'clock in the afternoon there was a note of distress in the
reporting. The country had already been apprised, through the watchful
57
58 DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
press, of such "hurryings to and fro" as presaged a return of peril, and of
fear. There were drawn, white faces at the windows of the Milburn house.
The calm of preceding days was disturbed. Messengers were sent flying to
various destinations. Carriages and automobiles rolled up or rolled away
in a haste which could mean but burning anxiety. And in the evening
hours came that carefully considered bulletin which was the more por-
tentous for the very vagueness of its terms:
Milburn House, Buffalo, N. Y., September 12. — The following bulletin
was issued by the President's physicians at 8:30 p. m.:
The President's condition this evening is not quite sc
good. His food has not agreed with him and has been
stopped. Excretion has not yet been properly established.
The kidneys are acting well. His pulse is not satisfactory, but
has improved in the last two hours. The wound is doing well.
He is resting quietly. Temperature, 100.2; pulse, 128.
P. M. Rixey,
M. D. Mann,
Roswell Park,
Herman Mynter,
Eugene Wasdin,
Charles D. Stockton.
George B. Cortelyou,
Secretary to the President.
Little by little the people learned. Early on Thursday there were signs
of pain. There were alarming developments. The physicians, carefully
scanning every evidence, breathlessly watching their patient's every mo-
ment, learned that a relapse had come. They battled against it. They called
up all the known agencies for assisting nature in opposing the grim enemy
that threatened.
But the President was sinking. That was the truth about it.
All through Thursday night, all through Friday that battling for life
went on, the patient, brave and uncomplaining victim of a reasonless shot,
was subjecting himself utterly to the control of the medical men. And they
were exhausting the possibilities of medicine and of surger}^ They were
doing all that man could do. They were rendering such service as king's
can not command. But the baffling difficulty continued. They could not
understand.
DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 59
Down through the body, hidden from their eyes, ran the channel which
a murderous bullet had plowed. And in every inch of its course the fatal
gangrene had settled. Death was at his feast in the President's body!
Nothing could check that devastation. Nothing could spur the heart
to combat longer. Nothing could restore those pulses to normal beating.
The President was dying!
All through the early hours of Friday night it was know^n he could not
live to another sunrise. Friends, relatives, cabinet ofificers, the Vice Presi-
dent— all were summoned; and they were hastening to the bedside in the
hush of an awful sorrow.
At three o'clock Friday morning all of the physicians were gathered
at the bedside of the President. It was stated that digitalis w^as being
administered. Drs. Mynter and Mann arrived at the house at 2:40, having
been sent for hurriedly.
Dr. Park reached the house at 2:50, and shortly after him came Secre-
taries Hitchcock and Wilson.
Several messengers were hurried from the house and it was understood
that they carried dispatches to the absent members of the Cabinet and the
kin of the President.
Additional lights burned. The household was astir. It was manifest
that the wounded President faced a grave and menacing crisis.
Alarm could be read in the faces of those to whose nursing and care he
was committed.
Mrs. Newell, one of the trained nurses suddenly called, arrived at 3:15.
She sprang from an electric carriage and ran down the sidewalk to the
house.
The scene about the house w^as dramatic. The attendants could be seen
hurrying about behind the unshaded and brightly lighted windows, and
messengers came and went hastily through the guarded door.
Outside half a hundred newspaper correspondents were assembled await-
ing news.
Meanwhile the nation — the world — stood watching for the final word.
Buffalo, where the President was assassinated, stood agape with horror and
rage.
It was past midday when he had entered upon his final struggle. The
thousands gathered at the Pan-American Exposition, the nation and the
outside world were not prepared even then for a realization that the worst
was at hand.
60 DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
A furious rainstorm was sweeping the city when the first ominous an-
nouncement came from the Milburn house:
"President McKinley is dying. He can hve but a few moments."
Then signal service operators took possession of the telegraph wires
leading to the house of death. Cabinet ofificers and members of the Presi-
dent's family began to arrive, and the beginning of the end had come.
Then it was announced that the President might live for several hours.
But even then his limbs were growing cold and his pulse was fluttering with
the feeble efforts of his will alone. Pie was conscious. Every light in the
house was aglow.
Within, the wife had paid her last tribute to her dying sweetheart of
thirty years. Dr. Rixey led her into the room, and as she laid her head
alongside his she sobbed:
"I cannot let him go."
She knew that the President was dying then, and in the dim silence
of her adjoining room she waited and wept as the hours sped and the doctors
wondered at the mighty battle of the dying man.
It was midnight when Sacretary Long of the Navy arrived. He found
his beloved chief alive, but unconscious, and Dr. Mann told him, as he stood
in the hallway, "The President is pulseless and dying, but he may live an
hour."
At half an hour past midnight Coroner Wilson arrived at the Milburn
house, and an unfounded announcement of McKinley's death was quickly
telegraphed to all parts of the country. He left as soon as he found that the
order summoning him was a mistake.
But the President, now finally unconscious, and breathing but faintly,
struggled on. Midnight, i and 2 o'clock, found him wavering on the verge,
and the men of science could but stand and marvel at the wondrous but
hopeless fight which he had maintained so long. Intervals ©f apparent
consciousness came upon him. Sometimes he opened his fading eyes and
gazed calmly around.
At 2 o'clock the dim, gray light began to fall across his shrunken face,
and then — death won!
He had been unconscious, the doctors said, for nearly six hours. During
all this time he had been gradually sinking. For the last half hour he had
been in such condition that it was diflicult to tell when he breathed.
With him at the time of his death was Dr. Rixey, alone of all the physi-
cians, and by the side of the bed were grouped Senator Hanna and members
of the President's family.
DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. Gl
He died unattended by a minister of the gospel, but his last words were
an humble submission to the will of God, in whom he believed. He was
reconciled to the cruel fate to which an assassin's bullet had condemned him,
and faced death in the same spirit of calmness and poise which has marked
his long and honorable career.
His last conscious words, reduced to wTiting by Dr. Mann, who stood at
his bedside when they were uttered, were as follows:
"Good-by, all; good-by. It is God's way. His will be done, not ours."
His relatives and the members of his official family w^ere at the Alilburn
house, except Secretary Wilson, who did not avail himself of the opportunity
and some of his personal and political friends took leave of him. This pain-
ful ceremony was simple. His friends came to the door of the sick room,
took a longing glance at him and turned tearfully away.
He was practically unconscious during this time, but the powerful heart
stimulants, including oxygen, were employed to restore him to conscious-
ness for his final parting with his wife. He asked for her and she sat at his
side and held his hand. He consoled her and bade her good-by.
She went through the heart-trying scene with the same bravery and forti-
tude with which she had borne the grief of the tragedy which ended his
life.
That last day on earth had tried him severely. He had commenced
wearing away a little before 3 o'clock Friday morning. Throughout the day
and evening the expectations of attendants, physicians and friends oscillated
as a pendulum between hope and despair. Hopeless bulletins followed
encouraging reports from the sick room, and they in turn gave way to
recurrent hope.
The truth was too evident to be passed over or concealed. The Presi-
dent's life was hanging in the balance. The watchers felt that at any mo-
ment might come the announcement of a change which would foreshadow
the end.
When it was learned that the President was taking small quantities of
nourishment hope rose that he would pass the crisis in safety. Everybody
knew, though — and no attempt vras made to conceal it — that the coming
night would in all human probability be his last on earth. It w^as known
that he was being kept alive by the strongest of heart stimulants, and that
the physicians had obtained a supply of oxygen to be administered if the
worse came.
During the day President McKinley was conscious when he was not
63 DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
sleeping-. Early in the morning when he awoke he looked out of the win-
dow and saw that the sky was overcast with heavy clouds.
"It is not so bright as it was yesterday," said he.
His eyes then caught the waving branches of the trees, glistening with
rain, and their bright green evidently made an agreeable impression upon
him,
"It is pleasant to see them," said he, feebly.
Mrs. McKinley did not take her usual drive. She saw the President
once before night, and then only for a moment. No words passed between
them. The physicians led her to the bedside of her husband, and after she
had looked at him for a moment they led her away.
While Mrs. McKinley was told that the President was not so well the
physicians deemed it best not to attempt to explain to her fully the nature
of the complications which had arisen or the real gravity of his condition.
As fast as steam could bring them the President's secretaries, the mem-
bers of his family and the physicians who had left convinced that the Presi-
dent would recover, were whirled back to Buffalo. They went at once to
the house in which he was lyhig, and the information which they obtained
there was of a nature to heighten rather than to relieve their fears.
All night the doctors worked to keep the President alive. The day broke
with a gloomy sky and a pouring rain, broken by frequent bursts of gusty
downpours. It seemed as though nature was sympathizing with the gloom
which surrounded the ivy-clad house about which the sentries were steadily
marching.
The 2 o'clock bulletin, issued at 2:30, swung the pendulum away over on
the side of confidence. It stated that the President had more than held his
own since morning, and that his condition justified the expectation of
further improvement. It added: "He is better than at this time yesterday."
Faces up and down the street brightened. Telegraph messenger boys,
in their youthful spirits, restrained all the day by the gloom around the
Milburn house, whooped as they ran and nobody reproved. The sun shone
again.
But the news was too good to last. Secretary Cortelyou walked across
the street to the press and telegraph tents and explained that the sentence,
"He is better than at this time yesterday," should be stricken out. Then the
sky was black again.
The bravery of Mrs. McKinley in this last moment was only paralleled by
the heroism with which the President himself, murmuring the words of
DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. 63
"Nearer, My God, to Thcc," turned his face away from all so dear to him in
life, and passed into the last and eternal sleep.
All through the struggle of Friday when the erratic heart of the Presi-
dent leaped and then failed, Mrs. McKinley's courage had been at the highest
point. The beautiful womanhood within her, the memories of thirty years
of perfect married life, the recollections of the tender devotions of the dying
President, rose and gave her the strength needed to face the worst.
She remained in her apartments surrounded by friends, anxious to be
by the President's side, but obedient to Dr. Rixey's wishes that she should
not come until she was called.
Oxygen had been given the President, and under its influence he had
slightly revived. He told Dr. Rixey that he realized he was about to die,
and he asked for Mrs. McKinley.
She came and knelt down by his bed and his eyes rested lovingly upon
her. His first solicitude was for her — her care, her happiness. All the love
of three decades shone in his face as he feebly put out his hands and covered
her own with his.
He knew that he was dying, she only half apprehended it. But even in
such a trial she kept herself up most bravely, lifting her tear-stained face to
Dr. Rixey's and exclaiming:
"I know that you will save him. I cannot let him go. The country
cannot spare him."
The President's strength did not last long. Unconsciousness returned to
him, and they led Mrs, McKinley away.
When she was without the room Mr. Milburn told her that the President
could hardly live until morning.
Herbert P. Bissell came to her side as she wavered, and Dr. Wasdin
hurried from the President's chamber and administered a restorative.
Little by little Mrs. McKinley gained new strength, and in half an hour
was in full control of herself. Several ladies sat beside her, r.nd to one of
these she turned and whispered:
"I will be strong for his sake."
An invalid herself, racked for twenty years with pain, almost helpless at
times, since the years in which her children passed from her, the wife and
sweetheart of the dying President conquered herself.
And so the heavy hours hurried away. Midnight had come, and gone.
The dawn was lingering far in the east, and not even the edge of the w-orld
glowed with the promise of day. It had rained on Friday, and a storm had
64 DEATHBED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
raged which will long be remembered by those who were called abroad in
the troubled city. As at the close of Napoleon's life the elements warred
tumultuously, so on the last day of this gentler ruler, the winds and the
clouds filled the earth with tears and the sounds of weeping.
They did not know, but his physicians were helpless from the start. The
demon who had struck so surely, might well make mockery of them. Six
days of pain, six days of agony, six days of hovering at the slippery brink
of death — and on the seventh he was at rest.
The great heart of the President was still forever. The man who had
confessed his God in childhood, bade farewell to earth with the words: "Thy
will be done!" The man who had helped his parents and his brothers and
his sisters, who had periled his Hfe freely in the defense of his country,
who had made an honorable name and given the blessing of a husband's love
to one good woman, the man who had never harmed a human being pur-
posely, who had lived at peace with God and man almost for three-score
years, had drifted across the bar. His heart had throbbed lightly, and was
still. The varying pulse had ceased, and the calm eyes that had fronted
life and death and destiny without ever flinching — this Man was dead. The
head of a nation, the chief executive of eighty millions of people, the states-
man who had guided his country so wisely and so well, had been tlirust
from earth by an assassin who had no cause of complaint, who had no
wrongs to avenge, no advantage to secure, no benefit to hope.
And into the silent room where all need for silence had passed, where
footfalls need not be guided lightly, where bated breath were no more
known, the night wind came through wide-flung windows, and touched the
lips and brow and nerveless hands. And the sound of unchecked weeping
waited for the dawn.
CHAPTER IV.
THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
Leon F. Czolgosz, the assassin of President McKinley, was born of Polish
parents, who resided in Cleveland at the time he committed the terrible crime.
Twenty-six years of age, born in Detroit, of medium height, smooth-shaven,
brown hair, and dressed like a workingman completes all the description
necessary.
After the shooting he made a confession, in which he told how he had
follovv'cd the President from the time of the latter's arrival at the exposition
until the fatal shots were fired. All of this time, like a prowling wild beast, he
sought the life of President McKinley.
He received some education in the common schools of Detroit, but left
school and went to Vv^ork when a boy as a blacksmith's apprentice. Later he
went to work at Cleveland and then went to Chicago.
While in Chicago he became interested in the Socialist movement. When
he went back to Cleveland his interest in the movement increased. He read
all the Socialist literature he could lay his hands on, and finally began to take
part in Socialistic matters. In time he became well known among Anarchists
in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit, not only as a Socialist, but as an Anar-
chist of the most bitter type.
After returning to Cleveland from Chicago he went to work in the wire
mills in Newburg, a suburb of Cleveland.
About two weeks previous to his fearful crime, Czolgosz attended a meet-
ing of Socialists in Cleveland, at which a lecture was given by Emm.a Gold-
man, the woman whose anarchistic doctrines have made her notorious all
over the country. The extermination of rulers of people is part of her creed.
It was this lecture and others heard in Chicago prior to that time that
instilled in the heart of the Pole the poison of assassination. He went back
to his lodging from the lecture with fever in his brain. His mind was filled
with the preaching of this woman. The doctrine that rulers had no right to
live was burned into his soul. He awoke in the morning with the lecture of
Emma Goldman running through his mind.
A few days afterward he read in a Chicago paper that President McKinley
was to visit the Pan-American Exposition and to remain in Buffalo for sev-
6s
66 THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
eral days. The lecture of Emma Goldman and the projected visit of the
President to Buffalo were linked in his every thought.
Eight days before the tragedy he packed a small telescope valise with a
few of his belongings and took an early train for Buffalo. At that time there
was no well-formed purpose in his mind. The plot to murder had not crystal-
lized, but the thought that in Buffalo he would be able, perhaps, to reach the
President's side was what led him to start for the East, and with it was the
dim conviction that his mission was one of blood.
Upon arriving in Buffalo he went at once to an hotel kept by one John
Nowak. He went there because he knew Nowak was a Pole. He told
Nowak he had come to see the exposition, and that his stay v/ould be in-
definite. He inquired of Nowak about the visit of the President, when he
would arrive, how long he would be in the city, what he was to do there, and
whether the people would be able to see much of him. Nowak told him what
the plans were.
The next day Czolgosz went to the exposition. He went there on the
following day, and the day following. The idea that he might kill the Presi-
dent when he came v/as in his mind, but the purpose was but half form.ed.
At that time it might have been possible to have diverted his mind from the
thought of such a mission. But he was alone in the city. He had no friends
there. There was nothing to check the fever burning deeper and deeper into
his mind.
On Wednesday morning, the day of the President's arrival, Czolgosz had
his mind made up. His mission to Buffalo was clear to him then. He deter-
mined to shoot the President. The first thing he did was to get a revolver.
He arrived on the grounds shortly before noon. He knew the President
would not arrive before the early evening. He had read the papers carefully
and knew every detail of the plans. But he w^as anxious to be on the scene
where the assassination was to be committed. He remained at the exposition
all day.
In the afternoon he took up his position close to the railroad gate. He
knew the President would enter the grounds that way. After a time other
people began to assemble there until there was a crowd that hedged him in on
all sides. He came to the conclusion that the place for him to be was out-
side of the railroad station, close to the tracks.
He feared that inside the grounds the crush might be so great that he
would be brushed aside and prevented from reaching the President. He tried
to pass through the gate to the station, but he was too late. Guards had
-J^
'J
MRS. McKINLEY BIDDING HER HUSBAND THE LAST FAREWELL.
THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN. 69
just closed the exit. The President was to arrive soon, and the poHce did not
desire to have the station crowded, so they pushed Czolgosz back into the
crowd.
He was in the forefront of the throng when the President came through
the gate. The exhibition of tenderness and affection for his wife which the
President unconsciously gave her as he led her through the entrance thrilled
every one in the throng but Czolgosz, He alone felt no pity for the pale,
sweet-faced, suffering woman. He pressed forward with the rest of the crowd
as the President approached the carriage. He was gripping the weapon in
his pocket in his right hand.
Several times, as the figure of the Chief Executive came into full view as
the guards drew aside, the impulse to rush forward and shoot took possession
of him, but each time he changed his mind. He feared that he would be dis-
covered before he could reach the President. He was afraid that the glint
of the revolver, if he drew it from his pocket, might attract the attention of a
detective or a soldier or a citizen before he could put his plan into execution,
and in that event the assassin knew that all hope of killing the President
would be over. He saw the President enter the carriage and drive away. He
followed, but the crowd closed in front of him and held him back.
The next morning he was at the exposition early. He took up his posi-
tion close to the stand beneath the Pylon of Liberty, where the President wo£
to speak. When the time came for the President to arrive the guards pushed
him back. He saw the President arrive and mount to the stand. He stood
there in the front row of the hurrahing people, mute, with a single thought in
his mind.
He heard Mr. McKinley speak. He reckoned up the chances in his mind
of stealing closer and shooting down the President w^here he stood. Once he
fully determined to make the attempt, but just then a stalwart guard ap-
peared in front of him. He concluded to wait a better opportunity. After the
address he was among those who attempted to crowd up to the President's
carriage. One of the detectives caught him by the shoulder and shoved him
back into the crowd.
He saw the President drive away and followed. He tried to pass through
the entrance after the President, but the guards halted him and sent him
away. He entered the stadium by another entrance, but was not permitted to
get within reach of the President.
The next morning he w^as at the exposition again and was in the crowd
at the railroad gate when the President arrived at that point after crossing
5
70 THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
the grounds from the Lincohi Park entrance. But with the rest of the crowd
he was driven back when the President's carriage arrived. He saw the
President pass through the gate to the special train which was to take him
to the falls.
Czolgosz waited for the President's return. In the afternoon he went to
the Temple of Music and was one of the first of the throng to enter. He
crowded well forward, as close to the stage as possible. He was there when
the President entered through the side door. He was one of the first to
hurry forward when the President took his position and prepared to shake
hands with the people.
Czolgosz had his revolver gripped in his right hand, and about both the
hand and the revolver was wrapped a handkerchief. He held the weapon to
his breast, so that any one who noticed him might suppose that the hand was
injured.
He reached the President finally. He did not look into the President's
face. He extended his left hand, pressed the revolver against the President's
breast with his right hand and fired twice.
That was all there was to his story.
"Did you mean to kill the President?" asked the District Attorney.
*T did," was the reply.
"What w-as the motive that induced you to commit this crime?" he was
asked.
"I am a disciple of Emma Goldman," he rephed.
The following is Czolgosz's signed confession to the police. It agrees
with the above, but we give it in his exact words :
"I was born in Detroit nearly twenty-nine years agO'. My parents were
Russian Poles. They came here forty-two^ years ago. I got my education
in the public schools of Detroit and then went to Cleveland, where I got wcwk.
In Cleveland I read books on socialism and met a great many Socialists.
I was pretty well known as a Socialist in the West. After being in Cleveland
for several years I went tO' Chicago, where I remained seven months, after
which I went to Newburg, on the outskirt of Cleveland, and went to work in
the Newburg wire mills.
"Du'ring the last five years I have had as friends Anarchists in Chicago,
Qeveland, Detroit, and other Western cities, and I suppose I became more or
less bitter. Yes, I know I was bitter. I never had much luck at anything
and this preyed upon me. It made me morose and envious, but what started
the craze to kill was a lecture I heard some little time ago by Emma Goldman.
THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN. 71
She was iii Cleveland and I and other Anarchists went to hear her. She
set me on fire.
"Her doctrine that all rnlcrs should be exterminated was wiiat set me
to thinking so that my head nearly split with the pain. Miss Goldman's
words w^nt right through me and when I left the lecture I had made up my
mind that I would have tO' do something heroic for the cause I loved.
"Eight days ago, while I was in Chicago, I read in a Chicago newspaper
of President McKinley's visit to the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo?
That day I bought a ticket for Buffalo and got there with the determination
to do something, but I did not know just wdiat. I thought of shooting the
President, but I had not formed a plan.
"I went to live at 1078 Broadway, which is a saloon and hotel. John
Nowak, a Pole, a sort of politician who has led his people here for years,
owais it. I told Now^ak that I came to see the fair. He knew nothing about
what was setting me crazy. I went to the Exposition grounds a couple of
times a day.
"Not until Tuesday morning did the resolution to shoot the President
take a hold of me. It was in my heart; there was no escape for me. I
could not have conquered it had my life been at stake. There were thou-
sands of people in town on Tuesday. I heard it w^as President's Day. All
these people seemed bowing to the great ruler. I made up my mind to kill
that ruler. I bought a 32-calil>er revolver and loaded it.
"On Tuesday night I went to the Fair grounds and was near the railroad
gate when the Presidential party arrived. I tried to get near him, but the
police forced me back. They forced everybody back so that the great ruler
could pass. I was close to the President when he got into the grounds, but
was afraid to attempt the assassination because there w^rc so' many men in the
bodyguard that watched him. I was not afraid of them or that I should get
hurt, but afraid I might be seized and that my chance would be gone forever.
"Well, he went away that time and I went home. On Wediiesday I went
to the grounds and stood right near the President, right under him near the
stand from wdiich he spoke.
"I thought half a dozen times of shooting while he was speaking, but
I could not get close enough. I was afraid I might miss, and then the
great crow'd w^as always jostling, and I was afraid lest my aim fail. I waited
on Wednesday, and the President got into his carriage again, and a lot of
men w^ere about him and formed a cordon that I could not get through. I
72 THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
was tossed about by the crowd, and my spirits were getting pretty low. I was
almost hopeless that night as I went home.
"Yesterday morning I went again to the Exposition grounds. Emma
Goldman's speech was still burning me up. I waited near the cent*"al entrance
for the President, who was to board his special train from that gate, but the
police allowed nobody but the President's party to pass where the train waited,
so I stayed at the grounds all day waiting.
"During yesterday I first thought of hiding my pistol under my hand-
keirchief, I was afraid if I had to draw it from my pocket I would be seen
and seized by the guards. I got to the Temple of Music the first one and
waited at the spot where the reception was to be held.
"Then he came, the President — the ruler — and I got in line and trembled
and trembled until I got right up to him, and then I shot him twice, through
my white handkerchief. I would have fired more, but I was stunned by a
blow in the face — a frightful blow that knocked me down — and then every-
body jumped on me. I thought I would be killed and was surprised the way
they treated me."
Czolgosz ended his story in utteir exhaustion. When he had about con-
cluded he was asked : "Did you really mean to kill the President?"
"I did," was the reply.
"What was your motive, what good could it do you?" he was asked.
"I am an Anarchist. I am a disciple of Emma Goldman. Her words
set me on fire,''' he replied, with not the slightest tremor.
"I deny that I have had an accomplice at any time," Czolgosz told District
Attorney Penny. "I don't regret my act, because I was doing what I could
for the great cause. I am not connected with the P'aterson group or with
those Anarchists who sent Bresci to Italy to kill Humbert. I had no con-
fidants; no one to help me. I was alone absolutely."
Czolgosz, the assassin, was the son of Paul Czolgosz, who' lived at 306
Fleet street, Qeveland, Ohioi, at the time of the assassination, having moved
there from Warrensburg, Ohio, in search of work. Other members of the
family were John, who lived at home with his father and stepmother ; Mike,
a soldie'r serving in the Philippines ; Vladiolan, whO' was on his father's farm,
located on the Chagrin Falls Suburban line ; and Jacob, of Marcelline avenue.
There were two- uncles living on Hosmer street.
The family was Polish and evidently poor.
Czolgosz's father talked of his son's crime. He said his son should be
hanged, and that there was no excuse for the crime. At first he appeared
THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN. 73
not to realize the enormity of the crime, but when aroused he denouncctl liis
son, saying he must liave been mad.
The stepmother could not speak Eng-lish, but gave out the following inter-
view through the medium of an interpretei*. She said :
"Leon left home sixty days before this telrrible affair. We heard from him
a few weeks ago. He was then in Indiana and wrote to us that he was going
away, stating that in all probability we would not see him again."
The family had not heard from him since. The stepmother denies Leon
was a disciple of Emma Goldman or in any way interested in her doctrines.
She said he was not interested in such matters and scarcely intelligent enough
to understand them. They had always considered the boy partly demented.
Up to three years ago he had worked at the Cleveland rolling mill, but had
to quit on account of poor health. Since that time he has been idle. While
living on the farm near Warrensville his father had not asked Leon to work,
having always considered him too weak for manual labor.
Regarding the shooting of the President, Mrs. Czolgosz said :
'T can't believe Leon is the one. He was such a timid boy, so afraid of
everything. Why, he w^as the biggest coward you eveh" saw in your life."
Leon Czolgosz was born in Alpena County, Michigan, and spent his early
life there. Although the family was w^ell known but little was known of Czol-
gosz, he being only thirteen years of age when the family moved away.
The family is Polish and was strict in religious observances, but the record
does not shov/ that Leon Czolgosz was baptized either at Alpena or at Posen,
where the family lived a short time before moving to Alpena.
Czolgosz, the fathdr, was born in the Province of Posen, Krais Schubin,
County of Bromberg, Village of Haido', near Barin, and came directly to
Alpena County from Germany about thirty years ago. He worked on the
docks and vas regarded as a peaceful, inoffensive, ignorant foreigner. The
father of Leon Czolgosz raised ten children, of which the assassin was one
of the youngest.
After leaving Alpena the family was only heard of a few times, and that
indirectly, but they were known to be in Qeveland, where several of the
children were living with them. Valentine Misgalski, a prominent and
intelligent Pole, and former friend of the Czolgosz family, said that he never
sawi any evidences of viciousness in the family. He remembers Leon and
said there was nothing unusual about him as a boy. He attended the
parochial school, w^as devoted to his churcli, and remembers him as in every
way an ordinary boy.
74 THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
Andrew Czolgosz, uncle of the assassin, lived in Metz Township, thirty
miles from Alpena, the most of which distance has to be made overland.
He was unable to talk English and conversation had tO' be carried on through
his sons. This family lived in a thickly populated Polish settlement, where
the people were ignorant and not always to be tlrusted, and inquiries had to
be made with great care. Tliese people quarrelled and fought among them-
selves, but at a signal that any one of their members was in danger from
any one from the outside, as they call it, a man's life was in great danger.
It was in this settlement that Paul Czolgosz lived for a short time after
coming tO' this country before settling in Alpena.
During the conversation with Andrew Czolgosz a significant remark was
made by one of the sons. Inquiry was made as to where Paul Czolgosz could
be found, and also his son Leon, without giving a reason for the inquiry.
The old man said his brother was in Cleveland, that he had heard from him
occasionally, but he did not know wliat had become of Leon. He had kept
track of some of the boys, but he denied any knowledge of where Leon was.
When the interviewer started to return he asked the boys, who talk
English well, if they had heard President McKinley was shot. One of them
spoke up quickly, "Did Leon shoot him?" He was told there was a report
current to that effect, tO' which the boy made no' reply. An effort was made
to resume the conversation, but they would answer no questions, nor would
they ask any more questions of their father.
Leon Czolgosz has an aunt living in Alpena, but she would answer no
questions. Czolgosz also had a brother living in the Polish settlement.
On the rolls of the Pension Office was the name of Jacob F. Czolgosz.
A pension of $30 a month was paid to Jacob because of a wound in the
right hand and forearm. The wound was received through the explosion
of a shell at Sandy Hook in 1899. Czolgosz enlisted from Cleveland, Ohio
(giving his address at 199 Hosmer street), first in Battery M, Sixth Artillery,
on September 15, 1898. He was afterward discharged on January 22, 1899,
and then re-enlisted in the ordnance branch, in Captain Babbitt's company,
and was serving there when wounded.
He was born at Alpena, Michigan, and was twenty-two yeairs and ten
months old when he first enlisted.
Leon Czolgosz was a member of several Anarchist clubs in Cleveland,
one O'f which was named "Sila," which means "force." The club met at
the corner of Tod street and Third avenue, over a saloon which, it is said,
Czolgosz once owned. Three years before the assassination the club dis-
banded and he left it, but joined another.
THE STOPvY OF THE ASSASSIN. 75
"Czolgosz made no- secret of the fact that he was an Anarchist," said
Anton Zwohnski, a Cleveland Pole. "He was always talking- about it and
trying to force Anarchists' principles on every one whom he talked with.
He was a great coward, however, and I am surprised he had the nerve to do
as he did. It wotild not surprise me to learn that he is merely the tool of some
other persons. When the Sila Club broke up Czolgosz joined another one."
Several years previous to his crime, Czolgosz was employed in a Newburg
mill, where he was known as Fred Nieman. He was a member of Forest
City Castle Lodge No. 22 of the Golden Eagles. His former associates
said he was a queer man, but was known to have a most violent temi>er. It is
said that the assassin was a strong infidel and a red-hot Socialist. He was
last seen by his Cleveland friends around Newburg the previous spring, when
he was living on a farm with his father near Warrensville, Ohio.
John Cinder, an employe of the Newburg wire mill, where Czolgosz
formerly worked, and who was also a member of the Golden E^igle Lodge,
received a letter from Czolgosz in July, dated West Seneca, N. Y.
The letter, which was taken by the police, was written in red ink and
contained a strange reference to the fare to Buffalo. It read as follows :
"West Seneca, N. Y., July 30, 1901. — John Ginder — Dear Sir and
Brother: Inclosed you will find $1 to pay my lodge dues. I paid $1 to
Brother George Coonish to pay the assessment sent out on account of the
death of Brother David Jones.
"Brother Ginder, please send my book to me at my cost, and also send
password if you can do so.
"I left Cleveland Thursday, July 11. I am working here and will stay for
some time. The fare from here to Buffalo is $3.15.
"Hoping this finds you well, as it leaves mc, I remain
Fred C. Nieman."
Czolgosz was placed on trial before Justice Truman C. White of the State
Supreme Bench, at Buffalo, on Monday, September 23. On the following
day the jury found him guilty, and on Thursday, September 26, he was sen-
tenced to death by electrocution in the week lieginning October 28. He refused
to consult with the attorneys appointed to defend him, and practically made no
defense.
CHAPTER V.
EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER.
Russia, the land of the nihilists, and the home of the "propaganda of
action" — which means assassination — was the birthplace of Emma Goldman.
Though still a young woman, she is recognized as a radical among radicals,
when it comes to expounding the principles of her faith. For more than
ten years she has been known as an enemy of government.
Miss Goldman's contempt for the present system of law is pronounced,
bitter, and unrelenting, yet she never fails to deny that she is an advocate of
violence.
'T have never advocated violence," she asserted some time ago, in an
interview, "but neither do I condemn the Anarchist who resorts to it. I
look behind him for the conditions that made him possible, and my horror
is swallowed up in pity. Perhaps under the same conditions I would have
done the same."
Miss Goldman says she was bom a revolutionist, but that her belief in
anarchy was not actually crystallized until after the hanging of the Chicago
Anarchists in 1887. Then she became what she describes as an active Anar-
chist, and her activity has never flagged since then. She has been a prolific
writer for all publications in this country that would give space to her articles
upon anarchy, and has devoted much of her time to lecturing.
Miss Goldman had frequently lectured in Chicago, but until the attack
on President McKinley, the police found no reason to arrest her.
The lectures in Chicago attracted little attention, seldom having been
announced in an obtrusive manner. Her reputation was such, however, that
the management of Hull House refused to permit her to speak in that estab-
lishment.
In 1893 the New York police arrested Miss Goldman on a warrant charg-
ing her with "inciting to riot." The arrest was a result of her activity dur-
ing the famous Debs strike, and it was followed by her imprisonment on
Blackwell's Island for a term of one year, which was shortened to seven
months on account of good behavior. She formerly had led a strike of the
Waist and Shirt Maker Girls' union in New York, but vvithout attracting
much attention.
76
EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. 77
In an extended interview which Miss Goldman gave out a few months
ago while in New York she told many things about her life and her views
on social and political questions which have a special interest at the present
moment. She said:
"I am a Russian through and through, although little of my life was
spent there. I was born in Russia, but was brought up in Germany and
graduated from a German school. All that didn't make a German of me.
I went back to Russia when I was 15 years old, and felt that I was return-
ing to my home. ]\Iy family was orthodox. None of my revolutionary
tendencies was inherited — at least my parents were not responsible for them
and were horrified by them.
"While I was in Germany I did not think much about anarchy, but when
I went back to St. Petersburg my whole attitude toward life changed, and I
went into radicalism with all my heart and soul. You see, things are differ-
ent in Russia from what they are here or anywhere else. One breathes a
revolutionary thought with the air, and without being definitely interested
in anarchy one learns its principles. There was discussion and thought an^
enthusiasm all around me, and something within me responded to it all.
WOMAN'S EQUALITY IN RUSSIA.
"There is no other place in the world where woman has what she has in
Russia. There the women have not only the same rights in law as the men,
they have the same liberties and the same social and intellectual freedom.
There man respects woman, looks upon her as his equal, is her good chum —
yes, that is the word. Nowhere are men and women chums as they are in
Russia.
"A woman student in Russia may receive visitors all day and most cf the
night, discuss all vital subjects with them, go with men when and where she
pleases, and yet she will not be criticised, and no landlady would dream of
insinuating that there was anything wrong with her morals. What is more,
there wouldn't be anything wrong with them. The standard of morals in
the student class is phenomenally high, and the average intelligent Russian
woman's mind is as pure as it is broad.
"The relation between the sexes in Russia is the most ideal of any I
knov7 about. That is why young Russian women learn to think. And
because they think they become Anarchists.
"I was an Anarchist when I left Russia to come to x^merica, but I had
78 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER
hardly formulated my belief. The final influence that crystallized my views
was the hanging of the Chicago Anarchists in 1887. I followed that case
carefully and it made me an active Anarchist. I was living with my family
in Rochester then, and the nearest thing to a radical society the town had
was a Social 'Democratic society, tame as a house cat. I came away to New
York and went to work in a factory. That showed me a new side of life.
My family had been well-to-do, and I hadn't come in actual contact with
the want and suffering of the world until I joined the wage-earners.
"Of course the experience strengthened my revolutionary ideas. When
the Waist and Shirtmaker Girls' union went out in 1888 I led the strike.
That is, in a way I led it. I have never been an Anarchist leader. I cannot
afford it. A leader must be a diplomat. I am not a diplomat. A leader of
a party makes concessions to his party, for the sake of holding his power.
He must give way to his followers in order to be sure they will sustain him.
I can't do all that, I am an Anarchist because I love individual freedom and
I vi'ill not surrender that freedom.
"You know I am a professional nurse. It has always been the dream of
my life to be a doctor, but I never could manage it — could not get means
for the study. My factory work undermined my health, so I thought that
if I couldn't be a doctor I could at least be a little part of the profession. I
went through the training for a nurse, did the hospital work, and now nurse
private cases.
"When I came out of prison on Blackwell's Island I was nervous. I
decided to try a change and go to Europe for a year. I could lecture for
the cause and take a course in massage and in midwifery in Vienna. There
is no good training for either here, ^not gh we have the best training schools
for nurses in the world.
"Well, I went and did my studying and then went to Paris to study and
wait for the Anarchists' congress. You know the government prohibited
the congress. <We had it all the same, but the meetings were secret. I
received the honor or dishonor of especially strict surveillance. I was to
give a series of lectures, but after the third the authorities warned me that if
I gave any more I must leave France, and as I wanted to attend the congress
I kept quiet.
"Finally, detectives escorted me to the station and saw my luggage
checked to the steamer and then notified the government that the dangerous
woman was on her way out of France."
Leon Czolgosz, the murderer of President McKinley, asserted immedi-
EMMA GOLDMAN. THE ANARCHIST LEADER. 79
ately after his arrest, that he was led to undertake the assassination of the
President by a speech deUvered by Emma Goldman, the leader of the Anar-
chist propaganda in America. This speech was delivered in Cleveland, O.,
the home of Czolgosz, I\Iay 6. In it Miss Goldman outlined the principles
of anarchy, and detailed the methods whereby she expected to secure the
establishment of anarchy throughout the world. Her talk was full of forceful
passages, in some cases more notable for their strenf 'h than for their
elegance.
"Men under the present state of society," she said, "are mere products of
circumstances. Under the galling yoke of government, ecclesiasticism, and
a bond of custom and prejudice, it is impossible for the individual to work
out his own career as he could wish. Anarchism aims at a new and complete
freedom. It strives to bring about the freedom which is not only the free-
dom from within but a freedom from without, which will prevent any man
from having a desire to interfere in any way with the liberty of his neighbor.
"Vanderbilt says, *I am a free man within myself, but the others be
damned.' This is not the freedom we are striving for. We merely desire
complete individual liberty, and this can never be obtained as long as there
is an existing government.
"We do not favor the socialistic idea of converting men and women into
mere producing machines under the eye of a paternal government. We go
to the opposite extreme and demand the fullest and most complete liberty
for each and every person to work out his own salvation upon any line that
he pleases. The degrading notion of men and women as machines is far
from our ideals of life.
"Anarchism has nothing to do with future governments or economic
arrangements. We do not favor any particular settlement in this line, but
merely ask to do away wdth the present evils. The future will provide these
arrangements after our work has been done. Anarchism deals merely with
social relations, and not with economic arrangement."
The speaker then deprecated the idea that all Anarchists were in favor
of violence or bomb throwing. She declared that nothing was further from
the principles they support. She went on, however, into a detailed explana-
tion of the different crimes committed by Anarchists lately, declaring that
the motive was good in each case, and that these acts were merely a matter
of temperament.
Some men were so constituted, she said, that they were unable to stand
idly by and see the wrong that was being endured by their fellow-mortals.
80 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER.
She herself did not believe in these methods, but she did not think they
should be condemned in view of the high and noble motives which prompted
their perpetration. She continued: ''Some believe we should first obtain
by force and let the intelligence and education come afterwards."
Miss Goldman did not hesitate to put forward a number of sentiments
far more radical and sensational than any ever publicly advanced here. Dur-
ing Miss Goldman's lecture a strong detail of police was in the hall to keep
her from uttering sentiments which were regarded as too radical. This
accounts for the fact that the speaker did not give free rein to her thoughts
on that occasion. Because of anarchistic uprisings elsewhere it was thought
best by the city officials to curb the utterances of the woman.
As soon as it w^as known that Czolgosz admitted being a disciple of
Emma Goldman, the police of a score of cities began an active hunt for her,
in the belief that the President's assassination was the result of a conspiracy,
of which she was the head. It was known that Miss Goldman had been
in Chicago in July, and that she had visited Buffalo in July and August.
But her whereabouts immediately following the crime, could not easily be
traced. The arrest of a number of anarchists in Chicago, and the capture
of a number of letters, gave the police a clue that Miss Goldman was in St.
Louis, and the police of that city made active search for her. She was not
found, however, though the fact that she was in that city after the attack
of Czolgosz on the President, was established. It was then surmised that
she had gone to Chicago, and the police of that city redoubled their vigil-
ance. Through a telegram sent to a man living on Oakdale avenue, the
Chicago police learned that Miss Goldman had made inquiries concerning
the arrest of the Anarchists in that city, and announced her purpose of
going to Chicago, and would arrive on Sunday night, Sept. 8. The police
watched the house in Oakdale avenue all Sunday night, but no one entered
it. The watch was continued, however, and Monday morning the vigilance
of the officers was rewarded. A woman approached the house and rang
the front door bell. There v/as no response, and she went around the house
to the back door, where she knocked. No one opened the door, nor was
there any response. The woman then walked to Sheffield avenue and rang
the bell at No. 303, the third flat in which is the home of Charles G. Norris.
Here she was admitted, and while one of the detectives watched the house,
the other reported to his superior officers. Captain Herman Schuettler,
who had considerable experience with the Chicago Anarchists in 1886. prior
to and after the Haymarket riot, immediately went to the Sheffield avenue
EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. 81
house. The officer on duty there reported that no one had entered or left
the house since the woman had disappeared beliind its doors. The police
officers tried the usual mode of securing admittance, but no response came
to their signals. Then Detective Charles K. Hertz climbed in through a
window, and opening the door, admitted Captain Schuettler. Sitting in the
parlor, dressed in a light wrapper, with two partly filled valises in front of
her, was Emma Goldman. She turned pale when the policemen confronted
her and denied her identity, which was established by a fountain pen box,
on which her name was written. The woman had said that she was a
servant.
Miss Goldman was taken to the office of Chief of Police O'Neill and
served with a warrant charging her with having conspired with other Anar-
chists then under arrest, to kill the President.
She detailed her meeting with the assassin in Chicago.
*T was at the house of Abraham Isaak. Yes, the house at 515 Carroll
street. I was preparing to take the Nickel Plate train for the East with
Miss Isaak. A ring came at the door. I answered the bell and found a
young man there. He asked for Mr. Isaak. The latter had left the house,
promising to meet us at the station and say good-by. I so told the young
man and I further told him that he might go to the station with us and meet
Mr. Isaak there. So you see," she asserted, "he would not even have been
with me for thirty-five minutes had I not asked him to go to the train.
"The young man — yes, it was Czolgosz, who shot the President — said
that he had met me before. He said he had heard me lecture in Cleveland,
I had delivered a lecture there on May 6, but I can't remember all the per pie
who shake hands with me, can I? I had no remembrance of him. We v;ent
to the station on the elevated train and this man accompanied us. I asked
him where he had heard of Mr. Isaak. He said he had read the latter's
paper. Free Society. He did not talk to me about a plot. I never heard
of him from that time until McKinley w^as shot."
Emma Goldman's ideas on anarchy are contained in an interview had
with her some months before President McKinley 's assassination. She said:
"If a man came to me and told me he was planning an assassination I
w^ould think him an utter fool and refuse to pay any attention to him. Tlie
man who has such a plan, if he. is earnest and honest, knows no secret is safe
when told. He does the deed himself, runs the risk himself, pays the penalty
himself. I honor him for the spirit that prompts him. It is no sm.all thing
for a man to be willing to lay down his life for the cause of humanity. The
82 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER.
act is noble, but it is mistaken. While I do not advocate violence, neither
do I condemn the anarchist who resorts to it.
"I was an anarchist when I left Russia to come to America," she con-
tinued, "but I had hardly formulated my belief. The final influence that
crystallized my views was the hanging of the Chicago anarchists in 1887.
"I am an anarchist because I love individual freedom, and I will not
surrender that freedom. A leader must sooner or later be the victim of the
masses he thinks he controls. When I definitely entered the work I gave
myself a solemn pledge that I would study, that I would make passion bow
to reason, that I would not be carried away from the truth by sentiment. I
soon saw that the safest and wisest way to keep myself free was not to be a
leader. That is why I am connected with no party. I am a member of no
group. Individual freedom and responsibility — there is the basis of true
anarchy.
"No, I have never advocated violence, nor do I know a single truly great
anarchist leader who ever did advocate violence. Where violence comes
wath anarchy it is a result of the conditions, not of anarchy. The biggest
fallacy going is the idea that anarchists as a body band together and order
violence, assassinations of rulers and all that. I ought to know something
about anarchy, and I tell you that is false — absolutely false.
'There is ignorance, cruelty, starvation, poverty, suffering, and some vic-
tim grows tired of waiting. He believes a decisive blow^ will call public
attention to the wTongs of his country, and may hasten the remedy. He and
perhaps one or two intimate friends or relatives make a plan. They do not
have orders. They do not consult other anarchists.
"Perhaps under the same conditions I would do the same. If I had been
starving in Milan, and had raised my starving baby in the air as an appeal for
justice, and had that baby shot in my arms by a brutal soldiery, w^ho knows
what I might have done? I might have changed from a philosophical anar-
chist to a fighting anarchist. Do you suppose if Santo Caserio had had
anarchist organization back of him he would have tramped all the weary way
to Paris, without money, in order to kill Carnot? If Bresci had been sent
out from us, W'Ould he have had to scrape together every' cent he could, even
forcing one of his anarchist friends to pawn some of his clothes in order
to repay a loan Bresci had made him? The friend curses Bresci for a hard-
hearted creditor, but Bresci never told w^hy he needed the money so des-
perately.
"Anarchy's best future lies in America. We in America haven't yet
EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. 83
reached conditions — economic conditions, I mean — that necessarily breed
violence. I am thankful for that ; but we are much nearer such conditions
than the old-time American ever dreamed we would be, and unless some-
thing is done to stop it, the time will come.
"It's all too absolutely silly, this talk about my being dangerous. Half
my fellow believers think me a fool because I am always talking against
violence and advocating individual w'ork. I believe that the next ten
years will see a wonderful spreading of the true principles of anarchy in this
country."
Emma Goldman, at the time of the assassination, was a woman thirty-two
years old, with coarse features, thick lips, a square jaw and prominent nose.
She w^ore glasses on account of nearsightedness, and her hair was light,
almost red — the color of the doctrine she teaches.
She was held without bail, but afterwards released.
After Czolgosz, the first arrests for complicity in the attempt on President
McKinley's life were made in the city of Chicago. The metropolis of Illinois,
with its cosmopolitan population, has always been a hotbed of anarchy, and
it was there the police instantly looked for traces of the movements of the
assassin. The police learned from Czolgosz himself that he had recently been
in Chicago, and had visited at the house of Abraham Isaak, Sr., 515 Carroll
avenue. Isaak was known as an anarchist and the publisher of a paper
called Free Society. The police procured w^arrants for the arrest of Isaak
and others on a charge of conspiracy to kill and assassinate the President of
the United States, William McKinley, and on visiting Isaak's house Satur-
day, September 7, found nine persons there, all of whom were arrested. They
were :
Abraham Isaak, Sr., publisher of the Free Society and former publisher
of the Firebrand, the organ of anarchy, which was suppressed; Abraham
Isaak, Jr., Clemence Pfuetzner, Alfred Schneider, Hippolyte H?vel, Henry
Travaglio', Julia Mechanic, Marie Isaak, mother; Marie Isaak, daughter.
The same day three other men were arrested at 100 Newberry avenue,
Chicago, for the same crime. These men were: Martin Raznick, cloak-
maker, who rented the premises ; Maurice Fox, Michael Raz.
In the house the detectives found box after box heaped with the litera-
ture of anarchy and socialism. There were pictures of Emma Goldman and
other leaders and many copies of the Firebrand, Isaak's old paper.
The arrests were decided on thus early because of the receipt by the
84 EMM-\ GOLDM-\N. THE .\X-\RCHi5T LEADER.
Chicago p-C'lice of a telegram from the chief of police at Bufialo. reading as
follows :
'"We have in custody Leon Czoigosz, alias Fred Xieman, the President's
assasiin. Locate and arrest E. J. Isaak, who is editor of a socialistic paper
and a follower of Emma Goldman, from whom Xieman is said to have taken
instructions- It looks as if there might be a plot, and that these people may
be implicated."
After being taken to the police station the prisoners were taken before
Chief O'Xeill and questioned. Isaak. Sr., was the first to be brought in, and
he told his story without any suggestion of reticence, occasionally punctuat-
icg his answers with anarchistic utterances, zngry nods of his head or
emphatic gestures with his clenched fists. When asked if he knew Emma
Goldman he answered :
"Yes, she was at my house during the latter part of June and the first two
weeks of July. The last time I saw her was on the twelfth of July.
On that day she left Chicago for Buffalo. I met her at the Lake Shore depot
as she was leaving. When I reached the depot I found her talking to a
strange man, who appeared about 25 years old, was well dressed and smooth
shaven, !Miss Goldman told me that the fellow had been following her
around wanting to talk to her, but she had no time to devote to him. She
asked me to find oirt what the fellow wanted-
''The man made a bad impression on me from the first, and when he
called me aside and asked me about the secret meetings of Chicago anar-
chists I was sure he was a spy. I despised the man as soon as I saw him and
was positive he was a spy.
"Emma Goldman went away on a train which left in aboui half an hour
after my meeting with this stranger, who gave his name as Czlosz (Czoigosz).
I wanted to learn more about the stranger, so, when I went home, I asked
him to accompany me. On the way to my hotise he asked me again and
again about the secret meetings of our societies, and the impression grew on
me that he was a spy. He asked me if we would give him money, and I told
him no, but added that if he wanted to stay in Chicago I v.'ould help him get
work-
''\\'hen we reached my house we sat out on the porch for about ten min-
utes, and his talk during that time was radical He said he had been a
Socialist for many years, but was looking for something more active than
socialism. I was sure then that the fellow was a spy, and I wanted to search
PRE'^IDEXT McKlXLEY AT THE BEDSIDE OF HIS WIFE WHEX
SHE WAS ILL IX SAX FR.\XCISCO.
6
X
«5
EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. 87
and unmask him, so I arranged with him to come to my house on the follow-
ing morning for breakfast.
"I took him over to ]\Irs. Esther Wolfson's rooming-house, at 425 Carroll
avenue, and engaged a room for him. Mrs. Wolfson has since moved to
New York.
"I didn't see Czolgosz again after that night. He failed to come to my
house for breakfast, and when I w^ent over to Mrs. Wolfson's to inquire about
him I was told that he had slipped away without saying where he was going.
I was suspicious of him all the time, so I wrote to E. Schilling, one of our
comrades in Cleveland, Ohio, and asked him if he knew of such a man.
"Schilling replied that a fellow answering his description had called on
him, and that he believed the man was a spy in the employ of the police. He
said he wanted to 'search' the stranger, but was alone when he called and did
not care to attempt the job. Schilling arranged a meeting for another night,
but Czolgosz didn't show up, and all trace of him was lost, I wrote to Cleve-
land because Czolgosz had told me he once lived there.
"After I received Schilling's letter I printed an article in my paper de-
nouncing the fellow as a spy and warning my people against him."
The article renouncing Czolgosz, alluded to by Isaak, was published in
the issue of Free Society September i, and was couched in the following
language: ATTENTION!
The attention of the comrades is called to another spy. He is well
dressed, of medium height, rather narrow shoulders, blond and about 25
years of age. Up to the present he has made his appearance in Chicago and
Cleveland. In the former place he remained but a short time, while in Cleve-
land he disappeared when the comrades had confirmed themselves of his
identity and were on the point of exposing him. His demeanor is of the
usual sort, pretending to be greatly interested in the cause, asking for names
or soliciting aid for acts of contemplated violence. If this same individual
makes his appearance elsewhere the comrades are warned in advance, and
can act accordingly.
The police were suspicious of this alleged fear of Czolgosz, and asserted
that the publication of the notice might have been done for the purpose of
exculpating the Chicago Anarchists in case they were accused of being par-
ties to the conspiracy.
In his further examination Isaak answered proudly that he was an An-
archist, and when asked what he meant by anarchy, replied:
6i
88 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER.
"I mean a country withoiit g-overnment. We recognize neither law nor
the right of one man to govern another. The trouble with the world is that
it is struggling to alx>lish effect without seeking- tO' get at the cause. Yes, I
am an Anarchist, and there are 10,000 people in Chicago who think and be-
lieve as I do. You don't hear about them because they are not organized.
"Assassination i« nothing but a natural phenomenon. It always has ex-
isted and will exist as long as this tyrannical system of government prevails.
However, we don't believe tyranny can be abolished by the killing of one
man. Yet there will be absolute anarchy.
'*<In Russia I was a Nihilist. There are secret meetings there, and I want
to tell you that as soon as you attempt to suppress anarchy here there will
be secret meetings in the United States,
'T don't believe in killing rulers, but I do believe in self-defense. As long
as you let Anarchists talk their creed openly in this country the conservatives
will not be in favor of assassinating executives,"
Isaak had had an eventful career and had been a socialist and anar-
chistic agitator for years. He was born in Southern Russia and came to Chi-
cago seven months ago. In Russia, he says, he was a bookkeeper. He was
forced to leave the country, and after traveling over South America he came
to this country and located first in San Francisco, There he worked as a
gardener. Later he removed to Portland, Ore., and began the publication
of a rabid anarchistic paper called the Firebrand, but the publication was
suppressed by the United States postal authorities.
Then Isaak came to Chicago and started Free Society, a paper devoted to
the interests of local Anarchists, Isaak talked intelligently but rabidly on
matters pertaining to sociological questions,
Hippolyte Havel, the next in importance to Isaak in the anarcliistic
group, v;as also examined by the chief. He proved to be an excitable Bohe-
mian, 35 years of age. In appearance he was the opposite of Isaak, Dwarfed
of stature, narrow-eyed, with jet black hair hanging in a confused mass over
his low forehead, and a manner of talking that brought into play both hands,
he looked the part when he boldly told Chief O'Neill that he was an Anar-
chist, In Bohemia he was an agitator, and in 1894 was sentenced tO' two
years' confinement in the prison at Plzen for making incendiary speeches.
He admitted that he knew Emma Goldman and Czolgosz, and said that if he
had known the latter was going to Buffalo to kill the President, he would not
have notified the police.
Later, these anarchists were released, as there was no evidence to prove a
conspiracy.
CHAPTER VI.
ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
Within a few minutes after the shooting of President McKinley at Buf-
falo, and before anything was known of the identity of the assailant, news of
the affair was in every American town and village to which the telegraph
reaches. Probably in every town those to whom this first report came ex-
claimed: "An Anarchist!" and many thousands added bitter denunciation
of all anarchists.
When later news arrived it was established definitely by the confession of
the would-be slayer that he was an anarchist and fired the shots in a desire to
further the cause of those who believe as he does.
What, then, is anarchism, and who are the anarchists that the destruction
of the head of a republican government can further their cause? What do
they aim at, and what have they accomplished to stand in their account
against the long list of murders, of attempted assassinations, and of destruc-
tion of property with which they are charged? The questions are asked on
every hand, but the answers are hard to find.
When, at the World's Fair in Chicago in October, 1893, an international
congress of anarchists was held and representative anarchists were here
from every civilized country, an attempt was made to answer some of the
questions. A proposition was made that, for the information of the people
and the furtherance of anarchism, a document should be drawn up setting
forth just what the belief is and what its followers are doing. The proposi-
tion almost brought the congress to an end, for it was found that there were
as many different ideas of anarchism as there were delegates present, and no
definition could be made satisfactory to more than one or two.
Yet in behalf of this doctrine, which is in itself the anarchy of beUef, there
have been sacrificed in the last quarter of a century more than a hundred
human lives and hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of property by the
most violent means. And, as far as can be judged by an outsider, and as is
admitted by the leading thinkers of the cult, anarchism is not one whit the
gainer by it.
According to Zenker, himself an anarchistic theorist, "anarchism means,
89
90 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
in its ideal sense, the perfect, unfettered self-government of the individual,
and consequently the absence of any kind of external government."
Tliat such a state is possible not one of the anarchistic philosophers has
contended, and each has been eager to hold up his neighbor's plan, if not also
his own, as a Utopia. Its realization, said Proudhon, pioneer of the cult,
would be an entirely new world, a new Eden, a land of the perfect idealiza-
tion of freedom and of equality. Yet Proudhon wrote many books and made
many addresses in behalf of his doctrine. Like every other anarchist, he
found his theory ending in a contradiction — as soon as there was anarchy a
new state would be built up.
For anarchy is of two classes, individualistic and communistic. The first
is the philosophy of the thinker, which has advanced as the object of its being
the attainment of "Liberty, not the daughter but the mother of order." That
other anarchy is that which through the influence of terrorism shall crumble
empires and republics alike, while from their dust shall rise a free people who
shall be in no need of restraints at the hands of their fellow-men. Disciples
of this philosophy would build communistic centers upon the ruins of gov-
ernment which violence should have brought about.
Beginning with Proudhon, anarchy had no relationship to the secret
society of the assassin. Proudhon simply had criticised a society which
"seeks, in formula after formula, institution after institution, that equili-
brium which always escapes it, and at every attempt always causes its luxury
and its poverty to grow in equal proportion." Pie had no retributive bomb
or dagger for the heads of state under which such inequalities existed. He
said, only: "Since equilibrium has never yet been reached, it only remains
for us to hope something from a complete solution which synthetically unites
theories, which gives back to labor its effectiveness and to each of its organs
its power. Hitherto pauperism has been so inextricably connected with
labor and want with idleness that all our accusations against Providence
only prove our weakness."
Pierre Joseph Proudhon was born in Besancon, France, in 1809. He was
a poor man and became a printer, but in 1837 won a scholarship at the acad-
emy in his native town, secured an education, and becam.e a philosopher. Pie
followed the teachings of Hegel, the German philosopher, and going beyond
them founded the modern cult of anarchist individualism. He became fa-
mous from a question and an answer. "What is property?" he demanded,
and him.self replied: "Property is theft."
Later he came to regret the saying and endeavored to assert his belief
ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. 91
in property. "Individual possession is the fundamental condition of social
life," he said. He maintained that profit was unjust and that every trade
should be an equal exchange.
Proudhon was seeking some means by which the pauper workmen of
Europe could be brought to an equality with the aristocracy. In it he came
near socialism, but kept the boundary fixed, maintaining that the individual
should have his property, should produce as much as he could, have the ben-
efit of his product, and be rich or poor according to it.
Not until the movement started by Proudhon had reached Russia did the
"propaganda of action" come into it. In Russia the government, controlling
the military, was able to check instantly any movement which might appear
in any of the few big cities. In the country no movement could have effect.
'Terrorism arose," says Stepniak, "because of the necessity of taking the
great governmental organization in the flank before it could discover that an
attack was planned. Nurtured in hatred, it grew up in an electric ^atmos-
phere filled by the enthusiasm that is awakened by a noble deed." The
"great subterranean stream" of nihilism thus had its rise. From nihilism and
its necessary sudden outbreaks anarchism borrowed terrorism, the propa-
ganda of action.
Prince Peter Kropotkin of Russia was the founder of the violent school
of anarchists. Banished from Russia, he set about organizing in various
countries bands of propagandists. Instead of the individualism of Proudhon
he proclaimed anarchist communism, which is now the doctrine of force and
is the branch of the cult most followed in Italy, France, Spain and among
the Poles.
That form of anarchy to-day is giving great concern to the police and
militarv power of the world. It has its hotbed in continental Europe.
Vienna, beyond all the other capitals on the continent, is said to harbor its
doctrinaires. Switzerland has contended with its "propaganda of action,"
which Kropotkin stood for in 1879. Italy, France, Spain, Ru.sia, and nearly
every other continental country has felt its force. London itself has been a
nest of anarchistic vipers in times past. From all this territory, too, the
gradual closing in of the police power has forced both leaders and tools of
anarchy to seek asylums in America. The problem of anarchy as now
presented to the United States government has to deal almost wholly with
this foreign born element.
Its principles, as voiced by the manifesto of the Geneva conference ni
1882, stand in great measure for the propaganda of action of to-day:
92 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
"Our ruler is our enemy. We anarchists are men without any rulers,
fighting against all those who have usurped any power or who wish to
usurp it.
"Our enemy is the owner of the land who keeps it for himself and makes
the peasant work for his advantage.
"Our enemy is the manufacturer who fills his factory with wage slaves;
our enemy is the state, whether monarchical, oligarchical, or democratic,
with its officials and stafT officers, magistrates, and police spies.
"Our enemy is every thought of authority, whether men call it God or
devil, in whose name the priests have so long ruled honest people.
"Our enemy is the law which always oppresses the weak by the strong
to the justification and apotheosis of crime.
"But if the landowners, the manufacturers, the heads of the state, the
priests, and the law are our enemies, we are also theirs, and we boldly oppose
them. We intend to reconquer the land and the factory from the land-
owner and the manufacturer; w^e mean to annihilate the state under what-
ever name it may be concealed; and we mean to get our freedom back again
in spite of priest or law.
"According to our strength we will work for the humiliation of all legal
institutions, and are in accord with every one who defies the law by a
revolutionary act. We despise all legal means because they are the negation
of our rights; we do not want so-called universal suffrage since we cannot
get away from our own personal sovereignty and cannot make ourselves
accomplices in the crimes committed by our so-called representatives.
"Between us anarchists and all political parties, whether conservatives or
moderates, whether they fight for freedom or recognize it by their admis-
sions, a deep gulf is fixed. We wish to remain our own masters, and he
among us who strives to become a chief or leader is a traitor to our cause.
Of course we know that individual freedom cannot exist without a union
with other free associates. We all live by the support of one another;, that
is the social life which has created us; that it is the work of all which gives
to each the consciousness of his rights and the power to defend them. Every
social product is the work of the whole community, to which all have a claim
in equal manner.
"For we are all communists. It is ours to conquer and defend common
property and to overthrow governments by whatever name they may be
called."
Johann Most followed Kropotkin, and in pamphlets and papers urged
ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. 93
death to rulers and leaders of the people. He published explicit directions
for making bombs, placing them in public places; a dictionary of poisons
and the means of getting them into the food of Ministers and other gov-
ernment officials. "Extirpate the miserable brood," he said, "extirpate the
wretches."
All these leaders and many other theorists, German philosophers. En-
glishmen and Americans as well, have published books showing why they be-
lieve anarchy to be the ideal condition of the human race. None of them
believes it possible. It is only the less brilliant followers who attempt to
carry out their teachings and thus bring bloodshed. How this is done the
psychologists, the students of criminology explain.
"Anarchism is a pathological phenomenon," says Caesar Lombroso, the
Italian criminologist. "Unhealthy and criminal persons adopt anarchism.
In every city, in nearly every factory, there are men with active minds but
little education. These men stand, day after day, before a machine handling
a tool, doing some mechanical action. Their minds must work. They have
little to work upon. They are star\^ed for proper food and air and for the
mental food which is necessary to a proper understanding of society and of
the duties of men. Into the hands of these fall the writings of the anar-
chists with subtly-worded arguments. Conditions which are apparent every-
where are shown forth, the evils of the city and of industrial conditions are
set forth plainly, so that the reader gets an idea that the writer is truthful
and impartial. Then the writer sets forth how anarchism can remedy these
things. Later on comes the suggestion of violence. Then 'strike down the
rulers.'
"The workman may not be moved in the least by the first perusal. He
may even be amused. But later, little by little, as he stands at his work, they
come back to him, and he broods over them again and again until they be-
come part of his mind and his belief, and sooner or later he becomes a violent
anarchist. For such men Johann Most and his followers form little groups
which can hold secret meetings, and through them deeds of violence are plot-
ted and accomplished."
In connection with the philosophy of anarchy, it may be interesting to
examine the causes which various leaders in the movement have given for
espousing the doctrine. August Spies, one of the men executed in Chicago
for complicity in the Haymarket conspiracy, replied, when asked what made
him an anarchist:
94 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
"I became an anarchist on that very clay that a poHceman seized me by
the collar and flung me from a sidewalk into the gutter."
"Probably," wrote this questioner, "the whole history of anarchy could
be traced to these petty causes. The sore develops violent action in the
uncouth; the finer and thriftier spirits are moved to ventilate their wrongs
in print."
There is a suggestion in the point which has been voiced by anarchists
everywhere. WJien Emma Goldman was arrested she complained bitterly
that it was the police department of Chicago rather than her teachings which
was making anarchists.
The story has been told of Zo d'Axa that at a time when he was hesitat-
ing between becoming an anarchist or a religious missionary he was travel-
ing in Italy. One day he w'as accused — as he contended, wrongfully — of
insulting the Empress of Germany, and the legal efforts to call him to
account made an anarchist of him. He was a man of fortune and he devoted
that fortune to the cause, establishing En Dehors, a journal of revolt, against
everything that could limit individualism.
Thus, in these later types the relations of cause and effect have been
established. As to the earlier ones, only speculation may fasten the probable
truth to them. As to Proudhon, the sting that often comes to one lacking
in caste might easily have been his inspiration. He was sent to prison in
1848 for political offenses, just at the moment when his People's Bank had
been started upon its brief period of existence, as one of the great ameliorat-
ing institutions of French society.
Out of prison again at the end of a long confinement, Proudhon begged
permission to issue his paper. Justice, but Napoleon refused the plea. A
book, lacking much of the fire of his youth, caused Proudhon to be sentenced
to prison a second time, for a period of three years. He escaped by flight,
however, and went to Belgium. In the general amnesty granted in 1859
he was excepted, and when, as a special favor, the Emperor, in 1861, granted
him permission to return home, Proudhon refused, not returning to Paris
until 1863. But troubles and persecutions had told upon him, and on June
19, 1865, he died in the arms of his wife, who had been a helpmeet, and for
whom he had always shown loyalty and love.
Caspar Schmidt, better known by the pseudonym of Max Stirner, was a
German pupil of Proudhon and was born at Baireuth on October 25, 1806.
He became a teacher in a high school, and afterwards in a girls' school in
Berlin. In 1844 appeared the book, "The Individual and His Property,"
ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. 95
acknowledged by Max Stirner. It was meteoric, causing a momentary sen-
sation and then sinking into oblivion until the rejuvenating of anarchism
ten years later brought it again to notice. Stirner departs radically from
Proudhon. On June 26, 1856, he died, as some one has observed, "Poor in
external circumstances, rich in want and bitterness."
Jean Jacques Elisee Reclus is one of the later French apostles of anar-
chism, a deep student of such prominence that the sentence of transportation
in 1 87 1 caused such an outcry from scientific men that banishment was sub-
stituted therefor. He has written of anarchism :
"The idea is beautiful, is great, but these miscreants sully our teachings.
He who calls himself an anarchist should be one of a good and gentle sort.
It is a mistake to believe that the anarchistic idea can be promoted by acts of
barbarity."
Of the influence of this man and his type it has been said by a critic.
"They are poets, painters, novelists, or critics. Most of them are men of
fortune and family. Their art has brought them fame. They are idealists,
and dreamers, and philanthropists. They turn from a dark and troubled
present to a future all rose. In a tragic night they await the sunrise of fra-
ternal love.
"And yet, by their sincerity and their eloquence, they are the most dan-
gerous men of to-day. They have made anarchy a splendid ideal, instead of
the brutal and meaningless discontent that it was. Tliey have gilded plain
ruffians like Ravachol and Caserio with the halo of martyrdom. For them
anarchy is a literary toy. But what of the feather-brained wretches who
believe in all these fine phrases and carry out the doctrine of social warfare
to its logical and bloody conclusion? Whose is the responsibility? Who
is the greater criminal? Luccheni or the silken poet who set him on?"
And behind these more or less gentle and philosophic pathfinders in
anarchism have come the "doers of the word" — the redhanded assassins of
history.
Not long ago Count Malesta, leader of the Italian anarchists, in his
suave, gentle, aristocratic attitudes, deplored the use of bombs, pistol, and
knife. Yet who will question that Herr Most has drawn inspiration from
this teacher, and this schooling was behind that rabid creature's utterance,
following the assassination of Carnot, when Most said:
"Whosoever wants to undertake an assassination should at first learn
to use the weapon with which he desires to accomplish his purpose before
he brings that weapon definitely into play. Attempts by means of the
96 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
revolver are utterly played out, because out of twenty-five attempts only
one is successful, as experience has thoroughly shown. Only expert dead
shots may thoroughly rely on their ability to kill. No more child's play!
Serious labor! Long live the torch and bomb!"
This is the pupil of the school. Of its tutors, even Kropotkin has been
described as a "gentle, courtly, aristocratic patriarch of revolt." He was
wealthy, famous, and furiously aristocratic when, in 1872, studying the
Swiss glaciers, he stumbled upon the Geneva convention of internationalists
and became an anarchist. He returned to the Russian court. His work on
the glaciers of Finland became a classic. His lectures on geolog}- and geog-
raphy were attracting crowds, even while a red revolutionist, Borodin, was
stirring police and military with his utterances to workingmen. One night
the police trapped Borodin — and Kropotkin. For three years he was con-
fined in prison until he escaped, making his way to London and to the
world, which still listens to his voice.
Louise Michel, even, is described as an eager, enthusiastic old woman of
much gentleness of manner. She is credited with an unselfishness and self-
abnegation that would fit the character of a sister of charity. Virile and
keen of intellect, her presence is said to attract, rather than repel, and yet her
cry is for freedom, based on force against the m^achiner)- of law.
Johann ^lost has been recognized as the link between the German and
English anarchism and the representative of the "propaganda of action."
He is the avowed patron of the bomb, and in the present case of Czolgosz
some of the instractions which he has vouchsafed to readers of his journal,
Freedom, may have a bearing, as for instance, the rule that "never more
than one anarchist should take charge of the attempt, so that in case of
discovery the anarchist party may suffer as little harm as possible."
France has been especially active in this scrutiny of the followers of the
red f5ag. The government's spy system is almost perfect. Scarcely a meet-
ing may be held on French soil that a government shadow is not somewhere
in the background.
In Russia both the police and militar}' arms keep watch upon suspects.
London for years has been a hotbed of anarchistic talk and scheming, and
even there the system of secret espionage is maintained. Regent's Park on
a Sunday afternoon may be full of inflammator}* speechmaking, but it is re-
garded as a harmless venting of spleen in most cases; the actual movements
of dangerous anarchists are closely obsen-ed.
The L'nited States government at Washington has a Hst of names and
photographs of all the known anarchists of the world.
AXARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. 97
Xo city in America has had more experience in dealing with dangerous
anarchists than Chicago. As early as 1S50 there were disciples of anarchy
among the foreign element there, but no attention was paid to them until
as late as 1S73. ^\hen they formed a political party and were more or less
noisy for several years. In 1877. during the great railroad strike, they had
their first clash with the police and several were killed, and many wounded.
Thanksgiving Day. 1S84. under the leadership of Albert R. Parsons. August
Spies. Sam Fielden. and others they hoisted the black tlag and marched
through the fashionable residence district of the city, uttering groans and
using threatening language. Subsequently they threatened to blow up
the new Board of Trade building, and marched past the edifice one night,
but were headed off by the police. Parsons, when asked afterward why they
had not blown up the Board of Trade building, replied that they had not
looked for police interference and were not prepared. *"The next time." he
said, '"we will be prepared to meet them with bombs and dynamite." Fielden
reiterated the same sentiments and expressed the opinion that in the course
of a year they might be ready for the police.
During all these years the anarchist leaders had openly preached vio-
lence, and had taught their followers how to make dynamite bombs. They
went so far as to give in detail their plans for fighting the police and militia,
and caused more or less consternation among the timid residents of the
city.
The local authorities made no effort to stop any of these proceedings.
Mayor Harrison believed that repressive measures would be useless and
considered that to allow the anarchists to talk v.ould gratify their vanity
and preclude the possibility of riot. That such a belief was fallacious, sub-
sequent events proved.
In 1SS6 came the agitation for the establishment of the eight-hour day,
and the anarchist leaders were prominent therein. The first collision be-
tween the anarchists and the police came at the McCormick reaper works.
There was a sharp fight and the police dispersed the rioters. It was said
that many workingmen were killed in that fight, but the story was exagger-
ated, no one being killed. The anarchists held secret meetings at once and
devised a plan to revenge themselves on the police, and to burn and sack the
city. As a first step, and for the purpose of demoralizing the police force,
a public meeting was called to be held in the Haymarket Square on the
night of May 4. The meeting was really held on Desplaines street, between
Randolph and Lake streets. Parsons. Spies and Fielden spoke from a
98 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
wagon in front of Crane's foundry, until the police came up to disperse the
meeting, on account of the violent character of the utterances. Inspector
Bonfield and Captain Ward were in charge of the police, and no sooner had
Captain Ward called upon the crowd to disperse than a bomb was hurled
into the midst of the unsuspecting policemen. It burst with a loud report,
knocking down nearly every one of the one hundred and twenty-five men
in the detail and badly wounding many.
Inspector Bonfield at once rallied his men, and charged the mob with
a resistless rush that carried everything before them. After the square had
been cleared the officers began to attend to their wounded comrades. Only
one, M. J. Began, had been instantly killed, although seven died afterward
from their injuries. Sixty-eight others were injured, some so badly that they
were maimed for life, and incapacitated for work.
0f all the men who were subsequently arrested for this crime, only eight
v/ere placed on trial. These were August Spies, Michael Schwab, Samuel
Fielden, Albert R. Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, and Louis
Lingg, who were found guilty and sentenced to death, and Oscar Neebe,
who was sentenced to fifteen years in the penitentiary. Lingg com.mitted
suicide by blowing his head to pieces with a bomb while confined in the
jail awaiting execution. The sentences of Schwab and Fielden were com-
muted to imprisonment for life by Governor Oglesby. The other four were
hanged in the county jail on November ii, 1887. They were buried at
Waldheim cemetery the following Sunday, November 13, and this occasion
was made memorable by the honors shown the dead by the anarchist socie-
ties of Chicago. It was the last great outpouring of anarchy that the city
has seen. Schwab, Fielden, and Neebe were afterward pardoned by Gov-
ernor Altgeld, and released from the penitentiary.
Looking back upon the work of anarchy in the last fifty years or more its
results should be discouraging to any but the most hair-brained of the type.
Its violence has not altered or unsettled the course of a single government
against which it has been directed. If individuals here and there have been
murdered the crimes have reacted upon the tools of butcher}^ most fre-
quently sending the assassin to a dishonored grave, leaving the name of his
kinsman a reproach for all time. The seed of ideal anarchy still is being
sown, however, and its crop of crimes and criminals may be expected to be
harvested in the future, as in the past, unless, by some concerted, radical
efforts of civilization its bloody sophistries are to be wiped from the world.
CHAPTER VII.
SCENES AT BUFFALO FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION.
The people of Buffalo and the visitors within their gates behaved admir-
ably during all the weary days and nights after the shooting of the President.
That spirit of mob law, which pervaded the multitude that surged alx3ut the
Temple of Music in the Exposition grounds at the time of the shooting,
speedily gave way to one of obedience to law. The knowledge that the
President's life had not ebbed away, and that eminent physicians said he
would recover, had a tendency to restore men's minds to the normal, and
soon the question which passed from man to man was "what news from the
President?"
Even the thought of wreaking vengeance on the assassin seemed to have
fallen into abeyance. The people became quiet in demeanor, but there was
constant anxiety that the physicians had not told all, and that the Nation
might at any time be called on to mourn the death of its Chief Executive.
This feeling was intensified by the hulrrying tO' the city of members of the
Cabinet who were not in attendance on the President at the time he faced the
assassin. The first trains brought Vice-President Roosevelt, Secretaries Hay,
Gage, Root, Long and Hitchcock, Attorney-General Knox and Postmaster-
General Smith. Senator Mark Hanna and other close friends of the Presi-
dent also started hastily for Buffalo, and many of them remained there until
the end. The presence of these personages, perhaps, had a tendency to quiet
public feeling, inasmuch as they one and all bore themselves with marked
dignity during the trying time.
When the President was moved from the Exposition grounds to the
residence of Mr. Milburn, there were thousands of people in the streets, but
there was no disturbance. Only the tenderest sympathy for the stricken
President was manifested, and neveir, during the President's gallant fight
for life, was there aught to complain of on the part of the people.
The Milburn home is situated in the center of a large lot on which stand
magnificent trees. As it became, from the time the President was taken there,
the eenter of interest for the civilized world, special preparations we're made
to meet the exigencies of the case. It was necessary that only those should
have ingress and egress who had business there, and hence the premises were
99
100 SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION.
surrounded with police and soldiers. Roi>e5 were stretched so that the crowds
which were irresistihly dra\vn to the scene could be more easily kept back, and
the most complete arrangements were made to enable the newspaper men to
secure and send broadcast the news of the President's condition. A huge
tent was drectcd on the lawn and there, from day to day, the doctors, mem-
bers of the Cabinet, the Vice-President and others were importuned by the
reporters for hopeful tidings, which they knew not only the people of Buffalo
but the world at large so' eagerly awaited.
During all this period the police of Buffalo were working desperately to
learn the antecedents of Czolgosz, the assassin; to trace his movements, and
to ascertain, if possible, whether he had accomplices. The villainous wretch,
whose brutal act had caused all right thinking people to regard him with
horror, remained safely in the police station at Buffalo, where he had been
taken by the police after the first struggle to keep the people from lynching
him. After recovering from the fright occasioned by his first contact with
the outraged people, he became flippant and tried to glorify his terrible crime
and invest it with the halo of a service to humanity. All these facts were
promptly conveyed tO' the people by the newspapers, and served to intensify
the feeling against Czolgosz.
When the fact became known that the President was growing worse,
and the physicians became guarded in the expressions as to whether he would
recover, the people began to gather on the streets and discuss the punishment
of the assassin. As the bulletins became miore and more ominous, the feeling
rose to fever heat, and there was a rush tovv-ard the police station where
Czolsfosz was confined. Thousands of excited citizens clamored for the life
of the criminal, but the police forced them back. Two regiments of the
National Guard, the Sixty-fifth and Seventy-fourth, were ordered to assemble
in their armories to meet any emergency that might arise.
"We do not propose to allow our prisoner to be taken from us," said
Superintendent Bull, of the police force. "We are able to pirotect him, and
we have the Sixty-fifth and Seventy-fourth Regiments under arms if we
need them. No matter how dastardly this man's crime is, we intend for the
good name of American people to keep him safe for the vengeance of the law."
The fact that the President lingered until early in the mo'rning, before
death ensued, probably prevented any real conflict between the police and
the indignant people.
The members of the two regiments were summoned to their armories
by messenger, telegraph, and proclamation in theaters and public places.
SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION. lOl
This news only helped to direct attention from the dying President to the
cell which held his assassin.
That these preparations were quite necessar>' became apparent by 8:30
o'clock Friday night, when the people had assembled in the vicinity of police
headquarters in such numbers that the streets were blocked and impassable.
The police roped off all the streets at a distance of three hundred to four
hundred feet from the nearest of the buildings and refused to admit any
one within that limit. One hundred patrolmen guarded the ropes and fought
back the crowds, while ten m.ounted men galloped to and fro, holding the
crowds in repression.
New details of police from fne outside stations came in from time to
time, and Superintendent Bull kept in constant touch on the telephone with
Colonel Welch, who was at the Sixt}--fifth armory, less than a mile away.
In order to divert the attention of the excited crowds, the false report
that Czolgosz had been spirited away was sent out. While the source cannot
be traced, it is believed the report emanated from the police headquarters.
Tlie mob was also informed, whenever possible, that there was no reason
to believe that there would be a miscarriage of justice, whether through the
pretext that the assassin was insanely irresponsible for his act or through
the possibility that he might die before justice could be meted out to him.
It was learned indirectly that Superintendent Bull had asked the insaHity
experts, who have had Czolgosz under their obser\-ation for a week, and Police
Surgeon Dr. Fowler, who has had charge of the prisoner's physical health, to
prepare a statement of the exact truth about the prisoner's health of mind
and body.
The President's clothes, which were removed at the Exposition Hospital,
were later sent to the Milbum residence, v.here the pockets were emptied.
The attendant told what he found.
In his right-hand trousers pocket was some $1.80 in currency. With
these coins was a small silver nugget, well worn, as if the President had
carried it as a pocket piece for a long time.
Three small penknives, pearl-handled, were in the pockets of his trousers.
Evidently they were gifts that he prized and was in the habit of carn.-ing all
of them. Another battered coin, presumably a pocket piece, was in the left-
hand pocket
The President's wallet was v/ell worn and of black leather, about four
inches by five. It vras marked with his name. In it was $45 in bills. A
102 SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION.
number of cards, which evidently had rested in the wallet for some time, were
in one of the compartments.
In a vest pocket was a silver-shell lead pencil. Three cigars were foimd.
They were not the black perfectos which the President likes, but were short
ones which had been given to him at Niagara Falls that day. On two of them
he had chewed, much as General Grant used to bite a cigar.
The President's watch was an open-faced gold case American-made time-
keeper. Attached to it was the gold chain which the President always wore.
No letters, telegrams or papers were found. There was not on the Presi-
dent's person a single clew to his identity, unless it was to be found in the
cards in his wallet, which were not examined.
One of the most striking features of the fateful week at Buffalo was the
exclusive use of automobiles by the public officials, friends, relatives and
physicians on their trips to and from the Milburn residence. Heretofore the
modern vehicles were used chiefly for pleasure and many doubted their utility,
but on the well-paved streets of Buffalo they were found to have many
advantages over carriages drawn by horses. Lines of the motor cabs were
stationed a short distance from the house and whenever a call for one was
sent out it approached speedily but noiselessly. No sound as loud as a
horse's hoof on the pavement was made by the vehicles.
The wounded President was transferred from the Emergency Hospital
on the Exposition grounds to the Milburn residence in an automobile, and
the horseless carriages were sent toi the railroad stations to meet officials and
relatives coming to the bedside of the stricken man.
When the startling report of the assassination first sped along the wires,
causing grief and consternation everywhere, Senator Hanna was at his home
in Cleveland. Hanna was undoubtedly McKinley's most intimate friend in
poiblic life, as well as the President's adviser. Hanna was intensely excited
by the news and at once began to make plans for reaching Buffalo as soon as
possible. A special train could have been made up, but the time to reach the
station would have been considerable.
Some one suggested that the Lake Shore Limited, which is the fastest
train between Chicago and New York, be flagged near Hanna's home, and
this was at once done. The railway officials gave their consent by tele-
phone, and when the train approached near the house — the railroad is but
a few rods from the Hanna residence — it slacked up and the Senator boarded
it. Steam was put on and the delay made up in a few hours. The train
reached Buffalo on time.
MRS. McKINLEY ALONE WITH HER BELOVED DEAD.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S BODY LYING IN STATE AT BUFFALO.
SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION. 105
Senatoir Hanna took a hopeful view of the situation, and assured everyone
with whom he conversed of the ultimate recovery of the President. He
remained at Buffalo until Tuesday, and then returned to Cleveland, where
the G. A. R. Encampment was being held. When he parted from the
President he stated that in his opinion, for which he relied chiefly on the
physicians, McKinley would be well in a month. Hanna spent Wednesday
and Thursday in Cleveland, leaving for Buffalo on a special train wdien noti-
fied of the relapse of the patient. The death of McKinley touched Hanna
deeply. He had to be led from the bedside on the occasion of the last inter-
view between the two men. He was almost a total collapse, his face was
drawn and his entire form trembled.
On Sunday night, September 8th, two days after the President had been
shot, and at a time when it was believed he would recover. Senator Hanna
had a remarkable dream, prophetic of the fatal end.
On jMonday a newspaper correspondent asked him if he had any fears
of a relapse, when he replied :
"That reminds me of a dream I had last night. You know dreams go
by contraries. Well, sir, in this dream I was up at the Milburn house waiting
to hear how the President was getting along, and everybody was feeling very
good. We thought the danger was all past. I was sitting there talking
with Geneiral Brooke and Mr. Cortelyou, and we w^ere felicitating ourselves
on how well the physicians had been carrying the case.
"Suddenly, in my dream, Dr. McBurney entered the room through the
door leading to the sick room with a look of the utmost horror and distress
on his face. I rushed up to him, and putting a hand on either shoulder,
said : 'What is it. Doctor? what is it? let us know the worst.'
"Dr. McBurney replied : 'My dear Senator, it is absolutely the w^orst that
could happen. The President has had a tremendous change for the worse ;
his temperature is now 440 degrees.' I fell back in my chair in utter collapse,
and then I awoke. But, do you know, I could not rest easy until I saw the
early bulletins this moirning?"
Everyone thought of ]\Irs. McKinley and the hearts of all went out to her
in sympathy when it was known that the end was near. They had tried all
day to keep the fatal news from her, but it is probable that when she saw the
President she divined something of his serious condition. Mrs. Mc Williams,
Mrs. Barber, Miss Mary McKinley, and Mrs. Duncan were with her and gave
her the most tender and loving ministration. The crowds eagerly scanning
the bulletin boards feared for her. It was a matter of current belief that the
lUG SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION.
wife never woiild survive the shock. There v/ere plenty who said and be-
lieved that she would not live throug-h the night; that the papers would tell
the world that Emma Goldman's disciple had murdered a woman and a frail
invalid as well as the President of the United States.
It was recalled that the President had several times spoken of his assassin
and that he had expressed satisfaction when he learned that the man had not
been injured by the crowd. All this was gratifying, but it failed to alleviate
the sorrow of that Friday night and the few hours of Saturday in which the
President continued alive. All Buffalo, all the Nation, watched with deepest
anxiety hoping against hope.
The devotion to duty of Private Secretary George B. Cortelyou during the
long painful days that came between the shooting and the death of President
McKinley offers one of the most striking features of the historic tragedy.
When the chief fell wounded Secretary Cortelyou was practically forced to
fill a part of the vacant place and assume all of its responsibilities. He was
at the side of the President when Leon Czolgosz fired the murderous shots,
and upon him rested the immediate responsibility of issuing the order for
the surgical operation that was performed at the em.ergency liospital.
When Mr. McKinley came from the operating table it fell to Mr. Cor-
telyou to make the arrangements for his shelter and care, and from that
time to the end he was called upon to pass judgment upon every grave
question that arose except the technical medical and surgical matters in con-
nection with the care of the wounded chieftain.
He stood between the sickroom and the vvorld as far as information on tlie
progress of the case was concerned, and the place called for the most delicate
judgment. In addition to his official connection with the dying President
it was his duty to supervise all of the private personal affairs of his superior.
In addition to the work which he could do by verbal direction the
executive correspondence by mail and wire trebled and quadrupled. It
exceeded that of any other period in the public life of Mr. McKinley, includ-
ing the days that succeeded both his first and second elections. It seemed that
Mr. Cortelyou must fail in the mere physical task of handling it, but no
physical exaction seemed too great for him.
His personal affection for his chief was complete, and the President's
death was a grievous shock to him. He has not faltered, however, and still
stands in the place that he must occupy until the last offices have been per-
formed at the grave of ]\Ir. McKinley.
CHAPTER Vlil.
DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
The Nation was thrown into a state of grief and indignation never before
apT^roached at the terrible news from Buffalo Friday, September 6th.
Methods for transmitting intelhgence have been vastly imprm^ed snice the
assassination of Garfield, since which time no such national calamity has
befallen the United States. Poignant regret, intense indignation, and a
fcelin- of dismay mingled in the hearts of the eighty million Americans who
stood^'appalled at the news which swept like wild fire and reached every part of
the world in an incredibly short time.
It was an appalling thought that this great republic, with all its promises
and all its deeds for oppressed humanity, exposed its chief magistrates to
more deadly chances than does any empire or kingdom. But seven men
regularly elected Presidents in the last thirty-six years, and three of them
brouo-ht low with the assassin's bullet !
The news of the attempt on the life of the President was received from
one end of the country to the other first with horrified amazement and then
with the deepest grief. In every city in the United States men and women
gathered and waited for hours to get every scrap of information that came
over the wires. In thousands of small towns the whole population stood
about the local telegraph offices and watched tearfully and anxiously for
bulletins.
Telegraph offices everywhere were swamped with business, messages of
sympathy for the President and his wife from almost every man of prominence
in the nation, and for hours after the shooting telephone trunk lines were so
overburdened that only a small percentage of subscribers were able to secure
:rvice.
Dispatches from every State in the Union showed how widespread and in-
tense w^as the feeling of dismay and the sense of personal affliction with which
the news w^as received. Public men of all shades of political opinion and social
status alike shared the anxiety and found themselves grasping hands with one
another and praying that Mr. McKinley's life might be spared. All the details
of the tragedy w^re sought for with trembling eagerness, and in all the large
centers of population every effort was made to supply this demand by the news-
papers, which issued extras at intervals till far into the night.
107
108 DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
Early Saturday morning began arrangements for public prayer in many of
the churches on Sunday. Archbishop Ireland of the Catholic Church, Bishop
Potter the Episcopal prelate; Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, and high church
dio-nitaries of all denominations joined in the universal supplication to the
Heavenly Father to spare the life of the stricken President. Fervent were the
invocations and the hopeful news of the following days seemed to portend a
favorable answer to the prayers of a nation.
Political lines were forgotten and Democrat and Populist was as eager to
show respect for the head of the government as the Republicans. It was re-
spect shov/n a good man ; it was also respect shown the Chief Executive occupy-
ing an exalted position by the suffrage of the people.
At the moment when the country was enshrouded in the gloom of the awful
trao-edy, when it was bowed with its own sorrow and overflowing with sympa-
thy for the bereaved widow, consideration of the dead statesman's career and
of the political controversies to which it gave rise, was not attempted. So
quick had been the revulsion of feeling, so terrible the shock, that the one emo-
tion of grief was overmastering and all-absorbing.
It had been said many times during the era of alternate hope and fear that
Mr. McKinley was the most beloved of our Presidents since Lincoln, and the
frequency of the assertion in every quarter and among all classes of people is
excellent evidence of its truth. Nor are the reasons for his exceptional hold
on the affections of the people far to seek. He had to begin with that svv'cet
and winning personality which captivated everyone who saw him. Thousands
felt its influence at Buffalo on the day when the wretched murderer committed
his deadly assault, and they responded to it with an affectionate regard, as other
thousands had done among the many crowded assemblages with which the
President had so freely mingled.
A feeling of tenderest love and veneration was excited also by the knowl-
edge of the beautiful life's devotion of the most thoughtful, considerate and
gentlest of husbands. Toward the wife, whom he had ever near him, the
President was a ministering angel. In caring for her he evinced the delicacy of
a Avoman, the strength of the strongest of men. May she find resignation in
that submission which he taught her, saying: "God's will, not ours, be done."
That such a noble, true soul, such a high-minded man should have been
struck down in the very fullness of his powers, when his great abilities were re-
ceiving a broadening recognition and he was still growing in the affectionate
esteem of his countrymen, caused universal lamentation.
Ex-President Grover Cleveland was fishing at Darling Lake, in Tyring-
DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW. 109
ham, JMass., when he received the news regarding the shooting of President
McKinley. He at once started for the shore in order to hear more details in re-
gard to the matter, and anxiously asked for the latest advices from Mr. McKin-
ley's bedside. ]\Ir. Cleveland was horrified at the news and said :
"With all American citizens, I am greatly shocked at this news. I cannot
conceive of a motive. It must have been the act of a crazy man."
Following receipt of the news of the attempt on his life, W. J. Bryan sent
a brief message to President McKinley expressing his concern. Mr. Bryan
gave out the following statement :
"The attempted assassination of the President is a shock to the entire coun-
try, and he and his wife are the recipients of universal sympathy. The dis-
patches say that the shot w^as fired by an insane man, and it is hoped that this is
true, for while it is a terrible thing for a President to be the victim of the act of
a maniac, it would be even worse for him to be fired upon by a sane person
prompted by malice or revenge.
"In a republic wdiere the people elect their officials and can remove them
there can be no excuse for a resort tO' violence. If our President were in con-
stant fear of plots and conspiracies we would soon sink to the level of those na-
tions in which force is the only weapon of the government, and the only weapon
of the government's enemies."
An intensity of sympathy was manifested in Canton, for 30 years the home
of the McKinleys, for President and Mrs, McKinley, rarely equalled. Canton-
ians who have so long known them felt that the life of the President meant the
life of Mrs. McKinley; his death, they believed, would likely mean the death
of Mrs. McKinley in a short time. Eager residents of all classes surrounded
telegraph and newspaper offices and watched for bulletins from the bedside of
the patient.
In addition to the private expressions of deepest regret and sympathy, pub-
lic action was taken by many organizations. The commander of Canton Post,
G. A. R., of which Mr. McKinley was a member, telegraphed Secretary Cortel-
you :
"The President's comrades of Post No. 25 desire tO' tender him their pro-
foundest sympathy and to express earnest hopes for his safe recovery."
The official body of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the
President was a member, adopted resolutions, which say :
"Dear Brother McKinley : — The fourth quarterly conference in this church,
now in session, has learned with unspeakable sorrow of the most deplorable inci-
dent of which you are the victim. The brethren are deeply concerned and unite
no DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
in agonizing importunities that God may intervene to avert serious conse-
quences and graciously minister to you all needed spiritual comfort and grant
you speedy and complete physical recovery. We also extend to your dear wife
assurances of our profoundest and most prayerful sympathy, trusting God may
comfort her in the great trial through which you are passing."
Life at Washington was enveloped in sadness during the fateful week. In
every quarter expressions of the profoundest sympathy were heard. Tlie wish
foremost in the minds of all was that the President be spared, and whenever
encouraging advices were received from Buffalo there was a general feeling of
rejoicing.
Officials O'f the government who were toO' affected by the news first received
to discuss the crime talked more freely later and gave expressions of great in-
dignation at the atrocious act. At the Executive Mansion messages poured in
constantly. There were few callers.
Bulletins were received at the White House hourly announcing Mr. Mc-
Kinley's condition, and those reporting an increase in the President's tempera-
ture occasioned concern.
In a mechanical way the executive departments opened on the day following
the assassination, but the employes had nO' heart to work, and the corridors
were filled with knots of eager seekers after the latest bulletins from the Presi-
dent's sick bed. The excitement in the streets was continuous and crowds lin-
gered around the newspaper bulletin boards, while people walked along with
sober faces and with frequent expressions oi sorrow and many anxious in-
quiries.
At the State Department were received an accumulation of cablegrams and
telegraph messages, all expressing the gravest concern and condolence. These
messages were from all parts of the world. They continued to flow in upon the
department. They came from crowned heads, from foreign ministers, from
resident ministers of foreign countries in the United States and from individ-
uals of distinction. Some of them follow :
Rambouillet, September 7. — With keen affliction I learn the news of
the heinous attempt of which your excellency has just been a victim. I take
it to heart to join with the people of the United States in wishing the early re-
covery of your excellency, and I earnestly desire in this sorrowful juncture to
renew to you the assurance of my sentiments of constant and cordial friendship.
Emil Loubet.
Koenigsberg, September 7, 1901. — The Emperor and I, horrified at
DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW. Ill
the attempt planned against your husband, express our deei>felt sympathy,
hoping that God may restore to health Mr. McKinley.
William, I. R.
Victoria, I. R.
Rome, September 7, 1901. — Deeply grieved, terrible crime. Trust Presi-
dent will be spared to his country and friends. Baron Fava.
London, Septeml>er 7. — Secretary of State, Washington: — Following
messages of condolence received :
From His Majesty, the King, to American Ambassador — Offer my deep-
est sympathy at the dastardly attempt on the President's life. Have tele-
graphed direct to President.
From the Lord j\Iayor of London — ^Tbe citizens of London have received
with profound regret and great indignation intelligence of the dastardly attack
on the life of the distinguished President of the United States and desire tO' con-
vey through your excellency their sincere sympathy with your country in this
melancholy event. They trust that so valuable a life as President McKinley's
may be spared for the welfare of the American people.
From Vice Dean of Canterbury Cathedral — Accept expression of deep sor-
rov/ at outrage upon President, Prayers offered for his recovery at all services
in Canterbury Cathedral.
From Lord Provost of Edinburgh — Li the name of the citizens of Edin-
burgh I beg tO' express horror at the dastardly outrage upon President McKin-
ley and to assure him and Mrs. McKinley and the government and peopJe of the
United States of our sympathy with them and prayers for President's recovery.
From Field Marshal Lord Roberts — Please convey to President and Mrs.
McKinley on behalf of myself and the British army our profound regret at
what has occurred and our earnest hope that Mr. McKinley's valuable life may
be spared. Choate, Ambassador.
London and all England received the news of the attempt on Mr. McKin-
ley's life with incredulity. Every newspaper and every hotel was besieged with
anxious Americans inquiring for the latest intelligence of the reported assas-
sination.
King Edward VH. and Queen Alexandra were traveling in Germany when
the news of the assassination reached them. They were greatly shocked. Police
guards on the train and along the route were at once ordered increased, as it
was feared the shooting of the President at Buffalo might induce some Euro-
pean anarchist to make an attempt on the life of King Edward.
112 DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
In spite of the late hour at which the news of the attempted assassination of
President McKinley reached Paris the report that the American President had
been fatally wounded caused the greatest excitement on the boulevards. The
occupants of the cafes left their late suppers, rushing in hot haste from the
tables to the newspaper offices to verify the news.
Immediately the outburst of sorrow over the attempt on President Mc-
Kinley's life was spent, comment in Berlin was universally directed against
what w^as termed America's guilty lenity toward the anarchistic fraternity.
The tenderest sympathy and praise of McKinley mingled with deep abhor-
rence of the crime and vehement denunciation of the teachings that inspired it
from every part of the South prove conclusively that the love for the martyr
President w^as as great there as in the North.
It is significant that much of this laudatory comment W'as coupled with
grateful recognition of the work done by the President in unifying the tw^o
sections of the country. It is doubtful if the President's most zealous admirers
in the North can surpass in fervor of affectionate regard many of the editorial
tributes in the Southern press.
A few discordant notes — not sufficient to merit more than passing notice,
however — marred the general voice of sympathy and condolence. In an in-
terview regarding the attempt to take the President's life, Senator Wellington
of Maryland was reported as saying :
"McKinley and I are enemies. I have nothing good to say about him, and
under the circumstances do not care to say anything bad. I am indifferent to
the w^hole matter."
Tlie Senator subsequently refused to deny the interview, and his silence was
construed as an affirmation of it. For this unpatriotic utterance the Atlanta
Journal editorially called upon the United States Senate to expel him from
that body as being unfit to represent the people of Maryland in the highest
council of the nation.
In various parts of the country reflections on the President or expression of
pleasure at the crime led to rough treatment by indignant crow'ds. Only cool
heads saved several detractors of McKinley from being lynched. Here and
there an anarchist would attempt tO) incite the crowd in behalf of the assassin,
but all such attempts were repulsed and the demagogues arrested or driven
from the town.
After the first great wave of sorrow and despair had swept the land, the bul-
letins from Buffalo brought back hope. From Sunday on to Thursday the
indication grew more favorable and the fact that recovery seemed assured led
many churches to arrange thanksgiving services.
DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW. 113
The day of prayer seemed to have passed, the prayer granted and the
hearts of a grateful people were set on a day of thanksgiving. Among earnest
Christian men and women the desire to anticipate the regular annual thanks-
giving festival was universal, and even such persons as have little faith in the
efficacy of prayer approved the suggestion that there should be some common
recognition of our national good fortune in the escape of the President from
death.
Messages of congratulation poured in on the relatives and friends at Buffalo
by the hundreds, hope rose high, and cheerful faces shone where all had been
gloom. This buoyant feeling continued until Thursday night at Buffalo, and
only on Friday morning did the nation learn of the change for the worse.
Among the cablegrams of congratulations sent by European rulers were
those from the King of England, the Czar of Russia, the King of Greece and
the Emperor of Austria.
The following dispatch was received at the American Embassy at London :
"I am delighted to hear your last most satisfactory account of your Presi-
dent. I sincerely trust that his convalescence may soon be completed.
"Edward, R."
The following message was received from the Czar of Russia :
"Fredensborg — To President McKinley, Buffalo, N. Y : — I am happy to
hear you are feeling better after the ignominious attempt on your life. I join
with the American people and the universal world for your speedy recovery.
"Nicholas."
The following message was received from King George of Greece at
Fredensborg :
"I rejoice to hear that you so happily escaped the terrible attempt on your
precious life, which has horrified the civilized world, but hope to God that you
recover for the good and glory of the American people."
Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria sent an expression of his sympathy
at the probable recovery of the President to the United States government to-
day. The dispatch was sent through the American Embassy.
On Thursday all was hopefulness ; on Friday gloom and fear ; on Saturday
heads bowed in mourning. Death came with an awful suddenness, notwith-
standing the week of suffering. The passionate hope that the President would
recover had been followed by a feeling of perfect assurance that he was out of
danger, when the wholly unexpected news of Friday put the people on the rack
again. There was another torturing day, and when it ended hope and confi-
114 DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
dence had yielded to universal grief and to a fruitless questioning of the im-
penetrable ways of Providence. It seemed inexplicably strange that a man so
beloved and unoffending and so rich in good works should have been made the
victim of the assassin's bullet.
All day long the bulletin boards in every city were surrounded by crowds
waiting in suppressed excitement for the latest word from the Milburn home,
and numerous newspaper extras were eagerly snapped up.
Every household in Washington was in mourning. The sorrow was com-
plete. Large crowds assembled about the bulletin boards early in the evening
of the memorable day, eagerly awaiting the latest news, hoping against hope
that something would happen, in the mysterious workings of the Almighty, to
spare the President.
The oldest citizens cannot remember when a calamity brought to the na-
tional capital such profound grief. The excitement was more intense when
Lincoln succumbed to the bullets of the assassin. Booth, and the people sincerely
mourned him, but while he was widely loved, his death did not so afflict the peo-
ple. Garfield was generally admired, and the calamity that overtook him awak-
ened the sympathy of the people, but he was not m.ourned as was McKinley.
If the precedents set by President Arthur are followed by President Roose-
velt, the coming winter will be entirely devoid of official gayety. The official
mourning will extend over six months and will be rigorously observed. This
period will include New Year's and the usual courtesies extended to the diplo-
matic corps, the Congress, the judiciary and the army and navy. The official
mourning will end on March 14, 1902, and as this date falls after Shrove Tues-
day, the official social season will be allowed to^ lapse. Therefore the New
Year's reception of 1903 will in all probability be the first formal gathering
of the official and social world at the White House.
Half-masted flags and black column rules mutely proclaimed England's
sentiments touching the death of President McKinley. These symbols of
mourning, countless in their multitudes, visibly recalled the country's grief at
the loss of Queen Victoria. Not only on land, but also at sea, the British hon-
ored the martyr President., Thousands of buildings, both public and private,
and all the shipping around the coast, flew the Union Jack half-way up the staff.
Every British war ship within reach of the telegraph displayed its ensign of
sorrow.
The Pope prayed an hour to-day for the soul of President McKinley. The
pontiff wept with uncontrollable emotion on receiving the news of the Presi-
dent's death. All audiences at the Vatican were suspended.
CHAPTER IX.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH.
President McKinley's last speech, delivered on President's Day at the
Pan-American Exposition, September 5, the day before he was shot, was
the greatest speech joi his life. It was a message to all the world, robust
in its Aniericanism, and fraught with good will for all nations and all man-
kind. It v/as as follows:
"President Milburn, Director General Buchanan, Commissioners,
Ladies and Gentlemen.-' — I am glad to be again in the city of Buffalo and
exchange greetings with her people, to whose generous hospitality I am
not a stranger, and with whose good will I have been repeatedly and signally
honored.
"To-day I have additional satisfaction in meeting and giving welcome
to the foreign representatives assembled here, whose presence and participa-
tion in this exposition have contributed in so marked a degree to its interests
and success. To the commissioners of the Dominion of Canada and the
British colonies, the French colonies, the republics of Mexico and of Central
and South America and the commissioners of Cuba and Porto Rico, who
share with us in this undertaking, we give the hand of fellowship and felici-
tate with them upon the triumphs of art, science, education and manufacture
which the old has bequeathed to the new century.
"Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world's
advancement. They stimulate the energy, enterprise and intellect of the
people and quicken human genius. They go into the hom.e. They broaden
and brighten the daily life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of
information to the student.
BENEFIT IN EXPOSITIONS.
"Every exposition, great or small, has helped to some onward step.
Comparison of ideas is always educational, and as such instructs the brain
and hand of man. Friendly rivalry follows, which is the spur to industrial
improvement, the inspiration to useful invention and to high endeavor in
all departments of human activity: It exacts a study of the wants, comforts,
115
116 PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECPI.
and even the whims of the people and recognizes the efficacy of high quality
and low prices to win their favor.
"The quest for trade is an incentive to men of business to devise, invent,
improve and economize in the cost of production. Business life, whether
among ourselves or with other people, is ever a sharp struggle for success.
It will be none '"'e less so in the future. Without competition we would
be cHnging to the clumsy and antiquated processes of farming and manu-
facture and the methods of business of long ago, and the twentieth would
Le no further advanced than the eighteenth century. But though com-
mercial competitors we are, commercial enemies we must not be.
INVITES FRIENDLY RIVALRY.
'The Pan-American Exposition has done its work thoroughly, present-
ing in its exhibits evidences of the highest skill and illustrating the progress
of the human family in the western hemisphere. This portion of the earth
has no cause for humiliation for the part it has performed in the march of
civilization. It has not accomplished everything; far from it. It has simply
done its best, and without vanity or boastfulness and recognizing the mani-
fold achievements of others, it invites the friendly rivalry of all the powers
in the peaceful pursuits of trade and commerce, and will co-operate with all
in advancing the highest and best interests of humanity.
"The wisdom and energy of all the nations are none too great for the
world's work. The success of art, science, industry and invention is an
international asset and a common glory. After all, how near one to the
other is every part of the world. Modern inventions have -brought into
close relation widely separated peoples, and made them better acquainted.
Geographic and political divisions will continue to exist, but distances have
been effaced.
ANNIHILATION OF SPACE.
"Swift ships and fast trains are becoming cosmopolitan. They invade
fields which a few years ago were impenetrable. The world's products are
exchanged as never before, and with increasing transportation facilities come
increasing knowledge and trade. Prices are fixed with mathematical pre-
cision by supply and demand. The world's selling prices are regulated by
market and crop reports. We travel greater distances in a shorter space
of time, and with more ease than was ever dreamed of by the fathers.
"Isolation is no longer possible or desirable. The same important news
is read, though in different languages, the same day in all Christendom.
FKESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH. 117
The telegraph keeps us advised of what is occurring everywhere, arxd the
press foreshadows, with more or less accuracy, the plans and purposes of the
nations. Market prices of products and of securities are hourly known in
every commercial mart, and the investments of the people extend beyond
their own national boundaries into the remotest parts of the earth. Vast
transactions are conducted and international exchanges are made by the
tick of the cable. Every event of interest is immediately bulletined.
COMPARISON IS DRAWN.
"The quick gathering and transmission of news, like rapid transit, are
of recent origin, and are only made possible by the genius of the inventor
and the courage of the investor. It took a special messenger of the govern-
ment, with every facility known at the time for rapid travel, nineteen days
to go from the City of Washington to New Orleans with a message to
General Jackson that the war with England had ceased and a treaty of
peace had been signed.
"How different now! We reached General Miles in Porto Rico by cable,
and he was able through the military telegraph to stop his army on the firing
hne with the message that the United States and Spain had signed a pro-
tocol suspending hostilities. We knew almost instantly of the first shots
fired at Santiago, and the subsequent surrender of the Spanish forces was
known at Washington within less than an hour of its consummation. The
first ship of Cervera's fleet had hardly emerged from that historic harbor
when the fact was flashed to our capital and the swift destruction that fol-
lowed was announced immediately through the wonderful medium of teleg-
raphy.
DARK DAYS AT PEKING.
"So accustom.ed are we to safe and easy communication with distant
lands that its tem.porary interruption, even in ordinary times, results in loss
and inconvenience. We shall never forget the days of anxious waiting and
awful suspense when no information v/as permitted to be sent from Peking,
and the diplomatic representatives of the nations in China, cut off from all
communication inside and outside of the walled capital, were surrounded
by an angry and misguided mob that threatened their lives; nor the joy that
thrilled the world when a single message from the government of the United
States brought through our minister the first news of the safety of the be-
sieged diplomats.
118 PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH.
"At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was not a mile of
steam railroad on the globe. Now there are enough miles to m.akc its circuit
many times. Then there was not a line of electric telegraph; now we have
vast mileage traversing all lands and all seas.
"God and man have linked the nations together. No nation can longer
be indifferent to any other. 7\nd as we are brought more and more in
touch with each other the less occasion is there for misunderstandings and
the stronger the disposition, when we have differences, to adjust them in
the court of arbitration, which is the noblest forum for the settlemiCnt of
international disputes.
PROSPERITY OF THE NATION.
**My fellow citizens, trade statistics indicate that this countiy is in a
state of unexampled prosperity. The figures are almost appalling. They
show that we are utilizing our fields and forests and mines and that we are
furnishing profitable employment to the millions of workingmen through-
out the United States, bringing comfort and happiness to their homes and
making it possible to lay by savings for old age and disability.
"That all the people are participating in this great prosperity is seen in
every American community and shown by the enormous and unprecedented
deposits in our savings banks. Our duty is the care and security of these
deposits, and their safe investment demands the highest integrity and the
best business capacity of those in charge of these depositories of the people's
earnings.
"We have a vast and intricate business, built up through years of toil
and struggle, in v.diich every part of the country has its stake, which will
not permit of either neglect or of undue selfishness. No narrow, sordid
policy wdll subserve it. Tlie greatest skill and wisdom on the part of the
manufacturers and producers will be required to hold and increase it. Our
industrial enterprises, which have grown to such great proportions, affect
the homes and occupations of the people and the welfare of the country.
Our capacity to produce has developed so enormously and our products have
so multiplied that the problem of more markets requires our urgent and
immediate attention.
FOR ENLIGHTENED POLICY.
"Only a broad and enlightened policy will keep what we have. No other
policy will get more. In these times of marvelous business energy and gain
PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH. Ill)
we ought to be looking- to the future, strengthening the weak places in our
industrial and commercial systems, so that we may be ready for any storm
or strain.
"By sensible trade arrangements which will not interrupt our home
production we shall extend the outlets for our increasing surplus. A system
which provides a mutual exchange of commodities is manifestly essential
to the continued healthful growth of our export trade. We must not repose
in fancied security that we can forever sell everything and buy little or
nothing. If such a thing were possible it would not be best for us or for
those with whom we deal. We should take from our customers such of their
products as we can use without harm to our industries and labor.
"Reciprocity is the natural outgrowth of our wonderful industrial devel-
opment under the domestic policy now firmly established. What we produce
beyond our domestic consumption must have a vent abroad. The excess
must be relieved through a foreign outlet and we should sell everywhere we
can and buy wherever the buying will enlarge our sales and productions, and
thereby make a greater demand for home labor
NEED OF EXPANSION.
"The period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade and
commerce is the pressing problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable. A
policy of good will and friendly trade relations v^dll prevent reprisals. Reci-
procity treaties are in harmon) with the spirit of the times; measures of
retaliation are not. If perchance some of our tariffs are no longer needed
for revenue or to encourage and protect our industries at home, why should
they not be employed to extend and promote our markets abroad?
"Then, too, we have inadequate steamship service. New lines of steamers
have already been put in commission between the Pacific coast ports of the
United States and those on the western coasts of Mexico and Central and
South America. These should be followed up with direct steamship lines
between the eastern coast of the United States and South American ports.
One of the needs of the tim.es is direct commercial lines from our vast fields
of production to the fields of consumption that we have but barely touched.
Next in advantage to having the thing to sell is to have the convenience to
carry it to the buyer.
"We must encourage our merchant marine. We must have more ships.
They must be under the American fiag, built and manned and owned by
120 PRESIDENT McKlNLEY'S LAST SPEECH.
Americans. These will not be profitable in a commercial sense; they will be
messengers of peace and amity wherever they go.
"We must build the isthmian canal, which will unite the two oceans and
give a straight line of water communication with the western coasts of Cen-
tral America, South America and Mexico. The construction of a Pacific
cable cannot be longer postponed.
GIVES BLAINE CREDIT.
"In furtherance of these objects of national interest and concern you are
performing an important part. This exposition would have touched the
heart of that American statesman whose mind was ever alert and thought
ever constant for a larger commerce and a truer fraternity of the republics of
the new world. His broad American spirit is felt and manifested here. He
needs no identification to an assemblage of Americans anywhere, for the
name of Blaine is inseparably associated with the Pan-American movement,
which finds this practical and substantial expression, and which we all hope
v/ill be firmly advanced by the Pan-American congress that assembles this
autumn in the capital of Mexico.
"The good work will go on. It cannot be stopped. These buildings will
disappear, this creation of art and beauty and industry will perish from sight,
but their influence will remain to
"Make it live beyond its too short living
With praises and thanksgiving.
"Who can tell the new thoughts that have been awakened, the ambitions
fired and the high achievements that will be wrought through this exposi-
tion?
"Gentlemen, let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not
conflict, and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those
of war. We hope that all who are represented here may be moved to higher
and nobler effort for their own and the world's good, and that out of this
city may come not only greater commerce and trade for us all, but, m^ore
essential than these, relations of mutual respect, confidence and friendship,
which will deepen and endure.
"Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe proeperity, hap-
piness and peace to all our neighbors and like blessings to all the peoples and
powers of earth."
SECRETARY OF STATE. JOHN HAY.
CHAPTER X.
WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD.
WilHam McKinley was born in Ohio, his ancestors having emigrated to
the United States from County Antrim, Ireland. In that ancestry, also, was
mingled some of the sterling blood of the Scottish race, and it seems the
child who was destined to become twenty-fifth President of the United States
combined in his nature the choicest qualities of both races, enriched and
broadened by generations of American life. His great-grandfather, David
McKinley, was the son of a Revolutionary soldier, and was born in Penn-
sylvania the year before peace with England was declared.
After the independence of the United States had been achieved, this
David McKinley was brought by his soldier father from York to West-
moreland County, Pa., and the lad himself, as he grew to manhood, chose the
new State of Ohio as a place of residence, and established there the fortunes
and the hopes of the McKinley family.
His grandson, William McKinley, the father of the President, was the
second child in a family of thirteen, and was born at New Lisbon, Ohio.
He was engaged in the iron and foundry business, and resided successively
at New Lisbon, Niles, Poland and finally Canton, It was w^hile engaged
in the iron industry, then in a primitive stage of development, at Niles,
Ohio, that Wilham McKinley, the elder, met and married Miss Nancy
Campbell Allison, daughter of a well-to-do business man in the growing
Ohio town. And there was born, on January 29, 1843, William McKinley,
subject of this biography, and a third martyr President of the United States.
The father was at that time manager and part owner of an iron furnace.
But seeing greater possibilities in the newer region about Poland, he dfs-
posed of his interests at Niles, and removed thither, where he again estab-
lished a forge.
Surrounding the rising town of Poland lies a fine agricultural country,
and in the healthful environment of rural scenes and labor's activities the
earliest years of the life of William McKinley, Jr., were spent. Through
his mother's family he traced his lineage back to the substantial middle
classes of England. And this excellent woman must have possessed in mind
8i
123
124 WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD.
and soul and bodily frame the better qualities of the Anglo-Saxon race.
Her influence upon this son was pronounced from the beginning; and it
seems that an almost prophetic power was given her, for if the whole of the
future had been revealed to her she could have guided him no more wisely,
could have laid with no more sagacious skill the foundations which his
career as statesman and as man required.
And no mother was ever more devotedly loved by son than was this
American matron by William McKinley. Throughout her life he made her
comfort his own care, and maintained with an increasing tenderness the
gentle bearing which, as a child, had been part of his life. In her age, when
she had lived to see her son elevated to the chiefest office in the Nation,
the beauty of that filial attachment appealed to the people, and untold thou-
sands proved their appreciation when they lovingly bestowed upon her the
title, "Mother McKinley."
One of the reasons for the elder McKinley's removal to Poland was
that his children might have the advantages of the better schools which —
oddly enough — flourished in the younger city. An academy had been estab-
lished there; and when young William passed through the preparatoiy
years, he was admitted to that institution. As he passed from childhood to
youth's estate, he filled the months of vacation in productive labor. At times
he worked upon the farms which surrounded the growing, thriving town.
At other times he engaged as a clerk in one or other of the stores. But he
was never apt at a trade, and really had not the faculty to "buy, and sell,
and get gain," as had his younger brother Abner. And as a consequence
he maintained that attitude of balance which left him free in his develop-
ment, and permitted that ripening and broadening of his mind in all direc-
tions which the early adoption of a mercantile life would almost certainly
have prevented. And it was proof of still another virtue on the lad's part
that he preferred, of all the industries that came to his hand, the heavy labor
of the forge and foundry. Those years of healthful life, when native powers
Vere developed by bodily industry, when regular hours, plain but abundant
food, and long hours of restful sleep were adding to brain and brawn, when
the wise mother was guiding him so gently in morals and manners — in
those years the character of the future President, the statesman, the soldier
and the American patriot, was formed.
As he acquired more of the learning which the academy placed within
his reach, young William employed portions of his vacations in teaching
school. Not only did this occupation furnish him admirable discipline and
WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD. 125
training in the process of his development, but it provided him with rather
more money for the further prosecution of his studies.
For it was one of the characteristics of the "McKinley boys" that they
PAID THEIR WAY. Although the father might have provided them with
all needful books and clothing, paid all their school expenses and provided them
with spending money, thus encouraging them in idleness, the wise plan of the
iron founder, and of that "Mother McKinley," whom a nation has delighted to
honor, did not contemplate such a system. They did plan to encourage ir,de-
pendence and self-reliance in their children; and they succeeded in achieving
that end.
The first term of school taught by William McKinley, Jr., was in the
Kerr District, about four miles from Poland, where he presided over the
studies of nearly half a hundred pupils through the win'.er months of 1859-
60. With the money secured he not only assisted in defraying the expenses
of his sisters and brother at the academy, for which they were by this time
prepared, but he was enabled to enter Alexander College, in the autumn of
i860. Two years before that date he had united with the Methodist Church,
and had been received into full communion with the society of that denomi-
nation in Poland. And through all the years of his life, to the very end,
he maintained that relation. In his later years he had been a regular
attendant at the forms of worship, a frequent guest at the conferences of his
church; and his counsels have been continually at the service of those high
in the management of the affairs of Methodism.
It is told of him with a good deal of interest that in the years following
the revival at which his conversion v.as confessed, he was at once a con-
sistent Christian and a happy young man. He delighted in healthful sports,
in games which tested muscle, skill and endurance, and took the heartiest
possible interest in life. Those were the years under the calm guid-
ance of the wise mother, when stores of power were laying up against the
day of need that should come as manhood brought its duties. He was
passing through his formative period under the most normal and healthy
conditions possible. And that was the best preparation for the broad re-
quirements, the heavy burdens which the future was to lay upon him.
His brother Abner has said that William was a general favorite; that
he had no enemies. And one can well believe it, for throughout his adult
life he has gone with friends. No one ever hated him. No one ever received
an affront at his hands. There is a foolish adage that a man is weak and
126 WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD.
inconsequential who makes no enemies; that such a character can not be
positive, yet that would be a perverse or an ill-informed man who would say
William McKinley was either weak or of the negative type of life. And as
he has been in manhood, so he was in the early days about the town of
Poland. He knew all the workmen in the iron mills, and all the farmers
for miles around. He understood them perfectly, and the bond of sympathy
for them which was planted in his breast while yet a lad was one of the
guides by which he shaped legislation when he came to be a man. His
boyish frankness and simplicity and generosity remained permanent traits
in his character to the end.
William McKinley, Sr., was a whig, and one of the thousands who
marched from that old party into the ranks of the Republicans. Young
William had read a great deal. His youthful fancy had been stirred wath the
stories of California gold, and the Overland Trail. His home was fairly
supplied with such reading as is good for a boy, and a part of it dealt with
the adventures and the activities of Colonel John C. Fremont. That "Path-
finder," as his friends called him, was a hero to young William. More im-
pressive far than the stories of wealth in the mines were the reports of Fre-
mont's expeditions. More attractive than the magnet which drew ad-
venturers to the new Eldorado was the unspoken yearning to become a
member of one of Colonel Fremont's bands of explorers.
And so it is small wonder that his heart glowed with enthusiasm wdien
Fremont was made the nominee of the young Republican party in 1856.
He was thirteen years old then, and a stout, healthy boy, with a healthy
American boy's appetite for politics. So he shouted the campaign cries of
the party, and sang the songs which lauded Fremont to the skies — as well
as those less amiable songs which had for their motive the prophesying of
defeat for Buchanan.
The result of the election in 1856 was never much in doubt, except to
the sanguine youths who mistook their own earnestness for "indications."
But the defeat of his champion did not weigh heavily on the lad's heart; and
before the next national election came around he was almost man grown,
with something of education, wath four more years of activity and helpful-
ness for his family. But it would be impossible for a lad to enter with more
earnestness into a cause than he gave to the hosts who were rallying to the
support of Lincoln in i860.
Young William had already taken an active interest in politics. He had
"supported" Fremont because that explorer, traveler and soldier had won
WILLIAM AIcKINLEVS BOYHOOD. 127
his honest admiration through many deeds of heroism. But he gave his
allegiance to Lincoln because he had read, and because he understood the
issues of the day, and believed the "Railsplitter of Illinois" was right. He
could not vote for Lincoln that first time, but he could give the aid which
politicians know is of value in campaigns. And so he was a member of the
circles that marched and sang for the candidate — for freedom's champion.
And he was given to debating, even in those early days. He was
naturally a public speaker. He could arrange his argument, marshal his
points and present them; and he could thrill his hearers with the genuine
eloquence which is not learned, but comes spontaneous from the lips that
have been touched with the wand of genius.
He was a reader at all times. And one of the books that made an in-
delible impression upon him was "Uncle Tom's Cabin." It came in his
most impressionable years, and did much to fill his soul with a hatred of
human slavery — did much to prepare him for the services of those later
years, when he seconded to the limit of his powers the work of the Great
Liberator. He had followed the fortunes of Un/cle Tom and of Eliza, and
regarded them as types. And he was quite certain the horrors of human
slavery were fairly depicted in the story.
Among the few but excellent books in his father's possession was one
called ''Noble Deeds of American Women;" and the reading of it in that
period of his youth impressed upon him vividly the struggles and sacrifices
of the maids and matrons of the earlier day. The book had not many com-
panions, for libraries were not large in those days; and it will be remem-
bered that the house where William McKinley's boyhood was spent was the
home of a workingman.
It was a foreman of workingmen, to be sure, and one who had from
time to time an interest in the modest business which he conducted. But
yet it was a home where actual toil was by no means unknown; where the
mother was the ho^isekeeper, performing with her own hands much of the
domestic labor, and where not one of the family was brought up ,with a
contempt for industry.
In those years of transition from boyhood to youth, young William
McKinley passed through a period of ill health. It interfered a good deal
with his labors at home, and was the cause of cutting short his attendance at
the college in Alexandria. It is by no means an unusual phase of a young
man's life, and it vanished as he advanced to the years of maturity.
Throughout his life, with that exception, he has been a healthy person; and
128 WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD.
the season of delicate health at the threshold of manhood left no harmful
consequences.
In 1896, when one of the enterprising publishers was hurrying to issue
a "Campaign Life of William McKinley," he sent a writer into Mahoning
and Stark counties, and elsewhere throughout that portion of the Buckeye
State, with instructions to find some record of the boyish escapades of young
William. The writer found a number of men who had known the nominee
in his boyhood, and asked one of them:
"Was he never in mischief — like robbing orchards, or stealing water-
melons, or carrying away gates on 'Hallowe'en?' "
The old man thought for a moment, apparently passed the lad's life in
review before the judge that abided in his memory, and then he said:
"I don't remember that William was ever in any scrape of any kind."
Then he waited for a moment, filled his pipe, lighted it reflectively and
added as he pinched out the flame before throwing the match away:
"And if I did I wouldn't tell it."
The incident proves one of two things. Either young Vv'illiam had all
his life the studious regard for the rights of others which has marked his
manhood, or he had unconsciously enrolled this staunch old man am.ong
the friends who could not possibly be induced to "tell on him." And either
view shows the subject of their conversation in a very creditable light.
From infancy until he had attained the age of ten years, the family lived
at Niles. The removal from there toi Poland, where the Academy could
ofter better educational advantages to the children, was the last breaking
up of home the boy knew. He retained the latter city as his home until
after his return from the army, until after the completion of his law studies,
when he cast about for a location that promised best for the life he had
planned for himself.
But about the old town of Poland are still resident many men and women
who knew him as a child, who watched him grow up to sturdy boyhood,
and who learned to love him through the years that were adding to his
stature and his wisdom. Those friendships he held to the very end. And
there is no place in the United States where the blow that came with the
news of his assassination fell more heavily than In the boyhood home of
William McKinley.
CHAPTER XI.
McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
William jMcKinley was but eighteen years old when the war of the rebel-
lion began.
His enlistment was in every way typical of the man, and representative
of the motive and action of the American volunteer. With his cousin,
William McKinley Osborne, now United States Consul General at London,
he drove to Youngstown, Ohio, in the early summer of 1861, to watch a
recently enlisted company of infantrymen at their drill, preparatory to march-
ing away for the field of battle. William McKinley, Sr., was a union man,
a Republican, and had been a supporter of both Fremont and Lincoln at
the polls. Of course the son had voted for neither, as he still lacked several
years of that age at which American youth may exercise the elective fran-
chise. But no man, of any age, had taken a more intense interest in the
progress of affairs. He felt the need of supporting the President, and the
necessity of preserving the integrity of the nation in all its borders. Nothing
could exceed the avidity with which he watched the swiftly accumulating
clouds of war and disaster. The love of human freedom, of personal liberty
and loyalty to his country were cardinal virtues in the young man's com-
position. And when w^ar really began he felt a strong desire to give his
labor and even his life, if necessary, in the cause which he was certain was
the right.
The streets of Youngstown were filled with people, who had gathered
to watch the soldiers at their drill, nearly the entire company had been re-
cruited at Poland, and young McKinley personally knew every one of them.
After the little band of recruits had gone through their evolutions, and
had marched away from Youngstown to the state rendezvous, young Will-
iam and his cousin Osborne returned to Poland, sobered and inspired to a
heroic deed.
The former stated, calmly but firmly, that he felt his duty was to enlist.
"It seems to me the country needs every man who can go," he said,
"and I can."
He laid the matter before his mother, and she did not oppose him.
That wise woman understood the nature of her son too well to thwart in
129
130 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
this day of his greatest experience that advance which she herself had so
notably assisted him in making.
So that he, with his cousin Osborne, went to Columbus, as soon as
they could set their little affairs in order, and at Camp Chase — named in
honor of a man whose genius had already made him famous and powerful
— they enlisted in Company E, of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer In-
fantry. When one reflects how promptly Ohio sprang to arms in response
to President Lincoln's call for troops, it will be observed that William Mc-
Kinley embraced a very early opportunity to serve his country. For he
enlisted July 30, 1861.
W. S. Rosecrans was the first Colonel of that Twenty-third Ohio, and
it had such men as Rutherford B. Hayes and Stanley Matthews on its
roster.
Here in the camp, on the march, and in battle young William found
the value of his earlier training. His splendid strength, his calm self-control
■ — which made him capable of controlling other men; his better education,
and his manly, honorable bearing were all elements in the guaranty of his
advancement. At the very first he v/as chosen a corporal. And at the time
of the battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862, he had been promoted to the
position of sergeant, and had received the added honor of selection to have
charge of the commissary stores. So high an authority as General Ruther-
ford B. Hayes, later Governor of Ohio, and still later President of the United
States, has left the following tribute upon record:
"Young as he was, we soon found that in business, in executive ability,
young McKinley was a man of rare capacity, of unusual and unsurpassed
capacity, especially for a boy of his age. When battles were fought or
service was to be performed in warlike things he always took his place. The
night was never too dark; the weather Vv^as never too cold; there w'as no
sleet, or storm, or hail, or snow, or rain that was in the way of his prompt
and eiTficient performance of every duty."
The bloodiest day of the war, the day on which more men were killed
or wounded than on any other one day — ^was Sept. 17, 1862, in the battle
of Antietam.
The battle began at daylight. Before daylight men were in the ranks
and preparing for it. Without breakfast, without coffee, they went into the
fight, and it continued until after the sun had set. The commissary depart-
ment of that brigade was under Sergeant McKinley's administration and
personal supervision. From his hands every man in the regiment was served
McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL V/AR. 131
with hot coffee and warm meats, a thing that had never occurred untler
similar circumstances in any other army in the world. He passed under fire
and delivered, with his own hands, these things, so essential for the men
for whom he was laboring. General Hayes, then a Lieutenant Colonel, was
himself wounded at Antietam, and went home on sick leave to recover.
While there he related to Governor Tod that circumstance illustrating the
cool courage and genuine heroism, and said to the Governor: "Let Mc-
Kinley be promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant." And it was done with-
out a moment's delay. When Colonel Hayes returned to the field he
assigned Lieutenant McKinley to duty on his staff, and the young man
looked back at eighteen months of active service in the ranks as of the
greatest possible value to him.
McKinley was still on General Hayes' staff when the battle of Kerns-
town, July 24, 1864, was fought. Crook's corps had been expecting an
easy time when it appeared that the enemy was in force at Kernstown,
about four miles from Winchester, where Crook's troops were. There had
been some misinformation regarding the Confederate General Early's move-
ments, and the force about to be met was that of Early, which outnum-
bered Crook's corps three to one. When the battle began one of the regi-
ments was not in position, and Lieutenant McKinley was ordered to bring
it in. The road to the regiment needed was through open fields and right
in the enemy's line of fire. Shells were bursting on his right and left, but the
boy soldier rode on. He reached the regiment, gave the orders to them,
and at his suggestion the regiment fired on the enemy and slowly withdrew
to take the position where they were assigned. It was a gallant act of the
boy soldier, and General Hayes had not expected him to come back alive.
He distinguished himself for gallantry, for good judgment, and military
skill at the battle of Opequan. He had been ordered to bring General
JDuval's troops to join the first division, which was getting into the battle.
There was a question of which route to take, and upon the choice depended
the very existence of General Duval and his brave men. Lieutenant Mc-
Kinley weighed the chances swiftly, decided instantly, and on his own
responsibility pointed out the direction as he gave his superior officer's com-
mand to move. Tlie troops followed his instructions, and came up gallantly
and in excellent style, with the smallest possible loss or injury. His own
regiment, the Twenty-third Ohio, was less skillfully directed, and suffered
the very severe loss of 150 men and ofificers.
133 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The work accomplished on that day marked young Lieutenant r.IcKinley
as both modest and brave.
Early in 1863, William McKinley, Jr., was promoted to the rank of first
lieutenant, but was retained on staff duty, as his superior ability, coolness
and rare judgment made him invaluable to the regimental commander.
That year the regiment saw service almost exclusively in West Virginia,
engaged in the scouting duty which alone preserved that territoiy from
falling into the possession of the enemy. It was a wearying year, trying on
the men without giving them opportunity to share the glory that more
active soldiering would have brought. They were marched east and west,
north and south. It was a year of inaction, so far as achieving results were
concerned. And in this severer test Lieutenant McKinley proved him-
self a soldier of the best ability. He kept up that esprit du corps through-
out the regiment, without which it would have been ill prepared for service
when the time for action came.
This hour — this opportunity — came in late midsummer, when Morgan's
raiders swept that terrifying march to the north of the Ohio river — that raid
which struck the great North with the shock of a war experience which
they had so happily escaped. The Twenty-third was just near enough to
hear the summons and fly to the confronting of Morgan and his men. And
it was his engagement with McKinley's regiment at Buffington's Island,
Ohio, which so crippled the raiders as to completely disarrange their entire
plan of campaign, and pave the way for that hopeless march from which
they never returned. In that engagement the young Ohio officer bore
himself with all bravery, and won a generous share in the honor of crush-
ing the advance of a force which was seriously affecting the moral tone of
the whole loyal North.
In the spring of 1864 the Twenty-third marched to Brownstown, on the
Kanawha river, where it became a part of the force of General Crook, who
was then preparing for his celebrated raid on the Virginia and Tennessee
Railroad. The expedition differed little in experience, in danger and in
hardship from the everyday service in West Virginia through the previous
year. On June 20 the rear of the Union forces, consisting of Hayes' brigade,
held Buford Gap against the enemy's advance, and then made a hasty night
retreat for the van, supposed to be at Salem. But Hunter was not at
Salem. The enemy had attacked and cut off his trains, and had forced
him beyond the city. Crook's rear guard was in a manner surrounded, and
it was only by rare strategy and brave fighting that he extricated his com-
McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CiVlL WAR. 133
mand from the dilemma. There can be no question the service of Lieutenant
William jMcKinley that day saved the little army, and prevented, in a time
when reverses were costly, the recurrence of a Confederate victory.
The retreat before a superior force was kept up without opportunity
for rest, and with an insufficient supply of food and ammunition till June
27th, when a safe spot was reached on Big Sewell Mountain. It had been a
continuous fight and march for nearly 180 miles. It need not be recited here
hov/ General Early's success in the Shenandoah Valley at this time em-
boldened him to carry his invasion to the very front of Washington, and
to challenge a fight for the national capital. It was all too plain that the
Union forces under command of Hunter in the valley were unable to cope
Vv^th the augmented forces of Early. So General sent two corps
from the James River country to the rescue of the capital. And it was on
that trip that William McKinley, Jr., got his first glimpse of the city of Wash-
ington, the capital of the country for which he hoped and prayed, for which
he cheerfully imperiled his life.
But Lee had withdrawn from Early's support a body of reinforcements,
and the dashing commander of the threatening force was compelled to
retreat southward into farther Virginia. It was Lee's one mistake, for he
had the capital captured, and might have watched the stars and bars in tem-
porarily triumphal progress down Pennsylvania avenue had he backed up
the advance on the Potomac. And the glance which Lieutenant McKinley
had of the capitol dome that morning in 1864 would have been the last; for
an army of invasion, checked and forced to retire, finds fighting from cover
and the consequent burning of buildings one of the inescapable incidents of
war.
After the battle of Kernstown — less accurately known as the battle of
Vv^inchester — the young soldier from Poland, Ohio, was again promoted, this
time to the rank of captain. The document dates his advance from July 25,
the day after his wise and heroic conduct in delivering orders under fire, and
in piloting the imperiled regiment to its place in the battle formation.
His last battle of importance, and one in which he fittingly crowned a
career of gallantry and devotion to duty, was that of Gedar Greek, October
19, 1864. Toward the close of that month the regiment was ordered to
Martinsburg. On its march to that point the men voted at the Presidential
election. The votes were collected by the judges of election as the column
was in march, from among the wagons. It was there McKinley cast his first
vote. An ambulance was used as an election booth, and an empty candle-
134 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
box did duty as a ballot-box. At the same time and place Generals Sheridan,
Crook and Hayes cast their ballots, and it was the first vote ever cast by
Sheridan or Crook.
Early the following spring the Twenty-third returned to Camp Cumber-
land and on July 26, 1865, a little more than four } ears from the time of
enlistment, the regiment was mustered out and the scarred veterans who
had experienced four years of dangers and hardships returned to their homes.
The records show that William McKinley, Jr., enlisted as a private in
Company E of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry on June li, 1861;
that he was promoted to commissary sergeant on April 15, 1862; that he was
promoted to Second Lieutenant of Company D on September 23, 1862;
that he was promoted to First Lieutenant of Company E on February 7,
1863; that he was promoted to Captain of Company G on July 25, 1864; that
he was detailed as Acting Assistant Adjutant General of the First Division,
First Army Corps, on the staff of General Carroll; that he was brevetted
Major on March 13, 1865, and that he was mustered out of service on July
26, 1865.
**For gallant and meritorious services at the battles of Opequan, Cedar
Creek and Fisher's Hill," reads the document commissioning young McKin-
ley as Brevet Major, signed "A. Lincoln."
This is the brief statement of four years of such activity as are hardly
comprehensible by the sedate citizen in these "piping times of peace;" but
they were years which tried and tested the material of which William Mc-
Kinley was formed, and years in which that symmetrical development of his
whole being went majestically on. As it ripened and quickened his judg-
ment, teaching him self-confidence and the power of rallying resources; as
it planted deep in his nature the love of country and the sense of sacrifice
which proves all patriotism; as it brought him into closer communion with
his fellow men in camp and battle, on the march or in the agonies of the
field hospital. — so it developed the physical powers of the vigorous young
man. He has since said, looking at some photographs of himself, taken at
the time of his enlistment: *T was, indeed, a raw recruit."
And he was. The portrait shows him rather slender, and with features
which indicate a certain delicacy and refinement which were far from the
appearance of the ideal soldier of books — the powerful frame, the flashing
eye, the weatherbeaten cheeks "bearded like a pard." And yet he stood that
day of his enlistment, a raw recruit, as the type of millions of his country-
men, as the expression of the best that was in the nation either for peace or
McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 136
war. And the four years of his slow advance to a major's commission was
the most necessary and the most valuable process of development that could
possibly have come.
And whether for peace or war, it was the work his nature needed for
the service of his nation, for the labors of most value to his people. The
beardless boy, delicate in physique, grew to be a rugged, powerful man.
The outdoor life, the exposure and hardship, the struggles and suffering
and self-control, the planning, the quick decisions, the control of other men
had all worked together for the development of a splendid citizen. So that he
was mustered out of the service at the end of the war with beard on the lips
that had been smooth when he took up the musket of a private soldier, and
called back to President Lincoln, in the chorus of marching Americans:
"We are coming. Father Abraham — three hundred thousand strong!" And
his shoulders were broader, and his muscles were harder, and his view of
the whole world was essentially that of a man who had been tried by fire and
not found wanting.
It is fair and proper in this connection to present the testimony of those
who occupied position above him, and who related in after years the impres-
sions which young McKinley made upon them in his army days. For one
thing, he was is no sense an ambitious man. Had he been stung with the
asp of ambition he might easily have passed those who commanded at the
beginning. His was the education, the training of the brain and the body,
the judgment and the patriotic zeal out of which great leaders are made.
But he was not a self-seeker. He simply accepted his duty when it presented,
and discharged it perfectly. Nothing was illy done. Nothing was half
accomplished. His task was fully discharged in every instance, and he was
never the man to thirst for power, to maneuver for promotion. The ad-
vances which marked his soldier life came to him unsought, the well-earned
rewards of a merit which none could deny, coupled with a modesty which all
could admire.
General Russell Hastings watched him through a number of battles, and
at Cedar Creek saw him tried beyond all ordinary measure. General Hast-
ings, then with the rank of captain, was on the same staff with young Lieu-
tenant McKinley, a member of the same regiment, the Twenty-third Ohio.
They were close friends through the war, and remained so throughout their
later life. They ate at the same mess, slept under the same blanket, and —
when they had a tent — occupied the same tent together. It was in 1892,
when William McKinley loomed large because of his loyalty to a friend in
13G McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
political life, that General Hastings placed upon record his recollections —
forever stamped upon the pages of his memor};' — of an incident from the
soldier life of his friend in that battle which began with "Sheridan twenty
miles away."
On the Union side was only Crook's corps, some 6,000 strong, while
opposed to it was the full force of Early's army. The odds were too great;
so, after some severe fighting, Hayes' brigade, which was engaged, drew
back in the direction of Winchester. "J^^t at that moment," says General
Hastings, "it was discovered that one of the regiments was still in an orchard
where it had been posted at the beginning of the battle. General Hayes,
turning to Lieutenant McKinley, directed him to go forward and bring-
away that regiment, if it had not already fallen. McKinley turned his horse
and, keenly spurring it, pushed it at a fierce gallop obliquely toward the
advancing enemy.
"A sad look came over Hayes' face as he saw the young, gallant boy riding
rapidly forward to almost certain death. * * * None of us expected to
see him again, as we watched him push his horse through the open fields,
over fences, through ditches, while a well-directed fire from the enemy was
poured upon him, with shells exploding around, about, and over him.
"Once he was completely enveloped in the smoke of an exploding shell,
and we thought he had gone down. But no, he was saved for better work
for his country in his future years. Out of this smoke emerged his wiry little
brown horse, with McKinley still firmly seated, and as erect as a hussar.
"McKinley gave the Colonel the orders from Hayes to fall back, saying,
in addition, 'He supposed you would have gone to the rear without orders.'
The Colonel's reply was, T was about concluding I would retire without
waiting any longer for orders. I am now ready to go wherever you shall
lead, but. Lieutenant, I "pintedly" believe I ought to give those fellows a
volley or two before I go.' McKinley's reply was, 'Then up and at them as
quickly as possible,' and as the regiment arose to its feet the enemy came
on into full view. Colonel Brown's boys gave the enemy a crushing volley,
following it up with a rattling fire, and then slowly retreated toward some
woods directly in their rear. At this time the enemy halted all along Brown's
immediate front and for some distance to his right and left, no doubt feeling
he was touching a secondary line, which should be approached with all due
caution. During this hesitancy of the enemy McKinley led the regiment
through these woods on toward Winchester,
"As Hayes and Crook saw this regiment safely ofT, they turned, and,
RIcKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN Till: CIVIL V/AR. 137
following the column, with it moved slowly to the rear, cloven the Winchester
pike. At a point near Winchester, McKinley brought the regiment to the
column and to its place in the brigade. McKinley greeted us all with a
happy, contented smile — no effusion, no gushing palaver of w^ords, though
all of us felt and knew one of the most gallant acts of the war had been
performed.
"As McKinley drew up by the side of Hayes to make his verbal report, I
heard Hayes say to him, 'I never expected to see you in life again.' "
And w^hen Sheridann galloped along the "good broad highway leading
down" from Winchester, shouting his jubilant order: "Face the other way,
boys. 'We're going back!" the whole of Hayes' brigade, thanks to young
Lieutenant William McKinley, was in position, and ready for that advance
which ended in another splendid Union victory.
Rutherford B. Hayes, once his colonel, then his general and later his
President, has declared of William McKinley: "At once it was found that he
had unusual character for the mere business of war. There is a quarter-
master's department, which is a very necessary and important department
in every regiment, in every brigade, in every division, in every army. Young
as he was, we soon found that in business, in executive ability, young Mc-
Kinley was a man of rare capacity, of unusual and unsurpassed capacity,
especially for a boy of his age. When battles were fought or service was
to be performed in w-arlike things, he always took his place. The night was
never too dark; the weather was never too cold; there was no sleet or storm,
or hail or snow, or rain that was in the way of his prompt and efficient per-
formance of every duty."
In an old note book of the war-time period, kept by General Hayes, is
another interesting entry v/hich was given to the w^orld in the course of an
address at a political meeting in Ohio in 1891. By way of premise it should
be stated that General George Crook in 1862 called Lieutenant McKinley
to service on his staff, where he remained through the activities of the sum-
mer campaign, and until the Union army went into winter quarters. Li
the last month of the year General Hayes made that entry which seemed
like a prophecy. Here it is:
"Saturday, December 13, 1862.— Our new Second Lieutenant, McKin-
ley, returned to-day — an exceedingly bright, intelligent, and gentlemanly
young officer. He promises to be one of the best."
And he added, while the thousands broke forth in tumultuous applause:
"He has kept the promise in every sense of the word."
138 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
That famous battle of Cedar Creek virtually ended the active military
career of Captain McKinley. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted major.
In the spring of 1865 the Twenty-third Ohio was ordered to Camp Cumber-
land, where it was mustered out of service, July :26, 1865, closing a four-year
career of war with honor, leaving a host of brave comrades beneath the turi
of the battlefields, returning home to receive the congratulations of loyal
friends and to enter once more the occupations of peace. The soldier boy of
eighteen years was now a man of twenty-two. The private of 1861 was now
a major. The education and aspirations of youth had been supplemented
by such an experience in the cause of country as few could claim at his age,
and such as would meet the most exalted purposes of after life.
JOHN D. LONG, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.
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CHAPTER XII.
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
No man ever approached the gates of public life under circumstances
more discouraging than those which confronted William McKinley when,
in 1876, his friends suggested him as a candidate for congress. Yet no man
ever achieved a more signal triumph at the polls, nor a more glorious career
in the halls of legislation. He served fourteen years in Congress. In that
time he passed from the modest position of a "first termer" — one of the
majority which never returns — to the chairmanship of the Ways and Means
committee, a place that has been described as more powerful than that of
the President of the United States. Certainly in the effecting of legislation,
in the expression of national policy, in raising revenues and shaping the
course of government there is no position comparable to it in the United
States — probably in any country on earth.
It is interesting to observe in the beginning that Major McKinley's
start in congressional life was in itself a tribute to his popularity. When
he first launched into the profession of the law at Canton he won early
prominence among his brethren of the bar, and a position of influence in
his party. And when the managers of that party came to make up their
county ticket in 1868, they selected William McKinley, Jr., as their candi-
date for prosecuting attorney. The county was strongly Democratic, and it
was only on occasion, even through the years of the war, that RepubHcans
could capture a county office. Anything Hke sagacity on the part of the
county Democrats in naming their candidates had been certain to preclude
the possibility of electing a Republican. It seemed quite hopeless that
young McKinley could capture the office of prosecuting attorney from his
opponent — a man of experience and ability.
But in the few years Major McKinley had lived in Stark county he had
been constantly winning friends. And one reason he won them was that he
deserved them. And the chief reason that he held them was because he
deserved their adhesion. For while he was making acquaintances all over
the county, widening his circle of acquaintance in the city, ahvays urbane,
courteous, affable and yet dignified, he was preparing to discharge the duties
they would lay upon him.
9 141
142 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
It has been stated in another part of this work that Alajor McKinley
won in the election. He became prosecuting attorney, though not another
man on his ticket was elected. His victory surprised most of the people;
but there were some, both in his own party and in the opposition, who
recognized the promise of a man of power, and prepared the way for him.
So, in 1876, when his friends cast about for a congressional candidate,
this man who had led a forlorn hope for them in a less notable fight eight
years before seemed the man most likely to make a creditable showing.
There was little hope of electing him. The district, the old Ohio Eigh-
teenth, was 1,800 strong Democratic. The Democratic nominee was the
then incumbent, and he had made a record which pleased his constituents.
Besides, the tariff was largely the issue of the campaign and Mr. Tilden's
slogan: "A tariff for revenue only" was regarded as expressing a popular
sentiment. That other slogan, "Tilden and Reform" had lost some of its
effectiveness in the light of the Erie canal investigation at Albany; but the
tariff had more than taken its place in the popular thought.
Besides, Major McKinley was one of the very few men in the nation who
boldly, and without apology or subterfuge, contended for the principle of
protection. It has been said elsewhere in this book that he engaged in a
debate on the tariff shortly after returning from the army, and before he
left his old home town of Poland. He had studied the question even then,
and had become convinced that the present prosperity and future welfare of
the nation demanded a policy of high tariff, and would for a number of
years.
He lost that debate because the judges, smarting under the burden of
war taxes, accepted the popular clamor for a reduction — and decided, with-
out regard to the facts presented or argument deduced, that Major McKin-
ley's opponent had won.
It had been observed in Stark county, since his location at Canton, that
Major McKinley held to his daring theory of protection in all his political
speeches. Most other Republicans felt the need of trimming, and conceded
that protection was bad in policy, if not wrong in morals; and promised the
people that it would be abolished.
That was the condition in the Eighteenth District in the summer of
1876, when Major William McKinley was nominated to run against Judge
L. D. Woodsworth, a wheelhorse of Democracy in Ohio.
As in 1868, when he was candidate for prosecuting attorney of Stark
county, so now, there was little hope of his election. The majority seemed
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 143
too great to be overcome. But it was overcome. And when the votes were
counted it was found that the RepubHcan nominee had a clear majority of
1,300 — a change of 3,100 votes from the preceding congressional election.
And it will be remembered that this was in the face of Major AlcKinley's
contention for the policy of protection. He met every sophistry oi his op-
ponents with arguments which showed him a thorough master of his sub-
ject, and with a skill in debate which disarmed enmity even among his
opposers.
So significant a victory won for the young man the attention of the na-
tion; and the arrival in Washington of this strong, courageous champion of
a great public policy was occasion for gratulation among the men who saw
beyond the immediate present, and were building for the future of the na-
tion— preparing the Republic for that day when it must abandon its hermi-
tage, and take place among the mighty nations of the earth. And they
gave him every encouragement. But even they — even Judge Kelley, of
Pennsylvania, whose protectionism was less genuine because more a matter
of personal interest — found at the very beginning that they could give Wil-
liam McKinley nothing, and that they would shortly be asking favors of
him.
Sociologists may interest themselves with speculations on the influences
which contributed to William McKinley's success as a statesman. But it is
doubtful if they find anything more significant than the sorrow which came
to him at this period. His two daughters were dead. His wife had suffered
the blow from which she was never to recover; and this man's entry upon
national legislation was through the gates of a great sorrow. Maybe it re-
fined him, and purified his nature of whatever dross it contained. Maybe
it intensified his thought, and added the sense of a sacred responsibility to
him as a public man. He had no children. He knew he never again would
hear the lisping call of "Father." And in the holy bereavement of that
hour, he must — perhaps unconsciously — have devoted himself to the service
of his country. There was no need to "trim," to —
"Crook the pregnant hinges of the knee,
That thrift might follow fawning."
He had but one ambition now, and that was so' toi live as a public man
that the verdict of the nation might be: "Well done, good and faithful
servant."
That first term in Congress was judiciously utilized by William Mc-
144 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
Kinley. He knew, with that prescience which belongs to the truly great, that
this was his field, that he would return to it, that no small considerations of
oppositions and repeated elections could keep him from the fulfillment of
that duty, the discharge of that task, for which all his life had been but pre- ^
paration.
In the first session he made no speech. He was not even on a committee
of importance. But his known position as a protectionist made him a man
to be consulted, and his quickly recognized ability made him — a first
termer — share in the shaping of legislation.
That was a Democratic Congress, with Samuel J. Randall in the
speaker's chair. And the young man from Ohio waited at the portals of
opportunity, making himself ready for the day when they should open and
admit him.
He made a speech on the floor of the house. He was little considered by
the superficial and unthinking. Yet they confessed in committee the influ-
ence of his quiet power. He made himself master of every detail. He knew
all that was to be known about the subjects that came before him and his
confreres. And in a courteous, dignified but effective manner he said the
right word in due season, and every man of them felt the presence of great-
ness.
His first speech was delivered in the spring of 1878. The question of
tariff had loomed large in the eyes of the nation. It had been made an
issue. No man could escape it. Seekers for popular applause, for the pres-
ent profits that might be secured, exhausted themselves coining verbal as-
saults on the policy of protection. The men on the Democratic side, east
and west, were almost a unit for a revision which meant a repeal. The time
came later when most eastern Democrats took issue with their brothers from
the West, as to the wisdom of protection. But in that day the strongest
assault was made by a New York man — Fernando Wood.
He was one of the ablest Democrats in Congress. A sharp, shrewd mxan,
plausible in his address, skillful in his arraignment, and attractive as a de-
bater. He had, in his bill, reflected well the popular clamor of demagogues
throughout the country who could not see the demands or the possibilities of
the future. And the Wood tariff bill was sailing serene through the lower
house, its friends jubilant, its supporters becoming jealous of the lucky New
Yorker — when, one day William McKinley, of Ohio, got the floor, and be-
gan an argument against the bill. That frightened no one. They wanted
McKlNLEY IN CONGRESS. l-iS
some opposition. They wanted the sport of a game fight, since they were
sure they could not be defeated.
But when they had Hstened fifteen minutes they saw this young man,
this unconsidered legislator, was master of the province upon which they
had entered. He knew far more about the industrial and commercial con-
ditions of the country than did they. He was infinitely better equipped than
they in the matter of economics. And he coined his ideas in sentences so
impressive that the jealous men were comforted. They were not frightened
on account of the bill, for they were confident in the possession of an in-
vincible majority. But they saw Fernando Wood at last had a foeman
worthy of his steel.
At the end of half an hour a movement was made to silence him. But
other debaters on the RepubHcan side saw an advocate had arisen more
powerful than they. They gave him their time and he went on. Friends oi
the bill tried to badger him with questions. But he met every thrust with
a dignity which disarmed and a reply which silenced them.
And when William McKinley sat down, the Wood bill was defeated, and
nothing like it was ever again offered in the American House of Repre-
sentatives.
It was a significant part of his work that day — a characteristic of his
labors through life — that results were felt in the future. From that day the
freetrade army was divided. The West, neither possessing considerable in-
dustries nor at the time appreciating their value, found itself divided from
the East. From that day no great opponent of protection has come from
the East to the halls of Congress. And — what is more to the point — no
strong popular sentiment supporting free trade has flourished in the popu-
lous Atlantic states.
"A house divided against itself can not stand." How then shall an army
divided against itself hope to march victorious?
But "tariff reform" still looked good as an issue, and the opponents of
protection continued their crusade against it. They could not believe they
would be defeated. They insisted that three thousand miles of ocean w^as
enough protection for the American manufacturer. They pointed out that
the price of each protected article was increased to the American consumer
by just the amount of the protection tax. They refused to see that the con-
sumer would, under a national policy which should strengthen industries, be
better able to pay the increased price than the lower price under free trade.
They were short-sighted. And they were confident the masses of the people
14G McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
were as short-sighted as themselves, and would overwhelmingly sustain
them.
So their clamor continued.
So the Republicans in 1882, advised and counselled by Congressman
McKinley, provided for a tariff commission which should investigate the
whole question and recommend legislation that should settle the national
policy once and for all. The commission was appointed by President
Arthur, but before it could report the tacit agreement was broken, and Wil-
liam R. Morrison, of Illinois, brought forward, in 1884, his remarkable bill
for a 20 per cent "hori^zontal reduction" of the tariff. The house was again
Democratic, but William McKinley, overcoming successive gerrymanders in
Ohio, was still in the house, now advanced to a position of influence and
importance; and no "horizontal reduction" could take place while he was
there, no matter what the political complexion of the House might be.
Against a hostile majority, he led the forces of protection's friends. A part
of his address on that occasion is as follows:
"What can be said of the capacity of the majority of the Committee on
Ways and Means as evidenced by the bill now before us? It is a confession
upon its face of absolute incapacity to grapple with the great subject. The.
Morrison bill will never be suspected of having passed the scrutiny of in-
telligent experts like the Tariff Commission. This is a revision by the cross-
cut process. It gives no evidences of the expert's skill. It is the invention
of indolence — I will not say of ignorance, for the gentlemen of the majority
of the Committee on Ways and Means are competent to prepare a tariff bill.
I repeat, it is not only the invention of indolence, but it is the mechanism of
a botch workman. A thousand times better refer the question to an intelli-
gent Commission, which will study the question in its relations to the
revenues and industries of the country, than to submit to a bill like this.
"They have determined upon doing something, no matter how mischiev-
ous, that looks to the reduction of import duties; and doing it, too, in spite
of the fact that not a single request has come either from the great produc-
ing or great consuming classes of the United States for any change in tlie
direction proposed. With the power in their hands they have determined
to put the knife in, no matter where it cuts nor how much blood it draws.
It is the volunteer surgeon, unbidden, insisting upon using the knife upon
a body that is strong and healthy; needing only rest and release from the
quack whose skill is limited to the horizontal amputation, and whose science
is barren of cither knowledge or discrimination. And then it is not to stop
McKINLEV IN CONGRESS. 147'
with one horizontal slash; it is to be followed by another and still another,
until there is nothing left either of life or hope. And the doctrinaires will
then have seen an exemplification of their pet science in the destruction of
the great productive interests of the country, and "the starving poor," as
denominated by the majority, will be found without work, shelter or food.
The sentiment of this country is against any such indiscriminate proposition.
The petitions before the Ways and Means Committee from twenty to thirty
States of this Union appeal to Congress to let the tariff rest where it is, in
general, while others are equally importunate to have the duties on two or
three classes of American products raised. The laboring men are unanimous
against this bill. These appeals should not go unheeded. The farmers for
whom you talk so eloquently, have not asked for it. There is no appeal from
any American interest for this legislation.
'Tt is well, if this bill is to go into force, that on yesterday the other
branch of Congress, the Senate, passed a Bankruptcy bill. It is a fitting
corollary to the Morrison bill; it is a proper and a necessary companion.
The Senate has done wisely, in anticipation of our action here, in providing
legal means for settling with creditors, for wiping out balances, and rolling
from the shoulders of our people the crushing burdens w'hich this bill will
impose."
And in spite of a Democratic majority the Morrison bill failed. That
thrust — "the invention of indolence" — went home; and the nation resented
tiie slipshod manner in which its public servants had done their work. And
the Representative from Illinois brought from the wreck of his losing battle
no more than the comfort of realizing that to the end of his life he would be
known by the appropriate title, "Horizontal Bill Morrison."
But the crusade against protection was too attractive to abandon. In
1888, the House being again Democratic, Roger O. Mills of Texas, was
made chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and he brought in a
bill that expressed really all that was best in the opposition's case. But he
made the fatal mistake of presenting a bill prepared by his political associates
alone. It was more fair, more broad in its scope, more statesmanlike than
anything that had previously emanated from the camp of free traders. But
he had invited no Republican member of the committee to its preparation,
and excluded all who would advise or instruct him. He might have wel-
comed them in safety, for he had the votes at his back to defeat every recom-
mendation they might make, and adopt every paragraph that commended
itself to him. But he saw fit to refuse audience to representatives of in-
148 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
dustrial concerns who knew far more of the subject than did Mr. Mills or
his advisers, and an opposition suddenly sprung up which could not be over-
come. Mr. McKinley made his most telling point against the Mills bill, in
these burning words:
'The industries of the country, located in every section of the Union,
representing vast interests closely related to the prosperity of the country,
touching practically every home and fireside in the land, which were to be
affected by the bill, were denied a hearing; the majority shut the doors of
the committee against all examinations of producers, consumers and experts,
whose testimony might have enlightened the committee. The farmers,
whose investments and products were to be disastrously dealt with, were
denied an opportunity to address the committee. The workingmen of the
country, whose wages were at stake, were denied audience. The Repre-
sentatives on the floor of the House w-ere not permitted to voice the wants
of their constituents. Proposing a grave measure, which would affect all
of the people in their employments, their labor and their incomes, the ma-
jority persistently refused the people the right of hearing and discussion;
denied them the simple privilege of presenting reasons and arguments
against their proposed action,"
The report of the minority of the Ways and Means Committee was pre-
pared and presented by Mr. McKinley. He had come to be recognized as
the best equipped and most formidable protectionist in Congress, and the
report he submitted fully sustained that opinion. From that report the fol-
lowing extract will still be read with profound interest:
'The bill is a radical reversal of the tariff policy of the country which for
the most part has prevailed since the foundation of the Government, and
under which we have made industrial and agricultural progress without a
parallel in the world's history. If enacted into law, it will disturb every
branch of business, retard manufacturing and agricultural prosperity, and
seriously impair our industrial independence. It undertakes to revise our
entire revenue system; substantially all of the tariff schedules are affected;
both classification and rates are changed. Specific duties are in many cases
changed to ad valorem, which all experience has shown is productive of
frauds and undervaluations. It does not correct the irregularities of the
present tariff; it only aggravates them. It introduces uncertainties in inter-
pretation, which will embarrass its administration, promote contention and
litigation, and give to the customs officers a latitude of construction which
will produce endless controversy and confusion. It is marked with a section-
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 149
alism which every patriotic citizen must deplore. Its construction takes no
account of the element of labor which enters into production, and in a
number of instances makes the finished or advanced product free, or dutiable
at a less rate than the material from which it is made. 'The poor man's
blanket,' which the majority has made a burning issue for so many years, is
made to bear the same rate of duty as the rich man's. More than one-third
of the free list is made up from the products of the farm, the forest and the
mine; from products which are now dutiable at the minimum rates, ranging
from seven to twenty-five per cent, and even this 'slight protection, so
essential, is to be taken from the farmers, the lumbermen and the quarr}'-
men."
But it was not until the bill was put upon its passage that he rose to his
greatest height as a debater and as a statesman. Men old in public life con-
cede that the speech he made. May i8, 1888, was the greatest ever delivered
on a purely economic question in the halls of the American Congress. It
did more to fix the policy of protectionism unalterably upon the country
than any other one influence. It did more to justify the protectionists of
the past, and to pave the way for whatever great policy might come after
when new occasions brought new duties, when a subsequent era should
arise, than all the campaigning and all the labors in or out of Congress that
the nation had known. Here are some extracts from that notable address:
"What is a protective tarifT? It is a tariff upon foreign imports so ad-
justed as to secure the necessary revenue, and judiciously imposed upon
those foreign products the like of which are produced at home, or the hke
of which we are capable of producing at home. It imposes the duty upon
the competing foreign product; it makes it bear the burden or duty, and,
as far as possible, luxuries only excepted, permits the noncompeting foreign
product to come in free of duty. Articles of common use, comfort and
necessity, w^hich we cannot produce here, it sends to the people untaxed and
free from custom-house exactions. Tea, coffee, spices and drugs are such
articles, and under our system are upon the free list. It says to our foreign
competitor: If you want to bring your merchandise here, your farm pro-
ducts here, your coal and iron ore, your wool, your salt, your pottery, your
glass, your cottons and w^oolens, and sell alongside of our producers in our
markets, w^e will make your product bear a duty; in effect, pay for the
privilege of doing it. Our kind of tariff makes the competing foreign article
carry the burden, draw^ the load, supply the revenue; and in performing this
essential of^ce it encourages at the same time our own industries and pro-
150 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
tects our own people in their chosen employments. That is the mission and
purpose of a protective tariff. That is what we mean to maintain, and any
measure which will destroy it we shall firmly resist; and if beaten on this
floor, we will appeal from your decision to the people, before whom parties
and policies must at last be tried. We have free trade among ourselves
throughout thirty-eight States and the Territories, and among sixty millions
of people. Absolute freedom of exchange within our own borders and
among our own citizens, is the law of the Republic. Reasonable taxation
and restraint upon those without is the dictate of enlightened patriotism and
the doctrine of the Republican party,
"Free trade in the United States is founded upon a community of equali-
ties and reciprocities. It is like the unrestrained freedom and reciprocal re-
lations and obligations of a family. Here we are one country, one language,
one allegiance, one standard of citizenship, one flag, one Constitution, one
Nation, one destiny. It is otherwise with foreign nations, each a separate
organism, a distinct and independent political society, organized for its own,
to protect its own, and work out its own destiny. We deny to those foreign
nations free trade with us upon equal terms with our own producers. The
foreign producer has no right or claim to equality with our own. He is not
amenable to our laws. There are resting upon him none of the obligations
of citizenship. He pays no taxes. He performs no civil duties; he is sub-
ject to no demands for military service. He is exempt from State, county
and municipal obligations. He contributes nothing to the support, the
progress and glory of the Nation. Why should he enjoy unrestrained equal
privileges and profits in our markets with our producers, our labor and our
taxpayers? Let the gentleman who follows me answer. We put a burden
upon his productions, we discriminate against his merchandise, because he
is alien to us and our interests, and we do it to protect our own, defend our
own, preserve our own, who are always with us in adversity and prosperity,
in sympathy and purpose, and, if necessary, in sacrifice. That is the principle
which governs us. I submit it is a patriotic and righteous one. In our
country each citizen competes with the other in free and unresentful rivalry,
while with the rest of the world all are united and together in resisting out-
side competition as we would foreign interference.
"Free foreign trade admits the foreigner to equal privileges with our ow^n
citizens. It invites the product of foreign cheap labor to this market in com-
petition with the domestic product, representing higher and better paid
labor. It results in giving our money, our manufactures and our markets to
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 1-'>1
Other nations, to the injury of our labors, our trades people and our farmers.
Protection keeps money, markets and manufactures at home for the benefit
of our own people. It is scarcely worth while to more than state the pro-
position that taxation upon a foreign competing product is more easily paid
and less burdensome than taxationn upon the noncompeting product. In
the latter it is always added to the foreign cost, and therefore paid by the
consumer, while in the former, where the duty is upon the competing pro-
duct, it is largely paid in the form of diminished profits to the foreign pro-
ducer. It would be burdensome beyond endurance to collect our taxes
from the products, professions and labor of our own people.
"There is no conflict of interests and should be none between the several
classes of producers and the consumers in the United States. Their in-
terests are one, interrelated and interdependent. That which benefits one
benefits all; one man's work has relation to every other man's work in the
same community; each is an essential part of the grand result to be attained,
and that statesmanship which would seek to array the one against the other
for any purpose, is narrow, unworthy and unpatriotic. The President's
message is unhappily in that direction. The discussion had on this floor
takes that turn. Both have been calculated to create antagonisms where
none existed. The farmer, the manufacturer, the laborer, the tradesman, the
producer and the consumer all have a common interest in the maintenance of
a protective tariff. All are alike and equally favored by the system which
you seek to overthrow. It is a National system, broad and universal in its
application; if otherwise, it should be abandoned. It cannot be invoked for
one section or one interest, to the exclusion of others. It must be general
in its application within the contemplation of the principle upon which the
system is founded. We have been living under it for twenty-seven continu-
ous years, and it can be asserted w'ith confidence that no country in the
world has achieved such industrial advancement, and such marvelous pro-
gress in art, science and civilization, as ours. Tested by its results, it has
surpassed all other revenue systems.
"From 1789 to 1888, a period of ninety-nine years, there has been forty-
seven years wdien a Democratic revenue-tariff policy has prevailed, and fifty-
two years under the protective policy, and it is a noteworthy fact that the
most progressive and prosperous periods of our history in every department
of human effort and material development were during the fifty-two years
when the protective party was in control and protective tariffs were main-
tained; and the most disastrous years — years of want and wretchedness, ruin
152 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
and retrogression, eventuating in insufficient revenues and shattered credits,
individual and National — were during the free-trade or revenue-tariff eras
of our history. No man lives who passed through any of the latter periods
but would dread their return and would flee from them as he v^/ould escape
from fire and pestilence; and I believe the party which promotes their return
will merit and receive popular condemnation. What is the trouble with our
present condition? No country can point to greater prosperity or more en-
during evidences of substantial progress among all the people. Too much
money is being collected, it is said. We say, stop it; not by indiscriminate
and vicious legislation, but by simple business methods. Do it on simple,
practical lines, and we will help you. Buy up the bonds, objectionable as it
may be, and pay the Nation's debt, if you cannot reduce taxation. You
could have done this long ago. Nobody is chargeable for the failure and
delay but your own administration.
"Who is objecting to our protective system? From what quarter does the
complaint come? Not from the enterprising American citizen; not from
the manufacturer; not from the laborer, whose wages it improves; not from
the consumer, for he is fully satisfied, because under it he buys a cheaper
and better product than he did under the other system; not from the farmer,
for he finds among the employes of the protected industries his best and
most reliable customers; not from the merchant or the tradesman, for every
hive of industry increases the number of his customers and enlarges the
volume of his trade. Few, indeed, have been the petitions presented to this
House asking for any reduction of duties upon imports. None, that I have
ever seen or heard of, and I have watched with the deepest interest the
number and character of these petitions, that I might gather from them the
drift of public sentiment. I say I have seen none asking for the passage of
this bill, or for any such departure from the fiscal policy of the Government
so long recognized and followed, while against this legislation there has been
no limit to petitions, memorials, prayers and protests, from the producer and
consumer alike. This measure is not called for by the people; it is not an
American measure; it is inspired by importers and foreign producers, most
of them aliens, who want to diminish our trade and increase their own; who
want to decrease our prosperi;.y and augment theirs, and who have no in-
terest in this country except what they can make out of it. To this is added
the influence of the professors in some of our institutions of learning, who
teach the science contained in books, and not that of practical business. I
would rather have my political economy founded upon the every-day ex-
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 153
pericnces of the puddler or the potter, than the learning of the professor,
or the farmer and factory hand than the college faculty. Then there is an-
other class who want protective tariffs overthrown. They are the men of
independent wealth, with settled and steady incomes, who want everything
cheap but currency; the value of everything clipped but coin — cheap labor
but dear money. These are the elements which are arrayed against us.
"Men whose capital is invested in productive enterprises, who take the
risks of business, men who expend their capital and energy in the develop-
ment of our resources, are in favor of the maintenance of the protective
system. The farmer, the rice-grower, the miner, the vast army of wage-
earners from one end of the country to the other, the chief producers of
wealth, men whose capital is their brain and muscle, who aspire to better
their condition and elevate themselves and their fellows; the young man
whose future is yet before him, and which he must carve out with his hand
and head, who is without the aid of fortune or of a long ancestral line — these
are our steadfast allies in this great contest for the preservation of the
American system. Experience and results in our own country are the best
advisers, and they vindicate beyond the possibilities of dispute the worth and
wisdom of the system."
But the bill passed the House. '
There were members enough on the Democratic side of carry it through,
though by a perilously small majority.
The senate, however, could not be brought to an approval, and the Mills
bill failed there.
That, however, was but the beginning of William McKinley's victory.
So strong a case had he made for protection that in 1888 his party leaders
had been roused to appreciate the stupendous interests involved in the issue.
They ceased to temporize, to avoid, to "trim." They had been on the de-
fensive for twenty years. They took in 1888 the aggressive, made protection
the issue, named General Harrison as their candidate, and echoing William
McKinley's arguments in every school district of the nation, achieved a
splendid victory.
But it was wholly due to the wisdom and foresight, the ability and elo-
quence of Major William McKinley, of Ohio.
Then came his crowning work. That was the measure which has taken
its place in the history of the nation as "the McKinley Tariff Law." It was
adopted in May, 1890, and took effect October 6 of the same year.
There is no royal road to success, no short cut-oiT to eminence. What-
154 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
ever is of great worth must cost great labor. William McKinley had put
into his preparation for that work all the years of his adult life. He knew
the subject as no other man in the nation knew it. And when, as chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee at last he was commissioned to write a
tariff bill, he gave himself wholly and utterly to the task. No laborer in the
mills which his policy safeguarded put in so many hours daily as did William
McKinley in the preparation of that great measure. He worked all day in
Committee or on the floor of the House, consuming nervous force in a man-
ner which would have utterly broken down a less magnificent physique than
his own. And then every night he received representatives of various in-
dustries from all over the nation — from the farms, from the mines, from the
mills, from the stores, from the of^ces of transportation companies. And
they testified a thousand times that he knew their case far better than did
they. Yet he heard them patiently, respectfully, discussed the schedules
with them, and out of all the information he could gather produced that bill
which stands for the highest expression of statesmanship any republic has
ever known.
It was characteristic of the man that he should in the very van of his
argument place a statement that would challenge the general attention of
the public, regardless of party. No reader who recognizes the significance
of effective work in debate can fail to catch the value of these calm, deliberate
sentences:
"If any one thing was settled by the election of 1888, it was that the pro-
tective policy, as promulgated in the Republican platform, and heretofore
inaugurated and maintained by the Republican party, should be secured in
any fiscal legislation to be had by the Congress chosen in that great contest
and upon that mastering issue. I have interpreted that victory to mean, and
the majority in this House and in the Senate to mean, that a revision of the
tariff is not only demanded by the votes of the people, but that such revision
should be on the line and in full recognition of the principle and purpose of
protection. Tlie people have spoken; they want their will registered and
their decree embodied in public legislation. The bill which the Committee
on Ways and Means have presented is their answer and interpretation of
that victory, and in accordance with its spirit and letter and purpose. We
have not been cornpelled to abolish the internal-revenue system that we
might preserve the protective system, which we were pledged to do in the
event that the abolition of the one was essential to the preservation of the
other. That was unneces-sary.
McKlNLEY IN CONGRESS. loo
"The bill does not amend or modify any part of the internal-revenue
taxes applicable to spirits or fermented liquors. It abolishes all the special
taxes and licenses, so called, imposed upon the manufacture of tobacco,
cigars and snufY, and dealers thereof, reduces the tax upon manufactured
tobacco from eight to four cents per pound, and removes all restrictions now
imposed upon the growers of tobacco. With these exceptions, the internal-
revenue laws are left undisturbed. From this source we reduce taxation
over $70,000,000, and leave with the people this direct tax which has been
paid by them upon their own products through a long series of years.
''The tariff part of the bill contemplates and proposes a complete revision.
It not only changes the rates of duty, but modifies the general provisions of
the law relating to the collection of duties. These modifications have re-
ceived the approval of the Treasury Department, and are set forth in detail
in the report of the committee, and I will not weary you by restating them.
"We propose this advanced duty to protect our manufacturers and con-
sumers against the British monopoly, in the belief that it will defend our
capital and labor in the production of tin plate until they shall establish an
industry which the English shall recognize has come to stay, and then com-
petition will insure regular and reasonable prices to consumers. It may add
a little, temporarily, to the cost of tin plate to the consumer, but will event-
uate in steadier and more satisfactory prices. At the present prices for foreign
tin plate, the proposed duty would not add any thing to the cost of the
heavier grades of tin to the consumer. If the entire duty was added to the
cost of the can, it would not advance it more than one-third, or one-half of
one cent, for on a dozen fruit cans the addition would properly only be
about three cents.
"We have now enjoyed twenty-nine years continuously of protective
tarifif laws — the longest uninterrupted period in which that policy has pre-
vailed since the formation of the Federal government — and we find our-
selves at the end of that period in a condition of independence and pros-
perity the like of which has never been witnessed at any other period in the
history of our country, and the like of which had no parallel in the recorded
history of the world. In all that goes to make a nation great and strong and
independent, we have made extraordinary strides. In arts, in science, in
literature, in manufactures, in invention, in scientific principles applied to
manufacture and agriculture, in wealth and credit and National honor we
are at the very front, abreast with the best, and behind none.
"In i860, after fourteen years of a revenue tariff, just the kind of a tariff
1m;
'JtHk'!' " '*'\r)L '''"C "^ ~ ~ - — - n .... -I
WT. \Vc haiYie ai
:isi €»ar jpoiEikx! *»!vers£rSes are *«frcc*t:-c :,--.
i^^jpCrs jnever:::^^ ir^i :i -- ■ ,,.... . «...
>,™^«-.cii " '■ "^ as so tnesti tc
feasor amd misgive- . ^ ' ^^^'^S'^^it
'LaB&^attKm:ssr«s?cf«ioocs:i5rew^£=isp^ ,
a pecgr^ssrre csra ssraiSer a sv^ ■ _ '- .."...
litite lan«i —
:' a debt
leisD were SiSjLcS^^rja The c
cfensefiSs ioF tSae year 1887 ""^^re S:
w^ m4-77^ or $33a67 lor ei -•-'"
lO
<A
McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 159
English savings banks have in thirty-four years increased theirs $350,000,
000. Our operative deposits $7 to the Engh'sh operative's $1. These vast
sums represent the savings of the men vvhose labor has been employed under
the protective policy which gives, as experience has shown, the largest
possible peward to labor.
"Free trade, or as you are pleased to call it, 'revenue tariff,' means the
opening up of this market, which is admitted to be the best in the world, to
the free entry of the products of the world. It means more — it means that
the labor of this country is to be remitted to its earlier condition, and that
the condition of our people is to be leveled down to the condition of rival
countries, because under it every element of cost, every item of production,
including wages, must be brought down to the level of the lowest paid labor
of the world. No other result can follow, and no other result is anticipated
or expected by those who intelligently advocate a revenue tariff. We cannot
maintain ourselves against unequal conditions without the tariff, and no man
of affairs believes we can. Under the system of unrestricted trade v/hich
3'ou gentlemen recommend, we will have to reduce every element of cost
down to or below that of our commercial rivals, or surrender to them our
own market. No one will dispute that statement; and to go into the
domestic market of our rivals would mean that production here must be so
reduced that with transportation added we could undersell them in their own
market; and to meet them in neutral markets and divide the trade with them
would mean that we could profitably sell side by side with them at their
minimum price.
*Tirst, then, to retain our own market under the Democratic system of
raising revenue, by removing all protection, would require our producers to
sell at as low a price and upon as favorable terms as our foreign competitors.
How could that be done? In one way only — by producing as cheaply as
those who would seek our markets. What would that entail? An entire
revolution in the methods and conduct of business here, a leveling down
through every channel to the lowest line of our competitors, our habits of
living would have to be changed, our wages cut down fifty per cent, or more,
our comfortable homes exchanged for hovels, our independence yielded up.
our citizenship demoralized. These are conditions inseparable to free trade;
these would be necessary, ii we would command our own market among our
own people; and if we would invade the world's markets, harsher conditions
and greater sacrifices would be demanded of the masses. Talk about de-
pression— ^we would then have it in its fulness. We v.-ould revel in unre-
160 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
Strained trade. Everything would indeed be cheap, but how costly when
measured by the degradation which would ensue! When merchandise is
the cheapest, men are the poorest; and the most distressing experiences in
the history of our country — aye, in all human histor}' — have been when
everything was the lowest and cheapest measured by gold, for everything
was the highest and the dearest measured by labor. We have no wish to
adopt the conditions of other nations. Experience has demonstrated that
for us and ours, and for the present and the future, the protective system
meets our wants, our conditions, promotes the national design, and will work
out our destiny better than any other.
"With me, this position is a deep conviction, not a theory. I believe in
it and thus warmly advocate it, because enveloped in it are my country's
highest development and greatest prosperity; out of it come the greatest
gains to the people, the greatest comforts to the masses, the widest encour-
agement for manly aspirations, with the largest rewards, dignifying and
elevating our citizenship, upon which the safety and purity and perma-
nency of our political system depend."
But the year of his supreme success was also the year of his enemies'
seeming triumph. His congressional district in Ohio, three times vainly
gerrymandered with the aim of throwing him out, had finally been so ar-
ranged as to make his re-election impossible. It was the end of his career
in the House. Yet it was only the vestibule of a greater eminence. The
people of Ohio made him their Governor. And when the lighter duties of
four years in the state executive mansion had recuperated his powers, the
nation made him its candidate for President, and elected him on an issue
that meant bravery, progress and wise statesmanship.
This closes the chapter of his life which was concerned in legislation. It
is the end of his congressional career. If any man shall ask what was the
greatest achievement of those fourteen years, the answer must be: "William
McKinley's triumph for Protection!" He was the champion of that doctrine,
the first man to advocate it as a principle to be preserved until the need
should pass, the first to put a conscience in the discussions of a tarilT. And
he was, without exception, the ablest man that ever defended it, the bravest
man that ever advocated it, the most successful man that ever supported it.
Protection was by no means his one accomplishment. He w^as active in all
legislation, neglectful of none. But his position on the Ways and Means
Committee, so long held, made this master issue his chief concern.
CHAPTER XIII.
McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA.
It is a curious fact that the public service of WilHam McKinley began
with the rise of the protective era, and ended with the passing of that system
as a dominant and paramount pohcy in the history of the American repubHc.
His life embraces the era of protection to American industry. As he
was its most sagacious and successful champion, as he in his labors expressed
that thought as the controlling motive in governmental policy, so his death
falls in the year when a protective tariff is recognized on all hands as having
accomplished its great and useful mission. And the passing of McKinley
is the retiring-time of that issue which has, more than anything else, made
a mighty nation on the western continent.
It may be fairly said that there was no protective tariff, as such, until
the close of the war. Such efforts in that direction as had been made under
the leadership of Henry Qay and the earlier theorists among statesmen
never rose to the magnitude of impressing a national policy, for the reason
that the country was not ripe for them. In that formative period which pre-
ceded the election of Lincoln, men might speculate and debate and prophesy
about free trade and protection, but the Union as a nation was growing;
and it needed the great issue no more than a boy of fifteen needs the book
called "Every ^Man His Own Lawyer." The nation was growing. It wanted
farmers to broaden the plowland area, to lay the wide and deep foundation
of agriculture, which must be the first step toward the construction of a
great and permanent country.
Of course the Morrill tariff bill was not a measure of protection. It
was a war measure. The question of economics was by no means neces-
sar}'-, and by no means invoked in that debate which preceded the enactment
of the great tariff measure of 1861, or the supplementary bills which suc-
ceeded it in the process of raising revenue for the struggling nation. But
when the war v.as over men of all parties and of every section were face to
^ace with the greatest problem that has ever affected civil government.
The time had come when a burdened people demanded a reduction of
taxes. It was no wonder. They had suffered grievously and with a splen-
did patriotic patience through four years of war; had paid the mighty de-
i6i
162 McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA.
mands of a government which needed the sacrifices of its people if it v»'ero
to escape sacrifice itself, and now, in the relaxation which followed a di3-
bandment of the armies, the public expected a lightening of their burdens.
The tendency of thoughtless men was to return to the free trade sched-
ules of that formative period when the God of Destinies helped the farmer
and bade the manufacturer "Wait!" There were few men wise enough to
see the peril in that transition. Lot Morrill had said the tariiT was a war
measure, and it was. But free trade would have been a peace measure more
disastrous than war. And Major William McKinley, returning from four
years' service for a nation worth saving, knew that protection was none the
less the policy demanded by all the best interests of the nation, now no less
than when the national expenses were millions a day.
It required a brave man to face the storm of protest against a policy
of protection, and an able man to prove arguments for the fortifying of that
position. But William McKinley was both brave and capable, and he was
hardly home from the army when he was entangled in a debate with a free-
trade resident of Poland. It was a public occasion, and the speakers were
allowed half an hour each, v/ith a board of judges to decide as to who had
won the debate. No election or other observable political significance
hung on the issue, but none the less it was a notable night, a stupendous
incident in the life of William McKinley. He knew the nation needed a
policy of protective tarifif for the building up of an industrial empire on the
broad and deep foundation of agriculture which three quarters of a century
had laid. He knew that the time had come when the mills were important
if the nation would grow strong — and that the mills could be summoned
into existence only by the adoption of a policy of encouragement and fos-
tering care.
So far as the decision of the judges was concerned, William McKinley
lost the debate. Two of the three held to the untaught sentiment that free
trade was holy and the tariff a curse. The third saw and apprehended the
logic and the argument of Major McKinley; but he was outvoted, and the
public decision was that a protective tariff was impolitic and unjust, and
should be abandoned.
Probably no event in the life of this advancing young man is more im-
portant than that. Probably no night of his life is so crowded with national
interest as was this when he gave his mature thought and the rare powers of
his young manhood to the discussion of this great question. He could easily
.smile at the verdict in that little room, in that little Ohio town by two little
McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA. 163
men who are now dead and forgotten. For he knew that a greater verdict
in a greater arena, by a nation that shall never die and be forgotten, would
abundantly and triumphantly and gloriously sustain him.
And he worked harder after that, finding support for the position which
he recognized as essentially right and wise. He had enjoyed debates in the
old days of his boyhood, of his school and college experience; and now he felt
the impulse of a national summons to service as sacred as that which led
him into the career of a soldier. In the confusion which follow-ed w-ar,
men of all parties and from every part of the nation, and of every degree of
influence, were either openly declaring or tacitly confessing that the pro-
tective tariff must and would be repealed. There was an element wise as
McKinley, which recognized the error of the doctrine, but there were very
few as brave. And the result was that in the first ten years after the war a
public sentiment was formed which led inevitably toward absolute free trade.
And even twenty years after the war the courage of this strong young son
of Ohio was so largely wanting in the public mxCn of his party that they
dodged the issue; that they continued to promise a reduction or a repeal;
that they appointed by presidential act, authorized by congressional action
a tariff commission which should devise ways and means for the reduction or
obliteration of the protective tariff. It is small credit to those men to add
that the general motive was delay — temporizing; that they felt the wisdom
of retaining the protective feature, and hoped "something would happen"
to convince the country without sacrificing the growing industries. Braver
men would have faced the truth as William McKinley faced it, and have
fought for a high protective policy as a matter of principle.
Meantime, he went to the Albany Law School; for he had resisted the
temptation to adopt a military life, and had declined with thanks the offer
of a commission in the regular army. And at the Albany Law' School he
studied with diligence, and fitted himself for the successful career at the
bar, and for that wider career as an advocate in the court cf the nation,
toward which he had been unwaveringly moving from his earliest boyhood.
He came back from the institution which had developed the talents of
some of America's ablest jurists, and looked about him for a good location.
He chose Canton, the seat of Stark County, as offering the best opportuni-
ties for a young lawyer. And because he had been a soldier, because he
was as modest as able, and as industrious as orderly, he received recognition
at the hands of that portion of the public which finds litigation necessary.
He had all his life kept up his connection wdth the Methodist Church,
164 McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA.
and the denomination at Canton was in a flourishing condition. He was
possessed of a pleasing address, and easily made and retained friendships.
He was a Republican, and while never fanatical, regarded the success of
that party as best for the prosperity of the nation. And as he was in all
ways deserving, he won favor in the eyes of Stark County Republicans. The
county was Democratic by more than a thousand majority. But when the
county convention was held at Canton in 1868, William McKinley, "as a
mark of recognition," was placed upon the ticket as a candidate for prose-
cuting attorney.
And he was elected. He had a genius for politics, and became a cam-
paigner whom his political opponents recognized as embodying danger to
him. So, when he had completed his first term, and was honored by his
party with a renomination, the opposing forces perfected their lines, and
he was defeated at the polls. That year of 1870 was not a Republican year in
Ohio, anyway. It certainly was not a favorable time for a young man of
ability, who sturdily held that the policy of a protective tariff was theoreti-
cally right and practically a national necessity. So he continued his private
practice after the expiration of his term.
In 1 87 1 William McKinley was married. His wife was the young and
beautiful daughter of J. A. Saxton, editor of the Canton Repository, a weekly
newspaper, who had made enough money out of his business, and out of
his talent for trading and real estate speculation, to establish a bank in the
thriving and growing town. The daughter. Miss Ida Saxton, had received
a good education, had enjoyed all the advantages that a prosperous and
generous father could provide, and had traveled abroad, which was an unu-
sual privilege even for wealthy women in the middle west. Two children,
both daughters, w^ere born of this union, but the privilege of bringing them
up was denied the man who in all else realized the accomplishment of all his
purposes. For the children died.
But it was a natural outgrowth of this period of his life that William Mc-
Kinley should follow with a still mor^ assiduous energy the path opening
before him. And in 1876 he had won a place of suf^cient prominence in
the party to be nominated for congress. It was the old Eighteenth district,
and was represented by L. D. Woodsworth, of Mahoning, a strong Demo-
crat and an able man. But his young rival had won a host of friends in
Stark County. He could "carry his own party" to the last man. And there
were hundreds of Democrats who, on personal grounds, gave him their
support. Added to that, Poland was in the second county of his district,
McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA. IG5
and Poland people without regard to politics, had a pride in WilHam AIc-
Kinley. He had been one of them. He had gone to the war from their town.
He had come back there on his furloughs through the four busy years. And
he had lived among them after laying down the sword and uniform of a
soldier, preparing himself for that wider field to which they knew they must
resign him. And so Poland people were for William McKinley; and the
Democratic majority of 1872 was more than erased. For William McKinley
was elected congressman by a majority of 1,300. And his career as a states-
man had begun.
(Probably no one thing contributed so much to his success in this instance
as the rise and development of manufacturing interests in and about his
home. Because of the encouragement afiforded by the protective tariff, the
mills there had started; and already the impetus of a wase economic policy
was felt in his native state. And he had but to point to the smoke from
multiplied chimneys, to summon the laboring men who were busy and well
paid, to remind the farmers of their better market and higher prices — he
had but to present these, his credentials, and his fight was won. He was
a young man- — a congressman at thirty-three. But he was recognized from
the first as one of the best informed and least timid of the advocates of the
Republican policies. James A. Garfield was the member of the Ways and
Means committee from Ohio, and the younger man was at first assigned
to positions of less importance. But there never was an hour from William
McKinley's appearance on the floor of the House at Washington wdien his
counsel was not sought. Fresh from the people, rooted and grounded in
the soundest policy, able to express himself in a forcible, convincing and
yet pleasing manner, he occupied from the start a position of importance in
congressional circles.
So that it was wdth a sense of genuine loss that his confreres learned he
had failed of re-election in 1878. But the Ohio legislature was Democratic
at the time, and it redistricted the state, so that Stark County was placed
in a district hopelessly opposed in politics; and he could but make a losing
fight.
Yet the hope that this rising prophet of protection for protection's sake
w^as removed from the field of political activity was destined to disappoint-
ment. In 1880 he accomplished the impossible, and was returned to Con-
gress, w^here he resumed his labors, and renewed his march to the very
leadership of the greatest legislative body in the world. In 1882 he was
re-elected, but by only eight votes. And it will be remembered that 1882
166 McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS FROTECTION'S ERA.
was not a Republican year. Tlie Repul/licans, on the one great national
policy which should have inspired them, were apologetic, defensive, full of
excuses and promises. They could not catch the bravery of William Mc-
Kinley's policy, nor adopt the frank straightforwardness which seemed to
him not only the best policy but the most creditable statesmanship. And
in 1882 the Democrats, rising to a courage and vigor hardly to be expected
and rarely found in that organization, v;ith a unity of purpose in its assaults
on the tariff, had carried the country by storm. Cleveland was made Gov-
ernor of New York State by the astounding majority of 192,000 against
Folger, a consistent Republican of the most unexceptional character. Fac-
tional quarrels between the "Stalwart" and "Mugwump" branches of the
party had given the opposition its opportunity. Congress was Democratic,
and McKinley's opponent in the campaign of 1882 brought a contest into the
house, for the elimination of those eight votes. And toward the end of the
session the Canton man was unseated, and his place was given to the Dem-
ocrat.
But it was the destiny of this man to do a great national work, to correct
the national conscience, to fix a national policy of economic truth. And
when his party in the Eighteenth district met in congressional convention in
1884 no name but that of "Major McKinley" was thought of. He was
elected by the greatest majority ever accorded to a candidate there. He
remained in the House through the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth and Fifty-first Con-
gresses. In 1890 his district had again been gerrymandered with a view to
his overthrow, and he was defeated at the polls for the Fifty-second.
But his work in the Lower House was done, and nothing could undo it.
He had made a record as the champion of the protective tariff, had called
back the leaders of his party to their duty, and had reinspired them with a
courage which has never since faltered nor diminished. In his second term
he made a national reputation as a tariff debater, and when James A. Gar-
field was advanced from the House, William McKinley succeeded him on
the Ways and Means Committee, the most valuable man on the most im-
portant group of men in the nation.
In 1882 he began a systematic movement for the enactment of a tariff
law which should be the expression of "the American idea," and four years
later that idea took form and effectiveness in the McKinley tariff bill which
v/ent into effect Oct. 6, 1886.
His enemies tried to see the rejection of his policy when he was defeated
for re-election, after his bill became a law; but his return to Congress two
McKlNLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA. 167
years later was sufficient answer to that. And the law wiiich he imprinted
on the statute books of the nation was the crystaUization of his people's
sober judgment as to a national policy, as to the wisest course in an economic
system.
Remember that no tariff before that of the bill of 1890 had been openly
and frankly advocated and adopted as an expression of the policy of pro-
tection to American industries. Every other bill of like nature had been
devised with a view to raising revenue simply. Protection, the encourage-
ment of industries, was a mere incident.
But this man stood for the policy which, he was confident, would bring
the greatest good to the greatest number; would, both for the present and
the future, be of most benefit to the nation.
The two systems are essentially different, though the purpose in each
case, both by protectionists and free traders, was, of course, the good of the
country. The aim of all men contending in that twenty-year debate was to
achieve the best results for the people of the United States. But the forces
for which William McKinley spoke held that the era of agriculture had
})assed, and that, while the farming interests might in no wise be neglected,
the period of the factory had arrived. This man recognized the fact
ihat a nation has definite eras in its life, as there are distinctive periods in
the life of a man. St. Paul said: "When I was a child, I thought as a child.
But now I am a man, and have put away childish things." The childish
things are none the less needful and important IN THAT PERIOD; but
when another period comes a different treatment will appeal. And as the
ante-bellum era was the era of opening the new land, of reducing the forests
and reclaiming the prairies, so now had arrived the era of manufacturing the
raw material produced. And for this era of the mills, a protective tariff was
an absolute essential.
That bill increased the tariff rate on most articles of foreign manufacture,
with a view to discourage their importation and insure a market for the
goods of American making. It was prophesied by his opponents that the
result of that bill, which went into effect in 1890, would be the instant paraly-
sis of all the industries of the nation, the crushing of labor and the impover-
ishment of trade. But an exactly opposite effect resulted. Tliough the
McKinley bill was permitted to remain in its entirety through but four years
of life, the industrial interests of the nation went forward with an amazing
advance, and the material wealth of the country — farming, manufacturing,
168 McKINLEY'S LIFE WAS PROTECTION'S ERA.
labor, both skilled and unskilled, together with commerce by both land and
sea — was vastly increased. It was the master work of William McKinley's
life. It was the crowning achievement of his labors. It was the expression
of his best statesmanship. It stands to-day and it will stand to the end of
time as the wisest revenue measure within the possible power of the coun-
try's securing. He had fixed upon the world a recognition of "the American
policy." And the commerce of the world demonstrates to-day the wisdom
of that schedule.
It was said at the beginning of this chapter that William McKinley's
public life embraced the whole era of protection. It began with his first
election to Congress. It closed with the sudden and lamentable closing of
his career by the bullet of an assassin at Buffalo. The existence of the era
of protection was co-extensive with his civil service to the nation. It is
identified with him, and will so remain forever. When the passing years
evolved new issues — when "new occasions brought new duties" — William
McKinley was ready for them. He had finished his earlier work, and was
ready for the newer demands.
No one who witnessed that session of the House in 1890, when William
McKinley was at the height of his congressional career, and no one who
followed the published accounts of it can ever forget the great occasion.
The sentiment in favor of protection was clearly the dominant sentiment of
the nation. But there were conflicting interests. And the man's masterly
leadership was never more signally shown than when he won over all opposi-
tion within his party by summoning representatives of each industry, and
skillfully guiding them into agreement upon a series of schedules which
should be fair to all interests, and just to the people of the country. That
essential unity of support having been secured, the INIcKinley bill became a
law. Men said no agreement could be arrived at — that the rival interests
were too strong and insistent to be adjusted. But the man who saw in 1866
the justness and wisdom of tariff protection as a national policy, won in
1890 the victory toward Vv'hich his best abilities had been guiding him for
twenty-four years.
Ten years more, and the policy he had supported, defended and glorified
with his genius had accomplished its work. And with the transition into
another era, this great man laid down his life.
There is something approaching the sacred in that view of the case which
marks him as the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, the prophet
and the champion of "the American system."
CHAPTER XIV.
McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
Major McKinley's defeat for Congress in 1890 resulted in his nomination
and triumphant election as governor of the State of Ohio. The passage of
the "McKinley Bill" made the major the target for the vilest abuse from the
free traders of the country, and from those whose mental range would never
qualify them to judge of statecraft. But at the same time it stimulated his
friends in his own State, and they determined not to lose his valuable serv-
ices. The Republican press of the State clamored for his election as gov-
ernor, and the Republican papers of other States agreed that no more fitting
reward could be bestowed on Major McKinley than to make him chief execu-
tive of his State.
When the matter was broached to Major McKinley he expressed his will-
ingness to accept the nomination for the office if it came spontaneously, but
declared he would not enter into a contest for the honor. Though Ohio had
numerous distinguished sons, many of whom were deserving of reward at the
hands of the electors, there w^as really only one candidate for governor before
the Republican convention, which was held in June, 1891. Major McKinley
was nominated by acclamation, and he began a campaign that was typical
of the man. He proposed that everybody should be informed on the eco-
nomic questions of the day, and that every argument in opposition to the
expediency and justice of the McKinley bill should be fairly met. With this
object in view he started on a campaign of education, and during the can-
vass spoke in 86 out of 88 counties in the State. He made 130 speeches and
won the admiration of Democrats as well as the heartiest support of his party-
followers.
In one of his speeches, w^hile discussing the T\IcKinley bill, he said:
"The law of 1890 was enacted for the American people and the American
home. Whatever mistakes were made in it were all made in favor of the oc-
cupations and the firesides of the American people. It didn't take away a
single day's work from a solitary American workingman. It gave work and
wages to all such as they had never had before. It did it by establishing new
and great industries in this country, which increased the demand for the skill
and handiwork of our laborers everywhere. It had no friends in Europe. It
169
170 McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
gave their industries no stinuikis. It gave no employment to their hibor at
llie expense of our own.
"During more than two years of the administration of President Harri-
son, and down to its end, it raised all the revenue necessary to pay the vast
expenditures of the government, including the interest on the pubHc debt
and the pensions. It never encroached upon the gold reserve, which in the
past had always been sacredly preserved for the redemption of outstanding
paper obligations of the government.
^'During all its operations down to the change and reversal of its policy
by the election of 1892, no man can assert that in the industries affected by it
wages were too high, although they were higher than ever before in this or
any other country. If any such can be found, 1 beg that they be named. I
challenge the enemies of the law of 1890 to name a single industry of that
kind. Further, I assert that on the industries alTected by that laws which
that law fostered, no American consumer suffered by the increased cost of
any home products that he bought. He never bought them so low- before,
nor did he ever enjoy the benefit of so much open, free, home competition.
Neither producer nor consumer, employer or employe suffered by that law."
As governor of the State, Major ]\IcKinley was animated by the broadest
and most patriotic motives. His long legislative experience had equipped
him admirably to meet the responsibilities of his ofifice, and to its duties he
gave the same painstaking care that marked his career as Congressman.
When his first term as governor was drawing to a close, the Republicans re-
nominated him, and after a vigorous and exciting campaign he was re-elected
by a majority of 80,000 votes.
During his incumbency as chief executive of Ohio, ^lajor TvIcKinley en-
deavored to improve in every way the institutions of the State, to accelerate
industry, and to conserve in every way the interests of the people. The canal
interests of the State Avere improved; tax reforms agitated, and brought to
the attention of the legislature; labor questions received his earnest attention,
and through his initiative the State Board of Arbitration was established in
Ohio. Laws providing for the better protection of the lives and limbs of
those engaged in industrial pursuits were passed during his rule. ^
His sympathy with the just complaints of the workingmen was further
exemplified by his use of the State troops in turbulent periods. Many times
during his temi of office it became necessary to call out the militia to quell
disturbances and to maintain order, but never was any abuse of power per-
mitted. During the great railroad strike, sometimes called the *'Debs Rebel-
McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO. 171
lion/' which (xcurrcd in 1894, the State troops were on duly for three weeks
guarding property and protecting citizens. There was at no time on the part
of the soldiers any undue display of authority, nor any oppression of the strik-
ers. The governor had long l^efore given evidence of his honest regard for the
welfare of the workingman. As early as 1886, when the O'Neill bill for the
adjustment of controversies between inter-State common carriers and their em-
ployes by arbitration was before the House of Representatives, he said, si>eak-
ing on the subject :
"I believe in the principle and tendency of the bill. It confers no rights
or privileges touching arbitration which are not now enjoyed 1j}' common car-
riers and those engaged in their service. It leaves them where it fmds them,
with the right of voluntary arbitration to settle their differences through a
peaceful, orderly tribunal of their own selection. It only follows the principle
recognized in many States of the Union, notably in Ohio and Massachusetts,
and gives national sanction and encouragement to a mode of settlement of
grievances between employer and employe which is approved by the best judg-
m.ent of the country and the enlightened sentiment of all civilized people.
While the bill does not compel arbitration, its passage here will not be without
influence as a legislative suggestion in commending the principle to lx)th capital
and labor as the best and most economic way of composing differences and set-
tling disagreements, which experience has uniformly shown, in the absence of
an amicable adjustment, results in loss to all classes of the community, and to
none more than to the workingmen themselves. If by the passage of this sim-
ple measure arbitration as a system shall be aided to the slightest extent or ad-
vanced in private and public favor, or if it shall serve to attract the thoughtful
attention of the people to the subject, much will have been accc«nplished for
the good order of our communities and for the welfare and prosperity of the
people."
He declared that the bill placed both parties on an equality, in pursuing an
investigation, and permitted the humblest and poorest to send for persons and
papers "without incurring an expense which very often they can illy bear." He
closed his speech as follows :
'T believe, Mr. Chairman, in arbitration as a principle. I Ijelieve it should
prevail in the settlement of international differences. It represents a higher
civilization than the arbitrament of war. I believe it is in close accord witli the
i>est thought and sentiment of mankind; I believe it is the true way of settling
the differences between labor and capital ; I believe it will bring both to a better
understanding, uniting them closer in interests, and promoting better relations,
172 McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
avoiding force, avoiding unjust exactions and oppression, avoiding loss of
earnings to labor, avoiding disturbances to trade and transportation ; and if this
House can contribute in the smallest measure, by legislative expression or
otherwise, to these ends, it will deserve and receive the gratitude of all men who^
love peace, good order, justice and fair play."
The bill was passed with amendments which made it conform more fully
than it did originally to the views O'f Major McKinley.
It was logical to assume therefore that as governor he would give to work-
ingmen in all their acts the largest license which the security of society would
permit. During the trying days of the summer of 1894 it is related that a man
who employed a large number of men went to the governor and inquired what
he would dO' about ordering out the militia in case certain contingencies arose.
Go\ ernor McKinley promptly answered :
"It is needless to ask what a public officer in OhiO' will do. He does his
duty. The practical question is, what can you do, and what will your em-
ployes do, what can we all do properly, to divert the necessity of using force ?
That is the question for immediate solution, at which I have been engaged
for some days."
The same day, July 17, 1894, there was a meeting, called at his instance, in
the governor's office, between the employer, the State Board of Arbitration and
citizens and business men concerned. Before midnight that same day the gov-
ernor received a dispatch from Nelsonville, the headquarters of the strikers, an-
nouncing the end of the great American Railway Union strike on the Hocking
Valley Railway.
In 1895 he gave another evidence of his deep concern for the welfare of the
workingmen. January 7 of that year the Trades and Labor Union of the
Hocking Valley mining district held a meeting at Nelsonville for the purpose
of effecting an organization and formulating plans for the relief of the distress
and destitution existing among the miners and their families. For months the
miners had been at war with their employers, and the continued loss of income
had reduced them to a state of great wretchedness. A memorial was adopted
at the meeting and a committee appointed to present it to the governor. They
performed the duty imposed on them, and the governor, after hearing what
they had to say, requested them to return to Nelsonville and ask the mayor to
call a meeting of citizens to consider the question of relief. He promised that
when advised of the result of that meeting he would take immediate action
looking to the carrying out of their wishes. The meeting was called, and the
action of the miners at their previous meeting approved. At 1 1 145 p. m., Janu-
McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO. 173
ary 9, the governor received a message from the chairman of the Rehef Com-
mittee, saying: "Immediate rehef needed." lie at once sent messengers to the
proprietor of a wholesale grocery, a dealer in vegetables, flour, etc., a transfer
company and the oflicials of the Hocking V^alley Railroad Company to meet
him immediately at his rooms. The object of the meeting was for the purchase
of a carload ot provisions and to arrange for the shipment early in the morning.
The supplies were purchased and loaded in the car before 5 o'clock a. m., and
W"ithin nine hours after the receipt of the message the carload of provisions was
in Nelsonville ready to be distributed tO' the hungry.
McKinley not only purchased the supplies, but alsO' assumed the payment of
the same. It was not his purpose tO' ask the people to provide for the payment
of this car of provisions, amounting to nearly $1,000, but some of his friends
learned that he had assumed the obligation and they at once took the matter in
hand and secured from State officers and heads O'f departments the larger pro-
portion of the amount, which they turned over to him, this being added to his
o^\^l liberal subscription, thus meeting the obligation assumed by him.
Several times afterwards he was called upon for assistance, and he re-
sponded in every instance with alacrity. He was called away from the capital
on several occasions during the progress of the relief work, but each time before
leaving he gave positive instructions that in the event of appeals being made
for help, to see that every demand w^as met and not allow any one to go hungry.
These instructions were adhered to, and the chairman of the General Commit-
tee reported at the close of the w-ork that the promptness with which McKinley
acted, and the liberal contributions made, prevented hunger and suffering.
The result of his efforts, as shown by the report of the chairman of the Relief
Committee, was that 2,723 miners and their families had been made com-
fortable at an expenditure of $32,796.95.
Another marked characteristic of Governor McKinley was his respect for
law. He never wavered in his belief in the institutions of his country, and de-
sired always that the law be upheld, and that every man, nO' matter how hum-
ble, or for what, or by whom accused, should have the benefit of all the safe-
guards that civilized society had erected. This was shown in October, 1894,
during a lawless outbreak at Washington Court House. A man accused of a
heinous crime had been apprehended, tried and sentenced tO' undergo the full
penalty of the law. He was in jail when a mob gathered for the purpose of
lynching him. The militia was sent to the scene under command o-f Colonel
Coit for the protection of the prisoner, and the preservation of order. A con-
flict ensued between the troops and the populace, and three people were killed.
17-1 McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
At once a great cry arose against Colonel Coit, the claim being set up that he
should not have allowed his men to fire. A court v/as ordered to inquire into
his action, and he was exonerated. The governor sustained him throughout,
and said concerning the occurrence :
"The law was upheld as it should have been, and, as I believe, it always will
be in Ohio — but in this case at fearful cost. Much as the destruction of life
whiv.li took place is deplored by all good citizens, and much as we sympathize
with those who suffered in this most unfortunate affair, surely no friend of law
and order can justly condemn the National Guard, under command of Colonel
Coit, for having performed its duty fearlessly and faithfully, and in the face
of great danger, for the peace and dignity and honor of the State.
"Lynching cannot be tolerated in Ohio. The law of the State must be
supreme over all, and the agents of the law, acting within the law, must 1>e
sustained.
"The proceedings and findings of the court of inquiry have been carefully
considered by me. I hereby announce my approval of the conclusions of said
court, which find that Colonel Coit and his officers and enlisted men of the
Fourteenth Infantry, O. N. G., acted with prudence and judgment and within
the law, supporting the civil authority of Fayette coimty, and in the aid of it,
and acting in pursuance of lawful orders, and that they performed their duty
with singular fidelity, and that through them, the majesty of the law and gov-
ernment by law was vindicated and sustained."
Other mobs w^re met in like manner by the governor, and it became known
that under his administration, at least, there could be no recurrence of such
scenes as had been witnessed in Cincinnati ten years before, when an unre-
strained mob burned the court house, destroyed maich other property, and
caused the sacrifice of many lives before order was restored.
WM. McKlXLEY AS GOVERXOR OF OHIO.
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CHAPTER XV.
McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
It does not appear that William McKinley, at the beginning of his career
as a politician, or at any other time in his life, endeavored to project himself
into any sort of leadership. His forcefulness was innate, it is true, but the
motive power, always, that surcharged his work was the demand of occasion.
When he became a candidate for Congress for the first time, it was because
he was needed from his district to do something. That he did earnestly,
energetically and thoroughly for his immediate constituents. But, in Con-
gress, the environment of national affairs brought to him national work. It
presented itself to him as being the man for that, and he took it up with the'
same earnestness of purpose and the same commendable self-reliance that
possessed his nature in all things. He went at it thinking only of what was
needed, his duty in the premises being a matter of course, just as he quietly
became a private soldier when the countr}' needed every able bodied and
faithful man that it could get to do the work of war.
In the harness McKinley did, simply, always that which was for the best,
as he saw it, and always in the strongest and best manner possible to him,
and his career has exhibited the fact that what he thought was best, and w^hat
he was able to do, was ever valuable to those interests, including himself.
In this he exemplified the principle that to do right is to do that which is for
the best.
Being in politics on the most commendable plane McKinley was a poli-
tician of shrewdness without cunning and he campaigned in the strongest
way without descending to questionable methods. His power as a cam-
paigner was of the kind that does its work steadily, unfalteringly and irresist-
ibly, straightforwardly and fairly.
Tlius, in 1876, when IMcKinley was first set forth as a candidate for
Congress, he had three rivals from his own county for the nomination, but
the choice fell upon him at the first ballot, over all other candidates. Being
elected, he was rechosen at each recurring convention and election for four-
teen years, and always representing the district in which his county was,
though it Vv^as not always the same district otherwise, for his opponents, not
relishing the prominent and important place that he had taken in Congress,
177
178 McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
gerrymandered the district three times in that fourteen years hoping thus to
defeat him, but in that they failed signally until the last time that game was
played, but the defeat was only of a temporary character and was pitifully
unsuccessful in keeping McKinley out of politics.
The first attempt to change the McKinley district resulted in the forma-
tion of a district that would have naturally presented a majority for the
opposition of i,8oo. But this McKinley overcame with a majority of 1,300.
In 1882, when McKinley 's party suffered everywhere and especially in
his state, this resourceful man managed nevertheless to hold his own quite
safely.
In 1884 the opposition gerrymandered the district again, but McKinley
was not to be downed, and came to the front with a majority of 1,500.
In 1890, the very year in which the McKinley bill became a law, the dis-
trict being again gerrymandered, and Stark County — that in which ]\Ic-
Kinley lived — having been districted with other counties that gave a ma-
jority for the opposition of 2,000, and McKinley's opponent being ex-
Lieutenant Warwick, a prominent and exceedingly popular man, in the
fierce battle that ensued McKinley was defeated by 363 votes. The figures
showed, however, that the vote was the fullest ever cast in the counties that
now composed the district, and that McKinley received 2,500 more votes
than had been cast for President Harrison in 1888, when Harrison was
elected.
This defeat took McKinley out of Congress, but not out of public Hfe.
McKinley was thirty-four years old when he entered Congress. At that time
Samuel J. Randall was the Democratic leader and Speaker and James A.
Garfield at the head of the Republicans. The new Congressman from Ohio
soon attracted attention, and when he left the House fourteen years after-
wards he was the Republican leader by virtue of his position as chairman of
the Ways and Means Committee. The McKinley bill, which in the latter
capacity he urged through Congress, at first met with disapproval by the
people and was practically rejected at the next Presidential election when
Cleveland was successful. Four years afterward, however, the voters saw
their mistake and William McKinley v/as elected President on the identical
issue which it was supposed had ended his political fortunes in 1892.
With fair intent, youthful ardor, a large and valuable fund of informa-
tion on economic problems, painstaking industry, fidelity to political convic-
tions, commanding address, parliamentary and diplomatic tact, dignified
demeanor and philosophic turn, Congress was a wide and fertile field for
McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER. 1T9
the work of William jMcKinley. Being always at his best, because of
healthfulness of mind, body and motive, he grew rapidly in strength, popu-
larity and respect among the members of that body, and especially among
his party associates. The appreciation of his ability and industry was quickly
and continuously illustrated by the assignments that came to him of places
upon various and important committees. On the floor of the House of
Representatives he took rank early in his membership among the ablest
debaters, by reason of his sincere interest in public questions, remarkable
facility and power in the marshalling of facts, his forceful logic, fascinating
rhetoric, fairness to opposition, freedom from excitement and bitterness,
readiness and keenness in repartee and a palpable evidence at all times of
cool reserve strength. In it all, however, he never spoke without occasion
nor without full knowledge of his subject. He ornamented and exhausted
the subject matter with which he happened to be occupied. Depth and
honesty of conviction were apparent in his earnestness and his expression,
lucidity of thought and easy clearness of detail gave delight when he spoke
to friend and foes alike.
It was particularly fortunate to IMr. McKinley and the country that
upon entering Congress as a young man he was placed upon the Ways and
Means Committee that proved congenial as well as specially adaptable to
him. Here, under the tutelage of such chairmen as Kelley and Garfield, it
was natural that with his bent he should reach the chairmanship of that
great committee himself. It was thus that the opportunity came to him for
the exercise of his special genius in tariff matters. His first speech in Con-
gress was on the tariff and his last discussed the same themiC.
From the beginning of his public career McKinley was the unfaltering,
sturdy, consistent and intelligent advocate of the principle of protection to
American industries by tariff duties imposed wdth the purpose of keeping the
cheap labor products of European and Asiatic countries out of our vast and
desirable American markets. He was not, as was Garfield, for such protec-
tion as would lead to ultimate free trade. He believed that free trade is a
dream of theorists, which would bring industrial ruin and poverty to the
United States if it were put into practice, benefiting no class but the import-
ing merchants of the seaboard cities. He had no patience with tariffs formed
to "afford incidental protection."
Tariff bills, he thought, should aim primarily at protection, and tariff
legislation should be scientific and permanent, with a view to the continuous
prosperity of the industrial classes. This was the chief aim of the }^IcKinley
180 McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
bill, passed when he was chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. No
doubt other minds in both House and Senate helped to frame that measure,
but McKinley's thought and work were on every page of it. When the
Republican party was defeated in 1892, largely through public misapprehen-
sion of that measure and before it had received a fair trial, McKinley was one
of the few Republican leaders who continued to breast the adverse current
and who never faltered a moment in the faith that the tide would set back to
protection.
Others wanted to change front and abandon the high protection prin-
ciple. He refused, and proceeded to realign his party on the old line of
battle. He set out to educate public sentiment anew, and during his memor-
able stumping tour of 1894 he made 367 speeches and spoke in the States
of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wiscon-
sin, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, West
Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. For eight weeks he averaged
seven speeches a day, ranging in length from ten minutes to an hour.
In these speeches McKinley addressed himself to the country upon the
demerits of the Wilson tariff bill, then on its passage, which had been de-
nounced by President Cleveland, who belonged to the same political party
as did its author, and who was of the opposite political party to that of
McKinley, as "a product of perfidy and dishonor," but who permitted it to
become a law without his signature. At the same time McKinley spoke in
favor of the underlying principle of the act of 1880.
This latter bill, of which McKinley was the father and which bore his
name, occupied the entire time of the first session of the Fifty-first Congress,
and in all that terrific debate McKinley stood as the special champion of the
measure. Its passage was a monument to his ability, patience and endur-
ance, and to his great power as a debater.
By 1884 he had won the title of "Champion of American Protection,"
and in 1888 his committee report was delivered, which headed the "Mills
Tarifif Bill," and that, with the speech delivered by McKinley at the time,
became potent factors in the campaign that followed and in which Harrison
was elected President and the political complexion of Congress was changed
to one of harmony with the administration.
After his defeat for Congress McKinley remained quietly at his home,
where he was again called from its privacy to consider the question of his
nomination for the Governorship of Ohio. Governor Campbell had fre-
quently boasted that he had made Ohio a permanent Democratic State, but
McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER. 181
McKinley dispelled his illusion. The Republican State convention was held
at Columbus in June, 1891, and at it William McKinley was nominated
Republican candidate for the Governorship, and the following November
was elected Governor by 21,000 majority.
It was a typical "campaign of education" that McKinley made at this
time and in it he visited eighty-six counties and delivered one hundred and
thirty addresses. In all of that arduous campaign, as well as the many
others that he made during his political life, McKinley 's speeches w^ere
always models of unaffected art. There was never anytliing that even, so
much as gave a hint or suggestion of "playing to the gallery." There were
no funny declamations, no pandering to anything or anybody. He stood
strong, self-reliant, comfortably poised, well at ease; he spoke with an
evenly-modulated and clear voice; his enunciation was distinct and his
words short and simple. There was truth in sentences and sincerity in his
declarations. Everybody who heard him believed what he said. He had
the happy faculty of talking to all manner of persons in a way that com-
manded respect with awe. He was easily approached — made those who
spoke to him feel "at home." He gave comradeship naturally and com-
manded perfect respect in such a way that the visitor, the highest or humb-
lest, never felt. Beside his magnetism as a politician and an orator, there
was a personal charm about the man that made him as attractive to the many
as he was admirable as a leader among his partisans. He w^on distinction for
his uniform courtesy to men and deference to women. He had the same
pbwer to win men to him that Napoleon had in making himself the idol of
his soldiers. Simple in his tastes, quiet in his manner, firm in his stand for a
principle he believed to be right, he was ever the most courteous of men in
public life. He made few enemies and held all of his friends. His patience
was equal to his physical endurance and he could travel, speak, shake hands
all day and yet sit down in the evening and explain to an associate the mys-
teries or intricacies of a tariff schedule or be a charming companion in a
social circle. But in all his sociability there was a purity of speech and
thought that made it impossible for even a thoughtless man of rough habits
to introduce a suggestion of coarseness, profanity or vulgarity into the con-
versation.
In all of the trials of his political and official life no moment came w^hen
he was not plainly devoted to his invalid wife. All the world loves a noble,
true lover, and such McKinley was, tender and gallant to his sweetheart
wife, as he ever w-as before they were married a quarter of a century ago.
183 McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
Illustrative of this, and exhibiting another phase of his campaigning, was
an incident of June i8, 1896,
Major McKinley believed, as did nearly every other person in the United
States at all interested and informed, that he would be nominated for Presi-
dent by the National Republican convention, then in session at St. Louis,
and he was in close communication with his friends there w^hile seated in
his comfortable cottage home at Canton, Ohio. Here were assembled a
iQ\V close friends, some newspaper reporters, a telegraph operator, with
Major McKinley, his wife and mother. The day had passed pleasantly and
in happy expectancy. At last came one telegram that brought a sparkle of
delight to the eyes of the great man who was most interested, personally.
It told of the nomination by an enthusiastic and overwhelming vote of
McKinley.
Without a word McKinley took the telegram across the room to where
his wife sat, bent lovingly over her and kissed her flushed and fevered cheek,
giving her at the same time the pleasant message. She did not speak. Her
heart was too full. She who had w-atched him through so many years in
his ever upward course, she w-ho was proud of him as her husband and hero,
and whom she had seen cast aside honors, riches and glory, when to accept
them would have been to compromise his moral honor and to stain his con-
science; she looked all her gratefulness and love, and then found words to
say, affectionately, "Thank you, dear!"
The wisdom that had marked McKinley's entire course in poHtics was
destined to break the way for him to the White House, and now it had
already made him the central figure of one of the most brilliant and yet
unostentatious campaigns that the republic has ever known.
When his prominent rival announced that he would travel over the
country making his campaign of speeches from the rear platform of a rail-
way coach, Major McKinley did not become alarmed, but chose the oppo-
site and more potent course. Although urged to do so, he refused to enter
joint debates, not fearing his ability to cope with his opponents, but believ-
ing that the best interests of his party would not be subserved thereby. He
remained at home and his popularity became so great that large delegations
from every walk in life visited him daily, making speeches which evinced
their faith in this wise leader and their loyalty to him.
McKinley was, of course, called upon to reply, and then the wisdom of
his manner of campaign became palpably evident. The press of the country
McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER. 183
reported all the speeches of McKinley and his visitors, and Canton became
the political center of the United States.
Trainloads of people, delegations from cities and clubs, from organiza-
tions of old soldiers, labor organizations, social circles, and all manner of
industrial combinations, employers and employed, came day in and day out,
through all of the long campaign. These proceeded at once to the McKmley
cottage and all were cordially received by the future President. Such
unique scenes have never been witnessed in a political campaign, and have
only been suggested by the ''Log Cabin Campaign," of 1840, when ''Tippe-
canoe and Tyler Too" was the rallying cry of the elder Harrison's confident
and enthusiastic partisans. Nothing could have more eloquently and ear-
nestly emphasized the faith of the great body of the people in their loyalty
and trust in McKinley and the hopeful expectations of the country, than did
the Canton campaign, which was carried to a common center rather than
scattered abroad, and which was conducted by the voters rather than the
candidate. , >r t^- , 1 1,
Many of the speeches delivered on the lawn at the McKinley home have
properly taken a place in the records of the nation's history, because they
not only show the earnest trust of the people in McKinley, but from those
delivered by him have given him the stamp of the patriot, statesman and
orator and they will be always valuable as edifying and instructive in their
dealing with American policies, and brilliantly illustrative of the economics
involved. .
Three great questions— tariff, currency and pensions— were specially in-
volved as being uppermost in the minds of the people, and McKinley's exact
position, with relation to these important propositions, was a matter of deep
concern. No doubt seemed to exist, however, as to his views, because all
through his past life the record had shown his loyalty to the cardinal principles
of which these questions were phases, shades and details, and bis faithtulness
now was accepted, his reindorsement of it all was simply a pleasant campaign
ceremony and a reiteration for the benefit of misinformed. The whole affair
was another and a greater "campaign of education."
Ou the three questions that were special issues McKinley gave forth no un-
certain sound. Equivocation was foreign to him under any circumstances, and
in these he was at all times earnestly the advocate of a protective tariff, sound
money and liberal pensions to the Union soldiers who had responded so nobly
to their country's call when its life and weal were endangered. Upon all ques-
tions of national policy McKinley was clear and emphatic, and never m the
184 McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
history of politics has there been a candidate for the exalted place of President
who has been accepted with such cordiality and unanimity by his party.
The campaign progressed satisfactorily to the managers of the McKinley
interest and the great candidate deeply endeared himself to the public by ex-
pressing unbounded faith and unwavering hope in the judgment and good
will of the common people. The campaign, however, presented many new
and confusing phases and there were obstructing conditions that had never
before arisen. Populism had grown formidable and party alignments had
become much confused. A feeling of extreme anxiety had grown out of the
uncertainties of the business situation. The wheels of industry stood still,
and all business was inert, alarmed and awaiting the results of the election
and the developments that would follow.
The world was interested, for "Hard Times" was walking v/ith it, ann in
arm, and holding it back. Europe preserved an anxious silence, Asia felt the
unusual depression of uncertainty, South America was eagerly listening for
the result. Election day came and the vast mass of voters in the United States
arose early, impressed by the words of William McKinley as to what should be
done. Patriotic duty was the thought of the hour. Upon that day a vast ma-
jority of the sovereign voters, throv^^ing off all trammels, cast their ballots in
favor of industry and against calamity. The day was bright throughout the
land, the friends of industrious prosperity took the color of the day, and the
noiseless fall of ballots established and stamped the people's will. The result
was quickly known — McKinley and prosperity were elected. The largest popu-
lar majority ever given was that by the people for the people, and William
McKinley's power as a campaigner had wrought wondrous good to the republic
and the world.
CHAPTER XVI.
GOVERNOR McKINLEY'S FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
One of the sad events in the career of President McKinley was the loss
of his fortune in the year 1893. It was during his first term as Governor of
Ohio, and was a period of humiliation and anguish to the Governor and his
wife, but they met the crisis with that quiet fortitude that ever characterized
them, and found friends in abundance to aid them in their distress. This
money trouble was not brought about by any wild speculation on the part
of the Governor. He had never evinced any desire to seek riches through
such agencies, and so faithfully had he applied himcelf to the people's inter-
ests that, notwithstanding his years of hard work, he was worth not to exceed
$20,000, v/hich was invested in securities and real estate.
The difficulty which swallowed up the Governor's fortune, and that of
his wife, resulted from his endorsing notes for a friend. This friend was
Robert L. Walker, a capitalist banker and manufacturer, of Youngstown.
Mr. Walker was president of the Farmers' National Bank of Youngstown,
the Girard Savings Bank, a stamping mill company, a stove and range com-
pany, and was interested in several coal mines in Western Ohio and Eastern
Pennsylvania. He was one of the strongest men in the community, was
supposed to be worth more than $250,000, and enjoyed the confidence of
everybody who knevv' him.
When Major McKinley returned from the war and was ambitious to
become a lawyer, he found the struggle a hard one. His service as a soldier
had not enabled him to save anything of consequence, and when poverty
pressed him he turned to Mr. Walker for aid. He was not disappointed.
Mr. Walker proved a friend in need, and the Major was not the man to for-
get a kindness. After he entered political life, he again had need of financial
assistance. In his first congressional campaign his expenses v.ere heavy,
and it became necessary for hrm to raise $2,000 with which to cancel a mort-
gage on his wife's property. Mr. Walker loaned him the money, and it is
probable that at subsequent periods other loans were made to the Major.
He was constantly under heavy expense, owing to the illness of his wife,
and had no regular income save his salary of $5,000 as Congressman.
The first loan was repaid by Major McKinley out of his salar>' within
185
18G GOVERNOR McKINLEY'S FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
two years, and it is certain that all of his subsequent financial obligations
were promptly met up to the time of the crash.
Under such circumstances it was not strange that Major McKinley, hav-
ing become Governor, and having become possessed of some money of his
ov/n, should be called upon to help out his old friend when he needed a little
accommodation. Mr. Walker applied to the Governor to indorse his paper
from time to time and the Governor willingly accommodated him, never
questioning the amount, nor the circumstances for which the money was
required.
These accommodations were spread over a considerable period of time,
and it is probable that in the course of his business Mr. Walker took up
many of the notes endorsed by the Governor. But his affairs became more
and more involved, and early in 1893 Mr. Walker informed the Governor
that he was in great need of money and asked the Governor to endorse his
notes, which he desired to have discounted. The Governor did not hesitate
an instant. The man who had befriended him needed aid, and so far as the
Governor could render it he did so. Governor McKinley understood at
the time that the notes signed by him aggregated about $15,000. They
were good at any bank in Ohio, and no trouble was experienced by Mr.
Walker in discounting them.
The Governor gave no further thought to the matter until February 17,
1893, when Youngstown, as well as the commercial circles of Ohio, were
startled by the announcement of the assignment of Robert L. Walker. A
judgment for $12,000 had been entered against the Youngstown Stamping
Company, and inability to meet it caused Mr. Walker to assign. As soOn
as the fact became known Mr. Walker s other enterprises began to topple,
and the next day all were swallowed up in the crash.
Governor McKinley was on his way to attend a banquet given by the
Ohio Society in New York when he was informed of the disaster which had
overtaken his friend. He cancelled his engagement in New York by tele-
graph and immediately started for Youngstown. In the meantime those
interested had been figuring, and it was estimated that the liabilities of ]\Ir.
Walker aggregated about $200,000. His available assets were figured at
about one-half that amount.
At Youngstown the Governor began to receive telegrams from banks
all over the state, announcing that they held some of his paper. He had
been led to believe that the notes had been discounted at only three banks,
and was at a loss to understand the situation, until it transpired that instead
GOVERNOR McKINLEY'S FINANCIAL TROUBLES. 187
of a liability of $15,000, his name was on paper amounting to nearly $100,-
000! The Governor was under the impression that many of the notes he
had signed were executed for the purpose of taking up notes previously
given and which had fallen due. It was soon found that the old notes had
not been paid, and that the Governor's obligations amounted to far more
than he was able to pay.
The Governor had not a particle of interest in any of Mr. Walker's prop-
erties, and all that he had done for that unfortunate gentleman was done out
of pure gratitude. After a conference with his Youngstown friends, in which
the true state of affairs was disclosed, the Governor said:
'T can hardly believe this, but it appears to be true. I don't know what
my liabilities are, but whatever I owe shall be paid dollar for dollar."
At this time Mrs. McKinley owned property valued at $75,000, which
had been left her by her father. As there seemed no other way of meeting
the crisis, the Governor and his wife, on February 22, made an absolute
assignment of all their property to a board of trustees, to be used, without
preference, for the equal payment of the creditors. The trustees w^ere:
H. H. Kohlsaat, Chicago; IMyron T. Herrick, Cleveland; and Judge Day,
of Canton, Ohio. Friends urged Mrs. McKinley, at this time, to retain an
interest in her property, but she refused to do so, transferring all her fortune
to M. A. Hanna, of Cleveland.
This calamity weighed heavily upon the Governor, and he thought of
giving up public life and returning to the practice of his profession. To
friends with whom he talked, he said:
"I did what I could to help a friend who had befriended me. The result
is known. I had no interest in any of the enterprises Mr. Walker was car-
rying. The amount of my endorsements is in excess of anything I dreamed.
There is but one thing for me to do — one thing I would do — meet this un-
looked for burden as best I can. I have this day placed all my property in
the hands of trustees, to be used to pay my debts. It will be insufficient,
but I will execute notes and pay them as fast as I can. I shall retire from
politics, take up the practice of law, and begin all over again."
It was at this time that the Governor's friends throughout the country
began to bestir themselves for the purpose of aiding him financially. The
Chicago Inter-Ocean started a popular fund for the purpose, and money
began to roll in. Governor McKinley refused to accept a dollar of this
money, and it was by his direction returned to the donors, with his thanks
for their d'sinterested friendship. His friends were not to be denied, how-
188 GOVERNOR McKINLEY'S FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
ever, and a number of them decided to subscribe privately to a fund to take
up the Walker notes. Among these gentlemen were M. A. Hanna and
Myron T. Herrick, Cleveland; P. D. Armour, Marshall Field and H. H.
Kohlsaat, Chicago; and Bellamy Storer and Thomas McDougall, Cincin-
nati. The management of the fund was placed in the hands of Mr. Kohlsaat,
who afterwards said of the matter:
"One of the chief reasons why the subscription plan was adopted was
because a number of subscriptions were received anonymously and could
not be returned. There were over 4,000 subscriptions sent in, and when
the last piece of paper was taken up bearing Major McKinley's name, no
more subscriptions were received, and some were returned. No list of the
subscribers was kept, and Governor McKinley does not know to this day,
with the possible exception of four or five names, who contributed the
money.
"When Governor McKinley saw the publication of the subscription
scheme he wrote me absolutely declining to receive a dollar. Mr. Hanna
and his other friends told him to leave the matter alone, for if his friends
wished to assist him they should have the privilege."
The indebtedness having been satisfied in full, Mrs. McKinley's property
was deeded back to her, and she and the Governor were left in the same
position financially they were before the crash occasioned by Mr. Walker's
failure.
It was a graceful and fitting act for the people thus to have relieved the
Governor of the burden resting upon him. He had given practically all his
life to the pubHc service, and was comparatively a poor man. If he had given
to his own interests the same fidelity which he devoted to the interests of
the public his financial reward would have been such that he would have had
no need of assistance in carrying such an indebtedness. As it was, he did
the only manly thing possible. He acknowledged the debt, and made such
preparations to pay it as were within his power. He did not consider the
hardship he must endure in "beginning all over," People had paid out their
money on their faith in his endorsement, and he did not intend they should
lose a penny. It was no stain on the Governor's honor that he had endeav-
ored to help a friend and been financially ruined in the effort; and he was in
no wise to be criticised when he permitted his friends, for whose interests
he had so long labored, to bear the burden his generosity had put upon him.
CHAPTER XVil.
McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, BLAINE AND
HARRISON.
Governor McKinley's splendid record as a public scn/ant made him a
presidential quantity long before he was put forward for the nomination as
the "favorite son" of Ohio; but he was ever loyal to his party's interest, and
his party associates, and at no time allowed ambition to blind him to duty.
This was clearly evidenced in the Republican National conventions held in
1884 and 1888, It was in these gatherings that Major McKinley's claims
to leadership — or at least to be considered as one of the prominent men of
the nation in the councils of his party — came to be recognized. He was a
"Blaine" man at this convention. In supporting Mr. Blaine he but repre-
sented the overwhelming sentiment of the Mahoning valley; and yet, while
he favored Mr. Blaine, he had the kindliest feeling for the illustrious Senator
from Ohio, John Sherman, who at that convention was also a candidate for
the Presidency. Major McKinley was a strong advocate of the sentiment
that all legitimate means should be sought to nominate Mr. Blaine, but if
that was impossible, Ohio should cast a solid vote for Mr. Sherman.
Tlie Ohio Republican state convention was held at Cleveland in April.
1884. McKinley went to Cleveland fresh from a tariff debate in Congress,
and was made permanent chairman of the convention. The Blaine follow-
ing manifestly was in the majority at the convention, but the Sherman men
had the best organization, and most of the "old-time" politicians of the
state were pronouncedly in favor of the Ohio Senator. The great struggle
at the convention was on the election of four delegates-at-large. Although
it was well understood that Foraker's first choice was Sherman, the Blaine
men generously acquiesced in his election by acclamation as a delegate-at-
large. A number of names were then presented for the remaining three
places, and a sensation was created when one delegate mounted a chair and
nominated Major McKinley.
Major McKinley from his place as presiding officer thanked the conven-
tion, but said that he could not allow his name to go before it at that time,
as he had promised that he would not allow his name to be used while the
names of certain candidates were before the convention. The uproar became
189
190 McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO HIS FRIENDS.
tumultuous. A majority of the delegates were plainly in favor of the elec-
tion of Major McKinley by acclamation, although there was some objection.
One of the delegates, assuming the prerogatives of the chair, put the motion,
and declared it carried. Major McKinley ruled that the motion had not
prevailed. General Grosvenor mounted the platform and the second time
put the motion and declared it carried.
Again Major McKinley ruled that the motion had not prevailed and
insisted on the vote being taken on the names already submitted, excluding
his own. Once more General Grosvenor arose — this time to a point of
order. He insisted that Major McKinley had been elected by acclamation,
and that the convention had nov/ to elect two more delegates-at-large. The
chair overruled the point of order, and amid tumultuous confusion ordered
the balloting to go on. A delegate arose and asked the convention to con-
sider Major McKinley as having been put in nomination, despite his declina-
tion. At this there were thunders of cheers. From early in the balloting
it was evident that Major McKinley was bound to be elected. Counties
that had favored other candidates abandoned them and voted solidly for
the Major. After between 300 and 400 votes had been cast for Major
McKinley and it was recognized by everybody that he had already been
elected, a motion was made that he be elected by acclamation. Further
contest was stopped, and Major McKinley was elected a delegate-at-large
by acclamation.
In the National Convention at Chicago Major McKinley bore him.self
modestly, but his great quality of leadership came to the front by force of
circumstances. He only spoke two or three times from the floor of the
convention, but every tim.e he arose he attracted attention, and the influence
he exerted was remarkable. At the critical time during the convention his
was the voice that rallied the Blaine forces. Three ballots had been taken.
Blaine gained on each ballot. The final and desperate effort was made by
the other candidates under the lead of the dashing Foraker, in Sherman's
behalf, for an adjournment. There was pandemonium, and there threatened
to be a panic.
In the midst of the storm Major McKinley arose. He waved his hand and
the tumult ceased. Calm and like granite he stood the master spirit of the
convention. His short speech was carried in clarion tones all over the
immense hall. As a friend of Blaine, he said, he recognized and respected
the rights of the friends of other candidates to secure an adjournment, and
concluded:
McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO HJS FRIENDS. 191
"Let the motion be put and let everybody favorable to the nomination
of Blaine vote against it."
That settled it. Under Major McKinley's leadership, assumed spontan-
eously and boldly, the Blaine men accepted the challenge, the motion fcr
an adjournment was voted down, and the victory was won. It was not
defeat that Major McKinley turned aside — the situation was not so serious
as that — but in a crisis, when the Blaine men were getting demoralized
and the convention was turning itself into a mob, the Major, leaping to the
front, by one command marshaled the Blaine men into line and pressed
them forward to their already sighted victory. Major McKinley was chair-
man of the committee on resolutions at that convention, and when he
appeared to read the platform he received an ovation that v.as one of the
features of that great event.
Major McKinley's next appearance at a Republican national convention
was in 1888, and this time he came at the head of the Ohio delegation, and
in John Sherman's behalf. At this convention Mr. McKinley conspicu-
ously illustrated his character for loyalty to his friends and his word. No
candidate had been able to secure a majority. Sherman, Alger, Allison,
Harrison, Gresham, and Depew, all had a strong following, but none was
near a nomination. Major McKinley, at the head of the Ohio delegation,
instructed to vote his delegation solidly for Sherman, was one of the heroes
of the convention. His entrance at each session was greeted with the wild-
est enthusiasm. Day and night he was at work among the various state
delegations, laboring to secure votes for Ohio's great financier. On the
sixth ballot a delegate voted for William McKinley, and was greeted by
cheers which swelled again and again before silence could be restored. The
next state that was called cast seventeen votes for Major McKinley, and
again the cheers broke forth. The drift was unmistakably setting toward
McKinley like an ocean tide.
Everyone expected to see the Garfield nomination of 1880 repeated.
But they were disappointed. The roll call was interrupted by the Major,
who, leaping upon a chair at the end of the middle aisle, pale, but calm and
determined, uttered a speech which, unpremeditated as it was, has seldom
been surpassed for eloquence, candor and unselfish loyalty. In it he declared
Iiis inability to be a candidate with honor to himself, and proclaimed his
unswerving loyalty to the Ohio chieftain. The tide was turned. On the
seventh ballot Benjamin Harrison was named, but McKinley went home
to Ohio stronger than ever in the hearts of his fellow men.
192 McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO HIS FRIENDS.
Some time before the Republican National Convention of 1892, held in
Minneapolis, Minn,, June 7, Governor McKinley had privately and publicly
expressed himself as in favor of the renomination of President Harrison.
Having committed himself, the Governor stood by his declaration. He was
elected a delegate-at-large as a Harrison man, and the imderstanding was
that Ohio would vote solidly for the President's nomination.
The convention elected Governor McKinley its permanent chairman.
R. M. Nevin of Dayton was his alternate. Before he took the chair as
presiding officer the Governor specifically charged Mr. Nevin to vote for
tiarrison. Only one vote was taken on the nomination for President. When
Ohio was called ex-Governor Foraker said Ohio asked time for a consulta-
tion, and after a pause the vote of the state was announced as: Harrison, 2
votes; William McKinley, 44. Chairman McKinley immediately sprang
from his seat and shouted:
"I challenge the vote of Ohio!"
A brief and animated debate then ensued between ex-Governor Foraker
and Governor McKinley, in which Foraker told the chairman that he had
ceased to be a member of the Ohio delegation on assuming the post of
presiding officer, and could not be recognized. Finally a roll call of the
Ohio delegation was ordered, and this resulted, McKinley, 45; Harrison, i.
The only vote for Harrison cast by the Ohio delegation was that cast by
Governor McKinley's alternate. President Harrison was renominated on
the first and only ballot, but the Governor had 182 votes cast for him despite
the fact that he was not a candidate. At the conclusion of the balloting
Governor McKinley took the floor and moved that the President's nomina-
tion be made unanimous, and the motion carried. The Governor was
chosen chairman of the commission that officially notified the President of
his nomination.
The result of the campaign of 1892 was a surprise to both the leading
political parties. Grover Cleveland, the Democratic candidate for president,
was elected, and both the house and senate had large Democratic miajori-
ties. The political revolution was remarkable, and was largely due to the
Populist movement, and to fusion between the Populists and Democrats
in the South and West. The clamor for the free coinage of silver, at the
ratio of 16 to i, and the industrial depression which set in in 1893, brought
Governor McKinley into the public eye as the man calculated to restore
prosperity to the country. Meanwhile he adhered strictly to his duties as
governor of Ohio.
DR. P. M. RIXEY, PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S FAAIILY PHYSICIAN
12
GOVERNOR McKINLEY IN HIS LIBRARY. GIVING INSTRUC-
TIONvS TO HIS POLITICAL MANAGERS (i8961,_
CHAPTER XVIII.
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
At no time in the history of the Republican party has there been such an ar-
ray of brilHant and worthy men before the country named for the honor of
Presidential candidates as at that period when the National Republican Con-
vention of 1896 was to make a choice from the shining list. That convention
was remarkable and unique, more so than any other convention of this organi-
zation, whose first President, a pioneer of universal freedom, a pathfinder across
the western wilderness that is now an empire. Colonel John Charles Fremont,
who was presented for the suffrage of the people forty years before. That
pioneer candidate was defeated because the day of broad thought had not
arisen. The rising storm of civil strife swept the next candidate of the party,
immortal Lincoln, to the highest place in the nation, from whence he guided the
Republic and its destinies through the raging tempest until an assassin's missile
laid him low, and that at the moment when the country could least have spared
him, and when it seemed that fate to be just might have been more kindly to
both him and his people, for he deserved tO enjoy the fruit of his work, and
the people would have had pleasure and profit in his presence.
Of no other such conventions is there a more interesting story than that
which might be given of the convention at St. Louis in June, 1896, which made
WilHam McKinley its candidate, and who is another martyr of the Republic,
slain by organized assassination, because the nation had placed him in conspicu-
ous exaltation.
Of the great ones whose personal partisans and whose high places among
the people had made them prominent in the premises, Thomas B. Reed of
Maine was among the foremost. He was without a superior among that many
for intelligence, wit and general ability, and there can be no question that,
had he been nominated and elected as Chief Magistrate, he would have
given the country a worthy and thoroughly, even distinctly, American adminis-
tration.
William B. Allison of Iowa, who was a delegate to the Chicago convention
of i860, that nominated Abraham Lincoln, and a Senator, who had made a
national and well-deserved fame for patriotic statesmanship, was another, now
T2i ^95
196 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
demanded by a large following, and he had already been a prominent candidate
for President before preceding conventions.
Levi P. Morton, ex- Vice-President of the United States and governor of
the mighty State of New York, a man of glorious record and accepted ability,
who was honored and respected by friends and foes, was also of the array of
eligible men whose friends asked for him the nomination.
Quay of Pennsylvania, Alger of Michigan, Sherman of Ohio, Thurston of
Nebraska, all of the best kind of "Presidential timber," and numerous others
of more or less distinction, capacity and merit, were warmly and enthusiastic-
ally urged by their partisans.
Governor Morton quickly announced that he would not allow himself to be
made a candidate before the convention unless a real one, meaning that he must
not be placed in such a position as a compliment to himself and his following, or
with the idea of using him as the means for securing the nomination of some
one else. Hon. Thomas Piatt, the shrewd and pov.?erful manipulator of [Kilitics
and politicians, had secured the pledge of the New York delegation for Morton,
and with such an array of 34 electoral votes from such a State, Morton seemed
to be a formidable man in the situation, with an endorsement to be proud of and
one that would command the deference of that great body.
New England was strong in her pride and confidence in her brilliant son,
and had won many promises for Reed, but small revolts here and there made
his hold precarious, and the defection of Congressman Maniey of Maine at the
very moment when his influence and assistance was most necessary seriousli
and dangerously affected Reed's chances. Appalled by the mighty array that
favored McKinley, the Maine Congressman deserted the New England favorite
and dismay and disorganization took possession of their camp.
Much there was of this preliminary ski: nishing among the partisans of all
the available ones, but in it all a potent fact was staring at the fight, and be^
came so apparent that it was at last candidly acknowledged.
The feeling for Governor William McKinley of Ohio was constantly gath-
ering strength. The pressure from outside was too strong to withstand. For
weeks before the convention the Republican public had been shouting McKin-
ley, and in a tone that could not be ignored. The voice and the force of the
people pressed hard upon the convention. The newspapers teemed with his
praise ; his face and record were constantly being presented ; buttons bearing
his portrait and mottoes that epitomized his principles were seen everywhere,
in city, town and country, and thousands v/ho had been, theretofore, but little
interested in politics became enthusiastic champions of the man from Ohio.
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 19^
William McKiuley had been before the people, not as a candidate for
President but as the ardent advocate of measures that intelligent persons
^hou-ht more of national prosperity than of partisan politics. The quick-
seeine people had heard and read of his plans for redeeming the country and
casting off its burden of distress, "Hard Times," and this had brought the tide
of public favor and endorsement. ^
With this and all the excellent qualities of the man, in which the people had
been instructed, wise, sagacious, far-seeing and powerful friends, adepts in the
science of politics, who made no mistakes, took the matter m hand before the
convention had assembled, and then into it, at the proper time, and they kept
the front of the fight well aligned and unbroken to victory.
The movement for McKinley was skillfully presented as that of the
masses against the bosses." In some respects that was what it was. The bosses
fou<^ht for others in the convention, but the will of the people earned. The
pressure of the masses was for McKinley, and though the people stood on the
outside the avalanche of popular opinion swept over all. The politicians op-
nosed the "Ohio idea" and fought desperately. Piatt, the most adroit of them
dl, threatened, cajoled, combined and bluffed. Reed's managers tried tact
diplomacy, compromise and all else available, the opponents of McKinley o all
elements held all sorts of '^star chamber" sessions time and time again, and on
the night before the convention planned together until daylight endeavoring
to fix some combination to defeat McKinley, but Mark Hanna the manager
of the McKinley campaign, kept in the even tenor of his way, doing his work
as past master of political strategy, smiled and feared not. Certain safety gave
him ease, and masterly he held his way with coolness and calculation.
It was evident from the first that there was only one dangerous rock upon
which the great convention might ,split. There were those in the conv^ition
from the far West, whose local interests in silver would overcome party fealty
and the question of a gold standard of currency or unlimited silver coinage
was oneihat required strong, unfailing nerve to face it. As st-g a a
as the tariff always was and always will be, it was temporarily relegated to he
background, as there was not a possibility of serious dissension upon the ques-
^ of prot;ction, for which the party of the convention naturally stood, under
"^'Bl"Xably there was a wide variance in many quarters between
the^gold" and "silver" men. While the East and the older sections o our
country were uncompromising in their demand for gold as the single standard,
some of he Republicans beyond the Mississippi insisted upon a plank acknowl-
198 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
edging silver, and open threats were made that in case of refusal they would
bolt the convention and affiliate with the party representing their views. The
question was as to how far this disaffection extended. The pages immediately
following will answer that question.
Meanwhile Governor McKinley at his home in Canton, Ohio, gave no sign.
The lessons of former candidates who had undone themselves by tongue or pen
were not lost upon him, and h<B remained resolutely mute. He was referred to as
the "wabbling candidate," and some of his earlier expressions were quoted
against him; but nothing sufficed to draw him out. He quietly bided his
time, and who shall say he was not wise ?
It was about half an hour past noon, on Tuesday, June i6, 1896, that the
eleventh national convention of the Republican party was called to order by the
Hon. Thomas Henry Carter, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
The tremendous structure, known as the Auditorium or Convention Hall, is
capable of accommodating an immense assemblage, and it is estimated that
more than 40,000 visitors had flocked to St. Louis. Fortunately the torrid
weather for which the Mound City is noted and dreaded held off, though it
gave a taste of its terrible power to smite before final adjournment came.
For the first time in the history of national conventions, the opening prayer
was made by an Israelite, in the person of Rabbi Samuel Sale, pastor of the
Shaare Emeth congregation. His invocation was devout, and, at its close, the
secretary read the call issued by the National Committee for the convention.
He was not heard fifty feet away, not so much because of his weakness of
voice, as on account of the wretched acoustic qualities of the building. Chair-
man Carter then presented the name of Hon. Qiarles W. Fairbanks of Indiana
as temporary chairman. No voice was raised in opposition, and the tall, slen-
der man, with close-cropped beard and mustache, came forward and delivered
an address that was frequently interrupted by applause. It was an arraignment
of the Democratic administration for its many shortcomings, and an argument
that the prosperity of the country at large could be secured only by the adoption
of the principles of the Republican party. Sound currency, protection, sym-
pathy for Cuba, and the certainty that the candidates about to be named would
be the next President and Vice-President of the United States, were the prin-
cipal features of Chairman Fairbanks' speech, which was received \vith many
expressions of approval. At its conclusion the necessary officials of the con-
vention were appointed, the members of the various committees annoimced,
and, after a session of less than two hours, an adjournment was had to 10
o'clock Wednesday.
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 199
Between the adjournment and the coming together on the morrow, much
effective work was done. While the sentiment of the delegates was overwhelm-
ingly in favor of "sound currency," or the single gold standard, there was a
diversity of opinion in many quarters as to whether the word "gold" should
be used in the platform. A considerable number thought the latter was suffi-
ciently explicit without the word, but the insistence of others compelled a
yielding of the point : it was decided that the all-potent word should appear.
Since adjournment Mr. Hanna has asserted that the gold plank was agreed
upon by him or his associates before the arrival of the delegates from the East,
who were popularly credited with the formulation of the clause in question.
The convention reassembled at a quarter to eleven on Wednesday, and
was opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. W. G. Williams, after which the real
work began. The report of the Committee on Permanent Organization pre-
sented the name of Senator J. N. Thurston of Nebraska as chairman, made the
secretaries, sergeant-at-arms and other temporary officers permanent officers
of the convention, and gave a list of vice-presidents, consisting of one from
each State. It was accepted and Senator Thurston was loudly applauded as he
took his seat.
The address of Mr. Thurston pleased all by its terseness and brevity.
Awaiting the report of the Committee on Credentials the convention ad-
journed until 2 o'clock, and at 3 that afternoon Chairman Thurston called the
body to order. Bishop Amett of Ohio offered the opening prayer and Mr.
Madden of Chicago presented to the chairman a gavel made from timber of a
house in which Abraham Lincoln once lived. Another gavel was also pre-
sented, carved from the homestead of Henry Clay, "The Father of Protec-
tion."
The Committee on Credentials then presented majority and minority re-
ports, the former of which favored the seating of the Higgins delegates and
those at large from Delaware as against the Addicks delegates, and the seating
of the list of Texas delegates, which was headed by John Grant. After a
warm discussion the majority report was adopted by the vote of 545I to 359^.
This vote was considered a test one between McKinley and his opponents and
removed all doubts of the invincibility of the Ohio man.
The full Committee on Resolutions met at the Lindell Hotel in the evening
and went into secret session. The proposed platform was read by paragraphs,
the agreement being that each paragraph should be voted on separately. There
was unanimous accord upon the tariff plank and the sugar plank was accepted.
A strong declaration was formulated for a protective duty on wools and wool-
200 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
ens and a demand made for the protection of American shipbuilding and the
development of American commerce.
When the financial plank was reached Senator Teller of Colorado presented
a minority report which declared in favor of the free and unlimited coinage of
silver at the ratio of i6 to i. Mr. Teller, with deep emotion, declared that the
time had come when, if the single gold standard was adopted, he should be
compelled to leave the party with which he had been associated for thirty-five
years. There was much sympathy felt for this able leader, whose association
with the Republican party had earned for him the respect of political foes
as well as friends. Mr. Cannon of Utah was hardly less agitated when he
announced a decision similar to that of Teller, and Mr. Dubois of Idaho de-
clared that, much as he regretted the step, he would follow Messrs. Teller and
Cannon. Then, after earnest argument, Mr. Hartman of Montana said that he
never would support a candidate upon the proposed platform.
The substitute of Senator Teller received lo votes, which included the dele-
gates from Colorado, California, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona,
Nevada, North Carolina and New Mexico. The substitute was defeated by
41 votes. After further discussion, the gold plank, as it appears in the plat-
form, was adopted by a vote of yeas 40, nays 11, the member from Oklahoma
having joined the silver men.
The convention came together on Thursday morning, only five minutes
late, with all of the delegates in their seats, and the galleries packed to suffoca-
tion, many ladies being among the spectators. Rev. John R. Scott of Florida,
a negro, opened with a brief and appropriate prayer.
The first order of business was the reception of the report of the Committee
on Resolutions. Senator-elect Foraker of Ohio was cheered as he advanced to
the platform and said : "As chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, I have
the honor to report as follows :'*
He then read the platform, as printed elsewhere, in a clear, ringing voice
and with distinct enunciation. He emphasized the endorsement of President
Harrison, and was applauded, and when, in a loud voice and with impressive
manner, he declared: "The Republican party is unreservedly for sound
money," the applause was greater than ever, it rising to a still more enthusi-
astic pitch when the pledge to promote international agreement for free coin-
age of silver was read. Mr. Foraker was compelled to stop reading and the
applause continued so long that the chairman rapped repeatedly for order.
The demand for American control of the Hawaiian Islands was warmly
approved, but the convention remained mum over the proposed building of the
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 201
Nicaragua Canal by the United States and the purchase of the Danish
Islands for a naval station. If any enthusiasm was felt in that direction it did
not manifest itself. But the sympathy of the people found ardent expression
when the Cuban paragraph was read, dropping again to zero over the civil
service plank. The negro delegates applauded noisily the demand for a free
ballot and the condemnation of lynching.
It took twenty-five minutes for the reading of the platform, during which
the convention gave close attention, breaking out again into cheers at the
close. When the tumult had subsided, Mr. Foraker moved the adoption of the
report as the National platform for 1896.
As Mr. Foraker reached the closing paragraph of the report, Senator
Teller left his place with the Colorado delegation and took his seat on the
platform. He was recognized by the chairman and sent to the secretary's
desk and had read the following minority report: "We, the undersigned
members of the Committee on Resolutions, being unable to agree with that
part of the majority report which treats of the subjects of coinage and
finance, respectfully submit the following paragraph as a substitute therefor :
"The Republican party favors the use of both gold and silver as equal
standard money, and pledges its power to secure the free, unrestricted and
independent coinage of gold and silver at our mints at the ratio of 16 parts
of silver to i of gold."
Mr. Teller then advanced to the front of the platform to utter his "fare-
well." The universal respect felt for him was shown by the cordial greeting
of the twelve thousand people, who saw that the distinguished gentleman
was almost overcome with emotion. It may be doubted whether there was
one in that immense assemblage who did not feel a sincere sympathy for
the man who was taking the most painful step of his public career.
Mr. Teller asserted that we might as well have two flags in the Nation,
if the present money system is to be maintained, for the reason that two
flags are not more important than this all-absorbing question of gold and
silver money. He declared that he was not actuated by the fact that Colo-
rado is a silver-producing State, but he had come to the earnest conclusion,
after twenty years of study, that bimetallism is the only safe money doctrine
for the United States and all other countries.
Mr. Teller insisted that a protective tariff cannot be maintained on a
gold standard. Then, with uplifted hands, he declared: "When God
Almighty made these two metals. He intended them for use as money."
Senator Teller said that the years of study which he had devoted to this
202 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
question had brought convictions to him which were binding upon his con-
science, and it was because he was an honest man that he could not support
the gold money plank. The declaration was received with cheers and hisses,
and mo'isture gathered in the eyes of the speaker as he looked out over the
sea of faces and felt that he liad at last reached the parting of the ways.
Then the tears coursed down his cheeks and his handkerchief went tO' his eyes.
The sight caused a respectful hush to fall over the convention, while more
than one friend wept in silent sympathy.
Recovering himself, Senator Teller declared that the best thoughts of the
world favored bimetallism, and it was advocated by the greatest teachers of
political economy in Europe.
"Do you suppose," he asked, "that we can take this step and leave the
party without distress? Take any methods you please to nominate your
man, but put him upon the right platform, and I will support him. I v/as
for free men, free speech, and a free Government. I was with the Republican
party when it was born. I have become accustomed to abuse, but I have
voted for every Republican candidate since the foundation of the party, and
I have been in close communication with its distinguished men for forty years."
At this point. Senator Teller broke down again. The tears streamed
over his face and he was greatly distressed. In a broken voice he added :
"But if I am to leave the Republican party, I do not leave it in anger. I
believe that my doctrine is for the good oi the people. I believe that the
Republican party will see the error of its way, and, although I may never
be permitted again to address a Republican National Convention, I shall live
in the hope that before I die this great party will come to a thorough under-
standing of the silver question and treat it solemnly and with the keenest
interest in support of all the people."
The vote to lay Senator Teller's motion on the table disclosed an interest-
ing state of facts. It was supported by seven friends in Alabama, fifteen
in California, his eight delegates of Colorado, two from Florida, three from
Georgia, the six from Idaho, and one from Illinois. In addition, his plank
received the following support : Kansas, four votes, Michigan, one; Missouri,
one; Montana, six; Nevada, six; South Carolina, fourteen and one-half;
South Dakota, two; Tennessee, one; Utali, six; Virginia, five; Wyoming,
six ; and in the Territories : Arizona, six ; New Mexico, three, and Oklahoma,
one, making one hundred and five and one-half votes in all. The vote for the
majority report was eight hundred and eighteen and one-half.
Senator Teller, who was still on the platform, asked permission from the
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 203
chairman to introduce Senator Cannon of Utah, who' desired to read a state-
ment from the silver men. Tlie manner of Senator Cannon was defiant and
quickly stirred up impatience. He declared he would bow to the majority in
the matter of votes, but would never bow when a question of principle was at
stake. He said they would withdraw from the convention, and he pre-
dicted trouble in the future for tlie Republican party. This was greeted with
hisses and urgent requests for him to sit down. In the midst of the storm,
the chairman turned to Senator Cannon and shouted: "The Republican
party do not fear any declaration."
This threw the convention into a tumult of enthusiasm. Men sprang to
their feet, swung flags and shouted at the top of their voices. Senator
Cannon calmly awaited the subsidence of the storm, when he continued with
his generalities, and read the list of free silver men who would leave the
convention. Tlie names of the signers were greeted with hisses, and some-
one in the rear called out, "Good-by, my lover, good-by," as Senator Teller
and his associates filed out of the hall, marcliing down the main aisle. The
whole convention was again on its feet yelling, waving flags, hats and fans,
while the band played patriotic airs and the assemblage sang the chorus,
"Three Qieers for the Red, White and Blue."
The silver delegates who withdrew were Congressman Hartman of Mcwi-
tana; Senator Cannon, Congressman Allen and Delegate Thomas Kearns, of
Utah ; Senator Pettigrew, of South Dakota ; Delegates Cleveland and Strother,
of Nevada; the entire Idaho delegation of six, headed by Senator Dubois; the
whole Colorado delegation of eight; including Senator Teller, the total
number of bolters being twenty-one, including four senators and two repre-
sentatives.
Waiting until the excitement had subsided, the chairman announced in
deliberate fashion : "Gentlemen of the Convention, there seem to be enough
delegates left to do business. (Great cheering.) The chair now asks that
a gentleman from Montana who did not go out" — Qieers drowned the rest of
the sentence, and cries were made for Lee Mantle, who was asked to come
to the platform, but declined.
On the call of states for nominations for the Presidency, the first response
was from Iowa. R. M. Baldwin, of Council Bluffs, nominated Senator W.
B. Allison, in a glowing tribute to Senator Allison's worth and services.
Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts, in a speech of characteristic eloquence,
nominated Hon. Thomas B. Reed.
Hon. Chauncey M. Depew received a warm welcome as he made his way to
304 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
the platform to nominate Governor Levi P. Morton, of New York State, which
he did in his usual felicitous style of speech.
Then came the call of Ohio. Amid intense interest and expectation Gov-
ernor Foraker went to the platform, and when silence had been obtained he
said:
"Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention : It would be exceed-
ingly difficult, if not entirely impossible, to exaggerate the disagreeable situa-
tion of the last four years. The grand aggregate of the multitudinous bad'
results of a Democratic National Administration may be summed up as one
stupendous disaster. It has been a disaster, however, not without, at least,
this one redeeming feature — that it has been fair; nobody has escaped.
(Loud laughter.)
"It has fallen equally and alike on all sections of the country and on all
classes of our people ; the just and the unjust, the Republican and the Demo-
crat, the rich and the poor, the high and the low, have suffered in common.
Poverty and distress have overtaken business: shrunken values have dissi-
pated fortunes; deficiencies of revenue law have impoverished the Govern-
ment, while bond issues and bond syndicates have discredited and scandalized
the country.
"Over against that fearful penalty is, however, to be set down one great,
blessed compensatory result — is has destroyed the Democratic party. (Cheers
and laughter.) The proud columns which swept the country in triumph in
1892 are broken and hopeless in 1896. Their boasted principles when put to
the test have proved to be delusive fallacies, and their great leaders have
degenerated into warring chieftains of petty and irreconcilable factions. Their
approaching National Convention is but an approaching National nightmare.
No man pretends to be able to predict any good result to come from it. And
no man is seeking the nomination of that Convention except only the limited
few who have advertised their unfitness for any kind of a public trust by
proclaiming their willingness to stand on any sort of a platform tliat may bo
adopted. (Laughter.)
"The truth is, the party which would stand up under the odium of human
slavery, opposed to the war for the preservation of the Union, to emancipa-
tion, to enfranchisement, to reconstruction and to specie resumption, is at last
to be overmatched and undone by itself. It is writhing in the throes and
agonies of final dissolution. No human agency can prevent its absolute over-
throw at the next election, except only this Convention. If we make no
mistake here, the Democratic party will go out of power on the 4th day of
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. Ji05
March, 1897 (applause), to remain out of power until God, in His infinite
wisdom and mercy and goodness, shall see fit once more to chastise His people.
(Loud laughter and applause.)
"So far we have not made any mistake. We have adopted a platform
which, notwithstanding the scene witnessed in this hall this morning, meets
the demands and expectations of the American people.
"It remains for us now, as the last crowning act of our work, to meet
again that same expectation in the nomination of our candidates. What is
that expectation? What is it that the people want? They want as their
candidate something more than *a good business man' (an allusion to Mr.
Depew's characterization of Governor Morton). They want something more
than a popular leader. They want something more than a wise and patriotic
statesman. They want a man who embodies in himself not only all these
essential qualifications, but those, in addition, which, in the highest possible
degree, typify in name, in character, in record, in ambition, in purpose, the
exact opposite of all that is signified and represented by that free-trade,
deficit-making, bond-issuing, labor-assassinating, Democratic Administration.
(Cheers.) I stand here to present to this Convention such a man. His
name is William McKinley."
At this point pandemonium was let loose, and the Convention gave up to
unrestrained yelling, cheering, horn-blowing, whistling, cat-calling and all
the other devices common to such occasions. A number of red, white and
blue plumes, which (carefully wrapped up) had been brought into the Con-
vention earlier in the proceedings, weie uncovered and waved, while almost
every delegate seemed to be wildly gesticulating with either a fan or a flag
in the air. The band tried in vain to compete with the ear-splitting clamor,
but at last the strains of "Marching Through Georgia" caught the ears of
the crowd, and they joined in the chorus and gradually quieted down.
Then a portrait of McKinley was hoisted on a line with the United
States flag on the gallery facing the platform, and the cheering began over
again, to which the band responded by playing "Rally Round the Flag," the
Convention joining in the chorus.
After at least twelve minutes of this kind of proceeding the chair began
to rap for a restoration of order, but without avail.
Senator-elect Foraker stood during all this wild scene smiling his ap-
proval. Mr. Hepburn, of Iowa, had in the meantime been called to the
chair by Senacor Thurston, but just when he had nearly restored order, Mrs.
H. W. R. Strong, of California, who had presented the plumes in honor of
206 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
O'hio's choice, made her appearance on the floor, waving one of them, and
another uncontrollable outbreak of wholesale temporary insanity occurred.
During the interval of confusion, a three-quarter face, life-size sculptured
bust of McKinley was presented to Mr. Foraker by the Republican Club of
the University of Chicago. The portrait was in a maliogany frame, decorated
with red, white and blue ribbons, and with a bow of maroon-colored ribbons
Iforming the colors of the university. The portrait was the work of Harris
Hirsch, and was presented by Dr. Lisston H. Montgomery, of Chicago, with
a letter signed by H. L. Ickes, president of the club. It was accepted by
Senator-elect Foraker in dumb show.
After twenty-five minutes of incessant turmoil Mr. Foraker was allowed
to resume his speech.
He spoke of the great champions of Republicanism in the past, eulogizing
Mr. Blaine particularly, and continued :
"But, greatest of all, measured by present requirements, is the leader of the
House of Representatives, the author of the McKinley Bill, which gave to
labor its richest awards. No other name so completely meets the require-
ments of the occasion, and no other name so absolutely commands all hearts.
The shafts of envy and malice and slander and libel and detraction that have
been aimed at him lie broken and harmless at his feet. Tlie quiver is empty,
and he is untouched. Tliat is because the people know him, trust him,
believe him, and will not permit any human power to disparage him unjustly
in their estimation.
"They know that he is an American of Americans. They know that he is
just and able and brave, and they want him for President of the United
States. (Applause.) They have already shown it — not in this or that State,
nor in this or that section, but in all the States and in all the sections from
ocean to ocean, and from the Gulf to the Lakes. Tliey expect of you to
give them a chance to vote for him. It is our duty to do it. If we dis-
charge that duty we will give joy to their hearts, enthusiasm to their souls and
triumphant victory to our cause. (Applause.) And he, in turn, will give us
an administration under which the country will enter on a new era of pros-
perity at home and of glory and honor abroad, by all these tokens of the
present and all these promises of the future. In the name of the forty-six
delegates of Ohio, I submit his claim to your consideration." (]\Iore ap-
plause.)
The hifi^h-water mark of enthusiasm was reached when Senator Thurston
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 207
rose to second the nomination of McKinley, which he did in eloquent and
forceful words.
In the midst of cries of "vote," Governor Hastings placed in nomination
Matthew Stanley Quay, at the conclusion of which, amid a profound hush,
the Convention began balloting for a nominee for President of the United
States.
Alabama led off with i for Morton and 19 for McKinley, Arkansas and
California following with a solid vote for McKinley. Connecticut gave
5 for Reed and 7 for McKinley; Delaware, its full vote for McKinley;
Florida, 8 for McKinley; Georgia, 2 for Reed, 2 for Quay, and 22 for
McKinley.
When all of the States had been called, the chairman stated, before the
announcement of the result, that application had been made to him for recog-
nition by delegates of the defeated candidates to make a certain motion.
He thought it the fairest way to recognize them in the order in which the
nominations had been made. He then announced that William McKinley
had received 661^ votes.
Before the chairman could get any further, the enthusiasm of the Con-
vention broke all bounds. Every man was on his feet, shouting, hurrahing,
cheering, swinging hats and canes in the air, waving flags and banners and
the pampas plumes of California, while through the Niagara-like rush and roar
were caught the notes of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," as the band played
with might and main in its attempt to gain the mastery of the cyclone. The
women, if possible, were more frantic than the men. Parasols, fans, opera-
glasses, gloves — anything, everything — ^were compelled to help in the mag-
nificent burst of enthusiasm which swept over and submerged all alike, until
it looked as if order ccmld never again be evolved from the swirling pande-
monium.
One fancy caught on with wonderful effect. A young man on the plat-
form waved on the point of the national banner a laced cockec' hat, such as
appears in most of popular representations of the mighty Napoleon. This
symbol of enthusiasm was greeted with rapturous applause, to which the
booming of artillery on the outside contributed.
Finally, after a long, long time, the chairman gained a chance to com-
plete the announcement of the vote. It was : Thomas B. Reed, 84} ; Senator
Quay, 6i|; Levi P. Morton, 58; Senator Allison, 35^, and Don Cameron i.
The vote by States was as follows :
20^;
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
McKinley.
Maine
Maryland 15
Massachusetts i
Michigan 28
Minnesota 18
Mississippi 17
Missouri 34
*Montana i
Nebraska 16
Nevada 3
New Hampshire
New Jersey 19
New York 17
North Carolina 19^
North Dakota 6
Ohio 46
Oregon 8
Pennsylvania 6
Rhode Island
South Carolina 18
South Dakota 8
Tennessee 24
Texas 21
Utah 3
Vermont 8
Virginia 23
Washington ? . 8
Morton. Quay.
West Virginia 12
Wisconsin 24
Wyoming 6
Arizona 6
New Mexico 5
Oklahoma 4
Indian Territory 6
District of Columbia
Alaska 4
55
Reed.
12
1
29
Allison
8
I
zsl
Totals 661I 58 6ii 84^
♦Blank, 4, and one vote for Cameron from Montana.
Necessary for choice, 454. Total number of delegates present, 906.
Senator Lodge, rising in his delegation, in a forceful speech moved to
make the nomnation of Mr. McKinley unanimous. Mr. Hastings, of Perm-
FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 209
sylvania, who had nominated Quay, seconded the motion, as did Thomas C
Piatt on behalf of New York, Mr. Henderson, of Iowa, and J. Madison
Vance, of Louisiana. In answer to loud calls Mr. Dcpew mounted his chair
in the back of the room, where the rays of the sun beamed on his countenance,
which itself was beaming with good humor, and delivered a short and char-
acteristically humorous speech.
The chair then put the question, "Shall the nomination be made unani-
mous?" and by a rising vote it was so ordered, and the chair announced that
Mr. William McKinley of Ohio was the candidate of the Republican party
for President of the United States,
Tliis great step having been taken. Senator Lodge moved to proceed to
the nomination of a candidate for Vice-President; and, although the Con-
vention had been in continuous session for eight and a half hours, the motion
was carried, and at twenty minutes past six the roll of the States was called
for such nominations.
Mr. Fessenden nominated the Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley of Connecticut,
while Judge Franklin Fort of New Jersey placed the Hon. Garret A. Hobart
in nomination. Judge Fort concluded one of the most telling speeches with
. the following tribute to his nominee :
"His capabilities are such as would grace any position of honor in the
Nation. Not for himself, but for our State; not for his ambition, but to give
to the Nation the highest type of public official, do we come to this conven-
tion by the command of our State and in the name of the Republican party
of New Jersey unconquered and unconquerable, undivided and indivisible —
with one united voice speaking for all that counts for good citizenship in
our State, and nominate to you for the office of Vice-President of this
Republic, Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey."
Mr. Humphrey seconded the nomination of Mr. Hobart in the name of
the State of Illinois, Delegate Randolph of Tennessee nominated Henry
Clay Evans of that State, the nomination being seconded by colored Dele-
gate Smith of Kentuck}'-, who declared the Republican part}'- "the grandest
organization this side of eternity." Mr. I. C. Walker (colored) of Virginia,
put his fellow-delegate in nomination.
By the time the balloting reached South Dakota it was so evident that
Hobart was to be the fortunate one that many of the delegates began leaving
the hall. The result of the ballot as announced by the chair was : Hobart,
535i; Evans, 277^; Bulkeley, 39; Llppitt, 8; Walker, 24; Reed, 3; Thurs-
ton, 2; Frederick Grant, 2; Depew, 3; Morton, i ; absent, 2^.
210 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
Then at ten minutes to eight o'clock, the eleventh National Republican
Convention adjourned sine die.
Six hundred miles av^ay, in the State of Ohio, is the pleasant town of
Canton, the home of the nominee of the Republican party for the Presidency
of the United States. What an impressive illustration of the wonderful
studies in discovery it was, that William McKinley, during the tempestuous
scenes we have attempted to describe, sat in his library and heard the cheer-
ing, the shouts, the speeches and the whirlwind which accompanied his
nomination and kept as close track of the proceedings as if he were sitting
on the platform and looking into the sea of upturned faces ! Such was the
amazing fact, for the telephone tO' which his ear was turned reported every-
thing almost as faithfully as his own eyes and ears could have done, and he,
more than half a thousand miles distant, knew the result as soon as did the
excited delegates themselves.
During the stormy week of the Convention that is described in the pre-
ceding pages. Governor McKinley was sitting on the porch of his cottage
talking to a group of friends, when an old lady was seen approaching the
gate.
"That's my mother!" he exclaimed, springing to his feet and hurrying
down the walk to meet her. He gave her his arm and, bringing her to the
porch, introduced her to each in turn, saw that she was provided with the
most comfortable chair, and to none gave more loving attention than to her.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
Long before the National Convention of 1896 was held, the issues which
were to be paramount in the campaign had begun to crystallize. Throughout
the country there was a wail of distress growing out of the depression of
1893, and the people were thinking, thinking, as to the cause of the trouble
which oppressed them. No nation was ever better equipped to intelligently
discuss matters pertaining to its welfare than the United States at that
j>eriod. Theorists had conceived numerous remedies for the economic
depression, and right or wrong, had found many adherents.
The Republican National Convention had declared for the first time in
the history of the party in favor of establishing the financial system of the
country on a gold basis. Protection to American interests, w^hich had long
been a cherished principle of the party, also had its place in the platform. Tlie
Democrats, on the other hand, adopted a platform demanding the free coin-
age of silver at the ratio of 16 tO' i, and a tariff for revenue only.
As before stated, however, the issues had already been firmly fixed in the
public mind. The advocates of the free coinage of silver had been preach-
ing their doctrines for m.onths, and as their arguments were easily com-
prehended, the masses took to them with avidity. The cry was that the
Republicans intended to destroy silver except as a subsidiary coin, and make
gold the basic money of the country. It was asserted that there was not
gold enough in the world to provide a currency for the wants of trade, hence
the volume of money would be contracted, if the policy of the Republicans
prevailed. Prices of commodities, already extremely low, would fall lower,
because there would be less money for the people to purchase them with,
hence the distress would grow apace.
These arguments had been disseminated in a small book the writer of
which pretended to hold a "financial school," and to expound for the benefit
O'f the people, and for the benefit of capitalists especially, the true gospel of
finance. Millions of copies of this book had been sold, and people through-
out the length and breadth of the land were familiar with its arguments.
Those of opposite beliefs had not been asleep during this period. They had
213
13
214 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1S96.
formulated arguments in contradiction, and four or five books had been
written and printed tO' offset the influence of the silver campaign document.
The Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska, as their
standard bearer. Mr. Bryan was an ex-member of Congress, and prior to
the Convention had not been regarded as a prominent candidate for the Presi-
dency. He was young, and there were wheel-hoTses in the party to be
rewarded. "Silver Dick," as the Hon. Richard P. Bland, of Missouri, was
called, because of his long defence of silver in the House of Representatives
as a money metal, was one of the most formidable candidates, and Governor
Horace Boies, who had succeeded in winning the Republican State of Iowa
for the Democrats, also had a large following. Mr. Bryan came to the
Convention as a delegate, a pronounced champion of the silver theory, and a
representative of the producing classes of the country. He had already
achieved fame as an orator, and during the Convention he took the platform
and made a most brilliant speech in favor of the free coinage of silver. The
address sO' electrified the Convention that delegation after delegation voted
for Mr. Bryan when the balloting began, and before the roll call vv-as finished
it was seen that he was nominated.
Neither the Republican nor the Democratic party committed itself to the
money question without a serious fight within its own ranks. When the
Republicans declared against silver, an influential section of the delegates, led
by United States Senator Henry M. Teller, of Colorado, bolted the Con-
vention, and were, perforce, compelled to support Mr. Bryan as a Presidential
candidate. A faction of the Democratic party, led by Senator Hill, of New
York, refused absolutely to subscribe to the silver doctrine enumerated by their
party, and as a result the Gold Democrats nominated a ticket for President,
headed by United States Senator Palmer, of Illinois, and S. B. Buckner, of
Kentucky. Mr. Bryan was also the candidate of the Populistic party.
Following the nomination of Mr. Bryan began a campaign the like of
v/hich has perhaps never been seen in any country. It was full of spectacular
features, and there was more eloquence to the square inch than had ever
been known before. Everybody turned speech-maker, and few places were
regarded as too sacred, and few moments as improper, in which to discuss the
momentous cjuestions. On the streets, in railway cars, on steamboats, in.
hotels, stores, factories, and at the family board the great question was
threshed out. The excitement was intense. On both sides the people be-
lieved a crisis had arrived. The Republicans declared the election of Mr.
Bryan meant repudiation of obligations, ruin and national dishonor. The
THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. 215
Democrats retorted that there could be no repudiation in sticking to the money
of the Constitution and the argument was so apparently conclusive that the
Republicans became alarmed. It was found that the silver belief was fully
grounded — the people of the great West seemed impressed with the idea that
more money would make times better, and more money could easily be coined.
The Government had practically ceased under the Cleveland Administration
to purchase silver bullion. The mines of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New
Mexico, Montana, and other sections, could produce the metal in abundance,
and for the Government to coin it into money would produce the supply of
money necessary to relieve the stringency.
Such arguments appealed to those who felt the pinch of poverty, and the
Republicans found it necessary to send their best and most eloquent speakers
into the field, in order to counteract the influence of the silver advocates.
Printing presses throughout the land were set to work to print pamphlets
and tracts exploded the Democratic doctrine, and great discs of base metal
w'ere cast to show how much silver at the prevailing price would have to go
into a dollar, to make it the equivalent of a gold dollar.. The bullion value of
the silver in a dollar was at that time about 50 cents, and the object lesson had
its effect upon certain minds.
As indicative of the arguments used by the leading orators during the
campaign, the following examples are given :
Congressman Joseph C. Sibley, of Pennsylvania, one of the prominent
Eastern men who supported the doctrine of free coinage of silver, said in one
of his speeches:
"Silver is the only stable standard of values maintaining at all times its
parity wdth every article of production except gold. The ounce of silver,
degraded by infamous legislation from its normal mintage value of 1.2929
an ounce to about 60 cents, has kept its parity with the ton of pig iron, the
pound of nails, and all the products of oux- iron mills. The 01 nee of silver
has maintained its parity wdth the barrel of petroleum, with granite blocks,
with kiln-burnt bricks. With lumber growing scarcer year by year it still
keeps its parity. It is at parity with the ton of coal ; with the mower, reaper,
thresher, the grain drill, the hoe, and the spade. Silver at 1.2929 and beef
at 7 cents per pound in the farmer's field has kept its parity, and the
ounce of silver at 60 cents buys to-day beef at 2 cents per pound on foot. The
pound of cotton and the ounce of silver have never lost their level. No
surer has the sun indicated on the dial the hour of the day than has the
ounce of silver shown the value of the pound of cotton. As surely as the
216 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
moon has given high tide or low tide, just so surely has the ounce of silver
given the high and low tide prices of wheat. The ounce of silver has main-
tained its parity with your railway dividends, with the earnings in your shops
and factories, in all departments of effort.
"If parity with gold is demanded, and the Secretary of the Treasury con-
strues the law to mean whenever demanded to pay gold, then let us maintain
the parity by reducing the number of grains in the gold dollar from 23.22
grains pure gold to 15 grains, or to such number of grains as will keep it at
parity. While we may wrong by so doing the creditor class, through the
increased value of the products of human industry, we much remember that for
every one creditor there are a thousand debtors; and we should remember
that the aim of the Government is the greatest good tO' the greatest number,
and also the minimum amount of evil. But no such drastic measure is neces-
sary. Parity may be maintained and every declaration of governmental
policy fully met by accepting for all dues, public and private, including duties
upon Imports, silver and paper issues of the Nation of every description what-
soever.
"In all the gold-standard nations destitution and misery prevail. With
great standing armies in Europe outbreaks are not of frequent occurrence,
and yet one rarely peruses his paper without reading of these outbreaks. In
Nebraska and Kansas, the land of wheat and corn, we read of starving house-
holds; even in Ohio appeals are sent out for the relief of thousands of starv-
ing miners, and yet men have the temerity toi tell us that the evils arise from
overproduction.
"Men tell us that there is an overproduction of silver, and that its price had
diminished in comparison with gold because of its great relative increase.
Such statements are not only misleading, but absolutely false. Figures show
that in 1600 Vv^e produced 27 tons of silver to i ton of gold ; In 1700, 34 tons of
silver to i ton of gold; in 1800, 32 tons of silver to i ton of gold; in 1848, 31
tons of silver to i ton of gold; while in 1880 the production of silver had
declined until we produced 18 tons of silver to i ton of gold; and In 1890 but
18 tons of silver to i ton of gold; and that, instead of the ratio of coinage
being Increased above 16 to i, if relative production of the two metals is to
determine the ratio, then the ratio should have been diminished rather than
increased, and confirms the fact that merely the denial of mintage upon terms
of equality with gold Is responsible for all depreciation In the value of silver
bullion.
"All the silver in the world to-day can be put in a room 66 feet in each
THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. 217
dimension, and all the gold can be melted into a cube of 18 or 20 feet. There
are to-day less than twenty-five millions of bar silver in all Europe. Mr. St.
John, the eminent banker of New York, had stated that there was not over
five millions of silver that could be made available to- send to our mints.
Begin to coin silver to the full capacity of our mints, and we would have
to coin it for twenty years before giving to each inhabitant a per capita cir-
culation that France, the most prosperous nation in the world to-day, possesses.
"The struggle to-day is between the debtor and creditor classes. With
one-half the world's money of final account destroyed, the creditor can de-
mand twice as much of the products of your field, your shop, and your enter-
prise and labor for his dues. In this struggle between debtor and creditor
the latter has taken undue advantage and by legislation doubled and trebled
the volume of the debt. For example, suppose you had given a note to your
neighbor promising to pay, one year after date, 1,500 bushels of v^'heat. You
thresh the grain, measure it into the bin, and notify your creditor that the
wheat is at his disposal. He goes to the granary, sacks the wheat, and then
brings up your note and states, T have taken 500 bushels, which I have
endorsed on your note. I will call on you for the balance when next year's
crop is harvested.' You say, 'Why did you not take all the wheat and let me
make full payment ?' The note-holder answers, T did take all the wheat, and
there were only 500 bushels in the bin instead of 1,500.'
You fail to understand how that can be possible. You know that you
threshed out and measured into that bin 1,500 bushels of wheat. You go to
the granary and find that it is true. No wheat is there, but there appears to
be an enormous lot of wheat upon those wagons for 500 bushels, and you
ask the note-holder, 'Who measured this wheat? and let me see how you
measured it.' You see something in the form of a measure about as large as
a washtub, and you ask him what that is. He tells you that is the half-bushel
measure which he measured your wheat; but you reply, 'My dear sir, that
holds more than half a bushel ; that measure will hold 6 pecks.' He answers,
'Correct,, it does hold six pecks, but it now takes 12 pecks to make a bushel,
instead of four pecks. Together with other friends who had wheat coming to
us we went before the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures and
secured the passage of a legislative enactment, that it should require 12 pecks
instead of 4 pecks to make a bushel. We have secured this legislation for the
proper protection of the holders of wheat obligations, for our own security,
and for fear that we should become timid and lose confidence in your ability
to pay unless we changed the standard of measure.' But you reply, 'Sir, we
218 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896
who have obligations maturing, contracts long standing, have never asked
or consented to the enactment of such legislation. Our representatives in
Congress never permitted us to understand that any such legislation was
pending,' He replies, 'Sir, you might have knov/n it had you desired to do
so, or had you kept yourself as well posted in legislative affairs as do the
holders of obligations calling for products of the soil for payment. We have
our representatives in Congress. We reward them for their fidelity to our
interests ; we punish them for fidelity to yours.'
"This, in my judgment, is not a far-fetched illustration, but depicts the
exact condition against which production to-day protests. The debtor's
obligation, true, does not call for wheat in specific terms. It calls for dollars,
but by legislation we have made the dollar three times as large in purchasing
power or in measuring values as it was before. We talk about gold being
the only mioney of intrinsic value, and attempt to befog and mystify the masses
by telling them that it has intrinsic value, when its value is merely the artificial
product of legislation.
"Enact a law, to be rigidly enforced, providing that no meat of any kind,
whether 'fish, flesh or fowl,' except mutton, shall be used for food. What
will be the intrinsic value of your beef cattle, of your swine, your poultry, and
your fish to-morrow? The mutton-headed monometallists would tell you
that the great increase in the value of mutton was because of its intrinsic
worth. Let this Nation and the commercial nations of the globe enact a law
to-morrow, that neither cotton, nor silk, nor fabric should be used for cloth-
ing or covering, forbid the factories of the world to spin or weave aught but
wool, and what will be the intrinsic value of cotton or silk thereafter? Wool
will be king; its value will be enhanced, but cotton, hemp, and silk will be as
valueless as weeds or as gossamer webs.
" /Vith the mints open to free and unlimited coinage of both gold and
silver there has never been a moment when silver has not maintained its
j>arity with gold, and a ratio of 16 to i commanded a premium of more than
3 per cent over gold. And if, by some fortunate discoveries to-morrow, gold
should be found in great quantities sufficient to lessen the incom.e of the
annuitant, the bondholding, or the fixed-income class, there would arise a
demand for the demonetization of gold and the establishment of the pearl,
ruby, or diamond standard of values. Whatever standard can bring to
grasping hands and greedy hearts the most of the toil, the sweat, and unre-
quited efforts of his fellowman, this standard will be demanded by the repre-
THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. 219
sentatives of greed, and must be resisted by those who represent humanity and
Christianity."
United States Senator JuHus C. Burrows, of Michigan, in replying to free
coinage argument, said :
"Coin silver dollars at the ratio cf 16 to i or 20 to i and you have a dollar
intrinsically worth less than the gold dollar, and coin such a dollar as that —
permit the owners of silver bullion to bring to the mints of the United States,
and have manufactured into dollars, a certain number of grains, worth in
bullion much less than after they are coined, is a proposition to which I cannot
give my assent.
"But it has been stated and repeatedly asserted that the present silver
dollar is the 'dollar of the fathers.' That statement is not true. It is not
the 'dollars of the fathers,' and the fathers if living would repudiate such an
assumption as a reflection uix)n their integrity and sagacity. The silver dollar
of the fathers was intended to be and was in fact practically equal to the gold
dollar in intrinsic value.
"This contest for the free coinage of silver began in 1874, and it has been
prosecuted Vvuth unceasing vigor ever since. Why? Up to that time the
silver dollar was worth more, intrinsically, than the gold dollar, being worth
in 1873 $1.03 as compared with gold.
"Up to that time the, coinage of silver dollars in this country had been
very limited. One would think from the tenor of this discussion that all at
once a great outrage had been perpetrated upon silver, that it had been
stricken from our monetary system at a blow, by the force of law, when the
fact is that from 1793 to 1805, a period of twelve years, we coined but
1,439,517 silver dollars. From 1806 to 1836, a period of thirty years, we did
not coin a single silver dollar. From 1836 to 1873, a period of thirty-seven
years, we coined only 6,606,321 silver dollars. In eighty years we only
coined a total of 8,045,838 silver dollars. So long as silver remained more
valuable than gold there was no clamor for the free coinage of silver, but in
1878, when resumption was an assured fact, and the people had decreed
that they would keep faith with their creditors and pay their unredeemed
promises, then the champions of cheap money turned their attention to silver
finding it had declined in value from $1.03 in 1873 to $0.89 in 1878.
"The battle is now renewed under the plea of l)imetallism, and the advo-
cates of the free coinage of silver seek to delude the people by asserting that
they are in favor of bimetallism while its opponents are not. We have
bimetallism to-day.
220 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
"The free and unlimited coinage of silver at any of the ratios named
will destroy bimetallism and will reduce this country to a single standard,
that of silver, and that depreciated, and I am suspicious that for this very
reason some gentlemen are anxious for its triumph. The opening of the
mints of the United States to the unrestricted minting for individuals of
silver into legal dollars at any ratio to gold less than the commercial value
of both metals, under the pretense of aiding the cause of bimetallism or for
the purpose of establishing or maintaining bimetallism in the United States,
is simply playing upon the sentiment and credulity of the American people.
Mr. Bryan toured the country during the campaign, and spoke in all
sections of the country. He went into the eastern States, where the oppo-
nents of the free silver doctrine were strongest and made numerous speeches,
but did the most of his work in the South and West. His fame as an orator
drew thousands to hear him, and under the spell of his eloquence millions
were brought to believe with him. When the campaign was v/ell under way,
and the Republican leaders had in a measure checked the spread of the free
silver doctrine, they put forward again the doctrine of a protective tariff,
and declared it to be the real issue before the people, and its maintenance
necessary to the renewed prosperity of the nation.
During this stirring period the calm equipoise and splendid intellectuality
of Governor McKinley stood him in good stead. He kept to his modest
home in Canton, Ohio, and there received millions of people who called upon
liim. They came from all walks in life — manufacturers, business men, pro-
fessional men, teachers, mechanics and laborers — and to each delegation he
made an apt address, always broad-minded, always touching the peculiar
concerns of his hearers, and always breathing a high note of patriotism and
fidelity to principle. The speeches made by Governor McKinley on the lawn
at Canton during the memorable summer of j'896 rank him as one of the
most thoroughly informed men of his generation, and as possessing all the
elements of highest statecraft.
When election day came, McKinley was triumphant, receiving 7,061,142
votes, against 6,460,677 for Bryan. In the electoral college, Mr. McKinley
had 271 votes, and Mr. Bryan, 176.
CHAPTER XX.
THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
There were but very few Americans whose warmest sympathies did not
go out to the gallant Cuban patriots who for decades struggled to throw off
the galling yoke of one of the most tyrannical governments that ever held
despotic sway over a people or devastated their country. The several at-
tempts at revolution were pathetic beyond words and the war for independ-
ence that eventuated in American assistance that made Cuba free resembled
in many respects the sufTerings, hardships and sacrifices of our own fore-
fathers in the dark days of the Revolution.
The atrocious rule of Spain in America, when she once overshadowed all
the other nations, caused her colonies, one by one, to writhe from her grasp,
until Cuba, "The Queen of the Antilles," and Porto Rico were the only ones
of importance left.
Cuba is a very large island, being 720 miles long with an average width
of 60 miles and an area equal to more than one-half of all the other West
India Islands together. Being so near to the United States geographically
and of such close importance commercially and socially, a wide-spread feeling
had long existed in this Republic, and especially in the Gulf States that the
"Ever Faithful Isle" should be associated with this government as a part of
the Republic, but as there would have been no excuse for such annexation
under international law, without the consent of Spain, of course the matter
had never been officially considered.
Nevertheless Cuba became a favorite field for American filibusters, and
from 1849 to 1852 three such expeditions were made from this country,
incited by Narcisso Lopez, a South American adventurer, who led Governor
Dintman of Mississippi and other Southerners to believe that Cuba was ready
for revolt and annexation to the United States. All these expeditions failed
and Lopez was captured and executed by the Spanish authorities in Cuba.
Many pathetic and dramatic incidents marked these spasmodic attempts
at revolution, the death of W. L. Crittenden, son of the Attorney-General
of the United States, being one of the most striking of them. Crittenden
was a graduate of West Point and resigned a colonelcy in the army in 1851
that he might aid the Cubans in their struggle for liberty. He succeeded in
222 THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
landing on the island and was left with one hundred and fifty men to guard
the baggage and ammunition, while Lopez with a larger body of men
marched into the interior. Lopez was attacked before he had proceeded
further than a few miles, and, being compelled to surrender, his execution
followed quickly. An overwhelming assault was then made upon Crittenden
and his little force, but after offering the most desperate resistance Critten-
den was taken prisoner with all of the survivors of his band. They w^ere
taken to Havana, and condemned to death, without trial.
August 1 6, 1 85 1, an immense crowd gathered to witness the execution.
The prisoners were ordered to kneel, facing a stone w^all, and v/ith their
backs toward the soldiers a few paces away. When the command was given
to Crittenden he wheeled about, and, standing in an attitude of defiance,
said :
*'A Kentuckian never turns his back on an enemy, and kneels only to his
God!"
Thus refusing to obey the order, he was shot dead where he stood.
Other filibustering expeditions have since been made to Cuba, and
several times the people revolted against Spain, but in every instance she
crushed the rebellion with a bloody and merciless hand.
The insurrection of 1895 broke out in February, and the situation be-
came so critical that the home government authorized the Governor-General
to proclaim martial law. At the same time Jose Marti and General Maximo
Gomez arrived in the island. The former had been nominated by the revo-
lutionary junta to be head of the provisional government, v^hile Gomez was
to take chief command of the insurgent forces. There were two rallying
points for the insurgents, one in the province of Matanzas in the western
end, and the other in the province of Santiago in the eastern end.
At the beginning there w^as little organization among the rebels, but as
time passed, discipline came and the object of the patriots was clearly de-
fined. They had among them a number of skilled officers, who, like many
of the privates, had been active in former revolts, and were full of ardor for
the liberty of their native land.
One plan of the patriots was to establish free communication among
themselves, through every part of the island, and to press as near Havana,
the headquarters of the loyalists, as possible. The outlook for success was
more promising than ever before, and never was the enthusiasm among the
Cubans and their friends at so high a point. Money was liberally gathered
in Nev/ York, and from many of the leading cities of the United States,
THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD. 223
arms, ammunition, supplies, and brave men were shipped to Cuba, most of
them managing to elude the vigilance of the Spanish cruisers and to join
the insurgents, who, in early autumn, had an army numbering fully 30,000
in the field. This was in two divisions, the eastern commanded by General
Maceo, while the western, occupying the province of Puerto Principe, was
under General Gomez. The Spanish army was more than double in num-
bers, though the force available was about equal to that of the insurgents.
The Spanish troops were under the command of Marshal Martinez de
Campos, probably the ablest general in Spain. His plan was to march
eastward from riavana, clearing out the rebels as far as the province of
Santiago de Cuba; but insurmountable difiiculties interfered wuth his pur-
pose. The insurgents were familiar with the ground, v^'ere skilled in the
use of arms, thoroughly acclimated and abounding with patriotic ardor. The
Spanish soldiers were neither inured to the trying climate, nor familiar with
the rough country through which they had to fight their way.
Meanwhile, Spain v^'as in financial straits, but after a time secured a large
loan and announced its determination to crush the rebellion at whatever
cost of life and treasure. Reinforcements were sent to Cuba, and it was
plain that the home government would never loosen her grip upon the
throat of her last American possession until her hand was pried loose.
The Cubans appointed a permanent government in October and adopted
a constitution. The President was Salvador Cisnero, Vice-President, Barto-
lome Masso, with Carlos Roloft' secretary of w^ar, Maximo Gomez general
in-chief, and Antonio Maceo his lieutenant-general. In this new govern-
ment five of the six provinces were represented.
General Campos, being recalled by the home government, was suc-
ceeded by General Weyler, characterized as ''The Butcher," because of his
cruelty to prisoners.
Spain in 1896 took great offence at the pronounced friendship of the
American Congress to Cuba, which was indeed only a reflex of the feelings
of the nation. Many members of Congress, indeed, and millions of the
people of the country strongly favored interference on behalf of Cuba, with
the certainty of war with Spain, but the more conservative only favored the
granting of belligerent rights to the insurgents.
The increase of Spanish cruelties in the island and Spain's arrogant de-
mands upon the United States, became so offensive that in his message to
Congress December 6, 1897, President McKinley reviewed in detail the
Cuban situation and showed how he had on repeated occasions entered pro-
224 THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
tests against Spain's uncivilized methods of warfare against the Cuban itlr
surgents. Of the different lines of action open to the United States he
rejected recognition of the insurgents as belligerents, and recognition of
Cuban independence, and advocated that of intervention on the ground of
humanity.
On February 15, 1898, the United States Battleship Maine that had been
sent to Havana on a friendly mission, and at all events as a visitor from a
neutral power, was blown up in Havana harbor. Instantly the country was
ablaze and a just and true course for the administration became difficult.
House and Senate both proved impetuous and indulged in heated debates,
whose prevailing sentiment was speedy war with Spain, without waiting the
results of investigation by either the Navy Department or other commis-
sions.
President McKinley remained calm and retained hope of a peaceful set-
tlement. He was chided by the hot-headed of both parties. It became plain
that Congress was bent upon some radical step, and the President took
occasion again, April 11, to review the entire Spanish and Cuban situation
in a special and deliberate message, and to state that he had now exhausted
every obligation imposed on him by the constitution to relieve an intolerable
condition of affairs. He therefore left the issue with Congress, with the
request that it authorize him to intervene for the purpose of stopping the
war in Cuba and securing a stable government for the island by the use of
the military and naval forces of the United States.
On April 19 Congress, after exciting debates, passed a joint resolution
demanding that Spain relinquish at once her authority in Cuba and withdraw
her land and naval forces, and that the President of the United States be
empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and
to call on the militia of the several states to carry the resolution into effect.
On the next day the Spanish minister at Washington demanded his pass-
ports, and Spain declared diplomatic relations with the United States ended.
A state of war existed, and Sampson's fleet was ordered to blockade Cuban
ports.
President McKinley threw into the war all his personal experience as a
soldier, all his energy as a statesman, and all the power and influence of his
administration, which last he had so deliberately and happily conducted as
to leave it and the country free from the charge of seeking war in a hasty
spirit and through selfish aims. It was an unsought war, one rendered neces-
sary only after every honorable means to avert it had been exhausted one
THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD. 225
whose existence was justified by every humanitarian principle. But it was
nevertheless one to be fought in earnest and to the nation's glory. So it
was fought. Tlie country and Congress reposed the utmost confidence in
the President. He had acted wisely in every preliminary step. He had
disarmed fear of intervention by foreign powers. Congress voted him fifty
millions of dollars to meet preliminary and extraordinary expenses, and on
April 23 he called for 125,000 volunteers. The complement was quickly
filled, and on May 25 he called for 75,000 additional men. The response
was immediate. Transports were provided for the invasion of Cuba, the
navy was strengthened by additional ships and Commodore Dewey, in com-
mand of the naval squadron at Hongkong was ordered to strike the Span-
iards at Manila, and on May i occurred the great battle there which resulted
in the destruction of the Spanish fleet, and the events that followed to give to
the United States the group of islands, known as the Philippines that are
so opulent in resource as to be of great commercial value, as well as strategic.
These events are matters of history familiar to all readers, or readily avail-
able in the records of the war.
Thus from April 19, when a state of war was recognized, to August 12,
when the protocol was signed, wdthin a period of 115 days, the United States
had swept from Spain her island possessions in both the West and East
Indies, destroyed her effective fleets and humbled her in the eyes of nations.
Victory was as complete as the war had been brief and brilliant. Congress
and the country had stood by the administration as it had stood by them.
As executive of the nation and Commander-in-Chief of its forces, Presi-
dent McKinley had achieved for his country a new place among the powers,
and his directing hand was more than ever needed to guide her through the
intricate paths of responsibility entailed by signal victory. And, let it be
remembered in this connection, that the multitudinous problems of conquest
were of a kind wholly within his keeping until Congress could act upon them.
As head of the military he alone was responsible for that provisional rule of
ceded territory which its holding, its peace, or its disposition under treaty
terms required.
In all that affair of the Spanish war President McKinley stood a watch-
tower and bulwark, a light and a safeguard. His sense of right and justice
prevented heedless and harmful complications. His wisdom and patriotism
placed the Republic in equity before the nations. His sagacious statesman-
ship attained the proper war footing when war was inevitable; his soldier
experience and general knowledge of war made of him a successful com-
226 THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
mander-in-cliief. His humanity and fairness, the honor and manhood that
were his, gave him breadth and the country credit in the clearing up of the
situation.
Never until that hour when President McKinley, commissioned by his
country and blest by his God, issued the RepubHc's mandate to a king, had
the United States of America for one hour ventured to take part in the affairs
of nations. . Singularly strong, admittedly brave and progressive, confessedly
full of the vigor drawn from the best blood in all nations, it had never asked
for place beside them, nor joined in their age-old contendings for spoil. And
oiever in the century and a quarter of our national life had the kings and
emperors of Europe given more than a good-humored credence to the
theory that the American Republic was a nation. It was no small matter
to so wisely choose the time, so judiciously select the occasion as that
America's entrance into the affairs of the world should meet no united oppo-
sition in the conservative courts of the continent. A day too soon or a day
too late, a warrant less adequate or a reason more impelling, would have
arrayed the world against the Republic, and launched a nation of peace upon
a limitless era of war.
But the master hand of this Chief Executive saw the instant under the
shadow of the Spanish war-cloud when advance might be sounded; and
that moment, well empJoyed, lifted the Republic to the crest of the world,
widened her borders and enriched her people, and made substantial peace
a certainty.
He proved himself a prophet and statesman in peace, a soldier and leader
in war, equally strong in all situations.
Able, fair, fearless, successful was his record in this — as in all things.
CHAPTER XXI.
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
In all that has been written of the Spanish war and the way in which
it was conducted by President McKinley's administration, no history can
give such a clear and complete account of it as was written by the President
himself. President McKinley's own history of the Spanish war is con-
tained in an official message to Congress sent by him after the war had
been brought to such a successful close. It is as follows:
For a righteous cause and under a common flag military service has
strengthened the national spirit and served to cement more closely than
ever the fraternal bonds between every section of the country.
In my annual message very full consideration was given to the question
of the duty of the Government of the United States toward Spain and the
Cuban insurrection as being by far the most important problem with which
we were then called upon to deal. The considerations then advanced, and
the exposition of the views then expressed, disclosed my sense of the extreme
gravity of the situation.
Setting aside, as logically unfounded or practically inadmissible, the
recognition of the Cuban insurgents as belligerents, the recognition of the
independence of Cuba, neutral intervention to end the war by imposing a
rational compromise between the contestants, intervention in favor of one or
the other party, and forcible annexation of the islands, I concluded it was
honestly due to our friendly relations with Spain that she should be given
a reasonable chance to realize her expectations of reform, to which she
had become irrevocably committed. Within a few weeks previously she had
announced comprehensive plans, which it was confidently asserted would
be efiicacious to remedy the evils so deeply affecting our own country, so
injurious to the true interests of the mother country as well as to these of
Cuba, and so repugnant to the universal sentiment of humanity.
The ensuing month brought little sign of real progress toward the pacifi-
cation of Cuba. The autonomous administration set up in the capital and
some of the principal cities appeared not to gain the favor of the inhabitants
nor to be able to extend their influence to the large extent of territory held
by the insurgents, while the military arm, obviously unable to cope with
227
328 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
the still active rebellion, continued many of the most objectionable and
offensive policies of the government that had preceded it.
No tangible relief was afforded the vast numbers of unhappy recon-
centrados, despite the reiterated professions made in that regard and the
amount appropriated by Spain to that end. The proffered expedient of
zones of cultivation proved illusory. Indeed, no less practical nor more
delusive promises of succor could well have been tendered to the exhausted
and destitute people, stripped of all that made life and home dear and
herded in a strange region among unsympathetic strangers hardly less
necessitous than themselves.
By the end of December the mortality among them had frightfully in-
creased. Conservative estimates from Spanish sources placed the deaths
among these distressed people at over 40 per cent, from the time General
Weyler's decree of reconcentration was enforced. With the acquiescence
of the Spanish authorities a scheme vv^-as adopted for relief by charitable
contributions raised in this country and distributed, under the direction of
the Consul General and the several Consuls, by noble and earnest individual
effort through the organized agencies of the American Red Cross. Thou-
sands of lives were thus saved, but many thousands more were inaccessible
to such forms of aid.
The war continued on the old footing, without comprehensive plan, de-
veloping only the same spasmodic encounters, barren of strategic result,
that had marked the course of the earlier Ten Years' rebellion as well as
the present insurrection from its start. No alternative save physical exhaus-
tion of either combatant, and therewithal the practical ruin of the island,
lay in sight, but how far distant no one could venture to conjecture.
DESTRUCTION OF THE MAINE.
At this juncture, on the 15th of February last, occurred the destruction
of the battleship Maine, while rightfully lying in the Harbor of Havana on a
mission of international courtesy and good will — a catastrophe the suspi-
cious nature and horror of which stirred the nation's heart profoundly.
It is a striking evidence of the poise and sturdy good sense distinguishing
our national character that this shocking blow, falling upon a generous
people, already deeply touched by preceding events in Cuba, did not move
them to an instant, desperate resolve to tolerate no longer the existence
of a condition of danger and disorder at our doors that made possible such
14
o
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 231
a deed by whomsoever wrought. Yet the instinct of justice prevailed and
the nation anxiously awaited the result of the searching investigation at
once set on foot.
The finding of the naval board of inquiry established that the origin of
the explosion was external by a submarine mine, and only halted through
lack of positive testimony to fix the responsibility of its authorship.
All these things carried conviction to the most thoughtful, even before
the finding of the naval court, that a crisis in our relations with Spain and
toward Cuba was at hand. So strong was this belief that it needed but a
brief executive suggestion to the Congress to receive immediate answer to
the duty of making instant provision for the possible and perhaps speedy
probable emergency of war, and the remarkable, almost unique, spectacle
was presented of a unanimous vote of both houses on the 9th of March,
appropriating $50,000,000 for the national defense and for each and every
purpose connected therewith, to be expended at the direction of the Presi-
dent.
That this act of provision came none too soon was disclosed when the
application of the fund was undertaken. Our forts were practically unde-
fended. Our navy needed large provision for increased ammunition and
supplies and even numbers to cope with any sudden attack from the navy
of Spain, which comprised vessels of the highest type of continental perfec-
tion. Our army also required enlargement of men and munitions.
The details of the hurried preparation for the dreaded contingency are
told in the reports of the Secretaries of War and of the Navy, and need not
be repeated here. It is sufficient to say that the outbreak of war, when it
did come, found our nation not unprepared to meet the conflict.
Nor was the apprehension of coming strife confined to our own country.
It was felt by the Continental powers, which, on April 6, through their
Ambassadors and Envoys, addressed to the Executive an expression of hope
that humanity and moderation might mark tlTe course of this government
and people, and that further negotiations would lead to an agreement
which, while securing the maintenance of peace, would affirm all necessary
guarantees for the re-establishment of order in Cuba.
In responding to that representation I also shared the hope that the
Envoys had expressed that peace might be preserved in a manner to ter-
minate the chronic condition of disturbance in Cuba so injurious and menac-
ing to our interests and tranquillity, as well as shocking to our sentiments
of humanity; and, while appreciating the humanitarian and disinterested
14'
232 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
character of the communication they had made on behalf of the powers,
I stated the confidence of this government, for its part, that equal appre-
ciation would be shown for its own earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfill
a duty to humanity by ending a situation the indefinite prolongation of
which had become insufferable.
VAIN EFFORTS TO AVERT WAR.
Still animated by the hope of a peaceful solution and obeying the dic-
tates of duty, no effort was relaxed to bring about a speedy ending of the
Cuban struggle. Negotiations to this object continued actively with the
Government of Spain, looking to the immediate conclusion of a six months'
armistice in Cuba with a view to effecting the recognition of her people's
rights to independence. Besides this, the instant revocation of the order of
reconcentration was asked, so that the sufferers, returning to their homes
and aided by united American and Spanish effort, might be put in a way to
support themselves and, by orderly resumption of the well-nigh destroyed
productive energies of the island, contribute to the restoration of its tran-
quillity and well being.
Negotiations continued for some little time at Madrid, resulting in oft'ers
by the Spanish Government which could not but be regarded as inadequate.
It was proposed to confide the preparation of peace to the insular parlia-
ment, yet to be convened under the autonomous decrees of November,
1897, but without impairment in any wise to the constitutional powers of
the Madrid government, which, to that end, would grant an armistice, if
solicited by the insurgents, for such time as the General-in-Chief might
see fit to fix.
How and with what scope of discretionary powers the insular parlia-
ment was expected to set about the "preparation" of peace did not appear.
If it were to be by negotiation with the insurgents, the issue seemed to rest
on the one side with a body chosen by a fraction of the electors in the dis-
tricts under Spanish control and on the other with the insurgent population
holding the interior country, unrepresented in the so-called parliament, and
defiant at the suggestion of suing for peace.
Grieved and disappointed at this barren outcome of m.y sincere endeavors
to reach a practicable solution, I felt it my duty to remit the whole question
to the Congress. In the message of April i, 1898, I announced that with
this last overture in the direction of immediate peace in Cuba, and its dis-
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 233
appointing- reception by Spain, the effort of the Executive was brought to
an end.
I again reviewed the alternative course of action which I had proposed,
concluding that the only one consonant with international policy and com-
patible with our firm-set historical traditions was intervention as a neutral
to stop the war and check the hopeless sacrifice of life, even though that
resort involved "hostile constraint upon both the parties to the contest, as
well to enforce a truce as to guide the eventual settlement."
The grounds justifying that step were: The interests of humanity, the
duty to protect life and property of our citizens in Cuba, the right to check
injury to our commerce and people through the devastation of the island,
and, most important, the need of removing at once and forever the constant
menace and the burdens entailed upon our government by the uncertain-
ties and perils of the situation caused by the unendurable disturbance in
Cuba. I said:
"The long trial has proved that the object for which Spain has waged
the war cannot be attained. The fire of insurrection may flame or may
smoulder with varying seasons, but it has not been, and it is plain that Ii
cannot be, extinguished by present methods. The only hope of relief and
repose from a condition which can no longer be endured is the enforced
pacification of Cuba. In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization,
in behalf of endangered American interests, which give us the right and the
duty to speak, the existing" war in Cuba must stop."
In view of all- this the Congress was asked to authorize and empower
the President to take measures to secure a full and final termination of
hostilities between Spain and the people of Cuba and to secure in the island
the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and
observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity, and
the security of its citizens as well as our own, and for the accomplishment
of those ends to use the military and naval forces of the United States as
might be necessary, with added authority to continue generous relief to the
starving" people of Cuba.
DECISIVE ACTION BY CONGRESS.
The response of the Congress, after nine days of earnest deliberation,
during which the almost unanimous sentiment of that body was developed
on every point save as to the expediency of coupling the proposed action
234 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
with a formal recognition of the republic of Cuba as the true and lawful
government of that island — a proposition which failed of adoption — the
Congress, after conference, on the 19th of April, by a vote of 42 to 35 in
the Senate and 311 to 6 in the House of Representativ.es, passed the memo-
rable joint resolution, declaring:
**i. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, and of right ought to
be, free and independent.
"2. That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the Gov-
ernment of the United States does hereby demand, that the Government of
Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba,
and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters.
"3. That the President of the United States be and he hereby is directed
and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States,
and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the
several States to such extent as may be necessary, to carry these resolutions
into effect.
"4. That the United States hereby disclaim.s any disposition or inten-
tion to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except
for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accom-
plished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people."
This resolution was approved by the Executive on the next day, April 20.
A copy was at once communicated to the Spanish Minister at this capital,
who forthwith announced that his continuance in Washington had thereby
become impossible, and asked for his passports, which were given him. Ke
thereupon withdrew from Washington, leaving the protection of Spanish
interests in the United States to the French Ambassador and the Austro-
Hungarian Minister.
Simultaneously with its communication to the Spanish Minister, Gen-
eral Woodford, the American Minister at Madrid, was telegraphed con-
firmation of the text of the joint resolution, and directed to communicate
it to the Government of Spain, with the formal demand that it at once
relinquish its authority and government in the Island of Cuba, and with-
draw its forces therefrom, coupling this demand with announcements of the
intentions of this government as to the future of the island, in conformity
with the fourth clause of the resolution, and giving Spain until noon of
April 23d to reply.
The demand, although, as above shown, officially made known to the
Spanish Envoy here, was not delivered at Madrid. After the instruction
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
235
reached General Woodford on the morning of April 21st, but before he
could present it, the Spanish Minister of State notified him that upon the
President's approval of the joint resolution the 'Madrid Government, re-
o-arding the act as "equivalent to an evident declaration of war," had ordered
Tts Minister in Washington to withdraw, thereby breaking off diplomatic
relations between the two countries, and ceasing all official communication
between their respective representatives. General Woodford thereupon
demanded his passports and quitted Madrid the same day.
FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR.
Spain having thus denied the demand of the United States and initiated
that complete form of rupture of relations which attends a state of war, the
executive powers authorized by the resolution were at once "5^^ ^y nie to
meet the enlarged contingency of actual war between Spam and the Umted
States
On April 22d I proclaimed a blockade of the northern coast of Cuba,
including ports on said coast between Cardenas and Bahia Honda, and the
port of Cienfuegos on the south coast of Cuba, and on the 23d I called for
volunteers to execute the purpose of the resolution. _
By my message of April 25th the Congress was informed of the situation,
and I recommended formal declaration of the existence of a state of war
between the United States and Spain. The Congress accordmgly voted
on the same day the act approved April 25, 1898, declaring the existence
of such war, from and including the 21st day of April and re-enacted the
provisions of the resolution of April 20th, directing the President to use
all the armed forces of the nation to carry that act into eftect. ^
Due notification of the existence of war as aforesaid was given Apn
2^th by telegraph to all the governments with which the United States
maintafn relations, in order that their neutrality might be assured during
*^^ The* various governments responded with proclamations of neutrality
each after its own methods. It is not among the least grati ying "^^^^ents of
the struggle that the obligations of neutrality were impartially discharged by
all, often under delicate and difficult circumstances.
In further fulfillment of international duty, I issued, April -6th ^P^^^^^^^^
mation announcing the treatment proposed to be/ccord d to ves ds
their cargoes as to blockades, contraband, the exercise of the right of subjects
236 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
and the immunity of neutral flags and neutral goods under the enemy's flag.
A similar proclamation was made by the Spanish government. In the con-
duct of hostihties the rules of the declaration of Paris, including abstention
from resort to privateering, have accordingly been observed by both belliger-
ents, although neither was a party to that declaration.
RECRUITING OF ARMY AND NAVY.
Our country thus, after an interval of half a century of peace with all
nations, found itself engaged in deadly conflict with a foreign enemy. Every
nerve was strained to meet the emergency.
The response to the initial call for 125,000 volunteers was instant and
complete, as was also the result of the second call of May 25th for 75,000
additional vplunteers. The ranks of the regular army were increased to the
limits provided by the act of April 26th.
The enlisted force of the navy on the 15th of August, when it reached its
maximum, numbered 24,123 men and apprentices. One hundred and three
vessels were added to the navy by purchase, one was presented to the gov-
ernment, one leased and the four vessels of the International Navigation
Company — the St. Paul, St. Louis, New York and Paris — were chartered.
In addition to these the revenue cutters and lighthouse tenders were turned
over to the Navy Department and became temporarily a part of the auxiliary
navy.
The maximum effective fighting force of the navy during the war, sep-
arated into classes, was as follows:
Regular — Four battleships of the first class, one battleship of the second
class, two armored cruisers, six coast defense monitors, one armored ram,
twelve protected cruisers, three unprotected cruisers, eighteen gunboats, one
dynamite cruiser, eleven torpedo boats, fourteen old vessels of the old navy,
including monitors.
Auxiliary Navy — Sixteen auxiliary cruisers, twenty-eight converted
yachts, twenty-seven converted tugs, nineteen converted colliers, fifteen rev-
enue cutters, four lighthouse tenders and nineteen miscellaneous vessels.
Much alarm was felt along our entire Atlantic seaboard lest some attack
might be made by the enemy. Every precaution was taken to prevent possi-
ble injury to our great cities lying along the coast. Temporary garrisons
were provided, drawn from the State militia. Infantry and light batteries
were drawn from the volunteer force. About 12,000 troops were thus em-
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 237
ployed. The coast signal service was established for observing the approach
of an enemy's ships to the coast of the United States, and the life-saving and
lighthouse services co-operated, which enabled the Navy Department to have
all portions of the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Texas, under observation.
The auxiliary navy was created under the authority of Congress and was
officered and manned by the naval militia of the several States. This organi-
zation patrolled the coast and performed the duty of a second arm of de-
fense.
Under the direction of the chief of engineers submarine mines were
placed at the most exposed points. Before the outbreak of the war permanent
mining casements and cable galleries had been constructed at all important
harbors. Most of the torpedo material was not to be found in the market and
had to be specially manufactured. Under date of April 19th district officers
Avere directed to take all preliminary measures, short of the actual attaching
of the loaded mines to the cables, and on April 22d telegraphic orders were
issued to place the loaded mines in position.
The aggregate number of mines placed was 1,535 ^^ ^^e principal harbors
from Maine to California. Preparations were also made for the planting of
mines at certain other harbors, but owing to the early destruction of the
Spanish fleet these mines were not placed.
The signal corps was promptly organized and performed service of most
difficult and important character. Its operations during the war covered the
electrical connection of all coast fortifications and the establishment of tele-
phonic and telegraphic facilities for the camps at Manila, Santiago and in
Porto Rico.
There were constructed 300 miles of line at ten great camps, thus facili-
tating military movements from those points in a manner heretofore un-
known in military administration. Field telegraph lines were established
and maintained under the enemy's lire at Manila, and later the Manila-Hong-
kong cable was reopened. In Porto Rico cable communication.; were opened
over a discontinued route, and on land the headquarters of the commanding
officer were kept in telegraphic or telephonic communication with the divi-
sion commanders of four different lines of operation.
There was placed in Cuban waters a completely outfitted cable ship, with
war cables and cable gear suitable both for the destruction of communica-
tions belonging to the enemy and the establishment of our own. Two ocean
cables were destroyed under the enemy's batteries at Santiago. Tlie day pre-
vious to the landing of General Shafter's corps at Caimanera, within twenty
238 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
miles of the landing place, cable communications were established and cable
stations opened, giving direct communication with the Government at Wash-
ington. This service was invaluable to the Executive in directing the opera-
tions of the army and navy.
With a total force of over 1,300 the loss was by disease ctnd field, officers
and men included, only five.
PATRIOTISM IN BOND BIDS.
The national defense under the $50,000,000 fund was expended in large
part by the army and navy, and the objects for which it was used are fully
shown in the reports of the several Secretaries. It was a most timely appro-
priation, enabling the government to strengthen its defense and making
preparations greatly needed in case of war.
This fund being inadequate to the requirements of equipment and for the
conduct of the war, the patriotism of the Congress provided the means in the
war revenue act of June 13th, by authorizing a 3 per cent popular loan, not to
exceed $400,000,000, and by levying additional imposts and taxes. Of the
authorized loan, $200,000,000 were offered and promptly taken, the subscrip-
tions so far exceeding the call as to cover it many times over, while, prefer-
ence being given to the smaller bids, no single allotment exceeded $5,000.
This was a most encouraging and significant result, showing the vast
resources of the nation and the determination of the people to uphold their
country's honor.
DEWEY'S HISTORIC VICTORY.
The first encounter of the war in point of date took place April 27th, when
a detachment of the blockading squadron made a reconnaissance in force at
Matanzas, shelled the harbor forts and demolished several new works in con-
struction.
The next engagement was destined to mark a memorable epoch in mari-
time warfare. The Pacific fleet, under Commodore Dewey, had lain for
some weeks at Hongkong. Upon the colonial proclamation of neutrality
being issued and the customary twenty-four hours' notice being given, it re-
paired to Mirs Bay, near Hongkong, whence it proceeded to the Philippine
Islands under telegraphed orders to capture or destroy the formidable Span-
ish fleet then assembled at Manila.
At daybreak on the 1st of May the American force entered Manila Bay,
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 239
and after a few hours' engagement effected the total destruction of the
Spanish lleet, consisting of ten warships and a transport, besides capturing
the naval station and forts at Cavite, thus annihilating the Spanish naval
power in the Pacific Ocean and completely controlling the Bay of Manila,
with the ability to take the city at will. Not a life was lost on our ships, the
wounded only numbering seven, while not a vessel was materially injured.
For this gallant achievement the Congress, upon my recommendation,
fitly bestowed upon the actors preferment and substantial reward.
The efifect of this remarkable victory upon the spirit of our people and
upon the fortunes of the war was instant. A prestige of invincibility thereby
attached to our arms, which continued throughout the struggle. Re-enforce-
ments were hurried to Manila under the command of Major-General Merritt
and firmly established within sight of the capital, which lay helpless before
our g'uns.
On the 7th day of May the government w^as advised officially of the vic-
tory at Manila, and at once inquired of the commander of our fleet what
troops would be required. The information w-as received on the 15th day of
May, and the first army expedition sailed May 25th and arrived ofif Manila
June 30. Other expeditions soon followed, the total force consisting of 641
officers and 15,058 men.
Only reluctance to cause needless loss of life and property prevented the
early storming and capture of the city, and therewith the absolute military
occupancy of the whole group. The insurgents meanwhile had resumed the
active hostilities suspended by the uncompleted truce of December, 1897.
Their forces invested Manila from the northern and eastern side, but were
constrained by Admiral Dewey and General Merritt from attempting an as-
sault.
It was fitting that whatever was to be done in the way of decisive opera-
tions in that quarter should be accomplished by the strong arm of the United
States alone. Obeying the stern precept of war, which enjoins the over-
coming of the adversary and the extinction of his powder wherever assailable
as the speedy and sure means to win a peace, divided victory was not per-
missible, for no partition of the rights and responsibilities attending the en-
forcement of a just and advantageous peace could be thought of.
CAMPAIGN IN CUBA REVIEWED.
Following the comprehensive scheme of general attack, powerful forces
were assembled at various points on our coast to invade Cuba and Porto
240 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
Rico. Meanwhile naval demonstrations were made at several exposed
points. On May nth the cruiser Wilmington and torpedo boat Winslow
were unsuccessful in an attempt to silence the batteries at Cardenas, against
Matanzas, Worth Bagley and four seamen falling.
These grievous fatalities were, strangely enough, among the very few
which occurred during our naval operations in this extraordinary conflict.
Meanwhile the Spanish naval preparations had been pushed with great
vigor. A powerful squadron under Admiral Cervera, which had assembled
at the Cape Verde Islands before the outbreak of hostilities, had crossed the
ocean, and by its erratic movements in the Caribbean Sea delayed our mili-
tary operations while baffling the pursuit of our fleets. For a time fears
were felt lest the Oregon and Marietta, then nearing home after their long
voyage frolm San Francisco of over 15,000 miles, might be surprised by Ad-
miral Cervera's fleet, but their fortunate arrival dispelled these apprehen-
sions and lent much needed re-enforcement.
Not until Admiral Cervera took refuge in the Harbor of Santiago de
Cuba about May 9th was it practicable to plan a systematic military attack
upon the Antillean possessions of Spain. Several demonstrations occurred
on the coasts of Cuba and Porto Rico in preparation for the larger event.
On May 13th the North Atlantic squadron shelled San Juan de Porto Rico.
On May 30th Commodore Schley's squadron bombarded the forts guard-
ing the mouth of Santiago Harbor. Neither attack had any material re-
sult. It was evident that well-ordered land operations were indispensable to
achieve a decisive advantage.
The next act in the war thrilled not alone the hearts of our countrymen
but the world by its exceptional heroism.
On the night of June 3d Lieutenant Hobson, aided by seven devoted
volunteers, blocked the narrow outlet from Santiago Harbor by sinking the
collier Merrimac in the channel, under a fierce fire from the shore batteries,
escaping with their lives as by a miracle, but falling into the hands of the
Spaniards.
It is a most gratifying incident of the war that the bravery of this little
band of heroes w^as cordially appreciated by the Spaniards, who sent a flag
of truce to notify Admiral Sampson of their safety and to compliment them
upon their daring act. They were subsequently exchanged July 7th.
By June 7th the cutting of the last Cuban cable isolated the island.
Thereafter the invasion was vigorously prosecuted. On June loth, under
a heavy protecting fire, a landing of 600 marines from the Oregon, Marble-
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 241
head and Yankee was effected in Guantanamo Bay, where it had been deter-
mined to establish a naval station. This important and essential port was
taken from the enemy after severe fighting by the marines, who were the
first organized force of the United States to land in Cuba. The position
so won was held despite desperate attempts to dislodge our forces.
By June iGth additional forces were landed and strongly intrenched.
On June 22d the advance of the invading army under Major-General Shafter
landed at Baiquiri, about fifteen miles east of Santiago. Tliis was accom-
plished under great difficulties, but with marvelous dispatch. On June 23d
the movement against Santiago was begun.
On the 24th the first serious engagement took place, in which the First
and Tenth Cavalry and the First United States Volunteer Cavalry, General
Young's brigade of General Wheeler's division, participated, losing heavily.
By nightfall, however, ground within five miles of Santiago was won.
The advantage was steadily increased. On July ist a severe battle took
place, our forces gaining the outworks of Santiago. On the 2d El Caney
and San Juan w^ere taken after a desperate charge, and the investment of
the city was completed. The navy co-operated by shelling the town and
the coast forts.
DESTRUCTION OF THE ARMADA.
On the day following this brilliant achievement of our land forces, July
3d, occurred the decisive naval combat of the war. The Spanish fleet,
attempting to leave the harbor, was met by the American squadron under
command of Commodore Sampson. In less than three hours all the Span-
ish ships were destroyed, the two torpedo boats being sunk, and the Maria
Teresa, Almirante Oquencio, Vizcaya and Cristobal Colon driven ashore.
The Spanish Admiral and over 1,300 men were taken prisoners, while the
enemy's loss of life was deplorably large, some 600 perishing.
On our side but one man w^as killed, on the Brooklyn, and one man
seriously wounded. Although our ships were repeatedly struck, not one
was seriously injured.
Where all so conspicuously distinguished themselves, from the com-
manders to the gunners and the unnamed heroes in the boiler-rooms, each
and all contributing toward the achievement of this astounding victory, for
Vv'hich neither ancient nor modern history affords a parallel in the com-
pleteness of the event and the man^elous disproportion of casualties it
would be invidious to single out any for especial honor.
248 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
Deserved promotion has rewarded the more conspicuous actors — the
nation's profoundest gratitude is due tO' all of those brave men who by their
skill and devotion in a few short hours crushed the sea power of Spain and
wrought a triumph whose decisiveness and far-reaching consequences can
scarcely be measured. Nor can we be unmindful of the achievements of
our builders, mechanics and artisans for their skill in the construction of
our warships.
With the catastrophe of Santiago Spain's effort upon the ocean virtually
ceased. A spasmodic effort toward the end of June to send her Mediter-
ranean fleet under Admiral Camara to relieve Manila was abandoned, the
expedition being recalled after it had passed through the Suez Canal.
The capitulation of Santiago followed. The city was closely besieged by
land, while the entrance of our ships into the harbor cut off all relief on that
side. After a truce to allow of the removal of non-combatants protracted
negotiations continued from July 3d to July 15th, when, under menace of
immediate assault, the preliminaries of surrender were agreed upon. On the
17th General Shafter occupied the city.
The capitulation embraced the entire eastern end of Cuba. The num-
ber of Spanish soldiers surrendered was 22,000, all of whom were subse-
quently conveyed to Spain at the charge of the United States.
The story of this successful campaign is told in the report of the Secre-
tary of War, which will be laid before you. The individual valor of officers
and soldiers was never more strikingly shown than in the several engage-
ments leading to the surrender of Santiago, while the prompt movements
and successive victories won instant and universal applause.
To those who gained this complete triumph, which established the ascen-
dancy of the United States upon land as the fight off Santiago had fixed our
supremacy on the seas, the earnest and lasting gratitude of the nation is
unsparingly due.
Nor should we alone remember the gallantry of the living; the dead
claim our tears, and our losses by battle and disease must cloud any exulta-
tion at the result and teach us to weigh the awful cost of war, however right-
ful the cause or signal the victory.
OCCUPATION OF PORTO RICO.
With the fall of Santiago, the occupation of Porto Rico became the next
strategic necessity. General Miles had previously been assigned to organize
an expedition for that purpose. Fortunately he was already at Santiago,
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 243
where he had arrived on the nth of July, with re-enforcements for General
Shafter's army.
With these troops, consisting of 3,415 infantry and artillery, two com-
panies of engineers, and one company of the signal corps. General Miles
left Guantanamo on July 21st, having nine transports convoyed by the
fleet under Captain Higginson, with the JMassachusetts (flagship), Dixie,
Gloucester, Columbia and Yale, the two latter carrying troops. The expedi-
tion landed at Guanica July 25th, which port was entered with little oppo-
sition. Here the fleet was joined by the Annapolis and the Wasp, while the
Puritan and Amphitrite went to San Juan and joined the New Orleans, which
was engaged in blockading that port.
The major-general commanding was subsequently re-enforced by General
Schwann's brigade of the Third Army Corps, by General Wilson, with a part
of his division, and also by General Brooke, with a part of his corps, number-
ing in all 16,973 of^cers and men. On July 2.y he entered Ponce, one of the
most important ports in the island, from which he thereafter directed opera-
tions for the capture of the island.
With the exception of encounters with the enemy at Guayama, Hormi-
gueres, Coamo and Yauco, and an attack on a force landed at Cape San
Juan, there was no serious resistance. The campaign was prosecuted with
great vigor, and by the 12th of August much of the island was in our posses-
sion, and the acquisition of the remainder was only a matter of a short time.
At most of the points in the island our troops were enthusiastically wel-
comed. Protestations of loyalty to the flag and gratitude for delivery from
Spanish rule met our commanders at every stage.
As a potent influence toward peace, the outcome of the Porto Rican
expedition was of great consequence, and generous commendation is due
to those who participated in it,
WAR'S LAST SCENE AT MANILA.
The last scene of the war was enacted at Manila, its starting place. On
August 15th, after a brief assault upon the works by the land forces, in
which the squadron assisted, the capital surrendered unconditionally. Tlie
casualties were comparatively few.
By this the conquest of the Philippine Islands, virtually accomplished
when the Spanish capacity for resistance was destroyed by Admiral Dewey's
victory of the ist of May, was formally sealed.
244 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
To General Merritt, his officers and men, for their uncomplaining and
devoted services, for their gallantry in action, the nation is sincerely grate-
ful. Their long voyage was made with singular success, and the soldierly
conduct of the men, most of whom were without previous experience in the
military service, deserves unmeasured praise.
LOSSES OF ARMY AND NAVY.
The total casualties in killed and wounded during the v/ar were as fol-
lows:
ARMY.
Officers killed 23
Enlisted men killed 257
Total 280
Officers wounded 113
Enlisted men wounded 1,464
Total -.-. . . 1,577
NAVY.
Killed 17
Wounded 67
Died as result of wounds I'
Invalided from service 6
Total 91
It will be observed that while our navy was engaged in two great battles
and in numerous perilous undertakings in the blockades and bombardment,
and more than fifty thousand of our troops were transported to distant lands
and engaged in assault and siege and battle and many skirmishes in un-
familiar territory, we lost in both arms of the service a tot^J of 1,948 killed
and wounded; and in the entire campaign by land and sea we did not lose a
gun or a flag or a transport or a ship, and with the exception of the crew of
the Merrimac not a soldier or sailor was taken prisoner.
On August 7th, forty-six days from the date of the landing of General
Shafter's army in Cuba and twenty-one days from the surrender of Santiago,
the United States troops commenced embarkation for home, and our entire
McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. ;245
force was returned to the United States as early as August 24th. They
were absent from the U.nited States only two montlis.
It is fitting that I should bear testimony to the patriotism and devotion
of that large portion of our army which, although eager to be ordered to the
post of greatest exposure, fortunately was not required outside of the
United States. They did their whole duty, and, like their comrades at the
front, have earned the gratitude of the nation.
In like manner, the officers and men of the army and of the navy who
remained in their departments and stations of the navy, performing most
important duties connected Vv^ith the war, and whose requests for assign-
ments in the field and at sea I was compelled to refuse because their services
were indispensable here, are entitled to the highest comm.endation. It is
my regret that there seems to be no provision for their suitable recognition.
In this connection it is a pleasure for me to mention in terms of cordial
appreciation the timely and useful work of the American National Red
Cross, both in relief measures preparatory to the campaign, in sanitary assist-
ance at several of the camps and assemblage, and later, under the able and
experienced leadership of the president of the society. Miss Clara Barton,
on the fields of battle and in the hospitals at the front in Cuba. Working in
conjunction with the governmental authorities and under their sanction and
approval and with the enthusiastic co-operation of many patriotic v;omen
and societies in the various States, the Red Cross has fully maintained its
already high reputation for intense earnestness and ability to exercise the
noble purposes of its international organization, thus justifying the confi-
dence and support which it has received at the hands of the American people.
To the members and officers of this society and all who aided them in
their philanthropic work, the sincere and lasting gratitude of the soldiers and
the public is due and is freely accorded.
In tracing these events we are constantly reminded of our obligations to
the Divine Master for His watchful care over us and His safe guidance, for
which the nation makes reverent acknowledgment and offers humble prayer
for the continuance of His favor.
SIGNING OF THE PROTOCOL.
The annihilation of A.dmiral Cervera's fleet, followed by the capitulatioa
of Santiago, having brought to the Spanish Government a realizing sense of
the hopelessness of continuing a struggle now becoming wholly unequal, it
246 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
made overtures of peace through the French Ambassador, who, with' the
assent of his government, had acted as tlie friendly representative of Spanish
interests during the war.
On the 26th of July M. Cambon presented a communication signed by
the Duke of Ahndovar, the Spanish Minister of State, inviting the United
States to state the terms upon which it would be willing to make peace.
On July 30th, by a communication addressed to the Duke of Almodovar
and handed to M. Cambon, the terms of this government were announced,
substantially as in the protocol afterward signed.
On August loth the Spanish reply, dated August 7th, v/as handed by M.
Cambon to the Secretary of State, It accepted unconditionally the terms
imposed as to Cuba, Porto Rico and an island of the Ladrones group, but
appeared to seek to introduce inadmissible reservations in regard to our
demand as to the Philippines.
Conceiving that discussion on this point could neither be practicable or
profitable, I directed that in order to avoid misunderstanding the matter
should be forthwith closed by proposing the embodiment in a formal pro-
tocol of the terms on which the negotiations for peace were to be undertaken.
The vague and inexplicit suggestions of the Spanish note could not be
accepted, the only reply being to present as a virtual ultimatum a draft of a
protocol embodying the precise terms tendered to Spain in our note of July
30th, with added stipulations of detail as to the appointment of commis-
sioners to arrange for the evacuation of the Spanish Antilles.
On August 1 2th M. Cambon announced his receipt of full power to sign
the protocol so submitted. Accordingly, on the afternoon of August 12th,
M. Cambon, as the plenipotentiary of Spain, and the Secretary of State, as
the plenipotentiary of the United States, signed the protocol, providing:
"Article i. Spain will relinquish all claim of sovereignty over and title
to Cuba.
"Article 2. Spain will cede to the United States the Island of Porto Rico
and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and also
an island in the Ladrones to be selected by the United States.
"Article 3. The United States will occupy and hold the city, bay and
harbor of Manila pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace v/hich shall
determine the control, disposition and government of the Philippines."
The fourth article provided for the appointment of joint commissions on
the part of the United States and Spain, to meet in Havana and San Juan,
respectively, for the purpose of arranging and carrying out the details of the
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McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 249
Stipulated evacuation of Cuba, Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the
West Indies.
Tlie fifth article provided for the appointment of not more than five com-
missioners on each side to meet at Paris not later than October ist and to
proceed to the negotiation and conclusion of a treaty of peace, subject to
ratification according to the respective constitutional forms of the two coun-
tries.
The sixth and last article provided that' upon the signature of the proto-
col, hostilities between the two countries should be suspended, and that
notice to that effect should be given as soon as possible by each government
to the commanders of its military and naval forces.
CESSATION OF STRIFE.
Immediately upon the conclusion of the protocol I issued a proclamation
on August I2th, suspending hostilities on the part of the United States. Tlie
necessary orders to that end were at once given by telegraph. The blockade
of the ports of Cuba and San Juan de Porto Rico were in like manner raised.
On August i8th the muster out of 100,000 volunteers, or as near that
number as was found to be practicable, was ordered. On December ist,
101,165 officers and men had been mustered out and discharged from the
service; 9,002 more will be mustered out by the loth of the month. Also a
corresponding number of Generals and general staff officers have been hon-
orably discharged from the service.
The military committees to superintend the evacuation of Cuba, Porto
Rico and the adjacent islands were forthwith appointed — for Cuba, Major-
General James F. Wade, Rear Admiral William T. Sampson and Major-
General Matthew C. Butler; for Porto Rico, Major-General John C. Brooke,
Rear Admiral Winfield S. Schley and Brigadier-General W. W. Gordon, who
soon afterward met the Spanish commissioners at Havana md San Juan
respectively.
WORK OF EVACUATION.
The Porto Rican joint commissions speedily accomplished its task, and
by October i8th the evacuation of the island was completed. The United
States flag was raised over the island at noon on that day.
As soon as we are in possession of Cuba and have pacified the island it
will be necessary to give aid and direction to its people to form a government
IS
850 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR.
for themselves. This should be undertaken at the earliest moment consistent
with safety and assured success.
It is important that our relations with these people shall be of the most
friendly character and our commercial relations close and reciprocal. It
should be our duty to assist in every proper way to build up the waste places
of the island, encourage the industry of the people and assist them to form
a government which shall be free and independent, thus realizing the best
aspirations of the Cuban people.
Spanish rule must be replaced by a just, benevolent and humane govern-
ment, created by the people of Cuba, capable of performing all international
obligations, and which shall encourage thrift, industry and prosperity, and
promote peace and good will among all of the inhabitants, whatever may
have been their relations in the past. Neither revenge nor passion should
have a place in the new government.
WM. McKINLEY,
President of the United States.
CHAPTER XXII.
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
When the thirteen original states won freedom from England and inde-
pendence before the world, the new republic possessed an area of 827,844
square miles.
That expansion, or an extending of the borders of the republic, has been
the fixed policy of the nation it is necessary only to say that there have since
been added 2,895,380 square miles. The territory now embraced within the
confines of the United States of America is almost five times as great as the
original area, vast as was the extent of that great region which America
won for Americans — native and naturalized. The territory acquired by
expansion since the Revolutionary War is three-and-a-half times greater
than the original thirteen states.
With such a record it is pretty clear expansion is an American policy,
and in keeping with the traditions of the republic.
In the one hundred and fifteen years following the peace with Great
Britain, 2,771,040 square miles had been added by conquest or purchase — •
usually by conquest first, and later by a sort of consolatory payment of what
the property would have been worth if the enemy had ceded it without the
trouble or expense of a war.
In the three last years of McKinley's administration the area of the nation
was extended 124,340 square miles. In truth, however, this extension of
territory was all accomplished in a single year. It may be mteresting to
add, however, that the total annexation preceding the war with Spain
averaged 24,696 square miles annually; while the expansion accomplished
by President McKinley's administration from the moment he secured the
first treaty of addition down to the present time averages 41,446 square
miles annually.
He secured almost double the average annual increase of territory
credited to any or all previous administrations.
Briefly stated, the several former annexations were as follows:
251
253
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
ANNEXATION FROM 1783 TO 1893:
Amount Paid. Square Miles.
Louisiana $15,000,000 1,171,931
Florida 5,000,000 52,268
Texas 28,500,000 376,133
California 545783
Gadsden Purchase 10,500,000 45.535
Alaska 7,200,000 577^390
$66,200,000 2,769,040
ANNEXATION FROM 1893 TO 1901:
Araount Paid. Square Miles.
Hawaii 6,740
Philippine Islands $20,000,000 1 14,000
Porto Rico 3,600
$20,000,000 124,340
Square Miles.
Original territory 827,844
Annexed first no years . . . „ 2,769,040
Annexed last three years 124,340
3,721,224
But the territory acquired in the McKinley administration has been for
the purpose of safeguarding that matchless possession secured in all the
preceding century, and of insuring to the millions who inhabit this land the
certainty that they shall continue in the enjoyment of that prosperity their
past labors and the sacrifices of their fathers have placed in their possession.
For example, the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands was a war measure.
At the moment of Admiral Dewey's victory in Manila Bay, the United States
became an active power in the Pacific, and every consideration, naval and
commercial, made it desirable that the American flag should float over this
fertile group. Figuratively speaking, Hawaii was sitting on Uncle Sam's
doorstep waiting to come in. The islands had offered themselves to the
United States Government. It was not necessary to wage a war of conquest
or open peaceful negotiations. All that was necessary was to pass a resolu-
tion of annexation.
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION. 253
Accordingly, on June 15, the Newlands annexation resolution was passed
by the House of Representatives by a vote of 209 to 91. The Senate passed
the same resolution by a vote of 42 to 21, and President jMcKinley approved
it July 7, 1898.
The Hawaiian Islands, formerly known as the Sandwich Islands, are
situated in the North Pacific Ocean, and lie between longitude 154 degrees
40 minutes and 160 degrees 30 minutes west from Greenwich, and latitude
22 degrees 16 minutes and 18 degrees 55 minutes north. Tliey are thus
on the very edge of the tropics, but their position in mid-ocean and the
prevalence of the northeast trade winds give them a climate of perpetual
summer without enervating heat. The group occupies a central position in
the North Pacific, 2,089 nautical miles southwest of San Francisco; 4,640
from Panama; 3,800 from Auckland, New Zealand; 4.950 from Hongkong,
and 3,440 from Yokohama. Its location gives it great importance from a
military as well as from a commercial point of view.
Broadly speaking, Hawaii may be said to lie about one-third of the
distance on the accustomed routes from San Francisco to Japanese and
Chinese ports; from San Francisco to Australia; from ports of British
Columbia to Australia and British India, and about halfway from the Isth-
mus of Panama to Yokohama and Hongkong. The construction of a ship
canal across the isthmus would extend this geographical relation to the
ports of the Gulf of Mexico and of the Atlantic Seaboard of North and South
America. No other point in the North Pacific has such a dominating rela-
tion to the trade between America and Asia, as a place of call and depot of
supplies for vessels.
From a naval standpoint, Hawaii is the great strategic base of the Pacific.
Under the present conditions of naval warfare, created by the use of steam
as a motive power, Hawaii secures to the maritime nation possessing it an
immense advantage as a depot for the supply of coal. Modern battleships,
depending absolutely upon coal, are enabled to avail themselves of their
full capacity of speed and energy only by having some halfway station in
the Pacific where they can replenish their stores of fuel and refit. A battle-
ship or cruiser starting from an Asiatic or Australian port, with the view
of operating along the coast of either North America or South America,
is unable to act efifectively for any length of time at the end of so long a
voyage unless she is able to refill her bunkers at some point on the way. On
the other hand, the United States, possessing Hawaii, is able to advance its
line of defense 2,000 miles from the Pacific coast, and, with a fortified harbor
254 McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
and a strong fleet at Honolulu, is in a position to conduct either defensive
or offensive operations in the North Pacific to greater advantage than any
other power.
For practical purposes, there are eight islands in the Hawaiian group.
The others are mere rocks, of no value at present. These eight islands,
beginning from the northwest, are named Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai,
Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui and Hawaii. The areas of the islands are:
Square Miles.
Niihau 97
Kauai 590
Oahu 600
Molokai 270
Maui 760
Lanai 1 50
Kahoolawe 63
Hawaii 4,210
Total 6,740
On Oahu is the capital, Honolulu. It is a city numbering 30,000 inhabi-
tants, and is pleasantly situated on the south side of the Island. The city
extends a considerable distance up Nuuanu Valley, and has wings extending
northwest and southeast. Except in the business blocks, every house stands
in its own garden, and some of the houses are very handsome.
The city is lighted with electric light, there is a complete telephone
system, and tramcars run at short intervals along the principal streets and
continue out to a sea-bathing resort and public park, four miles from the
city. There are numerous stores where all kinds of goods can be obtained.
The public buildings are attractive and commodious. There are numerous
churches, schools, a public library of over 10,000 volumes, Y. ,M. C. A.
Hall, Masonic Temple, Odd Fellows' Hall, and theater. There is frequent
steam communication with San Francisco, once a month with Victoria
(British Columbia), and twice a month with New Zealand and the Australian
colonies. Steamers also connect Honolulu with Japan. There are three
evening daily papers published in English, one daily morning paper and two
weeklies. Besides these, there are papers published in the Hawaiian, Portu-
guese, Japanese and Chinese languages, and also monthly magazines in
various tongues.
United States Consul-General Mills, of Honolulu, under date of Febni-
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION. 255
ary 8, 1897, transmitted to the Department of State the ofTicial figures
showing the result of the census of the Hawaiian Islands, which had just
been completed. The Hawaiians head the list with a total of 31,019. The
Japanese colonization comes next, with the Chinese a close third. Tlie
official table, as prepared at the census ofifice, in 1890, is:
Nationality. Males. Females, Total.
Hawaiian 16,399 14,620 31,019
Part Hawaiian 4,249 4,236 8,485
American 1,975 i,iii 3.086
British 1,406 844 2,250
German 866 566 1,432
French 56 45 lOl
Norwegian 216 162 378
Portuguese 8,202 6,989 15,191
Japanese 19.212 5»i95 24,407
Chinese 19,167 2,449 21,616
South Sea Islanders 321 134 455
Other nationalities 448 152 600
Total 72,5 17 36,503 109,020
The acquiring of Porto Rico, with its 3,600 square miles and nearly a
million inhabitants, did not require the firing of a gun so far as the natives
were concerned. The slight resistance offered by the Spaniards who had
for so many years held the island, was not serious enough to earn the name
of warfare, though so good a judge and careful an observer as Richard
Harding Davis declares this was due more to the masterly management of
General Miles, who commanded there in person, than to any other cause —
a conclusion which he reaches by comparing the Porto Rican campaign
with General Shafter's invasion of Cuba. The conditions, however, do not
present a parallel case. The Cubans wanted the Spaniards expelled, to be
sure; but they wanted to govern that island themselves. And they had
grown so strong, had fought so long and stubbornly, and had consequently
compelled the Spaniards to maintain so great a strength that the Americans
found "the Gem of the Antilles" held with a force that could oflfer quite a
stubborn dispute. The Porto Ricans, on the contrary, while wanting the
Spaniards expelled, had never made much eiTort at self government, and
the Spaniards there were by no means equipped to defend their possessions.
Indeed, their defense was the merest formality. And once they ceased oppo-
256 McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
sition to the forces of General Miles, the native and resident people rushed
to welcome the Americans.
So that these richest and most valuable objects of McKinley expansion
came to the possession of the great republic at practically no cost at all —
of either "blood or treasure."
Of course the military occupation of Porto Rico did not formally invest
title to the island in the United States. The case with Hawaii was different,
because no power but the resident people made any claim to that rich prize.
Porto Rico, the most beautiful island of the Antilles, w^hich was ceded
to the United States by the Spanish-American treaty at Paris, 1898, is
situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico, east of Haiti, from which it
is separated by the Mona Passage, Haiti lies between it and Cuba. Porto
Rico is 95 miles long and 35 broad, with an area of about 3,600 square
miles, or nearly three-fourths the size of the State of Connecticut (4,990
square miles), and considerably larger than that of the States of Delaware
and Rhode Island, which aggregate 3,300 square miles. The island has
always been noted for its mineral and agricultural wealth; hence the Spanish
name, w'hich, in English, means "rich harbor."
Porto Rico, or Puerto Rico (the Spanish name), was discovered by
Columbus on his second voyage, November 16, 1493. The discoverer first
sighted land near Cape San Juan and for three days sailed along the northern
coast, landing at Aguadilla. The richness and fertility of the island caused
him to name it Puerto Rico or "rich port," He saw little or nothing of the
natives, who fled at his approach, believing that they were about to be
attacked.
The actual conquest of the island was made in 15 10, two years after
his first visit, by Juan Ponce De Leon, Governor of the Island of Haiti, then
known as Hispaniola. He w-on the confidence of the natives and landed an
expedition to subjugate them. The Spanish conquest of Porto Rico was
marked by the bloodshed and cruelty that has characterized Spanish con-
quest in all parts of the Western world. Natives were slaughtered, or con-
demned to slavery. The colonization of Porto Rico by Spaniards then fol-
lowed, and to-day there is scarcely a trace of aboriginal blood in the islands.
The aboriginal population numbered about 600,000; they were copper-
colored, though somewhat darker than the Indians of the North American
continent. The aborigines called the island Boringuen and themselves
Boringuenans.
Physically, Porto Rico is a continuation of the emerged lands of Haiti.
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION. 257
It is very mountainous, the altitudes ranging from 1,500 to 3,600 kct, and
among the rocks coralligenous limestones predominate. All lands exposed
to the northeast trade winds have abundant rains. The mean temperature
at the city of San Juan is 80.7 degrees F. In January and February it is
76.5 degrees, and in July and August, 83.2 degrees. The island is known
as the most healthful of the Antilles. There are no reptiles and no wild
animals, except rats, which are numerous. The hills are covered with tropi-
cal forests and the lands are very productive. The streams are numerous
and some of them are navigable to the foothills.
The most flourishing plantations of Porto Rico are situated on the littoral
plains and in the valleys of rivers, which are diligently cultivated. The prin-
cipal products are sugar, molasses, coffee, tobacco; then maize, rice, cotton,
tobacco, hides, dyewoods, timber, and rice. CofTee is produced to the extent
of over 16,000 tons per annum, and the annual sugar production averages
67,000 tons.
The forests abound in mahogany, cedar, ebony, dyewoods, and a great
variety of medicinal and industrial plants. All kinds of tropical fruits arc
found. An average of 190,000,000 bananas, 6,500,000 oranges, 2,500,000
cocoanuts, and 7,000,000 pounds of tobacco is produced annually.
Sugar cane is cultivated on 61,000 acres, and the production of sugar is
the most important industry. Coffee is another staple product; and the
tobacco, which ranks second to that of the famous Cebu variety, may be
produced in almost limitless quantities. The mineral resources are not
extensive. Gold has been found, but by no means in paying quantities.
Lead, copper and iron are present, and may be profitably mined.
The government of the people of Porto Rico is by a governor-general,
who acts wholly under the direction of the President and Congress of the
United States, and all the subordinate officers of the islands are appointees
of the home government.
The most important of the lands embraced in the McKinley expansion
is the group of islands known as the Philippine archipelago, the western-
most of the four great tropical groups of the Pacific. To be exact, the
Philippines are situated between 4 and 20 degrees north latitude and 161 and
127 degrees east longitude, in front of China and Cochin China. The archi-
pelago is composed of some 2,000 islands, with an approximate area of
114,000 square miles.
The principal islands are Luzon (Batanes, Babtiyanes, Polillo, Calandu-
anes, Mindoro, Marinduque, Burias, Masbate, etc., lying adjacent) on the
268 McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
north; the Visayas (Tablas, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar,
etc.), prolonged southwest by the Calamaines, Palawan, and Balabac; Min-
danao and the adjacent islands Dinagat, Surigao, Basilan, etc., and on the
extreme south, the Sulu archipelago. The Island of Luzon, on which the
capital is situated, is larger than New York and Massachusetts, and Min-
danao is nearly as large. An idea of the extent of the Philippines may be
formed when it is stated that the six New England States and New York,
New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware have lo per cent less area.
The approximate area of the larger islands is as follows: Luzon, 41,000;
Mindanao, 37,500; Samar, 5,300; Panay, 4,600; Palawan, 4,150; Mindoro,
4,050; Leyte, 3,090; Negros, 2,300; Cebu, 1,650; Masbate, 1,315; Bohol,
925.
The population has been estimated at from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000, of
which number about 25,000 are Europeans, about half of the latter residing
in the city of Manila. The present American population is not included in
these figures.
Manila, the capital of the entire archipelago, is situated in the Island of
Luzon, at the mouth of the River Pasig, which empties into the Bay of
Manila. The city has 300,000 inhabitants, of whom 15,000 are Europeans
and 100.000 Chinese, who are largely engaged in industry. It is the seat
of a yearly increasing commerce. The houses are built with reference to
earthquakes, and although large, possess few pretensions to architectural
beauty. The city proper within the walls is small, little more than two miles
in circumference. Here are grouped the government buildings and religious
institutions. The suburbs, of which Binondo ranks first in order of im-
portance, are the centers of trade. The police of the city were under
military discipline and composed of natives. A force of watchmen, paid
by the tradesmen, patrolled the more populous part of the city from 10
o'clock at night until 5 in the morning. A very low average of crime
is said to exist, though the native classes are much addicted to gambling,
cock-lighting, etc. At the time of American occupation there were six daily
papers: "El Diario de Manila," "La Oceania Espanola," published in the
morning, and "El Comercio," "La Voz Espaiiola," "El Espaiiol," and "El
Noticero," which appear in the evening.
Manila has a cathedral of the seventeenth century, an Archbishop's
palace, a university school of art, an observatory, a large government cigar
factory, and many educational and charitable institutions.
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION. 259
There are some 4,000 horses in the city, used for carriages and street
cars. Buffaloes are employed for dray and other heavy work.
On February 6, 1898, Manila suffered from a severe fire, and it is inter-
esting to note that the city would have been lost had it not been for the
excellent service of a fire engine which had been imported from the United
States.
Iloilo, the chief town of the populous province of the same name, in the
Island of Panay, is situated in latitude 10 degrees 48 minutes W., near the
southeastern extremity of the island, and 250 miles from Manila, The harbor
is well protected and the anchorage good. At spring tides, the whole town
is covered with water, but notwithstanding this it is a very healthy place,
there being always a breeze. It is much cooler in Iloilo than in Manila.
The means of communication with the interior are very inadequate, and
retard the development of the port. The principal manufacture is pineapple
cloth. The country around Iloilo is very fertile and is extensively cultivated,
sugar, tobacco, and rice being grown, and there are many towns in the
vicinity that are larger than the port.
Cebu, the capital of the island of this name, was at one time the seat
of the administration of revenue for the whole of the Visayas. It is well-
built and possesses fine roads. The trade is principally in hemp and sugar.
Other towns are Laog, with a population (1887) of 30,642; Banang,
35,598; Batangas, 35,587> and Lipa, 434o8.
The principal mineral productions are gold, galena, copper, iron, mer-
cury and coal. Extensive auriferous ore deposits have been opened up, and
they are known to exist in many of the islands, chiefly in Luzon, Bengues,
Vicols and Mindanao. Very little exploration or systematic mining has been
attempted, but it is said that there is no brook that empties into the Pacific
Ocean, whose sand and gravel does not at least pan the color of gold. Heavy
nuggets are sometimes brought down from the sierras.
Galena (50 per cent of pure metal) is found in veins in Luzon and Cebu.
Copper has been discovered in many parts of the Philippines. Iron — from
75 to 80 per cent, pure metal — is known to exist in Luzon. The coal found
up to the present time is not true coal, but lignite; but it is probable true
coal will be found, as the mountains of Japan abound in that mineral, and
the geological formation in both groups seems to be the same.
Hemp (abaca), the most important product of the archipelago, is the
fiber of a species of banana, and is produced by scraping the leaves with a
peculiar knife, which requires expert handling. Improved machinery will
260 McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
vastly increase the profit of this product. Thread is spun from the fiber, and
cloth is woven that excels in fineness the best Tussore silk.
The production of sugar is being rapidly developed, the principal sugar
provinces being those of the north, or most progressive part of the island.
But at present the means of reducing the cane to sugar are crude. It is
quite certain the business will become immensely profitable as soon as mod-
ern methods can be introduced.
Tobacco would be an important resource of the Philippines with proper
management. But the timber wealth of the islands is incalculable. There
are many varieties of trees, the forests yielding resins, gums, dye products,
fine-grained ornamental wood, and also heavy timber suitable for building
purposes. Teak, ebony, and sandalwood are found; also ilang-ilang, cam-
phor, pepper, cinnamon, tea and all tropical fruits.
But the securing of the Philippines has differed in many essential respects
from the methods obtaining in the other cases. The expansion in that
direction has cost the $20,000,000 paid to Spain for a relinquishment of her
rights there, besides the cost of the war with Spain, and the succeeding war
with the natives. Just what these two items may in the end appear cannot at
present be definitely stated, any more than the value of the islands so
acquired can be declared at once.
But if there were nothing beside Admiral Dewey's victory at Manila Bay,
May I, 1898, to place on the credit side of the ledger, and all the expense
for military, naval and civil operations since accrued to charge against it
on the debit side, the balance would be still vastly in favor of the United
States. All the losses of every description that have fallen in any way
upon the republic since May i, 1898, are more than compensated by the
value of that one day.
Before the Manila Bay fight the United States was an unconsidered na-
tion. It was not regarded as a power at all. The world treated the /\meri-
can Republic with a good natured contempt, or refrained altogether from
considering it. The nations across the seas made all their arrangements of
peace or war, of commerce and of crowns, without even remotely considering
"the States." So far as the large questions affecting world interests were
concerned, the United States provoked no more calculation than did Uru-
guay.
Of course it was understood that the Republic was big, and abounding
full of material resources — a sort of undeveloped and untrained giant. It
was conceded that the Republic kept a sort of curmudgeon watch over the
McKINLEY AND EXPANSION 261
whole hemisphere — barring Canada; and that no "Power" could make war
on Mexico or Latin America without the certainty of getting into a fight
which might be extremely distressing. And so no one made war there.
But the Republic was a hermit nation before Dewey received McKinley's
order to fire, and, obeying, won his marvelous victory.
From that time forward the United States of America has been a world
power. It has actually dominated every European nation in the China
affair. It has in a day leaped to a place where it towers above the Powers
of older lands, and commands them. And they must obey. A nation with
such a navy as Dewey exhibited, with such power as the fleet under Schley
demonstrated at Santiago, is a nation to make terms with. A nation which
could in a month fling an army of 97,000 men across twelve thousand miles
of ocean, and never miss them at home, is a nation to respect. A nation
with such a navy and army and such boundless resources, which had also
possessed itself of Hawaii, the half-way house in the wide Pacific; which
also held the Philippines, garrisoned and guarded at the very doors of Asia,
and which had made the islands of the Atlantic its outposts against an
advance from Europe — that nation is Master of the World. They all recog-
nized it. And every day that has passed since the Olympia led that line of
boats past Corregidor has increased the estimate which the nations of the
earth have of the United States of America.
The recent purchase of the Danish West India Islands is but another
link in the chain which secures to the Republic the vast possessions the
years have brought. When that transaction is completed, which can not be
until the Senate shall ratify the act, this young world power will be girdled
with guardians against any enemy wdio may advance.
It is a curious commentary on the scornful estimate of the Republic
entertained by the old world powers, and a definite proof of its existence,
that they never confessed America had captured their markets until they
discovered it had captured the means of holding the markets, and extending
them. They never rallied to combine against "the encroachments of
American trade" until the time had passed when their combining might be
effective. They can not stop either the commercial or the military advance
of the Republic. And the crown of the world's control rests to-day on the
head of the nation which William McKinley roused from lethargy; which
he summoned from a fat and comfortable repose, and charged with the duty
of taking its rightful place among the nations of the earth. And that crown,
so wisely secured, can never be taken away.
262 McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
A longer life would have given President McKinley opportunity to
develop the field into which he had led the Republic; but it is proof of the
man's quality that he did his work so well it cannot be undone. He stood
like a rock against declaring war with Spain not only until he knew what
WIS the will of the people, but until they knew it. He did not go
forward until, out of the mighty passions of April, 1898, the millions of
Americans had come to know themselves. When the vital purpose of the
nation was so fixed it never could turn back, then the hand of the President
made the signal which flung wide the gates of the great Republic, and
commanded his legions to possess the earth.
That was a mighty trial a supreme test of a marvelous man. He knew
the vital consequences bound up in action then. Things could never again
be as they were before war was declared. It was not simply a fight with
Spain, and a victory over her; it was an advance upon the world. It was
not simply measuring lances with Leon and Castile; it was measuring the
might of brain and brawn, of courage and skill, of America's splendid man-
hood, against all the forces of all the world, and for all time! He could not
let his people make a mistake. If he had yielded at the first hot demand
for war, the recall would have sounded from millions before the first day's
march was done. But he waited till the pressure of his people proved that
they were all of one mind; that they had heard the assembly call of a world
duty, and had all "fallen in." And then he gave the command: "Forward!"
McKinley and expansion!
Has it ever occurred to the reader how small a part of the McKinley
expansion is expressed in these figures: "124,340 square miles annexed?"
That is only the land, the rock and soil, the food and drink, the most
material and least expressive of all the elements in this material advance.
Even in square miles, imagine what the annexation of Hawaii means. Com-
pute the vastness of that realm acquired in the Philippines. Why, it is the
breadth of the whole Pacific Ocean, and a path so wide that no nation
can send a ship around the world without trespassing on the boundless
domain of the young Republic. William McKinley has advanced the bor-
ders of his nation to include the seas. He has set the boundaries of the
iJnited States of America so far that they embrace one-half the earth. From
the sentinel, St. Thomas, eastern outpost in the Atlantic's waves, across the
continent, and out to the farthest verge of the mighty Pacific, to the gates of
ancient Asia, he has fixed the frontiers of his country.
That is expansion under McKinley!
CHAPTER XXIII.
SECOND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF
McKINLEY.
That McKinley would receive a second nomination at the hands of his
party was settled long before the convention of 1900 was called. The fact
that under his administration prosperity had been restored, at once gave him
a prestige that only the most egregious blundering could overcome. To
blunder was not a characteristic of the President, and he made no false step.
His hand was steadily on the helm of the ship of state, and while he never
sought for troubled waters, he never turned aside if it was necessary for the
public good that they should be encountered.
His splendid handling of all the delicate questions that grew out of the
Spanish war, as well as the firmness with which he met that great emergency
in our national life, made it appear that to him, and him alone, must be en-
trusted the task of shaping the policy of the government in its new and
suddenly acquired position of a world power.
No Republican throughout the land gave thought for an instant to
succeeding the President. His leadership was as pronounced as that of
Lincoln, in 1864, or Grant in 1872. Nor was there any question as to party
policy. To define the relations of the government as a world power; to
tranquillize the new possessions; give them stable government, and ulti-
mately to work out whatever destiny had in store for them and the United
States — these were the pressing questions.
To be sure, there were the cries against trusts, a clamor against "gov-
ernment by injunction," a recrudescence of the silver question, and other
matters, but who so well qualified to meet them all safely and creditably to
his country as the man who had for so many years, in different spheres of
activity, proved his fitness for the work, and his loyalty to the people?
It was in some such frame of mind as to the head of the ticket that the
delegates to the Republican national convention gathered in the convention
hall at Philadelphia, June 19, 1900.
While President McKinley's renommation was a foregone conclusion,
there was a lively fignt in progress over the nomination of Vice President.
The death of Garret A. Hobart, Vice President, had brought forward a
263
264 SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION.
host of aspirants for that position. Favorite sons from various states were
brought out, and the contest v^^as keen. Lieutenant-Governor Timothy
Woodruff of New York was one of the persistent seekers after the honor,
and he had a considerable following. Cornelius N. Bliss of the same state
was also put forward, and the name of Governor Roosevelt was often men-
tioned. Illinois had in the forefront Private Joe Fifer and Congressman Hitt;
Iowa presented Congressman Dolliver; Senator C. K. Davis of Minnesota
was also mentioned, and Secretary Long of the Navy was considered a
possibility.
ScHator Piatt, of New York, was credited with a desire to force the
nomination of Governor Roosevelt, for the purpose of taking that energetic
young man out of New York state politics, and the administration was said
to be opposed to such a proceeding. There was no doubt concerning the
attitude of the Governor. He declared openly and frequently that he did
not want the nomination, and finally went so far as to assert he would not
accept the place if tendered.
The convention was called to order by Senator M. A. Hanna, chairman
of the National Committee, amidst the greatest enthusiasm. There were
906 delegates, and they roared with an exuberance rarely heard apart from
such a gathering. In his opening remarks, Chairman Hanna said: "We
are now forming our battalions under the leadership of our general, William
McKinley," and a roar arose that continued for several minutes. The
chairman then introduced Senator Wolcott, of Colorado, as temporary chair-
man of the convention. In his address to the convention. Senator Wolcott
said:
"The spirit of justice and liberty that animated our fathers found voice
three-quarters of a century later in this same City of Brotherly Love, when
Fremont led the forlorn hope of united patriots who laid here the founda-
tions of our party, and put human freedom as its corner-stone. It compelled
our ears to listen to the cry of suffering across the shallow waters of the gulf
two years ago. While we observe the law of nations and maintain that
neutrality which we owe to a great and friendly government, the same spirit
lives today in the genuine sympathy we cherish for the brave men now fight-
ing for their homes in the veldts of South Africa. It prompts us in our
determination to give the dusky races of the Philippines the blessings of
good government and republican institutions, and finds voice in our indig-
nant protest against the violent suppression of the rights of the colored men
in the South. That spirit will survive in the breasts of patriotic men as long
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SECOND NOMINATION AND ELFXTION. 267
as the nation endures, and the events of the past have taught us that it can
find its fair and free and full expression only in the principles and policy of
the Republican party.
"The first and pleasant duty of this great convention, as well as its
instinctive impulse, is to send a message of affectionate greeting to our
leader and our country's President, William McKinley. In all that pertains
to our welfare in times of peace his genius has directed us. He has shown
an unerring mastery of the economic problems which confront us, and has
guided us out of the slough of financial disaster, impaired credit, and com-
mercial stagnation, up to the high and safe ground of national prosperity
and financial stability. Through the delicate and trying events of the late
war he stood firm, courageous and conservative, and under his leadership
we emerged triumphant, our national honor untarnished, our credit unas-
sailed, and the equal devotion of every section of our common country to the
welfare of the republic, cemented forever. Never in the memory of this
generation has there stood at the head of the government a truer patriot, a
wiser or more courageous leader, or a better example of the highest type of
American manhood. The victories of peace and the victories of war are
alike inscribed upon his banner."
The second day's proceedings of the convention introduced Senator
H. C. Lodge, of Massachusetts, as the permanent chairman of the body.
Twenty thousand people attended the session, in the expectation that Presi-
dent McKinley would be renominated, but for the time being they were
disappointed. In his opening speech Chairman Lodge said:
"Dominant among the issues of four years ago was that of our monetary
and financial system. The Republican party promised to uphold our credit,
to protect our currency from revolution and to maintain the gold standard.
We have done so. Failing to secure, after honest effort, any encourageme"
for international bimetallism, we have passed a law strengthening the r
standard and planting it more firmly than ever in our firancial sy
improving our banking laws, buttressing our credit, and refunding thf
debt at 2 per cent interest, the lowest rate in the world. It war
work well done."
Concerning the war with Spain he said:
"Here they are, these great feats: A war of a hundred da''
victories and no defeats, with no prisoners taken from us, ?
stayed; with a triumphant outcome startling in its complf
world-wide meaning. Was ever a war more justly er
!?68 SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION.
([Liickly fought, more fully won, more thorough in its results? Cuba is free.
Spain has been driven from the Western hemisphere. Fresh glory has
come to our arms and crowned our flag. It was the work of the American
people, but the Republican party was their instrument.
"So much for the past. We are proud of it, but we do not expect to
live upon it, for the Republican party is pre-eminently the party of action,
and its march is ever forward. The deeds of yesterday are in their turn a
pledge and proof that what we promise we perform, and that the people who
put faith in our declarations in 1896 were not deceived, and may place the
same trust in us in 1900. But our pathway has never lain among dead
issues, nor have we won our victories and made history by delving in political
graveyards.
"We are the party of today, with cheerful yesterdays and confident
tomorrows. The living present is oufs; the present of prosperity and activ-
ity in business, of good wages and quick payments, of labor employed and
capital invested; of sunshine in the market-place and the stir of abounding
life in the workshop and on the farm. It is with this that we have replaced
the depression, the doubts, the dull business, the low wages, the idle labor,
the frightened capital, the dark clouds which overhung industry and agricul-
ture in 1896. This is what we would preserve, so far as sound government
and wise legislation can do it. This is what we offer now."
In such an atmosphere of optimism the convention proceeded to adopt
the platform on which the candidates should ask the suffrages of the Amer-
ican electorate. That document set forth that four years before —
"When the people assembled at the polls after a term of Democratic
legislation and administration, business was dead, industry was paraylzed,
and the national credit disastrously impaired. The country's capital was
hidden away and its labor distressed and unemployed.
"The Democrats had no other plan with which to improve the ruinous
conditions, which they had themselves produced, than to coin silver at the
ratio of 16 to i. The Republican party, denouncing this plan as sure to
produce conditions even worse than those from which relief was sought,
promised to restore prosperity by means of two legislative measures — a pro-
tective tariff and a law making gold the standard of value.
"The people, by great majorities, issued to the Republican party a com-
^ mission to enact these laws. This commission has been executed, and the
^ ^Republican promise is redeemed. Prosperity, more general and more abun-
•<dant than \\ e have ever known, has followed these enactments. There is no
SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION. 201)
longer controversy as to the value of any government obligations. Every
American dollar is a gold dollar, or its assured equivalent, and American
credit stands higher than that of any other nation. Capital is fully em-
ployed and everywhere labor is profitably occupied.
"We endorse the administration of William McKinley. Its acts have
been established in wisdom and in patriotism, and at home and abroad it
has distinctly elevated and extended the influence of the American nation.
Walking untried paths and facing unforeseen responsibilities. President
McKinley has been in every situation the true American patriot, and the
upright statesman, clear in vision, strong in judgment, firm in action, always
inspiring, and deserving the confidence of his countrymen."
The platform further declared in favor of a renewal of "allegiance to the
principle of the gold standard"; of a law to effectually restrain and prevent
all conspiracies and combinations intended to restrict business, to create
monopolies, to limit production or to control prices; the protection policy
was endorsed, and legislation in favor of the interests of workingmen advo-
cated; help to American shipping, pensions for soldiers, maintenance of the
civil service system, construction of an isthmian canal, and endorsement of
the treaty of Paris were also favored.
This brought the convention to its third and last day's session, and it
was a veritable love feast. Factional fights and all friction as to policy had
been swept away. All that was now necessary was the naming of the ticket.
Twenty thousand people again crowded the convention hall, and the great
building was shaken again and again by the enthusiastic applause of the mul-
titude.
Alabama yielded to Ohio when the call of States began, and Senator
Foraker, to whom had been accorded the honor of nominating the Presi-
dent, arose and said:
"Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Convention: Alabama yields to
Ohio, and I thank Alabama for that accommodation. Alabama has so
yielded, however, by reason of a fact that would seem in an important sense
to make the duty that has been assigned to me a superfluous duty, for
Alabama has yielded because of the fact that our candidate for the Presidency
has in fact been already nominated. He was nominated by the distinguished
Senator from Colorado when he assumed the duties of temporary chairman.
He was nominated again yesterday by the distinguished Senator from Massa-
chusetts, when he took the ofEce of permanent chairman, and he was nom-
270 SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION.
inated for a third time when the Senator from Indiana yesterday read us the
platform.
"And not only has he been nominated by this convention, but he was
also nominated by the whole American people. From one end of this land
to the other, in every mind, only one and the same man is thought of for
the honor which we are now about to confer, and that man is the first choice
of every other man who wishes Republican success next November. Upon
this account, it is indeed not necessary for me or anyone else to speak for
him here or elsewhere. He has already spoken for himself, and to all the
world.
"He has a record replete with brilliant achievements; a record that
speaks at once both his performances and his highest energy. It compre-
hends both peace and war, and constitutes the most striking illustration
possible of triumphant and inspiring fidelity and success in the discharge of
public duty."
The nomination was seconded by Governor Roosevelt, Senator Thur-
ston, John W. Yerkes, of Kentucky, George Knight, of California, and
Governor Mount, of Indiana. When Senator Foraker pronounced the name
of the President, there was a great demonstration on the part of the con-
vention. Someone threw into the delegate's division a great bundle of red,
white and blue plumes, made of pampas grass. The delegates caught them
up, and with flags, handkerchiefs and State banners waving, shouted them-
selves hoarse. The whole convention, 926 delegates, voted for President
McKinley.
Then came the nomination for Vice-President. The wisdom of the con-
vention had decided on Governor Roosevelt, and all other candidates had
withdrawn from the contest. Though strongly against his inclination, the
Governor had agreed to accept the position. Colonel Lafayette Young,
of Iowa, nominated the Governor, and Butler Murray, of Massachusetts,
Gen. J. M. Ashton, of Wisconsin, and Senator Depew, of New York, sec-
onded the nomination. Senator Depew said, in closing:
"We have the best ticket ever presented. We have at the head of it a
Western man with Eastern notions, and we have at the other end, an Eastern
man with Western character — the statesman and the cowboy, the accom-
plished man of affairs, and the heroic fighter. The man who has proved
great as President, and the fighter who has proved great as Governor. We
leave this old town simply to keep on shouting and working to make it
unanimous for McKinley and for Roosevelt."
CHAPTER XXIV.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND THE CHINESE CRISIS.
When, in 1899 and 1900 all the civilized world was filled with indignation
ovei; the atrocities of the "Boxers," a vast element in China, and when it
became necessary for the United States to send its contingent of soldiers to
the scene, for the protection of United States interests there, and of its
diplomatic corps, this government's hand in the matter was guided by Presi-
dent McKinley.
The result was like that of all other affairs in which the comity of nations
has been involved, during President McKinley's incumbency of the execu-
tive place, so far as the United States were concerned. It was creditable to
this country, and was ramified by the judicious and commendably conserva-
tive character of the man.
The conduct of our country in it all was devoid of elements of greed and
spoliation, or revenge, or any sort of unnecessary violence, and there was an
utter and entire absence of outrage.
The great uprising of a large part of the Chinese population against the
presence of foreigners in the empire, which began in the latter part of 1899
and resulted in the loss of untold thousands of lives, was one of the strangest
occurrences in the history of the world. At its inception little was though'
of it by the other nations, for China has been the home of disorders, insur-
rections, uprisings and rebellions for many centuries, but when the revolt
spread from one province to another; when Christian missionaries were ruth-
lessly slaughtered on every hand; when natives who had been converted to
Christianity were subjected to the most horrible tortures; when foreign
ministers in Peking were assassinated and legations burned; when the guards
of other countries whose duty it was to protect the foreign representatives
and members of legations were attacked by the imperial Chinese troops and
forced to shoot down the soldiers of the empire as well as the rioters by the
thousand in order to save themselves; when millions of dollars' worth of
property belonging to missionaries and citizens of other countries had been
burned; when the fleets of foreign nations were fired upon by the Chinese,
as was the case at Taku on the morning of June 17th, 1900, resulting in the
taking of the forts by the foreign fleets after a brisk bombardment; and,
271
S72 McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS.
finally, when the American, British, German, Russian, French, Italian and
Japanese soldiers, sailors and marines sent to the relief of the imprisoned
ambassadors and ministers of the great powers of the world were beaten
back by the Chinese troops with heavy loss, then, and then only, did the
other nations fully realize the great danger that confronted them. The
awful Yellow Terror was wild for blood, and determined to drive every one
of the "white devils," as the Celestials call all foreigners, out of the Empire.
When the outside countries demanded that their ambassadors and minis-
ters, as well as their citizens in China, be protected, the Chinese government
replied that the uprising was too widespread to be controlled, and then the
powers took the matter in hand themselves and sent troops by the thousand
— the aggregate by the end of July, 1900, being nearly 100,000, with fully
that many on their way or ready to start. Meanwhile the Chinese imperial
troops, most of them having joined the insurgents, showed their fighting
qualities in several engagements, and the tried and trained warriors of the
United States, England, France, Russia, Germany, and other countries
soon found they were opposed by no mean foe. The Chinese have a con-
tempt for death, and are stoical when undergoing the most frightful punish-
ment; they fell in ranks and rows and heaps before the steady fire of the
invaders, but yet they came on. The one thing they did not like, however,
was the use of the bayonet against them, and when the foreign troops
resorted to the cold steel and rushed upon them with it the Chinese invariably
gave way.
The uprising which began in 1899 was the most extensive China had
ever known, and the national government soon found itself helpless. It was
Incited by the secret society Ye-Ho-Chuan, or "Boxers," the literal meaning
or translation of the name of the society being "Righteousness, Harmony
and Fists." It had about 4,000,000 members in the Empire, and while
the society was formed for the purpose of overthrowing the Manchu dynasty,
which represented not more than 12,000,000 of the 450,000,000 people of
China, its hatred of all foreigners was the predominating spirit. The "Box-
ers" first began by attacking the outlying foreign mission settlements and
then worked their way to the capital of the Empire, leaving a bloody trail
behind them.
China had always hated the people of outside countries, and never had
much to do with them until about the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
China traded as little as she could with the outside world. Indeed, there
was formerly a law punishing with death any Chinaman who ever visited
McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS. 273
any other country. "China for the Chinese," was the watchword, and the
lives of foreigners have never been safe in the Flowery Kingdom.
China is thousands of years old, and was known to the ancients — the old-
est nations of which history makes record. It was mentioned in ancient
Sanskrit literature, but little was known of it. It was called by the earliest
civilizations as Seres; two thousand or more years ago it was known as
Chin, possibly because of the Thsin dynasty, which occupied the throne some
two hundred years before Christ. In the Middle Ages it was called Cathay.
The probabilities are that the name China comes from the race called Chinas,
who lived in the mountains near the Indies, and was a branch of the Dard
races. This name probably reached Europe through the Arabs.
In 1840 China had her first experience with a civilized power. She had
been fighting barbarian nations like herself for many centuries, but had
never become embroiled with any of the western countries. England had
been doing a large trade with China in opium, to which the mandarins of
the Empire, who really ruled the country, objected, and finally they stopped
all foreign trade whatever, England declared war and captured Canton,
Shanghai and other important cities, after subjecting them to bombardment
and China, to gain peace, being defenseless, paid England an indemnity of
$21,000,000 and opened the ports of Amoy, Fuh-Chow-Foo, Ningpo and
Shanghai to foreign trade.
Troubles then began to visit poor China in hordes. A rebellion broke
out in consequence of the failure of the Emperor Heenfung to carry out
promised reforms, and taking advantage of this, one Hung Sew-tseuen,
who had been converted to Christianity, and who knew the longing of his
countrymen for a native Chinese dynasty, proclaimed the inauguration of
the Taiping dynasty with himself as the first Emperor. This was in 1852.
He overran several provinces and captured Nanking, which he made his
capital, and was further aided in his schemes by England, which declared
war against the Tartar or Manchu dynasty in 1857 and gained further trade
advantages. France also joined in this campaign and the allies marched to
the very gates of Peking. A war indemnity of 8,000,000 taels was also paid
by the imperial government to the victors.
China quarreled with Japan over Corea, the Hermit Kingdom, in 1894,
and was badly whipped both on sea and land. The Japanese fleet and army
captured and occupied Port Arthur and Wei-Hai-Wei, the two strongest
harbors on the northern China coast. Japan proposed to keep Port Arthur.
Russia, with the assistance of Germany and France, compelled Japan to
274 McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS.
restore Port Arthur to China. Afterwards Russia took Port Arthur herself,
and proceeded to make it the strongest mihtary and naval base in the Pacific.
From 1895 until 1899 the outrages in China on foreign missions, schools,
and hospitals were of monthly occurrence. At the same time foreign aggres-
sion on Chinese territory became more marked. Russia, Germany, France
and England acquired large areas of territory, either by lease or by force,
and began fortifications, railroads, factories, etc. This foreign aggression
only intensified the popular discontent among the Chinese masses, and the
secret societies flourished as never before.
The "Boxers" had been ravaging, pillaging and murdering for some
months before the European powers became awakened to the seriousness
of the situation. During the latter part of May, 1900, the Washington gov-
ernment addressed a note of warning to Peking to the effect that the United
States could not stand idly by and see its citizens slaughtered and their prop-
erty destroyed, as the Chinese government was bound by treaty to protect
the persons and property of citizens of friendly nations. No reply was made
to this, for it soon became apparent that the Dowager Empress w^as friendly
to the "Boxets." Small bodies of imperial troops w^ere sent against the
"Boxers," but the latter easily overcame the soldiers, who at once joined
them.
The "Boxers" society was organized in the province of Shan-Tung, and
it grew so rapidly that the great provinces of Shan-Tung, Honan and
Pechili were completely under its control. Soon it had branches in every
province of the Empire, and entirely dominated Pechili, the province in
which Peking lies. Its leaders were energetic and resourceful, and by the
end of May, 1900, all China was aflame.
The 4,000,000 membership of the "Boxers" society was made up of
coolies, river men, idlers, pirates, bandits, and criminals of all classes. But
their leaders, although unknown to the European authorities in the far East
in the latter part of 1899 when the great uprising was inaugurated, were men
of ability and shrewdness.
The "Boxers" might reasonably be considered as simply a part and par-
cel of the revolutionary propaganda in China. The society differed little
from other societies known at different times as the "Society of Heaven,"
the "Heaven and Earth Society," the "Triads," the "Black Flags," the
"Teente Brotherhood," the "Tea Society," the "Water Lilies," the "Floods,"
or the "Vegetarians."
These societies and others wit]; different names but similar purposes,
McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS. 275
waged constant war against the foreigners. Tliey always resented the pres-
ence of Christian missions and commercial enterprises alike. To them the
engineer who surveyed a railroad, the physician who came to end an epi-
demic, and the missionary were equally the objects of aversion, and the
secret society murdered the one as cheerfully as the other.
Previous to the ''Boxer" outbreak there were three or four rebellions
which tended to put the Celestials in the humor to fight anything and any-
body, particularly the foreigners.
China is yet honeycombed, and has been for centuries, as no other coun-
try in the world with secret societies, embracing all classes, having an exist-
ence dating from the second century of the Christian era — an existence not
of tradition but vouched for by record.
Up to 1898 these secret societies had for their main object the overthrow
of the Manchu or Tartar dynasty, but after that they devoted their attention
to the expulsion of the foreigner from the land. It has always been a mistake
to believe that John Chinaman was a stranger to patriotism. Indeed, so
passionately devoted is he to his native country that he makes arrangements
for the return of his bones to the Flowery Kingdom in the event of his dying
in foreign lands. This fiber of patriotism was utilized in 1900 by that extraor-
dinarily clever woman, the Dowager Empress, to rally the entire nation into
the presentation of a virtually united front to the foreigner, to convert the
secret societies from anti-dynastic into anti-foreign movements, and to
achieve that which the Triad sought in vain to bring about at the time of
the Taiping rebellion — namely: cooperation of all the secret societies, one
with another, against the common foe, which this time was not the Manchu
conqueror but the white foreigner.
It can hardly be denied that from about 1840 to 1900 China was sub-
jected to a degree of indignity, insult, extortion, and bullying on the part
of some of the foreign powers no Christian power would have tolerated.
Treaties were imposed upon her by force, her finest harbors seized, and
vast stretches of her littoral successively placed under foreign rule. She
was compelled to consent to agreements providing for the transfer of her
immense river trade to foreign flags, and for the gridironing of the entire
land by means of foreign built and foreign controlled railroads, while for
every concession made by her a dozen new ones were presented by the for-
eign powers.
In December, 1899, the Empress issued a secret edict, addressed to the
Viceroys of the various provinces.
276 McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS.
"The various foreign powers cast upon us looks of tigerlike voracity,
hustling each other in their endeavors to be the first to seize upon our inner-
most territories," she declared.
"They fail to understand that there are certain things which this Empire
can never consent to do, and that if hard pressed we have no alternative but
to rely upon the justice of our cause."
Four weeks later another edict was dispatched to the same officials by
the Dowager Empress, who had, it was said, English or American blood in
her veins, her mother having been a Eurasian, or child of a white father and
Manchu mother. In this second edict the Viceroys were warned to exercise
a prudent discrimination towards the disturbers of public peace.
"The reckless fellows who band together and create riot on the pretext
of securing the inauguration of reforms," were to be punished, while those
"loyal subjects who learn gymnastic drill for the protection of their families
and their country," that was to say, the members of the "Righteous Har-
mony Fists ('Boxers') association," w^ere to be favored. The "Boxers" asso-
ciation was openly a society for the cultivation of gymnastics, but secFttly
an anti-foreign political movement, something like those "Turnverein" or
gymnastic societies which played so important a political role in Germany
at the beginning of the nineteenth century, becoming one of the most impor-
tant factors in the liberation of the fatherland from the presence of the
French invader. From the time the "Boxers" were openly encouraged by
the Empress, they became a means of union among all the various secret
societies, and the fact that these societies in all parts of the immense Chinese
Empire simultaneously took to arms to drive out the foreigner was due to
the adroitness of the old Empress, who thus, at the close of the nineteenth
century, emulated in a way the role played by Queen Louise of Prussia
when she roused her countrymen to rid Germany from the thraldom of
Napoleon.
How^ever, the Chinese went about it in the most horrible fashion, sub-
jecting the objects of their hatred to the most agonizing tortures and inflict-
ing upon them every conceivable atrocity the barbarian mind could invent.
The fact that Hon. Edwin H. Conger, United States Minister to China,
his wife and daughter, were among the foreign ambassadors and ministers
shut up in Peking, and sometimes reported massacred, was sufficient reason
that the United States should join with the allied armies in the w^ar against
"The Yellow Terror," and there were other good reasons. Thus came about
the part that the United States naval and military forces took in that war,
McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS. 277
in which occurred the battle of Tien-Tsin and the reHef of Peking, together
with the development of the fact that Minister Conger and his family were
safe. All of which are matters of recent history, and for which there is
no reason that it should be repeated here.
In the entire war, however, the exemplary conduct of the American sol-
diers was apparent to the world, and it has been shown that the kindness of
President McKinley and the humane nature that characterized him in all
things was the spirit that pervaded the American camp.
The brutality and savagery of the Russian troops composing a part of the
allied forces which captured the City of Tien-Tsin July 14, 1900, were almost
beyond belief. In view of the frightful excesses of the soldiers of the Czar,
it was not at all strange that the Chinese should have regarded the people of
the so-called civilized nations with distrust. It should be said in this connec-
tion, and in justice to the other troops of the international column, that the
Russians were the only ones who committed excesses of aiiy sort, while
the United States troops did what they could to prevent looting and murder.
The Americans commanded the admiration of all by their conduct, but the
Russians were condemned on every side.
Further testimony of the great respect and admiration manifested for
the United States troops is shown in the story of the march to Peking:
A correspondent, in describing the men as they appeared when sweep-
ing through a town not far from Tien-Tsin, said the Americans impressed
the spectators more than any other troops because they looked and acted so
business-like. It was most gratifying to the people of the United States that
the reports from China were invariably favorable to their soldiers, who com-
pelled the respect and admiration of the allies and Chinese alike. It was
demonstrated as never before that the American soldier was the most
effective fighter on earth. It was not claimed that he led all others in
bravery, but certainly no one ranked higher than he in that respect. All had
courage and daring, but no other soldier shot so accurately. The Chinese
gave testimony to that effect, and they had the best kind of an opportunity to
learn the facts.
"When w^e see so many falling around us that we are forced to run,"
said a captured Chinaman, "then we know we are fighting Americans."
This superiority in marksmanship was conceded by the allies, too. They
had seen it demonstrated often, and the brave man is quick to give credit
where credit is due. "When firing at the top of a wall," said one correspond-
ent, "the American bullets chip the masonry." The Japanese gave especially
278 McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS.
convincing evidence of the opinion in which the American soldier was held
in China. They are enthusiastic little fellows, and are ever anxious to learn
all that friend or foe can teach them, and they gave particular attention to
the methods and work of the Americans.
"We do not shoot as well as you," said a Japanese officer, "but we have
seen the importance of learning it. Look out for us; in a few years more
we shall shoot even as well as the Americans."
If imitation is the sincerest flattery, Uncle Sam's enlisted men have rea-
son to feel proud, for no one is so quick as the Jap to see what is worth imi-
tating. His judgment and perceptive power in this line are what brought
him so rapidly to the front.
All in all, the people of the United States had ample excuse for pride in
the men who were representing them on the battlefield in China. The record
made was splendid.
After describing the appearance of the troops of other nationalities on
the march, the correspondent said:
"Then came the Americans, looking so hardy and determined, marching
like veterans, although so many of them were very young, and carrying their
rifles like men who know how to use them. They do know how to use them,
as the Chinese are well aware. When there is any hot work to do — where
fine marksmanship is needed — they always have the United States troops
attend to it, and the job is always well done.
"Captain Reilly's Battery — only about 200 horses and six guns — closed
the United States column. Poor Reilly! He fell while directing his men
before the walls of the Sacred City at Peking, and died like the hero he was.
There was no attempt at show when Reilly's battery passed the spot where
we were standing — none of the 'pomp and circumstance of glorious war' —
and Reilly himself, a little bald, gray man, a sort of Joe Wlieeler. But Reilly
is the fashion here today and everybody wants to see him."
Thoroughly illustrative of President McKinley's attitude in that war, and
characteristic of him and his administration, is the following correspondence
between him and the Emperor of China:
On July 19th the Emperor of China appealed to President McKinley
to intercede with the powers to bring about peace. It reached Washington
July 23rd. The following is the Emperor's appeal:
"The Emperor of China. To his Excellency the President of the United
States, Greeting: — China has long maintained friendly relations with the
McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS. 279
United States, and is deeply conscious that the object of the United States
is international commerce. Neither country entertains the least suspicion or
distrust toward the other. Recent outbreaks of mutual antipathy between
the people and Christian missions caused the foreign powers to view with
suspicion the position of the imperial government as favorable to the people
and prejudicial to the missions, with the result that the Taku forts were
attacked and captured. Consequently, there has been clashing of forces
with calamitous consequences. The situation has become more and more
serious and critical.
"We have just received a telegraphic memorial from our envoy, Wu
Ting Fang, and it is highly gratifying to us to learn that the United States
government, having in view the friendly relations between the two countries,
has taken a deep interest in the present situation. Now China, driven by
the irresistible course of events, has unfortunately incurred well-nigh uni-
versal indignation. For settling the present dif^culty, China places special
reliance in the United States. We address this message to your excellency
in all sincerity and candidness with the hope that your excellency will devise
measures and take the initiative in bringing about a concert of the powers for
the restoration of order and peace. The favor of a kind reply is earnestly
requested, and aw^aited \vith the greatest anxiety.
"KWANG-HSU, 26th year, 6th Moon, 23rd day (July 19)."
President McKinley at once replied as follows:
"The President of the United States, to the Emperor of China, Greet-
ing:— I have received your majesty's message of the 19th of July, and am
glad to know that your majesty recognizes the fact that the government and
people of the United States desire of China nothing but w^hat is just and
equitable. The purpose for which we landed troops in China was the rescue
of our legation from grave danger and the protection of the lives and prop-
erty of Americans who were sojourning in China in the enjoyment of rights
guaranteed them by treaty and by international law. The same purposes
are publicly declared by all the powers which have landed military forces in
your majesty's empire.
"I am to infer from your majesty's letter that the malefactors who have
disturbed the peace of China, who have murdered the ■Minister of Ger-
many and a member of the Japanese legation, and who now hold besieged
in Peking those foreign diplomatists who still survive, have not only not
received any favor or encouragement from your majesty, but are actually in
280 McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS.
rebellion against the imperial authority. If this be the case, I most solemnly
urge upon your majesty's government to give public assurance whether the
foreign Ministers are alive, and, if so, in what condition.
"2. To put the diplomatic rejtresentatives of the powers in immediate
and free communication with their respective governments and to remove
all danger to their lives and liberty.
"3. To place the imperial authorities of China in communication with
the relief expedition so that cooperation may be secured between them for
the liberation of the legationers, the protection of foreigners and the res-
toration of order.
"If these objects are accomplished, it is the belief of this government that
no obstacles will be found to exist on the part of the powers to an amicable
settlement of all the questions arising out of the recent troubles, and the
friendly good offices of this government will, with the assent of the other
powers, be cheerfully placed at your majesty's disposition for that purpose.
"WILLIAM McKINLEY.
"By the President: JOHN HAY, Secretary of State.
"July 23, 1900."
By reason of the good offices of President McKinley, a settlement of the
Chinese troubles was had that was equitable to all parties concerned. It is
doubtful if such a result could have been reached otherwise.
As it was, instead of attempted dismemberment of the Chinese Empire,
and a program of wholesale looting, spoliation and consequent disturbances
between the powers interested, the matter was settled with honor to all the
world.
McKinley's kindly heart and hand was of the leaven that leavened it all.
CHAPTER XXV.
McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
The traveller standing close at the foot of a mountain can form no idea
of its altitude nor of its bulk. He can have no conception of its grandeur,
of its majesty, of the myriad beauties which embellish its sides and crown its
summit, nor of the limitless riches concealed in its bosom. It is only when
time and distance and reflection; when frequent returns and thoughtful
visits have set the scene in fair perspective that he appreciates the marvels of
the mountain.
The American citizen to-day cannot easily appreciate the full value of
William McKinley's life work. It was not his career as a soldier, his record
as a lawyer, his achievements in the halls of Congress; it was not as Gov-
ernor nor as President that posterity will recognize him at his very greatest,
and it was not in either of these capacities that he miade his mightiest impress
upon the American Republic.
His master work was in giving his country its proper place in the family
of the world.
Extravagant eulogy w'ould say he reconstructed the Republic; that he
conjured a new nation into life; that he lifted the millions of his country-
men from darkness into light; that he bestowed the grandeur of imperial
sunshine upon the humble inhabitants of a neglected land. The extrava-
gant eulogy would not be wholly inaccurate in essence, nor necessarily
offensive in terms. And yet the more modest statement more nearly com-
prehends the essential truth.
He did not recreate the Republic. Practically all the elements here at
the end of his life were here at the beginning. He did not conjure up a
new nation. The mighty people who followed his bidding in 1898 and so on
to the end could never have been conjured from its elements by any force
less potential than Omnipotence!
And yet the true American can get a better conception of the dignity of
his citizenship; a better estimate of the majesty of national life, a prouder
view of world-wide actions upon the theater of the world if he -will but
patiently and justly consider the steps in the transition which certainly has
281
282 McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
occurred, and trace the credit through each crisis to the influence most
potent in producing that result.
It is believed the work and influence of William McKinley was that most
potent force; that, more than any other one man he has led his people from
the halls of an heritage of which they were justly proud up to the threshold
of an estate immeasurably more magnificent.
Let us begin at the beginning. When he came back from the army he
deliberately studied the whole situation. He saw the national condition then
existing, judged with astonishing accuracy what would be the salient suc-
cessive features in its future development, calculated with rare discrimina-
tion what treatment would be best in each era, and devoted all his energies
to aiding in that progress to the very limit of his ability. He had never a
doubt from the first what the end would be. But he did have a more sure
foresight of what the future held than had most other Americans then living.
One cannot say that he foresaw the time when the Republic should issue its
mandate to a monarch of the old world, when it should serve notice of eject-
ment upon a king; when it should lay the restraining hand upon a mob of
emperors and potentates struggling in disgraceful melee for the spoliation of
an ancient nation. And yet, standing in the shadow of his funeral flags, with
the echoes of knelling bells in the ears, and the memory of that mighty work
so late accomplished, one can but see abundant reason for the belief that HE
KNEW! How else shall one account for that conduct which admits of ex-
planation on no other ground than that the guiding spirit understood? How
else shall one justify the actions which committed him to criticism, which
could reflect honor upon him only in the event of this marvelous accom-
plishment?
It was clear to him that for twenty years after the war the nation would
be busy in construction; that the general aim would be to establish produc-
tive industries — North and South — that men would be building homes,
advancing into new country, opening new mines, reaching farther into the
wilderness, reclaiming more and more of the waste land, building more rail-
roads, launching more steamships; and that there would come a period of
erecting new homes, of beautifying, of adornment, of polish; and that then
would come an era of study toward the conservation of forces, the learning
of less expensive ways of doing what had been effectively done before — the
era of economizing — to be swiftly followed by the era of stupendous wealth.
And let that man who contends the essentials of this picture were not fore'
seen by William McKinley account on any other basis, if he can, for that
c
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McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 285
Statesman's steadfast progress toward the one result which they alone could
produce. Let that man who denies, reflect for a moment that these stages
of development — from first to last — were foretold by William jMcKinley in
a thousand speeches. It is not contended that in 1876 he "revealed'' to his
fellows that war with Spain would come in 1898; nor that he declared in
1880 that "the flag of the free" would wave over lands in the shadows of
Asia at the sunrise of a new century. But no man who knows the history
of his country and follows well this true story of William McKinley's life can
contend that he did not in 1876 see the imminence of that tariff struggle
which culminated in 1880; nor that he failed in 1892 to see the need of a
financial reform which 1896 should usher in; or that he underrated in 1898
the mighty consequences of that step which launched his people into a
foreign war.
It has been said that he, almost alone of Americans, stood for a protec-
tive tariff at the very close of the Civil War. Foreseeing that period of in-
dustrial development, he looked at the rolling oceans, and knew each billow
would bear on its foamy back a load of goods for American markets; and
that each departing ship would heap in its hold the dollars that Americans
had paid for those goods. And he knew that, with such a policy, American
development could never go beyond the bondman stage; that "the land of
the free and the home of the brave" would indefinitely remain mortgaged to
the lords of cheaper labor, the host of shrewder men.
So from the first he struggled for a tariff rate which seemed small lessen-
ing of the burden that the war had left. Against the superficial charge of
injustice he offered the defense of ultimate benefit, and if some of his
countrymen were slow to see, let it be said to the credit of a majority that
they followed him — not always seeing, but ever trusting until the crisis had
passed.
Surely it is no exaggeration to say that William McKinley did more than
any other man in America to fix and maintain the policy of protection. It
can scarcely be too much to say that, without him, the protective policy
w'ould have been overthrown.
If these are conceded, it must follow- that the preparation for the newer
era, developed fr'om that in which he labored, may be chiefly credited to
him.
It was necessary to foster the industries of the United States. Maybe
in the following of that policy some selfish persons took a mean and un-
patriotic advantage of their countrymen, and claimed a concession they
17
!i36 McKlNLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
neither needed nor deserved. But in the main the effort was to build up
such a wealth as no nation on earth ever before acquired in a similar lapse
of time, by peaceful pursuits or the conquests of a victorious war. And if
the day came when all that wealth was needed, it may be triumphantly re-
joined that the money was here.
Over and over again Mr. McKinley had been assailed with the conten-
tion that, while protection would infallibly enrich a certain favored class —
the manufacturers — it would as certainly impoverish and keep in poverty the
people who must buy their goods. But the issue confounded them. Every
class in America shared in the stupendous prosperity which protection in-
sured. Never was labor so largely employed, never had it been so munifi-
cently rewarded. Never was the farmer so fortunately situated. Wide as
were his fields, he added to them. Bountiful as were his harvests, he found
markets for them. Never was the mechanic so much in demand. Never
was the artisan so much sought after. And — as the flight of time brought
the inevitable desire for refinement — never was there such a compensation
for the artist, or the writer, the singer or the sculptor. The overflowing
cofYers of the country enriched all the countrymen who deserved.
Then came the pause when a nation, rising to the stature of maturity,
looked over the mountain boundary, looked over the ocean wall, and felt the
unformed impulse to share in the affairs of the world. It was so natural, as
inevitable, as that the youth of health and strength should feel the stirring
of desire to mingle with his kind. It is not scorn of home. It is not con-
tempt for the precious past. But it is obedience to a law which Abram
heard away there in Ur, of the Chaldees, and obeyed in his western pilgrim-
age. It is the process of growth which the Creator meant all mankind
should feel.
At the doors of the continent lay the island of Cuba. From time before
the Republic was founded, that island had been the spoil of the Spaniards.
There was not a day since Ovando landed that did not see the Cubans
cruelly treated by the Don. How they ever throve under a domination so
severe is one of the mysteries. The Ruler of all the Earth must have raised
up that people and preserved it through awful adversity for a purpose neither
its leaders nor their task masters could foresee.
But the tax collector was there. The Castilian despoiler was there. The
hand of the oppressor was laid heavily upon the Cubans, and they died at
the edge of the sword through two hundred years of tyranny.
And in that day when the American Republic had attamed its growth,
McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 287
haJ reached its nianliood, there was a protest against a continuance of
cruelty. The RepubHc demanded that the Don cease from troubhng; that
the Cubans be rescued.
President McKinley waited until the united voice of his countrymen
convinced him that they had surely arrived at years of national discretion,
and that their challenge was not the utterance of a passionate mood but the
expression of an unalterable determination. And then he issued his order to
Spain:
"Leave the West Indies forever!"
There w'as reason in the demand. Cuba lay so close to our shores that
her continual suffering, the outrages perpetrated upon her people, became a
scandal in the eyes of the Republic. It was like a strong man standing un-
moved while a child is being beaten by a bully.
Besides, one consequence of such rule as the Spaniards maintained was a
perilous sanitary condition in the cities that traded continually with the ports
of the States. American cities had learned the rules of health, and had
banished yellow fever and the cholera. But what profit in that provision if
a ship sailed across the narrow sea and spread the plague upon our shores?
There was reason in self defense for the notice to quit.
That fundamental principle of the nation called the "Monroe doctrine"
forbade any powder in the old world from extending its rule in the new. It
is but a logical sequence of that system that an old w^orld power w^hich
cannot in two hundred years complete its subjugation of a new world
people has never had a right it could maintain here; that no king from
Europe had title to soil in the Western hemisphere if he could not perfect
that title in that lapse of time. And as a policy of the nation and the in-
terest of the nation joined in dictating the action, the Spaniards were com-
manded to retire. The time had come when President McKinley could make
his case good even in the courts of old-world kings. And there was not a
murmur of protest from a palace abroad when Madrid received that por-
tentous command.
But there was another reason — another consideration which men too
often overlook, yet which was of the most stupendous value to the Re-
public. War with a forejgn power would reunite a country divided by civil
strife, and stubbornly, ill-temperedly refusing to perfect its peace.
It was probably admitted that the passions following the rebellion and
particularly provoked by the assassination of President Lincoln, serv^ed as
warrant for a severity in dealing with the Southern States which was far be-
288 McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
yond the boundaries of justice. There was a Draconian rigidity about the
laws which the losers were compelled to obey; a perhaps needless austerity
in impressing the fact of conquest. Sectional passions were aroused, sec-
tional jealousies and animosities w-ere inflamed until unthinking men both
North and South had achieved the bad success of creating a religion of hate.
In the years when Major McKinley was acting the citizen-soldier part — put-
ting away his sword and devoting himself to the activities of peace — many
less patriotic and wise than he were teaching their children to hate the South.
As the Swiss youth imbibed hatred of Austria with their mother's milk, so
these children in the North were filled with a bitter rage against the children
who sat in the Southland, under the shadow of the stars and stripes. And the
generation grew up in that enmity for brothers in the Republic, and many
men profited by making the propagation of strife their one profession — the
division of their country their one occupation. The poets 3ay that love be-
gets love. It is certainly as true that hatred begets hate. And if the youth
of the North approached public questions always with the poison of sectional
prejudice rankling in their hearts and warping their judgments, be sure the
people of the South most cordially reciprocated. To thousands above the
Ohio river, the states below that stream were still "rebel." To thousands
below the people of the North were brutal and murderous invaders.
Through all the period when the nation was gathering material strength
the effort of wise men was to heal that hurt, to reunite the nation, to erase
forever that bitter dividing sectional line. But they could not succeed.
Throughout Major McKinley's public speeches, dating from that first de-
bate, when he was scarcely out of uniform, clear to the end of his career, one
finds to-day no word of anger against the South; one finds unnumbered ex-
pressions of fraternal love and good will.
Others followed his example, and swelled the rising chorus of a newer
Union. But it was from 1865 to 1898, a mere mockery. The fabric of
fraternity was but a gossarner web. The bridge that spanned the chasm was
a network of fancy, and men knew they could not cross. The very brother-
hood in which men from the two sections met in public and private life was
the sheerest superficiality, and each w^as ready to fly to arms at a moment's
notice.
What, above all things, was needed as an absolute condition precedent
to national advance? Why, national unity! And no man had been able to
effect it. But when William McKinley heard that rising demand for stern
measures with Spain, he heard as well the pledge of a new and everlasting
bond of union.
McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 289
So that the war with Spain was not merely the checking of a bully, the
act of a humane power, the safeguarding of cities from the descent of the
plague, the assuring of security to Americans resident in Cuba and the pro-
tection to American trade with that island. It was, as well, the master magic
which could banish strife at home; it was the building of a Vulcan forge to
weld beyond the power of breaking the one bond "from the lakes to the
gulf." For the first stroke at Americans by Spaniards was a challenge that
was answered by indignant manhood in every state from the everglades of
Florida to the snow-crowned heights of Mount Tacoma. And OUR NA-
TION sprang to arms!
Sometimes there is internal strife in your family, in your circle of friends,
in your party. That is a wise father who can deftly devise a situation which
compels his household to make common cause. That is a shrewd citizen
who can rally his friends by a stroke which menaces all of them. That
politician is skillful who can swiftly sweep away dissension by a turn which
menaces the whole organization. And that was a wise President who saw
behind the rising war cloud the rainbow of a hope which nothing else could
reveal.
There was no need for them to blow up the Maine. Without that
dastardly act, there would inevitably have come a change. Spanish oppres-
sion in Cuba would have ceased. The reforms demanded by the Republic
would have been accomplished — every one. But, it would have been by the
action of Spain, and without inflicting upon that nation the expense, the
humiliation and the disaster of a war. Possibly, too, had those reforms been
made, had the conscience and humanity of Americans been satisfied without
striking a blow, the abolishing of the sectional line would not have occurred.
But it is needless to speculate on what might have occurred. What did
occur is known. It was definite. At the moment when Spain, had she
rightly appreciated the situation, should have borne herself with all dignity
and honor, the blow which hurled down her house was struck. In the mid-
dle of the night the darkness was rifted with a lance of flame, the world was
rocked with the shock of explosion, and a battleship, on an errand of peace
and courtesy, was crushed in the grip of a submarine mine — and all over the
still surface of the starlit bay floated the mangled corpses of the slain. The
darkest deed since St. Bartholomew night, the most savage act since Cal-
cutta's Black Hole had stained the page of history, and Christian civilization
had seen a Christian nation sound the deepest deep of Infamy.
That bursting mine jolted the molecules of mankind into a new combina-
290 McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
tion, and the Republic became a Union indeed. After all, blood is thicker
than water; and he who uttered that —
" — bubbling cry
Of some strong swimmer in his agony — "
was an American. Of course America was roused.
The story of the War with Spain has been well told. But it fails to im-
press its moral if you miss the master hand of President McKinley in fixing
forever the unity of the Union. He appointed to the command of American
soldiers those who had commanded with ability, either North or South, in
the Civil War, And they proved his sagacity, for — without exception — they
quit them like men. They were strong. The flag of Washington at Valley
Forge, of Gates at Yorktown, of Jackson at New Orleans, of Perry on Lake
Erie, of Lawrence, and Fremont, and Grant was the one banner about which
they rallied. They won the war. And they brought no honor to either
North or South— but brought it all HOME.
This cannot well be overestimated. The time had come when the Re-
public must advance from the formative stage to the stature of a power of
the world. It could not do so divided. Through the skillful use of possi-
bilities placed in his hands by the war, President McKinley at a stroke, and
within a week from that night in February when Havana harbor heaved
with the heaving of a treacherous stroke, made his people one.
Then they were ready!
Swiftly came the knocking of Hawaii for admission to the national fold.
It needed no war. No cannon, no circling sword or plunging bayonet was
in demand. The thousands of lives sought citizenship in the Republic, and
the material millions offered themselves for the nation's enrichment. And
in a day the United States of America held half the ocean as its own.
No need of recapitulating. The Ladrones, Porto Rico, and the Philip-
pines, an empire wider than Ferdinand knew, a region richer in wealth and
more pregnant with possibility than Carthage conquered, was added to the
Republic in a year. The nation which had insisted on a home market, had
taken command of the markets of the world. The nation which had only
insisted that no foreign power interfere on this side the Atlantic, stretched
the arm of might and the word of command into the camps of kings — and
secured obedience.
Nothing that occurred in the United States could in any way have pro-
duced the events which took place in China. The Boxer rebellion was a
McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 20]
local event, due solely to conditions existing there. American interests — nf
merchant and missionary, of embassador and traveller, of scientist and
scholar — were all affected by those massacres which amazed the world.
Imagine, if yoit will, what would have been the result had the Republic been
in 1900 what it was in 1890. Then we had no army in the Philippines. The
nations of Europe, hurrying in response to that cry for help from the hun-
dreds in the legation, had small thought of America. Well, American
merchants had been massacred, American property destroyed, American
missions burned and American consuls assailed. But to the European of
1890 there would not have been a suggestion of America appearing on the
scene with force of arms.
But the America of 1900 providentially had a force at hand. The fact
had already been established that the Republic was a world power, and must
be considered as such. And when General Chaffee marched from Tien Tsin
to Pekin, he was not regarded as an intruder. He was not looked upon with
cold superciliousness. The king's men knew there was no place on the face
of the earth where the Republic might not appear. They knew it had the
right to appear at any point where its interests were menaced, or where
honor called. And they knew it had the power to go, to do, and to return
with laurels.
Perhaps the Republic's influence over the king's men at Pekin was the
greatest evidence of President McKinley's masterly administration. That
influence checked the looting. It preserved native rights. It assisted in
a just retribution, and then stayed the mailed fist of unchristian vengeance.
It prevented the partition of China, and insured the integrity of that ancient
empire. And it loomed before the world as a nation strong enough to take
care of itself at home or abroad, and wise enough to be just. It was an ex-
hibition that did more for the good fame of the Republic than any other
act imaginable.
And not a detail of it could have happened had not the army been in
Luzon. Not a detail could have happened in 1890!
It is not easy for a little man to change his mind. The small man must
be "consistent," because he can see nothing but small things; because he
can not appreciate the changes which inevitably come in the world. But
the world does change; and he who tries to make the clothes of yesterday fit
the occasion of to-day makes utter failure. Not many men who followed
Major McKinley, the protectionist, could easily grasp the purpose of Presi-
dent McKinley, the supporter of the gold standard. Not all who indorsed
292 McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
him in his financial policy could appreciate the swift changes which suc-
ceeded each other in the world policies from 1898 to 1901. Yet each was
necessary in its place, and if the President had failed to grasp the situation,
if he had failed to take at its flood that tide in the affairs of nations, the Re-
public that mourns him to-day would be but a hermit Union, refusing to
employ its majestic powers and of no more consideration in the assembly of
nations than is the navy of Switzerland in a marine exhibition.
No year ever brought swifter development to a people than did 1898 to
the United States of America. Questions of military policy and questions
of statesmanship, matters of immediate expediency and matters that looked
to the future — all these crowded the hurrying hours of that most immemorial
year. It is not curious that even the President was outrun by the speeding
conditions. When Porto Rico became a part of the United States it was
asked: "Shall her products come in free at the ports of the m.ainland?" And
President McKinley, pressed upon by a multitude of duties, occupied with a
myriad cares, filling his days and his nights with most careful watching of
details that had multiplied in a twelvemonth, said: "It is our plain duty to
give free trade to Porto Rico." And the word was heralded to the ends of
the earth. Then came the practical. If that sound theory should be en-
forced in actual commerce, a disturbance would arise which would prove
lamentable. It were better to preserve the forms of a tariff until such time
as revenues of the island would support the government of the island, giving
back, meanwhile, every dollar derived from the Porto Ricans by that tariff.
The changing conditions had made that the wiser plan.
President McKinley led his fellow countrymen through the changes of
the passing years, guiding them always in the way most wise for that peculiar
time, and turning to new methods when the new occasion demanded. And
in the end we see the magnificent structure which his planning and his
labors have perfected. We see the very greatest nation on earth, made
great by protection; we see the richest nation, made rich with a sound
money; w^e see the strongest nation, made strong by an actual union; and we
see the most potent and influential nation on earth, made so by the foreign
policy of William McKinley. Remember —
"For I doubt not through the ages
One increasing purpose runs;
And the thoughts of men are widening
With the process of the suns."
CHAPTER XXVI.
PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKlNLEY.
"Mother McKinley" often expressed the keynote of the case when she
said: "He was a good boy."
She by no means meant that young William lacked virile and manly
qualities. On the contrary, she used to delight in telling of the mischievous
pranks which had made a part of his boyhood existence. But there was a
judgment and good sense about his escapades which absolutely prevented
them from partaking of the nature of cruelty and saved him at all times from
acts which might bring shame in their train of consequences. He was a
"good" boy, in the sense that he was not a "mean" boy. And so, while he
was always certain to command the respect of his companions — of all that
was best in boyhood — he was a loving and a dutiful son. He was never
afflicted with the silly theory that a boy need not obey nor respect his par-
ents. For this those parents doubtless deserve a large measure of credit.
Besides so measuring their lives as to deserve his respect, they so ordered his
life as to insure his obedience. And in his whole life it is said that he never
wounded either father or mother with an insolent word.
He was kind to his brother and his sisters. The money he earned he was
always willing to share with them, and paid out many a dollar of his hard-
earned wages for their education or for little presents which could add to
their happiness.
Toward his mother he was always lovingly deferential. To the day of her
death he Avas solicitous about her, tenderly caring for her, unwaveringly
thoughtful, A very beautiful relation was that which existed between them.
And no mother was ever more proud of her son, or with more reason de-
clared that he had grown up to be precisely the sort of man she knew from
the beginning he would be. Toward his father there was always a gentle
deference, a filial respect and the fellowship which wise men can cultivate in
their sons. His father lived to sea him honored by his countrymen, and in
the enjoyment of a happy home and a competence. And the stern old man
who had chosen his location with a view of his children's good always a little
relaxed the grim lines of mouth and brow when this son of his honest man-
hood was in his presence.
293
294 PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.
And SO it was that when he grew to maturity and established a home
temple of his own, the habit of a lifetime was guaranty that he would bring
happiness and not sorrow with him.
There is a pretty story current in Canton to the effect that young Major
McKInley first met Ida Saxton shortly after locating in the little city, and
that he admired her greatly. But she was scarcely more than a school girl
at the time, the daughter of a banker, the granddaughter of an editor, and a
girl of such beauty that the young man, with nothing but his profession and
his hopes, with little practice and no property, might well regard her hope-
less. Besides, there was small opportunity for them to be thrown together.
The Saxtons were not attendants at the Methodist church, and were rarely
seen at its social functions. They were persons of wealth and established po-
sition and much sought after.
Yet it could not escape him that the charmingly beautiful girl was his
ideal, the divinity about whom the dreams of an honorable young man may
be woven. She completed her studies at school, and went for a trip to Europe
in company with her mother. They were gone a year. When they returned
young Major McKinley had evidently advanced somewhat in worldly estate.
He had secured a number of fees, and was saving money. As he lived at all
times within his means, he had arrived at the honorable distinction of a
bank account. It is probable he selected the Saxton bank solely because it
was convenient of location, being near the stairway which led to his modest
office, and directly on his way as he passed to and from the court-house. And
yet it must have been a matter of agreeable surprise to him when he entered
the bank one morning and found Miss Ida Saxton occupying a place at the
cashier's window.
Of course they had met. It would scarcely have been possible for them
to escape that. But there had been small acquaintance between them. And
this new relation, which touched on the borders of both the business and the
social life, was a means of developing an attachment which it is doubtful if
any other course could have afforded.
Miss Saxton had taken a place in the bank because of an impulse, as com-
mon as it is honorable, that she must "do something," There was, of course,
no necessity for her to struggle to become self-supporting. But there was,
on the other hand, no purpose in her mind to be weakly dependent.
There was the place of their better acquaintance. There he learned to ad-
mire more and more the bright, happy young woman, as fair as the morning,
and as careful as the American daughter should be. And there she learned
PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 295
to respect the strong, steady young lawyer, the masterful man, the prudent
and sagacious citizen. The fact was, he was fair to look upon, strong, health-
ful of body, and that he still possessed somewhat of the glow which military
glory sheds upon those who had honorable part in the great struggle.
Of their courtship it were both bold and unpardonable to speak. What-
ever detail of that interesting period might, with propriety, have been said
while both were living, is hushed in the shadow of the death chamber now
and becomes too sacred for discussion.
They were married January 25, 1871. William McKinley was at that
time twenty-eight years old and his bride was five years younger. It is a
significant fact in the life of this good woman that she almost immediately
united with the Methodist church, and joined her husband in attendance
upon its forms of worship.
In 1873 a girl baby was born to them, and the fond mother bestowed
upon it the name of Kate. It is said to have been a beautiful child, and was
adored by its parents, and by the grandparents on either side. For by this
time the father and mother of William McKinley had removed from Poland
and taken up their residence in Canton. The strong son had drawn them
from the place which had been home so long and established them in the
city that had given him so cordial a welcome.
When little Kate was nearly four years old Airs. Saxton, mother of Mrs.
McKinley, died. The blow was a peculiarly severe one, for within a month
her second child, also a girl, was born — but to close her eyes on the earth al-
most as soon as she had opened them. They named her Ida, the father
hoping in the brief days of the delicate little life that the child would bring
back vigor and interest in existence to the depressed wife, whose grief at the
death of her own mother was scarcely assuaged.
But in this gentle hope he was doomed to disappointment, for little Ida
faded from among them. And then the third great blow fell, for a few weeks
after the baby's death little Kate sickened and died.
Ida Saxton had been a strong, healthy girl. She was not delicate of
physique; and while she was in no sense buxom or amazonian, she was far
from frail. Yet the accumulated shocks and sorrows of those sad days com-
pletely unstrung her. And the wcfman who deserved and might have had a
world of happiness, a heaven of domestic joy on earth, never again w'as blest
with health.
No more children came to them, but their home has always catered to
the rippling laughter and the joyous songs of young life. Even to the end,
29G PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.
even on that last day at Buffalo, when horror leaped from the heart of happi-
ness, there were young people with them. But in that hour of his wife's
great trial, when he could not share her suffering, nor take an iota from
the black pall of grief which enveloped her, William McKinley began a life
of devotion a thousand times more gentle and kind than the intensest
courtship of a lover. And through all the long years that have followed — ■
for twenty-four long years — he has never wavered night nor day in the
most assiduous care a husband can possibly bestow. No time has been so
hurried, no demand of politics so exacting, no weariness so heavy that he
has failed to remember her. If near her, he has gone to her, and expressed
by his presence the thoughtful love which he felt. If she were absent he has
always sent her a message. And, however brief, however little he might have
to say that would interest her, he has kept strong and true that faith in her
wifely heart that he would "love, cherish and protect" her in an infinitely
more tender way then any vow could bind him.
For a while after the death of the little girls Mrs. McKinley concluded
she wanted to live near "Mother McKinley," and they two took a couple of
rooms in the house of the elders. Her own mother was dead, and the grief-
stricken woman sorely needed the strong, steadfast hand and hearty comfort
of that fine old matron who had done so much in building the character of
a grand American.
But presently Major McKinley found a new interest with which he hoped
to distract his wife's mind from the cloud of sorrows that w'ould not lift.
He was building a house. He was establishing a home of their very own.
And in the occupation of watching the workmen her spirits came back again.
She could not regain her physical health, and never has. But the clouds
were dispelled, and the old cheerful, happy look came back to the blue eyes,
and the fair face again resumed its wonted roundness of outline and sweet-
ness of expression. And these have never again departed.
Of course no man deserves praise or credit for kindness to his w-ife; and
when her illness renders attention the more necessary, there is still less reason
for indulging in adulatory phrases. But in the case of William McKinley
there is, even with the most undemonstrative, warrant for expressing the
admiration which every good man and true woman must certainly feel.
In spite of a physical weakness which stubbornly clung to the little
woman, the home life of Major and Mrs. McKinley has always been singu-
larly happy. She loved children, as has been said, and always had them
around her. She loved music; and there has always been singing and the
PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY. 297
best of instrumentalists at her home. She loved roses; and the house has
always been a bower of floral beauty and of perfume.
In time a larger house was builded, and into it the family removed. It
was really but an extending of the dwelling which had been their home
in the old days. And it is the house to which unnumbered thousands made
pilgrimages in 1896. It will l)e understood that Mrs. McKinley possessed
a fortune in her own right. Her father died late in the seventies, following
his wife's demise; and the Saxton estate was divided between three heirs —
a sister, a brother, and Mrs, McKinley. But the man who could attend her
with all the solicitude of a mother was not the man to use a dollar he had
not earned. When financial disaster came upon him, in 1893, his wife — for
once opposing his will — turned over all her property for the benefit of those
creditors whom a security debt had created. The good home went too.
And the man who had done so much for his country, who was so nearly a
model of American manhood, began paying rent as at the beginning. The
debts were all wiped out, absolutely, and Mrs. McKinley's estate was released
to her, and the old home became again the property of the man who had
earned it, and who so richly deserved it. But even in that hour of a new
tribulation, he never faltered in his loving care for his wife, or the filial con-
siderateness he had always paid his mother.
When that mother fell ill and died, her son had reached the highest
honor the greatest nation can bestow. But he hurried from the presidential
mansion to her bedside at Canton, and sorrowfully followed her to the
grave.
It may seem by a reading of the domestic side of President McKinley's
life that it is more sad and somber than is the lot of most men to suffer.
But this, a thousand friends will testify, is clearly an error. The home life of
the President has been uniformly happy. Never an unkind word, never a
frown, never a sorrow inflicted within the portals, and always the music of
song and laughter, the perfume of roses and the blessing of loving words —
there is no sadness in such a picture.
CHAPTER XXVII.
McKINLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
In self-sacrifice and patriotism, President McKinley reflected many quali-
ties of Abraham Lincoln. How closely he had studied the character of the
great Lincoln is shown in an address delivered by Mr. McKinley on Lin-
coln's Birthday anniversary, February 12, 1895, before the Unconditional
Republican Club of Albany, N. Y. Mr. McKinley said:
"A noble manhood, nobly consecrated to man, never dies. The martyr
of liberty, the emancipator of a race, the savior of the only free government
among men may be buried from human sight, but his deeds will live in
human gratitude forever.
"The story of his simple life is the story of the plain, honest, manly citizen,
true patriot and profound statesman who, believing with all the strength of
his mighty soul in the institutions of his country, won, because of them, the
highest place in its government — then fell a sacrifice to the Union he held
so dear, and which Providence spared his life long enough to save. We
meet to-night to do honor to one whose achievements have heightened
human aspirations and broadened the field of opportunity to the races of
men. While the party with which we stand, and for which he stood, can
justly claim him, and without dispute can boast the distinction of being the
first to honor and trust him, his fame has leaped the bounds of party and
country, and now belongs to mankind and the ages.
"Lincoln had sublime faith in the people. He walked with and among
them. He recognized the importance and power of an enlightened public
sentiment and was guided by it. Even amid the vicissitudes of war he con-
cealed little from public review and inspection. In all he did he invited
rather than evaded examination and criticism. He submitted his plans and
purposes, as far as practicable, to public consideration with perfect frankness
and sincerity. There was such homely simplicity in his character that it
could not be hedged in by the pomp of place, nor the ceremonials of high
of^cial station. He was so accessible to the public that he seemed to take the
people into his confidence. Here, perhaps, was one secret of his power. The
people never lost their confidence in him, however much they unconsciously
added to his personal discomfort and trials. His patience was almost super-
298
McKINLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN. 299
human. And who will say that he was mistaken in his treatment of the
thousands who thronged continually about him? More than once when
reproached for permitting visitors to crowd upon him, he asked, in pained
surprise, 'Why, what harm does this confidence in men do me?'
"In all the long years of slavery agitation, Lincoln always carried the
people with him. In 1854 Illinois cast loose from her old Democratic moor-
ings and followed his leadership in a most emphatic protest against the
repeal of the Missouri Compromise. In 1858 the people of Illinois indorsed
his opposition to the aggression of slavery, in a State usually Democratic,
even against so popular a leader as the Little Giant. In i860, the whole
country indorsed his position on slavery, even when the people were con-
tinually harangued that his election meant the dissolution of the Union.
During the war the people advanced with him step by step to its final over-
throw. Indeed, in the election of 1864, the people not only indorsed emanci-
pation, but went far toward recognizing the political equality of the negro.
They heartily justified the President in having enlisted colored soldiers to
fight side by side with the white man in the noble cause of union and liberty.
Aye, they did more; they indorsed his position on another and vastly more
important phase of the race problem. They approved his course as Presi-
dent in re-organizing the government of Louisiana, and a hostile press did
not fail to call attention to the fact that this meant eventually negro suffrage
in that State.
"The greatest names in American history are Washington and Lincoln,
One is forever associated with the independence of the States and formation
of the Federal Union; the other with universal freedom and the preserva-
tion of the Union. Washington enforced the Declaration of Independence
as against England; Lincoln proclaimed its fulfillment not only to a down-
trodden race in America, but to all people for all time who may seek the
protection of our flag. These illustrious men achieved grander results for
mankind within a single century, from 1775 to 1865, than any other men
ever accomplished in all the years since first the flight of time began. Wash-
ington engaged in no ordinary revolution; with him it was not who should
rule, but what should rule. He drew his sword not for a change of rulers
upon an established throne, but to establish a new government which should
acknowledge no throne but the tribute of the people. Lincoln accepted war
to save the Union, the safeguard of our liberties, and re-establish it on
'indestructible foundations' as forever 'one and indivisible.' To quote his
own grand words: Now wc are contending 'that this Nation under God
300 McKlNLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by
the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.'
"Each lived to accomplish his appointed task. Each received the un-
bounded gratitude of the people of his time and each is held in great and
ever-increasing reverence by posterity. The fame of each will never die; it
will grow with the ages, because it is based upon imperishable service to
humanity; not to the people of a single generation or country, but to the
whole human family, wherever scattered, forever.
"The present generation knows Washington only from history, and by
that alone can judge him. Lincoln we know by history also, but thousands
are still living who participated in the great events in which he was leader
and master. Many of his contemporaries survived him; some are here yet
in almost every locality. So Lincoln is not far removed from us; he may be
said to be still known to the millions — not surrounded by the mist of
antiquity, nor a halo of idolatry that is impenetrable. He never was inac-
cessible to the people; thousands carry with them yet the words which he
spoke in their hearing; thousands remember the pressure of his hand; and
thousands have not forgotten that indescribably sad, thoughtful, far-seeing
expression which impressed everybody. Nobody could keep the people
away from him, and when they came he would suffer no one to drive them
back. So it is that an unusually large number of the American people came
to know this great man and that he is still so well remembered by them. It
cannot be said that they were all mistaken about him or that they misinter-
preted his greatness. Men are still connected with the Government who
served during his administration. There are at least two senators, and per-
haps twice as many representatives, who participated in his first inaugura-
tion— men who stood side by side with him in the trying duties of his admin-
istration and who have been, without interruption, in one branch or another
of the public service ever since. The Supreme Court of the United States
still has among its members one whom Lincoln appointed, and so of other
branches of the Federal judiciary. His faithful private secretaries are still
alive and have rendered posterity a great service in their history of Lincoln
and his times. They have told the story of his life and public services with
such entire frankness and fidelity as to exhibit to the world 'the very inner
courts of his soul.'
"This host of witnesses, without exception, agree as to the true nobility
and intellectual greatness of Lincoln. All proudly claim for Lincoln the
highest abilities and the most distinguished and self-sacrificing patriotism.
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McKINLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN. 303
Lincoln taught them, and has taught us, that no party or partisan can escape
responsibihty to the people; that no party advantage, or presumed party
advantage, should ever swerve us from the plain path of duty, which is ever
the path of honor and distinction. He emphasized his words by his daily life
and deeds. He showed to the world by his lofty example, as well as by pre-
cept and maxim, that there are times when the voice of partisanship should
be hushed and that of patriotism only be heeded. He taught that a good
service done for the country, even in aid of an unfriendly administration,
brings to the men and the party, who rise above the temptation of temporary
partisan advantage, a lasting gain in the respect and confidence of the people.
He showed that such patriotic devotion is usually rewarded, not only with
retention in power and the consciousness of duty well and bravely done, but
with the gratification of beholding the blessings of relief and prosperity, not
of a party or section, but of the whole country. This he held should be the
first and great consideration with all public servants,
"Lincoln was a man of moderation. He was neither an autocrat nor a
tyrant. If he moved slowly sometimes, it was because it was better to move
slowly and he was only waiting for his reserves to come up. Possessing
almost unlimited power, he yet carried himself like one of the humblest of
men. He weighed every subject. He considered and reflected upon every
phase of pubHc duty. He got the average judgment of the plain people. He
had a high sense of justice, a clear understanding of the rights of others, and
never needlessly inflicted an injury upon any man. He always taught and
enforced the doctrine of mercy and charity on every occasion. Even in the
excess of rejoicing, he said to a party who came to serenade him a few nights
after the Presidential election in November, 1864: 'Now that the election is
over, may not all having a common interest reunite in a common effort to
save our common country? So long as I have been here I have not wil-
lingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom. While I am deeply sensible to
the high compliment of a re-election, and duly grateful, as I trust, to Al-
mighty God for having directed my countrymen to a right conclusion, as I
think, for their own good, it adds nothing to my satisfaction that any other
man may be disappointed or pained by the result.' '*
i8i
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES THE OATH OF OFFICE.
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at 3 132 o'clock
Saturday afternoon, September 14, 1901. The oath of office was adminis-
tered by Judge John R. Hazel, of the United States District Court, in the
library of the residence of Mr. Ansley Wilcox, at Buffalo. Mr. Wilcox was
an old friend of the Vice-President, and the latter had made Mr. Wilcox's
house his home during his stay in Buffalo, after the shooting of the President.
The delay in taking the oath after the death of the President was the result
of the sanguine feeling among the people that President McKinley would
recover from his wounds. No one shared this feeling in a higher degree than
the Vice-President. When the news that the President had been shot became
public Vice-President Roosevelt was in the East. He started immediately
for Buffalo, and was at the President's bedside as soon as possible. He
remained in Buffalo' until the physicians announced that there was no fear
of the President's death, and then left for the Adirondacks.
When the President began to sink Thursday night messages were sent to
the Vice-President and those members of the Cabinet w^ho, like himself, had
left Buffalo, deluded into the belief that the President would soon be able to re-
turn to the Capital. The Vice-President, with his usual promptitude, started
on the return trip to Buffalo, greatly saddened by the news which made such a
step necessary. He made a hard night ride from the North Woods to Albany,
and by the use of a special train reached Buffalo at 1 135 o'clock Saturday after-
noon.
To avoid the crowd which had gathered at the Union Station to see him
the Vice-President alighted at the Terrace Station of the New York Central,
where a police and military escort awaited him. He insisted first of all on visit-
ing Mrs. McKinley and offering condolences to her in her hour of anguish.
This step he desired to take simply as a private citizen, and when it was accom-
plished the Vice-President announced himself as ready to take the oath as
President. A strong escort of military and police had assembled at the Alil-
burn house to escort him to Mr. Wilcox's, but its presence annoyed the Vice-
President, and he halted the guards with a quick, imperative military com-
mand, saying he would have only two policemen to go along with him. Later
304
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 305
he announced that he did not want to estabhsh the precedent of going about
guarded.
The place selected for the administration of the oath was the library of
Mr. Wilcox's house, a rather small room, but picturesque, the heavy oak trim-
mings and the massive bookcases giving it somewhat the appearance of a legal
den. A pretty bay window with stained glass and heavy hangings formed a
background, and against this Colonel Roosevelt took his position.
Judge Hazel stood near him in the bay window, and Colonel Roosevelt
showed his almost extreme nervousness by plucking at the lapel of his long
frock coat and nervously tapping the hardwood floor with his heel.
He stepped over once to Secretary Root and for about five minutes they
conversed earnestly. The question at issue was whether the President should
first sign an oath of office and then swear in or whether he should swear in first
and sign the document in the case after.
Secretary Root ceased his conversation w^ith Colonel Roosevelt, and, step-
ping back, w^hile an absolute hush fell upon every one in the room, said, in an
almost inaudible voice :
*'Mr. Vice-President, I " Then his voice faltered, and for fully two
minutes the tears came down his face and his lips quivered so that he could not
continue his utterances. There were sympathetic tears from those about him,
and two great drops ran down either cheek of the successor of William ]\Ic-
Kinley.
Mr. Root's chin was on his breast. Suddenly throwing back his head as if
with an effort, he continued in broken voice :
'T have been requested, on behalf of the Cabinet of the late President, at
least those who are present in Buffalo', all except two, to request that for rea-
sons of weight affecting the affairs of government, you should proceed to take
the constitutional oath of President of the United States."
Colonel Roosevelt stepped farther into the bay window, and Judge Hazel,
taking up the constitutional oath of office, which had been prepared on parch-
ment, asked him to raise his right hand and repeat it after him. There was a
hush like death in the room as the Judge read a few words at a time, and
Colonel Roosevelt, in a strong voice and without a tremor, and with his raised
hand steady, repeated it after him.
"And thus I swear," he ended it. The hand dropped by the side, the chin
for an instant rested on the breast, and the silence remained unbroken for a
couple of minutes as though the new President of the United States were offer-
ing silent prayer. Judge Hazel broke it, saying :
306 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
"Mr. President, please attach your signature," and the President, turning
to a small table near by, wrote "Theodore Roosevelt" at the bottom of the doc-
ument in a firm hand.
The new President was visibly shaken, but he controlled himself admirabJy,
and with the deep solemnity of the occasion full upon him, he announced to
those present that his aim would te to. be William McKinley's successor in
deed as well as in name. Deliberately he proclaimed it in these words :
"In this hour of deep and terrible bereavement, I wish tO' state that it shall
be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy of President McKinley
for the peace and prosperity and honor of our beloved country."
The great, far-reaching significance of this pledge to continue the policy of
the dead President, announced at the very threshold of a new governmental
regime, profoundly impressed his hearers, and President Roosevelt's first step
after taking the oath was in line with its redemption. His first act was to ask
the members of the Cabinet to retain their portfolios in order to aid him to
conduct the government on lines laid down by him whose policy he had de-
clared he would uphold. Such an appeal was not tO' be resisted, and every
member of the Cabinet, including Secretary of State Hay and Secretary of the
Treasury Gage, who were communicated with in Washington, have agreed for
the present, at least, to retain their several portfolios.
President Roosevelt remained in Buffalo' until the funeral cortege started
for Washington, when he accompanied it.
Theodore Roosevelt was born October 20, 1858, at No. 28 East Twen-
tieth street. New York City. His father, also Tlieodore Roosevelt, was a
member of an old New York Dutch family, and Mr. Roosevelt is of the
eighth generation of the stock in the United States. Mingled with the
Dutch in Theodore Roosevelt's veins are strains of English, Celtic, and
French. His mother was Miss Martha Bulloch, and came of a distinguished
Georgia family, which had given to that state a Governor, Archibald Bul-
loch, in revolutionary times. In a later generation a member of the family
built the Confederate privateer Alabama.
Tlie father of Theodore Roosevelt was a merchant and importer of glass-
ware. During the Civil War he was a noted figure in New York. He had
great strength of character and liking for practical benevolence, which made
him foremost in many such charities. Newsboys' lodging-houses, the allot-
ment system, which permitted soldiers during the war to have portions
of their pay sent to their families, and other forms of direct help to the
poorer classes found in him a champion. His ancestors had been aldermen.
PRESIDKNT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 307
judges of the supreme court of the city, and representatives in the National
Congress. In revokitionary times New York chose a Roosevelt to act with
Alexander Hamilton in the United States Constitutional Convention.
Roosevelt street was once a cowpath on the Roosevelt farm, and the Roose-
velt hospital is the gift of a wealthy member of a recent generation of the
family.
As a child Theodore Roosevelt was puny and backward. He could not
keep up with his fellows either in study or play, and on this account was
taught by a private tutor at home. The country residence of the Roosevelts
was at Oyster Bay, Long Island, and here the children were brought up.
They were compelled by their father to take plenty of outdoor exercise, and
young Theodore, soon realizing that he must have strength of body if he was
to do anything in life, entered into the scheme for the improvement of his
physical condition with the same enthusiasm and determination which has
characterized every act of his life. He grew up an athlete, strong and active,
and when he entered Harvard in 1875 he soon became prominent in field
sports. He became noted as a boxer and wrestler, and was for a time captain
of the college polo team. He did not neglect his studies, and when he was
graduated, in 1880, he took high honors. During his stay in the university
he had been editor of the Advocate, a college paper, and gave particular
attention to the study of history and natural history. He became a member
of the Phi Beta Kappa Greek letter fraternity.
At the conclusion of his college course he went abroad for a year, spend-
ing part of the time in study in Dresden. His love for athletics led him to
successfully attempt the ascent of the Jung-Frau and the jMatterhorn, and
won for him a membership in the Alpine Club of London. He returned to
New York in 1881, and in the same year married Miss Alice Lee of Boston.
Two years later he had the misfortune to lose his wife and his mother within
a week.
Theodore Roosevelt has been an ardent student of histor} from his col-
lege days, and before he was twenty-three years old had entered the field
himself as a writer. He is an enthusiastic admirer of Washington, Lincoln,
and Grant. On his return from Europe, and while engaged on his historical
work, he entered the law office of his uncle, Robert B. Roosevelt, with the
design of fitting himself for the bar. He was of too restless a disposition to
find content in such a sober calling, and the whole bent of his mind, as shown
by his reading, his writing, and the effort to do something extraordinary,
something that would mark him above his fellows, which had made him a
508 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
bidder for college championships and prompted him to tempt the dangers
of the Swiss mountain peaks, sent him hurrying into politics before he had
settled down to anything like deep study of the law.
He attended his first primary in 1881, in the Twenty-first assembly dis-
trict of New York. It was a gathering with little to charm the ordinary
young man of aristocratic lineage and wealth, but Theodore Roosevelt had
studied history with a purpose. He knew that through the primary led the
way to political preferment, and he at once entered into the battle of politics,
in which he was to prove a gladiator of astonishing prowess, routing and
terrifying his enemies, but often startling his allies by the originality and
recklessness of his methods.
The natural enthusiasm of young Roosevelt, his undeniable personal
charm, and the swirl of interest with which he descended into the arena of
local politics, made him friends on every side in a community where leaders
are at a high premium, and within a few months the young college man was
elected to the Assembly of the state from his home district.
His ability and his methods were in strong evidence at the following
session of the Legislature. He proved a rallying power for the Republican
minority, and actually succeeded in passing legislation which the majority
submitted to only through fear Jnd which his own party in the state would
never have fathered had it been in power. Mr. Roosevelt was the undisputed
leader of the Republicans in the Assembly within two months after his elec-
tion, and he immediately turned his attention to the purification of New
York City. This would have appalled a man less determined or more
experienced. But the young aspirant for a place in history reckoned neither
with conditions nor precedents. His success, considering the strength of the
combination against which he was arrayed, w^as extraordinary. He suc-
ceeded in securing the passage of the bill which deprived the city council of
New York of the power to veto the appointments of the mayor, a preroga-
tive which had nullified every previous attempt at reform and had made the
spoliation of the city's coffers an easy matter in the time of Tweed and other
bosses.
Mr. Roosevelt's methods, it was cheerfully predicted by his political
opponents, would certainly result in his retirement from participation in the
state councils of New York, but this proved far from the case. Wherever
Theodore Roosevelt has been thrown with any class of people, wherever
they have come to know him personally, he has attracted to himself en-
thusiastic friendship and confidence. Theatrical though many of his acts
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 309
have appeared, his honesty, his personal fearlessness, and the purity of his
motives have not been questioned.
He became so popular that not only was he returned to three sessions of
the Assembly, but his party in the state soon realized that he was one of its
strongest men, and he was sent to the Republican National Convention of
1884 as chairman of the New York delegation.
Meanwhile he had been hammering away at corruption in New York,
and had secured the passage of the act making the offices of the county
clerk, sheriff, and register salaried ones. He had been chairman of the
committee to investigate the work of county officials, and, as a result of that
investigation, offered the bill which cut off from the clerk of the county of
New York an income in fees which approximated $82,000 per annum; from
the sheriff, $100,000, and from the register also a very high return in fees.
From the county offices to the police was not far and Roosevelt was agitat-
ing an investigation and reform in the guardianship of the city when he left
the Legislature. After the convention, to which he went uninstructed, but
in favor of the nomination of Mr. Edmunds against James G. Blaine, his
health failed. The deaths of his wife and mother had been a severe shock,
for Mr. Roosevelt is a man of the strongest personal attachments. He turned
aside from public life for a time and went West.
He had been a lover of hunting from boyhood, and when he decided to
spend some time in the wilds of Montana, he took up the life as he found it
there. On the banks of the Little Missouri he built a log house, working
on it himself, and there turned ranchman, cowboy and hunter. He engaged
in one of the last of the big buffalo hunts, and saturated himself with the life
of the West. His trips in this and later years were not alone confined to this
section of the West, and his courage, intelligence, and companionable nature
made him a name wdiich in later years drew to his standard thousands of
cowboys, among whom his name had come to mean all that they admire, and
all that appeals to their natures. The love and admiration was not one-
sided, for Mr. Roosevelt came to regard these hardy, open-hearted, plain-
spoken guardians of the wilderness as the finest types of manhood.
In these years and between 1886 and 1888 Mr. Roosevelt was also busy
on much of his literary work. The most important of his works — "The
Winning of the West," a histor}' in four volumes of the acquisition of the
territory west of the Alleghenies — required an enormous amount of research.
On its publication it leaped at once into popularity, and soon acquired a
reputation as a most reliable text-book,
310 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
His hunting trips and his months of Hfe among the men and the game
of the West have suppHed the material for a number of Mr. Roosevelt's
books, among them "The Wilderness Hunter," "Hunting Trips of a Ranch-
man," and "Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail." His most noted work of
recent years is "The Rough Riders," being a history of the formation, the
battles, career, and disbandment of the remarkable body of soldiers com-
prising the regiment which Mr. Roosevelt recruited largely himself, and of
which he was lieutenant-colonel and colonel in the brief campaign in Cuba.
His style is interesting and clear, and while the story is told in the ifirst
person, there is a simplicity of narrative and a cordiality of praise to all who
seem to deserve.
Mr. Roosevelt's more important works have been historical, but his writ-
ings have not been confined to this subject. He has contributed many
articles to scientific magazines, particularly on discrimination of species and
sub-species of the larger animals of the West. A species of elk is named
after him, and he made known the enlarged Western species of a little
insectivora called the shrew.
This period of writing and hunting was broken by two important' events.
He was defeated as candidate for mayor of New York and he married again.
The second wife of the Vice President elect was Miss Edith Kermit Carow,
daughter of an old New York family. They have five children — three sons
and two daughters. The marriage took place in 1886, and in the same year
Theodore Roosevelt vv^as the Republican nominee for mayor of his native
city. Opposed to him were Abram S. Hewitt, the Democratic candidate,
and Henry George, the apostle of single tax. So great an enthusiasm had
been created by Mr. George's book, "Progress and Poverty," and so quickly
did he attach to himself all the floating element dissatisfied with the regime
of both the old parties and without the vested wealth threatened by the
theories of their leader that both of the old parties were alarmed. It was said
that fear that George would be elected sent thousands of Republican votes
to Hewitt, whose chances of success seemed greatly better than those of his
young Republican opponent. Hewitt was elected, but Mr. Roosevelt re-
ceived a larger proportion of the votes cast than had any other Republican
candidate for mayor up to that time.
For years after this Mr. Roosevelt was not prominent in politics. He
spent his time in writing and hunting trips to the West. Never an idle man,
he accomplished an immense amount of research in the preparation of his
historical works.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 311
President Harrison appointed Theodore Roosevelt a member of the
United States Civil Service Commission May 13, 1889. While in the New
York Legislature much of his efforts had been directed to the improvement
of the public service. He was one of the most noted advocates in the coun-
try of the merit system, and his enmity to the spoilsman had won him objur-
gations of press and party on numberless occasions. To his new duties he
brought enthusiastic faith in the righteousness and the expediency of a
civil-service system, and he at once embarked on a campaign for establish-
ing its permanency and for its extension, which again made him the butt of
almost daily attacks. In Congress and in the ranks of the leaders of his
party hundreds of opponents sprang up to attack him, but he held to his
way and eventually won to his own way of thinking many public men.
Though always determined and aggressive, Mr. Roosevelt is a man of great
tact, and to this no less than to the resolute assurance of his methods was due
the success of his efforts for the extension of the civil service in the national
service.
He served for six years, two of them under President Harrison's suc-
cessor, Mr. Cleveland. In that time the number of persons who were made
subject to the civil-service law was increased from 12,000 to nearly 40,000,
and the still further great increase made by the orders of President Cleveland
in the late years of his first administration was largely due to j\Ir. Roose-
velt's efforts. He was not a member of the commission when they were
promulgated, but they had been considered by the commission and were
favorably regarded by the President almost a year before they were made
law by the President's order.
In the years he then spent in Washington Mr. Roosevelt made many
strong friends. In the commission he was loved and respected by every one,
from his fellow commissioners to the laborers. He declined to be president
of the commission, though the place was offered him more than once, but
he was the acknowledged force and head of its work. Wher the great ex-
tensions afterward made by the President were first proposed to I\Ir. Cleve-
land he suggested that it would be better to codify the rules of the commis-
sion before taking such action. This was done, though it took some time,
and shortly after it had been accomplished the chief examiner of the commis-
sion, Mr. Webster, died, which again put affairs in such shape that it was
regarded as inexpedient to add greatly to the duties of the commission at
that time.
As a result, the order for the large extension of the operation of the
312 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
civil-service law, which had been in contemplation by the President and the
commission for more than a year, and with which Mr. Roosevelt had much
to do, was not promulgated until after he had resigned from the commission
to accept the appointment as police commissioner of the city of New York
under Mayor Strong. President Cleveland, who had reappointed Mr. Roose-
velt as civil-service commissioner, though he had been originally named for
the place as a Republican by President Harrison, strongly advised Mr.
Roosevelt not to leave the commission and not to take the New York place.
The President's letter to Mr. Roosevelt on his resignation is full of expres-
sions of the highest esteem and appreciation of his services.
In the wave of reform wdiich swept over New York in 1894-95 the men,
including Mayor Strong, who were borne into power were something of the
same stamp as the civil-service commissioner. They were of the class which
fought political rings, and they turned to Mr. Roosevelt to take a hand in
purifying the police force of New York City, which was alleged to be a sink
of political rottenness and studied inefficiency. Mr. Roosevelt resigned as
civil-service commissioner May 5, 1895, ^^"^^ was appointed police commis-
sioner of New York City May 24 following.
The uproar that followed the introduction of Roosevelt methods in the
conduct of the New York police force has never been equaled as a police
sensation in that city. Within a month after his appointment the wdiole
force was in a state of fright. The new commissioner made night rounds
himself, and, being unknowai to the men, he caught scores of them in dere-
liction of duty. He dismissed and promoted and punished entirely on a
plane of his own. Politics ceased to save or help the men, and the bosses
were up in arms. In this emergency an attempt was made to have Roose-
velt's appointment by Mayor Strong vetoed by the city council, and it was
discovered that an act of the Legislature, passed some twelve years prior,
had taken the power of veto from the city council. Theodore Roosevelt
was the author of this act, and its passage had been secured after one of the
strongest fights he had made when a member of the State Legislature.
Commissioner Roosevelt announced that he would enforce the laws as
he found them. He gave special attention to the operations of the excise
law on Sunday, and after severe measures had been used on some of the more
hardy saloon-keepers, New York at last had, in June, 1895, for the first time
within the memory of living man, a "dry" Sunday. A great deal of good
vv^as done by Commissioner Roosevelt in breaking up much of the blackmail
which had been levied by policemen; in transferring and degrading officers
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 313
who were notoriously responsible for the bad name the force had, and in
making promotions for merit, fidelity, and courage, Mr. Roosevelt's career
as a police commissioner made him extremely unpopular with the class at
which his crusade was aimed.
The fierce crusade against the saloon-keepers was brief, and its effect
lasted but a few weeks. The new commissioner gave his attention to more
important matters, and really made the force cleaner than it had been be-
fore. He undoubtedly gained the hearty devotion of the better class of
policemen. He was most careful of their comfort, and quick to see and
reward merit. He was also quick to punish, and this kept the worse half of
the men on their good behavior.
One important result Mr. Roosevelt obtained in this position was the
dissipation of much of the antagonism which had theretofore been aoparent
on every occasion between labor unions and the force. Men on strike had
been accustomed to regard the policeman as a natural enemy, but all this
was changed. On one occasion, when a large number of operatives were
out of work, Mr. Roosevelt sent for their leaders, and, after a discussion on
the situation, suggested that the strikers should organize pickets to keep
their own men in order. He promised that the police should support and
respect the rights of these pickets and the result was most satisfactory. The
threat of a cordon of police was removed from the strikers, and no collision
such as had occurred on so many similar occasions, took place with the
guardians of the law.
The attacks of the enemies which Mr. Roosevelt's methods raised up
against him were not confined to verbal denunciation nor expressions
through the press. Dynamite bombs were left in his office, a part of his
associates on the police board fought his every move, and all the skill of
New York politicians with whom he interfered was exercised to trap him into
a situation where he would become discredited in his work. In this they
were unsuccessful and the stormy career of the police force :ontinued. In
the end the new commissioner conquered. He had the necessary power and
the personal courage and tenacity of purpose to carry out his plans. He
fought blackmail until he had practically stopped it and he promoted and
removed men without regard to color, creed, or politics. He resigned in
April, 1897, to become Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Theodore Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy
April 19, 1897. The troubles of the Cubans with Spain, the long history
of oppression and outrage to which they had been subjected, and the years
314 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
of warfare they had known with the armies of Weyler and Campos, had
excited American sympathy, and many public men reahzed that interference
by the United States was almost assured. In this connection it was realized
by President McKinley and his advisers that the navy was not in condition
to make it an effective war instrument in the impending conflict. In casting
about for a man to fill the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy, which
place carried with it much of the executive work which would be required in
putting fighting ships into shape, the President and Secretary Long were
favorably disposed toward Mr. Roosevelt, who was one of the many candi-
dates for the place. His work on the naval war of 1812 had acquired fame
for its accuracy and its exhibition of wide knowledge of naval matters on
the part of the author and Mr. Roosevelt was asked to accept the appoint-
ment.
He brought to the duties of the ofifice a great interest in the work, as well
as the tremendous energy and talent for closely studying and mastering his
work which had characterized him in other fields. He also brought to the
position some of his startling methods, and again proved himself "a storm
center," a name he had already been given, and to which he has earned better
title in each succeeding year. In the fall of 1897 he was detailed to inspect
the fleet gathered at Hampton Roads, and he kept the commanders and their
jackies in a ferment for a week. Whenever he thought of a drill he would
like to see, he ordered it. The crews were called to night quarters and all
sorts of emergency orders were given at all sorts of hours. When the Assis-
tant Secretary came back to Washington to report, he had mastered some of
the important details of the situation, at least.
During his rather brief connection with the department IMr. Roosevelt
was a strong advocate of the naval personnel bill. He was also in charge of
the purchase of auxiHary vessels after war was actually declared.
He had brought about the purchase of many guns, much ammunition,
and large stores of provisions for the navy. He had secured a great increase
in the amount of gunnery practice. He had hurried the work on the new
ships and had the old ones repaired. He had caused every vessel to be sup-
plied with coal to her full capacity, and had the crew of every ship recruited
to its full strength. His services were fully recognized by Secretary Long,
who thanked him in a letter full of appreciation when he left his place in the
Navy Department. Mr. Roosevelt was urged to remain in his place by
many of the most prominent newspapers of the country, who believed that
his services there would be of great value in the approaching struggle.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 315
Mr. Roosevelt had determined to resign his position in order to take
active service in the field. His adventurous nature would not allow him to
remain in an office w^hen there was a prospect of fighting for the flag. He
had determined to organize a regiment of Western men, whom, he rightly
believed, would strike terror to the hearts of the Spaniards. Mr. Roose-
velt's resignation as Assistant Secretary of the Navy bears date of May 6,
1898. His appointment as lieutenant-colonel, First Regiment, United States '
Volunteer Cavalry, is dated May 5, 1898.
The First United States Volunteer Cavalry was one of the most remark-
able fighting aggregations ever enlisted in any country. It was chosen
from some 3,500 applicants and numbered about 900. The plains gave it its
largest membership, and the name under which it soon came to be known
was "Roosevelt's Rough Riders."
Dr. Leonard Wood, a United States Army officer, and a close friend of
Colonel Roosevelt, was made colonel of the regiment. Colonel Roosevelt be-
lieved he was not sufficiently well informed concerning military matters to
handle the regiment during the preliminary work, and he readily acquiesced
in the appointment of his friend. The regiment rendezvoused at San An-
tonio, Texas, and there was kept at work learning the discipline of soldier
life, until it was finally called to the front. Among the recruits were hun-
dreds of cowboys who were perfect horsemen as well as dead shots. But
such an outburst of popular interest attended the recruiting of this regiment
that Colonel Wood and Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt were soon over-
whelmed with applications for enlistment from the college men, athletes,
clubmen, sons of millionaire parents, who loved the idea of adventure and
battle in such company. As a result several companies w^ere recruited from
the pick of the young men of the country. Nearly every noted club of the
country had its quota, and scores of Wall street stockbrokers wore khaki in
the ranks. When finally the regiment was gathered at Tampa, Florida, it
constituted a body of men than whom it would be hard to find any more
perfectly fitted for such war as the conflict with Spain in the jungles of Cuba
assured. Old Indian fighters were there by the score, and there were even
six full-blooded Indians among the enlisted men.
The Rough Riders, it was originally intended, should be mounted, and
as cavalry they w^ent to the rendezvous at Tampa. But w'hen the time came
to go to Cuba there was no room on the transports for horses, and these
cavalrymen, like the rest of the men who had enlisted in all the regiments
assembled at the Florida port, were mad to get to the front. Rather than
316 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
not see some of the fighting, the commander of the Rough Riders secured
a place for his men among the troops sent to participate in the siege of
Santiago, and they went as dismounted cavalry. As such they went to Cuba
and fought through the brief but bloody campaign before the besieged city.
They never had an opportunity to display their skill as horsemen after they
left the training camps at San Antonio and Tampa, but they won a reputa-
tion for courage and cheerful patience under hardship, battle, and disease
which is not surpassed in history.
This was not the first military service of Roosevelt. Soon after his
graduation from Harvard he had joined the Eighth Regiment, New York
National Guard, and had been in time promoted to the captaincy of a com-
pany. He remained a militiaman for four years, leaving his command only
when he took up his permanent residence in Washington as a member of the
civil-service commission.
The transports carrying the army of invasion to Cuba sailed from Port
Tampa June 13, 1898. Thirty large vessels carried the troops and took six
days to reach Daiquiri, the little port to the east of the harbor of Santiago,
vvhere the army was disembarked. The Rough Riders were in the brigade
commanded by General S. B. M. Young, together with the First (white) and
Tenth (colored) Regular Cavalry Regiments, and was a part of the division
commanded by General Joseph Wheeler.
The first fight of the Rough Riders took place in the advance from
Daiquiri toward Santiago. They were sent out on a hill trail to attack the
position of the Spaniards, who blocked the road to the town. The Spanish
occupied ridges opposite to those along which the trail used by the Rough
Riders led, and a fierce fight took place in the jungle. The Spanish had
smokeless pov^^der, and it was almost impossible to locate them in the under-
brush. The Rough Riders behaved with great gallantry, and took the posi-
tion occupied by the enemy, but not without considerable loss. For dis-
tinguished gallantry in this action, Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt was pro-
moted to be Colonel July 11, 1898. The place of this engagement is called
Las Guasimas, "the thorns," from the large number of trees of that species
found there. The Rough Riders in this action acted in concert with other
attacking forces composing the vanguard of the army. Several days after
this General Young was taken with fever, and Colonel Wood, taking com-
mand of the brigade, Colonel Roosevelt became commanding officer of the
regiment.
In this capacity he commanded the Rough Riders in the battle of San
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 317
Juan, where they withstood a heavy lire for a long time, and finally, when
ordered to advance, made a gallant charge, capturing two of the hills occu-
pied by the enemy. The fall of Santiago followed the American success, and
a period of inactivity began for the American troops. Insuf^cient transpor-
tation had entailed improper and insufficient food, and, together with the
effects of the climate, began to have serious effects on the troops. Fever
decimated their ranks, and those who were still able to attend to their duties
were weakened by disease.
It soon became apparent to the officers in command of the Americans
that the only salvation for their men was removal to the North. It had
been reported that yellow fever was epidemic among the soldiers in camp
about Santiago, and while this was not at all true, most of the men were
suffering from malarial fever, and there was some fear of the introduction
of the tropic scourge into the United States if the troops were brought home
suffering from it.
Colonel Roosevelt was in command of the brigade at this time, owing to
General Wood having been made Governor-General of Santiago, and as such
the commander of the Rough Riders discussed with the other Generals an
appeal to the authorities to remove the troops back to the United States.
There was disinclination on the part of the regular officers to take the initia-
tive, as much correspondence had taken place between General Shafter and
the War Department, the latter stating the reasons why it seemed inex-
pedient to cause the removal at that time. In this emergency Colonel
Roosevelt prepared a presentation of the situation, and, after reading over
the rough draft to the other commanders, submitted it to General Shafter.
Directly afterward a circular letter was prepared and signed by all the
Generals and commanding officers and presented to General Shafter. This
came to be known as "the round robin," and its result was instantaneous.
Both letters, Colonel Roosevelt's and the round robin, were published
throughout the United States and created a profound sensrtion. Within
three days after they had been delivered to General Shafter the order for the
return of the army was issued.
The Rough Riders, with their Colonel, returned to Camp Wikofif, at the
northern extremity of Long Island, in late August, and on September i c
1898, were mustered out of service with Colonel Roosevelt.
The campaign for the control of New York State in the approaching
election of a Governor had already begun when the Rough Riders returned
from Cuba. Colonel Roosevelt's name had often been mentioned for the
318 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH.
Republican nomination and the popular enthusiasm for this selection was
supported by the leaders of the party in the state. Governor Frank S.
Black had been elected by an enormous plurality two years previously, and
according to all traditions should have been renominated. He was set aside,
however, for the new hero, and the convention at Saratoga nominated Col-
onel Roosevelt with a hurrah. The friends of Governor Black had fought
bitterly so long as there seemed a chance of success, and they started the
rumor that Colonel Roosevelt was ineligible for the nomination, as he had
relinquished his residence in New York when he went to Washington to
enter the Navy Department.
Tlie actual campaign was a most picturesque one. B. B. Odell, chairman
of the state committee and now Governor of New York, was opposed to
Colonel Roosevelt stumping the state in his own behalf, but it soon became
apparent that general apathy existed, and consent was reluctantly given to
the candidate to do so. There followed a series of speeches that woke up
the voters. Colonel Roosevelt, by nature forceful, direct, and theatrical in
his manner and method, went back and forward, up and down New York,
accompanied by a few of his Rough Riders in their uniforms. These cow-
boys made speeches, telling, usually, how much they thought of their Col-
onel, and the tour met with success. Colonel Roosevelt was elected Gov-
ernor over Augustus Van Wyck, the Democratic candidate, by a plurality of
about 17,000 votes.
Among the achievements of Governor Roosevelt as chief executive of
the Empire State were the enforcement of the law to tax corporations,
which had been passed at a special session of the Legislature called by the
Governor for that purpose; making the Erie Canal Commission non-parti-
san; his aid to the tenement commission in their work for the betterment
of the poor in New York, and in breaking up the sweatshops through rigid
enforcement of the factory law.
As a writer Mr. Roosevelt has been a contributor to magazines of in-
numerable articles on historical, political, and scientific subjects. A list of
his more extended and important works includes ''The Winning of the
West," "Life of Governor Morris," "Life of Thomas Hart Benton," "Naval
War of 1812," "History of New York," "American Ideals and Other Es-
says," "The Wilderness Hunter," "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," "Ranch
Life and the Hunting Trail," "The Strenuous Life," and "The Rough
Riders."
o
'J
•J)
D
A.
CHAPTER XXIX.
GREAT EVENTS OF THE WORLD DURINCx PRESIDENT
McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS.
William McKinley was inaugurated as the twenty-fifth President of the
United States March 4, 1897, succeeding Grover Cleveland, who was serving
his second temi. Garret A. Hobart was sworn in as Vice-President on the
same day. The campaign between Bryan and McKinley had been one of the
most vigorously-fought in the history of the nation. The Democratic party
made the money question paramount, and the Republican victory on that issue
induced McKinley to call an extra session of Congress eleven days after his in-
auguration. The gold standard was adopted, after which Congress adjourned.
During April, May and June Turkey and Greece were at war. Greece was
the aggressor, but the outcome of the short campaign was disastrous for King
George's troops, which were defeated in every battle by the Turks, who dis-
played a knowledge of warfare that struck surprise throughout Europe. Greece
was made to pay a heavy indemnity and to cede Thessaly tO' Turkey at the
treaty of peace, signed September 18.
The first heavy shipments of gold from the Klondike region began to arrive
at San Francisco and Puget Sound ports. The output reached over $20,000,000
a year.
The boundary treaty between Venezuela and Great Britain was ratified at
Washington June 14. It was regarding this boundary that President Cleveland
in the previous December threatened Great Britain with war unless justice was*
done the South American republic.
July 24 the Dingley tariff bill became a law, the President having signed it.
This bill was practically a substitution of the old McKinley tariff for the Wil-
son bill.
The first general knowledge of automobiles was spread by long newspaper
reports of a race between horseless carriages in France. The machines were
driven by electricity and gasoline.
August 25 is Independence day in Uruguay. While engaged in celebrating
the event President Borda was shot and killed by an assassin.
Star Pointer, the famous pacing stallion, on August 28 lowered the world's
record for a mile at Readville, Mass., tO' i :59|.
19
321
322 GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS.
Charles A. Dana, for years famous as the editor of the New York Sun,
died at Glen Cove, Long Island, October 17.
An attempt to assassinate President Diaz of Mexico September 15 failed.
During Diaz's term in office — more than twenty years — no less than eight at-
tempts to kill him were made. Twice he was slightly injured.
Dr. Frithof Nansen, the Norwegian arctic explorer, whose expedition came
nearer reaching the North Pole than any previous attempt, reached America in
October on a lecture tour. He was paid $65,000 for fifty lectures, probably the
largest sum every paid for such work.
A conspiracy against the President of Brazil resulted in a concerted attack
on him November 5. He was not injured, but his brother was fatally wounded
and the minister of war was killed in his efforts to save the life of the Presi-
dent.
Mrs. Nancy A. McKinley, the aged mother of President McKinley, died
at Canton December 12. She was buried in the President's family plot at Can-
ton, where McKinley's two daughters lie buried.
1898 was an eventful year in McKinley's administration owing tO' the out-
break of the Spanish war. In Europe it will be best remembered because of
deaths of Gladstone and Bismarck.
The insurrection in Cuba had reached a stage when humanitarian efforts on
^ the part of this country seemed necessary owing to the reconcentrado methods
introduced by Weyler. The battleship Maine was sent tO' Havana, arriving
there January 25. No demonstration was made, but it was hoped the moral
effect of the presence of a warship would lead to good results.
The Maine was blown up by a submarine mine February 15. The events
of the Spanish war will follow chronologically.
* February 8 — Letter was published written by Minister De Lome disparaging
President McKinley. After publication of the letter De Lome asked the
Spanish government to accept his resignation.
February 15 — Battleship Maine blown up.
February 17 — United States government appointed a naval court tO' inquire
intO' the cause of the destruction of the Maine.
March 5 — General Fitzhugh Lee's recall requested by the Spanish government
and promptly refused by the United States.
March 7 — Bill introduced in the House appropriating $50,000,000 for national
defense. Passed the House March 7 and the Senate March 8, and was
signed by the President.
March 12 — Battleship Oregon sailed from San Francisco to meet the Atlantic
squadron.
GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS. ^i'^3
March 12 — Spain offered armistice to the Cuban insurgents.
March 25 — Report of the Maine Court of Inquiry dehvcred to the Presidcrit
and transmitted to Congress, reaching there March 28.
April 5 — United States consuls in Cuba recalled.
April 1 1 — President McKinley sends message to Congress on the Cuban situ-
ation, in which he advises intervention without recognition of the Cuban
government.
April 19 — Congress recognizes independence of Cuba and authorizes the use of
United States forces in intervention.
April 20 — President issues ultimatum to Spain.
April 21 — An infernal machine was sent President McKinley, but the White
House detectives grew suspicious of the peculiar package and it was in-
vestigated. It was filled with a powerful explosive.
April 22 — Proclamation announcing war issued by President McKinley.
April 23 — President McKinley issued a call for 125,000 volunteers.
April 24 — War against the United States formally declared by Spain.
May I — Spanish fleet at Manila entirely destroyed by Dewey's fleet.
May 8 — Miss Helen Gould sent the government a check for $100,000 to add
to the war fund.
May 19 — William Ewart Gladstone died at Hawarden. He was England's
greatest parlimentarian and a leader for many years. He was acknowl-
edged throughout the world as one of the ablest men of modern times.
He was born in 1809.
May 19 — Arrival of Admiral Cervera's fleet in the harlx)r of Santiago, Cuba.
May 25 — Second call for 75,000 volunteers issued by the President.
June 3 — Merrimac sunk in the harbor of Santiago by Lieutenant Hobson.
June 20 — United States Army of Invasion landed in Cuba under General
Shafter.
July I and 2 — El Caney and San Juan, Cuba, captured by United States troops
with heavy loss.
July 3 — Admiral Cervera's fleet attempted to escape and was entirely destroyed
by United States fleet under command of Commodore Schley.
July 3-6 — No newspapers were published in Chicago in these days of great
events on sea and land, owing to a strike of the stereotypers. New men
were secured July 6 and publication resumed. The newspaper owners
formed a trust to fight the workers. Bulletin boards throughout the city
were used to convey the latest news to the citizens.
July 4 — The French line steamer La Bourgoyne collided with the British ship
324 GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS.
Cromartyshire sixty miles south of Sable Island, near Newfoundland,
and sunk. Five hundred and sixty of the 725 persons on board were
drowned.
July — Agitation of the Dreyfus case in France followed by anti-Semitic
riots.
July 26 — Spanish government, through French Ambassador Cambon, asked
for terms of peace.
July 30 — Prince Otto Leopold von Bismarck died at Friedrichsruh. He had
been chancellor of the German Empire and for thirty years was the
greatest figure in European politics. He was born in 181 5.
August 12 — Peace protocol signed and armistice proclaimed. Cuban blockade
raised.
September 18 — Miss Winnie Davis, daughter of Jefferson Davis and known
as the "Daughter of the Confederacy," died at Narragansett Pier, R. I.
She was born in Richmond, Va., in 1864. Her efforts to cement the union
between the North and the South in recent years received high praise.
October 17 — University of Chicago conferred the degree of LL. D. on Presi-
dent McKinley.
October 18 — United States takes formal possession of Porto Rico'.
December 10 — Peace treaty signed at Paris.
The year 1899 witnessed the closing acts of the Spanish war proper, but in
the meantime the troops left in the Philippine Islands came in conflict with
Aguinaldo's forces, and the friction soon lead to the Filipino outbreak. Hos-
tilities were opened February 4, when the American lines just without Manila
were attacked by 20,000 insurgents. The attack was repulsed with great loss,
and the American troops under General Otis then took the aggressive. Sev-
eral fierce engagements resulted, in which the Americans were invariably vic-
torious.
In Europe the Dreyfus trial attracted great attention during July and Au-
gust. Later the South African trouble came up and overshadowed all other
subjects. The war was the final outcome of the Jameson raid of 1895, by
which a party of Englishmen hoped to overthrow the Transvaal Republic un-
der President Kruger, and establish a province under the protection of En-
gland.
Kruger's reply to England's demands for a new franchise law was given
September 17. It repudiated England's claim, and both sides knew war to be
inevitable. Preparations for the conflict at once began.
October 12 the Boers invaded British territory and on the 20th of t^at
GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS. 325
month the first battle, at Glencoe, resulted. Both commanders were killed.
The battle did not give either side the advantage. Mafeking was besieged
October 26 and Ladysniilh October 28. Kimberley, where Cecil Rhodes
was at the time, next found a cordon of Boer soldiers and batteries sur-
rounding it. The Boers were successful in the engagements at Modder River
and Colenso, although both sides sustained heavy loss. The year closed with
the three towns under siege and the British disheartened.
President McKinley signed the peace treaty with Spain February 10, and
the Queen Regent of Spain signed the document March 17, ending the war
formally. Already there had been severe engagements in the Philippines
and many of the volunteers who served in Cuba were sent to the new posses-
sions in the Pacific.
General Law^ton and General McArthur were the most prominent in the
campaigns in the interior of Luzon. They drove the enemy from town to
town, capturing many prisoners. On April 27 Colonel Funston of the Twen-
tieth Kansas Regiment, with two volunteers as companions, swam the Rio
Grande River in the face of a murderous lire from the concealed enemy. A
rope was carried across and by this means the soldiers were enabled to follow
on rafts. The exploit ranks next to Dewey's victory in Philippine war
annals.
The "embalmed beef" investigation ended at Washington February 6.
On the following day the President suspended General Eagan from duty for
six years for his attack on General Miles during the hearing of the beef
scandal.
Dewey was made r. full admiral by Congress March 3.
Charles M. ]\Iurphy rode a mile on a bicycle in 57 4-5 seconds, behind an
engine with a wind shield.
Captain Alfred Dreyfus returned to France from Devil's Island July i.
His trial began July 7. He was again found guilty, but the sentence of ten
years' imprisonment was not enforced, which was a practical vindication of
the artillery officer.
Secretary of War Alger resigned July 15, and El-hu Root was appointed
to succeed him July 22.
Cornelius Vanderbilt, born 1843, died at New York September 12.
Admiral Dewey arrived at New York from the Philippines via the Suez
Canal September 26. A great naval demonstration in the harbor and an im-
mense parade followed.
The American Cup defender, Columbia, defeated Sir Thomas Lipton's
326 GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS.
Shamrock I. off New York harbor in the international yacht races Octo-
ber 20.
Vice-President Hobart died at Paterson, N. J., November 21. He was
born in 1844.
World interest at the opening of the year 1900 was centered in the
heroic struggle of the Boers, who in the rapid campaigns of November and
December, 1899, had won several notable victories over the British forces
and had Mafeking, Ladysmith and Kimberley beleaguered. The tide of
war swept the soldiers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State irresist-
ibly along. It was in the dark days of England's plight, that orders were
issued from London to recall General Buller, and Lord Roberts was selected
to take charge of the South African armies.
Roberts arrived at Cape Town, January 10. In a few weeks all was in
readiness for the advance and the tide had turned. General French's dash
relieved Kimberley February 15, and Cronje was driven back at Modder
drift the same day. The intrepid Boer leader with his 4,000 men intrenched
himself at Paardeberg on the Modder River, but was forced to capitulate
on February 2^. This was a severe blow to the republican forces.
The onward march of Roberts continued, Bloemfontein, the capital of
the Orange Free State, being entered March 13. On March 28, the siege
of Ladysmith was raised. June 5, Pretoria was entered and then began
the guerrilla warfare which continued throughout the year. In October
Kruger fled from South Africa, landing in France November 2.2.
Next in importance to the Boer war was the Boxer uprising in China,
which horrified the entire civilized world bv its atrocities. Beginning in
March and April reports began to come from China telling of hordes of
fanatics, who were threatening the lives and property of missionaries. The
real state of affairs was not realized until in May, when the Boxers grew
so strong they overawed the government, and on May 28, they seized
Peking, the capital. Then the world stood aghast, but it was too late to
save the lives of thousands of Christian Chinese.
Threats from Europe failed to accomplish the all-important object and
when, on June 16, Baron von Ketteler, the German minister to China, was
murdered, armed forces were rushed to China. After weeks of desultory
fighting, in which several hundred of the allied forces were killed, the inter-
national relief column entered Peking, August 15. Minister Conger was
alive, he along with many other whites having fortified the British legation,
where the attacks of the armed rabble and Boxers were repulsed.
GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS. 327
The European powers took possession of the Chinese government and
each demanded a heavy indemnity for the losses sustained. It was through
the intervention of President McKinley and Secretary Hay, that the Chi-
nese were enabled to make satisfactory terms with the other nations which
had troops in China. The "open door" policy, by which commercial rights
were accorded all nations at the ports of China, was a victory for the United
States. At the end of the year the allies were in possession of Peking, while
the Emperor and Dowager Empress were in the interior. There was no
fighting of any consequence after August.
In the Philippines, the insurgents were gradually falling back before the
advance of the American forces. Aguinaldo retreated to the mountains and
his followers were in great part dispersed. Here and there would be found
a small armed band, but the skirmishes invariably resulted in American
victories.
The result of the gubernatorial election in Kentucky, in 1899, was long
in doubt and both Democrats and Republicans attempted to seize the State
government. Excitement w-as intense when, on January 30, William Goebel,
the Democratic aspirant, was shot and fatally wounded. He died February 3.
Governor Taylor, the Republican incumbent, was indicted as an accessory to
the crime. For a time serious trouble was feared, but the courts were
allowed to settle the claim and civil war was averted.
February 5, the Hay-Pauncefote treaty w^as signed, amending the Clay-
ton-Bulwer treaty. The chief feature of the old treaty was the agreement that
any canal joining the Atlantic and Pacific would be jointly controlled.
America is now free to build and control an isthmian canal.
A fire at Ottawa, Canada, swept several square miles of area April 26,
rendering 1,500 persons homeless and destroying $15,000,000 worth of
property.
May 28, a total eclipse of the sun was visible in most of the Southern
States, and several good photographs of the heavenly bodies obtained.
McKinley and Roosevelt were nominated at Philadelphia, June 21.
Three hundred lives w-ere lost and $10,000,000 worth of property
destroyed in a fire which started in the North German Lloyd piers at New
York and communicated to the ocean liners Saale, Bremen and Main.
July 5, Bryan and Stevenson were nominated at the Kansas City con-
vention.
King Humbert of Italy was assassinated by an anarchist from Paterson,
N. J., named Bresci, July 30.
328 GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS.
A hurricane swept the gulf states on the night of September 8, reaching
the proportions of a tidal wave at Galveston. A large portion of the city
was wrecked, 6,000 lives lost, and property worth $12,000,000 destroyed.
The havoc created by the waters has no parallel in American annals, with
the possible exception of the Johnstown disaster.
John Sherman, of Ohio, Senator, Secretary of Treasury, and Secretary of
State, died at Washington, October 21. He was one of the Republican
leaders for many years.
November 6, the national election resulted in the re-election of President
McKinley by a large majority.
Conditions in South Africa remained practically unchanged during the
fall of 1900, and the spring of 1901. The Boers refused to surrender and
harassed the British whenever possible. England formally annexed both
the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, but the encouragement of the
continental powers of Europe induced the Boers to continue the struggle.
President Kruger made his home in Holland. Mrs. Kruger died at Pre-
toria, where she remained when her husband left for Europe.
England's gloom was intensified when, in January, it was announced
that the health of the aged Queen Victoria was rapidly failing. She died
January 22, and the Prince of Wales was proclaimed King Edward VH.
The coronation will take place in 1902.
McKinley and Roosevelt were inaugurated March 4.
Former President Benjamin Harrison died at his Indianapolis home,
March 13. After his term as President, he resumed the practice of law and
appeared in some of the most important international cases of recent years.
The rebellion in the Philippines, which had lost its effectiveness in 1900,
received another blow when, on March 23, General Funston, with a few
companions, captured Aguinaldo. The Americans were accompanied by a
band of Filipinos. The" natives announced that they had taken the Ameri-
cans prisoners, and were taking them to Aguinaldo. By this ruse his hiding
place was discovered. Aguinaldo took the oath of allegiance to the United
States and was given a residence in Manila, where he is under surveillance.
In industrial circles, the most momentous event of the year was the
incorporation of the billion dollar steel trust, by J. Pierpont Morgan, Andrew
Carnegie, and others, April i. The consolidation of the various interests
lead to a strike by the Amalgamated Association of Steel, Iron and Tin
Workers, June 30, under the leadership of Theodore Shaffer, of Pittsburg.
GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATION. 329
The Strike was not well organized and many of the men refused to obe^ 'he
orders to walk out.
President and Mrs. McKinley left Washington on an extended tour,
April 29. They travelled through the South, along the Mexican border
and through Southern California, reaching San Francisco May 12. Here
Mrs. McKinley was taken seriously ill. The tour was announced at an end.
After a week of rest Mrs. McKinley was able to return to Washington by
easy stages.
May 28, Cuba voted to accept the Piatt amendment to the Constitution.
During the first few days of July an oppressively hot wave swept over the
country, hundreds dying from the heat. In New York the suffering was
pathetic. Following this wave caine a period of drouth, which extended
over the entire country doing inestimable damage to crops. In some dis-
tricts rain did not fall for two months, and vegetation all perished. Prices
of produce rose rapidly, but copious rains in August and September saved
many of the late crops.
Dowager Empress Frederick, mother of Emperor Wilhelm of Germany,
died at Berlin in August. She had been living in practical retirement since
the death of her husband, Emperor Frederick, in 1888. She was the oldest
child of Queen Victoria.
After years of negotiations, the United States and Denmark arranged
satisfactory terms, September 2, and the Danish West Indies, three small
islands near Porto Rico, will be transferred to this country. The chief object
in acquiring these islands was to get possession of the port of St. Thomas,
one of the best in the West Indies. The islands are St. Thomas, St. John
and St. Croix. The price paid is a little over $4,000,000.
September 2, President and Mrs. McKinley started for the Pan-Amer-
ican Exposition, where the President had arranged to deliver an address
on President's Day, September 5. The address was a notable one, as it out-
lined McKinley's national policy for the coming years. Within 24 hours
cf the deliverance of the famous speech, the President was shot down by
the assassin.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
The first funeral service over the remains of President McKinley was
iiel at the Milburn house in Buffalo, Sunday, September 15, at 11 o'clock.
At ihe house only the President's wife, his relatives, his personal friends,
and }i,3 official family were gaGiered for their last farewell. It was simply
the funeral of William McKinley, the man.
Grief is too weak a word for what Mrs. McKinley suffered. It was not
merely the loss of one dear to her. It was the loss of all there was in the
world, the one strong arm on which for years she has leaned for support,
almost as a child leans upon its mother.
There is a story of unwavering patience and devotion in that part of the
late President's life which only has been touched upon, much as
has been said about it, and which even those who knew most of its details
can hardly grasp, in the all but unparalleled depth of love that it involves.
Even in their own sorrow the thoughts of all who were gathered about
the dead President's bier in the room below were going out in pity to her
whose desolation was so utter, so far beyond all hope.
The extremity of pathos was reached when, before the ceremony, Mrs.
McKinley, the poor, grief-crushed widow, had been led into the chamber
by her physician, Dr. Rixey, and had sat awhile alone with him who had
supported and comforted her through all their years of wedded life.
Her support was gone, but she had not broken down. Dry-eyed, she
gazed upon him. She fondled his face. She did not seem to realize he
was dead.
Then she was led away to the head of the stairs, where she could hear
the services.
The extremity of impressiveness followed when the new President stood
beside the casket steeling himself for a look into the face of the dead.
The tension in the room was great. Every one seemed to be waiting.
The minister of the gospel stood with the holy book in his hand ready to
begin.
Perhaps it might have been sixty seconds. It seemed longer. Then
330
THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO. 331
the President turned and advanced one step. Me bowed his head and
looked. Long he gazed, standing immovable, save for a twitching of the
muscles of the chin. At last he stepped back. Tears were in President
Roosevelt's eyes as he went to the chair reserved for him.
Another dramatic scene came when the service was over and the Rev.
Mr. Locke had pronounced the benediction. Before any one had moved,
and while there was the same perfect stillness, Senator Hanna, who had
not before found courage to look upon the dead face of his friend, stepped
out from where he had been standing behind Governor Odell. It was
his last chance to see the features of President McKinley. There was a
look on his face that told more than sobs would have done. It was the
look of a man whose grief was pent up within him.
The Senator had quite a few steps to take to get to the head of the
casket. When he got to the head of the bier, by President Roosevelt, he
stood with his head resting on his breast and his hands clasped behind his
back, looking down on the face of his friend. He stood there possibly a
minute, but to every one it seemed more like five. No one stirred while
he stood. The scene was beyond expression.
As the Senator turned his head around those in the room saw his face,
and there were tears trickling Jown it. One of the Cabinet members put
out his arm and the Senator ins'-inctively seemed to follow it. He went
between Senator Long and Attorney-General Knox and sat down in a
chair near the wall; then he bowed his head.
To most of those present at the services at the Milburn house, the dead
President had been friend and comrade, a relationship beside which that of
President seemed for the moment to sink into insignificance. It was as his
friends that they heard the two hymns sung and the passage from the Bible
read.
It was so impressive that the people who were there stood silent, with
something tugging at their throats and making sobs impossible. There were
no sobs heard, and yet there were those there who had known the dead
President all his life. Many eyes were filled with tears, but they were shed
softly. While the services proceeded there was no audible sound of grief.
But in the faces of every one, from President and the Cabinet Ministers
down to soldier and servant, grief of the deepest kind was written too plainly
to be mistaken, and the tears stole silently down the furrows in the faces
of gray-haired friends who had known intimately the man whose funeral
it was.
332 THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
The SI vice at the Milburn house began a few minutes after 1 1 o'clock
and it was ver in about fifteen minutes.
The ent e military and naval force formed in compan}^ front near the
house and tl re awaited the time for the services to begin.
Meantime he members of the Cabinet, officials high in the government
service, and near friends of the martyred President began to fill the walks
leading up to the entrance of the Milburn residence. They came separately
and in groups, some walking, while those in carriages were admitted within
the roped enclosure up to the curb.
Two and two, a long line of men of dignified bearing marched up to see
the house — the foreign commissioners sent to the exposition, and after
them the State commissioners. With the foreigners was a colonel of the
Mexican army in his full uniform of black with scarlet stripes and peaked
gold braided cap. The other members of the Cabinet in the city, Secretary
Long, Attorney-General Knox, Postmaster General Smith, the close confi-
dants and friends of the late chief. Senator Hanna, Judge Day, Governors
Odell, Yates, and Gregory, Representatives Alexander and Ryan, Major-
General Brooke, E. H. Butler, H. H. Kohlsaat, and many others were
present.
It was just eight minutes before the opening of the service when a cov-
ered barouche drove up to the house, bringing President Roosevelt and
Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox, at whose home he is a guest. The President looked
grave as he alighted and turned to assist Mrs. Wilcox from the carriage.
His face did not relax into a smile to the salutation of those nearest the
carriage, but he acknowledged the greetings silently and with an inclina-
tion of the head. Word passed up the well filled walk that the President
hrid arrived, and those waiting to gain entrance fell back, making a narrow
lane, through which Mr. Roosevelt passed along to the house.
Outside the house there was a half hour of silence and waiting. Within
the house of death was woe unspeakable.
In the drawing-room, to the right of the hall, as President Roosevelt
entered, the dead chieftain was stretched upon his bier. His head was to
the rising sun. On his face was written the story of the Christian forbear-
ance with which he had met his martyrdom. Only the thinness of his
face bore mute testimony to the patient suffering he had endured.
The dead President was dressed as he always was in life. The black
frock coat was buttoned across the breast where the first bullet of the
assassin had struck. The black string tie below the standing collar showed
THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO. 333
the little triangle of white shirt front. The right hand lay at his side. The
left was across his body. He looked as millions of his countrymen have
seen him.
The body lay in a black casket on a black bearskin rug. Over the lower
limbs was hung the starry banner he had loved so well. The flowers were
few, as befitted the simple nature of the man. A spray of white chrysanthe-
mums, a flaming bunch of blood red American Beauty roses, and a magnifi-
cent bunch of violets were on the casket. That was all. Behind the head,
against a pier mirror, between the two curtained windows, rested two superb
wreaths of white asters and roses. These were the only flowers in the
room.
Two sentries, one from the sea and one from the land, guarded the
remains. They stood in the window embrasures behind the head of the
casket. The one on the north was a sergeant of iafantry. In the other
window w^as the sailor, garbed in the loose blue blouse of the navy.
The family had taken leave of their loved one before the others arrived.
Mrs. Hobart, widow of the Vice-President during Mr. McKinley's first
term; Mrs. Lafayette McWilliams of Chicago, Miss Barber, Miss Mary
Barber, and Dr. Rixey remained wdth Mrs. McKinley during the services.
The other members of the family — Mr. and Mrs. Abner McKinley, Miss
Helen McKinley, Mrs. Duncan, Miss Duncan, Mr. and Mrs. Barber, and
Dr. and Mrs. Baer — had withdrawn into the library to the north of the
drawing-room, in which the casket lay, and here also gathered other friends
when the service was held.
The friends and public associates of the dead President all had oppor-
tunity to view the remains before the service began. The members of
the Cabinet had taken their leave before the others arrived. They remained
seated beside their dead chief while the sad procession viewed the body.
They were on the north side of it. A place directly at the head had been
reserved for President Roosevelt. Secretary Root sat alongside this empty
chair. Then came Attorney-General Knox, Secretary Long, Secretary
Hitchcock, Secretary Wilson, and Postmaster-General Smith, in the order
named.
Senator Hanna entered the room at this time, but did not approach the
casket. His face was set like an iron-willed man w-ho would not let down
the barriers of his grief. The Senator spoke to no one. His eyes were
vacant. He passed through the throng and seated himself behind Governor
334 THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
Odell, sinking far down into his chair and resting his head upon his hand.
During all the service that followed he did not stir.
Just before ii o'clock President Roosevelt entered, coming into the
room from the rear through the library. After passing into the hall he had
made his way around through the sitting-room behind into the library.
There was an instantaneous movement in the room as the President ap-
peared. The procession was still passing from the south side, around the
head of the casket and back between it and the members of the Cabinet
seated at its side.
Every one rose and all eyes were turned toward the President. He
moved forward again with the tide of the procession to his place at the head
of the line of Cabinet officers. He held himself erect, his left hand carrying
his silk hat. Those who were coming toward him fell back on either side to
let him pass. He paused once or twice to shake hands silently, but there
was no smile to accompany his greetings. He, too, like the man deep down
in his seat against the wall, who had forgotten to rise when the President of
the United States entered, seemed to be restraining a great grief.
When President Roosevelt reached the head of the line of Cabinet officers
he kept his face away from the casket. The infantryman guarding the dead
stood before him rigid as a statue. Although the Commander-in-Chief
approached until he could have touched him, the soldier did not salute. The
President spoke to Secretary Root, or perhaps it would be more precise to
say that the latter spoke to him.
Colonel Bingham, the aid to the President, standing ten feet below the
foot of the casket at the side of the loyal Cortelyou, glanced in the direction
of the Rev. Charles Edward Locke of the Delaware Avenue Methodist Epis-
copal Church, who was to conduct the service.
The pastor was at the door leading into the hall, a station whence his
words could be heard at the head of the stairs. The signal was given and
there welled out from the hall the beautiful words of "Lead, Kindly Light,"
sung by a quartet. It was one of President McKinley's favorite hymns.
Every one within sound of the music knew it and half of those in the room
put their faces in their hands to hide their tears. Controller Dawes leaned
against a bookcase and wept. President Roosevelt seemed to be swaying
to and fro as if his footing were insecure.
When the singing ended the clergyman read from the fifteenth chapter
of the First Corinthians. All had risen as he began and remained standing
through the remainder of the service. Again the voices rose with the words
THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO. 335
of "Nearer, My God, to Thee," the words President McKinley had repeated
at intervals of consciousness during the day of agony before he died. As the
music died away the pastor spoke again,
"Let us pray," he said, and every head fell upon its breast. He began
his invocation with a stanza from a hymn sung in the Methodist Church.
His prayer was as follows:
"O, God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal home.
"We, thy servants, humbly beseech thee for manifestations of thy favor
as we come into thy presence. We laud and magnify thy holy name and
praise thee for all thy goodness. Be merciful unto us and bless us, as,
stricken with overwhelming sorrow, we come to thee. Forgive us for our
doubts and fears and faltering faith; pardon all our sins and shortcomings
and help us to say, Thy will be done.'
"In this dark night of grief abide with us till the dawning. Speak to our
troubled souls, O God, and give to us in this hour of unutterable grief the
peace and quiet which thy presence only can afford. We thank thee that
thou answerest the sobbing sigh of the heart, and dost assure us that if a
man die be shall live again. We praise thee for Jesus Christ, thy Son, our
Savior and elder brother; that he came 'to bring life and immortality to
light,' and because he lives we shall live also. We thank thee that death is
victory, that 'to die is gain,'
"Have mercy upon us in this dispensation of thy providence. We be-
lieve in thee, we trust thee, our God of love — 'the same yesterday, to-day,
and forever.' We thank thee for the unsullied life of thy servant, our
martyred President, whom thou hast taken to his coronation, and we pray
for the final triumph of all the divine principles of pure character and free
government for which he stood wdiile he lived and which were baptized by
his blood in his death.
"Hear our prayer for blessings of consolation upon all those who were
associated with him in the administration of the affairs of the government;
especially vouchsafe thy presence to thy servant who has been suddenly
called to assume the holy responsibility of our Chief Magistrate.
"O God, bless our dear nation, and guide the ship of State through
336 THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
stormy seas; help thy people to be brave to fight the battles of the Lord
and wise to solve all the problems of freedom.
"Graciously hear us for comforting blessings to rest upon the family circle
of our departed friend. Tenderly sustain thine handmaiden upon whom the
blow of this sorrow most heavily falls. Accompany her, O God, as thou
hast promised, through this dark valley and shadow, and may she fear no evil
because thou art with her.
"All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has
taught us when we pray to say, 'Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed
be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in
Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as
we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the
glory forever. Amen.'
"May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,
and communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen,"
All present joined in the Lord's prayer as the minister repeated it, Presi-
dent Roosevelt's voice being audible at the back of the roorn.
The service concluded with a simple benediction.
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CHAPTER XXXI.
LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
The funeral services of William McKinley, the man, took place in the
Milburn house in Buffalo, Sunday morning, September 15. The funeral of
William McKinley, the President, commenced the next afternoon m the
official residence of the city where he died.
At the city hall in Buffalo everything was as he, who never denied the
people's desire to meet him face to face, and who paid with his life for the
self-sacrifice, would have had it. From noon into another day, the reverent
thousands upon thousands flowed past his bier, taking a last look on the face
thev so loved for what it meant to them and their country.
The funeral cortege left the house of President Milburn of the exposi-
tion at 11:45 o'clock. Slowly and solemnly, in time to the funeral march, it
moved between two huge masses of men, women and children, stretching
away two miles and a half to the city hall. Nearly two hours were required
to traverse the distance. , , . • 1 .
Fully 50,000 people saw it pass. They were packed into windows,
perched on roofs, massed on verandas, and compressed into solid masses
covering the broad sidewalks and grass plots. Most of them stood bare-
headed as it passed. Young and old, the strong and the age-bent and the
lame faced it with hats in hand, unmindful of wind and rain.
All eyes were on the hearse. President Roosevelt, who rode first in the
line mio-ht have claimed some attention for the living if he would. Instead
he shrank back in his carriage out of sight. The day belonged to him who
had eone, and the new President would have it so.
The Sixty-fifth Regiment New York National Guard band led the line
Behind it were the military escort and a full battalion of soldiers made up of
national guardsmen. United States infantry. United States artihery and
United states marines. Then came the carriage of President Roosevel
and members of the Cabinet, preceding the hearse. Behind came the line
of carriages of friends and associates of the dead President.
The waiting cadences of Chopin's funeral march rose and fell. In the tear
.tarting productions of that music-famed Pole, the overflowing heart of a
naUon'n'ourning the foul work of another Pole, found bitterest expression.
339
20i
"40 LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
The liquid tcr.es of bells attuned came up from the southward to mellow
Chopin's r jneral cry with a note of hope.
While the military band poured out music the chimes in the belfry of old
St. Paul's Cathedral reverently rendered "Abide With Me," "Nearer, My
God, to Thee," and then "America."
All night decorators had been at work preparing the city hall. Funeral
bunting was draped inside and outside. During the storm of the early
morning the exterior decorations were torn down, and some of the bunting
became entangled in the machinery of the great clock on the tower. It
stopped with the hands pointed to a quarter past two, the hour at which the
President had breathed his last on the preceding night.
A block away ropes had been stretched across the streets leading to the
city hall, and behind these the crowd was massed in thousands. Its mere
weight pushed the ropes out of place, and the police were constantly over-
powered in trying to hold the crowd in line against the patient multitude
which neither threat of rain nor the storm itself could disturb.
The head of the funeral line reached the city hall a few minutes after
noon. The military escort marched down past the main entrance, wheeled
into line and came to "present arms" at the moment the storm which had
been threatening broke. Rain fell in torrents and belated thunder peals
mingled detonations through it.
The carriages carrying President Roosevelt and the Cabinet members
rolled up and w^ere discharged. Then the hearse came, and four sergeants
of the United States army and four quartermasters from the naval detach-
ment lifted the casket on their shoulders and bore it within, while the band
played "Nearer, My God, to Thee."
Directly above the spot where the coffin was to lie there was a dome of
black bunting, within which hung straight dow^n above the cofifin four
American flags, forming with their lower edges a cross which pointed to the
four points of the compass.
President Roosevelt and the Cabinet ranged themselves about the spot
where the body was to rest. Mr. Roosevelt stood at the foot of the cofBn
on its right hand, with Secretary Root opposite and facing him. On Presi-
dent Roosevelt's left were Attorney-General Knox, Secretary Long and
Secretary Wilson. On Mr. Root's right hand were Postmaster-General
Smith, Secretary Hitchcock and Mr. Cortelyou, the President's private sec-
retary.
The casket's upper half was open. The lower half was draped in a flag
LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO. 341
upon which were masses of red and white roses. The body of the President
lay on its back and was clad in a black frock coat, with the left hand resting
across the breast. One glance at the face, startlingly changed from its
appearance in life, told the story of the suffering which had been endured
before death came.
Not a word w^as said. As soon as the coffin had been arranged, President
Roosevelt and Mr. Root, follow^ed by the other secretaries, led the way
past the coffin on either side, each glancing for a moment at the dead face.
They then passed quickly out of the western entrance. Behind them came
Senator Hanna, Senator Fairbanks and about one hundred more men and
women who had been waiting in the city hall or who had accompanied the
body from the Alilburn residence.
President Roosevelt and those who immediately followed him had passed
out of the building at eighteen minutes after one o'clock, and there was a
slight delay while the guard was posted. At the head of the coffin stood
Sergeant Galway of the Seventy-fourth Infantry Regiment of the regular
army. Chief Master at Arms Luze of the Indiana stood facing him at the
foot with his drawn cutlass at his shoulder. On the south, facing the coffin,
stood Sergeant Gunther of the Fourteenth Regiment, and Coburn, a sailor
from the Indiana, stood facing him on the north.
The lines approached the eastern entrance from Eagle street on the north
and Church street on the south. They were formed by the police, tw^o
abreast, and approached the hall in a wide sweeping curve of humanity,
which was drawn in constantly at the entrance of the building where the
currents joined. Between files of police the stream from the north passed
by on the north side of the coffin, while the southern stream flowed by on
the south. Both passed quickly out at the western entrance and down the
steps, dispersing in various directions.
Nothing was heard in the building but the tread of feet on the marble
floor as the crowd passed through without stopping at the rate of about
one hundred and sixty a minute. Each individual had time only for a hasty
glance as he was urged forward by the police and by those who followed.
The plan was so arranged that four persons could pass the coffin, two
abreast on each side, at the same moment.
As the afternoon wore on and the lines grew longer-at their source, much
faster than they were melting away at the hall, the police found it necessary
to urge greater haste in order that as many as possible might be admitted.
''Move right along; move right along, now; step lively, please; hurry
343 LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
up; move right up, now," they repeated over and over, at the same time
urging the crowd forward with their hands. In spite of their efforts, which
necessarily marred to some extent the solemnity of the scene, the crowds
outside continued to increase.
The great majority of the crowd was made up of what political orators
call the "common people." It was noticed that there were many working-
men in the lines, and apparently they were not the least sincere of the
mourners. A workingman and his wife and children were the first to see the
face of the departed President when the lines commenced to move.
Nothing could more clearly show the hold which William McKinley had
on the hearts of the great mass of the people. While he lived they gave
him their votes. Dead, they did their all to testify the regard in which
they held him. Accustomed to rising early six days in the week, they rose
early again on this seventh and took possession of the streets. From break-
fast time until afternoon they held their places.
The first woman seen to shed a tear was clad in rusty brown. Her garb,
neat and well brushed though it was, and the knotted finger with which she
clasped a faded shawl, told of Hfe by hard work. She looked once on the
dead face and burst into tears.
Men and women struggled along for hours through the press in stolid
patience to press kisses upon the cold glass. Little children were led past
weeping as if they had lost a father. G. A. R. men marched by, lifting their
hands to their hats in a last military salute to "the major" and the President,
who was to them also "commander."
Not by any means all who passed were born under the fiag they now
call theirs. From the East Side came troops of Poles, denouncing the act
of Czolgosz, their countryman in blood. Italians came in troops, their
women uncovering shawled heads and dropping tears for the man whose
language they probably could not speak. And before and behind through-
out the constant stream was the American workingman, bearing himself as if
he realized the loss of his best friend.
Among the foremost to reach the coffin was a slender man, poorly
dressed, with iron-gray hair and mustache. The little G. A. R. copper button
was in his coat lapel. Beside the coffin he leaned over and made a menacing
gesture with his hand:
"Curse the man that shot you!" he said.
The police urged him forw^ard, and he went out shaking his head and
muttering against the anarchists.
LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO. 343
Many men and women brought with them young children, whom they
raised in their arms to sec and perhaps remember in after life the face of the
President. A tattered and grimy bootblack, with his box slung over his
shoulder, leading by the hand his sister, smaller but no less grimy than he,
filed by, walking on tiptoe to see.
The Indians came in the late afternoon, fifty chiefs from the Pan-Amer-
ican Indian congress, with squaws and papooses. Geronimo, Blue Horse,
Flat Iron, Little Wound and Red Shirt led them. Each red man, little or
high, carried a white carnation in his hand, which he laid reverently upon
the cofTm of the "Great Father." Two chubby little Indian girls forgot, and
went on, each clasping her flower in a little brown hand.
The storm came again after two o'clock, and with renewed fury. Tlie
rain fell in torrents, and was driven by the wind in sheets like small cataracts.
But the lines and masses of people waiting for a chance to see their President
for a last time never wavered. About half carried umbrellas. They served
no purpose except to further drench those who had none, until the wind
caught them, turned them, inside out and whirled them into the gutters.
Hats, women's as well as men's, followed.
By this time the waiting crowds had reached the most cosmopolitan
stage. Silk-hatted men and women in automobile coats waited in line with
mechanics and women from the factories and stores. All were drenched, and
all seemed alike indifferent.
They came through the city hall rotunda with water streaming from
their garments, until pools and rivers formed on the marble floor. Great
baskets of sawdust had to be brought in and spread to absorb it lest people
should fall on the slippery floors.
The of^cials of the exposition and the representatives of foreign govern-
ments commissioned to attend the exposition with exhibits from other coun-
tries were in the lines. Soldiers of the regular army, in their blue cape coats,
went by, and also policemen ofT duty, holding their helmets in their hands.
National guardsmen with khaki gaiters; colored men, among them James
Parker, who figured in the capture of Czolgosz; little girls in their Sunday
dresses, with their braided hair over their shoulders; young men, husbands
and wives, mothers with their sons or daughters, went by in the never-ending
stream.
Many flowers were sent to the house and others were sent to the city
hall. Among them was a large wreath of purple asters, with a card on
which was written:
344 LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
"Farewell of Chief Geronimo, Blue Horse, Flat Iron and Red Shirt and
the 700 braves of the Indian congress. Like Lincoln and Garfield, President
McKinley never abused authority except on the side of mercy. The mar-
tyred Great White Chief will stand in memory next to the Savior of mankind.
We loved him living, we love him still."
On the other side of the card was the following:
"Geronimo's eulogy. The rainbow of hope is out of the sky. Heavy
clouds hang about us. Tears wet the ground of the tepees. The chief of the
nation is dead. Farewell."
Flowers were received at the hall also from Helen Miller Gould Tent No.
8, Daughters of Veterans; from the commissioners of Chile to the exposi-
tion; from Manuel de Aspiroz, the Mexican Ambassador to the United
States, and his family; from the Cuban commissioners to the exposition;
from the Mexican commissioners, and from General Porfirio Diaz, President
of Mexico.
Monotonously the streams of people flowed past the cofifin while twilight
fell and darkness gathered. The interior of the city hall was illuminated by
electricity, and the streets in the vicinity were brightly lighted. Toward sun-
set the sky cleared, and there was an immediate increase in the already enor-
mous crowds.
The endurance of the people finally gave out at 11 o'clock at night.
At that time practically everybody who sought the opportunity had seen
the dead President and the doors were closed. The military guard detailed
by order of General Brooke was left in charge of the body.
A death mask of the President's face was made by Eduird L. A. Pausch
of Hartford, Conn. Pausch has modeled the features of many of the dis-
tinguished men who have died in this country in recent years. The mask is a
faithful reproduction of the late President McKinley's features.
CHAPTER XXXIl.
THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
From the scene of President McKinley's assassination to the Capital of
the nation the hearse of the murdered President made its way. Through al-
most half a thousand miles, past a hundred towns that had been blessed
through his services, between two lines of mourners that massed in unnum-
bered throngs all the way from Buffalo to Washington, the hurrying train
proceeded, anguished mourners within the cars, loving and sorrow-stricken
friends without.
President McKinley had left Washington, September 6, 1901, in the full
tide of life, in the full flush of hope and power. His cold body, with life
extinct, started on the return Monday, September 16, housed in the mourn-
ful trappings of woe.
From 7 o'clock in the morning to 8 o'clock at night the solemn progress
continued. In the flush of the September dawn the nation's dead was hurried
out of the city, which, waving a sad farewell with its one hand, clutched tight
his murderer with the other. The roar of mad Niagara sank to a growl of
thirsty vengeance reserved for the wretch that remained, and the mists rose
up from the deeps of the dead, and bent in gentle majesty to the south as the
echo of departing wheels wore away.
Never was such a funeral procession. Never before was a death so cause-
less, a chief so beloved so pitilessly laid low, and never was humanity startled
from universal peace with a grief so sad.
It was a curious journey for the five draped cars, with their engine banked
in black. The half hundred attendants — the widow with her friends, the new
President with his advisers, the guards and escort making up the visible gov-
ernment of the nation, hurrying from the threshold of woe to the vestibule of
a new administration.
No other business occupied the road's attention till this caravan of the
dead should pass. Ahead of it ran a pilot engine, insuring against any possi-
ble accident. Behind it all business waited till it was far away.
Loving hearts devised new forms of testimony to the fallen chief, and
gentle hands discharged the duties that the day imposed. Time and again
the track was heaped for rods with all manner of flowers before the on-com-
345
346 THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
ing train. American Beauty roses were piled above the rails. Glowing
asters and gleaming violets alternated with wild flowers and the vivid reds
and yellow^s of autumn leaves. And the iron wheels that whirled the funeral
party south cut through the banks of bloom and filled the air with perfume
as fragrant as the nation's love.
Schools were dismissed, and little groups of boys and girls stood in silent,
puzzled wonder as the train rolled past. At every cross-road from dawn to
dark were gathered farmers' teams, with men and women, waiting to pay
their silent, tearful tribute to the dead. At every town the flags were held
at half-mast, and the streets were crowded with the masses of Americans sin-
cere in their sympathy for the living, profoundly sorrowing for the dead.
There were traces of tears in every face. There were evidences of respect
in every attitude. The bells of every village tolled while the flag-draped
cofifin went hurrying past.
Nothing more pathetic marked the whole procession than the homely
badges of black and purple ribbon worn by men in the towns and little cities.
There had been no time for the emblems of factory fashioning to reach them,
and little rosettes composed by women's hands dotted the bosoms of dresses
and the lapels of coats.
Business was suspended. All interest in life was held in abeyance, for the
nation's dead was going by.
The one relief to this monotone of woe was furnished by lads in Pennsyl-
vania, who took coins from their slender stores of saving, and laid them on
the rails, rescuing them, flattened, when the train had passed. And they will
preserve these among their treasures to the end of life.
Down the Susquehanna River the banks seemed lined with watchers, who
had assembled for a view, the one tribute possible for them to pay. Upon the
opposite side of the track a highway ran, and farmers' homes, fronting it,
were draped in mourning, and in their windows displayed the portraits of
the President so foully slain, wdth flags and flowers wreathed into borders,
and flashing their testimony of sorrow to those who accompanied the dead.
Shortly after leaving Buffalo Mrs. McKinley was persuaded to lie down,
and she rested there undisturbed for hours, her friends watching her con-
tinually, and attentive to her every want. She w^as speechless, simply staring
straight before her as if the meaning of this awful blow could not be compre-
hended. Toward noon she rose, and sat at a window, looking off at the fleeting
panorama of hills and fields, and reverent friends w^ho vainly yearned to
Hghten her sorrow. There were no tears until the train paused in the station
THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON. 347
at Harrisburg. The crowds had been very dense, and she Ijecame conscious
that thousands peered intently into the coaches as they passed; so she moved
away from the window and still sat silent. There was a moment's wait in the
station and then the iron arches of the roof rang with the swelling numbers
of the song, ''Nearer, My God, To Thee!" The Harrisburg Choral Society,
300 strong, had assembled at the farther wall ; and the rolling tide of its mel-
ody filled the great structure. It came to the silent little woman in the sec-
ond coach, so sadly, hopelessly alone; and she bowed her head and wept.
As the train pulled out the Choral Society took up the lines : "My Coun-
try, 'Tis of Thee;" and as the sorrowing guardians were hurried away ten
thousand voices in the crowd outside the depot and along the streets evi-
dently without prearrangement, joined in that, their funeral anthem:
"Our Father's God, to Tliee,
Author of Liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With Freedom's holy light —
Protect us with Thy might,
Great God, our King!"
Through its wavering melody sounded the note of a bugle. A trum-
peter was sounding "Taps."
President Roosevelt, his Cabinet and friends occupied the fourth car, and
transacted such business as could not be postponed. Between them and
Mrs. McKinley's coach was a combination diner and buffet car; and there
the new President w-ent for luncheon at noon. The women w'ho attended
Mrs. McKinley brought refreshments to her, and urged her to eat; but she
could not. The forward car, a "combination," was occupied by the mem-
bers of the escort party and a number of correspondents, whi^e in the com-
partment immediately back of the engine such baggage as was necessary for
the party's immediate use was stored.
The last car on the train was an observation car, in the center of which
the casket was placed. About it was grouped the sentinels from the army
and the navy — whose guardian care was no longer needed; and beside it re-
posed masses of floral offerings. The car was so arranged that a view of the
interior could be had by the crowds that were passed.
At Baltimore the train was reversed, the catafalque car being placed in
front, while the others occupied their relative positions in the rear.
348 THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
Darkness came shortly after the train left Baltimore, and the lights of
farm houses in the country still revealed the waiting watchers — always stand-
ing, always uncovered, always mutely joining in the universal expression of
grief.
Night enveloped the Capital City in its mighty pall as the funeral proces-
sion ended. The train pulled into the depot at 8:38. The run from Buffalo
had been made in an average of thirty-five miles an hour. The President
and his friends alighted. Mrs. McKinley was assisted to her carriage. The
stalwart soldiers and sailors gently lifted the casket from its place in the car
and carried it through a waiting, silent, tearful crowd, to the hearse at the
gates, and it was driven slowly along the streets to the White House.
It was a sad home-coming. Just two weeks before President McKinley,
full of life and crowned with all the honors that a successful career could
earn, happy in the love of his people and the respect of the world, had gone
to visit the Buffalo Exposition; to lend some measure of encouragement to
that enterprise, and to see the marvels that had been there assembled. In the
midst of them he had fallen. And here, at the end of a fortnight, in the dark-
ness of an autumn night, in the silence of an inexpressible sorrow, his hearse
was rolling dully aloiig the avenue, and only the prayers and eulogies and
lying in state separated all that was mortal of William McKinley from the
unending rest of the grave.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WH-ITE HOUSE.
Borne upon the shoulders of stalwart representatives of the army and
navy, of which he had been Commander-in-Chief for more than four years,
all that was mortal of William jMcKinley, late President of the United States,
was returned to the capital of the nation.
As President AlcKinley left the White House the morning of July 5 for
a vacation trip to his home at Canton, O., some of the attaches of the
Executive Mansion assembled on the portico to bid him a fond farewell and
express their hope for a pleasant trip.
"Take good care of yourselves, boys, until I come back in the fall," was
the President's response as he entered his waiting carriage and was driven
to the railroad station to take the train for home. These were the last words
ever uttered by William McKinley in the shadow of the big white mansion
which had been his of^cial residence since March 4, 1897.
He came back in the fall, as he had promised he would, not in the flush
of manhood, buoyant in spirits and recuperated from the arduous duties of
his official position, but in a narrow, black-cloth-covered casket, around
which were draped the colors he had fought to defend when in his teens,
and which in maturer years he had seen floating victoriously in every quarter
of the globe.
Following his bier as chief mourner came his successor to the Presidency,
Theodore Roosevelt, accompanied by the members of his official family
and thousands of his countrymen, who mourned in silence his untimely end.
Never before in the history of the capital of this nation has such a scene
been witnessed as that presented along the magnificent boulevard known as
Pennsylvania avenue. Although it was well-nigh impossible to distinguish
anything perfectly in the gloom of the night, mothers brought their children
in arms, and stood patiently watching until the cavalcade passed up the
avenue and was finally hidden from view in the grounds surrounding the
Executive Mansion.
It was a distinguished party which awaited at the Pennsylvania railroad
station the home-coming of William McKinley.
Among the first arrivals at the railroad station were Sccretarj^ of State
349
350 THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Hay and Secretary Gage of the Treasury department. Both wore upon
their high silk hats mourning bands for members of their own families — •
the Secretary of State for a son and the Secretary of the Treasury for a wife
who was one of the most notable figures of the administration now closed.
While waiting the arrival of the funeral train a passenger train pulled
into the station from the west, and among those who alighted and pushed
his way through the crowd was Senator William E. Mason of Illinois, accom-
panied by his wife and little ones. As the Senator from Illinois passed
through the crowd he was recognized, and amid the hum and buzz of con-
versation could be distinguished the words: "There goes Senator Mason."
Meanwhile the crowd on the station platform was each second becoming
augmented by the arrival of men distinguished in army and navy circles and
the walks of civil life. Judson Lyons, Register of the United States Treas-
ury, whose name adorns every bank note of the government, was con-
spicuous in the throng, not only on account of his towering height and
figure but for his color as well, for the successor of General Rosecrans,
formerly Register of the Treasury, is a negro.
Nodding plumes of yellow, red, and white, marking the different
branches of the army, cavalry, artillery, and infantry, respectively, were
conspicuous in the throng, while the gold laced and chapeaued naval officers
present reminded the spectator of an army and navy reception night at the
White House.
To add to this effect, there was Captain Charles McCauley of the Marine
Corps and Captain J. C. Gilmore of the artillery, both of whom had been
detailed at the Executive Mansion by President McKinley to assist him in
receiving the public at the various receptions held during the gay season
when in charge of the State, War, and Navy department here; Sergeant-at-
Arms Ransdell of the United States Senate, the bosom friend and com-
panion of the late President Harrison, who appointed him Marshal of the
District of Columbia; Acting Secretary of War William Gary Sanger;
Colonel Frank Denny, U. S. Marine Corps; Lieutenant Thomas Wood,
President McFarland, and Commissioner John W. Ross of the District of
Columbia; Chief Wilkie of the U. S. Secret Service; General George H.
Harries and the members of the staff of the National Guard of the District
of Columbia in full uniform.
Standing at attention in full dress uniform, with swords at their side,
stood a dozen sergeants of the Signal Corps of the United States Army,
under the command of Captain Charles McKay Saltzman. It was to be
THE LAST x\IGIIT IN THE WHITE HOUSE. 351
their aolemn duty to act as body bearers for the President of the United
States, reheving the sailors and soldiers who had performed this duty from
Buffalo to the Capitol. Tliese body bearers were George II. Kelly, Isaac
Hamilton, Frank Gunnard, Harry T. Burlingame, Stephen Bledsoe, Eugene
Lazar, Joseph H. Embleton, Harry S. Gribbelle, Qiarles G. Monroe,
William H. Taylor, Thomas A. Davis, and James S. Holmes.
Not a loud word was uttered, and the scene about the station was of a
most awe-inspiring and impressive nature as an engine draped with black
came slowly puffing into the shed, and instantly all heads were bared. It
was the engine drawing the funeral party, and a hush of expectancy per-
vaded the entire group gathered upon the platform to await its coming.
Hardly had the driving wheels ceased to revolve before the body bearers
were boarding the front car, which contained the casket and floral tributes,
which almost concealed from view the earthly remains of William McKinley.
Secretaries Hay and Gage led a mournful procession to the rear car of the
train, in which President Roosevelt and the members of the Cabinet were
seated.
In deference to the wishes of Mrs. McKinley, the family, and immediate
relatives of the President, a passageway was opened for them at the lower
end of the platform in order that they might evade the gaze of a curious
crowd. Carriages were drawn up awaiting the arrival of the train, and,
assisted by Colonel Bingham and Dr. Rixey, Mrs. McKinley was led to a
victoria and driven to the White House. She seemed to be bearing up
remarkably well under the strain to which she has been subjected, although
the lines under her eyes and the haggard expression of the features showed
it was only by the greatest exertion of will power that she was being
restrained from a collapse.
Abner McKinley and his family occupied the next two carriages, and
Mrs. Baer, formerly Miss Mabel McKinley, and her husband, were assigned
a carriage to themselves. Mrs. Baer was attired in deep morrning, and it
was with difficulty, even with the aid of her crutches, that she could sustain
herself sufficiently to traverse the short distance from the train to her
carriage.
While this scene was in the focus the members of the Cabinet and guard
of honor, composed of army and navy officers, were escorting President
Roosevelt from his car to his position in the carriage just behind the hearse
which was to convey the body of his predecessor to the executive mansion.
Close beside the President walked big George Foster, the secret service
352 THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
agent, who had accompanied President McKinley on nearly all of his trips.
General John R. Brooke walked beside the President on the left, and
immediately behind came Secretaries Gage and Hay, walking arm in arm.
Five special detectives kept guard over this quartet — Sergeants Clark and
Foy of New York, Detective Carroll of Newark, N. J., and Detectives Helan
and McNamee of Washington.
These detectives had instructions not to let the President out of their
sight until he was safely ensconced in his house, the residence of his brother-
in-law. Paymaster W. S. Cowles of the United States Navy, in the fash-
ionable part of Washington. As soon as the President entered his carriage
with General Brooke the detectives closed around it and permitted no one
to come within twenty feet of its occupant.
Prior to the President entering his carriage there was a delay for a few
minutes at the entrance to the baggage-room to permit the remains of
President McKinley to be borne through the crowd and placed in the hearse
awaiting them. This sable equipage was drawn by six black horses, each
animal covered with a heavy black netting, and each horse led by a negro
groom in regulation funeral dress.
There was a shufBing of feet as the crowd of distinguished men in attend-
ance upon the President followed his footsteps, which led towards waiting
carriages and, surrounded by clattering cavalry and fully equipped infantry,
President Roosevelt and the escort left the railroad station and started up
Pennsylvania avenue through the lanes of people, who occupied every avail-
able inch of room from the curbstone to the building line of the houses
against which they pressed.
It was a weird but solemn spectacle that greeted the vision of President
Roosevelt and his escort as they rode through the silent streets of the capital
to make preparation for the funeral services to be held in the Capitol Build-
ing next day. Men, women, and children peered into the darkness in a
vain endeavor to ascertain who were the occupants of the carriages, but in
this they were disappointed, for darkness threw a veil over the scene from
one end of the route to the other.
All that could be seen was the gleam of sabers as the cavalry clattered
up the avenue and the gleam of a musket barrel and the glitter of gold lace
when an electric light or a gas jet threw some gleams of radiance upon
them.
Not a word was uttered during that solemn drive, and Theodore Roose-
velt, twenty-sixth President of the United States, was not even visible as
THI-: LAST NICIIT IN' Till' WHITI-: IIOUSP:. 35.1
he came to take the position which had been filled so ably and efliciently
by William AIcKinley.
It was a different inauguration procession from that in which President
Roosevelt participated last Alarch, for while on that occasion there was
glad acclaim and exulting shouts of gratified patriots, on this occasion there
was silence, somberness, and gloom, painful in its intensity.
And thus Theodore Roosevelt entered the Capitol of the nation to
become the first citizen of the greatest repubhc on earth.
In the east room at the White House, where President McKinley so
often was the central figure of noble gatherings, his mortal remains were
placed. It w^as his last night in the place he had made his home for four
and one-half years.
Up-stairs the widow occupied the room where she underwent so much
suffering and where she was nursed back to health by the devoted husband
who now is lost to her for all time.
Except for the immediate family, the guards, and the servants, the execu-
tive mansion was deserted, the public retiring and leaving those nearest
and dearest to the dead President alone with their grief.
Throughout the day workmen had been busy placing the great east
room in condition for the reception of the body of the dead President.
That immense room, in which President McKinley had participated in so
many public functions, and had taken the hands of thousands of his country-
men, was transformed into a tomb for the time being, and all evidences of
past festivities were removed.
It was in this same room that the remains of Lincoln, Garfield, Secretary
of State Gresham, and other distinguished public servants rested before
final interment. It was also in this magnificent apartment that Nellie Grant
was married to Algernon Sartoris of England while her father was President.
As the shades of evening began, to fall the guards around the \Miite
House were doubled. The gates were closed and policemen w ere stationed
at the various entrances, with positive instructions to allow no one to pass
except those on actual duty in an official capacity.
In the meantime the interior of the east room had been robbed of its
barren appearance by the placing of a number of potted plants and palms
around the room and in the recesses of the windows. In addition to the
floral decorations from the Executive greenhouses the tributes from foreign
and domestic officials converted the room into a beautiful and fragrant
floral bower.
S54 THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
The display of lloral tributes deposited in the east room was perhaps
never equaled in the history of a public or private funeral in the United
States. The predominating emblems were laurel wreaths, but they were
so diversified in construction and ornamentation with colored flowers and
ribbons that no two pieces were actually alike.
One of the most striking set pieces was an immense shield, appropriately
inscribed, and profusely decorated with purple ribbon, from "The American
Army in the Philippines." This floral tribute was made up on an order
by cable at a cost of over $500. Another striking piece was an immense
floral pedestal, surmounted by a floral wreath, standing twelve feet high.
This came from the Commissioner of Pensions and his associates in the
Pension bureau. There were magnificent wreaths from Mrs. Garret A.
Hobart, the wife of the late Vice-President, also one from the government
of Costa Rica, one from the President of Costa Rica, Rafael Iglesais.
An immense laurel wreath, decorated with yellow, blue, and red ribbons,
came from the Colombian Legation. There was also an immense wreath
of orchids inscribed from the Municipality of Havana, Cuba.
And there, sleeping the dreamless sleep of death, beneath a wilderness
of blossoms from the loving hands of his countrymen, William McKinley
passed his last night in the White House.
CROWDS VIEWING THE REMAINS AT THE COURT HOUSE,
CAXTOX.
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
FUNERAL SERVICES AND PROCESSION AT WASHINGTON.
At 9 o'clock Tuesday morning, September 17, 1901, the funeral cortege
of William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States, third
incumbent of the of^ce to fall by an assassin's hand, started from the White
House toward the capitol. President Roosevelt, accompanied by his wife
and sister, arrived half an hour earlier at the Executive Mansion, and were
given seats in the big Red Room. Almost immediately after came former
President Cleveland, with Daniel Lamont. Others, notable in the official
and social life of the nation, quickly assembled, and the rooms and corridors
were filled with a silent, sorrowful throng. Just before 9 o'clock Senator
Hanna came into the room. He is visibly aged by the events of the past
fortnight. His face seems drawn and pallid, his form is less erect, and all
that vigorous, quickly deciding manner seems gone.
Precisely at the hour appointed the big men from the ranks of the Army
and the Navy lifted the black casket of him who had been named "Our Well
Beloved," and carried for the last time through the doors and down to the
waiting hearse. There was on the part of the thousands, both those of the
party and the throngs outside, an instant recognition of the contrast be-
tween this departure from the White House, and William McKinley's other
passings through its doors.
A long line of carriages waited in the streets, and scores of others were
massed in the ample grounds at the east front of the mansion. The muffled
drums beat the long roll, the military band played "Nearer, My God, to
Thee;" and then, as the solemn march began, the mournful strains of the
"Dead March from Saul" were borne by the morning breezes over the
assembled thousands.
President Roosevelt, with his wife and sister, occupied the first carriage
behind the hearse, a band of black crepe bound about his arm. The carriage
was drawn by four black horses. Next in order came the carriage of Grover
Cleveland, who was accompanied by General John M. Wilson and Robley
D. Evans. Following directly came the Justices of the Supreme Court, in
their robes of offlce. Army and navy men, in full uniform, continued the
slow moving procession. Representatives of foreign governments in all
their trappings of state, followed in order. One carriage was occupied by
357
358 FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON.
Hon, Gerald Lowther, of the British Legation, assigned by a cabled order to
personally represent King Edward VII. of England.
Major-General John R. Brooks commanded the entire line, riding a
splendid black charger. He was surrounded with his aides, all well mounted.
A cold rain began to fall as the procession started from the White House.
It at no time amounted to a heavy shower, but the chilling "drizzle" which
marked Mr. McKinley's second inauguration was precisely repeated in this
his last progress to the capitol. The flags were limp. The banners were
drooping. The wealth of mourning decoration on buildings laid flat against
the walls. As the cortege wound down into Pennsylvania avenue it passed
between gathered thousands of people who banked the great highway from
end to end, and stood in reverent silence while the dead went by.
In that procession were soldiers and sailors from every service, civic
societies, a camp of United Confederate Veterans from Alexandria, Virginia,
and a host of miscellaneous organizations. The home of the nation's gov-
ernment awaited the cortege in silent simplicity. A flag, flying at half mast
over the marble entrance, was the only sign of mourning. The law decrees
that the government buildings in Washington shall not be draped, and they
wore no visible sign of the nation's bereavement.
Time and again as the line moved from west to east the notes of that
plaintive song, "Nearer, My God, to Thee," rose on the air. At the steps
of the capitol a bugle sounded the silver notes of "Church Call." The
soldiers and sailors Hfted the casket again from the hearse, and carried it
with solemn strides up the long flight of marble steps to the open portal,
and deposited it on the catafalque directly in the center of the rotunda,
beneath the mighty dome which crowns the capitol. The friends and late
advisers of the nation's chief, the notable men of the country filed in and
grouped themselves to the north of the center. Mrs. McKinley was not
present. In her weakened condition it was thought wise to afford her all
possible repose, as the trip to Canton will tax all her little store of strength.
A hush as of death fell upon the assembly, and then, beginning softly,
but swelling grandly as the hymn progressed, a choir sang Cardinal New-
man's touching hymn: "Lead, Kindly Light."
Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
I.^ead thou me on!
FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON. 35'i
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene — one step's enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will; remember not past years.
So long thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
Will lead me on;
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.
Rev. Dr. Naylor, presiding elder of the Washington District of the
Methodist Episcopal church, stood close by the head of the casket, and
with folded hands, glanced once around that assembled multitude, then
bowed his head. Instantly there was a subdued rustling, a sigh of acquies-
cence, and every head was bent in reverence. His first words were scarcely
heard. Outside the storm had risen, and the rain was driving with an
angry roar against the great dome above them. Outside, also, a mighty
throng of men and women were massed, insistent on admission, crowding
for places sheltered from the rain. Dr. Naylor's prayer seemed echoed in
the hearts of those bent in sorrow about the coffin. And this was his prayer :
"O Lord God, our heavenly Father, a bereaved nation cometh to Thee
in its deep sorrow ! To whom can we go in such an hour as this but to
Thee? Thou only art able to comfort and support the afflicted. Death
strikes down the tallest and best of men and consequent changes are con-
tinually occurring among nations and communities. But we have been
taught that Thou art the same yesterday, to-day and forever; that in Thee
there is no variableness nor the least shadow of turning. So in the midst
of our grief we turn to Thee for help.
"We thank Thee, O Lord, that years ago Thou didst give to this nation
a man whose loss we mourn to-day. We thank Thee for the pure and
unselfish life he was enabled to live in the midst of so eventful an experience.
We thank Thee for the faithful and distinguished services which he was
enabled to render to Thee, to our country and to the world. We bless
360 FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON.
Thee for such a citizen, for such a lawmaker, for such a governor, for such
a President, for such a husband, for such a Christian example and for a
friend.
"But, O Lord, we deplore our loss to-day; sincerely implore Thy sancti-
fying benediction. We pray Thee for that dear one who has been walking
by his side through the years, sharing his triumphs and partaking of his
sorrows. Give to her all needed sustenance, and the comfort her stricken
heart so greatly craves. And under the shadow of this great calamity may
she learn as never before the fatherhood of God and the matchless char-
acter of his sustaining grace.
"And, O Lord, we sincerely pray for him upon whom the mantle of
presidential authority has so suddenly and unexpectedly fallen. Help him
to walk worthy the high vocation whereunto he has been called. He needs
Thy guiding hand and Thine inspiring spirit continually. May he always
present to the nation and to the world divinely illumined judgment a brave
heart and an unsullied character.
"Hear our prayer, O Loid, for the ofBcial family of the administration,
those men who are associated with Thy servant, the President, in the admin-
istration of the affairs of government; guide them in all their deliberations
to the nation's welfare and the glory of God.
"And now, Lord, we humbly pray for Thy blessing and consolation to
come to all the people of our land and nation. Forgive our past short-
comings; our sins of omission as well as our sins of commission. Help
us to make the golden rule the standard of our lives, and that we may 'do
unto others as we would have them do unto us,* and thus become indeed
a people whose God is the Lord.
"These things we humbly ask in the name of Him who taught us when
we pray to say: "Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them
that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and glory, forever.
Amen.' "
As the bowed heads lifted a sweet voice rose in song. It was Mrs.
Thomas C. Noyes, one who had honored the President — as all women hon-
ored him — one who had known him well. The words, the air, the pathos
of the scene, combined in a wonderful impressiveness.
FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON. 301
Not now, but in the coming years
It ma> be in the better land,
We'll read the meaning of our tears,
And there, some time, we'll understand.
CHORUS.
Then trust in God through all thy days;
Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand;
Though dark the way, still sing and praise;
Some time, some time, we'll understand.
We'll catch the broken thread again,
And finish what we here began;
Heav'n will mysteries explain,
And then, ah, then, we'll understand.
We'll know why clouds instead of sun
Were over many a cherished plan;
Why song has ceased when scarce begun;
'f is there, some time, we'll understand.
Why v/hat we longed for most of all,
Eludes, so oft, our eager hand;
WHiy hopes are crushed and castles fall,
Ud there, some time, we'll understand.
God knows the way, He holds the key,
He guides us with unerring hand.
Some time with tearless eyes we'll see;
Yes, there, up there, we'll understand.
The venerable Bishop Andrews, the church of which William McKinley
ttou7c"."Tren be,a„ t„e sern.on-the funeral oration over the
•^^tsid'Tar'Gr/and F^t of Ot,r Lord, .v„o of Ms a.ondant
n^ercytth begotten us again unto a lively hope of the resurrect.on of Chr.st
362 FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON.
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for us who are now, by the povv-er of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
"The services for the dead are fitly and almost of necessity services of
religion and of immortal hope. In the presence of the shroud and the coffin
and the narrow home, questions concerning intellectual quality, concerning
public station, concerning great achievements, sink into comparative insie-
nificance; and questions concerning character and man's relation to the
Lord and giver of life, even the life eternal, emerge to our view and impress
themselves upon us.
"Character abides. We bring nothing into this world; we can carry
nothing out. We ourselves depart with all the accumulations of tendency
and habit and quality which the years have given to us. We ask, therefore,
even at the grave of the illustrious, not altogether what great achievement
they had performed and how they had commended themselves to the mem-
ory and affection or respect of the world, but chiefly of w'hat sort they were;
what the interior nature of the man was; what were his affinities? Were
they with the good, the true, the noble? What his relation to the infinite
Lord of the universe and to the compassionate Savior of mankind; what his
fitness for that great hereafter to v/hich he had passed?
"And such great questions come to us with moment, even in the hour
when we gather around the bier of those whom w^e profoundly respect and
eulogize and whom we tenderly love. In the years to come the days and
the months that lie immediately before us will give full utterance as to the
high statesmanship and great achievements of the illustrious man whom
we mourn to-day. We shall not touch them to-day. The nation already
has broken out in its grief and poured its tears, and is still pouring them,
over the loss of a loved man. It is well. But we ask this morning of what
sort this man is, so that we may perhaps, knowing the moral and spiritual
life that is past, be able to shape the far-withdrawing future.
"I think we must all concede that nature and training are — reverently
be it said — the inspiration of the Almighty, conspired to conform a man,
a man admirable in his moral temper and aims. We none of us can doubt.
I think that even by nature he was eminently gifted. The kindly, calm, and
equitable temperament, the kindly and generous heart, the love of justice
and right, and the tendency toward faith and loyalty to unseen powers and
authorities — these things must have been with him from his childhood, from
his infancy; but upon them supervened the training for which he was always
FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON. 363
tenderly thankful and of which even this great nation from sea to sea con-
tinually has taken note.
*'It was a humble home in which he was born. Narrow conditions were
around him, but faith in God had lifted that lowly roof, according to the
statement of some great writer, 'up to the very heavens and permitted its
inmates to behold the things eternal, immortal, and divine;' and he came
under that training.
"It is a beautiful thing that to the end of his life he bent reverently before
that mother whose example and teaching and prayer had so fashioned his
mind and all his aims. The school came but briefly, and then came to him
the church wdth its ministration of power. He accepted the truth which
it taught. He believed in God and in Jesus Christ, through whom God
was revealed. He accepted the divine law of the scripture; he based his
hope on Jesus Christ, the appointed and only Redeemer of men; and the
church, beginning its operation upon his character at an early period of
his life, continued even to its close to mold him. He waited attentively
upon its administration. He gladly partook with his brethren of the symbols
of mysterious passion and redeeming love of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
was helpful in all of those beneficences and activities; and from the church,
to the close of his life, he received inspiration that lifted him above much
of the trouble and weakness incident to our human nature; and, blessings
be to God, may we say, in the last final hour they enabled him confidently,
tenderly, to say: 'It is his will, not ours, that will be done.'
"Such influences gave to us William McKinley. And what was he? A
man of incorruptible personal and political integrity. I suppose no one ever
attempted to approach him in the way of a bribe; and we remember with
great felicitation at this time for such an example to ourselves that when
great financial difficulties and perils encompassed him he determined to
deliver all he possessed to his creditors, that there should be no challenge
of his perfect honesty in the matter. A man of immaculate purity, shall
we say? No stain was upon his escutcheon, no syllable of suspicion was
ever heard whispered against his character. He walked in perfect and noble
self-control.
"Beyond that this man had somehow wrought in him — I suppose upon
the foundation of a very happily constructed nature — a great and generous
love of his fellow-men. He believed in men. He had himself been brought
up among the common people. He knew their labors, struggles, necessities.
He loved them; but I think that bevond that it was to the church and its
364 FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON.
teachings concerning the fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of
man that he was indebted for that habit of kindness, for that generosity
of spirit, that was wrought into his very substance and became him so,
though 'he was of all men most courteous, no one ever supposed but his
courtesy was from the heart. It was spontaneous, unaffected, kindly in a
most eminent degree.
"What he was in the narrow field of those to whom he was personally
attached, I think he was also in the greatness of his comprehensive love
toward the race of which he was part.
"Shall I speak a word next of that which I will hardly advert to? The
tenderness of that domestic love which has so often been commented upon?
1 pass it with only that word. I take it that no words can set forth fully
the unfaltering kindness and carefulness and upbearing love which belonged
to this great man.
"And he was a man who believed in right, who had a profound con-
viction that the courses of this world must be ordered in accordance with
everlasting righteousness, or this world's highest point of good will never
be reached; that no nation can expect success in hfe except as it conforms
to the eternal love of the infinite Lord and pass itself in individual and
collective activity according to that divine will.
"It was deeply ingrained in him that righteousness was the perfection
d{ any man and any people. Simplicity belonged to him. I need not
dwell upon it, and I close the statement of these qualities by saying that
underlying all and overreaching all and penetrating all there was a profound
loyalty to guard the great king of the universe, the author of all good, the
eternal hope of all that trust in him.
"And now, may I say further that it seemed to me that to whatever we
may attribute all the illustriousness of this man, all the greatness of his
achievements — whatever of that we may attribute to his intellectual char-
acter and quality, whatever of it we may attribute to the patient and thorough
study which he gave to the various questions thrust upon him for attention,
for all his success as a pohtician, as a statesman, as a man of this great
country, those successes were largely due to the moral qualities of which I
have spoken. They drew to him the hearts of men everywhere and particu-
larly of those who best knew him. They called to his side helpers in every
exigency of his career, so that when his future was at one time likely to have
been imperilled and u^^terly ruined by his financial conditions, they who had
FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON. 3G5
resources, for the sake of helping a man who had in him such qualities, came
to his side and put him on the high road of additional and larger success.
"His high qualities drew to him the good will of his associates in political
life in an eminent degree. They believed in him, felt his kindness, confided
in his honesty and in his honor. His qualities even associated with him in
kindly relations those who were his political opponents. They made it
possible for him to enter that land with which he, as one of the soldiers of
the union, had been in some sort at war and to draw closer the tie that was
to bind all the parts in one firmer and indissoluble union. They commanded
the confidence of the great body of Congress, so that they listened to his
plans and accepted kindly, and hopefully, and trustfully, all his declarations.
"His qualities gave him reputation, not in this land alone, but throughout
the world, and made it possible for him to minister in the style in which he
has within the last two or three years ministered to the welfare and peace
of humankind. It was out of the profound depths of his moral and religious
character that came the possibilities of that usefulness which we are all glad
to attribute to him.
"And will such a man die? Is it possible that he who created, redeem.ed.
transformed, uplifted, illumined such a man will permit him to fall into
obHvion? The instincts of morality are in all good men. The divine word
of the Scripture leaves us no room for doubt. *I,' said one whom we
trusted, *am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me,
shall never die.'
"Lost to us, but not to his God. Lost from earth, but entered heaven.
Lost from these labors, and toils, and perils, but entered into the everlasting
peace and ever-advancing progress. Blessed be God, who gives us this hope
in the hour of our calamity and enables us to triumph through him who hath
redeemed us.
"If there is a personal immortality before him let us also rej :)ice that there
is an immortality and memory in the hearts of a large and ever-growing
people, who, through the ages to come, the generations that are yet to be,
will look back upon this life, upon its nobility, and purity, and service to
humanity and thank God for it.
"The years draw on when his name shall be counted among the illustrious
of the earth. William of Orange is not dead. Cromwell is not dead. Wash-
ington lives in the hearts and lives of his countrymen. Lincoln, with his
infinite sorrow, lives to teach us and lead us on. And McKinley shall sum-
36G FUNERAL SERVICES AT WASHINGTON.
mon all statesmen, and all his countrymen, to pure living, nobler aims,
sweeter and immortal blessedness."
Again the words and music of that favorite song, "Nearer, my God, to
Thee," echoed through the great rotunda, and then the sad audience dis-
persed. The funeral of another President was ended.
In the midst of the singing Admiral Robley Evans, advancing with silent
tread, placed a beautiful blue floral cross at the foot of the casket.
The last notes died away softly, and with uplifted hands the benediction
was pronounced by the Rev. Dr. W. H. Chapman, acting pastor of the Met-
ropolitan Church. This ended the rehgious service.
There was a pause for a few minutes while the ushers cleared the aisles,
and the assemblage began to withdraw. First to retire was President Roose-
velt, and as he entered so he left, preceded a short distance by Major Mc-
Cavkdey and Captain Gilmore, with Colonel Bingham and Captain Cowles al-
most pressing against him.
The remainder of the company retired in the ordei in which they entered,
the Cabinet members following the President, and after them going the dip-
lomatic corps, the Supreme Court, Senators and Representatives, officers of
the army and navy, and officials of less degree.
As soon as the rotunda was cleared of those who had been invited to at-
tend the religious services the bier was prepared for passage out through the
west exit.
The people came in double file, one line passing to the right and the
other to the left of the casket. Only a hurried glance was permitted to any
one, as it was announced that the ceremony would close promptly at 6:30
o'clock. Whenever there was an attempt to linger, especially over the cas-
ket, as there was in many instances, the person making it was admonished by
the Capitol police to "pass on." When they still remained they were pushed
along. In this way about one hundred and thirt}^ people were enabled to
view the remains every minute.
CHAPTER XXXV
LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
As soon as the funeral service in the Capitol had concluded, and the
audience had dispersed, the guards took their places about the casket, and
the big bronze doors of the Capitol were thrown open, and the crowds were
admitted. They came in two long lines from both the east and west portals
and passed down, one on either side of the catafalque. It was the intention
to have those who entered at the east door pass out at the west, and those
who came in from the west — from the Pennsylvania avenue side — to leave
at the opposite entrance. But the local police arrangements had been very
imperfectly provided, and confusion resulted. Had the day been fair prob-
ably no untoward circumstances would have marred the solemnity of the
occasion. But the storm without added to the discomfort of the crush; and
the first tjwo hours of the lying in state made up a scene to be regretted.
The crowding at times almost approached the frenzy of a panic. Men were
hustled, despite all their struggles. Women and children w^ere thrown down
and trampled on. Tliere was no noise, such as usually accompanies a panic
in theatres, or on the occasion of a fire, but there was a half-savage exercise
of brute force, a dumb insistence on position. And against that frightful
pressure human strength w^as helpless. Men were pressed as with the
impetus of engines against stone walls and columns. Women were ground
against the sharp angles of granite, or hurled without warning upon the
wounding edges of marble.
The force of police provided was wholly inadequate, and for two sad
hours the lines that viewed the dead missed the characterization of a mob
only because of their evident sympathy.
Men with clothes torn, women with bleeding faces appeared continually
in the lines; and back to the south in the rotunda, toward the senate wing,
was gathered a constantly increasing company of those who had been
injured.
As soon as the faulty condition was discovered those in charge of the
funeral ceremonies had called on the police department for a better control;
and the reserves were ordered out. Even then it seemed a hopeless time
before they could get in position, and restore order in the boundless crowds.
367
368 LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
It was the one feature up to that time which had marred the solemn
stateliness of the funeral.
As it was, the crowds were simply flung through the bronze doors, and
projected to the very side of the casket, where they appeared half hysterical,
and wholly lost to the impressive nature of the hour.
Coincident with the restoration of order by the reinforced police, came
the ambulances from the Emergency Hospital; and scores were taken away
for treatment, while other scores were treated without removal from the
rotunda.
After the reserves had taken their places, and had controlled the crowds,
a steady, orderly procession came through the doors from 12 o'clock noon
until 6 in the evening. In that time more than 30,000 persons passed the
casket of their dead chief, and looked for the last time on his pain-marked
face.
The appearance of the casket which contained the body of the martyred
President was particularly impressive. It was wrapped entirely in a beautiful
American flag. Over the top of the casket were laid three groups of flowers,
that at the end being a conspicuous sheaf which had been prepared at the
express request and under the personal direction of the new President of
the United States.
Many beautiful floral designs were grouped around the casket. Conspic-
uous among them Avas a massive cushion floral tribute in the form of an
army badge from the G. A. R. and offerings from the Loyal Legion and
other soldier organizations. General Corbin, now en route home from
Manila; General Adna R. ChafTee, and the Commissioners of Porto Rico
had floral offerings laid about the bier.
A design of over six feet in diameter composed of galax leaves and
American beauty roses, about which was entwined the American flag, came
from the Mayor and Council of Richmond, Va. Other tributes came from
Mrs, James A. Garfield, widow of another martyred President; Mrs. Garret
A. Hobart, Secretaries Hay and Hitchcock, General and Mrs. Miles, Am-
bassador Porter at Paris, the Argentine, Guatemalan, Costa Rican, and other
legations, and the municipality oi Havana.
The casket rested exactly beneath the center of the great dome of the
Capitol, and surrounding it on all sides were the large historical paintings
representing the greatest events of the life of the republic. Above, on the
extreme top of the dome, was the beautiful historical painting of the apothe-
osis of George Washington, while on the floor itself, within easy ran^e of
LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL. 369
the eye from the center, were statues of Lincohi and Grant, the two great
governmental personages of the present generation.
The casket was guarded by details of artillerynicn, marines, and sailors,
but it was hemmed in by such a distinguished circle of public men as to set
it in a proper frame.
The big, black casket was the period at the end of an era. The marble
effigies of the great men about it, the canvases on which the features of
statesmen and soldiers lived in oil, were but the mute testimonies to a condi-
tion which had passed. The pale form, lying in state between moving lines
of those who had loved him, was all that earth had left of the man who
gathered together the possibilities of the past — who could express the spirit,
the effectiveness and the hope of the future.
There was the statue of George Washington, twice a President, once ma-
ligned, now half deified. There was John Marshall, once Chief Justice
of the United States; once a patriot soldier at Valley Forge; once presiding
at the trial of Aaron Burr — whose hand had been raised in a bolder assault;
but always the champion of law, the lover of order, the son of republican
independence. Tliere hung the portrait of Captain Lawrence — and his dying
words carried new courage to the hearts of the mourners : "Don't Give Up
the Ship!"
There was Madison, whose seat of government had been driven from
the capital when the British assailed the nation in the war of 1812; the man
who had watched from the hills to the north the smoke that rose from the
burning buildings of the nation.
All the history of the past was bound up in the pictured forms and the
marble allegories of that rotunda. And over it all lifted the painted interior
of the dome, the apotheosis of that first President, who had been first in
war, and first m peace, but who now made room for another beside him
in the hearts of his countrymen.
All they had promised, all the nation of the past had hoped for and
striven for had been expressed in the administration, had been made possi-
ble by the wise statesmanship of this hero who lay still and silent in death
below them. And it seemed to the crowds that bent with bared heads as
they passed by the coffin that the very death of this great man had made
more secure the destiny of the nation.
Outside the storm raged more fiercely, and the people clamored against
the savagery of an unguided crowd. Outside the vvinds were voicing their
own requiem, and wailing at the feet of that symbol of liberty which crowns
370 LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
the highest height of the colossal building. And here in the darkened
rotunda, where state occasions had signalized the progress of a people from
weakness unto strength, from experiment to established systems — forty-
thousand people — delegates from eighty million of their fellows, touched
with reverent fingers the trappings of the dead and moved on to mingle
again with the world. While he had lain sick in that fair house of his friend
at Buffalo, it had seemed to these thousands that the one voice of the
Republic must be:
'*Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee."
Yet as they gazed at the pensive face, as they looked into the counte-
nance which had never feared, had never found a duty too difficult for per-
forming, they added the lines —
"Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears.
Are all with thee — are all with thee."
And so they passed out again to the day of gloom, confident that the
sunshine of to-morrow would certainly come. And the close of the day
left the dead alone with his guards.
A terrible crush, accompanied by a panic, occurred in front of the
Capitol while the thousands of people were struggling for a look at the dead
President. Fully fifty people were more or less injured and one man lost
his life.
Long before the remains had started from the White House the crowd
had begun to gather in front of the Capitol building. By the time the great
bronze doors of the eastern entrance were swung open the people were
massed for acres. A line of police guarded the base of the Capitol steps and
gave directions that a double line should be formed as the people should be
admitted two abreast. But when the crowd saw that the doors had been
opened and that the line had started to go through, there was a general
movement to get closer to the point of admittance.
Those in the rear pressed forward and those in the middle, not being
able to hold back against the weight, were pressed with greater force against
those ahead. Quickly those in front and along the Hne of ropes were
crowded so tightly that they could scarcely breathe.
There were women and children and babies in arms in the press, and
soon the section in front of the steps became a fighting mass of humanity.
LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL. 371
Men seized small children and held them high over their heads to keep them
from being trampled under foot or crushed in the terrible weight which was
thrown against them.
A woman was heard to scream and beg for help. The crowd became
panic-stricken and women began fainting on every side. An ineffectual
squad of mounted police thought to drive back those in the rear and separate
the crowd by plunging their horses into the worst of the fray. The result
was what might be expected. The panic was increased. The crowd broke
all bounds.
The little line of police at the foot of the wide flight of steps was swept
down like so many straws. The crowd flowed up the stairs like a mighty
flood. One of the mounted officers, goring his horse wdth his spurs, was
carried, horse and all, half way up the steps. Women screamed as they
found themselves under the trampling hoofs and men fought to get away.
A colored man at one side whipped out a knife and slashed the rope
against which the crowd was pressing. Those in front fell headlong and the
rest followed, trampling them under foot.
At the doors of the Capitol rotunda, where the dead President lay in
state, the surging was checked. With herculean efforts the capitol police
fought off the rising sea of people and closed the gates against them. But
quickly they had to be opened in response to the appeal in the name of
humanity.
The Capitol police helped to drag the fainting and injured into the
building, where they were laid out in rows. Calls were sent to the hospitals
and surgeons were sent in an ambulance. The Capitol was the only refuge
for those who had been borne down in the rush, and the victims were passed
over the heads of the crowd and taken in at the doors.
The committee-rooms w^ere pressed into service and women were taken
to them and attended by the doctors. Ambulances drove up, but could not
penetrate the dense crowd. Colonel Dan Ransdell, sergeant-a'-arms of the
Senate, arrived on the scene and gave orders that the doors be thrown wide
open. This, he perceived, was the only way the congestion could be
relieved. It was growing w'orse at every moment.
The crowd broke in w^hen the obstructions were removed and in a
moment the rotunda was filled and packed. Then the Capitol police hurried
the people through and out the other side.
Meantime the trouble in front had been growing worse rather than
better. Men and women fought like beasts to get out of the suffocating
372 LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
crush. Clothing was torn; hats, coats, umbrellas, neckties, women's silk
waists and light summer gowns were torn and scattered in every direction.
The mounted police charged about the outskirts of the crov/d adding to the
excitement. Some colored men at the western edge got into a fight and
whipped out razors, which were brandished about and several were severely
cut.
The ambulances dashed about clanging their bells and adding to the
turmoil. They m.ade hurried trips to the hospitals carrying the senseless
and bleeding. Often they carried as many as half a dozen at a time. The
police appealed to the crowd to fall back, but it was like talking to the
ocean.
Fearing that the disorder would spread to the rotunda and that the
remains of the President might be endangered the Capitol police, under the
command of Captain McGrew, determined again to close the doors. This
was accomplished only after the greatest efiforts. The people within were
then driven out on the western side and the stairways and halls were also
thrown open to facilitate their exit.
A force of police on foot was hurried to the rescue and the crowd was
charged from the sides and driven back toward the east again. This relieved
the pressure about the steps and gradually order was restored. Then the
officers insisted that the people be formed into double line and the space
about the entrance was cleared. By two o'clock the line was passing
through the rotunda again in quiet and decent fashion.
People who have witnessed similar gatherings at the Capitol express
wonder that there have not been panics and crushes before. The police of
Washington seem to have little idea of handling large crowds. At inaugu-
ration times the only reason there has not been trouble is that the exercises
have been held in the open air. The crowds which come together are per-
mitted to mass over large areas without openings and passageways through
which the women and others may escape in case they desire to get away.
The management of this part of the programme was under the charge
of the War Department, and earlier in the day there was a company of
soldiers on duty keeping the crowd within bounds and under control. But
this company was withdrawn and the rest was left to the city officers, who
claim that the force was insufficient for the occasion.
When the people had had an opportunity to viev the remains of their
beloved President, the body was taken to the depot, and between eight and
nine o'clock in the evening the fimeral train departed for Canton.
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CHAPTER XXXVl.
THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
At the midhour, when the people were filing past the casket that held all
that was mortal of the late President of the United States, in the rotunda of
the capitol at Washington, Leon Czolgosz, his assassin, was being arraigned
for trial in the court room at Buffalo.
"Are you guilty, or not guilty?" was the question which the Law asked
of him.
Whatever he was, whatever he had done, the public of the nation was
too great to visit upon him the summary vengeance his awful act so richly
merited.
Society is better than Czolgosz thought it to be. If it had been the
monster he pictured, if it had been the unreasoning and unjust force he had
been taught, and which his mad act showed that he believed, that man
would have been turned loose from the jail in Buffalo, and the society he
condemned would have had its will with him. And the mangled fragments
of the Third Assassin would have borne mute testimony to the truth — as
well, perhaps, as the justice — of the estimate which he placed upon it.
But instead of that, society gave him all the for-^is of trial, all the pos-
sibilities of defense.
He had the assistance of learned counsel. He might well be sure that -^11
that his most devoted friend could say in wisdom for his defense will be
brought forward on his trial. He was not condemned unheard. He was
placed with hands unbound in the presence of a sedate tribunal — of one of
the tribunals which all the organs of his creed had been maligning in their
every issue; and there he was asked:
"Are you guilty, or not quilty?"
District Attorney Penney almost shouted the words at Leon Czolgosz,
sitting in the county courtroom at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Tlie assassin
did not even turn his eyes toward his questioner. Two hundred auditors
watched him, listening for his answer, but he did not look at any of them,
and his unshaven lips were silent. He stared at the floor, and shunned the
eyes of his fellow creatures.
The assassin, arrayed in clean linen for the first time since he shot the
375
376 THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
President, sat sullen before the court while the charges were being read.
He looked no man in the eye. Sometimes his lips moved nervously, as if he
would speak. But he only moistened them with his tongue, and with
groveling eyes sat stolid and voiceless.
"Are you guilty? Answer yes or no!" thundered the district attorney,
but the fair-haired monster in the chair paid no heed,
"Do you understand what has been read?" asked Mr. Penney.
For an instant the skulking glance of the assassin fixed itself upon the
lawyer's face. An immediate hush fell upon the audience. The assassin
leaned forward in his chair, then dropped his eyes, then leaned back in
silence.
"You have been indicted for murder in the first degree," said Mr.
Penney.
Czolgosz's eyes wandered toward the ceiling for a second, then to the
floor. Then he shifted half way round in his chair and sat mute in the face of
his accuser.
Judge Loren L. Lewis, former justice of the Supreme Court, who had
been assigned to the defense of the assassin by Judge Edward K. Emery,
then arose and addressed the court. It was at once apparent that the duty
was distasteful, but Mr. Lewis entered a plea of "Not Guilty."
He asked permission to reserve the right to withdraw the plea, enter a
special plea, or withdraw the demurrer if, after consultation with Judge
Titus, also assigned to the case, it was decided to decline the assignment.
Judge Titus being in Milwaukee, Mr. Lewis said that it was impossible to
enter further into the case and, therefore, he informally offered the plea of
not guilty.
Attorney Lewis then told the court that he had called upon the prisoner,
but had been met with a stubborn refusal to discuss the case. Czolgosz
would not even admit that he wished the services of counsel. Mr. Lewis
asked the court for permission to introduce alienists to examine into the
prisoner's mental condition, as this step had already been taken by the at-
torneys for the people. He mentioned incidentally that he was sorry his
name had been connected with the case, but that as a lawyer and an officer
of the court he felt himself obligated to carry out its wishes.
Mr. Penney next gave notice that he would move to have the trial
transferred to the Supreme Court, and would ask notice of it for next Mon-
day. Czolgosz's attorney then said that he knew of no reason why his client
should not be ready Monday, but Judge Emery upon request agreed not to
THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED. 377
enter the order till ^Ir. Titus, associate counsel for Czolgosz, returns from
Milwaukee.
Mr. Lewis' request to be permitted to introduce alienists gave rise to the
prevalent belief that the defense will be built upon the theory of insanity.
At the close of Attorney Lewis' address Judge Emery said:
"Remove the prisoner."
He was quickly handcuffed. There was a rush of spectators toward
the stairway leading to the tunnel that connects the courthouse with the
jail. Czolgosz, the assassin, now manacled and hustled along, passed within
a lane of staring citizens.
His dirty sleeve brushed against the drapery of black that enwrapped the
pillars of the halls and stairs as he descended. Above his head, as he passec
downward into the tunnel, the black encinctured portrait of the martyred
President looked down upon his frowzy head as he went. But he did not
look up. Surrounded by detectives, mute, sullen and shambling, he shufHed
down the stone stairway. .
Then a low hiss, subdued but ominous, rose from the watching crowd
It swelled and echoed down the squalid passageway as the murderer slunk
away and passed back to the jail, which is connected by a dark subway under
Delaware avenue with the courthouse.
It was the opinion of those who saw Czolgosz to-day that he is sham-
ming insanity. Since his arrest he has made no rational request, except that
he be shaved. Chief of Detectives Cusack said "No," and the murderer
came into court to-day with a ten days' growth of beard that made him look
disheveled and dirty. , • j r- i "Ti.af
"He gets no razor while he is my prisoner," explained Cusack. ihat
would be too easy." ^ , ,
The audience which assembled in court to witness Czolgosz s arraign-
ment to-day was not as large as was expected. Few believed that Judges
Titus and Lewis would consent to serve in behalf of the accused assassin.
Both the lawyers assigned to the case by Judge Emery are l^^ghj" their
profession, and it is well known that they are mortified and annoyed by the
assignment. However, the law requires that the cour-t s behest be followed,
and it is probable that the attorneys named will carry out the instructions
of Judge Emery. . , . , , ,
There is something in the family history of the assassin which sheds a
baleful light on the acts of t4ie present, and they were revealed in the very
hour when he was standing trial for his life in Buffalo.
3rS THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
There was a time when the father of this young man took the law into
his own hands. And this is the story of it:
The elder Czolgosz was one of the colonists in Presque Isle County,
ruled over by Henry Molitor, who was an illegitimate son of King Louis of
Wurtemberg, and who fled from Germany under sentence of death.
Stung to desperation by King Molitor's tyrannies and vice, a band of
colonists poured a volley of shots through the window of the company store
on August 1 6, 1876, killing Molitor.
The principal actors in this tragedy, of whom the elder Czolgosz was
one, were sentenced to prison for life, but were subsequently pardoned.
Amid such surroundings Assassin Czolgosz was born and reared.
All that occurred twenty-five years ago. It could have had no influence
on the life of the lad, if, indeed, he had then been born. But it in some
degree shows the strain of blood in the family, and in some measure ac-
counts for the stolid silence in which that young man sits when, for murder
most foul, he is called before the bar of the people.
Following is the formal true bill returned by the grand jury of Erie
County, New York, against Leon F. Czolgosz, the assassin of the late Presi-
dent McKinley :
The people of the State of New York, entered against Leon F. Czolgosz,
alias Fred Nieman.
The grand jury of the County of Erie, by this indictment, accuse Leon
F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, of the crime of murder in the first degree.
That the said Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, on the sixth day of
September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and one, at
the City of Bufi'alo, in. the County of Erie, with force and arms in and upon
one William McKinley, in the peace of the people of the State of New York,
then and there being, willfully, feloniously and from a deliberate and pre-
meditated design to efifect the death of said William McKinley, did make
an assault, and the said Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, then and there
willfully, feloniously and from a deliberate and premeditated design to effect
the death of the said William McKinley, did shoot ofif and discharge to, at,
against and upon the said William McKinley a certain pistol and firearm,
then and there charged and loaded with gunpowder and leaden bullets, and
the said Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, with the leaden bullets afore-
said, out of the pistol and firearm aforesaid, then and there by force of the
gunpowder aforesaid, shot off, sent forth and discharged, him, the said Leon
THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED. 370
F. Czolgosz, then and there feloniously, willfully and with a deliberate and
premeditated design to effect the death of the said William McKinlcy, did
strike, penetrate and wound, giving unto him, the said William McKinley,
then and there with the leaden bullets aforesaid so as aforesaid discharged,
sent forth and shot out of the pistol and firearm aforesaid, by the said Leon
F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, in and upon the stomach, abdomen and
body of the said William McKinley, one mortal wound, of which said mortal
wound he, the said William McKinley, from the sixth day of September, in
the year aforesaid, until the fourteenth day of September, in the same year
aforesaid, at the city and county aforesaid, did languish, and, languishing,
did live, on which said last-mentioned day he, the said William McKin-
ley, at the city and county aforesaid, of the said mortal wound, did die; con-
trary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against
the peace of the people of the State of New York and their dignity.
Second Count — And the grand jury of the County of Erie aforesaid by
this indictment do further accuse the said Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nie-
man, of the crime of murder in the first degree, committed as follows, to-wit :
That on the sixth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thou-
sand nine hundred and one, at the City of Buffalo, and in the County of
Erie, the said Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, in and upon the body
of one William McKinley, in the peace of the people of the State of New
York to and there being willfully, feloniously and of his malice aforethought,
did make an assault, and a certain pistol then and there charged with gun-
powder and one leaden bullet, which he, the said Leon F. Czolgosz. alias
Fred Nieman, in his right hand then and there had, and held to, at, against
and upon the said William McKinley, then and there willfully, feloniously
and of his malice aforethought, did shoot off and discharge, and the said
Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, with the leaden bullet aforesaid, then
and there by the force of the gunpowder aforesaid shot off, sent forth and
discharged as aforesaid, him, the said William McKinley, in and upon the
stomach, abdomen and body of him, the said William :McKinley, then and
there willfully, feloniously and of his malice aforethought, did strike, pene-
trate and wound, giving unto him, the said William McKinley, then and
there with the leaden bullet aforesaid, so as aforesaid discharged, sent forth
and shot out of the pistol aforesaid, in and upon the stomach, abdomen and
body of him, the said William McKinley, one mortal wound, of which said
mortal wound he, the said William McKinley, from the said sixth day of Sep-
tember, in the year aforesaid, at the city and county aforesaid, did languish,
380 THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
and, languishing, did live; on which said last-mentioned day he, the said
William McKinley, at the city and county aforesaid, of the said mortal
wound, did die.
And so the grand jury aforesaid do say that the said Leon F. Czolgosz,
alias Fred Nieman, him the said William McKinley, in the manner and form
and by the means aforesaid, did kill and murder against the form of the statute
in such case made and provided and against the peace of the people of the
State of New York and their dignity.
(Signed.) THOMAS PENNEY,
District Attorney of Erie County.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
Tlie funeral train bearing the remains of President McKinley crossed the
west Hne of Pennsylvania and entered his home State and his home Congres-
sional District at lo o'clock a. m., Wednesday, September i8, 1901.
This is the district he represented for fourteen years in the halls of Con-
gress. Alany who had known the President personally, who had shaken his
hand and gazed into his genial face, lined the tracks to do honor to all that
remained on earth of their neighbor, friend and chief. From the State line
to Canton, the President's home, the line of mourners was almost continu-
ous. Although a stirring depth of feeling had been manifested as the train
passed through other States of the Union with its burden, nowhere was
poignant grief so evident as it was during the sad journey through the Presi-
dent's home State.
It is the second time the State of Ohio has been called upon to pay hom-
age to the ashes of one of its sons, elevated to the Presidency and then
stricken by an assassin's bullet in the prime of his career.
The mustering of popular sentiment was awe-inspiring, both because
of the numerical strength of the mourners and the intensity of feeling shown.
In every sense was the trip of the President's body to its last resting place
memorable. Miles upon miles of humanity were passed, thousands upon
thousands of heads were bared. Hundreds upon hundreds of crape-tied flags
were displayed, while, in the distance, the emblem of the nation was seen at
half-mast upon the schoolhouse or other public building.
Company upon company of State militia presented arms, while peal upon
peal of the death knell came from church and courthouse bells. In all there
was not a smile seen from the train, and the ears of President Roosevelt and
Mrs. McKinley were not jarred by the sound of cheers or unseemly shouts of
acclaim. The thousands of school children, lined up near the track, main-
tained a silence as profound, as sympathetic and as reverent as their elders,
who felt more deeply.
Through Maryland and Pennsylvania, where the outlines of black moun-
tains frowned dimly upon the train as it passed in the night, bonfires were
seen where they had been lit to keep the watchers awake in their night vigil.
382 THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
The flames lit up the sides of the funeral train and cast flickering shadows
against the sides of the great hills. In the towns at night the torches lit up
the anxious, sympathetic faces of the mourners, who had lost sleep and
braved the chill so as to have a brief look at the train which was hurrying to
the President's burial ground.
An entire regiment of the State troops was ranked along the tracks at
Pittsburg near the station. No stop was made at the big sooty city. Against
one of the hills were placed several hundred girls in the form of a flag. The
long railroad bridge over the Allegheny was solid with men and boys, whose
coats almost touched the train as it passed through.
From Pittsburg the train followed the Ohio river for miles. Old river
steamboats blew sorrowful, long-drawn-out salutes to the passing train.
Flags upon them were at half-mast.
On the shores of West Virginia opposite there were crowds assembled
who saw the train speed by in the distance. Many of the towns on the banks
of the Ohio consisted of long strings of houses in the gulch. Some of the
towns containing only a few thousand inhabitants stretched along for a great
distance. All the people were gathered at the track, both from the towns
and the country sides for miles around. Doorsteps of every house were filled
with watchers, the old folks' faces were seen gazing through the windows
and the roof tops were thronged.
At a country cross-road, where there was not a house in sight, several
score of men, women and children were gathered. The buggies and farm
wagons a little distance away showed they had come from a distance. Their
horses were munching in their feed bags, unaware of what was the mournful
occasion of their day's journey.
East Palestine, the first Ohio station passed by the train, appeared to be
a little village nestled in between two great hills. There were enough people
scattered at the tracks, however, to warrant the presumption that it was a
city of considerable importance.
From early dawn, when the first rays of the sun came shimmering
through the Allegheny mists, the country through which the Mc-Kinley fu-
neral train passed seemed alive with waiting people. As the train was later
than its schedule the probabilities were that many thousands lined up along
the track had been waiting for almost an hour for the fleeting glimpse of the
cars accompanying the murdered President's body to its last resting place.
Steel workers, with their dinner pails in their hands, ran the risk of being
late at the mills in order to pay their last homage to the dead. It was at the
THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON. 353
Steel towns, just east of Pittsburg, that the largest early crowds lined the
tracks.
Between and east of the mill towns was the open mountain country in-
terspersed with an occasional cluster of houses near coal mines or oil wells.
Even in the open country as early as 6 a. m. there were peoph gathered at
the cross-roads or leaning against farm fences.
Faces were seen peering through, up and down windows of houses situ-
ated near the tracks. In railroad yards hundreds were crowded on top of
cars so as to obtain a view as the sections of the Presidential train picked
their way through the maze of tracks. Women and girls as well as men
and boys were eager to see the cars go by.
In the railroad cars in Pitcairn, a few miles east of Pittsburg, hundreds
of factory girls were lined up. It was 8:35 a. m. when the train passed
through Pitcairn, so most of the girls with lunch boxes under their arms
must have been quite late to work, all for the sake of the few seconds' look at
the train which brought so close to them the victim of the anarchist's bullet
and his successor, President Roosevelt.
Young women who were not shop girls were there, too, evidently having
come from the most exclusive residence districts of the little city, trudging
through the rough tracks to obtain a brief look.
Away from the crowds at the towns solitary watchers were passed. En-
gineers and firemen of passing trains leaned far out of their cab windows
when the train approached. Boys and girls, perched high on rocky crags,
remained in their points of vantage to see the train fly past.
As the train nearcd Pittsburg it passed between a continuous line of men
and women, boys and girls, miles long.
There was hardly a space of a dozen feet that was not filled. On the
sides and tops of the near-by foothills colored specks told of the bright
dresses of women and girls, who were watching the entrance of the long
tunnel in Pittsburg, which was like a human archway, so many persons of
all ages and sexes were crowded around and above the black opening.
One enterprising lad was high on a church steeple and waved his hat.
The viaducts were simply jammed with thousands of human beings. The
high tops of the iron girders were covered with boys, while the vertical steel
pillars supported venturesome climbers. Windows of mills and factories,
where employes were busy a moment before, were crowded with eager faces
as the train drew near.
From beyond Braddock, which is twelve miles from Pittsburg, the con-
384 THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
tinuous and mournful ovation began and continued almost in a solid line until
the train was miles out of the Smoky City.
On top of a carload of stone in Pittsburg were about a hundred girls, and
they presented a most picturesque appearance. Although the crowds were far
greater than ever greeted any President of the United States alive, not a smile
was seen, not a cheer was heard. The train passed between the walls of
solemn- visaged humanity miles long.
The sun burst through the smoky pall at intervals and lit up the bright
colors of the women's dresses with an indescribable effect. Although the
dresses were bright, the faces were not. They were evidently filled with
sympathy for the dead President and Mrs. McKinley, and with execration of
the assassin whose foul deed was the cause of the present sad demonstration.
Tliousands upon thousands of bared heads of the men as seen from the
train windows bore evidence of their reverence for the ashes of their Presi-
dent, while the grim set of their countenances bespoke little of the quality
of micrcy for the murderous anarchist.
Grassy terraces covered with a bright green carpet were dotted with the
pink, red and blue dresses of the women and girls, presenting in the bright
sunshine a wonderful eft'ect. The crowds thickened as the depot was ap-
proached until every street was jammed and every available space filled
hundreds deep.
As the train sped through the Ohio hills the country smiled with glow-
ing golden rod as if to remind those on the train that the simple blossom
was a favorite with the late President. The mowed fields were as green as
if the summer were young instead of at its close.
Gorgeous red of the sumac and the russet brown of the ivy were the
only colors to relieve the green of the woods. The aspect of the land was
pleasant as if the honored son of Ohio were being welcomed to his last
home-coming by the earth which was to receive him so soon. A sprinkling
of clouds tempered the rays of the sun and relieved its glare, making it an
ideal day for rejoicing, rather than gloom.
Smiling as were the elements, hbwever, their gladsome joy was not re-
flected in the countenances of the fellow-citizens of the departed Ohioan.
Had the sky been somber as night and the earth as desolate as the desert
the countenances of those thousands of human beings assembled along the
route could not have been gloomier.
One noticeable feature of the crowds was that so many people were at-
tired in their Sunday best. These had arrayed themselves as for a funeral,
THR SAD JOURNl'.Y TO CANTON. :{8o
the same as if some member of their own family was to be buried, and all for
the sake of the mere glimpse of the presidential train and for the privilege
of paying a momentary mute homage to the memory of the illustrious dead.
In other days Canton has been clothed in a gay garb of color, bands have
played stirringly, richly attired women have smiled and men have shouted
for William McKinley. But those were happier days than this, the occasion
of the home-coming of a guide, friend and neighbor v.ho, having climbed
the ladder of fame, fell before the assassin's bullet and died in the arms of
his country.
In all the little city which the dead President loved there was hardly a
structure that bore no badge of sorrow. In Tuscarawas street, Irom one
end to the other, business houses were hung heavy with crape and at in-
tervals huge arches, draped and festooned in mourning colors, spanned the
route of the procession from the train to the county courthouse.
One of the arches was in front of the Canton high school, half a block
from ]\IcKinley avenue. The school was draped, and in every window was a
black-bordered portrait of the late President. In this thoroughfare, too, are
two large churches, one of which was regularly attended by Major McKinley,
the First Methodist Episcopal, at Cleveland avenue, a block from the court-
house. At each corner of the edifice and above the big cathedral windows
were broad draperies deftly looped, each bearing a large white rosette. The
other church, the First Presbyterian, was similarly adorned.
The courthouse, the scene of the lying in state, was a mass of sable hue.
At the entrance, between the two big doors, was a tablet wrought in crape
and upon the cloth shield was emblazoned in white the utterance of the Presi-
.dent when told that he must die:
"It is God's way. His will, not ours, be done."
In front of the courthouse was another massive arch.
Canton was astir wath break of day, such residents as had not displayed
badges and draperies of mourning performing the task that morning. At
Nemicella Park the soldiers of Troop A of Qeveland and the militia of
various parts of the State were busy preparing to escort the distinguished
dead up Tuscarawas street.
On every corner in the dow^ntown districts boys and men were shouting
out "Official badges here" and selling pictures of the dead President.
Before 8 o'clock the rotunda of the courthouse had been prepared for
the reception of the body. With the exception of dainty white streamers
from the chandeliers there was no trace of white in the large apartment
38G THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
wherein the public should have a last look upon the face of the departed
executive. The walls and ceilings were covered with black cloth looped here
and there from the ornamental pillars with streamers and rosettes of the
same color. From each chandelier was suspended a small American flag,
a larger one fluttering just above the catafalque.
Three hours before the funeral train was scheduled to arrive more than
a thousand men and women had gathered at Courthouse square and hun-
dreds of others had congregated in the vicinity of the railway depot, each
anxious to be as near the casket as possible when it was taken from the car
Pacific.
At the McKinley hoyie itself, almost the only residence in Canton that
bore no trace of mourning, was another throng, and there was not a door or
window that had not been peered at most assiduously by curious visitors and
equally curious residents of the city.
Every train brought crowds of visitors, come to witness and take a sor-
rowful share in the last rites. Every hotel was full to overflowing, four or
five persons occupying a room scarcely large enough for two, and halls and
parlors had been filled with cots. Even these brought prices as high as would
procure one of the best rooms in a metropolitan hotel.
Complete plans could not be made until after the arrival of the funeral
train. It had been the intention to have the body lie in state until evening
and then remove it to the McKinley home in North Market street, but Airs.
McKinley objected, asserting that she could not endure the thought of
having her husband's body disturbed.
Above the high steps and over the main entrance to the courthouse hung
a painting of Maj. McKinley twenty feet square. It had a white border and
made a very effective piece against the broad expanse of black that obscured
all the first part of the second story of the structure. The most effective
arch in the city was that in front of the high school. This was erected by
the pupils of the public schools. It was square on top and bore on either
side a picture of the dead President. On the left of each picture was the
legend **We loved him," and on the right "He loved us."
On either support was a large card bearing this: "Canton Public
Schools."
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
The funeral train proper, bearing the body of President McKinley,
arrived at 12 o'clock. It was met by Judge Day, at the head of the local
reception committee, while assembled about the station was the entire militia
of the State.
Mrs. McKinley, weeping piteously, was helped from the train by Dr.
Rixey and Abner McKinley and conducted to a carriage.
The body was then lifted from the catafalque car and carried on the
shoulders of the bodybearers through a pathway formed by President Roose-
velt and his cabinet to the waiting hearse. The surrounding soldiers were
at present arms and bugles sounded taps.
The President and cabinet then entered carriages. They were followed
by the guard of honor, headed by Admiral Dewey and General Miles in full
uniform, and the sad procession then moved up Tenth street in the direction
of the courthouse, where the body was to lie in state. Soldiers at intervals
all the way kept back the immense crowds which thronged the streets. The
procession passed all the way beneath big arches draped with black.
President Roosevelt and the members of the cabinet were the first to
pass by the bier, followed by the highest officers of the army and navy. Sen-
ator Hanna and many others high in public life.
Later the public was admitted to the chamber and thousands viewed the
body. Mrs. McKinley and the relatives did not go to the courthouse. She
stood the trip fairly well, and soon after arriving went to sleep in the old
home.
Mrs. McKinley was almost the first to leave the train. She leaned heavily
on the arm of Abner McKinley and was supported on the other side by Dr.
Rixey. She walked slowly toward the carriage prepared for her and was
taken to the home of which she has been mistress for so many years. There
was not a person of the hundreds who saw her at the depot but who knew
her. Her sweet face was not visible through the heavy black of her mourn-
ing veil, but her frail form and bearing made her instantly recognized by
those assembled.
A sublime hush fell upon all. There were scores of women present and
3S7
388 CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
all were in tears. It was a great, silent outpouring of deep sympathy for the
crushed soul of their beloved neighbor.
President Roosevelt and the cabinet left their car in the opposite direc-
tion and took their places in the closed carriages for the funeral procession.
The great throng regarded them respectfully. For five years those gathered
here had annually received as President of the United States their fellow
townsman. The sorrow of the citizens of Canton was yet too poignant to
permit of the expression of any other emotion than grief. Eight artillery-
men and eight soldiers slowly trod down the steps of the Pacific, the car in
which the President's body rested. A passing cloud which had cast its
kindly shade upon the dolorous form of the President's widow now withdrew
from the face of the sun so as to permit the warming rays to rest upon the
casket of the dead President.
A window was raised toward the rear of the car, the same window
through which the body had been passed thrice before. The opening looked
very small. Eight of the guards, four bluejackets and four red-striped ser-
geants of artillery, stood below to receive the heavy burden. A moment
later the end of the coffin, draped with the red, white and blue of its silken
covering, protruded. A few of the onlookers had not thought it necessary
to remove their hats, they had been so absorbed in the incoming of the train.
Their heads were bared instantly. The eight soldiers and sailors received
the great weight on their shoulders. They were sturdy men, but their limbs
trembled under the strain.
Preceded by Judge Day and other members of the reception committee,
the cofiin was borne the whole length of the station platform, several hun-
dred feet. The militia surrounding the station stood at present arms. At
the end of the platform was the hearse chosen to carry the corpse in the pro-
cession to the courthouse.
"Present arms!" came the command from the sergeant of hussars oppo-
site the hearse. Magnificently caparisoned in all the trappings of their full
dress. Troop A of the Cleveland Hussars had been chosen to precede the
hearse in the procession.
At the call one hundred swords were unsheathed and held pointing up-
ward from the broad bosoms of the cavalrymen. The bright blades, freshly
burnished for the occasion, flashed the sunhght like white fire. The gold
lace shone, and the bearskin caps, towering above the erect heads of the
hussars, added to the martial effect.
In the attitude cvf present, like a hundred equestrian statues, the hussars
CANTON BATHED IN TllARS. 3.s:»
remained motionless until the casket had been placed within the hearse. If
a horse moved its foot or whisked a fly from its sides the motion was not
apparent. The air was still, the crowd was still, the engine at the head of the
train was still, and the intense silence pervaded the entire surroundings.
Heartrending beyond the power of pen to describe were the scenes at
the side of the bier while the simple folk of Canton walked slowly by in two
single files. The sorrow of those who knew the President was too intense
for utterance, but was so full it burst the bounds of control over the emo-
tions. Rough workingmen trembled from head to foot and their chests
heaved with emotion, as great tears rolled down their faces. Tlie ghastly
appearance of President McKinley's face, which was blue and thin, far more
discolored than it was when the body lay in state in Buffalo, made the grief
more poignant.
It seemed as though none wdio had known him in his genial vigor as
their fellow tow^nsman and neighljor could see that discolored face, the result
of the assassin's deadly work, without bursting into tears.
A farmer of 80, old, bent and weather-beaten, tottered in the line as he
wound his decrepit way through the black corridor to the bier. When he
saw the pinched, drawn face he placed his great gnarled hands to his face
and wept as no heart-broken child could weep. He w^as bowed and broken
when he entered the darkened hall and his step was shaky. When he left
his shaggy white head was bowed lower, his spirit seemed broken almost
to the point of leaving his aged frame and his step was a staggering shuffle.
He was the impersonation of abject, venerable grief.
The sight had been throughout profoundly impressive.
Up the street soldiers at intervals of ten feet with difficulty restrained
the solid wall of people. Canton had suddenly become a city of 100,000,
and the entire population was in the streets. The station itself was cleared,
a company of soldiers of the Eighth Ohio from Worcester keeping the plat-
form clear. Opposite, over the heads of acres of people, on the wall of a
big manufacturing establishment, was an enormous shield tnirty feet high,
with McKinley's black-bordered picture in the center. The local committee,
headed by ex-Secretary of State William R. Day and Judge Grant, was on
the platform.
All about were the black symbols of mourning. The approach of the
train was unheralded. No whistle was blown, no bell was rung. In abso-
lute silence it rolled into the station. Even the black-hooded locomotive
gave no sound. There was no panting of exhaust pipes. The energ}- that
390 CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
brought it seemed to have been absolutely expended. At the mere sight
of the train the people who had been waiting there for hours were greatly
affected. Women sobbed and men wept.
For a full minute after it had stopped no one appeared. Judge Day and
his committee moved slowly down the platform in front of the line of soldiers
to the catafalque car and waited. Colonel Bingham, the President's aid,
then gave directions for the removal of the casket from the car. The coffin
was too large to be taken through the door and a broad window at the side
was unscrewed and removed.
While this was going on the floral pieces inside were carefully lifted out
a«d placed upon the ground at the side of the track. When all was ready
the soldiers and sailors who had accompanied the body all the way from
Buffalo emerged from the car and took up their places. The soldiers trailed
their arms and the sailors held their drawn cutlasses at their sides. Only the
body-bearers were bareheaded and unarmed.
Meantime President Roosevelt, with his brother-in-law. Captain Cowles
of the navy, in full uniform, at his side, had descended from the car ahead
of that occupied by Mrs. McKinley. The members of the Cabinet, except-
ing Secretary of State Hay and Secretary of the Navy Long, were present.
Secretary Cortelyou, Governor Nash, Lieutenant-Governor Caldwell and
Judge Marshall J. Williams of the Supreme Court, representing the three
branches of the State government of Ohio, followed President Roosevelt
from the train.
The President was met by Judge Grant of the Reception Committee,
and the official party then moved to the west of the station, where they
formed in line, with the President at the head. All were uncovered.
With the body placed in the hearse, the bugle note sounded again and
the hundred swords were sheathed. The hundred bright steels faced to the
right, and with slow step the men advanced to take the position of honor
before the hearse. At the given signal the soft notes of "Nearer, My God,
To Thee," swelled up from the military band. The horses kept the slow step
perfectly. The two drivers of the hearse, who had kept their heads bared
reverently, replaced their hats and gave the sign to the black horses which
were to draw the catafalque.
The two steeds stepped forward and the funeral procession was in mo-
tion. At that moment the power plant of the Canton Electric Light Com-
pany was started. A mournful whir broke upon every ear. It was like the
dirge note of a Scotch bag-pipe. It fitted in with the notes of the President's
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CANTON BATHED IN TKARS. 393
hymn perfectly, as if the ancient pipers of the clan of the McKinieys were
so\inding the dirge for their chieftain.
Save the plaintive whir of the electric motor, the gentle notes of tlie
hymn and the slow and mournful click of the horses' hoofs upon the brick
pavement all was silence. For the first time in over thirty years William
McKinley passed through the familiar streets of Canton and there was
silence.
With bared heads and tearful eyes the dense throngs that lined Cherry,
Tuscarawas and Market streets observed with restless eagerness the prog-
ress of the funeral procession to the court-house. It was three-quarters of an
hour after the column moved that the casket was carried into the somber
rotunda of the big public building, and in that time thousands of women
sobbed and men wept.
Following the President's carriage were carriages containing members
of the Cabinet, after wdiom came the diplomats and citizens. It was nearly
I o'clock when the President reached the court-house. He waited until the
casket had been borne inside and placed on the catafalque. Then, attended
by Commander Cowles and the members of the Cabinet, the Executive en-
tered the rotunda, passed by the body of the illustrious dead, bowed low a
moment over the face of his predecessor and left the building.
With the Commodore he w^ent direct to the residence of Mrs, George
H. Harter, 933 North Market street, where he took luncheon. After the
President came the Cabinet members. Secretary Root leading, and then the
military guard of honor and the diplomatic corps in turn. Ten minutes later
the public was admitted in two columns, one passing on each side of the
casket.
The decorations of the rotunda were exceedingly impressive. A striking
conceit of the artist consisted of three chairs, all covered with crape. They
represent the chairs of state left vacant by the tragic deaths of Lincoln, Gar-
field and the statesman mourned to-day. At the head of the casket stands
a Knight Templar, at the foot a member of the Ohio militia, while the sides
are guarded respectively by a regular army soldier and a marine.
Meantime Admiral Dewey, General Miles and the other high officers of
the army and navy, who composed the guard of honor, had moved around
the east side of the station. They also entered carriages and took their place
in the larger procession that was now forming. All were attired in the full
uniform of their ranks. They were fairly ablaze with gold lace.
The shrill notes of the bugle had given the first sign to the waiting mul-
23
394 CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
titude outside the station that the casket was approaching. Instantly the
long lines of soldiers became rigid, standing at present arms. The black
horses of the Cleveland Troop, immediately facing the station, stood motion-
less, their riders with sabers lowered. Slowly through the entrance came
the stalwart soldiers and sailors, with solemn tread, bearing aloft the flag-
covered coffin of the man this city loved so well. As it came into view a
great sigh went up from the dense throng.
Immediately following the mounted troops came the hearse bearing its
flag-covered burden. This was the sight that sent a hush along the dense,
long lines of humanity stretching for a mile away to the court-house. As the
casket passed every head was bowed and every face evidenced the great per-
sonal grief which had come upon the community.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
FUNERAL SERVICES IN AU. CHURCHES.
While funeral services were being held over the remains of President
McKinley on the Sunday after his death, every church edifice in the whole
nation was the scene of a similar service. Without regard to sect or creed.
without regard to location, far or near, high or low, in cathedral and in
chapel, the words of preacher and the heartfelt sympathy of i>eople rose in
united w'orship to the God whom William McKinley had worshiped.
Services in the Metropolitan Methodist Church at Washington, of which
President McKinley was a member and constant attendant when at Washing-
ton, were of an unusually impressive character.
The congregation present tested the capacity of the building, many per-
sons being compelled to stand. Drapings of black covered the President's
pew, and these sombre habiliments of woe covered the pulpit, partly made
of olive wood from Jerusalem. During the service the choir sang "Lead,
Kindly Light," and "Nearer, My God, to Thee," favorites of the dead Presi-
dent, the vast congregation joining in both selections. Rev. Dr. F. M. Bristol,
the pastor, was in Europe; but Rev. W. H. Chapman delivered the sermon,
taking his text from Jeremiah, "Judah mourneth." In the course of his
remarks Dr. Chapman said:
"No safer, purer man than William McKinley has ever presided over this
great republic and no man was ever more admired. Adorned was he with
the highest and noblest virtues, which gave dignity and force to his character
and moral beauty to his life. He was a Christian man and exemplified in his
daily life the sublime principles of Christianity. From early manhood he
had been identified with the Christian church, with that branch which we
represent. It was the church of his mother, the church in which he had been
trained from childhood, that he had received lessons which added to those
imparted to him by his maternal parent laid the foundation for that solid,
symmetrical character which he attained and for which he was distinguished.
"Christianity nobly sustained him during his illness, enabling him to
endure calmly and submissively. In his quiet moments, with eyes closed
but not asleep, he said, 'Nearer, my God, to Thee.' To his beloved companion
who had trod with him for many years the path of life, bending over him
30?
396 FUNERAL bh.KVIC£S IN ALL CHURCHES.
with tearful eyes and throbbing heart, near the parting hour, he said 'Not our
will, but God's will be done,' meaning 'be resigned but trustful; leave all with
the Lord and it shall be well with thee when I am gone.' How peaceful
and resigned he went into the valley, covered with splendid sunshine and
found rest from his labors! He has left behind him, to^ his kindred and to
us the rich legacy of a splendid character and an unsullied record. A life
that says to others: 'This is the way. Walk in it, the way that leads to
moral wealth, far above all material wealth, and which leads at last to heaven
and to God.'
"We shall miss him in this sanctuary and look no more upon him in
yonder pew devotional in worship and listening attentively to the precious
word as if indeed it were manna to> his fouI and a refreshing stream from
the fountain of life. But he worshiped today in the temple not made with
hands, with many of those with whom he was wont to worship in the church
below. May we all imitate his example, emulate his virtues and at the last
be counted worthy of a place with him in the kingdom of heaven."
Rev. Dr. Frank W. Gunsaulus, of the Central Church, at Chicago, used
these words :
"The awful feature of this calamity is undisguised in the fact that it is
a stroke against the enterprise of government, which is the noblest enterprise
undertaken by man. It was a dagger thrust at the heart of civilization. It
makes it all the more horrible and helps us to see the ghastly features of
anarchy more truly when we reflect that the wound which it opened was
through the now stilled heart of a man at once so loving, so loved and so
lovable as the President. To so dishearten the \vhole of Christendom in
its efforts toward public order, that wretch had to pierce through one of the
fairest and sweetest lives the world has known. And it was this tender and
noble man who believed so profoundly in the safety of free government.
When anarchists were loud in 1893 the now silent orator eloquently said:
'With patriotism in our hearts and the flag of our country in our hands there
is no danger of anarchy.' It is a frightful thing to believe that this confidence
has been at all shaken, and it is the instant demand of our religion and our
education that somehow they shall be made able to put patriotism into the
hearts of the alien peoples and to get them to take hold sympathetically of
our flag and love it, so that anarchy may be impossible. William IMcKinley's
kindly heart and generous spirit, his enormous public services, resulting in
countless benefits tO' the poor man, his unswerving devotion to the principle
that no minority is without rights, his purity and power are permanent forces
FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES. 397
and realities which have been exalted upon an altar of martyrdom. The
assassin supposed he could slay them from the high and heavenly place in
which the citizens of the republic behold them. They will organize into a
knightly personality and William McKinley will be the slayer of anarchy
in America. From this time forward, whatever makes for anarchy must
hide its treacherous face away from the light of him whom we loved. Slander-
ous lies as to the motives and character of those whom the nation has trusted
with the reins of government, the vulgarity of newly acquired wealth which
seems often to flaunt itself in the face of human need, the wild ravings of
men who have no idea of loyalty to government and law, the thoughtless
debate of theologians who have forgotten the simple dictates of Christian
religion and the Godless enemies of public justice, all writhe away like serpents
smitten with intolerable light as we think of the awful price we have paid
and ever must pay if we fail to do our duty in upholding the flag and making
it a symbol as sacred and as just as the cross of Christ. William McKinley
has entered into the Holy of Holies bearing out sins. Let us awake to
newness of life."
At St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York Archbishop Corrigan was too
much moved to deliver the sermon, but throughout the sermon by Father
Lavelle he knelt in prayer. Father Lavelle devoted his entire sermon to
the life of Piesident McKinley, and his words received the closest attention.
He first read the open letter oi" the Archbishop to the clergy in his diocese
askmg for prayers for the late President, praising the latter's virtues and
condemning anarchy.
"These words of our Archbishop," he added, "express as complete as
words can the sentiment of the American people in general and the Cath-
olics as well on this day of national sorrow. I say as well as words can,
because on occasions of this kind the very best words seem hollow and
meaningless compared with the depth and vast significance that stirs the
lieart of the nation, William McKinley was one whose name, even if mis-
fortune had not overtaken him, would have gone down to posterity as one of
the greatest Presidents of the United States. This is conceded by all, those
who opposed him politically as well. He was really the idol of the nation.
We all voted for him either directly or indirectly. If we voted for his oppo-
nent we did so for the principle, not for the man, as no one had a better
character than William McKinley.
"He was a statesman who has left an indelible impression upon the his-
tory of this country and of the world, and before he was President the name
398 FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
of William McKinley was better known outside of the United States and
throughout the world than any other American. He was a man of large
faith in God and of deep religious sense. He was devoid of bigotry. Dur-
ing two summers spent away from Washington he spent his vacation at Lake
Champlain, in the immediate vicinity of the Catholic Summer School, and
the courtesy and kindliness he showed was such as to bring him nearer to
the hearts of all people there and make him seem as if he was one of them.
" 'Justice will be done.' That was the principal guiding star of his life;
the aim and object that spurred him on to his duty. Well does he deserve a
nation's tears and gratitude. Does it not seem strange that a life so noble,
a Hfe without stain, at which the voice of calumny was never once lifted,
should find an enemy capable of destroying the vital spark?"
Father Lavelle then referred to anarchism and to the writings of Pope
Leo Xni on the subject. At this time Archbishop Corrigan showed his
deep emotion and kept his handkerchief pressed to his eyes for some time.
In speaking of anarchists the Rev. Mr. Lavelle said:
"These misguided creatures sometimes pretend to find a root of their
false doctrines in the Scriptures themselves. Anarchy is as impossible as
that five is equal to two. We trace the beginning of this inequality in God
Himself. In our family, where the father and mother must be the head, this
man, the anarchist, gets over the difficulty by destroying the family. If we
wish to prevent a renewal of the calamity which we mourn to-day it is only
through stronger faith in God. That is the bulwark of society and of this
nation. You have noticed in the morning papers that the new President
has issued a proclamation, asking the people to assemble in their places of
worship on next Thursday and pray for our illustrious dead. In accordance
with that proclamation our reverend Archbishop has set aside that day for
services in this diocese. A special mass will be held in the Cathedral at lo
o'clock, and I beg all of you who can to come and pray with your hearts for
this noble, true man, whom we have lost.
"May we come to that service with the thought that the holy sacrifice
may go up to God, asking for new strength for our people and for the un-
blemished hero who has gone — asking for the new President strength,
health and God's spirit, so that they may aid him in the proper discharge of
his duties, and that never again in our history may we find that the head
of our nation has been laid low by anarchy, jealousy or any other passion."
Time and again through the service, when the speaker's words touched
FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES. 399
Upon the beauties of President McKinley's life, the Archbishop \\«s seen to
bow his head in tears, while great sobs choked his frame.
One of the notable incidents of the day was Rev. F. D. Powers' sermon
at the Vermont Avenue Christian church in Washington. He it was who
conducted the funeral services over the body of President Garfield, in the
rotunda of the capitol, twenty years ago. He chose as his text the words of
Christ to Peter in the garden of Gethsemane: "Tlie cup which my Father
gave me, shall I not drink it?" He said in part:
"Our beloved Christian President, in the terrible moment when the blow
was struck, said: 'Do him no harm; he does not know what he is doing.'
How true and wise and just and Christlike! And when he resigned himself
to the faithful surgeons with that faith and majestic courage and magnificent
simplicity that marked his character of life throughout, he said: 'Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done,' and passed into unconsciousness with those last words
on his lips. Hear him, as all the glory of this world fades above his vision
and the gates of the unseen are swinging wide, when he breathed the hymn,
'Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.' Hear him as the last farewell is
taken: Tt is God's way. His will be done.' How he speaks to the nation!
How he speaks to the ages! God holds the cup, and the draught is whole-
some and needful. God help us to be ready, as he was! Death is a friend
of ours, and we must be ever ready to entertain him. God make us strong
in Him who said: T am the resurrection and the life.' "
Historic Trinity church, in New York, was crowded with worshippers.
Rev. Morgan Dix, the pastor, is a son of that stern old Governor John A.
Dix, who in an earlier day sounded the note of a vigorous pohcy: "If any
man hauls down the American flag, shoot him on the spot."
Dr. Dix, before a congregation that filled every available seat and over-
flowed in the aisles, delivered a sermon that was a eulogy of the virtues and
statesmanship of the late President, William McKinley. After denouncing
the crime Dr. Dix severely arraigned anarchy as a danger which would destroy
modern civilization, and recommended that action l)e taken to suppress it.
In the liturgical part of the service which preceded the sermon the President's
favorite hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light," was sung. Dr. Dix spoke in part as
follows :
"Men and brethren, eye to eye, hand to hand, heart to heart, we face
each other now crying, 'Woe is me !' Woe for the common grief, woe worth the
day and the tidings which it brings of destruction, desolation, death and
400 FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
violence lording it over us all ! We are one in our distress at the last calamity
and national affliction, in horror at an unspeakable crime. And so suddenly
has the blow been dealt that there has been no time to search for the words
which one might wish to speak. Two things surely are filling our thoughts
today. We are looking at the man; we are looking at the crime. As for
the man, his warmest friends, his greatest admirers, could have asked for
him no more brilliant apotheosis. Estimates have varied of him, his ability,
his work. But millions have been praying as men seldom pray that his
life might be precious in the sight of God; and far beyond our borders,
and widely through foreign lands, others innumerable, our brethren in a
common humanity, have been on their knees pleading for his life. This
tells the story of his character, his acts, his greatness; the general consent
of the wide world, from which there can be no appeal.
"Our President was a great man in the highest sense in which that
adjective can be applied. I am not speaking as a publicist, nor analyzing a
political career; there is room for difference of judgment there; but there
are other matters upon which we are all agreed. What is it to find in the
highest place among us a man devout and faithful in his Christian profession,
modest, calm, capable; a pattern of the domestic virtues, an example of right
living? Has not the public, the great American nation, taken in the beauty
first of that good, honest, loyal life? Is it not for this that the man has
been beloved and mourned throughout our families and our homes?
What makes the Christian gentleman to begin with but simplicity and
sincerity of life, courteous manners, dislike of pride and ostentation, abhor-
rence of display and vulgar show? So have we thought first of this man,
and then we have followed his life through its varied phases. We have seen
the quiet student, the soldier, the legislator, the executive officer; and, look-
ing on, our admiration has grown more and more. We have seen him
chosen by a vast popular movement to be the chief magistrate of the nation;
we have scanned his conduct and acts during four years, among the most
critical in the nation's history, and as the result of such scrutiny in the
broadest light that could be thrown upon his path, and under the severest
criticism to which a public man can be subjected, we have seen him re-elected
to his great office by a larger vote than ever amid the acclamation of the
people and to the confusion of his adversaries.
"All this we have seen. And then we have said: Tn this system of
ours we do not ask for a man who shall make and control, but for a man
who shall wisely guide, oversee, direct; a man who catches the spirit of the
FUNERAL SERVICFS IN ALL CliURCUES. 101
age, who knows the signs of the times, who interprets movements, and in
his sound judgment shapes their course.' Looking at the last four years,
more full of vital issues to the nation than any since the days of Abraliam
Lincoln, we have seen wonderful things. A nation passing on from small to
great, from narrow places to broad, the horizon enlarging all the while, the
nation attaining its majority, the world looking on with amazement, great
questions put and answered well, great principles settled, great deeds done for
freedom and clarifying of evil, and instruction in sound views of government ;
one great, grand, forward, upward movement, dazzling the eyes and charm-
ing the senses and kindling hope. And at the head of all this a man — not
as if he were the author of these things, but certainly the wise, prudent,
earnest leader; such a leader as Providence, we believe, must have raised for
that particular work and inclined us to put in that position. That was the
man.
"And up to Friday, September 6, that was the scene presented by our
happy and highly favored land — a land blessed and contented, at peace and
secure; never before so prosperous, never yet so honored abroad, never yet
so hopeful, so confident; marching on its splendid path to greater things.
And always at the head that good citizen, that earnest patriot, that wise head,
that warm, affectionate heart, that friendly, fearless instance of the best that
our American civilization has yet brought forth to help and cheer ; trusted by
a great people; strong, able, healthful, with his friends about him and the
light of Coming years in front. That was the fate of the people, and that
was their will, and according to all ideas the will of the people is the law of
the land, and he who gainsays is the enemy of the sovereign people. So
stood matters a week ago last Friday.
"And now what shall we say?
"The crime ; what was it? That high treason against the sovereign i)eople
of these United States? Let us compare crime with crime, and we shall
see in this the worst of all we have ever known, the worst, the most out-
rageous ever committed in this land."
After reviewing the assassination of Garfield and Lincoln, Dr. Dix con-
tinued :
"But there was worse to come. And it has come. Something else; some-
thing new among us; not new elsewhere, alas ! but new in this land supposed
to be a land of freemen, the refuge for the oppressed, the home of the higher
and better civilization. Right in the path on which the great nation is ad-
vancing stands the most horrid spectre by which social order has yet been
402 FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
confronted. A shadow has fallen on the road, blacker than any shadow o*
death. Be the individual who he may that happens to represent this new foe,
he is of very little consequence compared with the motive which inspired his
act. This spectre to-day announced as its aim and end the total destruction
of modern civilization, the overthrow of all law, of all governments, of re-
straint of any kind on the private individual will. And the fatal blow of Fri-
day, September 6, was dealt at the Chief Magistrate of the United States
by a believer in that system and in exact accordance with its well-known
principles.
"And that lends the real horror to the act and gives its double horror to
the crime. It is not a crime like other crimes; it is not one with which we are
familiar. And our hearts sink at the thought that we are now at length face
to face with this infernal propaganda, and have felt in the merciless butchery
of our great and good President the first taste of more to come, unless God
grants the wisdom and teaches the way to defend our lives.
"Next to the anguish of the hour which has made strong men weep like
children and melted hearts at the cruel desolation of a pure and loving home
comes the dread engendered of a doubt as to the will and power of the nation
to save its own life; whether there is force enough among us to rise and lay
strong hold on this monster now distinctly revealed and upon us, in the mur-
derous attack on the noblest and best in the land. Already we are beginning
to hear it said that the people are rallying from the blow; that the first alarm
is over; that all are recovering courage; that finance will soon flow again in
its usual channels; that we shall go forward once more in the pursuit of arts
and the ordinary vocations of the time. Yes, all this is well, but will the na-
tion fail to act as a great nation should, to deal as it ought to do with the
most deadly foe that it has or ever can have? For if this foe prevails, the na-
tion, the state, the law, the government will disappear forever and ever. Are
we to forget what has thrown us into this present mourning and these tears?
Are we to lapse into a fatal apathy, and let the preaching of murder and
inciting to murder and the applauding of murder go on as before? Are
the laws still to protect the very persons who hate and detest them
and are banded together for the overthrow of society? It seems to me
that the most solemn issue of the hour is as to what we have to do who re-
main— whether we are equal to the occasion. Are we now to fall back before
this enemy, the last and most dangerous we have ever encountered or ever
shall, and let things drift from bad to worse, in new instances of a passion
which spares not one life that stands in its way?
FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES. 403
"There is a great deal to be said of the national sins which have led to
such national judgments as we have felt and are feeling now; of the falling
away from religious standards, of the loss of faith, of growing luxury and sin,
of the decline in morals and piety which invite the judgments of heaven; of
the indifference to law, the loss of respect for authority, the habit of railing
at and writing on public men and telling lies about them, such as that gross
one heard not long ago that our President was a traitor and would fain over-
throw our republican and democratic government — for these things there
will be time to speak later, but to-day I cannot speak of more than these
two — the man and the crime.
"And so leave we the beloved and honored President to his rest and his
future glory; for certainly his name will shine magnificently among those of
the greatest of the lives immortal — with those of Washington and Lincoln;
great for the way in which he guided the country through a mighty crisis
in its fortunes; great in his closing words; great in his constant thought for
others; great in his submission to the will of God — greatest perhaps in that
deathbed scene, so perfectly accordant with the precepts of the Gospel and
the example of his Savior," (Here Dr. Dix became so affected that he sobbed
audibly.)
The Rev. Dr. Dix made the announcement that on Thursday, the day
of the funeral, a Litany service would be held at noon, and that another ser-
vice would be held in the afternoon of the same day, when the offices of the
dead would be read.
The foregoing expressions are given as expressing the general tone of
the sermons delivered in all of the churches, from the stately cathedrals of
the great cities, to the humble Httle frame or log buildings in remote com-
munities.
CHAPTER XL.
CANTON'S FAREWELL TO' McKINLEY.
William McKinley had come home for the last time.
At Buffalo, at Washington and throughout the hundreds of miles between,
the nation had mourned the dead President. The city and state which gave
him to the nation now knelt and wept for him. For a decade and more his
life had been the greatest fact in their history. To say Ohio or Canton was
to say McKinley.
Two weeks before he left them in the full tide of health and strength, fol-
lowed by the cheers of his neighbors, who felt themselves honored in him,
their President. And now he was brought back dead. He whose life was all
of kindness and love had been stricken by the hand of an assassin. That
thought added a bitter drop to the cup of woe which his city and state now
drinks.
Canton had done its utmost a score of times in honor of William McKin-
ley. The demonstration as he came home with the representatives of a sor-
rowing nation and of sympathizing peoples in his funeral train rolled them
all up into one supreme testimonial.
Imagine the picture. The city robed in black. Places of business are
closed and draped. Crepe from public buildings and on private houses where
death has never entered. Arches of mourning span the street. Flags looped
with crepe and great banners of black and white wave overhead. The business
block which bears his name, the old law office where he worked, are wrapped
in mourning. The multitude is silent in the streets with loops of crepe on arms
and shoulders.
The courthouse, scene of his early struggles as a lawyer, has been trans-
formed, as it were, into a huge funeral crypt, swathed in the garb of sorrow
from sill to tower peak. Across the front, shining in letters of gold against
the somber background, is inscribed President McKinley's last message to
those he loved : "It is God's way ; His will, not ours, be done."
There the stricken President's body lay all day guarded by soldiers of the
state and nation, only one step from the tomb, while his old friends and
neighbors, companions of his early struggles and his later triumphs, streamed
by for one last look at his face.
404
CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY. 405
For one nig-ht he rested under the cottage roof whence he went to the high-
est seat in the nation.
The scenes along the last stage of President McKinley's progress toward
the grave duphcated those which accompanied his funeral train from BufTalo
to Washington. Most of the journey from Washington to this city was by
night. It made no difference to the people who sought the last chance to
show their regard for the lamented President.
The funeral train slipped out of Washington at 8 :20 o'clock, leaving an
uncovered multitude behind. At Baltimore thousands were in waiting. The
train stopped only long enough to change engines and then started north-
ward.
All along the way railroad operations were suspended. Not a bell rang,
not a whistle blew, not a wheel turned. It was as if the whole world knelt in
the presence of the nation's dead.
Throughout the night the train passed between a constant line of camp
fires through the valleys and among the hills of Pennsylvania. As the black
draped engine approached the gathered people rose, and by the flickering of
their camp fires they could be seen and heard standing with bared heads and
singing "Nearer, My God, to Thee."
Gangs of miners came up from the shaft on dozens of hillsides, their
lamps gleaming through the night as they stood caps in hand to show their
regard for a statesman who was ever their friend.
Solitary track walkers turned aside and uncovered. That was the supreme
evidence of reverential honor. When one man does that in the isolation and
darkness of the night he does it because it expresses what is in his heart.
At Harrisburg 20,000 people remained in the street around the railroad
station until long after midnight. Then the train plunged into the Juniata
valley and commenced its long climb over the mountains. And still camp
fires glowed beside the track and still voices were raised throughout the night
in that old hymn which has become a nation's funeral chant.
Half the population of Johnstown, the first of the great steel manufactur-
ing centers through which the train passed, was at the track and a company
of local militia stood drawn up at attention. Four women with uplifted
hands knelt on the station platform. From the smoke-covered city came the
sound of the church bells tolling out the universal sorrow as the train slowed
down that the people might better see the impressive spectacle within the
observation car — the casket with its burden of flowers, the two grim, armed
sentries on guard, "one at the head and the other at the foot."
40G CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
Those in the Canton reception committee rode as if to the funeral of one
their own kin. They had known WilHam McKinley and worked with him in
business and official and social life for years. They loved him as a brother, and
as a brother they mourned his death.
Some of them gave way utterly to their emotions and wept like children,
A notable example was Judge Isaac H. Taylor. He had served in Congress
with Mr. McKinley when they represented adjoining districts. Away back in
the '80s, when the Congressional map of Ohio was remade, the counties in
which they lived were thrown into the same district. Both had hosts of
friends. Both wanted to go back to Congress. The district was nearly
evenly divided between them. If the contest for the nomination in the new
district had gone to the point such political rivalries usually reach, both might
have had to give way to a new man.
In that contingency Judge Taylor had the eye of the prophet and a breast
full of admiration for his rival. He went to him and said :
"Major, I think I am as good a lawyer as you are, and I know that you
are a better Congressman than I am. This district needs you in Washington
and it can get along without me. If I can't get on the bench I can make a
living practicing law. You must take this nomination. My friends will be for
you."
That action by Judge Taylor, so much do great events hang upon seeming
trivialities, sent Mr. McKinley back to Washington tO' continue his career in
the public service, and mayhap it made him President of the United States.
Judge Taylor may have been thinking of this today when the funeral cor-
tege passed through the streets of Canton. More likely he was thinking of the
qualities of the man for whom he had sacrificed his own ambitions. He wept
bitterly, and, turning to his friends, said : "We have lost the best man I ever
knew."
Through Tenth street and then to Cherry and Tuscarawas the solemn
pageant moved between solid masses of people, banked from curb to store
front, crowding the house tops and filling every window. Turning into
Market street, the main thoroughfare of the city, the procession moved
under great curtains of mourning, strung from building to building across
the street every hundred feet.
The line moved to the music of "Nearer, My God, to Thee," played as a
funeral march. Except for the gentle notes of the old hymn it moved
through absolute silence. Every hat was off. Every head was reverently
CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY. iO?
bent. In the intervals of the music one could hear liic soft footfalls of the
moving soldiers, so completely did silence envelop the scene.
The funeral march finally led through the public sciuare, where Mr.
McKinley had addressed his fellow citizens times almost without number on
those issues and principles which made him President. Other times without
number the people had gathered by thousands in that same square in his
honor. To-day the old courthouse clock looked down upon the same spot
and upon the same people as in other days, its hand stopped at fifteen min-
utes after two, the hour at which the President died, a silent reminder of
God's way.
As the head of the procession reached the great square the military ranks
swung about, forming solid fronts facing the approaching hearse. As i* \\2.i
driven to the curb the bearers stepped from the places alongside and again
took up their burden. Before the eyes of the vast concourse filling the
square the casket was tenderly raised and borne up the wide stone steps
of the courthouse. The strains of "Nearer, My God, to Thee" were still
sounding as the flag-draped cofifin was taken to the main corridor of the
building.
The interior of the corridor was a mass of black. There, as elsewhere,
the people of Canton seemed to find much relief for their feelings by
exhausting the possibilities of outward expressions of sorrow. From front
to rear of the building inside there was not visible one square inch of bare
wall. The vault of blackness typified the dark void in Canton's heart.
Opposite the head of the casket upon a raised platform stood three chairs
clothed in black, symbolizing the vacant places of the three martyred Presi-
dents, Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley.
The President's casket was guarded, as always since he died, by picked
men of the army and navy. An additional guard of honor w^as supplied in
this instance by Canton Commandery Knights Templar, to which President
McKinley belonged.
When W'Ord was given that all was ready for the last public farewell,
President Roosevelt, followed by his Cabinet, stepped into the hall. He
glanced down as he reached the casket, halted for a moment, and went on
with set face. The members of the Cabinet followed him one by one.
The officers of the army and navy, headed by General :Miles, General
Otis and General Brooke, came next. Objection was made by some of the
army officials to the bright light shed by the electric globes full in the face
of the President, and a desire was expressed that it should be dimmed.
408 CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
The chandelier was too high to reach, and a delay of fully ten minutes ensued
while a hunt was made for a chair. The light at the base of the chandelier
was then extinguished and other electric light globes on the chandelier
turned ofY. The result was a decided advantage. The light, while being
ample, was much softer and more in keeping with the occasion.
Four detachments of militia then marched into the hall and were drawn
up in a line reaching from the entrance on the south to the bier. Another
line stretched from the bier to the place where the hall diverged, and down
each side hall were other lines. Strict orders were given to see that there
Vvas no delay in the crov/d as it passed out of the building.
When everything was ready for the public to enter, Joseph Saxton, uncle
of Mrs. McKinley, an aged man bowed deeply with the weight of years,
entered from the east hall and passed up to the casket. He stood for fully
two minutes gazing into the face of his distinguished kinsman. He then
passed slowly down the hall, his head bowed low, his lips twitching con-
vulsively.
A few final details were arranged and then the door was opened to the
public. Two little girls were the first to approach the casket. Directly behind
them was a tall powerful man with a red mustache. As he gazed into the cas-
ket he caught his breath in a quick sharp sob that was audible in every part
of the hallway. He then gave way entirely, and, weeping bitterly, passed
out.
For five hours the old friends and neighbors of the stricken chieftain
marched by in two constant streams, fed by a river of men and women and
children, which stretched away through the city for nearly a mile. These
were no mere curiosity seekers, eager to see how a dead President looked.
They were men and women who knew and loved him and children who
planned in their youthfui dreams to emulate him.
Tears came unbidden to wet the bier. Perhaps it was the great change
that had come upon the countenance which moved them more than the
sight of the familiar features. The signs of discoloration which appeared
upon the brow and cheeks yesterday at the state ceremonial in the rotunda
of the capital at Washington had deepened and the lips had become Hvid.
One of the first men in the line was an old farmer from the lower end
of Stark County. He paused beside the casket and burst into tears. "His
kindness and his counsel saved a boy of mine," the old man murmured
half in apology to the guards as he tottered out of the building.
Old soldiers who had served with the "major," as they called him.
ABRAHAM LIXCULX.
24
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
CANTON'S FAREWKLL TO McKIXLKY.
411
stumped by with limping feet on wooden legs and on crutches. Poor men
and poor women whom he had helped when they needed help, and without
anybody being the wiser, dropped flowers on the pall. One old soldier
broke through the line a second time for another look.
"I went to the war with him," the old man said, "and I would not have
come back but for him. He saw that I wasn't forgotten in the hospital."
The apology was enough to excuse the old man's breach of the rules in
the eyes of the guard.
A little girl came along. She stopped long enough to press a kiss upon
the glass above the dead face and then ran from the building with stream-
ing eyes. One of the guards thought he saw her drop something and
looked. He found it hidden away among the costly wreaths and clusters of
roses and immortelles and almost priceless orchids. It was a little cluster
of common, late blooming garden flowers, and to it was tied with a piece of
thread a note written in a cramped childish hand :
DEAR MR. M'KINLEY : I wish
I could send you some prettier flow-
ers, but these are all I have. I am
sorry you got shot.
KATIE LEE.
That guard had a spark of poetry in his soul. He picked up the modest
little bunch of flowers and tenderly laid it across a cluster of orchids.
'T thought I saw the President smile," he said when he told a comrade.
The line continued to form, to swing by, and to melt away until the
sun went down. Its characteristics changed with each minute. Men who
manage great business enterprises and men who make the oolitics of this
state walked side by side with the miner, the factory hand, the farmer and
the laborer. But a single dominant characteristic made them as one. Every
face bore the mark of sorrow, and in most eyes were the traces of tears.
Late in the afternoon an aged man leaning upon two crutches, which
he managed with difficulty, appeared at the door through which the people
were making their exit. He asked the sentry to allow him to enter, and
when the soldier refused, saying he had received orders to allow nobody
through that door, the old man stood back the picture of woe. In a short
24'
412 CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
time he again asked the young sentry in pleading tones to allow him entrance
through the doorway, saying that in his feeble condition he was not able to
stand in the line which at that time was extending fully a mile from the
entrance.
"I fought in his regiment during the war," he said, "and I just want
to lay this flag on his cofifin and then keep it as a reminder of the time
I saw him last."
"Take it in," said the sentry, the catch of a sob in his bronzed throat;
and the veteran hobbled into the hall. When he got inside he had more
trouble, and was compelled to explain his errand several times. Finally the
line passing the cofBn was stopped long enough to allow the old man to
step to its side for a glance into the coffin and to lay his tiny flag on its
glass front. Then he turned back with the crowd, hugging the now sancti-
fied flag tightly beneath his coat.
At one time a group of schoolgirls approached the casket. There were
six of them and they came three abreast. One in the fonvard row leaned
over for a look, and, gently disengaging from the bosom of her dress a
scarlet geranium, laid it gently on the top of the wreaths that rested there.
The others followed her example, and although the sentries had orders to
permit nobody to place anything upon the cofiin or to touch the floral
offerings that were already there the little tributes of the girls were allowed
to remain.
All through the afternoon the crowd passed the catafalque approxi-
mately at the rate of lOO every minute, making in the five hours in which
the body lay in state a total of 30,000 people, practically a number equal
to the actual population of Canton. When the doors were closed at 6 o'clock
the line, four abreast, stretched fully one mile from the courthouse, and
people were still coming from the side streets to take their places in line.
Twilight had come as the guard and escort were formed to remove the
casket to the McKinley cottage. The streets were still thronged. Amid
silence that played upon the heart as the shades of night were drawn closer
the casket was carried from the courthouse for the last journey of William
McKinley to the little cottage, where the greatest fortune that can come
to any man should come to him.
The Grand Army post of the city acted as escort. Most of these old
soldiers had served in the war with him in the Twenty-third Ohio. The
heaviness of personal grief was in their footsteps as they marched away.
There was no ceremony at the McKinley cottage. The casket was borne
CANTONS FAREWELL TO McKINLEY. 413
within and laid in the httle front parlor from which the nation had called
its chosen chief five years ago.
Mrs. McKinley was in her room when the body came. Her anguish
broke out afresh on this reminder that all which had taken place there was
at an end and that, worst of all, he who had wrapped her life in tenderness,
who had been through many years more than husband, than father, in his
care for her weakness, was now cold in death.
Friends hastened to her side and did the little which friends can do at
such a time. All others were excluded. Guards were quickly thrown about
the house. Darkness fell, and for the last time Mrs. McKinley was left alone
with her dead.
The following day, city and state followed the mortal remains of their
great son to the tomb. Other cities by their chiefs, other states by their
governors, offered sympathy to their sister. All of the mournful pomp and
circumstance which the devoted regard of his friends and people could throw
around the occasion followed to the grave, and the life of William McKinley
was history.
The funeral services began at 1 130 p. m. at the First Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which the martyred President w^as a communicant and trustee.
They were brief, by the expressed wish of the family.
Rev. O, R, Milligan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, in which
President and Mrs. McKinley were married thirty years ago, made the
opening prayer. Dr. John Hall of the Trinity Lutheran Church made the
first scriptural reading and Dr. E, P. Herbruck of the Trinity Reformed
Church the second, Dr, C. E. Manchester, pastor of the late President's
church, delivered the only address, A quartet sang "Beautiful Isle of Some-
where," and another quartet rendered Cardinal Newman's hymn, "Lead,
Kindly Light."
An imposing procession, consisting of many of the G. A. R. posts in the
state, the National Guard of Ohio, details of regulars from 1.II branches of
the service, fraternal, social and civic organizations and representatives of
commercial bodies from all over the country, the governors of several states
with their staffs, the House and Senate of the United States and the cabinet
and President of the United States followed the remains to Westlawn
Ceme^ry.
Strange as it may seem, the only house in all that sorrow-stricken city
without a touch of mourning drapery was the old McKinley cottage. The
blinds were drawn, but there was no outward token of the blow that had
414 CANTON'S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
robbed it of its most precious possession. The flowers bloomed on the lawn
as they did twO' weeks ago. There was not even a bow of crape upon the
door when the stricken widow was carried through it into the darkened
home by Abner McKinley and Dr. Rixey. Only the hitching post at the
curb in front of the residence had been swathed in black by the citizens in
order that it might conform to the general scheme of mourning decoration
that had been adopted.
President Roosevelt, at the home of Mrs. William Harter, kept himself
from all visitors except intimate personal friends all day. He felt keenly the
position into which he had been thrust by fate in the form of an assassin's
bullet. He was much pained by the unseemly cheering which greeted the
funeral train at Washington.
The President was closely guarded at night. He did not like it, but he
was forced to submit. Detachments of state militia were posted at the
Harter home, and sentries paced under the windows on all sides of the house.
They also kept guard at the McKinley cottage, where the dead President
lay.
In that cottage, as the hour of midnight approached, one of the most
dramatic scenes of the whole sad event transpired. Mrs. McKinley had
asked to be taken for a moment to the room where her dead husband lay.
She wished, for the moment, that every one, even the guards, be removed.
She was for the time entirely calm, and she longed for just one precious
season of silent communion at the side of him who had been her life, her
love, for more than thirty years.
So they led her to the room where lights subdued revealed but dimly
the details of those decorations about the bier. They watched her, for the
frail body had suffered so keenly, the hold on life seemed so light, that they
dare not leave her utterly. But in the room she was alone. They had placed
a chair near the casket, and there she sat, looking from dry, puzzled eyes
at the square, black bulk which held the form of her girlhood's lover. The
thin, white hands were clasped in her lap, the face — pain-refined from
twenty years of trial — was bent slightly forward, and she seemed question-
ing that mighty fact.
She was entirely calm, and her attendants, keeping vigil from the dark-
ened hall, felt the grip of her mighty, unspoken sorrow^ as she sought in
the night for a touch of that vanished hand, for a glimpse of a day that was
dead.
CHAPTER XLI.
McKINLEY LAID AT REST.
The mortal remains of President McKinley arc at rest. For six days
and through hundreds of miles a sorrowing nation has followed his bier.
Now the last look has been taken, the last farewells have been said. The
last salute to a dead President has echoed above his head.
His body was laid for the moment in the little cemetery of Canton,
guarded by soldiers of the flag he loved so well, until it shall be placed beside
the mother and other dear ones who departed before him. There the people
who loved and honored him will raise a monument to his name and make
of his grave a shrine.
But his highest monument must ever remain in the hearts of his country-
men. A mourning people raises its head from the dust and goes forward
encouraged and guided by the life he lived.
Gray and somber dawned the morning of the entombment. There was
a chill in the air indicating that nature was in full harmony with the multi-
tudes who w^ere here to see. It was just twenty years to the day since the
death of James A. Garfield, the second martyred President, and many re-
membered that fact and were still further depressed.
Before the sun had been able to pierce its way through the clouds, in-
fantry, cavalry and artillery were moving in the direction of the McKinley
home. Long before 9 o'clock five thousand members of the Ohio National
Guard were in position, some assisting in guarding the streets, others ready
to take part in the funeral procession. Regulars were there in great num-
bers. Sailors and marines were out. Civic bodies were formed.
Entrance to the church Avas by card. Although the public knew this,
all hoped against hope that by some chance they could force their way into
the edifice. Hours before the doors were opened long lines were formed
by the holders of cards, and back of them were thousands who were willing
to stand in the chill air on a single chance that enough room might be
spared for them to squeeze in.
The same eight stahvart soldiers and marines who had carried the cof^n
when it had been previously moved, shouldered it and bore it down the
41S
416 LAID AT REST.
steps, down the path through the yard, with its beautiful lawn and flower-
beds gay with the blossoms of the late summer, out to the waiting hearse.
The casket was draped in the flag that William McKinley had fought to
maintain as that of an undivided country. About the coffin flowers were
massed in such quantities as to fill the hearse.
A signal was given and the forward move began. Thayer's military band
led the way behind the police guard. As the hearse moved the familiar
strains of "Nearer, My God, to Thee" w'ere sounded. The music was soft
and sweet, barely loud enough to be heard a block away.
The strains of "Lead, Kindly Light" announced the approach to the
church, and a hush fell upon the struggling throng. The cavalry escort
slowly swung into Tuscarawas street at the head of the funeral line, w4th
the bugles silent and all orders given by signs. The cavalrymen formed
three sides of a hollow square opposite the church doors, brought their
swords to the position of "present arms" and sat like statues.
The great organ inside the church was waked by the first faint ripple
of music from the street, which quivered through the black-draped doors,
and commenced to breathe softly through the auditorium the solemn notes
of Beethoven's funeral march.
Four girls rose and joined their voices to the beautiful melody of the
beautiful song, "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." It was like an answer to
complaining hearts as it ran:
Somewhere the sun is shining;
Somewhere the song birds dwell;
Hush, then, thy sad repining;
God lives and all is well.
Somewhere, somew^here.
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere;
Land of the true, where we live anew;
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere.
Somewhere the load is lifted.
Close by an open gate;
Somewhere the clouds are rifted;
Somewhere the angels wait.
LAID AT REST. 11/
Somewhere, somewliere,
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere,
Land of the true, where we live anew;
Beautiful Isle of Somewhere.
Rev. O. B. Milligaa pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, led in
prayer. In these words he asked for Divine light on a way out of the
shadow cast upon the nation, and especially for heavenly assistance for
Mrs. McKinley in lier great sorrow.
Everybody in the church joined in the Lord's prayer, Rev. Dr. John A.
Hall, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, then read from the scriptures the
Nineteenth Psalm, to which President McKinley was accustomed to turn
for comfort when his heart was heavy. Rev. E. P. Herbruck, pastor of
Trinity Reformed Church, also read from the scriptures, selecting the fif-
teenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, verses 41 to 58.
The quartet again arose and sang Cardinal Newman's grand hymn,
"Lead, Kindly Light," the beautiful words floating through all the church.
Rev. Dr. C. E. Manchester, pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church of Canton, then delivered the funeral sermon.
"Our President is dead. The silver cord is loosed, the golden bowl is
broken, the pitcher is broken at the fountain, the wheel broken at the
cistern, the mourners go about the streets.
"One voice is heard, a wail of sorrow from all the land, for the beauty
of Israel is slain upon the high places. How are the mighty fallen ! I am
distressed for thee, my brother. Very pleasant hast thou been unto me.
Our President is dead.
"We can hardly believe it. We had hoped and prayed and it seemed
that our hopes were to be realized and our prayers answered when the emo-
tion of joy was changed to one of grave apprehension. Still we waited, for
we said, Tt may be that God will be gracious and merciful unto us.' It
seemed to us that it must be His will to spare the life of one so well beloved
and so much needed.
"Thus, alternating between hope and fear, the weary hours passed on.
Then came the tidings of defeated sciences, of the failure of love and prayer
to hold its object to the earth. We seemed to hear the faintly muttered
words: *Good-by all, good-by. It's God's way. His will be done,' and
then, 'Nearer, My God, to Thee.'
"So, nestling nearer to his God. he passed out into unconsciousness,
418 LAID AT REST.
skirted the dark shores of the sea of death for a time and then passed on to
be at rest. His great heart had ceased to beat. Our hearts are heavy with
sorrow.
"A voice is heard on earth of kinsfolk weeping
The loss of one they love;
But he has gone where the redeemed are keeping
A festival above.
"The mourners throng the ways and from the steeple
The funeral bells toll slow;
But on the golden streets the holy people
Are passing to and fro.
"And saying as they meet, 'Rejoice.
Another,
Long waited for is come.
The Savior's heart is glad, a younger
Brother
Has reached the Father's home.'"
"The cause of this universal mourning is to be found in the man himself.
The inspired penman's picture of Jonathan, likening him unto the 'Beauty
of Israel/ could not be more appropriately employed than in chanting the
lament of our fallen chieftain. It does no violence to human speech, nor
is it fulsome eulogy, to speak thus of him, for who that has seen his stately
bearing, his grace and manliness of demeanor, his kindliness of aspect, but
gives assent to this description of him.
"It was characteristic of our beloved President that men met him only
to love him. They might indeed differ with him, but in the presence of such
dignity of character and grace of manner none could fail to love the man.
The people confided in him, believed in him. It was said of Lincoln that
probably no man since the days of Washington was ever so deeply imbedded
and enshrined in the hearts of the people, but it is true of McKinley in a
larger sense. Industrial and social conditions are such that he was, even
more than his predecessors, the friend of the whole people.
"A touching scene was enacted in this church last Sunday night. The
services had closed. The worshipers were gone to their homes. Only a
few lingered to discuss the sad event that brings us together to-day. Three
men in working garb, of a foreign race and unfamiliar tongue, entered the
room. They approached the altar, kneeling before it and before his picture.
LAID AT REST. 119
Their lips moved as if in prayer, while tears furrowed their cheeks. They
may have been thinking of their own King Humbert and of his untimely
death. Tlieir emotion was eloquent, eloquent beyond speech, and it bore
testimony to their appreciation of manly friendship and of honest worth.
"It is a glorious thing to be able to say in this presence, with our illus-
trious dead before us, that he never betrayed the confidence of his country-
men. Not for personal gain or pre-eminence would he mar the beauty of
his soul. He kept it clean and white before God and man, and his hands
were unsullied by bribes. 'His eyes looked right on, and his eyelids looked
straight before him.'
"He was sincere, plain and honest, just, benevolent and kind. He never
disappointed those who believed in him, but measured up to every duty,
and met every responsibility in life grandly and unflinchingly.
"Not only was our President brave, heroic and honest; he was as gallant
a knight as ever rode the lists for his lady love in the days when knighthood
was in flower. It is but a few weeks since the nation looked on with tear-
dimmed eyes as it saw with what tender conjugal devotion he sat at the bed-
side of his beloved wife, when all feared that a fatal illness was upon her.
No public clamor that he might show himself to the populace, no demand
of a social function, was sufficient to draw the lover from the bedside of
his wife. He watched and waited while we all prayed — and she lived.
"This sweet and tender story all the world knows, and the world knows
that his whole life had run in this one groove of love. It was a strong arm
that she leaned upon, and it never failed her. Her smile was more to him
than the plaudits of the multitude, and for her greeting his acknowledgments
of them must wait. After receiving the fatal wound his first thought was that
the terrible news might be broken gently tO' her.
"May God in this deep hour of sorrow comfort her. ^lay His gf.ce be
greater than her anguish. May the widow's God be her God.
"Another beauty in the character of our President that was a chaplet of
grace about his neck was that he was a Christian. In the broadest, noblest
sense of the word that was true. His confidence in God was strong and
unwavering. It held him steady in many a storm where others were driven
before the wind and tossed. He believed in the fatherhood of God and in His
sovereignty.
"His faith in the gospel of Qirist was deep and abiding. He had no
patience with any other theme of pulpit discourse. 'Christ and Him crucified'
was to his mind the only panacea for the world's disorders. He believed it to
420 LAID AT REST,
be the supreme duty of the Christian minister to preach the word. He said
'We do not look for great business men to enter the pulpit, but for great
preachers.'
"It is well known that his godly mother had hoped for him that he would
become a minister of the gospel and that she believed it to be the highest
vocation in life. It was not, however, his mother's faith that made him a
Christian. He had gained in early life a personal knowledge of Jesus which
guided him in the performance of greater duties and vaster than have been
the lot of any other American President. He said at one time, while bearing
heavy burdens, that he could not discharge the daily duties of his life but for
the fact that he had faith in God.
"William McKinley believed in prayer, in the beauty of it, in the potency
of it. Its language was not unfamihar tO' him, and his public addresses not
infrequently evinced the fact. It was perfectly consistent with his lifelong con-
victions and his personal experiences that he should say at the first critical
moment after the assassination approached, 'Thy kingdom come; Thy will
be done.' He lived grandly; it was fitting that he should die grandly. And
now that the majesty of death has touched and calmed him, we find that in
his supreme moment he was still a conqueror.
"My friends and countrymen, with what language shall I attempt to give
expression to the deep horror of our souls as I speak of the cause of his death ?
When we consider the magnitude of the crime that has plunged the country
and the world intO' unutterable grief, we are not surprised that one nationality
after another has hastened to repudiate the dreadful act.
"This gentle spirit, who^ hated no one, to whom every man was a brother,
was suddenly smitten by the cruel hand of an assassin, and that, too, while
in the very act of extending a kind and generous greeting to one whO' ap-
proached him under the sacred guise of friendship. Could the assailant have
realized how awful was the act he was about to perform, how utterly heartless
the deed, methinks he would have stayed his hand at the very threshold of it.
"In all the coming years men will seek in vain to fathom the enormity of
that crime. Had this man whO' fell been a despot, a tyrant, an oppressor, an
insane frenzy to rid the world of him might have sought excuse; but it was
the people's friend who fell when William McKinley received the fatal wound.
"Himself a son of toil, his sympathies were with the toiler. No' one who
has seen the matchless grace and perfect ease with which he greeted such can
ever doubt that his heart was in his open hand. Every heart throb was for his
countrymen.
LAID AT REST. 421
"That his Hfe should be sacrificed at sucii a time, just when there was
abundant peace, when ah the Americans were rejoicing togetlier, is one of
the inscrutable mysteries of Providence. Like many others, it must l^e left
for future revelations to explain.
''In the midst of our sorrow we have much to console us. He lived to see
his nation greater than ever before. All sectional lines are blotted out.
There is no South, no North, no East, no West. Washington saw the begin-
ning of our national life. Lincoln passed through the night of our history and
saw the dawn. McKinley beheld his country in the splendor of its noon.
Truly, he died in the fullness of his fame.
"With Paul he could say, and with equal truthfulness, 'I am now ready
to be offered.' The work assigned him had been well done. The nation was
at peace. We had fairly entered upon an era of unparalleled prosperity. Our
revenues were generous. Our standing among the nations was secure. Our
President was safely enshrined in the affections of a united people.
"It was not at him that the fatal shot was fired, but at the very life of the
government. His offering was vicarious. It was blood poured upon the altar
of human liberty. In view of these things we are not surprised to hear from
one who' was present when this great soul passed away that he never before
saw a death so peaceful, or a dying man so crowned with grandeur.
"Let us turn now to a brief consideration of some of the lessons that we
are to learn from this sad event. The first one that will occur to us all is the
old, old lesson that 'in the midst of life we are in death.' 'Man goeth forth to
his work and to his labor until the evening.' 'He fleeth as it were a shadow
and never continueth in one stay.'
"Our President went forth in the fullness or his strength, in his manly
beauty, and was suddenly smitten by the hand that brought death w-ith it.
None of us can tell what a day may bring forth. Let us therefore remember
that 'no man liveth to himself and none of us dieth to himself.' 'May each
day's close see each day's duty done.'
"Another great lesson that we should heed is the vanity of mere earthly
greatness. In the presence of the Dread IMessenger how small are all the
trappings of \vealth and distinctions of rank and power. I beseech you, seek
Tlim who said, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me,
tliough he w'ere dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die.' There is but one Savior for the sinsick and the wear}'. I
entreat you, find Him, as our brother found Him.
"But our last words must be spoken. Little more than four years ago
423 LAID AT REST.
we bade him good-by as he went to assume the great responsibilities to which
the nation had called him. His last words as he left us were :
" 'Nothing could give me greater pleasure than this farewell greeting —
this evidence of your friendship and sympathy, your good will, and I am sure
the prayers of all the people with whom I have lived so long and whose confi-
dence and esteem are dearer to me than any other earthly honors.
" 'To all of us the future is as a sealed book, but if I can, by official act
or administration or utterance, in any degree add to the prosperity and unity
of our beloved country, and the advancement and well-being of our splendid
citizenship, I will devote the best and most unselfish efforts of my life to that
end. With this thought uppermost in my mind, I reluctantly take leave of
my friends and neighbors, cherishing in my heart the sweetest memories and
thoughts of my old home — my home now — and I trust my home hereafter
so long as I shall live/
"We hoped, with him, that when his work was done, freed from the bur-
dens of his great office, crowned with the affections of a happy people, he
might be permitted to close his earthly life in the home he loved. He has
indeed returned to us, but how ? Borne to the strains of 'Nearer, My God, to
Thee,' and placed where he first began life's struggle, that the people might
look and weep over so sad a home-coming.
"But it was a triumphal march. How vast the procession. The nation
rose, stood with uncovered head. The people of the land are chief mourners.
The nations of the earth weep with them. But, oh, what a victory 1 I do
not ask you in the heat of public address, but in the calm moments of mature
reflection, what other man ever had such high honors bestowed upon him and
by so many people? What pageant has equaled this that we look upon
to-night ?
"We gave him to the nation but a little more than four years ago. He
went out with the light of the morning upon his brow, but with his task set,
and the purpose to complete it. We take him back a mighty conqueror.
" 'The churchyard where his children rest,
The quiet spot that suits him best ;
There shall his grave be made,
And there his bones be laid.
And there his countrymen shall come,
With memory proud, with pity dumb,
And strangers far and near,
LAID AT REST. 423
For many and many a year,
For many and many an age,
While history on her ample |)age
The virtues shall enroll
Of that paternal soul.' "
Venerable Bishop I. W. Joyce of Minneapolis then led in brief prayer.
He had been conducting the East Ohio Methodist Episcopal conference
at New Philadelphia when the President died. The conference adjourned,
and Bishop Joyce and his cabinet have been ever since at the disposal of the
friends of the President. He especially remembered President Roosevelt
in his petition this afternoon.
The choir then sang "Nearer, My God, to Thee," at first softly, and then
rising into the passionate declaration, "Still all my song shall be." It was
as if the whole nation were being brought closer to the great white throne
by the sacrifice of their President's life.
Rev. Father Edward J. Vattmann of Chicago pronounced the benedic-
tion. He is chaplain of the United States Army at Fort Sheridan.
It was after 3 o'clock when the silent and anxious throngs outside the
church saw the solemn pageant reappear through the church doors. A
more impressive sight than the cortege of the President from the church
to the cemetery has seldom been witnessed in this country. Nominally it
was a private funeral. Actually it was a national demonstration. More than
12,000 marching men were in line. About 6,000 were the citizen soldiery
of Ohio. The others were old soldiers and members of civic and fraternal
organizations from all quarters of the state.
The head of the cortege arrived at Westlawn Cemetery at 3:30 o'clock.
The roadway from the gate to the receiving vault was carpeted with flowers.
Geraniums, carnations, sweet peas and roses had been strewn in great pro-
fusion. The old soldiers who had marched the weary march to honor their
old comrade a last time could not forego the chance to take away a fragrant
souvenir of his earthly end. One by one they stooped to gather a flower,
and when they had passed the roadway it was almost bare.
The funeral car reached the cemetery gates at 4 o'clock. From the hill-
top the President's salute of twenty-one guns, fired at intervals of one
minute, announced its coming. The military guards came to a "present''
with a snap as the funeral car approached for the last scene in the life and
death of William ^IcKinley— a scene beautiful and impressive as his life had
been.
424 LAID AT REST.
After the arrival of the casket there was a moment's pause as Colonel
Bingham looked to see that all- was in readiness. He then looked tow'ard
Bishop Joyce, who read the burial service of the Methodist church, slowly
but in a voice that could be heard distinctly by all who were grouped about
the vault. Instantly from the eight buglers rang out the notes of the
soldier's last call, "taps."
With bared heads the President and members of the cabinet, wdio were
followed by the officers of the army and navy, stood on each side of the walk,
the lines reaching just to the edge of the roadway. Within a minute after
the formation of the lines, the funeral car came up to the walk. The casket
was gently lifted from the hearse, and borne to the floor of the vault, where
it was rested upon the catafalque.
The last of the procession passed the bier at 5:45 o'clock, and then orders
were given by Captain Riddle that the cemetery be cleared. This was
quickly done, and the President was left in the care of his guard of honor.
The first sentry to be posted in a tour of guard duty before the doorway
was Private Otto White of Company C, Fourteenth Infantry, whose home
is in Genoa, Ohio.
The vault gates closed with a hollow clang as the soldiers took up the
weary round of sentry duty in the lonely cemetery. Two miles aw^ay, in
the cottage so lately the home of a President, a heart-broken widow wres-
tled wnth her grief.
And the funeral of William McKinley was over.
CHAPTER XLII.
NATION OBSERVES BURIAL DAY.
When King David lay dead, at the threshold of Judah's mighty era, the
Bible tells us "There was sorrow in the cities."
That, better than any other language that could be employed, describes
the state of affairs in the United States of America when the body of the
dead President lay in state in the town which had been his home on the
day of his burial. Every city in the land chose its own methods of expressing
the grief that was felt, but all united, at the selfsame hour, to express
in the several ways the grief that was felt for the nation's bereavement.
In Canton, of course, the expression of sorrow was profound. Nothing
else occupied the attention or the time of any one within the gates of the
city but that one great, overpowering subject.
In Washington all the many public offices of the government were
closed, and the army of employes gave the day to sorrowing for the dead.
There were services in nearly all of the churches. Theaters were closed. No
places of amusement admitted frequenters. The storm-drenched draperies
of woe that had been spread so lavishly on the day the remains of the Presi-
dent arrived from Buffalo, gave a drearier aspect to the silent and sorrowing
city. There was little travel. Street cars nearly vacant hummed unchecked
through the streets. Galleries and points usually sought by visitors were
left quite abandoned. Even the great Washington ^Monument had fewer
visitors than on any day since President Garfield lay in state in the White
House.
In Chicago there were services in the Auditorium, presided over by
some of the foremost citizens, and addressed by orators of note throughout
the nation. A multitude of social organizations joined in a monster parade.
It was a general holiday, and workmen laid down the tools of their craft,
and postponed activity and wage-earning till the body of the dead should
be at rest. Naval veterans from the war with Spain formed a compact
phalanx and marched for the last time in honor of him who had been their
chief.
In New Orleans a general holiday also was decreed, and schools were
closed; shops were deserted; the activity of the city was still. It has been
425
42G NATION OBSERVES BURIAL DAY.
described as nearly approaching those distressful days when the fear of the
plague had laid a silencing hand on the industries of the town. There was
no fear in the present case. But the pall of a sorrow was great enough to
palsy all movement. President McKinley had endeared himself to the
people of the South as no other President had done since the civil war. His
trip across the continent last May was of the greatest benefit to his fame and
popularity in the South. It was realized that here was a man who w-as
President of the whole United States, and that he held those in that
section of the country as close to his heart and his hope as the people of
any other section.
In San Francisco a service was held in the City Hall, addressed by a
number of the prominent citizens. It was here that Mrs. McKinley was
taken ill when the Presidential party was on its journey across the country;
and it was here that President McKinley gave that great evidence of his
devotion to his wife. It disarranged the plans of the people who had the
trip in charge, and of the managers of the fair at which he was to have
appeared. But above and beyond all desire for profit was their recognition
of the generous and noble qualities of the man. And they paid their
heartfelt tribute to the departed.
In Montreal, Canada, the provincial synod of the Anglican Church held
a memorial service in Christ Church cathedral in honor of the memory of
President McKinley. The Duke of York, who was in the city at the time,
attended the service, and gave every evidence of that grief which he had at
other times expressed. It had been the intention of the city authorities
of Montreal to give a series of fetes in honor of the Duke and the Duchess,
as has been the custom in most of the cities which they have visited in the
course of their tour about the world, forming the better acquaintance of
the subjects of the English King. But these plans were abandoned,
although a large sum of money had already been expended. Neither the
Duke nor his wife wished to proceed with the festivities.
London was a city of sorrow. The recent death of the Queen had
called forth expressions of sorrow from President McKinley and the people
of the United States which had touched a very tender chord in the nature
of the Englishmen. And they were grieved beyond expression at the dis-
aster that had befallen the Republic. They devoted the day to a special
service in Westminster Abbey, a rare performance indeed. Portraits of
President McKinley were displayed in all the shop windows, and were freely
sold on the streets. All the papers of the British capital printed expressions
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NATION OBSRRVKS BURIAL DAY. 42!)
of sorrow and of appreciation of tiie good qualities of the man who had
passed away, and all expressed the hope that the nation would be comforted
in its grief. One of the most touching features of their publications was
the tone of sympathy for Mrs. McKinley. There was a pathos about these
words which keenly recalled the late bereavement of the nation of \''ictoria.
Funeral services were held in far-away Manila. All the government
offices were closed, and the buildings were draped in black. There was a
peculiar sadness in the crowds that passed up and down the streets. Most
business houses were closed for half the day, some for the entire day.
Among the expressions of sorrow sent from Manila was one from Emilio
Aguinaldo. He declared President McKinley a noble enemy, and a valued
friend, and for the good of all the people under the flag of the Republic
he could not but look on the death of such a man, particularly in such a
manner, as an unparalleled calamity. He gave utterance to the most
vigorous condemnation of the dastardly act which cost the President his
life.
And so, from the rising to the setting of the sun, "there was sorrow
in the cities." It was not in the big cities alone. Wherever communities
had been gathered, there was sorrow, and the effort to express the grief
that was universal throughout the nation. Churches were filled with com-
municants and friends. Men and women who had not been in the habit
of attending divine services made this the occasion when they paid their
tribute of respect to the memory of a great man fallen. Pastors and
orators employed their best talents in extolling the virtues of the dead,
and holding out hope to the living.
And not even in the cities — large or small — was the grief monopolized.
There was not a farm house, perhaps, in the land where grief was absent.
In those hours when the service was being conducted over the bier of
the martyred President in Canton, there was a bowing of heads throughout
C-ery part of the land. The beneficent results of the public labors of this
man had reached to the farthest home, and the fame of his loyal manhood
had penetrated all hearts. He was loved and honored and mourned. And
the nation paused at the brink of his grave, in body or in spirit, whether
they stood in the city he had called his home, and whether they held to
their places at any other point in the broad land.
The sorrow of the cities bathed all the land in tears.
Of all the tributes paid to the memory of the dead President, none
approached in majesty and impressiveness that utter abandonment of all
430 ASSASSINyVTIONS OF LINCOLN y\ND GARFIELD.
occupation for the moments when the burial was actually taking place.
For five minutes, from 2 130 to 2 135, there was absolute rest throughout the
nation. That was the time when the body of the murdered President was
being lifted to its last final repose.
And from the Atlantic to the Pacific, not a wheel turned for those five
minutes.
For the space of five minutes every train in the country was stopped,
and held motionless. Engineers, firemen, conductors and crews paused
for that period in their occupation, turned devoutly to the little town where
the last sad rites were being performed, and sent their thoughts out to the
hovering spirit of the man who had fallen.
Labor in shop, in store, on farm, in mill — everywhere — had ceased.
That stopping of America, that pause of the United States, that wait of
every citizen while the body of one dead was lowered to the tomb, is a
mightier miracle than that which marked the last victory of Judea's leader.
Five minutes taken out of life! Five minutes snatched from activity,
lost to productive effort, subtracted from material struggle ! It is an amaz-
ing thing in the most energetic, the most thrifty nation on the face of the
earth.
And yet that five minutes, stricken from the total money value of the
day, brought in return a sense of tenderness, of fraternity with all the other
millions waiting, bowed and reverent, which nothing else could have pro-
duced. That five minutes was the best investment that busy lives could
make. It brought them nearer to the ideal life that had been ended. It
helped to impress upon them the value of his splendid example. It gave
them a better confidence in the citizenship of America. It enacted anew
the law of love, and blessed with its swift ministrations the purer patriotism
for which this man of the people, this believer in God had stood as a repre-
sentative.
Silence and tears for the noble victim of malignant hate; new resolves for
the upholding of law and the extension of real liberty; unbounded faith in
the stability of our republican mstitutions; an impressive warning to tlie
foes of order — such was the day's meaning to every loyal American citizen.
Eighty millions of people gathered about six feet by two of hallowed earth 1
That is the spectacle bought at a price so matchless.
CHAPTER XLIII.
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
Tliere had been a long and fratricidal war, the most pitiful that has ever
occurred in the history of the world, or even that of heaven, described by
Milton. For in the latter the rebellious ones were urged on by envy and
utter wickedness, with no thought of right on their side, and their end was
"outer darkness." In the Civil War between the States, both sides fought
for what they deemed the right, and the patriotism of both was as pure as
mother love.
Born of the one side and nurtured by the other, Abraham Lincoln loved
both alike, but the logic of events and the uncontrollable influences of
environment made him the President and partisan of the Union, the head
and director of a stern, relentless, cruel and long-continued war, for the
preservation of that Union's integrity on one side, for independence and the
strong claim of "States rights" on the other.
There had been marches and battles, sufferings unspeakable, misery,
sorrow, death, destruction, all the woes of war, on both sides, four long,
dark years, and through it all steadfast in duty, earnest and honest, Abraham
Lincoln, President of the United States, with a heart as great as God giveth,
and an intelligence as high as heaven, had, with kindly face and even temper,
borne through it his burden of responsibility and his soul sorrow in it all.
The end of the w^ar had come, and the great, good man, who had thou-
sands of times earned the satisfaction and sweet peace that should have
come to him and been to him a living joy, was, at the moment of his worthy
triumph of that which was to prove best for all, laid low in death, at the
hands of a monomaniac, an irresponsible, unfortunate cnem} to both causes
and to himself.
The nation mourned; even Lincoln's enemies condemned the deed, and
from that day to this there has been a deep regret in the heart of that gener-
ation, and the generation that has succeeded, that Lincoln did not live to
see the great good that he had wrought. Yet in the finitude of human
understanding we may not have fully felt that Jehovah's wisdom caPsd him
to the higher and broader sphere of heaven that he might in a more exalted
and perfect manner e<njoy the results of his great work.
431
43^ ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
But Lincoln lived to see the dawn of peace. When he came to deliver
his second inaugural address the way was clear, but in that splendid effort
there was not a note of victory; there was no exultation over a fallen foe.
It breathed but the spirit of brotherly love and the incense of prayerful
hopes.
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the
right as God gives us to see the right, let us finish the work we are in, to
bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle,
and for his widow and his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish
a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." This was
the word and spirit of his way in all the trying time. He went down to
death with that flowing from his soul and as a benediction to the people,
the republic and its institutions.
It was not long after this beautiful message that General Lee gave up
his stronghold at Richmond, departing with about half of his original army,
and that closely pursued by the victorious hosts led by General Grant. The
army in blue overtook the gray remnant at Appomattox, and there one April
day, amid its sunshine and showers, its smiles and its tears. War's sable
plume bowed before the white banner of Peace, and Lincoln's great mission
had been performed.
The flag of the Union had once more become the flag of all the country,
and in this condition of affairs President Lincoln visited Richmond and the
final scenes of the mighty conflict and then returned to Washington to
begin his new work of "binding up the nation's wounds."
He had now reached the climax of his career and had touched the high-
est point of his greatness. His great task was done and the heavy burden
that had so long worn upon his heart had been lifted off and carried away.
Then, when the whole nation was rejoicing over the return of peace, the
Saviour of the Union was stricken down by the hand of an assassin.
From early youth, Mr. Lincoln had been followed by presentiments that
he would die a violent death, or that his final days would be marked by some
great tragic event. And yet from the time oi his first election to the Presi-
dency it had been an unsuccessful task upon the part of his closest friends to
endeavor to make him understand that he was in constant danger of assassina-
tion; for, notwithstanding his presentiments, he always laughed at their
fears in that direction, in his splendid courage.
During the summer months he lived at the Soldiers' Home, some miles
from Washington, and frequently made the trip between the White House
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIILLD. -133
and the Home, unguarded and without escort. Secretary of War Stanton and
Ward Lamon, Marshal of the District of Cohnnl)ia, were in a constant state
of alarm over this unnecessary exix>sure of the President to the danger of
assassination. They frequently warned him and provided suitable Ixxlyguards
to attend him. But Lincoln as constantly gave the guards the slip, and, mount-
ing his favorite saddle-horse, would set out alone, and often after dark, for the
lone ride to his place of rest.
One night, while thus riding, a would-be assassin fired on him from
ambush, the bullet passing through his famous high hat. But Lincoln never
would admit that the shot had been fired to kill him. He persisted in attril>-
uting the incident to an accident, and begged his friends to forget it and say
nothing concerning it.
Now that all the circumstances are known as to the assassination, it has
been made plain that there was a deep-laid and well-conceived plot to kill
President Lincoln long before the crime was actually committed.
When Lincoln was delivering his second inaugural address, on the steps of
the Capitol, an excited individual attempted to force his way through the
guards in the building to get on the platform with the President. It was
afterw-ard learned that this man was John Wilkes Booth, who was afterward
more successful in his assassin intent. On the night of April 14, 1865, at
Ford's Theater, Washington, the assassin accomplished his terrible purpose.
The manager of that theater had invited the President to witness a per-
formance of a new play, "Our American Cousin," in which the then famous
actress, Laura Keane, was playing. Lincoln was peculiarly fond of the theater.
It was his most satisfactory source of relaxation from the burdens and anxieties
of his life. He particularly delighted in Shakespeare's plays and never lost
a reasonable opportunity to w'itness their worthy presentation. Mrs. Lincoln
was even more fond of the drama, and was less discriminating in her choice as
to plays.
As "Our American Cousin" was a new play, the President was not spe-
cially anxious to see it, but as Mrs. Lincoln was very much inclined to attend,
her husband consented and accepted the invitation.
General Grant was in Washington at the time, and as he was extremely
anxious about the i^ersonal safety of the President, he reported every day
regularly at the White House. Thus the General and Mrs. Grant had been
invited by the President to accompany him and Mrs. Lincoln on this occasion,
and Grant had accepted, but at the moment while the General and the Presi-
dent were talking on the subject, a message came from Mrs. Grant to the
434 ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
effect that she wished to leave Washington that evening to visit her daughter
in Budington. General Grant thereupon made his excuses to the President
and went his way to accompany his wife to the railway station. It afterwards
became known that it was part of the plot to assassinate General Grant also,
and but for the fortunate departure of Mrs. Grant from Washington, the
great commander would have fallen with his illustrious chief.
General Grant afterward remarked that as he and Mrs. Grant were riding
along Pennsylvania avenue tO' the railway station, a horseman rode rapidly
by them, but wheeled his horse and came back, peering into the carriage as he
passed.
Mrs. Grant, at the time, said tO' the General : "That is the very man who
sat near us at luncheon to-day, and tried to overhear our conversation. He
was so rude, you remember, as to cause us to leave the dining-room. Here
he is again, riding after us."
General Grant attributed the actions of the man to- idle curiosity, but
learned afterward that the man was John Wilkes Booth.
It has been suggested that the probable reason for Lincoln's disinclination
to attend the theater on that fatal night was something of a promise that he
had made to his friend and bodyguard, who had once been his law partner,
Ward Lamon, then Marshal of the District of Columbia.
Two days previous Lincoln had sent Lamon to Richmond on business
connected with the call of a convention to discuss reconstruction. Before his
departure, Lamon had held an interview with Mr. Usher, Secretary of the
Interior, in which he had requested the Secretary to endeavor to persuade the
President tO' be more cautious as to his personal safety, and to go^ out as little
as possible while Lamon was absent. Together they called upon the President,
and Lamon preferred his request for the promise.
"I think I can venture to say I will," was the reply. "What is it?"
"Promise me that you will not gO' out, after night, while I am gone," said
Lamon, "particularly to the theater."
President Lincoln turned to Secretary Usher and said : "Usher, this boy
is a monomaniac on the subject of my safety. I can hear him or hear of him
being around at all times in the night, to prevent somebody from murdering me.
He thinks I shall be killed, and we think he is going crazy. What does any
one want to assassinate me for? If any one wants to do so, he can do it any
day or night, if he is ready to give his life for mine. It is nonsense."
The Secretary, however, insisted that it would be well to heed Lamon's
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD. 435
warning, as he was thrown, all the time, among persons from whom he had
better opportunities to know conccriiing- such matters, than any one else.
"Well," said the President to the Marshal, "1 promise to do tiie best I can
toward it."
The assassination of President Lincoln was most carefully planned, even
to the smallest detail. The box set apart for the President's party was a double
one, in the second tier, and at the left of the stage. It had two doors with
spring locks, but Booth had loosened the screws with which the Iwks were
fastened, so that it was impossible to secure them from the inside. In one
door he had made a gimlet hole, in order to be able to see what was going
on inside.
An employe of the theater, named Spangler, who was an accomplice of
the assassin, had even gone so far as to arrange the seats in the box to suit the
purpose of the assassin.
On that eventful night the body of the theater was densely crowded with
people. The presidential party arrived a few minutes after nine o'clock and
was composed of the President and Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris and Mayor
Rathbone, daughter and step-son of Senator Harris of New York, and the
vast audience arose and cheered as the President was ushered to his box.
Booth, the assassin, came into the theater about ten o'clock, and being
a well-known actor, of influence in his circle, could easily take unusual
liberties about the theater.
He had not only planned to kill the President, but had also made excel-
lent arrangements to escape into Maryland. A swift horse, saddled, bridled
and ready for the venturesome race, was in waiting at the rear of the
theater. For a few minutes the assassin pretended to be interested in the
play, and then he gradually made his way around the back of the seats
in the second tier to the door of the President's box.
Before reaching that point, however, he was halted by a messenger of
the President, who had been stationed at the end of the passage leading to
the boxes to prevent the intrusion of unwelcome persons. To this man
Booth delivered a card purporting to be a message from the President to the
efifect that he had sent for the bearer. Thus Booth was permitted to enter.
Inside the passageway leading to the boxes the assassin closed the outer
door and secured it with a bar that had been provided for the occasion.
Thus it became impossible for any one on the outside to follow the assassin
by means immediately at hand. Booth quickly entered the box by the right
hand door to where the President was sitting in the left hand corner.
436 ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
nearest the audience and in an easy armchair. He was leaning on one hand
and held with the other a fold of the drapery. He, wath the others, was
intently watching the performance on the stage, and a pleasant smile was
on his face.
In the right hand the assassin carried a small, silver-mounted derringer
pistol and in his left a long-bladed double-edged dagger. The pistol he
placed behind the President's left ear and fired, and at the report the victim
bent slightly forward, his eyes closed, but in every other respect his attitude
remained unchanged.
The report of the pistol startled Major Rathbone, who sprang to his
feet and grappled with the assassin, w-ho was then about six feet away from
the President. Booth escaped from the grasp of Major Rathbone and
throwing down the pistol struck at Rathbone with the dagger, inflicting
a severe wound. The assassin then placed his hand Hghtly on the railing
of the box and vaulted to the stage, eight or ten feet below^
The President's box had been heavily draped with a large flag of the
Union, and in jumping Booth's spurs caught in the folds of the flag, wdiich
was carried Vv^ith him, and as he fell heavily his ankle was sprained, an inci-
dent that more than anything else led to his capture and death.
The assassin, as he arose, walked, without sign of pain, and theatrically,
across the stage, and as he did so turned to the audience, flourished his
dagger and exclaimed, "Sic semper tyrannis!" adding, 'The South is
avenged!"
The audience was stunned for the moment with horror, and seemed
incapable of action, excepting one man, a lawyer named Stuart. He instantly
comprehended the situation and leaping to the stage attempted the capture
of the assassin, but Booth, being familiar with the arrangement of the stage,
eluded his pursuer by darting out through one of the stage entrances to a
rear door, where the horse stood, held in readiness for him, and vaulting into
the saddle, dasHed away, taking a street leading into Virginia.
Miss Keane rushed to the President's box with water and stimulants,
and medical aid was quickly at hand.
The full import of the act dawned upon the audience and it realized
the tragedy, then followed a scene such as has never been witnessed in any
other public gathering. Women wept, shrieked and fainted, men raved
and swore, and horror was depicted upon every face. Before the audience
could emerge from the theater horsemen were dashing through the streets^
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD. 437
and the telegraph was carrying the details of the awful tragedy to all the
world.
The assassin's bullet did not produce instant death, but the President
never again became conscious, lie was carried to a house opposite the
theater, where he died the next morning. In the meantime the authorities
had become aware of the wide-reaching conspiracy, and the capital was in
a state of terror.
On the night of the assassination of Lincoln, Secretary of State Seward
w-as attacked, though in bed with a broken arm, by Booth's fellow-con-
spirators and badly wounded.
The assassins had also planned to take the lives of Vice-President John-
son and Secretary Stanton. Booth had called on Vice-President Johnson
the day before, and not finding him, had left a card.
Secretary Stanton acted with his usual promptness and courage, and
though acting as President during the period of excitement, he directed the
plans for the capture of Booth.
After President Lincoln had been taken to the house where he died,
he was at once divested of his clothing by the surgeons in attendance.
Surgeon-General Barnes presiding, examined the wound, and it was at
once seen that he could not possibly survive many hours. Tlie ball had
entered on the left side of the head, behind the left ear, and three inches
from it. Its course was obliquely forward, traversing the brain, and lodging
just behind the right eye. The President was at once surrounded by the
prominent of^cers of the government. Mrs. Lincoln, overcome with emo-
tion, was led from the theater to the house where her husband lay. Secretary
McCullough, Attorney-General Speed, Secretary Welles, Senator Sumner,
and other distinguished gentlemen, remained in the room through the
night.
When first brought into the house the President's breathing was regular,
but difficult. Tliis continued throughout the night, he givi ig, with occa-
sional exceptions, no indications of suffering, and remaining, with closed
eyes, perfectly unconscious. At about seven in the morning his breathing
became more difficult, and was interrupted at intervals sometimes for so
long a time that he was supposed to be dead. At twenty-two minutes past
seven he ceased breathing, and thus expired. There was no convulsive
action, no rattling in the throat, no appearance of suffering of any kind —
none of the symptoms which ordinarily attend dissolution and add to its
terrors. From the instant he was struck by the ball of the assassin, he had
438 . ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
not given the slightest indication that he was conscious of anything that
occurred around him.
The news that the President had been shot spread at once through the
town, and wa.i instantly followed by tidings of a murderous assault, still
more terrible in its details, upon the Secretary of State. Some days pre-
viously Mr. Seward had been thrown from his carriage, and seriously in-
jured. His right arm was broken above the elbow, his jaw was fractured,
and his whole system seriously shattered. For nearly a fortnight he had
been confined to his bed, unable to swallow anything but Hquids, and re-
duced, by pain and this enforced abstinence, to a state of extreme debility.
His room was on the third floor of his residence in Madison Place, fronting
on President Square, and the bed on which he lay stood opposite the door
by which the room was entered, and about ten feet from it. At a few
minutes past ten — within five minutes of the time when the President w^as
shot' — a man, proved afterwards to be Lewis Payne Powell, generally known
as Payne, rang at the door of Mr. Seward's residence, and said to the colored
lad who opened it that he had some medicines prescribed for Mr. Seward
by Dr. Verdi, his family physician, which he must deliver in person. The
lad said that no one could go up to Mr. Seward's room ; but Payne pushed
him aside and rushed up stairs. He had reached the third floor, and was
about to enter Mr. Seward's room, when he was confronted by Mr. Fred-
erick W. Seward, the Secretary's son, to whom he made the same statement
of his errand. He was refused admission, when he drew a pistol and snapped
it at Frederick without effect; he then struck him with it upon the head
twice, with such force as to break the pistol and prostrate his victim, frac-
turing his skull. Hearing the noi^^e, Miss Fannie Seward, who was in her
father's room, opened the door, into which Payne instantly rushed, and,
drawing a bowie-knife, threw hmiself upon the bed, and made three power-
ful stabs at the throat of Mr. Seward, who had raised himself up at the first
alarm, and who instantly divmed the real nature and intention of the assault.
Each blow inflicted a terrible wound, but, before the assassin could deal
another, he was seized around the body by an invalid soldier named Robin-
son, who was in attendance as nurse, and who strove to drag the murderer
from his victim. Payne at once struck at Robinson and inflicted upon hira
several serious wounds, but did not succeed in freeing himself from his grasp.
Mr. Seward, the instant his murderer's attention was withdrawn from him,
threw himself off the bed at the farther side; and Payne, finding that his
victim was thus beyond his reach, broke away from Robinson, and rushed
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFILLD. \^^i
to the door. The colored lad in ilic lower hall had run into the street for
help, and Miss Fannie Seward shouted "Muriler!" from the upper window.
The assassin, on reaching the upper hall, met Major Augustus Seward,
another son of the Secretary, whom he struck with his dagger, and on the
stairs encountered Mr. Hansell, one of the Secretary's attendants, whom he
stabbed in the back. Forcing his way through all these obstacles, he rushed
down the stairs, and finding, to his surprise, no one there to oppose his
progress, he passed out at the front door, mounted a horse he had left
standing in front of the house, and rode leisurely away.
When the news of this appalling tragedy spread through the city, it
carried consternation to every heart. Trcaduig close on the heels of the
President's murder — perpetrated, indeed, at the same instant — it was in-
stinctively felt to be the work of a conspiracy, secret, remorseless, and
terrible. The Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, had left Mr. Seward's bedside
not twenty minutes before the assault, and was in his private chamber, pre-
paring to retire, when a messenger brought tidings of the tragedy, and
summoned his instant attendance. On his way to Mr. Seward's house, Mr.
Stanton heard of the simultaneous murder of the President, and instantly
felt that the Government was enveloped in the meshes of a conspiracy,
whose agents were unknown, and which was all the more terrible for the
darkness and mystery in which it moved. Orders were instantly given to
close all drinking-shops and all places of public resort in the city, guards
were stationed at every point, and all possible precautions were taken for
the safety of the Vice-President and other prominent Government officials.
A vague terror brooded over the population of the town. Men whispered
to each other as they met, in the gloom of midnight, and the deeper gloom
of the shadowy crime which surrounded them. Presently, passionate indig-
nation replaced this paralysis of the public heart, and, but for the precautions
adopted on the instant by the Government, the public vengeance would
have been wreaked upon the rebels confined in the Old Capi;ol Prison. All
these feelings, however, gradually subsided, and gave way to a feeling of
intense anxiety for the life of the President. Crowds of people assembled
in the neighborhood of the house where the dying martyr lay, eager for
tidings of his condition, throughout the night; and when, early in the morn-
ing, it was announced that he was dead, a feeling of solemn awe filled every
heart, and sat, a brooding grief, upon every face.
And so it was through all the length and breadth of the land. In every
State, in every town, in every household, there was a dull and bitter agony.
440 ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
as the telegraph bore tidings of the awful deed. Everywhere throughout
the Union, the public heart, bounding with exultation, at the triumphant
close of the great war, and ready to celebrate with a mighty joy the return
of peace, stood still with a sacred terror, as it was smitten by the terrible
tidings from the capital of the Nation. In the great cities of the land all
business instantly stopped — no man had the heart to think of gain — flags
drooped half-mast from every winged messenger of the sea, from every
church spire, from every tree of liberty, and from every public building.
Masses of the people came together by a spontaneous impulse, to look in
each other's faces, as if they could read there some hint of the meaning of
these dreadful deedsi — some omen of the country's fate. Thousands upon
thousands, drawn by a common feeling, crowded around every place of
public resort, and listened eagerly to whatever any public speaker chose to
say. Wall street, in New York, was thronged by a vast multitude of men,
to whom eminent public of^cials addressed words of sympathy and of hope.
Gradually as the day wore on, emblems of mourning w^ere hung from the
windows of every house throughout the town, and before the sun had set
every city, throughout the length and breadth of the land, to which tidings
of the great calamity had been borne by the telegraph, was enshrouded in
the shadow of the national grief. On the next day, which was Sunday, every
pHlpit resounded with eloquent eulogies of the murdered President, and
with such comments on his death as faith in an overruling Providence alone
could prompt. The whole country was plunged into profound grief — and
none deplored the crime which had deprived the Nation of its head wuth
more sincerity than those wdio had been involved in the guilt of the rebellion,
and who had just begun to appreciate those merciful and forgiving elements
in Mr. Lincoln's character, whose exercise they themselves would need so
soon.
Immediately after his death, the body of the President was removed to
the Executive Mansion, embalmed, and placed in the Green Room, which
had been prepared by suitable emblems of mourning for its reception. Near
the center of the room stood the grand catafalque four feet high, upon which
rested the mahogany coffin, covered with flowers — the last sad offerings of
affection — in wdiich the body was placed for its final rest.
The conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln involved altogether
twenty-five people. Among the number captured and tried were David
C. Herold, G. W. Atzerodt, Louis Payne, Edward Spangler, Michael
O'Loughlin, Samuel Arnold, Mrs. Surratt and Dr. Samuel Mudd. Dr.
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD. 441
Mudd was deported to the Dry Tortugas. While tliere an epidemic of
yellow fever broke out and he rendered such good service that he was
granted a pardon and died some years ago in Maryland.
John Surratt, the son of the woman who was hanged, made his escape to
Italy, where he became one of the Papal guards in the Vatican at Rome.
His presence there was discovered by Archbishop Hughes, and although
there were no extradition laws to cover the case, the Italian Government
gave him up to the United States authorities.
He had two trials. At the first the jury disagreed; the long delay before
his second trial allowed him to escape by pleading the statute of limitation.
Spangler and O'Loughlin were sent to the Dry Tortugas and served their
time.
Ford, the owner of the theater in which the President was assassinated,
was a Southern sympathizer, and when he attempted to reopen his theater,
after the great national tragedy. Secretary Stanton refused to allow it. The
Government aftenvard bought the property and turned it into a national
museum.
Booth, the arch-conspirator, accompanied by David C. Herold. finally
made his way into Maryland, where, eleven days after the assassination, the
two were discovered in a barn. Herold surrendered, but Booth, who refused
to be taken alive, was shot and killed by Boston Corbctt, a sergeant of
cavalry.
ASSASSINATION OF GARFIELD.
In this fair republic of ours, a fabric of government strong in structure,
Giiperb and imposing, chaste and grand ; a temple whose real devotees are
true-hearted patriots, there has not been one who has more perfectly exem-
plified the possibilities of American youth than James Abram Garfield, child of
penury, farmer l)oy, canal-boat lad, student, teacher, statesman, soldier, Presi-
dent, martyr. In all, true and brave, endowed with the royalty of right man-
hood, that was becoming as a sovereign citizen, a pattern and a patriot.
He won his way, almost from babyhood to the most exalted place in the
nation, by conscientious and industrious work, purity of purpose, carefulness
of character, guided, at every moment, by simple rules of truth and honor.
His heritage was that of every healthy boy in the United States, stronge
than money, fairer than influence, better than brilliancy, more potent than
genius.
Determination to rise, steadfastness of purpose, well-directed common-
sense, commendable ambition. These were the factors that made the man,
442 ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
whose unsullied name is graven high in the history of the republic, and whose
life was a satisfaction to himself, his associates and his people. Exalted with-
out ostentation, great without conceit, helpful to his family, his friends, his
race, his country and himself, blessed of God, the beginning and end of a
benediction.
His death was an accident of fate.
Saturday, July 2, 1881, was a fair, hot midsummer day. The inmates of
the White House were astir early. The President was going to Massachusetts
to attend the commencement exercises at his old college at Williamstown, and
afterward to^ take a holiday jaunt through New England, accompanied by sev-
eral members of the Cabinet and other friends. His wife, who w^as at Long
Branch, New Jersey, just recovering from a severe attack of malarial fever,
was to join him at New York. He had looked forward with almost boyish
delight to his trip, and was in high spirits as he and Secretary Blaine drove
off to the railway station.
There was no crowd about. Most of those whO' were to take the train had
already gone on board. Among the few persons in the waiting-room w^as a
slender, middle-aged man, who walked up and down rather nervously, occa-
sionally looking out of the door as if expecting some one. There was nothing
about him to attract special notice, and no one paid much attention to him.
When President Garfield and Mr. Blaine entered, he drew back, took a heavy
revolver from his pocket, and, taking deliberate aim, fired. The ball struck the
President on the shoulder. He turned, surprised, to see who' had shot him.
The assassin recocked his revolver and fired again, and then turned to flee.
The President fell to the floor, the blood gushing from a wound in his side.
In a moment all was confusion and horror. Secretary Blaine sprang after
the assassin, but, seeing that he w^as caught, turned again to the President.
The shock had been great, and he w-as very pale. A mattress was brought, his
tall form was lifted tenderly into an aminilance, and he was swiftly borne to
the Executive Mansion. His first thought w'as for his wife — the beloved wife
*of his youth, just recovering from sickness, expecting in a few hours to meet
him. How v/ould she bear the tidings of this blow?
"Rockwell," he said, faintly, to a friend, 'T want you to send a message to
'Crete' " (the pet name for his wife, Lucretia). *'Tell her I am seriously hurt
— how seriously I cannot yet say. I am myself, and hope she will come to
me soon. I send my love to her." During the dictation of the dispatch, Dr.
Bliss and several other physicians arrived. A hasty inspection demonstrated
that the President was terribly wounded.
ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD. 443
A swift train brought Mrs. Garfield to her husband's side that evening.
The persons present in the sick-room retired to allow Mrs. Garfield to meet
her husband alone, as he had requested. They remained together onlv five
minutes; but the effect of this brief interview was soon seen in the rallying
of the almost dying man. At the end of that time the doctors were again
admitted, and then began the long struggle for life, with its fluctuations
between hojDe and dread, which lasted for almost three months. Just after
Mrs. Garfield's arrival there was a sudden collapse which seemed to be the
end, and the family of the President were hastily summoned to his l^edside;
but, to the surprise of every one, the crisis passed, and for three weeks he
seemed to improve. Then came a turn for the worse, and from that time
the President lost ground. The hot summer days, hard to bear even for
those in full health, wasted and weakened him terribly. He sank steadily ; and
it was seen that unless relief from the intense heat could be had, he would
inevitably die within a few days. It was decided to remove him to Elberon,
on the ocean shore, near Long Branch, New Jersey; and on September 7th,
accompanied by his family and the members of the Cabinet, he was borne by
a swift special train northward to the seaside. A summer cottage had l^een
offered for his use, and there for two anxious weeks lay the man who, it may
be truly said, had become
"The pillar of a people's hope,
The center of a world's desire."
The cooling breezes of the seaside brought some relief, and the change no
doubt prolonged his life; but it could not be saved. In the night of Septem-
ber 19th, almost without warning, the end came; the feeble flame of life, so
anxiously watched and cherished, flickered a moment, and then went out in
the darkness.
During the long, sultry days of that anxious summer, for many hours of
the day and night, throughout all the land,wherevertherewasa newspaper or
a telegraph office, about such places stood groups of people, measured in num-
bers by the degree of population, waiting and watching eagerly for the slips
of paper which from time to time were posted in a conspicuous place on the
front of the building. In the intervals they would gather in little knots and
talk together in low tones. To one who did not know what had happened
on July 2d, it would have been hard to giiess what gathered these waiting
crowds, day after day, throughout the land. With intense, foreboding suspense
fifty millions of people were watching for the news from the bedside of the
444 ASSASSINATIONS OF LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.
President of the United States, who had been stricken down by the bullet of
the assassin. WhO' that lived through that long summer can forget those
anxious days and nights? And when at last the brave struggle for life was
ended, and the silent form was borne from :he seaside to rest on the shores of
Lake Erie, who can forget the solemn hush which seemed to prevail every-
where as the tomb opened to receive all that was mortal of the beloved Presi-
dent, James A. Garfield ?
The President's body was borne back to Washington, w^here it lay in
state, viewed by great throngs of mourning people; then it was taken west-
ward to Cleveland, and laid in the tomb by the shores of Lake Erie, almost in
sight of his old home. The journey was one long funeral pageant. For almost
the entire distance the railway tracks were lined with crowds of people, who,
with uncovered heads, stood in reverent silence as the train passed. Not
since the day when that other dead President, the great Lincoln, was borne
to his last resting place, had such an assembly been gathered; and the love
and grief which followed Garfield tO' his grave are the best tribute to the worth
of his character.
Five months later, in the hall of the House of Representatives at Wash'
ington, amid such a throng as that chamber has seldom seen, Secretary Blaine
delivered his eulogy of the dead President ; and from that splendid and pathetic
address we take the concluding words, which will fitly close this brief sketch :
"As the end drew near, his early craving for the sea returned. The stately
mansion of power had been to him the wearisome hospital of pain, and he
begged to be taken from its prison walls, from its oppressive, stifling air, from
its homelessness and hopelessness. Gently, silently, the love of a great people
bore the pale sufferer to the longed-for healing of the sea, to live or to die,
as God should will, within sight of its heaving billows, within sound of its
manifold voices. With wan, fevered face tenderly lifted tO' the cooling breeze,
he looked out wistfully upon the ocean's changing wonders; on its fair sails,
whitening in the morning light; on its restless waves, rolling shoreward to
break and die beneath the noonday sun ; on the red clouds of evening, arching
low to the horizon ; on the serene and shining pathway of the stars. Let us
think that his dying eyes read a mystic meaning which only the rapt and part-
ing soul may know. Let us believe that in the silence of the receding world
he heard the great weaves breaking on a further shore, and felt already upon
his wasted brow the breath of the eternal morning."
TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CZOLGOSZ.
Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of President McKinley, was placed on
trial Monday, September 23rd, at Buffalo, in Part 3 of the Supreme Court,
criminal section, with Justice Truman C. White on the bench. The assassin
pleaded guilty, but in accordance with the laws of the state the Justice
ordered the plea set aside and a plea of not guilty entered instead.
The following jury was quickly secured: Frederick E. Lauer, plumber.
Richard J. Garwood, street railway foreman; Henry \V. Wcndt, manufac
turer; Silas C. Carmer, farmer; James S. Stygall, plumber; William Lotoii
farmer; Walter E. Everett, blacksmith; Benjamin J. Ralph, bank cashier;
Samuel P. Waldo, farmer; Andrew J. Smith, produce dealer; Joachim 11.
Mertens, shoe dealer; Robert J. Adams, contractor.
The prosecution was conducted by Thomas Penney. District Attorney
of Erie county
The testimony given at the trial simply brought out the facts already
known concerning the assassination.
Tw^o well-known lawyers, Judges Lewis and Titus, had been appointed
by the court to defend Czolgosz, but as he had refused to consult with them
they were unable to make any defense for him further than to protect his
legal rights at the trial. Hence, the trial was short, lasting only part of two
days. Before it was concluded, however, Czolgosz was given an oppor-
tunity to speak in his own behalf, but declined to do so.
On Tuesday, September 24th, the jury found him guilty, and on Thurs-
day, September 26th, he was again brought into court to receive sentence.
When asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be pro-
nounced against him Czolgosz tried to speak but was unable to make himself
heard.
One of his attorneys said for him: "He says no one had anything to
do with the commission of his crime but himself; that his father and mother
and no one else had anything to do with and knew nothing about it."
Justice White then pronounced sentence in the following words: "Czol-
gosz, in taking the life of our beloved President, you committed a crime
which shocked and outraged the moral sense of the civilized world. You
have confessed that guilt, and after learning all that at this time can be
445
446 TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CZOLGOSZ.
learned from the facts and circumstances of the case, twelve good jurors
have pronounced you guilty and have found you guilty of murder in the
first degree.
"You have said, according to the testimony of credible witnesses and
yourself, that no other person aided or abetted you in the commission of
this terrible act. God grant it may be so.
"The penalty for the crime for which you stand is fixed by this statute,
and it now becomes my duty to pronounce this judgment against you.
The sentence of the court is that in the week beginning October 28th, 1901,
at the place, in the manner and means prescribed by law, you suffer the
punishment of death. Remove the prisoner."
Under this sentence Czolgosz could have been executed any time after
midnight of October 27th, but the execution did not take place until Tues-
day morning, October 29th.
On the afternoon before his death Czolgosz reluctantly received two
priests into his cell, Fathers Fudzinski and Hickey. They remained with
him for three-quarters of an liour and pleaded with the prisoner to repent
and pray for Divine forgiveness. He rejected all their advances and they
withdrew, saying they would be ready to answer a call from him at any
hour of the night.
His brother, Waldeck Czolgosz, was admitted to see him, and said, "I
wish you would tell us, Leon, v^'ho got you into this scrape?" The assassin
answered: "No one. Nobody had anything to do with it but me."
"That is not how you were brought up," said the brother, "and you
ought to tell us everything now."
"I haven't got anything to tell."
"Do you want to see the priests again?"
"No, damn them.. Don't send them here again. I don't want them."
Then he added, "and don't you have any praying over me when I am dead.
I don't want it. I don't want any of their d — d religion,"
Czolgosz spent the greater part of his last night on earth sleeping,
apparently peacefully. At 5:30 o'clock a. m., when Warden Mead went to
his cell, he was still asleep. He was awakened and the Warden read him
the death warrant. He listened in silence and gave no outward sign of any
emotion he may have felt.
Czolgosz asked to see his brother again and w^as told that it was impos-
sible. His breakfast was then sent to him, of which he ate but little. He
then prepared for the death chamber.
TRIAL AND UXFXUTION OF CZOLGOSZ. 4tT
"I want to make a statement bcturc you kill me." he said to Superin-
tendent Collins.
"What do wish to say, Czolgosz?" asked the superintendent.
"I want to make it when there are a lot of jk'ojjIc present. I want
them to hear me," said the prisoner.
"Well, you cannot." said the superintendent.
"Then I won't talk at all," said the jirisoner sullenly.
While he was partaking of his breakfast the witnesses were gatherinj^
in the offices of Warden Mead and at 7:08 the procession ])assed to the
death chamber, going through the long south corridor.
The guards on either side of Czolgosz had hold of his arms, as if either
to support him or to keep him from making a demonstration. As he
stepped over the threshold he stumbled, but they held him up and as they
urged him forward tow-ard the chair he .stumbled again on the little rubber-
covered platform upon which the chair rests.
He took his seat in the electric chair without a tremor. As the cap was
adjusted he said something throuL^h his teeth that sounded like a curse.
The keepers paused and asked if he wished to say anything. Czolgosz
straightened up and said:
"I am not sorry I did this thing. 1 did it for the working people. Mv
only regret is that I have not been able to see my father."
Then the straps and electrodes were adjusted.
Warden Mead raised his hand and at 7:12:30 Electrician Davis turned
the switch that threw 1,700 volts of electricity into the living body.
The rush of the current threw the body so hard against the straps that
they creaked perceptibly. The hands clinched suddenly and the whole atti-
tude was one of extreme tenseness.
For forty-five seconds the full current was kept on and then slowly the
electrician threw the switch back, reducing the current volt by volt until
it was cut off entirely. Then just as it had reached that point he threw
the lever back again for two or three seconds.
The body, which had collapsed as the current was reduced, stiFened uj)
against the straps. When it was turned off again Dr. MacDonald stepped
to the chair and put his hand over the heart. He said he felt no pulsation,
but suggested that the current be turned on for a few seconds again.
Once more the body became rigid. At 7:15 the current was turned
off for good.
At 7:17 the warden, raising his hand, announced:
448 TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF CZOLGOSZ.
"Gentlemen, the prisoner is dead."
The jury that witnessed the execution of Czolgosz and return©d the
formal finding in his case was composed as follows: Foreman, John P.
Jaeckel, Auburn; Ashley W. Cole, Albany; H. H. Bender, Albany; Charles
R. Skinner, Albany; George Weston, Norwich, N. Y.; D. L. Ingalls, West-
field; H. O. Ely, Binghamton; C. J. Wallace, Syracuse; Charles R. Huntley,
Buffalo; Dr. W. A. Howe, Phelps. N. Y.; Dr. G. R. Trowbridge, Buffalo,
and John A. Sleicher, New York.
The physicians were : Dr. Carlos F. MacDonald of New York and Dr.
Gerin of Auburn. Other witnesses were: E. Bonesteel, Troy; W. D. Wolff,
Rochester; C. F. Rattigan, Auburn; George R. Peck, Auburn, N. Y.; W. N.
Thayer, former warden of Dannemora prison, who assisted Warden Mead,
and three newspaper correspondents.
The following report of the autopsy was made by the physicians :
"The autopsy was made by Dr. Edward A. Spitzka of New York, under
the immediate supervision and direction of Dr. Carlos F. MacDonald of New
York and Dr. John Gerin, prison physician. The autopsy occupied over three
hours and embraced a careful examination of all the body organs, including
the brain.
"The examination revealed a perfectly healthy state of all the organs,
including the brain. All of the physicians who attended the execution were
present at the autopsy, and all concurred in the findings of the examiners.
"Carlos F. MacDonald,
"John Gerin,
"Edward A. Spitzka."
After the autopsy, the body was disposed of by the state authorities,
according to the following agreement with the assassin's brother:
"Auburn, N. Y., Oct. 28. — J. Warren Mead, Agent and Warden Auburn
Prison: I hereby authorize you as warden of Auburn prison to dispose of
the body of my brother, Leon F. Czolgosz, by burying it in the cemetery
attached to the prison, as provided by the law of the State of New York.
"This request is made upon the express understanding that no part of
the remains will be given to any person or society, but that the entire body
will be buried in accordance with the law in the cemetery attached to
the prison.
"Waldeck Czolgosz,
^ Witnesses: "John A. Sleicher,
"George E. Graham."
Czolgosz's father signed a similar agreement. , After the body was placed
in the grave, quicklime and acid were poured upon it to completely destroy it. v^
MU
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