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IIVD-JO^ v I 1 1 Memorial coition 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 Marshall Event* OUR MARTYR PRESIDENTS. 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 life 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" a 92SS10 4 PREFACE. 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, Buffalo 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 who knew the assassin tell of his belonging to Anarchist clubs and always preaching Anarchy 65 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. EMMA GOLDMAN, WOMAN LEADER OF ANARCHISTS. Description of the woman from whom the assassin learned the teachings of Anarchy 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 VI. 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 XI. 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 129 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 XVI. 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.... 185 CHAPTER XVII. McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, ELAINE AND HARRISON. Fr'jndship between three great statesmen McKinley always an enthusiastic Blaine man His honorable attitude toward the Ohio statesman Thrilling scene in a 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. National convention when delegates attempt to stampede to McKinley How 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 195 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 XXL 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 XXII. 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 XXIII. 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. 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 world 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 32! 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 *Jie 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 38^ 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 1 1, 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 Affre, Archbishop of Paris, on June 27, 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, on March 27, 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, 1860. 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. Prim, Marshal of Spain, on December 28; die'd on December 30, 1870. U 14 NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS. George Darboy, Archbishop of Paris, by communists, on May 24, 1871. Richard, Earl of Mayo, Governor General of India, by Shere AH, 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 n, 1878; by Dr. Nobiling on June 2, 1878. Mehemet Ali, Pasha, by Albanians on September 7, 1878. Lord Lytton, Viceroy of India, attempt by Busaon 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 Melikoff, 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 1 6, 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, 1 88 1. 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 Stambuloff, 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 tb* 4 - Persian ingenuity could invent. NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS. 16 Antonio Canovas del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain, shot to death by Michel Angolillo, alias Golli, 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. Emp'ress 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. OF presfoent WUtfam Born Miles, 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. Re-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. CHARACTERISTIC POSE OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. PRESIDENT, WM. McKINLEY. MRS. WILLIAM McKINLEY. MR. AND MRS. McKINLEY AND THEIR HOME AT CANTON, OHIO. MRS. McKINLEY, MOTHER OF THE PRESIDENT. WILLIAM McKINLEY IN HIS CANTON HOME. MISS HELEN McKINLEY. Copyright, 1901, by Clinediust, Washington, Photographer to the President. PRESIDENT . McKINLEY IN HIS LIBRARY. PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND MARSHALL EVERETT IN CONSUL- TATION DURING THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT. LEON CZOLGOSZ, THE ASSASSIN OF PRESIDENT McKlNLEY. ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. . . . The Life . . . 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. The day previous was President's day at the Exposition, and President McKinley had delivered what many believed to be the greatest 33 34 THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. speech of his life. 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, women 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 little 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 smilingly 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 with the bandaged hand, who extended the left 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 followed 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 officials 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 1 an operation, and Dr. Herman Mynter arrived soon after. The surgeons consulted and hesitated about performing an operation. The President reassured them by expressing 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 President. "Go ahead. Do whatever is proper." The anesthetic administered was ether, and fdr 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 largelr 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. His 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 ^ave 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 wielded 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> into 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 operation 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. 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 oveSr 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 Cdrtelyou 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, with 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 others, also set upon the object of their wrath. "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 of a moment before, to the wild, rushing, mighty roar of an infuriated crowd, was simply 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. .good judgment, considering the fact that a crowd of 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. Milbuirn went 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 would 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 12 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.,Mynter 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 1 130 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 this 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 Milburn 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 attempt 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 well; 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, 101 ; respiration, 27." Mrs. McKinley 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 Mrs. McKinley bowed her head in assent. Soon afterward Dr. Rixey lead her gently 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 fortunate 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 docto'rs 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. The 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, which later was one of the contributing causes of his death, was in part due to the sudden change from free use of cigars to 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 :2O until 1 1 120 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. This foreign material was, of course, removed, but a slight irritation of the tissues was produced, the evidence of which has appeared only tor-night. It has been necessary on account of this slight disturbance to remove a few stitches 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 wound 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. "Herman 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. Thev 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 was 100.4. That was at ten o'clock in the evening. The highest point reached by his pulse was 1 20 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 confidence 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 favored 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 to Washington when the dis- tinguished patient began to show signs of 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 so 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. PRESIDENT McKINLEY FALLING INTO ARMS OF CORTELYOU, SAYING: "AM I SHOT?" PRESIDENT McKINLEY BEING PUT IN THE AMBULANCE AFTER BEING SHOT. McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. 51 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 McKinley. 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 8 130 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 be 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 1>e 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 52 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 was 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 windows of the Milburn 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 the 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. Mann 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 with 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. Then 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 9:30 and with him was former Postniaster-*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 :i8 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 life. He sent for Dr. Rixey and questioned him and the doctor replied : "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 were issued by the physicians and others and sent by the newspaper reporters to their respec- tive papers. Beginning at 10:28 a. m. Dr. Mynter announced that the President had a fighting chance. Then came, at 1 145, '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 2 120 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 4 145 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 somewhat immediately after this, however, by the appearance from the house of Mrs. Abner McKinley and her daughter, Mrs. Herman Baer. The women drove away, 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 improvement since the last official bulletin was 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 would not speak, and, summoning a carriage, he drove away at full speed. Though no statement was given out, the appearance of every one about 56 McKINLEY'S FIGHT FOR LIFE. the Milburn 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. The news was flashed to the White House from an official source at Buffalo that at 5 145 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 five 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 wire 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, 1901, 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 surgery. 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 known he could not live to another sunrise. Friends, relatives, cabinet officers, 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 was 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 was 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. (JO 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 live but a few moments." Then signal service operators took possession of the telegraph wires leading to the house of death. Cabinet officers 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. He 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 of 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 difficult 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 McKlNLEY. 61 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 writing 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 were at the Milburn 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 was made to conceal it that the coming night would in all human probability be his last on earth. It was 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 62 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 ly'ng, 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. 3 "Nearer, My God, to Thee," 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, and 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 world 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 life 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 thrust 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-shaver, 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 followed 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 work 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 Emma 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 clays afterward he read in a Chicago paper that President McKinley was to visit the Pan-American Exposition and to remain in Buffalo for sev- 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 would 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 was in his mind, but the purpose was but half formed. 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 was 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 i m MRS. McKINLJEY BIDDING HER HUSBAND THE LAST FAREWELL. THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN. . 69 just closed the exit. The President was to arrive soon, and the police 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 was 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 where 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 was at the exposition again and was in the crowd at the railroad gate when the President arrived at that point after crossing 70 . THE STORY OF' THE ASSASSIN. the grounds from the Lincoln 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. "I did," was the reply. "What was the motive that induced you to commit this crime?" he was asked. "I am a disciple of Emma Goldman," he replied. 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 work. 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. "Diiring the last five years I have had as friends Anarchists in Chicago, .Cleveland, 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 in Cleveland and I and other Anarchists went to hear her. She set me on fire. "Her doctrine that all rulers should be exterminated was what set me to thinking so that my head nearly split with the pain. Miss Goldman's words went 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 what. 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, owns it. I told Nowak 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 tscape 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 was 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-caliber revolver and loaded it. "On Tuesday night I went to the Fair grounds and was near the raikoad 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 were 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 Wednesday I went to the grounds and stood right near the President, right under him near the stand from which 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 crowd was 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 were about him and formed a cordon that I could not get through. I n 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 itill burning me up. I waited near the central 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- kerchief. 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 uttejr 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 Paterson 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, Cleveland, Ohio, 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 soldier serving in the Philippines; Vladiolan, whc 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 denounced his son, saying he must have been mad. The stepmother could not speak English, but gave out the following inter- view through the medium of an interpreter. She said : "Leon left home sixty days before this tdrrible 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 : "I can't believe Leon is the one. He was such a timid boy, so afraid of everything. Why, he was the biggest coward you ever saw in your life." Leon Czolgosz was born in Alpena County, Michigan, and spent his early life there. Although the family was well 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 show that Leon Czolgosz was baptized either at Alpena or at Posen, where the family lived a short time before moving to Alpena. Czolgosz, the father, 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 was 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 Cleveland, 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 saw any evidences of viciousness in the family. He remembers Leon and said there was nothing unusual about jiim as a boy. He attended the parochial school, was devoted to his church, and remembers him as in every Avay 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 tirusted, and inquiries had to be made with great care. These 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 what had become of Leon. t 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 of 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 STORY OF THE ASSASSIN. 75 "Czolgosz made no secret of the fact that he was an Anarchist," said Anton Zwolinski, 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 would 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 temper. 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 Eagle 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 $i to pay my lodge dues. I paid $i 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 n. I am working here and will stay for some time. The fare from here to Buffalo is $5-15. "Hoping this finds you well, as it leaves me, 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 beginning 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. "I 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 born 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 without 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. My 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 and 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 of 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 know 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 America, but I had 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 will 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, though 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 delivered by Emma Goldman, the leader of the Anar- chist propaganda in America. This speech was delivered in Cleveland, O., the home of Czolgosz, May 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 strength 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 with 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. go 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 was 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 was 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 behind 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. "I 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 people who shake hands with me, can I? I had no remembrance of him. We went 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 was 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 would think him an utter fool and refuse to pay any attention to him. The 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 small 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. X 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 crystal'lized 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 with 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 wrongs 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, .who 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, would 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 why 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 work. 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 wore 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 warrants 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 Havel, 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 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. Chicago police of a telegram from the chief of police at Buffalo, reading as follows: i "We have in custody Leon Czoigosz, alias Fred Nieman, the President's assassin. Locate and arrest E. J. Isaak, who is editor of a socialistic paper and a follower of Emma Goldman, from whom Nieman 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'Neill and questioned. Isaak, Sr., was the first to be brought in, and he told his story without any suggestion of reticence, occasionally punctuat- ing his answers with anarchistic utterances, angry 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 out 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 about 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 house 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 would help him get work. "When 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 feHow was a spy, and I wanted to search PRESIDENT McKINLEY AT THE BEDSIDE OF HIS WIFE WHEN 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 Mrs. 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 went 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: 88 EMMA GOLDMAN, THE ANARCHIST LEADER. "I mean a country without government. We recognize neither law nor the right of one man to govern another. The trouble with the world is that it is struggling to abolish 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 is 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. "I 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 anarchistic group, was 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 p>!ay 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 belief, 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." That 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." He 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 became a philosopher. He 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 himself 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 a.ttack 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 military 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, Russia, 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 o 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 in 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 staff 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; we 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 starved 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 ^sked what made him an anarchist: 94 ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. "I became an anarchist on that very day that a policeman 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. When 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 was 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 St-irner. 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 1871 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. T*hey 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. They 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 geology 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 machinery of law. Johann Most 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 instructions 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 flag. 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 military 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 inflammatory speechmaking, but it is re- garded as a harmless venting of spleen in most cases; the actual movements of dangerous anarchists are closely observed. The United States government at Washington has a list of names and photographs of all the known anarchists of the world. ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS. 9T No city in America has had more experience in dealing with dangerous anarchists than Chicago. As early as 1850 there were disciples of anarchy among the foreign element there, but no attention was paid to them until as late as 1873, when 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, 1884, under the leadership of Albert R. Parsons, August Spies, Sam Fielden, and others they hoisted the black flag 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 would gratify their vanity and preclude the possibility of riot. That such a belief was fallacious, sub- sequent events proved. In 1886 came the agitation for the establishment of the eight-hour day, and the anarchist leaders were 1 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. Degan, 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. Of all the men who were subsequently arrested for this crime, only eight were 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 committed 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 n, 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 butchery, 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 about 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 hurrying 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 never, 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 center of interest for the civilized world, special preparations were 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. Ropes were stretched so that the crowds which were irresistibly drawn 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 ejected 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 more and more ominous, the feeling rose to fever heat, and there was a rush toward the police station where Czolgosz 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 protect 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 morning, 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. 101 This news only helped to direct attention from the dying President to the cell which held his assassin. That these preparations were quite necessary 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 mounted men galloped to and fro, holding the crowds in repression. New details of police from the 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 Sixty-fifth armory, less than a mile away. In order to divert the attention of the excited drowds, 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. The 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 insanity experts, who have had Czolgosz under their observation 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 Milburn residence, where 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 carrying all of them. Another battered coin, presumably a pocket piece, was in the left- hand pocket. The President's wallet was well worn and of black leather, about four inches by five. It was 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 found. 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 to 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 public 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. Mc^INLEY ALONE WITH HER BELOVED DEAD, PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S BODY LYING IN STATE AT BUFFALO. SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION. 105 Senator 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 when 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 Monday 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 General Brooke and Mr. Cortelyou, and we were 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 worst 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 motrning?" Everyone thought of Mrs. 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. McWilliams, 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 106 SCENES FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION. wife never would survive the shock. There were plenty who said and be- lieved that she would not live through 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 o>f 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 emergency hospital. 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 world as far as information on the 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 stili stands in the place that he must occupy until the last offices have been per- formed at the grave of Mr. McKinley. CHAPTER VIII. DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW. The Nation was thrown into a state of grief and indignation never before approached at the terrible news from Buffalo Friday, September 6th. Methods for transmitting intelligence have been vastly improved since the assassination of Garfield, since which time no such national calamity has befallen the United States. Poignant regret, intense indignation, and a feeling 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 brought 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 service. Dispatches from every State in the Union showed how widespread and in- tense was the feeling of dismay and the sense of personal affliction with which the news was 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 were 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 10 g 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 dignitaries 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 shown 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 tragedy, 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 sweet 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 woman, 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, Mass., 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. Mr. 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 was 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 where 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 110 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. The 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 of 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 of 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 new^ 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. Tine Emperor and I, horrified at DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW. Ill the attempt planned against your husband, express our deep-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, September 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 Mayor of London The 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 ^nay be spared for the welfare of the American people. From Vice Dean of Canterbury Cathedral Accept expression of deep sor- row at outrage upon President. Prayers offered for his recovery at all services in Canterbury Cathedral. From Lord Provost of Edinburgh In 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 people 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 VII. 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 was 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 was as great there as in the North. It is significant that much of this laudatory comment was coupled with grateful recognition of the work done by the President in unifying the two 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 attem.pt 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 whole matter." The 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 crowds. 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 crowed 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 jthe 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 mourned 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 of his life. It was a message to all the world, robust in its Americanism, and fraught with good will for all nations and all man- kind. It was 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 home. 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, "5 116 PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH. 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 the less so in the future. Without competition we would be clinging to the clumsy and antiquated processes of farming and manu- facture and the methods of business of long ago, and the twentieth would te 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. PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S LAST SPEECH. 117 The telegraph keeps us advised of what is occurring everywhere, and 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 line 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 accustomed are we to safe and easy communication with distant lands that its temporary 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 was 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 make 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. And 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 settlement of international disputes. PROSPERITY OF THE NATION. "My fellow citizens, trade statistics indicate that this country 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 which every part of the country has its stake, which will not permit of either neglect or of undue selfishness. No narrow, sordid policy will subserve it. The 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 haye 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. 119 we ougnt 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 7 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 will 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. Thes'e 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 times 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 flag, 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 ELAINE 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 Elaine is inseparably associated with the Pan-American movement, which finds this practical and substantial expression, and which we all hope will 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, more essential than these, relations of mutual respect, confidence and friendship, which will deepen and endure. "Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, hap- piness and peace to all our neighbors and like blessings to all the peoples and powers of earth." SECRETARY OF STATE, JOHN HAY. u CHAPTER X. WILLIAM McKINLEY'S BOYHOOD. William 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 while engaged in the iron industry, then in a primitive stage of development, at Niles, Ohio, that William 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 dis- 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 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 preparatory 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 were 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 McKlNLEY'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 inde- 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 winter 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 1860. 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 was 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; tfyat 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 16 WILLIAM McKINLErS 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 beer 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 with 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 when 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, with 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 1860. Young William had already taken an active interest in politics. He had "supported" Fremont because that explorer, traveler and soldier had won WILLIAM McKINLEY'S 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 giyen 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 Uncle 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 housekeeper, 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; an4 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 e- er 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 William 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 among 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 to Poland, where the Academy could offer 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 XL McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR. William McKinley 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 war 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 was 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 Presider t 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 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 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 ths 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 serve4 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL .WAR. x31 with hot coffee and warm meats, a thing that had never occurred under 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 Puval'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. The 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 officers. 132 McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR. The work accomplished on that day marked young Lieutenant McKinley 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 territory 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 ths 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 SOLDIK*. *N THE CIVIL WAR. 133 mand from the dilemma. There can be no question the service of Lieutenant William McKinley 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 how 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 w r as all too plain that the Union forces under command of Hunter in the valley were unable to cope with 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 Winchester 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 Cedar Creek, 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 years 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 n, 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: "I 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. 135 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 136 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 memory 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 righting, Hayes' brigade, which was engaged, drew back in the direction of Winchester. "Just 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 ' >etter work for his country in his future years. Out of this smoke emerged h..; 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, 'I 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 off, they turned, and, McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR. 137 foMowing the column, with it moved slowly to the rear, down 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 words, 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 when 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 warlike 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 which was given to the world 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. In 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 turf 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. 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 Republican. 5 could capture a county office. Anything like 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, always urbane, courteous, affable and yet dignified, he was preparing to discharge the duties they would lay upon him. 141 148 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. It has been stated in another part of this work that Major 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 i, 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, a.nd 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 Republican 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 McKinley's contention for the policy of protection. He met every sophistry of 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 to 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 Me- 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 man, 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 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 145 some opposition. They wanted the sport of a game fight, since they were sure they could not be defeated. But when they had listened 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 Republican 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 was 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 146 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 "horizontal 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 the 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 f,s barren of either knowledge or discrimination. And then it is not to stop McKINLEY 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. "It 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 which 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 the 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 Q. 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 were 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 ^16- 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 quarry- 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 18, 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 tariff? 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 like 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, which we cannot produce here, it sends to the peeple untaxed and free from custom-house exactions. Tea, coffee, spices and drugs are sueh 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 woolens, and sell alongside of our producers in our markets, we 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 office it encourages at the game 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 own 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. . 151 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 hi 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 with 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 when a Democratic revenue-tariff policy has prevailed, and fifty- two years under the protective policy, an^ : t 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 would 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 c^es 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 prosperk- 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 periences 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-off to eminence. What- 154 McKlNLEY 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 offices 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. The 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 compelled 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 unnecessary. McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. 155 "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 snuff, 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 jn 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 tariff 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 1860, after fourteen years of a revenue tariff, just the kind of a tariff 156 McKINLEY IN CONGRESS. that our political adversaries are advocating to-day, the business of the country was prostrated, agriculture was deplorably depressed, manufactur- ing was on the decline, and the poverty of the government, itself, made this Nation a by-word in the financial centers of the world. We neither had money nor credit. Both are essential; a nation can get on if it has abundant revenues, but if it has none it must have credit. We had neither as the legacy of the Democratic revenue tariff. We have both now. We have a surplus revenue and a spotless credit. I need not state what is so fresh in our minds, so recent in our history, as to be known to every gentleman who hears me, that from the inauguration of the protective tariff laws of 1861, the old Morrill tariff which has brought to that veteran statesman the highest honor and will give to him his proudest monument this condition changed. Confidence was restored, courage was inspired, the government started upon a progressive era under a system thoroughly American. "With a great war on our hands, with an army to enlist and prepare for service, with untold millions of money to supply, the protective tariff never failed us in a single emergency, and while money was flowing into our treas- ury to save the government, industries were springing up all over the land the foundation and cornerstone of our prosperity and glory. With a debt of over $2,750,000,000 when the war terminated, holding on to our protec- tive laws, against Democratic opposition, we have reduced that debt at an average rate of more than $62,000,000 each year, $174,000 every twenty- four hours for the last twenty-five years, and what looked like a burden almost impossible to bear has been removed under the Republican fiscal system, until now it is less than $1,000,000,000, and with the payment of this vast sum of money the Nation has not been impoverished, the individual citizen has not been burdened or bankrupted, National and individual pros- perity have gone steadily on, until our wealth is so great as to be almost in- comprehensible when put into figures. "The accumulations of the laborers of the country have increased, and the working classes of no nation in the world have such splendid deposits in savings banks as the working classes of the United States. Listen to their story: The deposits of all the savings banks of New England in 1886 equaled $554,532,434. The deposits in the savings banks of New York in 1886 were $482,686,730. The deposits in the savings banks of Massa- chusetts for the year 1887 were $302,948,624, and the number of depositors was 944,778, or $320.67 for each depositor. The savings banks of nine States have in nineteen years increased their deposits $628,000,000. The McKIXLEY IX CONGRESS. 3 English savings banks have in thirty-four years increased theirs $350,000. ooo. Our operative deposits $7 to the English operative's $i. These vast sums represent the savings of the men whose labor has been employed under the protective policy which gives, as experience has shown,. the largest possible reward 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 which you 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. "First, 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 would revel in unre- luU 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 history 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 tariff. 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 was 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 William McKinley began \vlch the rise of the protective era, and ended with the passing of that system as a dominant and paramount policy in the history of the American republic. His life embraces the era of protection to American industry. As he waj 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 bf, fairly said that there was no protective tariff, as such, until the close of tl'xc war. Such efforts in that direction as had been made under the leadership of Henry Gay and the earlier theorists among statesmen never rose to t> 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 - 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 ^ .2 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- McKIXLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO. 173 ary 9, the governor received a message from the chairman of the Relief Com- mittee, saying*: "Immediate relief needed." He at once sent messengers to the proprietor of a wholesale grocery, a dealer in vegetables, flour, etc., a transfer company and the officials of the Hocking Valley Railroad Company to meet him immediately at his rooms. The object of the meeting was for the purchase of a carload of 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 within 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 of departments the larger pro- portion of the amount, which they turned over to him, this being added to his own 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 was 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 work 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 v vas 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 of 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. 1T4 , McKIXLKY" 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 was ordered to inquire i':to his action, and he was exonerated. The governor sustained him throughout, and said concerning the occurrence : "The law \vas upheld as it should have beeiVancl, as I believe, it always will be in Ohio but in this case at fearful cost. Much as the destruction of life which 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 be 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 county, 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 were 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 much other property, and caused the sacrifice of many lives before order was restored. WILLIAM McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO. 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 country 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 what 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. Thus, in 1876, when McKinley 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 was 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 1,800. But this McKinley overcame with a majority of 1,30x3. 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 Mc- 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 j63 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 life. 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 was 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. 179 the work of William McKinley. 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 Mr. 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 7 first speech in Con- gress was on the tariff and his last discussed the same theme. 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 with 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 McKinlev 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, W'scon- 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 Tariff 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. Tlie 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 were always models of unaffected art. There was never anything 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 won distinction for his uniform courtesy to men and deference to women. He had the same power 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 when he was not plainly devoted to his invalid wife. All the world loves a noble, trre lover, and such McKinley was, tender and gallant to his sweetheart wife, as he ever was before they were married a quarter of a century ago-. 183 McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER, Illustrative of this, and exhibiting 1 another phase of his campaigning, wa an incident of June 18, 1896. Major McKinley believed, as did nearly every other person in the United Statos 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 while seated in his comfortable cottage home at Canton, Ohio. Here were assembled a few 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 watched him through so many years in his ever upward course, she who 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 politics 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.j 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 McKinley 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. 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 his faithfulness 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." On 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 in 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 with it, arm 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, throwing 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 aad tfce 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, which 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 knew 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 were heavy, and it became necessary for him 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 salary 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 own, 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 fime, 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 Mr. 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 cf a liability of $15,000, his name was on paper amounting to nearly $100,- ooo! The Governor was under the impression that many of the notes he had signed were executed for the purpose of taking up notes previously ^iven 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: "I 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 were: H. H. Kohlsaat, Chicago; Myron 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. Raima, 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. Thr-e is but one thing for me to do one thing I would do meet this un- locked 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 disinterested friendship. His friends were not to be denied, how- 1*8 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 thej 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 public 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 XVII. McKINLEY'S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, ELAINE AND HARRISON. Governor McKiniey's splendid rec< >rd as a public servant 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 McKiniey'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 "Elaine" man at this convention. In supporting Mr. Elaine he but repre- sented the overwhelming sentiment of the Mahoning valley; and yet, while he favored Mr. Elaine, 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. Elaine, but if that was impossible, Ohio should cast a solid vote for Mr. Sherman. The 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 Elaine 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 Elaine 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 HJS 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 now 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 himself 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 time 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 Elaine forces. Three ballots had been taken. Elaine 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 Elaine, he said, he recognized and respected the rights of the friends of other candidates to secure an adjournment, and concluded: McKIXLEY'S LOYALTY TO HIS FRIENDS. 191 "Let the motion be put and let everybody favorable to the nomination of Elaine vote against it." That settled it. Under Major McKinley's leadership, assumed spontan- eously and boldly, the Elaine 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 Elaine men were getting demoralized and the convention was turning itself into a mob, the Major, leaping to the front, by one command marshaled the Elaine 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 was 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 his 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 understanding 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 Harrison. 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 toll 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, -md both the house and senate had large Democratic majori- 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 FAMILY PHYSICIAN. GOVERNOR McKINLEY IN HIS LIBRARY GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO HIS POLITICAL MANAGERS. (1896.) CHAPTER XVIII. FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. At no time in the history of the Republican party has there been such an ar- ray of brilliant 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 William 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 1860, that nominated Abraham Lincoln, and a Senator, who had made a national and well-deserved fame for patriotic statesmanship, was another, now 195 19C 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 Platt, the shrewd and powerful manipulator of politics 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 Manley of Maine at the very moment when his influence and assistance was most necessary seriously 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 skirmishing 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 who had been, theretofore, but little interested in politics became enthusiastic champions of the man from Ohio. FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. 197 William McKinley had been before the people, not as a candidate for President, but as the ardent advocate of measures that intelligent persons thought more of national prosperity than of partisan politics. The quick- seeing 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 in 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 fought for others in the convention, but the will of the people carried. 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- posed the "Ohio idea" and fought desperately. Platt, the most adroit of them all, threatened, cajoled, combined and bluffed. Reed's managers tried tact, diplomacy, compromise and all else available, the opponents of McKinley of 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 convention 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 one that required strong, unfailing nerve to face it. As strong a factor as the tariff always was and always will be, it was temporarily relegated to the background, as there was not a possibility of serious dissension upon the ques- tion of protection, for which the party of the convention naturally stood, under any circumstances. But unquestionably there was a wide variance in many quarters between the "gold" and "silver" men. While the East and the older sections of our country were uncompromising in their demand for gold as the single standard, some of the 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 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 16, 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. Charles 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 with many expressions of approval. At its conclusion the necessary officials of the con- vention were appointed, the members of the various committees announced, 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 Arnett 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 545^ to 359^. This vote was considered a test one between McKinley and his opponents and removed all doubts of the invincibility of the O'hio 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. \ 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 16 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 10 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 n, the member from Oklahoma having joined the silver men. The convention came together 0*1 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 moisture gathered in the eyes of the speaker as he looked out over the sea of faces and felt that he had 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 was 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 o>f 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; Utah, 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. The 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 the 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. The 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, marching 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 Cheers for the Red, White and Blue." The silver delegates who withdrew were Congressman Hartman of Mon- 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" Cheers 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 'velcome as he made his way to 2U4 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 that may be 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 PRESIDED. 205 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, were 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 Senator 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. Ohio'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 mahogany frame, decorated with red, white and blue ribbons, and with a bow of maroon-colored ribbons [forming 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. Elaine 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. The quiver is empty, and he is untouched. That 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. They 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." (More ap- plause.) The high-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 2.2. 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 66 1^ 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 could 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 cocked 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: FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. McKinley. Morton. Quay. Reed. Allison. Maine I2 Maryland 15 * Massachusetts i . . . . 29 Michigan 28 Minnesota 18 Mississippi.. 17 l Missouri 34 * Montana i Nebraska 16 Nevada 3 New Hampshire New Jersey 19 l New York 17 55 North Carolina 19^ .. .. 2^ North Dakota 6 Ohio 46 Oregon 8 Pennsylvania 6 . . 58 Rhode Island 8 South Carolina 18 South Dakota 8 Tennessee 24 Texas 21 .. .. 5 3 Utah 3 3 Vermont 8 Virginia 23 . . . . i Washington 8 West Virginia 12 Wisconsin 24 Wyoming 6 Arizona 6 New Mexico 5 .. .. .. i Oklahoma 4 .. .. I I Indian Territory 6 District of Columbia . . . . i i Alaska 4 Totals 66i| 58 6i| 84* 35* * 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 Penn- FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDED x. 209 sylvania, who had nominated Quay, seconded the motion, as did Thomas C. Platt on behalf of New York, Mr. Henderson, of Iowa, and J. Madison Vance, of Louisiana. In answer to loud calls Mr. Depew 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. This 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 o>f 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 Kentucky, who declared the Republican party "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; Lippitt, 8; Walker, 24; Reed, 3; Thurs- ton, 2 ; Frederick Grant, 2 ; Depew, 3 ; Morton, i ; absent, 23. 210 FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT. Then at ten minutes to eight o'clock, the eleventh National Republican Convention adjourned sine die. Six hundred miles away, 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 orr the porch of his cottaee 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 period. 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, which had long been a cherished principle of the party, also had its place in the platform. The 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 months, 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 oi the land were familiar with its arguments. Those of opposite beliefs had not been asleep during this period. They had 213 214 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. 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-horses 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 was 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 sup'port 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 which 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 questions. 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 were cast to show how much silver at the prevailing price would have to go into a dollar, to make it the equivalent oi 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 with 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 our iron mills. The ounce of silver has maintained its parity with 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 to 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 we 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 1 8 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 i8g( 217 dimension, and all the gold can be melted into a cube of 18 or 20 fete. 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 wheat. 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, 'I 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, 'I 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 known 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 money 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. "With 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 parity 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 income 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 Julius C. Burrows, of Michigan, in replying to free coinage argument, said : "Coin silver dollars at the ratio of 1 6 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 upon 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 with 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 bimetallism, 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 ar-e not. We have bimetallism to-day. 220 THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. "The free and unlimited coinage of silver at any of the ratios nameu 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 well 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 him. 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 ^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 sufferings, 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 221 222 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 were taken to Havana, and condemned to death, without trial. August 1 6, 1851, an immense crowd gathered to witness the execution. The prisoners were ordered to kneel, facing a stone wall, and with 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, while 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 was 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 fheir 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 i ; berally gathered in New Yor'c, 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 Havana, clearing out the rebels as far as the province of Santiago de Cuba; but insurmountable difficulties interfered with his pur- pose. The insurgents were familiar with the ground, were 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 was 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 Roloff secretary of war, 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 in- 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 n, 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 CLOUt). 22$ 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. The 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, within 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- S26 THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD. mander-in-chief. 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 Republic'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 never 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 employed, 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 XXL * 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 efficacious 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 227 228 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 was 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 I5th 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 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. 231 a deed by whomsoever wrought. Yet the instinct of justice j revailed 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 pth 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 Ftivoys, addressed to the Executive an expression of hope that humanity and moderation might mark the 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 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 offers 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 my 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- McKINLEVS 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 proteci life and property of our citizens in Cuba, the right to check injury to c"-r commerce and people through the devastation of the island, inc. most important, the need of removing at once and forever the constant menace and the burdens entailed upon o^r 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 it 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 ipth of April, by a vote of 42 to 35 in the Senate and 311 to 6 in the House of Representatives, 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 jthe 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 Cub.*, 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 cal 1 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 disclaims 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. He 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 tlie 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 2ist, 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- garding the act as "equivalent to an evident declaration of war," had ordered its 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 used by me to meet the enlarged contingency of actual war between Spain and the United 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 accordingly voted on the same day the act approved April 25, 1898, declaring the existence of such war, from and including the 2ist day of April, and re-enacted the provisions of the resolution of April 2Oth, directing the President to use all the armed forces of the nation to carry that act into effect. Due notification of the existence of war as aforesaid was given April 25th by telegraph to all the governments with which the United States maintain relations, in order that their neutrality might be assured during the war. The various governments responded with proclamations of neutrality, each after its own methods. It is not among the least gratifying incidents 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 26th, a procla- mation announcing the treatment proposed to be accorded to vessels and 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 hostilities 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 volunteers. 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 I5th 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 iQth district officers were 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 at tne 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 fire at Manila, and later the Manila-Hong- kong cable was reopened. In Porto Rico cable communications 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. The day pre- vious to the landing of General Shafter's corps at Caimanera, within twenty 238 McKINLEY'5 OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. miles of thr 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 and 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 I3th, 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 oft'ered 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 ist 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 fleet, 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 effect 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 guns. t On the 7th day of May the government was 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 was received on the I5th day of May, and the first army expedition sailed May 25th and arrived off 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 power 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 MO 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 fro/m 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 I3th the North Atlantic squadron shelled San Juan de Porto Rico. On May 3Oth 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 was 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 i6th additional forces were landed and strongly intrenched. On June 226. the advance of the invading army under Major-General Shafter landed at Baiquiri, about fifteen miles east of Santiago. This was accom- plished under great difficulties, but with marvelous dispatch. On June 2$d 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 were 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 Oquendo, 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 was 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 which neither ancient nor modern history affords a parallel in the com- pleteness of the event and the marvelous disproportion of casualties it would be invidious to single out any for especial honor. 24 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY OF THE SPANISH WAR. - Deserved promotion has rewarded the more conspicuous actoia 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 I5th, when, under menace of immediate assault, the preliminaries of surrender were agreed upon. On the 1 7th 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 1 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 v.-here 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 2ist, having nine transports convoyed by the fleet under Captain Higginson, with the Massachusetts (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 officers and men. On July 27 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 I2th 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 1 5th, after a brief assault upon the works by the land forces, in which the squadron assisted, the capital surrendered unconditionally. The 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 war 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 total 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 United States only two months. 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 with 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 commendation. 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 women 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 Admiral Cervera's fleet, followed by the capitulation 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 the friendly representative of Spanish interests during the war. On the 26th of July M. Cambon presented a communication signed by the Duke of Almo-lovar, the Spanish Minister of State, inviting the United States to state the terms upon which it would be willing to make peace. On July 3Oth, by a communication addressed to the Duke of Alrnodovar 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, was 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 I2th, 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 which 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 McKINLEY'S OWN STORY O* THE SPANISH WAR. 249 stipulated evacuation of Cuba, Porto Rico and other Spanish islands in the West Indies. The fifth article provided for the appointment of not more than five com- missioners on each side to meet at Paris not later than October 1st 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 1 2th, suspending hostilities on the part of the United States. The 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 and 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 350 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 pla*:e 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 interesting 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: 252 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 545>7 8 3 Gadsden Purchase 10,500,000 45>535 Alaska 7,200,000 577,390 $66,200,000 2,769,040 ANNEXATION FROM 1893 TO 1901: Amount Paid. Square Miles. Hawaii 6,740 Philippine Islands $20,000,000 1 14,000 Porto Rico 3,6oo $20,000,000 124,340 Square Miles. Original territory 827,844 Annexed first 1 10 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 McKinley 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. They 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 effectively 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 ; .n 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 Febru- McKINLEY AND EXPANSION. 255 ary 8, 1897, transmitted to the Department of State the official 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. The official table, as prepared at the census office, in 1890, is: Nationality. Males. Females. Total. Hawaiian . - 16,399 14,620 31.019 Part Hawaiian , . 4,249 4,^36 8,485 American , 1,975 i, in 3,086 British 1,406 844 2,250 German 866 566 i, 43 2 French 56 45 IOI Norwegian 216 162 378 Portuguese 8,202 6,989 15,191 Japanese . . . 19,212 5,*95 24,407 Chinese , . . 19,167 2,449 21,616 South Sea Islanders 321 134 455 Other nationalities 448 152 600 Total 72,517 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 Shatter'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 offer quite a stubborn dispute. The Porto Ricans, on the contrary, while wanting the Spaniards expelled, had never made much effort 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- 25L 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 crtd 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, which 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, which, 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 1510, two years after his first visit, by Juan Ponce De Leon, Governor of the Island of Haiti, then known as Hispaniola. He won 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 feet, 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. Coffee 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 are 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, Babuyanes, Polillo, Calandu- anes, Mindoro, Marinduque, Burias, Masbate, etc., lying adjacent) on the 258 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 10 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 loo.ooo 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-fighting, etc. At the time of American occupation there were six daily papers: "El Diario de Manila," "La Oceania Espafiola," published in the morning, and "El Comercio," "La Voz Espaiiola," "El Espanol," 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, 43,408. 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 b 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 Ameri- 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 who 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 ., 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 was 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 United 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 fight 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 was 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. Senator Platt, 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. Th( 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 SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION. 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 th'at 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 encouragement for international bimetallism, we have passed a law strengthening the gold standard and planting it more firmly than ever in our financial system, improving our banking laws, buttressing our credit, and refunding the public debt at 2, per cent interest, the lowest rate in the world. It was a great work well done." Concerning the war with Spain he said: "Here they are, these great feats: A war of a hundred days, with many victories and no defeats, with no prisoners taken from us, and no advance stayed; with a triumphant outcome startling in its completeness and in its world-wide meaning. Was ever a war more justly entered upon, more 268 SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION. quickly 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 ours; 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 we have ever known, has followed these enactments. There is no SECOND NOMINATION AND ELECTION. 269 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 office 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 over 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 thought 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 I7th, 1900, resulting in the taking of the forts by the foreign fleets after a brisk bombardment,: and, I 272 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 j 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 I 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." I It had about 4,000,000 members in the Empire, and while j 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 V China, its hatred of all foreigners was the predominating spirit. The "Box- rs" 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 V 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 C 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. r 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 j Sanskrit literature, but little was known of it! It was called by the earliest 1 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 Wes. This name probably reached Europe through the Arabs. In 1840 China had her first experience with a civilized power. She ha'd 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 military 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 S 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 1 to this, for it soon became apparent that the Dowager Empress was friendly \to the "Boxers." Small bodies of imperial troops were sent against the r'Boxers," but the latter easily overcame the soldiers, who at once joined tthem. 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 with different names but similar purposes, McKINLEY AND CHINESE CRISIS. 275 waged constant war against the foreigners. They 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. f 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- L 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, 27G 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 cr 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 rict on the pretext of securing the inauguration of reforms, 7 ' 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," were to be favored. The "Boxers" asso- ciation was openly a society for the cultivation of gymnastics, but secretly 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. However, 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 war 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 relief 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 ^-y sort, while the United States troops did what they could to prevent lootfng 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 we 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 Wheeler. 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 iQth 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 McfctNLEY 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 difficulty, 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 awaited with 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 igth 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 what 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 representatives 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 made 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 would 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 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 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 McKinley 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 would have been overthrown. If these are conceded, it must follow that the preparation for the newer era, developed from 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 286 McKINLEY: 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 coffers 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 proc^oS 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 attained its growth, McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 287 had reached its manhood, there was a protest against a continuance of cruelty. The Republic demanded that the Don cease from troubling; 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 was 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 power in the old world from extending its rule in the new. It is but a logical sequence of that system that an old world power which 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 foreign 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, served 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 were 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 say 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 gossamer 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 was 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 T vva& a McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER. 291 local event, due solely to conditions existing there. American interests of merchant and missionary, of embassador and traveller, of scientist and scholar were all affected by those massacres which amazed the world. Imagine, if you 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 sec nothing but small things; because he can not appreciate the changes whii ii 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 mainland?" 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; we 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 McKINLEY. "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 abcut 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 was 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 see 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 Mrs. 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 woman who deserved and might have had a world of happiness, a heaven of domestic joy on earth, never again was 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, 296 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 would 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 wife; 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 be 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 official 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 McKlNLEY'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 1860, 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 we are contending 'that this Nation under God 300 McKINLEY'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. McKINLEY'S EULOGY OF LINCOLN. 303 Lincoln taught them, and has taught us, that no party or partisan can escape responsibility 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 public 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/ " 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-Presideht. 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 who>, 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 o>f 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 Mil- 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 establish 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 with Colonel Roosevelt, and, step- ping back, while 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 Mc- Kinley. Mr. Root's chin was on his breast. Suddenly throwing back his head as if with an effort, he continued in broken voice : "I 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 admirably, and with the deep solemnity of the occasion full upon him, he announced to those present that his aim would be 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 Theodore 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. The 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 form* of direct help to the poorer classes found in him a champion. His ancestors had been aldermen, PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES OATH. 307 judges of the supreme court of the city, and representatives in the National Congress. In revolutionary 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 Matterhorn, 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 history 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 308 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 and 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, was 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. Elaine, 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 which 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 M\ Roosevelt was also busy on much of his literary work. The most important of his works "The Winning of the West," a history 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 life among the men and the game of the West have supplied 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 (first 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 was 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 Jiistorical 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 Mr. 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. When the great ex- tensions afterward made by the President were first proposed to Mr. 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 which 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, an( l 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 whole force was in a state of fright. The new commissioner made night rounds himself, and, being unknown 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 was 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 apparent 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 continued. 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 1-9, 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 realized 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 w.ith 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 office a great interest in the work, as well as the tremendous energy and talent for closely studying and mastering his work wljich 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 Mr. Roosevelt was a strong advocate of the naval personnel bill. He was also in charge of the purchase of auxiliary 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 when 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 were 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 went to the rendezvous at Tampa. But when 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, where 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 powder, 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 n, 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. 31? Juan, where they withstood a heavy fire 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. Insufficient 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 sensation. 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 Wikoff, at the northern extremity of Long Island, in late August, and on September 15, 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. The 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." CHAPTER XXIX. GREAT EVENTS OF THE WORLD DURING 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 term. 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 oi 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 \vas made to pay a heavy indemnity and to cede Thessaly to> Turkey at the ireaty oi 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 1 159^. 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 MaYch 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. 323 March 12 Spain offered armistice to the Cuban insurgents. March 25 Report of the Maine Court of Inquiry delivered to the President 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'sfleet. 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 harbor 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 '* Shatter. 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 1815. 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 Is'ands 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 2Oth of that GREAT EVENTS DURING McKINLEY'S ADMINISTRATIONS. M 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 Ladysmith 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 Lawton 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 fire 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 a full admiral by Congress March 3. Charles M. Murphy 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 Elihu 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, Ladysmilh 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 27. 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 22. Next in importance to the Boer war was the Boxer uprising in China, which horrified the entire civilized world by 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 was 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 was 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 were 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 VII. 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 ADMINISTRATIONS. 329 The strike was not well organized and many of the men refused to obey the 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 Platt 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 came 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 held at the Milburn house in Buffalo, Sunday, September 15, at n o'clock. At the house on!y the President's wife, his relatives, his personal friends, and his official family were gathered 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 t might have been sixty seconds. It seemed longer. Then 330 THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO. 331 the President turned and advanced one step. He 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 ito 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. A:> ,.,...