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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
No figure of modern American history appeals so strongly to the patriotism 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 t
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NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS AND ATTEMPTS OF RECENT TIMES.
NOTABLE ASSASSINATIONS AND ATTEMPTS OF RECENT TIMES.
George III. of England, attempt by Margaret Nicholson on August 2, 1786, and by James Hatfield on May 15, 1800. Napoleon I. of France, attempt by use of an infernal machine on December 24, 1800. Czar Paul of Russia, killed by nobles of his court on March 24, 1801. Spencer Percival, Premier of England, killed by Bellingham on May 11, 1812. George IV. of England, attempt on January 28, 1817. August Kotzebue of Germany, killed by Earl Sand for political motives on March 23, 1819. Charles duc de Ber
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Chronology OF President William McKinley
Chronology OF President William McKinley
CHARACTERISTIC POSE OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY. PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND HIS WAR CABINET OF 1898. PRESIDENT, WM. McKINLEY. MRS. WILLIAM McKINLEY. MR. AND MRS. McKINLEY AND THEIR HOME AT CANTON, OHIO. MRS. McKINLEY, MOTHER OF THE PRESIDENT. Copyright by Clinedinst, Washington, the President’s Photographer. PRESIDENT McKINLEY TAKING AN AFTERNOON DRIVE. WILLIAM McKINLEY IN HIS CANTON HOME. MISS HELEN McKINLEY. Copyright, 1901, by Clinedinst, Washington, Photographer to the President. PRESIDENT McKINLEY IN
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THE FATAL SHOTS.
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 first bullet entered too high for the pur
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ASKS IF HE IS SHOT.
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
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DR. McBURNEY’S STATEMENT.
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 inflammation 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
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CHAPTER III. DEATH-BED OF PRESIDENT McKINLEY.
CHAPTER III. DEATH-BED 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 Milburn home, at Buffalo, there had been a continually rising barometer of hope. Frightful as had been the shock of his wound, serious as were
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CHAPTER IV. THE STORY OF THE ASSASSIN.
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 t
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WOMAN’S EQUALITY IN RUSSIA.
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 whe
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CHAPTER VI. ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
CHAPTER VI. ANARCHISM AND ITS OBJECTS.
Within a few minutes after the shooting of President McKinley at Buffalo, 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 exclaimed: “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 a
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CHAPTER VII. SCENES AT BUFFALO FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION.
CHAPTER VII. SCENES AT BUFFALO FOLLOWING THE ASSASSINATION.
The people of Buffalo and the visitors within their gates behaved admirably 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 no
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CHAPTER VIII. DAYS OF ANXIETY AND SORROW.
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 reach
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BENEFIT IN EXPOSITIONS.
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, 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
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INVITES FRIENDLY RIVALRY.
INVITES FRIENDLY RIVALRY.
“The Pan-American Exposition has done its work thoroughly, presenting 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 manifold achievements of others, it invites the friendly r
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ANNIHILATION OF SPACE.
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 precision 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 father
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COMPARISON IS DRAWN.
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 government, 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
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DARK DAYS AT PEKING.
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; n
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PROSPERITY OF THE NATION.
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 throughout 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
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FOR ENLIGHTENED POLICY.
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 we ought to be looking to the future, strengthening the weak places in our industrial and commercial systems, so that we may be ready for any storm or strain. “By sensible trade arrangements which will not interrupt our home production we shall extend the outlets for our increasing surplus. A system which provides a mutual exchange of commodities is man
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NEED OF EXPANSION.
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. Reciprocity treaties are in harmony 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 abroa
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GIVES BLAINE CREDIT.
GIVES BLAINE CREDIT.
“In furtherance of these objects of national interest and concern you are performing an important part. This exposition would have touched the heart of that American statesman whose mind was ever alert and thought ever constant for a larger commerce and a truer fraternity of the republics of the new world. His broad American spirit is felt and manifested here. He needs no identification to an assemblage of Americans anywhere, for the name of Blaine is inseparably associated with the Pan-American
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CHAPTER X. WILLIAM McKINLEY’S BOYHOOD.
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 b
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CHAPTER XI. McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
CHAPTER XI. McKINLEY AS A SOLDIER IN THE CIVIL WAR.
William McKinley was but eighteen years old when the war of the rebellion 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 marching away for the field of battle. William McKinley, Sr., was a
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CHAPTER XII. McKINLEY IN CONGRESS.
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
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CHAPTER XIII. McKINLEY’S LIFE WAS PROTECTION’S ERA.
CHAPTER XIII. McKINLEY’S LIFE WAS PROTECTION’S ERA.
It is a curious fact that the public service of William McKinley began with 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 was its most sagacious and successful champion, as he in his labors expressed that thought as the controlling motive in governmental policy, so his death falls in the year when a protective tariff is recogn
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CHAPTER XIV. McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
CHAPTER XIV. McKINLEY AS GOVERNOR OF OHIO.
Major McKinley’s defeat for Congress in 1890 resulted in his nomination and triumphant election as governor of the State of Ohio. The passage of the “McKinley Bill” made the major the target for the vilest abuse from the free traders of the country, and from those whose mental range would never qualify them to judge of statecraft. But at the same time it stimulated his friends in his own State, and they determined not to lose his valuable services. The Republican press of the State clamored for
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CHAPTER XV. McKINLEY AS A CAMPAIGNER.
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
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CHAPTER XVI. GOVERNOR McKINLEY’S FINANCIAL TROUBLES.
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 s
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CHAPTER XVII. McKINLEY’S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, BLAINE AND HARRISON.
CHAPTER XVII. McKINLEY’S LOYALTY TO SHERMAN, BLAINE AND HARRISON.
Governor McKinley’s splendid record 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 McKinley’s claims to leadership—or at least to be considered as one of the p
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CHAPTER XVIII. FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
CHAPTER XVIII. FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT.
At no time in the history of the Republican party has there been such an array of brilliant and worthy men before the country named for the honor of Presidential candidates as at that period when the National Republican Convention 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 organization, whose first President, a pioneer of universal freedom, a pathfinder across the western wilderness that is now an empir
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CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896.
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
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CHAPTER XX. THE SPANISH WAR CLOUD.
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 attempts at revolution were pathetic beyond words and the war for independence that eventuated in American assistance that made Cuba free resembled in many respects the sufferings, hardships and sacrifices of our o
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DESTRUCTION OF THE MAINE.
DESTRUCTION OF THE MAINE.
At this juncture, on the 15th of February last, occurred the destruction of the battleship Maine, while rightfully lying in the Harbor of Havana on a mission of international courtesy and good will—a catastrophe the suspicious 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,
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VAIN EFFORTS TO AVERT WAR.
VAIN EFFORTS TO AVERT WAR.
Still animated by the hope of a peaceful solution and obeying the dictates 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, returnin
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DECISIVE ACTION BY CONGRESS.
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 with a formal recognition of the republic of Cuba as the true and lawful government of that island—a proposition which failed of adoption—the Congress, after conference, on the 19th of April, by a vote of 42 to 35 in the Senate and 311 to 6 in the House of Representatives, passed the
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FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR.
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
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RECRUITING OF ARMY AND NAVY.
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 15th of
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PATRIOTISM IN BOND BIDS.
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 appropriation, 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
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DEWEY’S HISTORIC VICTORY.
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 construction. The next engagement was destined to mark a memorable epoch in maritime 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 bein
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CAMPAIGN IN CUBA REVIEWED.
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 Rico. Meanwhile naval demonstrations were made at several exposed points. On May 11th 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 nava
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DESTRUCTION OF THE ARMADA.
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 Spanish 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 enem
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OCCUPATION OF PORTO RICO.
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, where he had arrived on the 11th of July, with re-enforcements for General Shafter’s army. With these troops, consisting of 3,415 infantry and artillery, two companies of engineers, and one company of the signal corps, General Miles left Guantanamo on July 21st, having nine trans
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WAR’S LAST SCENE AT MANILA.
WAR’S LAST SCENE AT MANILA.
The last scene of the war was enacted at Manila, its starting place. On August 15th, after a brief assault upon the works by the land forces, in which the squadron assisted, the capital surrendered unconditionally. 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 1st of May, was formally sealed. To General Merritt, his officers and men, for their u
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LOSSES OF ARMY AND NAVY.
LOSSES OF ARMY AND NAVY.
The total casualties in killed and wounded during the war were as follows: 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 unfamiliar 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 se
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SIGNING OF THE PROTOCOL.
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 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 Almodovar, the Spanish Min
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CESSATION OF STRIFE.
CESSATION OF STRIFE.
Immediately upon the conclusion of the protocol I issued a proclamation on August 12th, 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 18th the muster out of 100,000 volunteers, or as near that number as was found to be practicable, was ordered. On December 1st, 101,165 officers and men had been mustered out and discharged
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WORK OF EVACUATION.
WORK OF EVACUATION.
The Porto Rican joint commissions speedily accomplished its task, and by October 18th 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 for themselves. This should be undertaken at the earliest moment consistent with safety and assured success. It is important that our relations with
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CHAPTER XXII. McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
CHAPTER XXII. McKINLEY AND EXPANSION.
When the thirteen original states won freedom from England and independence 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
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CHAPTER XXIII. SECOND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF 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 wa
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CHAPTER XXIV. PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND THE CHINESE CRISIS.
CHAPTER XXIV. PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND THE CHINESE CRISIS.
When, in 1899 and 1900 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 President McKinley. The result was like that of all other affairs in which the comity of nations has been involved, during President M
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CHAPTER XXV. McKINLEY: BUILDER OF A WORLD POWER.
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 can
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CHAPTER XXVI. PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM McKINLEY.
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 about his escapades which absolutely prevented them from partaking of the nature of cruelty and saved him at all times from acts which might bring shame in their train
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CHAPTER XXVII. McKINLEY’S EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
CHAPTER XXVII. McKINLEY’S EULOGY OF LINCOLN.
In self-sacrifice and patriotism, President McKinley reflected many qualities of Abraham Lincoln. How closely he had studied the character of the great Lincoln is shown in an address delivered by Mr. McKinley on Lincoln’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 b
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CHAPTER XXVIII. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES THE OATH OF OFFICE.
CHAPTER XXVIII. PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT TAKES THE OATH OF OFFICE.
Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States at 3:32 o’clock Saturday afternoon, September 14, 1901. The oath of office was administered 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 Pre
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CHAPTER XXIX. GREAT EVENTS OF THE WORLD DURING PRESIDENT McKINLEY’S ADMINISTRATIONS.
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 of the nation. The Democratic party made the money question paramount, and the Republican victory on that issue induced McKinley to call an extra session of Congress eleven day
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CHAPTER XXX. THE FUNERAL SERVICE AT BUFFALO.
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 11 o’clock. At the house only 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
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CHAPTER XXXI. LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
CHAPTER XXXI. LYING IN STATE IN BUFFALO.
The funeral services of William McKinley, the man, took place in the Milburn house in Buffalo, Sunday morning, September 15. The funeral of William McKinley, the President, commenced the next afternoon in the official residence of the city where he died. At the city hall in Buffalo everything was as he, who never denied the people’s desire to meet him face to face, and who paid with his life for the self-sacrifice, would have had it. From noon into another day, the reverent thousands upon thousa
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CHAPTER XXXII. THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER XXXII. THE FUNERAL TRAIN TO WASHINGTON.
From the scene of President McKinley’s assassination to the Capital of the nation the hearse of the murdered President made its way. Through almost half a thousand miles, past a hundred towns that had been blessed through his services, between two lines of mourners that massed in unnumbered throngs all the way from Buffalo to Washington, the hurrying train proceeded, anguished mourners within the cars, loving and sorrow-stricken friends without. President McKinley had left Washington, September
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CHAPTER XXXIII. THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE LAST NIGHT IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
Borne upon the shoulders of stalwart representatives of the army and navy, of which he had been Commander-in-Chief for more than four years, all that was mortal of William McKinley, late President of the United States, was returned to the capital of the nation. As President McKinley left the White House the morning of July 5 for a vacation trip to his home at Canton, O., some of the attachés of the Executive Mansion assembled on the portico to bid him a fond farewell and express their hope for a
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CHAPTER XXXIV. FUNERAL SERVICES AND PROCESSION AT WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER XXXIV. FUNERAL SERVICES AND PROCESSION AT WASHINGTON.
At 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, September 17, 1901, the funeral cortege of William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States, third incumbent of the office to fall by an assassin’s hand, started from the White House toward the capitol. President Roosevelt, accompanied by his wife and sister, arrived half an hour earlier at the Executive Mansion, and were given seats in the big Red Room. Almost immediately after came former President Cleveland, with Daniel Lamont. Others, notable in the
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CHAPTER XXXV. LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
CHAPTER XXXV. LYING IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL.
As soon as the funeral service in the Capitol had concluded, and the audience had dispersed, the guards took their places about the casket, and the big bronze doors of the Capitol were thrown open, and the crowds were admitted. They came in two long lines from both the east and west portals and passed down, one on either side of the catafalque. It was the intention to have those who entered at the east door pass out at the west, and those who came in from the west—from the Pennsylvania avenue si
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CHAPTER XXXVI. THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE ASSASSIN ARRAIGNED.
At the mid-hour, when the people were filing past the casket that held all that was mortal of the late President of the United States, in the rotunda of the capitol at Washington, Leon Czolgosz, his assassin, was being arraigned for trial in the court room at Buffalo. “Are you guilty, or not guilty?” was the question which the Law asked of him. Whatever he was, whatever he had done, the public of the nation was too great to visit upon him the summary vengeance his awful act so richly merited. So
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CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SAD JOURNEY TO CANTON.
The funeral train bearing the remains of President McKinley crossed the west line of Pennsylvania and entered his home State and his home Congressional District at 10 o’clock a. m., Wednesday, September 18, 1901. This is the district he represented for fourteen years in the halls of Congress. Many who had known the President personally, who had shaken his hand and gazed into his genial face, lined the tracks to do honor to all that remained on earth of their neighbor, friend and chief. From the
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CHAPTER XXXVIII. CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. CANTON BATHED IN TEARS.
The funeral train proper, bearing the body of President McKinley, arrived at 12 o’clock. It was met by Judge Day, at the head of the local reception committee, while assembled about the station was the entire militia of the State. Mrs. McKinley, weeping piteously, was helped from the train by Dr. Rixey and Abner McKinley and conducted to a carriage. The body was then lifted from the catafalque car and carried on the shoulders of the body-bearers through a pathway formed by President Roosevelt an
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CHAPTER XXXIX. FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
CHAPTER XXXIX. FUNERAL SERVICES IN ALL CHURCHES.
While funeral services were being held over the remains of President McKinley on the Sunday after his death, every church edifice in the whole nation was the scene of a similar service. Without regard to sect or creed, without regard to location, far or near, high or low, in cathedral and in chapel, the words of preacher and the heartfelt sympathy of people rose in united worship to the God whom William McKinley had worshiped. Services in the Metropolitan Methodist Church at Washington, of which
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CHAPTER XL. CANTON’S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
CHAPTER XL. CANTON’S FAREWELL TO McKINLEY.
William McKinley had come home for the last time. At Buffalo, at Washington and throughout the hundreds of miles between, the nation had mourned the dead President. The city and state which gave him to the nation now knelt and wept for him. For a decade and more his life had been the greatest fact in their history. To say Ohio or Canton was to say McKinley. Two weeks before he left them in the full tide of health and strength, followed by the cheers of his neighbors, who felt themselves honored
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CHAPTER XLI. McKINLEY LAID AT REST.
CHAPTER XLI. McKINLEY LAID AT REST.
The mortal remains of President McKinley are at rest. For six days and through hundreds of miles a sorrowing nation has followed his bier. Now the last look has been taken, the last farewells have been said. The last salute to a dead President has echoed above his head. His body was laid for the moment in the little cemetery of Canton, guarded by soldiers of the flag he loved so well, until it shall be placed beside the mother and other dear ones who departed before him. There the people who lov
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CHAPTER XLII. NATION OBSERVES BURIAL DAY.
CHAPTER XLII. NATION OBSERVES BURIAL DAY.
When King David lay dead, at the threshold of Judah’s mighty era, the Bible tells us “There was sorrow in the cities.” That, better than any other language that could be employed, describes the state of affairs in the United States of America when the body of the dead President lay in state in the town which had been his home on the day of his burial. Every city in the land chose its own methods of expressing the grief that was felt, but all united, at the selfsame hour, to express in the severa
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ASSASSINATION OF GARFIELD.
ASSASSINATION OF GARFIELD.
In this fair republic of ours, a fabric of government strong in structure, superb and imposing, chaste and grand; a temple whose real devotees are true-hearted patriots, there has not been one who has more perfectly exemplified the possibilities of American youth than James Abram Garfield, child of penury, farmer boy, canal-boat lad, student, teacher, statesman, soldier, President, martyr. In all, true and brave, endowed with the royalty of right manhood, that was becoming as a sovereign citizen
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