USA > Ohio > Representative men of Ohio, 1900-1903 > Part 3
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In the midst of the innumerable difficulties of this protracted struggle, he was renominated for Congress. His district had again been gerrymandered by what was known as the Campbell Legislature, so that he had 3,000 majority to overcome. Gov- ernor Campbell was opposed to attempting to legislate Major Mckinley out of Congress, for his fame at that time was of such a character that the attention of the entire country was upon him, the Governor saying that if it was done the act would make Mckinley President of the United States. Governor Campbell was an excellent prophet, but his counsels did not prevail. Hardly a month elapsed from the adjournment of Congress until the election, but he accepted the nomination. The fight was a notable one, attracting almost as much attention as the famous Lincoln- Douglas debate of thirty years previous, but in the end Mckinley suffered his first defeat for Congress, his Democratic competitor, John G. Warwick, being elected by about 300 votes.
The prominence of Major Mckinley at this time was so great that when the Republicans of Ohio began to cast about for a candidate to defeat Governor Campbell for his second term, no one but Mckinley was mentioned for the honor. The con- vention was held in Columbus, June 16 and 17, 1891, and Hon. Asa S. Bushnell, of Clark, was permanent Chairman. Ex- Governor Foraker placed William McKinley in nomination and he was named for Governor without a dissenting vote. The campaign that followed was a notable one, but Campbell was defeated by a plurality of 21,511. Two years later the Republi- cans held their State convention on June 7 and 8, in the City of Columbus, and Governor Mckinley was nominated for a second term. The Democratic ticket was headed by Hon. L. T. Neal, of Ross, and Mckinley had a plurality of 80,995 votes. His administration of State affairs was wise and economical and the Republican voters of the Union were then looking forward to McKinley as the man to lead them in the next National campaign.
The story of the Republican National conventions of 1888 and 1892 is familiar. In Chicago in the first named year, he might have had the nomination for President, but Ohio stood for John Sherman and William McKinley was not the man to betray his trust. In 1892, at Minneapolis, he cast the glittering
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prize from him, although it would only have been necessary for him to have winked to his friends from every State in the Union to defeat Benjamin Harrison for his second term. On both occasions nothing but honor stood in the way, but that was too much of a barrier for William Mckinley to cross. He was a pronounced "opportunist," and knew that the hour for his tri- umph had not yet arrived. With his tremendous power of self- control he could bide his time.
For a year before the National convention met in St. Louis. in June, 1896, it was apparent that Mckinley was the choice of the people for the Presidency. They would no longer take no for an answer. The industries of the country had languished under the operation of what was known as the Wilson tariff law, and Mc- Kinley, the author and finisher of the protective tariff bill bearing his name, was looked upon as the Moses to lead the people out of the commercial and financial wilderness. Hon. Marcus A. Hanna had charge of McKinley's campaign for the Presidency and his cleverness was apparent by the result of the balloting at St. Louis, but with all of Mr. Hanna's acumen and power of organization his effort would have come to naught but for the fact that the sentiment of the voters was behind the McKinley candidacy.
At that convention Mckinley was nominated for the Presi- dency by ex-Governor Foraker, seconded by Hon. John M. Thurston, of Nebraska. Mckinley was nominated on the first ballot by the following vote : Mckinley 6612, Reed 84}, Quay 612, Morton 58 and Allison 35₺. The announcement was greeted with a great outburst of cheers amid a scene of indescribable enthusiasm. William Jennings Bryan was named by the Democrats at Chicago, and a wonderful campaign followed. Thousands of Democrats openly repudiated their ticket and it was apparent that if the fight was to be made on tariff lines the triumph of Mckinley and protection would cer- tainly be assured. But the nomination of Bryan and the en- dorsement of his Populistic ideas, demanding the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to I added an uncertain element to the battle. As the campaign progressed, however, the free silver cry lost its potency and the distrust created by legislation enacted and promised by the Democratic party drove hundreds of thous-
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ands of voters to the Republican ticket. This was accelerated by the fearful depression in business during the Cleveland ad- ministration, and the inability of Bryan and his followers to offer any sensible solution of the commercial crisis.
Bryan made a campaign covering the country, but William Mckinley contented himself by remaining at his Canton home and speaking to the numerous delegations of friends from all over the country who called upon him. His addresses were models of good taste and added great strength to the ticket. The National election on November 3, 1896, resulted in the selection of Mckinley to the Presidency by the vote of 271 to 176 in the electoral college, or a majority of 95 votes.
This campaign gave a most impressive illustration of the true independence of American journalism. A number of the leading newspapers of the country, which had supported Cleve- land in his three contests, repudiated the Chicago platform and its candidate. These journals were all strongly owned and entirely independent in their political action. Not one of them ever had conference or communication with the Mckinley leaders, or received or proposed any terms for their support, or ever sought, accepted or desired favors from the Mckinley admin- istration. Some of them suffered pecuniary sacrifice, but they performed a heroic duty, and it was the inspiration they gave to the conservative Democratic sentiment of the country that made Mckinley President by a pronounced majority. The Presi- dent himself often acknowledged the debt he owed the sound money Democratic sentiment of the country, that had been such a factor in his success. The first canvass of the Re- publican State Committee in Ohio indicated the defeat of McKinley, but as the business and industrial interests of the country faced the question of cheap money, and the busi- ness convulsion it must produce, the Republican ranks were steadily increased and the States that were regarded as doubtful in September gave large majorities for Mckinley in November. The Democrats had a sound money national ticket with such acceptable candidates as Palmer and Buckner, but a very small proportion of that vote was cast for these candidates.
William McKinley was inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1897, and at once entered upon the discharge of his
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important duties. In the second year of his administration war was declared between the United States and Spain, following the blowing up of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana, and hostilities ended in just one hundred days, with Cuba inde- pendent and free, Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands a part of the United States, ceded by Spain under the treaty of Paris. In the management of that war President Mckinley used con- summate skill and tact, and the confidence of the people of all parties was shown, when, on the outbreak of hostilities Congress gave the President, by a unanimous vote in both Senate and house, $50,000,000 to be expended as he deemed best in the prosecution of the war. President Mckinley had no desire for an open rupture with Spain, and hoped to secure an amelioration of the horrible conditions in Cuba without an open appeal to arms. He spoke only for humanity and the prosperity of the Cubans, almost in sight of the American shore, but when the Maine was blown up, action was quick as lightning and the results achieved again demonstrated the value of the Mckinley policy of delay until the Government was able to cope with Spain.
The story of that war is one of the brightest pages in American history. It was undertaken, not for conquest or terri- tory, but in behalf of freedom, and most gloriously was that beneficient end achieved. The man behind the resistless arm of the American Government was William Mckinley. He felt the responsibility of his position and how well he did his work the history of that war will testify. He made no mistakes, from ordering Dewey out of Hong Kong to Manila Bay until the surrender of the Spanish army in Cuba and the demolition of the fleet of Cervera in Santiago Bay, and in all that strenuous time was the masterly commander of the army and navy, whose exploits in the short-lived war will be the theme of song and story as long as human bravery is admired in the world.
The first administration of President Mckinley was also notable for the cementing of the old ties between the sections North and South. The Spanish-American war gave him an opportunity to show his appreciation of the manhood below Mason and Dixon's line and he offered the representatives of the South places of the highest honor in both the army and navy.
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These they gladly accepted and rendered signal service to the country. Although a soldier in the Union army there was no bitterness in the great heart of William McKinley toward the South. The people there were all his fellow-citizens. Blood of his blood and flesh of his flesh, although estranged by four years of fratricidal strife, they were his fellow-citizens, and during his term he lost no opportunity to show his fellowship and good will toward them. He made several long journeys through the South, and was everywhere treated most kindly and considerately, the people vieing with each other to do him honor.
When the Republican National Convention met in Phila- delphia in June, 1900, there was no name but that of William Mckinley upon the lips of the delegates. His nomination for a second term followed as a matter of course. The Democrats met in Kansas City, and with a second Bryan platform, nominated the Nebraskan for President.
The campaign that followed was discounted as to results with the adjournment of the two National conventions. Bryan still stood for free silver, but that cry had lost its potency with the people, for Congress had distinctly established the gold stand- ard by statute, in accord with the financial policy of all the great civilized Nations of the world. Bryan had much to say about the Philippine policy of the government, but no candidate in this country has been successful in any attack upon the army. Above all other causes the country was in a prosperous con- dition, labor was generally and remuneratively employed, prices of products were satisfactory to the producers and the people were happy. The wonderful success of Mckinley in conducting the Spanish-American war to a glorious conclusion was another strong argument in his favor, and in the election that followed on the 6th of November, 1900, the President was endorsed for a second term by a larger majority in the electoral college than four years previously.
President Mckinley entered upon his second term March 4, 1901, and prospects were bright that the signal success of his first administration would be duplicated and emphasized in his second. But the American people were doomed to bitter disap- pointment, and before the second term was six months old the world was thrilled by the story of the third assassination of a
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President in the history of the American Republic. The Presi- dent had spent a month of the middle summer at his old home in Canton, where he sought to recuperate his strength for the duties of his high office. The Pan-American Exposition was in full operation at Buffalo, and he had accepted an invitation to be present as the guest of the management the first week in Sep- tember. Never was the "Rainbow City" more radiant, attrac- tive or active than when the President and Mrs. Mckinley honored the great exposition with their presence on the 6th of September. On the afternoon of that day, while the Presiden- tial party was holding a reception in the Temple of Music,. a dastardly anarchistic assassin, who had been taken kindly by the hand of the President, shot him. The Nation and the world were convulsed by the cowardly crime, and all that skillful sur- gery could do or suggest was invoked in behalf of the stricken chief executive. But skill and prayers were of no avail, and at 2:15 a. m. on the 14th of September, the great Spirit of William Mckinley winged its way to its maker.
Never in all the history of the world has there been such grief exhibited as followed upon his shooting. Everywhere in this country public meetings were held and prayers said for his recovery, while across the seas, wherever the English language is spoken. similar gatherings were in evidence. The world waited with bated breath upon the issue of life or death, and when finally the soul of the President quit its tenement of clay, sorrow, dis- tress and anguish took possession of the American heart. In the universal pall the voice of the detractor was silent, and the people of the Nation stood with uncovered head in the presence of this awful visitation of Providence. William McKinley was so near the heart of the people; they had so much confidence in him; his death had been such a vindication of the Christian religion ; he seemed almost a brother to every man, and when he died it was as if one of the most beloved had been removed from every American home. The daily press, the pulpit and the forum all' now sung his praises, and even his political enemies wove a chaplet of rosemary, that's for remembrance, for his immortal brow. When the funeral took place a week later, services were held at Washington, after which the final obsequies took place at his old Canton home, and all Ohio was there to see him laid
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away until the last trump shall sound. As the train bearing his body moved west from the National capital the people all along the route stood by the railway tracks - whether night or day - gazing silently and sadly at the strange and solemn sight. At the hour when the funeral took place in Canton simultaneous services were held all over the world, and in the United States every wheel was stopped when the remains were being deposited in the family tomb. A king could not have been more honored, yet William McKinley was a plain American citizen, a noble, spotless man, who had been raised up like Lincoln to fill a niche in destiny, who performed the mission with which he had been charged in a manner that challenged the admiration of mankind.
Ohio was not lax in her tribute of respect to the memory of the departed. At the Canton obsequies the National Guard and many of her distinguished citizens attended the last sad rites, and in every city, village and hamlet throughout the com- monwealth the churches were filled with sorrowing thousands when the officiating clergymen proclaimed : "Dust to dust." On the 6th of January, 1902, in the Ohio State Senate, Senator L. M. Hosea, of Hamilton county, offered a joint resolution provid- ing for a committee of five to arrange for a memorial of the eminent public services and tragic death of President Mckinley on the anniversary of his birth, January 29, under the direction of a joint committee of the two houses. The resolution was unanimously adopted and the President appointed Senators Hosea, Hanna, Royer, Herrick, Overturf, Harris and Roudebush as such committee on the part of the Senate. On the 15th the resolution was adopted by the House and the Speaker named Messrs. Herrick, Foster, Ankeney, Painter, Lochary, Garrison, Gehrett, Stage, Gear and Arthur on the part of the House.
At 10:30 o'clock on the 29th of January the Senate met in its chamber and proceeded to the hall of the House of Repre- sentatives to carry out the arrangements agreed upon by the joint committee, where the following program was given:
The hall of the House was crowded with eager, interested people, and the occasion was of the most solemn character. A large picture of the dead President appropriately draped hung in the rear of the chair of the presiding officer, and the trappings and the suits of woe were appropriately festooned on the walls.
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The addresses were in excellent taste, mirroring the grief of the people, and dwelling upon the lesson to be learned from the example of the dead President. Governor Nash, referring to the sad occasion, said: "I am glad that these services are held on this the fifty-ninth anniversary of the birth of William Mc- Kinley. I trust his natal day will always be remembered and observed, not only by the people of Ohio, but also by the people of the Nation. I hope for this, because the story of his patriotism and his love for our flag will be a splendid story to tell the chil- dren of this country in all the days to come. It will promote patriotism and will make our country and her people better for its being told."
General Charles H. Grosvenor, referring to the questions that arose during the Mckinley administration, wrote: "The new problems were of the rarest difficulty of solution, for there were no precedents. They were new. To the solution of these problems he gave his whole time and brought to the work all his great powers of study and understanding. Our history of more than a hundred years furnished no decided cases, and he was driven to the study of fundamental principles for his guid- ance. How brightly shine the pages of his statesmanship."
Rev. C. W. Blodgett, of Cincinnati, in an eloquent panegyric, used this sentence: "His immortality will not be that of a great statesman alone - yet I speak not hastily in saying -that the passing centuries will couple his name with the conspicuously great leaders of the nineteenth century."
Hon. Charles W. Baker said among other things: "Impres- sive - nay, commanding, approachable, gentle, voicing the soft speech that turneth away wrath, coming to know men and their motives and to discriminate, as no public man perhaps since the days of Lincoln, it could well be said of him:
"His life was gentle; and the elements So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, 'This was a man.'"
Hon. J. C. Royer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, paid this tribute in the course of his eloquent address: "He was revered not only by the English-speaking peoples, but by men of all tongues and in all climes. His memory is cherished equally in the palaces of queens and emperors, and in the cabins of the
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poor. Many differed from him on political subjects and as to- matters of State policy, but all loved him for his personal purity, his kindness of heart, his unsullied integrity and his lofty character. There are millions whose minds he could not convince, but there are none whose hearts he did not win."
Hon. Charles W. Stage said among other things: "But what of her, what of that lonely and broken life to which his days were. one long testament of devotion. May we not be privileged, in the great pity and affection of our hearts, to say to that saddened woman, softly, gently, lovingly :
"Break not, O woman's heart, but still endure;
Break not, though thou art mortal, but endure,
Remembering all the beauty of that star Which shone so close beside thee, that ye made
One light together, but has passed and leaves thy place a lonely sorrow."
Hon. Warren G. Harding delivered a scholarly address on the lessons of the hour. Here is a sample paragraph: "If, in the crowning wreaths of immortality, there is separate bloom for every noble achievement, then the angel of the South will place on William McKinley's brow the richest garland that has. blossomed there. Great in life, he was heroic in the face of the eternal, and looking calmly out on the great sea of the unknown, face to face with a fate so bitter that it wrung the hearts of all civilization, he was the martyr Christian, who yielded the life spark of a great, manly heart to light the beacon fires that point the way to a life eternal."
In his address accepting the senatorial election on the 14th of January, 1902, Hon. J. B. Foraker said, referring to the dead President : "Not only as a great President, but as the gentlesi and most lovable type of humanity is the place in history that will always be held by William McKinley. His life and his death were alike surpassingly noble."
And here let us pause in closing to pay a tribute to President McKinley's love for his wife, a point that has touched the Amer- ican heart even more than his public career, for it was so kind, so gentle, so humane, so God-like. By the birth of her children (who died in infancy) Mrs. McKinley was left . a cripple for life, and from the hour of her first distress and pain, William Mckinley was her most obedient servant and gallant cavalier.
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With him knighthood was always in flower, and he seemed to live for his wife alone. No labor was too much for him to per- form if she desired it; every little attention he bestowed upon her without the asking. They were like lovers upon whose lips the marriage vow had not paled in a third of a century of time, and the world was stirred in its great heart by the continual demonstration of affection he had for her. And it was all done so quietly, so cleverly, so constantly. No move was made with- out her consent and approval, and as he daily left her company for his public duties, a bow or perhaps a kiss thrown toward her open door or window, marked the departure of the husband and lover still. So constant was his devotion to her, so loyal and unswerving his attachment, that the womanhood of this republic were bound as with hoops of steel to William McKin- ley. The man who was so true and unselfish to his wife, could not be bad they argued, and that proposition has never been refuted. His life was spent in her service, and his last breath, before he lapsed into unconsciousness after the shooting at Buf- falo, was for her care and comfort.
And she believed in him. She knew him as no other human being. He looked as handsome to her as the day he led her to the altar of marriage, and his illustrious career was a solace and pleasure to her, even in her days and weeks of uninterrupted pain.
The annals of history reveal no more beautiful or more ennobling record of the love of mortal man. The purity and sweetness of his private and domestic life was a tower of strength for him before the people. She who was the love of his boy- hood, the bride of his youth, the sweet companion of his strong manhood, the object of the fond care and tender solicitude of his lengthening years, to-day occupies with him a place in the Valhalla of the Nation, temple and shrine, consecrated to the pure manhood and womanhood of the Republic.
And so he is left to the ages. Great in life he was sur- passingly great in death. He has entered the hall of the mar- tyrs. The white flower of his blameless life is still in perfect bloom. "It is God's way; His will, not ours, be done."
HON. MARCUS A. HANNA.
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Hon. Marcus A. Hanna.
Since the adoption of the Federal Constitution and from Washington to McKinley, men in each decade have been the cynosure of the public eye. In some instances they have been chosen President of the United States, in others they have occu- pied positions in the universal esteem and homage of the people but little removed from the Presidency itself. The crux of American politics is the quadrennial election of President, for then comes the flood-tide of tumultuous struggle and decisive events. Then is chosen the framer of policies and the arbiter of parties. Washington was the champion of the Federal party great in its day ; Jefferson was the beau ideal of the Republican party, for the title was adopted by the friends of Jefferson, and the Democratic party was founded in 1796 by Jefferson under the name of Republican, established as the majority party of the Nation four years later, and it fought and won the Demo- cratic battles under that name until 1824, when the Jackson party changed the title to Democracy; Jackson was the head and front of the Democratic party and his name is one yet to con- jure with; William Henry Harrison breathed life into the Whig party ; Lincoln led the Republican party and saved the American Union; Grant made safe the results of that glorious war as a Republican leader ; while the peerless Mckinley sealed with his glorious death the union of the North and South, and during his administration placed the country on the broad highway of national progress and commercial supremacy.
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