THIS SC11ANT0N T1UBUNE-F1UDAY, tfEBftCAKY 28, 1002.
-, -
MEMORIAL ADDRESS
DELIVERED IN THE CAPITOL
BY INVITATION
FEBRUARY 27, 1902 " '
BY
JOHN HAY
:
WLLAM
Jl JL 1 111 1 JLjiJLA A
I OU TtlF, thlr.l time the countess of the UnUoct
Stntcst urc assembled to commemorate the life
ami the death of it president slain by the hand
of uii ussasslu. 'J'lic attention of the future
historian will bo nttructed to nho features
which ro-uripeur with nlartltnir sniuoness In
nil three "of these uwiul crimes: tho uselcsnoHs, tho
utter luck of consequence ot the net! the obscurity,
tho Insignificance of the erlnilnnl: the blatnolessness
o far ns In our sphere of existence the best of men
tnay be held btninclocH oC the victim. Not one of our
iiiurdered presidents bail mi enemy In the world; they
were all of ouch pre-eminent purity of life that no lire
text could bo given for the attach of passional crime;
they wore all men ot ilemoerath' Instincts who could
never have offended tho most Jealous advocates of
(.'duality; they were of Kindly and generous nature, to
whom wrong or Injustice was impossible; or moderate
fortune, whose slender means nobody could envy.
Tfioy were men of nustero virtue, of tender heart, of
eminent nbllltles, which they had devoted with single
minds to the good of the Itepubllc. if ever men
walked before God and man without blame, It was
these three rulers of our people. The only temptation
to attach their lives offered was their gentle radiance
to eyes hating the light tbot was offense enough.
The stupid uselessnoss ot such an Infamy affronts
the common sense of the world. One can conceive
how the death of a dictator may change the political
conditions of an empire; how the extinction of a nar
rowing lino of kings may bring lu an alien dynasty,
lint in a well-ordered Republic like ours, tho ruler
may fall, but the state feels no tremor. Our beloved
and revered leader In gone but the natural process of
our laws provides us a successor, Identical In pur
pose and Ideals, nourished by the same teaching, In
spired by the same principles, pledged by tender af
fection as well as by high loyalty to carry to comple
tion tho immense tusk committed to his hands, and to
smite with iron severity every manifestation of that
hideous crime which his mild predecessor, with his
dying breath, forgave. The sayings of celestial wisdom
have no date; tho wordH that reach us, over two thou
sand years, out of tho durltest hour or gloom the
world has ever known, are true to tho life today:
"They know not what they do." The blow struck at
our dear friend and ruler was as deadly as blind hate
could make it; but tho blow struck at anarchy was
deadlier still.
What a world of Insoluble problems such an event
excites in tho mind! Not merely In its personal, but
in Its public aspects, It presents a paradox not to be
comprehended. Under a system of government so free
and so impartial thnt we recognize Its existence only
by Its benefactions; under a social order so purely
democratic that classes can not exist In It, affording
opportunities so universal that even conditions ure as
cbanging as tbo winds, where the laborer of today Is
tbe capitalist of tomorrow; under laws which are the
result of ages of evolution, so uniform and so benoll
cent that the president has just the same rights and
privileges as tbe artisan; we see the same hellish
growth of hatred and murder which dogs equally tho
footsteps of benevolent monarchs and blood-stained
despots. How many countries can join with us In tbe
community of a kindred sorrow! T will not speak of
those distant regions where assassination enters Into
the dally life of government. But among the nations
hound to us by the ties of familiar Intercourse who
can forget that wise and mild Autocrat who had
earned tbo proud title of tho Liberator? that enlight
ened and magnnnlmous citizen whom France still
mourns? thnt bravo and chivalrous King of Italy who
only lived for his people? and, saddest of all, that
lovely and sorrowing empress, whose harmless life
could hardly have excited the animosity of a demon.
Against that devilish spirit nothing avails neither
v irtue, nor patriotism, nor age nor youth, nor con
science nor pity. AVe can not even say that educa
tion Is a sufficient safeguard against this baleful evil
lor most of the wretches whoso crimes have so shocked
humanity In recent years are men not unlettered, who
have gone from the common schools, through murder,
to the scaffold.
Our minds can not discern the origin, nor conceive
the extent of wickedness so perverse and so cruel; but
this does not exempt us from the duty of trying to
control and counteract It. AVe do not understand
what electricity Is; whence it comes or what Its hid
den properties may be. Hut we know It as a mighty
force for good or evil and so with the painful toll of
years, men of learning and skill have labored to store
and to subjugate it, to neutralize, and even to em
ploy Us destructive energies. This problem of anarchy
Is dark and Intricate, but it ought to be within the
compass of democratic government although no sane
mind can fathom the mysteries of these untracked
and orbitless natures to guard against their aberra
tions, to take away from them the hope of escape, the
long luxury of scandalous days in court, and so by de
grees to make tho crime not worth committing, even
to these abnormal and distorted souls.
It would be presumptuous for mo in this presence
to suggest the dotulls of remedial legislation for a
malady so malignant. Thnt task may safely be left to
tho skill and patience of the, national congress, which
has never been found unequal to any such emergency.
Tho country believes thnt the memory of three mur
dered comrades of yours all of whose voices still
haunt these walls will be a sulllclont Inspiration -to
enable you to solve even this abstruse and painful
problem, which has dimmed so many pages of his
tory with blood and with tqars.
Before an audience less sympathetic than this, I
should not dare to speak of that great career which
we haVe met to commemorate. But we are all his
friends, and friends do not criticise each other's words
nhout an open grave. I thank you for tho honor you
have done me in Inviting me here, and not less for the
kind forbearance I know I shall have from you in my
most inadequate efforts to speak of him worthily.
Tho life ot William McKInley was, from his birth
to his death, typically American. There Is no en
vironment, I should say, anywhere else In the world
which could produce just such n character. He was
born Into Unit way of life which elsewhere Is called
the middle class, but which In this country Is so near
.y universal as to make of other classes an almost
negligible quantity. Ho was neither rich nor poor,
neither proud nor humble; lie knew no hunger lie Avas
lot sure of satisfying, no luxury which could ener
vate mind or body. Ills parents were sober, God
:mrlng people; intelligent and upright; without jire
.ension and without humility. Ho grew up In the
toinpnny of boys like himself; wholesome, honest,
elf-respecting. They looked down on nobody; they
icvor felt It possible they could be looked down upon,
heir houses were tho homes, of probity, piety, patriot
ism. They learned in tho admirable school readers of
fifty years ago tho lessons of heroic and splendid life
which have como down from the past. They read in
their weekly newspapers the story of tho world's prog
ress, in which they were eager to take part, and of
tho sins and wrongs of civilization with which they
burned to do battle. It was a serious and thoughtful
time. Tho boys of Unit day felt dimly, but deeply,
Unit days or sharp struggle and high achievement
worn before them. They looked at llfo with the won
dering yot resoluto eyes of a young esquire In his vigil
of arms. They felt a time was coming when to them
tiiould bo addressed the stern admonition of the apos
tle, "Quit you like men; bo strong,"
Jt is not easy to give to those of a later generation
any clear idea of that extraordinary spiritual awaken
ing which passed over tho country at tho (list red
signal Urea of tho wur between the states. It was not
our earliest apocalypse; a hundred years before the
nation had been revealed to Itself, when after long dis
cussion and much searching of heart the peoplo of tho
colonies had resolved that to live without liberty was
worse than to die, ami had therefore wagered In the
solemn game of war 'itheir lives, their fortunes, und
their sacred honor." In a stress of heat and labor un
utterable, the country hud been hammered and weld
ed together; but thereafter for nearly a century there
had been nothing Jn our Jlfe to touch the Innermost
fountain of feeling und devotion; wo had had rumors
of wars even wars wo had had, not without sacrifices
and glory but nothing which went t" the vital self
consciousness of the country, nothing which chal
lenged the nation's right to Jive. But in 1SC0 the na
tion was going down Into tho A'nlley of Decision. The
question which had been debuted on thousands of
platforms, which had been discussed in countless pub
lications, which, thundered from Innumerable pulpits.
lad cnuscd in their congregations the bitter strife und
dleneiiHlon to which only cuscr of conscience can give
rise, was everywhere pressing for solution. And mil
merely In tho various channels ot publicity was It
ullve and clamorous. About every llrcslde In the land,
in the .conversation of friends and neighbors, ami,
deeper still, In the secret ot millions ot human hearts,
the battle of opinion wan waging; and nil men felt
and saw Willi more or less clearness that tin answer
to the importunnto question, Shall the nation live?
was due. and not to bo denied. And I do not mean
that lit the North alono there was this austere wrest
ling with conscience. Jn tho South as well, below till
the effervescence and excltcm"iit of a people perhaps
more glv'eu to eloquent speech thun we were, there
was the profound itunny of question and answer, Ihe
summons to decide whether honor und freedom did
not call them to revolution nud War. It Is easy for
partisanship to say that the one side was right and
that tho other wus wrong. It Is still easier for an
Indolent magnanimity to say that both were right,
l'erhups In tho wide vlow or ethics one Is always right
to follow Ills conscience, though It lend him to dis
aster and deatli. But history Is Inexorable. She takes
no account of sentiment and Intention; nud In her
cold und luminous eyes that side is right which lights
In harmony with the stars in their courses. The men
are right through whose efforts and struggles the
world is helped onward , and humanity moves to a
higher level and a brighter day.
The men who are living today and who were young
In ISCfi will never forgot tho glory and glamour that
tilled the earth and tho sky when tho long twilight of
doubt and uncertainty was ending and tho time of
action hail come. A speech by Abraham Lincoln was
an event not only of high moral significance, but of
lar-rcnchlng Importance; the drilling of a mllltln com
pany by Ellsworth attracted national attention; the
llutteiing of the Hag In the clear sky drew tears from
the eyes of young men. Patriotism, which had been
zi rhetorical expression, became a passionate emotion,
In which Instinct, logic, and feeling were fused. The
country was worth saving; It could bo saved only by
lire; no sacrifice was loo great; the young men of the
' country were ready for tbe sacrifice; como weal, come
woe, they were ready.
At 17 years of age William McKInley beard tills
summons of his country. He was the sort of youth
to whom a military llfo in ordinary times would pos
sess no attractions. His nature was far different
from that of the ordinary soldier. He had other
dreams of life. Its prbjes and pleasures, than that of
marches and battles. But to his mind there watt no
choice or question. The banner floating in the morn
ing breeze was the beckoning gesture of ills country.
The thrilling notes of the trumpet called him him and
none other Into ihe ranks. His portrait In his first
uniform is familiar to you all the short, stocky fig
urc; the quiet, thoughtful face; the deep, dark eyes.
It is the face of a lad who could not stay at home
when lie thought he was needed in the field. He was
of the stuff of which good soldiers are made. Had he
been ten years older ho would have entered at the
head of a company and come out at the head of a di
vision. But ho did what he could. He enlisted us a
private; he learned to obey. His serious, sensible
ways, his prompt, alert efficiency soon attracted the
attention of his superiors. He was so faithful in lit
tle things they gave him more and more to do. He
was untiring In camp and on the march; swift, cool,
and fearless In light. He left the army with Held
rank when the war ended, bre vetted by President Lin
coln for gallantry In battle.
In coming years when men seek to draw the moral
of our great civil war nothing will seem to them so
admirable In all the history of our two magnificent
armies as the way In which the war came to a close.
AVhon the Confederate army saw the time had come,
they acknowledeged the pitiless logic of facts, and
ceased fighting. AVhen tho army of tho Union saw It
was no longer needed, without a murmur or question,
making no terms, asking no return, in the Hush of
victory and fullness of might, it laid down Its arms
and melted back Into tho mass of peaceful citizens.
There Is no event, since the nation was born, which
has so proved Its solid capacity for self-government.
Both sections share equally in that crown of glory.
They had held a debate of incomparable Importance
and had fought It out with equal energy. A conclu
sion had been reached and It Is to the everlasting
honor of both sides that they each knew when tho
war was over, and the hour of a lasting pence had
struck. AVe may admire the desperate daring of oth
ers who prefer annihilation to compromise, but the
palm of common sense, and, 1 will say, of enlightened
patriotism, belongs to tbe men like Cirant nud Lee,
who knew when they had fought enough, for honor
and for country.
AVIlIlnm McKInley, one of that sensible million ot
men, gladly laid down his sword and betook himself
to his books. He quickly mode up the time lost in sol
diering. He attacked Ills Bluckstone ns he would
have done a hostile entrenchment; finding the range
of a country law library too narrow, ho went to the
Albany Law School, where he worked energetically
with brilliant success; was admitted to the bar and
settled down to practice a brevctted veteran of "4
In the quiet town of Canton, now and henceforward
forever famous as the scene of his life and his place
of sepulture. Here many blessings awaited him: high
repute, professional success, and a domestic affection
so pure, so devoted and stainless that future poets,
seeking an ideal of Christian marriage, will llnd in it
a theme worthy of their songs. This Is a subject to
which the lightest allusion seems profanation; but It
If- Impossible to speak of William McKInley without
remembering thnt no truer, tenderer knight to his
chosen lndy ever lived among mortal men. If to the
spirits of the just made perfect is permitted the con
sciousness of earthly things, we may be sure that his
faithful soul Is now watching over thnt gentle sufferer
who counts the long hours lu their shattered homo in
the desolate splendor of his fame.
A man possessing the qualities with which nature
had endowed MoKlnley seeks political activity as
naturally as a growing plant seeks light und nlr. A
wholesome ambition; a rare power of making friends
and keeping them; a faith, which may be called re
ligious, in his country and it.-i institutions; nnd, flow
ing from this, a belief that a man could do no nobler
work than to serve such a country theso were the
elements In his character thut drew him Irresistibly
Into public life. Ho had from tho beginning a re
markable equipment: a manner of singular grnco and
charm; a voice of .ringing quality and great carrying
power vast as were tho crowds that gathered about
him, lie reached their utmost fringe without apparent
effort. Ho had an extraordinary power of mnrshnllng
nnd presenting slgnillcant facts, so os to bring convic
tion to the average mind. Ills range of reading was
not wide; ho read only what lie might some day find
useful, and what ho read his memory held like brass,
Thoso who knew him well In those early days can
never forget tho consummate skill and power with
which he would select u few pointed facts, and, blow
upon blow, would hammer them Into tho attention of
great assemblages In Ohio, as Juel drove the nail Into
tho head of tho Cauaanlto captain. Ho was not often
impassioned; ho rarely resorted to tho aid of wit or
humor; yet I never saw his equnl lu controlling nnd
convincing a popular audience by sheer appeal to their
reuBon nnd Intelligence. Ho did not flatter or cajole
them, but there was an. implied compliment In the
serious and sober tone In which ho addressed them.
Ho seemed one of them; In heurt und feeling he was
one of them, Each artisan In a great crowd might
hay: That Is tho sort of man I would like to be, and
under more favoring circumstances might have been,
Ho had tho divine gift or sympathy, which, though
given only to the elect, makes all men their friends.
So it came naturully about Uiut in 1870-rtho begin
ning of tho second century of the Republic lie began,
by uu election to congress, his political career, There
after for fourteen yeurs this chamber was his home. I
use the word advisedly. Nowhere hi the world was he
so in harmony with his environments as here; no
where else did Ills mind work with such full conscious
ness of its powers, The air of debate was native to
him; hero he drunk delight of battle with his peers.
In after days, when lie drove by this stately pile, or
when on rave occasions his duty called him here, he
greeted his old huunts with the uffectlonute zest of u
child of the house; during all the last ten years of his
lire, tilled as they were with activity and glory, he
never ceased to be homesick for this hall. AVhen he
came to the presidency, there was not a day when ills
congressional service was not of uso to him. Probably
no other president has been In mich full und cordial
communion with congress, lr we may except Lincoln
alone. McKInley knew tho legislative body thorough
ly, lis composition, Its methods, its habits of thought,
lie had the profoundest respect for its authority and
an Indexible belief In the ultimate rectltudo ot Its pur
poses, Our history shows how surely an executive
courts disaster and ruin by assuming nn attitude of
hostility or distrust to thu legislature; and, on the
other hand, MoKlnlcy's frank ulitl sincere trust and
confidence In congref-s were repaid by prompt nnd loy
al support nnd co-operation. During ills entire term
of oIKec tills mutual trust und regard so essential to
the public welfare was never shadowed by a single
cloud.
lie was a Republican. He could not bo anything
else. A I'nlon soldier grafted upon a Clay AVlilg, ho
necessarily believed lu the "American system" In pro
tection to homo Industries; In a strong, aggressive nu
(lonullly; in a liberal construction of the constitution,
What any self-rellnnt nntion might rightly do, ho felt
this nntion had power to do, If required by tho com
mon welfare und not prohibited by our written char
ter. Following the natural bent of his mind, ho devot
ed himself to questions of finance and revenue, to the
cssentluls of the national housekeeping. Ho took high
rank lu the house from the beginning. His readiness
In debate, his mastery of every subject lie handled, the
bright and amiable light he shed about him. and above
all the unfailing courtesy and good will with which lie
treated friend and foe alike one of the surest signa
tures of a nature born to great destinies made his
i-ervloe In the house a pathway of unbroken success
and brought htm at last to the ill-Important post of
chairman of ways and means and leader of the major
ity. Of the famous revenue act which, In that capac
ity, he framed and carried through congress, It is not
my purpose here and now to speak. The embers of
the controversy In the midst of which that law hud Its
troubled being are yet too warm to be handled on a
day like this. I may only say thnt It was never sufll
clently tested to prove tho praises of Its friends or the
criticism of Its opponents. After a brief existence It
passed away, for a time, in the storm that swept the
Republicans out of power. MoKlnley also passed
through a brief zone of shadow; his congressional dis
trict having been re-arranged for that purpose by a
hostile legislature.
Someone bus said It Is easy to love our enemies;
they hel us so much more than pur friends. The peo
ple whose malevolent skill bad turned MoKlnley out
of congress deserved well of him and of the Republic.
The Republicans of Ohio were saved the trouble of
choosing a governor the other side had chosen one
for them. A year after McKInley left congress he wns
made governor of Ohio, and two years later ho was re
elected, each time by majorities unhoped-for and over
whelming. He came to fill a space in the public eye
which obscured a great portion of tho field of vision.
In two national conventions, the presidency seemed
within his reach. But ho had gone there In the inter
est of others nnd his honor forbade any dalliance with
temptation. So his nay was nay delivered with a
tone and gesture there wns no denying. His hour was
not yet come. ,
There was, however, no long delay. He became,
from year to year, tho most prominent politician and
orator in the country. Passionately devoted to the
principles; of his party, lie was always ready to do
anything, to go anywhere, to proclaim Its ideas and to
support its candidates. His face and his voice became
familiar to millions of our people; and wherever they
were seen nnd heard, men became bis partisans. Ills
face was cast in a classic mold; you see faces like it in
antique marble in tho galleries of tho Vatican and In
the portrait of the great cardinal-statesmen of Italy;
his voice was the voice of the perfect orator ringing,
vibrating, tireless, persuading by Its very sound, by
.lis accent of sincere conviction. So prudent and so
guarded were all bis utterances, so lofty his courtesy,
that he never embarrassed his friends, and never of
fended his opponents. For several months before the
Republican national convention met In lS'JO, It was
evident to nil who had eyes to see that Mr. McKInley
was the only probable candidate or his party. Other
names were mentioned, of the highest rank in ability,
character, and popularity: they were supported by
powerful combinations; but the nomination of McKIn
ley as against the Held was Inevitable.
The campaign he made will be always memorable
lu our political annuls. He nnd his friends hud
thought that the issue for the year was the distinctive
and historic difference between the two parties on the
subject of the tariff. To this wager of battle the dis
cussions of the previous four years distinctly pointed.
But no sooner had tho two parties made their nomina
tions than It became evident that the opposing candi
date declined to accept the Held of discussion chosen
by the Republicans, and proposed to put forward as
the main issue the free coinage of silver. McKInley
nt once accepted this challenge, nnd taking the battle
for protection as already won, went with energy Into
the discussion of the theories presented by his oppon
ents,. He had wisely concluded not to leave his home
during the canvass, thus avoiding a proceeding which
has always been of sinister augury In our politics;
but from the trout porch of his modest house In Cnn--ton
ho dally addressed tho delegations which came
from every part of the country to greet him In a series
of speeches so strong, so varied, so pertinent, so full
of facts brielly set forth, of theories embodied In a
single phrase, that they formed the hourly text for the
other speakers of his party, and give probably the
most convincing proof we have of his surprising fer
tility of resource nnd flexibility of mind. All this was
done without anxiety or strain. I remember a day I
spent with him during that busy summer. He hud
made nineteen speeches the day before;' that day he
mado many. But in tho intervals of those addresses
he sat In his study and talked, with nerves ns quiet
and a mind as free from euro as If we hail been spend
ing a holiday at the seaside or among the hills.
AA'hen he came to the presidency he confronted a
situation of the utmost dlfllculty, which might well
have appalled a man of less serene and tranquil self
confldenco. There hud been a state of profound com
mercial nnd Industrial depression, from which his
friends nnd said his election would relievo the country.
Our relations with tho outside world left much to bo
desired. The feeling botween the Northern and
Southern sections of the Union wus lacking in tho
cordiality which wns necessary to tho welfare of both.
Hawaii had asked for annexation and had been re
jected by the preceding administration. There was a
state of thliig-i lu the Caribbean which could not per
manently endure. Our neighbor's house was on fire,
and theie were grave doubts as to our rights and du
ties in the premises. A man either weak or rash,
either irresolutu or headstrong, might have brought
ruin on himself and incalculable harm to the rountry.
Again I crave tho pardon of those who differ with
me, if, against all my Intentions, I happen to say a
word which may seem to them unbefitting tho place
and hour. But I nm hero to glvo tho opinion which
ills friends entertained of President McKInley, of
course claiming no immunity from criticism in what I
shall soy. I behove, then, that the verdict of history
will bo that ho mot all theso grave questions with per
fect valor and incomparable ability; thut In grappling
with them ho roso to the full height of a great occa
sion, In a manner which redounded to the lasting
benefit of the country and to his own immortal honor,
Tho least deslrnblo form of glory to a man of his
habtluul mood and temper that of successful war
was nevertheless conferred upon him by uncontroll
able events. Ilu felt it must como; ho deplored Its
necessity; ho strained almost to breaking his relations
with his friends, in order, llrst, to prevent and then
to postpone it to tlio latest possible moment. Hut
when the die was cast, lie labored with thu utmost
energy and ardor, and with an intelligence In military
matters which showed how much of tho soldier still
'survived in the mature statesman to push forward the
war to a decisive close. War was an unguisli to him;
lie wanted It short nnd conclusive. His merciful zeal
communicated itself to his subordinates, and the war,
so long dreaded, whoso consequences were so mo
mentous, ended In u hundred days.
Mr, Stedmun, the dean of our poets, lias called him
"Augnienter of tho State," It is a proud title; if
justly conferred, It ranks him among the few whoso
names may bo placed definitely and forever in churge
of the historic Muse. Under ills rule Hawaii bus como
to us, anil Tutulla; Porto Rico and the vast archipel
ago of the Kust. Cuba 13 free. Our position in the
Caribbean is assured beyond the possibility of future
question. Tho doctrine cnlled by the name of Mon
roe, so long derided and denied by alien publicists,
evokes now no challenge or contradiction when uttered
to tlie world. It has become an International truism.
Our ulster republics to the south of us ure convinced
that we desire only their peace and prosperity. Eu
rope knows thnt wo cherish no dreams but those of
world-wide commerce, tho benefit of which shall be to
all nations, Tho state Is augmented, but It threatens
no nation under heaven. As to those regions which
have come under the shadow of our Hag, the possibil
ity of their being duinaged by such a change of cir
cumstances was In the view of McKInley a thing uu
thinkable. To believe that wo could not administer
them to their advantage, was to turn infidel to our
American faith of more than a hundred years.
In dealing with foreign powers, ho will take rank
with the greatest of our diplomatists. It was a world
ot which lie had little special knowledge before coming
to the presidency. But his marvelous adaptability
wns lu nothing more remarkable than lu the firm
grasp lie immediately displayed in International rela
tions. In prepniing for war and in the restoration of
peace he was alike adroit, courteous, and far-sighted,
When n sudden emergency declared Itself, ob In China,
in a state of tilings of which our history furnished no
precedent nnd International law no safe and certain
precept, he hesitated not a moment to take the course
marked out for him by considerations of humanity
and the national interests. Even while the legations
wore fighting for their lives against bands of Infuriat
ed fanatics, ho decided thut wo wero at peace with
china; and while that coiuiunlon did not hinder him
from taking the most energetic measures to rescue our
Imperiled citizens, it enubled him to maintain close
and friendly relations with the wise and heroic vice
roys of the south, whoso resolute stand saved that
ancient empire from anarchy and spoliation. He dis
posed ot every question us It arcse with a promptness
and clarity of vision that astonished his advisers, and
he- never had occasion to review a judgment or re
verse a decision.
By patience, by firmness, by sheer reasonableness,
he improved our understanding with all the great
powers of the world, and lightly gained the blessing'
which belongs to the peacemakers.
But tlie achievements of the nntion In war and
diplomacy are thrown in tho shade by tlie vast eco
nomical developments which took place during Mr.
McKlnley's administration. Up to the time of his
first election, the country was suffering from a long
period of depression, tho reasons ot which I will not
try to seel;. But from the moment tlie ballots were
counted that betokened his advent to power a great
and momentous movement In advance declared Itself
along all the linos of Industry and commerce. In the
very month ot his Inauguration steel rails began to
be sold nt $18 a ton one of the most significant facts
of modern times. It meant that American Industries
had adjusted themselves to the long depression that
through the power of the race to organize and com
bine, stimulated by the conditions then prevailing,
and perhaps by the prospect of legislation favorable
to Industry, America had begun to undersell tlie rest
of tho world. The movement went on without ceas
ing. The president and ills party kept the pledges of
their platform and their canvass. The Dlngley bill
was speedily framed and set in operation. All Indus
tries responded to the new stimulus nnd American
trade set out on Its new crusade, not to conquer the
world, but to trade with it on terms advantageous to
all concerned. I will not weary you with statistics;
but one or two words seem necessary to show how
tbe acts of McKInley as president kept pace with his
professions as candidate. His four years of adminis
tration were costly; we carried on a wur which,
though brief, was expensive. Although we borrowed
two hundred millions and paid our own expenses,
without asking for Indemnity, the effective reduction
of the debt now exceeds the total of the war bonds.
AVe pay six millions less In Interest than wo did be
fore the war and no bond of the United States yields ,
the holder 2 per cent, on Its market value. So much
for the government credit; nnd we have five hundred
and forty-six millions of gross gold in the treasury.
But, coming to the development of our trade in the
four McKInley yeurs, we seem to be entering the
realm of fable. In the lust fiscal year our excess of
exports over Imports was $064,592,820. In the last four
years It was $2,351,4-12,213. These figures are so stu
pendous that they mean little to a careless reader
but consider! The excess of exports over Imports for
the whole preceding period from 17A0 to 1S97 from
AA'ashlngton to McKInley was only $3.-G,S08,S22.
The most extravagant promises made by the san
guine McKInley advocates five years ago are left out
or sight by these sober facts. Tho "debtor nation"
has become the chief creditor nation. The financial
center of the world, which required thousands of
years to Journey from the Euphrates to the Thames
and tlie Seine, seems passing to the Hudson between
duybreak and dark.
I will not waste your time by explaining that I do
not Invoke for any man the credit of this vast result.
The captain can not claim that It Is he who drives tlie
mighty steamship over the tumbling billows of the
trackless deep; but praise is justly due him If he has
made the best of her tremendous powers, If he has
read aright the currents or tho sea and tlie lessons or
the stars. And we should be ungraterul, If in this
hour of prodigious prosperity we should fall to remem
ber that William McKInley with sublime fnith fore
saw It, with Indobltnble courage labored for it, put
Ids whole heart and mind into the work of bringing it
about; that It was his voice which, In dark hours,
lung out, heralding the coming light, as over the twi
light waters of the Nile the mystic cry of Memnon
announced the dawn to Egypt, waking from sleep.
Among the most agreeable Incidents of the presi
dent's term of ofilco wore tho two journeys' lie mado to
the South. The moral reunion of the sections so
long and so ardently desired by him had been ini
tiated by the Spanish war, when the veterans of both
sides, nnd their sons, had marched shoulder to shoul
der together under tho same banner. Tho ifresident
in theso journeys sought, with more than usual elo
quence nnd pathos, to creato a sentiment which should
end forever tlie ancient feud. Ho was too good a poli
tician to expect any results in tho.wny of voles In his
favor, and he accomplished none. But for all that the
good seed did not fall on barren ground. In the warm
and chivalrous hearts of that generous people, the
echo of his cordial nnd brotherly words will linger
long, and his name will bo cherished In many a house
hold where even yet tho Lost Cause is worshipped.
Mr. McKInley was re-elected by an overwhelming
majority. Tliero had been little doubt of tho result
among well-informed peoplo; but when It was known,
n profound feeling of relief and renewal of trust wero
ivident among tho leaders of capital and f industry,
not only In tills country, but everywhere. Thoy felt
that tlie Immediate future was secure, and that trade
nnd commerce might safely pusli forward In every
Held of effort and enterprise. He Inspired universal
confidence, which Is the life blood of tho commercial
system of tho world. It began frequently to be said
that such a state of things ought to continue', one
after another, men of prominence, said that tho presi
dent was his own best successor. Ho paid little at
tention to these suggestions until they wero repeated
by some of his nearest friends. Then he saw that ono
of the most cherished traditions of out- public life was
lu danger. Tho generation which lias seen tho pro
plfccy of the papal throne Non vhlebls annos Potrl
twice contradicted by the longevity of holy men was
lu peril of forgetting the unwritten law of our Re
public: Thou nhalt not exceed tho years of Washing
ton. Tho president saw it wns time to speak, and in
his characteristic manner lie spoke, briefly, but
liiough. Where tho lightning strikes there Is no need
of iteration, From that hour, no one dreamed of
doubting ills purpose of retiring ut tho end of his sec
ond term, and it will be long before another such les
ton is required.
He felt that tho harvest time wus come, to garner
lu the fruits of so much planting und culture, und lie
wus determined that nothing he might do or say
should be liable to the reproach of a personul Interest,
Let us suy frankly he was a party man; ho believed
tho policies advocated by him al.d his friends counted
lor much lu tho country's progress and prosperity,
Ho hoped in his second term to accomplish substan
tial, results In tho development und ulllrmatlon of
those policies. 1 spent a day with him shortly before
he started on his fateful journey to Buffalo. Never
had 1 neon hint higher In hope nud patriotic, confidence,
lie wns as sure of the future ot his country as tho
Psalmist who cried "Glorious things ure spoken of
thee, thou City of Clod." He was gratified to the
heart that wc had arranged a treaty which gave Us a
fiee hand In tho Isthmus, In fancy lie saw the canal
already built and the argosies of tho world passing
through It In pence und amity. He saw lu tlie Im-
incuse evolution ot American trade tlie fulfillment of"
nil Ills dreams, the reward of alt his labors. He was-"-1
need not say an ardent protectionist, never more
sincere and devoted than during those Inst jluys of his
life, lie regarded reciprocity us the bulwark of pro
tection not a breach, but it fulfillment of the law,
The treaties which for four years had been preparing
under Ills personal supervision he regarded as ancil
lary to the general scheme. He was opposed to, any
revolutionary plan of change In tho existing Ieglslli.
lion: he was careful to point out that everything ho
had done was lu faithful compliance with the law it
self. In thut mood of high hope, of generous oxpeota
llon, lie went to Buffnlu, und there, on the threshold
of eternity, ho delivered that memorable speech, wor
thy for Its lofttness of tone, its blameless morality, Its
breadth of view, to bo regarded as his testament to
the nation. Through all his pride ot country and his
joy of Its success, runs the note or solemn warning,
as lu Kipling's noble hymn, "Lest we forgot;"
"Our capacity to produce has developed so enor
mously and our products have so multiplied that thu
problem of more markets requires our urgent and Im
mediate attention. Only a broad and enlightened pol
icy will keep what we have. No other pulley will get
more. In these times of marvelous business energy
and gain we ought to, bo looking to tbe future,
Miengtlienlng tlie weak places In our Industrial and
commercial systems, thut we may be ready for uny
storm or strain.
"By sensible trade arrangements which will not In
terrupt our homo production wc shall' extend the out
lets for our Increasing surplus. A system which pro
vides a mutual exchange of commodities Is manifestly
essential to tho continued and healthful growth of our
export trade. AVe must not repose in fancied security
that wo can forever sell everything und buy little or
nothing. If such a thing were possible, it would nut
be best for us or for those with whom wc deal.
Reciprocity Is the natural outgrowth of our wonderful
Industrial development under the domestic policy now
firmly established. The period of excluslvc
ness is past. The expansion of our trade and com
merce Is the pressing problem. Commercial wars nro
unprofitable. A policy of good will and friendly trade
relations will prevent reprisals. Reciprocity treaties
are In harmony with tho spirit or .tlie times; measures
of retaliation are not."
I wish I hud time to read the whole of this wise
and weighty speech; nothing I might say could give
such a picture of the president's mind and character.
Ills years of apprenticeship had been served. Ho
stood thnt day past master of the art of statesman
ship. He had nothing more to ask of the people. He
owed them nothing but truth nnd faithful service.
His mind and heart were purged ot the temptations
which beset all men .engaged In the struggle to sur
vive. In view of tho revelation of his nature vouch
safed to us that day, and the fate .which impended
over him, we cnn only say In deep affection and sol
emn awe, "Blessed are the pure In heart, for they
shall see God." Even for that vision he was not un
worthy. He had not long to wait. The next day sped the
holt of doom, and for a vyoek after In an agony of
dread broken by illusive glimpses of hope that our
prayers might bo answered the nation waited for the
c-nd. Nothing In the glorious life that we saw gradu
ally waning was more admirable and exemplary than
Its close. Tho gentle humanity or his words, when
he saw his assailant in danger of summary vengeance.
"Don't let them hurt him;" his chivalrous core that
the news should be broken gently to his wife; the fine
courtesy with which ho apologized for the damage
which his death would bring to the great exhibition;
and tlie heroic resignation, of his final words, "It Is
God's way, His will, not ours, be done," were all the
instinctive expressions of a nature so lofty and so
pure that pride In Its nobility at once softened nnd en
hanced the nation's sense of loss. Tho Republic
grieved over such a son but is proud forever ot hav
ing produced htm. After all, In spite of Its tragic end
ing, ills life was extraordinarily happy. He had, all
his days, troops of friends, the cheer of fame and
fruitful labor; and he became at last
"On fortune's crowning slope,
"The pillar of a people's hope,
"The center of a world's desire."
Ie was fortunate even in ills untimely death, fo
nn event so tragical called the world Imperatively to
the immediate study of his life and character, and
thus anticipated the sure praises of posterity.
Every young and growing people has to meet, at
moments, the problems of Its destiny. AVhether tho
question comes, as In Egypt, from a sphinx, symbol of
tlie hostile forces of omnipotent nature, who punishes
with instant death our failure to understand her
meunlng; or whether It comes, as In Jerusalem, .from
the Lord of Hosts, who commands tlie building of Ills
temple. It comes always with the warning that tlie
past Is past, and experience vain. "Your fathers,
where arc they? and tho prophets, do they live for
ever?" Tlie fathers are dead; the prophets are silent:
the questions are new, and have no unsvver but in
time.
AVhen the horny outside case which protects the
Infancy of n chrysalis nation suddenly bursts, and. In
a single abrupt shock, it finds itself floating on wing
which had not existed before, whose strength It hat
never tested, among dangers it can not foresee and Is
without experience to meusure, every motion Is a
problem, and every hesitation may be uu error. Tin
past gives no clue to the future. Tho fathers, where
are they? and tho prophets, do they live forever? AVo
are ourselves tho fathers! AVe are ourselves the
prophets! Tho questions that are put to us we must
answer without delay, without help for the sphltix
nllow's no one to pass.
At sueli moments, which have already occurred ut
least twice in tho brief history of our own lives, wo
may be humbly grateful to have had loaders simple In
mind, clenr In vision ns far as human vision can
safely extend penetrating lu knowledge of men,
supple und flexible under the strains and pressures q'
society, Instinct with tho energy or now llfo anil un
tried strength, cautious, calm, and, nbovo nil, "gifted
in u supreme degree with the most surely victorious of
alt political virtues tlie genius of Infinite patience.
The obvious elements which enter Into tho fnnioof
n public man ure few and by no means recondite.
The man who fills a great station In a period' of
change, who leads his country successfully through, a
time of crisis; who, by his power of persuading tiul
controlling others, has been able to leave his country
In a moral or material condition lu advance of where
ho found It such a man's position In history Is scctire.
If, In addition to thin, ills written or spoken words
possess tlie subtle quality which carry them far and
lodge them in men's hearts; and, more than all, if ids
utterances and actions, wlillo informed with a lofty
morality, are yot tinged with tlie glow of human, sym
pathy, the fume of such u man will shine llkp u. bea
con through tho mists of ages an object of rcycrpnee.
of imitation, nnd of love. It should be to us ntf'oi'-i-nslon
of solemn prldo thut In tho three great (rlsbrf4
of our history such u man was not denied us, TluP
moral value to a nation of a renown such as Washing
ton's and Lincoln's and McKInley', Is beyond all com
putation. No loftier Ideal can be held up to the emu
lation of Ingenuous youth, With such examples wo.
can not bo wholly Ignoble, Grateful us we may be for
what they dd, let us be still mora grateful for what,
they were. AYhllo ouv dally being, our public policies,
mill feel the Inlluenco of their work, let us pray that
lu our spirits their lives niuy be voluble, calling us up
ward und onward.
There Is not one of us but feels prouder of his na
tive land because thu august figure of Washington
presided over Us beginnings; no one but vows it u
tenderer loyo because Lincoln poured out hU blood
for It; no one but must feel his devotion for Ills count,
try renewed and kindled when" he remembers jjovv
McKInley loved, revered, and served It, shjwcd."ln, his
life how a citizen should live, and in his last hour
taught us how a gentleman could die. 7-