The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-02-15

DCS<lil XlAS t|dICSE AS Lawyer
! But Soon Drifted Into
! Politics.
He Is Now the Foremost Candi-
date For tine Presidency On
| the Republican Side.
"A life of William Mckinley. soldier.
lawyer ana statesman by Robert P. Por-
ter the able and distinguished editor of
the Cleveland World. has just been pub
lished at Cleveland Ohio, by the N. G..
Hamilton Publishing Company. It is a
handsomely printed and illustrated vol
ume Of more than 400 pages. and it por-
trays the career and character of the
great Republican leader and statesman
in a manner that cannot but be, not only
interesting, but gratifying to every lover
| of mis- country. For, view Mr.. Mckinley
as we may either as q man OF thought or
a man of action, nc reader can arise from
a per,lsal Of this book without being i'm
Whether as boy soldier fighting for his
country. or as q politician seeking to
serve it. whether as statesman molding
! the statutes OF the union. or as a gov
| ernor directing the fortunes of a great
! commonwealth, everywhere and under
all circumstances he is first and foremost,
an American citizen, and al his pride is
! centered in that name. Not since the
days Of Webster with whom he has
! many traits in common has there been
an American statesman, with the eXcep-
| ton of Abraham Lincoln, who SO
ltypified the country, whose every
breath and every utterance had i'll
Lit SO much Of the flavor Of the soil as
| William Mckinley. We have heard in
| these latter days much said of Mckinley
ism. 1t is a noble designation, for,
rihtly understood, Mckinleyism means
Americanism, says the Chicago Tribune.
| William Mckinley is sprung from the
dominant race that has furnished this
nation with some of it's greatest soldiers
| and statesmen. IIe is ScotchIrish by
descent, and his ancestors immigrated to
| this country early enough to have sons
who took patriotic part in the war of
the revolution. His great grandfather,
| David Mckinley. was an enlisted soldier
-
! }l772, being at that time a NATIVE and res
ident of Pennsylvania.
| The family removed to Ohio in 1341,
and from that day have been identified
with that state, not in 8, great public
way, but simply as faithful and devoted
citizens not striving for particular emf
nence. but notable for sturdine5s OF char-
acter and integrity. One might say
| that they were a typical family of those
! Americans so common in the middle
states in the first half of the present
century. who have always been design;at-
ed as the bong and sneW Of the land.
| They were men OF much native ability,
Of strong convictions and Of decided par
tisanship. They held to their religious
and political beliefs with fe1yia tenacity,
and they expressed themselves often
with more yigor than grace. Their
whites were the whitest OF whites, their
| blacks the blaclSest OF blacks. They
were not all of the same party by any
means some being devoted to Henr.
I Clay, and some to Andrew jackson but
under all circumstances the most devoted
! OF adherents.
! It was among such people. and Of them,
that William Mckinley was born, at
Niles, in Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan. 20,
! 1343.
| 4 Younger son. he was destined by his
f! father. after whom he was named, for
| the bar, and was educated at the public
schools and later entered Allegheny Col
lege, at Meadyilie. Pa. But scarcely Was
he matriculated when the civil war came
On. He was but a STRIPPING of IS when
! he entered as private soldier in the
! entv-tllird Ohio regiment, whose col
| onel was William S. Rosencrans. Stan
| lev Matthews was the lieutenant colonel
and Rutherford b. Hayes the major. 1t
was one Of Ohios choicest regiments,
formed from the flower OF the nations
youth, who spraug to arms when the first
note of war sounded. -.-
| .Nobly did that regiment serve the un-
! ion cause, and as a member OF 1t Mckln-
ley rose by merit and bravery from pri-
yate to the rank of major. Long has he
been known to his countrymen as Major
Mckinley. and he won that honorable
title by notable patriotic service. His
regiment was in almost all the battles i'll
northern Virginia and Maryland, serving
under Mcclellan at Antieta1n, and under
Sheridan and Crook in the valley. 1t
was one of the great fighting regiments
of the war.
Returned from the war in 1865. McKin-
lev entered upon the study Oh law, niSt III
a private law Office, with one year at che
/ Albany law school, and in 1867 was ad-
mitted to the bar. He settled in Can
ION. which ever since has been his home,
and began his career at the bar Though
the county was strongly Democratic, he
was elected one term as prosecuting at
tornay. and soon built up lucrative
practice. In stS71 he married bliss Ida
Saxtcn. woman Of rare charm and at
fractions. aud soon afterward entered
upon that political course that has given
him national fame and made him q Wor-
thy aspirant for the highest office i'll the
peoples gift.
1t was in 1876 that he announced him
self 2 candidate for congress. The sit
ting congressman. L. D. Woodworth, OF
Mahoning, Judge Frease and several
other Republicans three of them from his
| own county, were opponents for the nom
ination. In Stark county. delegates to
the congressional convention were elect
ed by a popular vote. Mckinley car
/ RED every township i'll the county but
one, and that had but single delegate
In the other counties he was almost
equally successful, and the primaries
gave him a majority of the delegates in
the district He was nominated on tile
first ballot Over all the other candidates.
! This sudden rise into prominence and
popularity naturally gave the old politi-