Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-11-29
Mckinley on the Election.

At the Founders Day" banquet at
Union Leagne in Philadelphia. last
Saturday evening, President Mckinley
made a speech in which he said:
I'VE are always in danger of exaZgera-
ton on an occasion Of exultation over
political victory, and while the result Is
mainly due TO the efforts Of our splendid
partv. there is sometimes tendency TO
give too little credit to other forces,
which, silent though they may have
been, were none the less potent We
must not withhold generous acknowl-
edeement from that great body Of our
citizens who, belonging to another
party, powerfully assisted in the achieve
ment of the result which You celebrate
tonight, nor from that other large body
former members Of our own party, who,
with honesty of purpose separated from
us a few wears ago on financial issues,
have now returned and are home again
to stay.
Nor is any accounting for the victo-
~ either Just or accurate which leaves
ont of the calculation the almost IN
broken column Of labor engaged in
mechanics and agriculture which re
jected the false doctrine Of class dis
tinction as having no place in this re
public, and which rebuked those teach
ings which would destroy the faith OF
American manhood in American char
acter and American institutions. The
business men in every part Of the coun
try, typifed by this great organization,
were mighty factor in the recent con-
test And may we not also ascr1De
much to the influence Of the home with
its affiliations? In any previous election
was it greater, or in any did the counsel
Of the fireside determine more largely
the vote Of the electors2
Nothing in government can be more
impressive than National election,
where the people delegate their power
and invest their constitutional agents
with authority to execute their behests.
The very character of the transaction
clothes it with solemnity. 1t is serious
business. It's issues are always moment
nous. What a lesson in self-government
it teaches. Sixteen million voters on
the same day, throughout every section
Of the United States, depositing their
mandate and recording their will
Done by the people in their own com
munities, in the very precincts OF the
home, under the superyisions OF their
fellow-citizens and d'chosen officials, and
to insnre its freedom and independence,
the ballot a secret one. God forbid that
any citizen selected for that sacred trust
should ever attempt to divert the will OF
the sovereign people or tamper with the
sanctity of their ballots,
Some disappointmentsf follow all cleo
tions. but all men rejoice when an cleo
Mon is go decisive as to admit of neither
dispute nor contest, The value Of a
National victory can only be rightly
measured and appreciated by what it
bFtILD do well hS DJ Whno ~ "tbDAh PSDN~N'
1t is fortunate for the party in power
if it understands the true meaning OF
the result. Charged by the people with
administration and legislation, they are
required to interpret as well as to exc
cute the public will, and i.s rightful in
depreciation is essential to its faithful
execution.
I'VE cannot overestimate the great
importance and the far-reaching conse-
quences Of the electoral contest which
ended on the sixth Of November. 1t
has, to me, no personal phase. 1t is not
the triumph Of an individual, nor alto
gether Of party, but an emphatic dec
laration by the people Of what they
believe and would have maintained in
government A great variety Of subjects
was presented and discussed in the prog
ress Of the campaign. We may differ
as to the extent of the influence Of the
several issues involved, but we are all
agreed as to certain things which it set