The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-04
PRESIDENT Mckinney.
Henry B. =. Mactartand. in the .itronttc Month H.

most Presidents. Mr. Mckinley has bee
nj once misunderstood and successful
: mlsrepresented. Like all his predeces
sois' he Is neither the saint that hi
friends nor the sinner that his enemies
nave painted: but. unlike most of his pre-
decessors. he has been made to appear
partly by friends and partly by enemies
very different from the man he really is
Nothing illustrates the popular misun
derstanding of, Mr. Mckinley more thai
the astounding delusion, entertained ES
some Republicans as well as by many
democrats who do not know him. that h
Is, and has been ever since 1895. more Of
less under the influence of Senator Han
ma This sums up. in way t at is as
unjust as it is picturesque. all the notions
to the effect that Mr. Mckinley is yield
ing and UNSTABLE person. without con
| Nictions, or even opinions. that cannot be
changed at the command of a stronger
man. Newspaper cartoons, which now
have more influence than newspaper edi-
torials, are largely responsible for these
strange beliefs, but they have been fos-
tered by uniformed editors and politicians
misied by deceptive appearances end by
malice. 1t is interesting to see how ignor-
ance alone misleads writer's about FRESH
as when they speak of him as ''stolid and
solemn because they have only seen his
manner in public. when the fact is that
he is a man of humor who enjoys even
the cartoons Mt his own expense, End is
| as fond of good jokes, and opt at tell
| ing them, as Abraham Lincoln, Remem-
| boring the fate of public men who have
| done otherwise, Mr.. Mckinley has kept
! his wit and humor for private conN ersa-
| ton, and thus. naturally enough, has
| been accused of having none. These writ
ers would probably be unwilling to be-
| lieve that Mr.. mckinley was a constant
| reader of Mr.. Dooley during the Spanish
war, just as Mr.. Lincoln found r. crea-
| ton in the humorsts Of the civil war.
| As it takes more faith to be an infilel
than a believer, so IL takes more credu-
| lity to believe in the Mckinley of fiction
than in the Mckinley of fact. 1t seems
incredible that intelligent and educated
men and women should be able to believe.
even on the authority of both newspaper
cartoons and editorials that the man who
has done what Mr.. Mckinley has done
could be under the domination of any
other man Even after taking from
President Mckinley all the achievements
of his Administration that can possibly
ted that he has accomplished more than
any of his predecessors. with possibly one
or two exceptions. in what he has clearly
done himself. From such work it ought
to be easy to infer the workman.
At all events, the only way to under
stand President McEinley's first Admin
istration is to recognize the fact that it
was his Administration. There is no
doubt about this fact in Washington,
where the whole story is known in detail.
and all the characters in it are rightly
appreciated because thoroughly, under
stood. If it be said that Washington Is
friendly to MIR. Mckinley, it can be said
that Washington is familiar with Mr.. Nc
Kinley He has had to meet the disad- |
vantage that the prophet finds proverbial- |
ly in his own country and in his own
house: for he has lived in Washington for |
almost a quarter of a century, and has |
grown steadily into larger powers before |
the eyes of many men who remember /
what he was when he first came to the |
House of Representatives. He has had to /
live down that familiarity which. In the /
beginning of a cereer. is still apt to breed |
contempt 1t has been hard to do this. |
just as it has been hard to take command |
Of men who were his commanders when
make himself the ac znowledged leader
under these circumstances means more
than if he had gained the place by coming
first to Washington with the prestige and
of a President-elect, personally
unknown to most public men.
President McKinley's personal manner, !
which has had so much to do with his
success has had quite much to do
with the misunderstanding of him The !
expression of a kindly and equable ma
ture governed by the moderation and
patience suggested by the crest of his
Scotch ancestors. an olive branch clasped
N a mailed hand, with the motto. Not
90 much. its strength failed to impress
hose who think that brusqueness and
buster and Dragging are the necessary
;fgns Of power "A very parfit gentil
Snyghte" is to many people a weakling
simply because he is gentle, and they
AVE had to know Mr.. Mckinley well to
ippraise him properly. Even close ac-
has not helped those of op-
,osite qualities to appreciate him. His |
-suaviter ct fortiter'' is one of the Sc
rets Of his success in making his way I
o the headship of his party, through the ,
anks of his colleagues, without aIienat-
ng any considerable number of them. /
ny of his political opponents. 1t is the I
ey too to his dealings with his Cabi- !
ct which has contained such a large
roportion Of strong men. with Senators !
nj Representatives Of all parties. and I
nth public men generally. Mr. AIcKin- I
" has had his own way more than most :
artv LEADERS, more than most of his ]
Predecessors in the White House But he f
as had il in his own way. Always tact f
al. serene patient. modest in manner h
ever sounding a trumpet of announce Il
lent or INDUCING in noisy threatenings | I
r complaining determinations he has not I
adj credit for his courage, persistence | |,
nd determination. He has cared more b
n real success than for making people :
link that he would have 1t or had won h
. Now, most men are still children who :;
re- impressed by appearances. They like T.
, be told, even by the President him ,
If that he is doing or going to do great :;
lings, especially if. as in the case of :,
ndrew Jackson, he publicly defies some 4
Icmy or talks contemptuOusly of the +,
coordinate branches of the Government. | -
ust Americans look upon the President ! H.
superior to the Congress and the Su 81
'cme Court, about whose powers and n
motions they know very little: and they -,
g rather pleased than otherwise when =
acts as though he agreed with this -,
Union Even if such President actual
fails to accomplish, perhaps because
"a bellicose and clustering manner. any -
al. substantial success in the way of y
or diploma tic negotiations. y"
en- if he is destructive rather than con- = :.
ructive. ard leaves the count a-- "
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