Gloucester County Democrat., 1901-12-05


Act Advised-RemediaI Action Urg-
ed For Our Merchant Marine-Pres-
ervatiOn of Forests.
To the Senate and House of Representa-
| tives:
The congress assemblies this year under
the shadow of great calamity. On the
9Th of September President Mckinley was
| shot by an anarchist while attending the
Pan-American exposition at Buffalo and
died in that city on the 18th of that
| month
OF the last seven elected presidents he is
the third who has been murdered, and the
bare recital of this fact is sufficient to
| justify grave alarm among all loyaI
American citizens. Moreover, the circum-
stances of this the third assassination of
an American president, have peculiarly
sinister significance. Both President Lin
coin and President Garfield were killed by
| assaSsinS of types unfortunately not un-
common in history President Lincoln
| falling victim to the terrible passions
| aroused by four years of civil war and
| President Garfield to the revengeful van
| ity of disappointed officeseeker. Presi-
dent Mckinley was killed by an utterly
| depraved criminal belonging to that body
| of criminals who object to all govern
ments. good and bad alike. who are
against any form of popular liberty if it is
| guaranteed by even the most just and lib
eEal laws and who are as hostile to the
| upright exponent of a free peoples sober
| will as to the tyrannicai and irresponsible
| despot.
| 1t is not too much to say that at the
| time of President McKinley's death he
| was the most widely loved man in all the
| United States. while we have never had
any public man of his position who has
| been so wholly free from the bitter ami
1 t.-ze i
| ical opDonentS were the first to bear the
heartiest and most generous tribute to the
broad kindness OF nature the sweetness
and gentlenesS of character which so en-
| deared him to his close associates. To
standard of lofty integrity in public life
he united the tender affections and home
| virtues which are all important in the
makeup oe rational character. A gallant
soldier III the great war for the Union, he
also shone as an example to all our people
because of his conduct in the most sacred
| and intimate of home relations. There
could be no personal hatred of him, for he
never acted with aught but consideration
| for the welfare of others. No one could
| fail to respect him who knew him in pub
| lie or private life. The defenders of those
murderous criminals who seek to excuse
| their criminalitv by asserting that it
| Is exercised for political ends inveigh
against wealth and irresponsible power.
But for this assassination even this base
| apology cannot be urged.
Phe Object of the BIow.
President Mckinley was man of mod
| crate means. man whose stock sprang
| from the sturdy tillers of the SOIL who
had himself belonged among the wage
workers, who had entered the army as
private soldier. Wealth was not struck at
| when the president was aSSassinated but
| the honest toll which is content with mod
| crate gains after lifetime of unremitting
| labor largely in the service of the public.
| Still less WAS power struck at in the sense
| that power Is irresponsible or centered in
| the hands of arv one individual. The blow
was not aimed at tyranny or wealth. 1t
| was aimed at one of the strongest cham
pions the wageWorker has ever had. at
one of the most faithful representatives of
the system of public rights and represent
ative government who has ever risen to
public office. President Mckinley fIled
that political office for which the entire
people vote, and no president not even
Lincoln himself. was ever more earnestly
anxious to represent the we'll thought out
wishes of the people. His one anxiety in
every crisis was to keep in closest touch
with the people, to find cut what they
thought and to endeavor to give express
sion to their thought after having endeav-
ored to guide that thought Alright. He
had Just been reelected to the presidency
because the majorit, of our citizens. the
ma jority of our farmers and wagework-
ers believed that he had faithfully upheld
their interests for four wears They felt
| themselves in close and intimate touch
with him. They felt that he represented
SO well and SO honorably all their ideals
and aspirations that they wished him to
| continue for another four years to repre-
sent them.
| And this was the man at whom the as
sassin struck! That there might be moth
| ing lacking to complete the Jndas-like in
| fanny of his act he took advantage of an
| occasion when the president was meeting
the people generally and. advancing as if
| to take the hand outstretched to him in
| kindly and brotherly fellowship he turned
the noble and generous confidence of the
| victim into an opportunity to strike the
| fatal blow. There is no baser deed in all
| the annals of crime
4 Glorious Death.
| The shock. the grief of the country. are
bitter in the minds of all who saw the
dark days while the president yet hovered
between life and death. At last the light
was stilled in the kindly eyes. and the