Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-12-07
To the Senate and House of Representa-

The Congress assemblies this year I'M
der the shadow Of a great calamity. On
the sixth of September, President Me
Kinley was shot by an anarchist while
attending the Pan-American Exposition
at Buffalo, and died in that city on the
fourteenth 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 sut1-
cient to Justify grave alarm among all
loyal American citizens Moreover, the
circumstances Of this, the third assassi-
nation of an American President, have a
peculiarly sinister significance. Both
President Lincoln and President Garfield
were killed by assasSlns Of types unfor-
tunately not uncommon in history; Presl-
dent Lincoln falling a victim to the ter
rible passions aroused by four years of
civil war, and President Garfield to the
revengeful vanity Of disappointed office
seeker. President Mckinley was killed
by an utterly depraved criminal belong
Ing to that body Of criminals who OBJECT
to all governments, good and bad alike,
who are against any form Of popular ND
erty if it is guaranteed by even the most
just and liberal laws, and who are as
hostile to the upright exponent Of free
peoples sober will as to the tyrannlcal
and irresponsible despot.
It 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 VINO
has been so wholly free from the bitter
animosties incident to public life. There
could be no personal hatred of him, Tor
he never acted with aught but consIdera-
ton for the welfare of others. The de-
tenders of those murderOus criminals who
seek to excuse their criminality by assert
Ing that it is exercised for political ends,
inVegh against wealth and irresponsible
power But for this assassination even
this base apology cannot be urged.
When President Mckinley was assas-
sinated the blow was not aimed at tyran-
nv or wealth. 1t was aimed at one of
the strongest champions the wage work
er has ever had; at one of the most faith
full representatives of the system OF pup
lie rights and representative government
who has ever risen to public office. Presl-
dent Mckinley filled that political office
for which the entire people vote, and no
President-nOt even Lincoln himself
was ever more earnestly anxious to rep
resent 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 out what they thought
and to endeayor to give expression to
their thought, after having endeavored
to guide that thought Alright.
That there might be nothing lacking
TO complete the Judas-like infamy Of his
act, the assassin took advantage of an
occasion when the President was meeting
the people generally; and advancing as
IL 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.
Nation Mourns Mckinley.
The shock, the grief of the country, are
bitter in the minds of an. We mourn a
good and great President who is dead;
but while we mourn we are lifted up by
the splendid achievements of his life and
the grand herOism with which he met his
death.
When we turn from the man to the ma
ton, the harm done is so great as to eX-
cite our gravest apprehensiOns and to de-
mand our wisest and most resOlute &C
ton. This criminal was a protested an
archist, inflamed by the teachings Of pro-
fessed anarchists, and probably also by
the reckless utterances of those who, on
the stump and in the public press, appeal
to the dark and evil spirits of malice and
greed, envy and Sullen hatred. The wind
Is sOwed by the men who preach such
doctrines, and they cannot escape their
share of responsibility for the whirlwind
that is reaped.
The blow was aimed not at this Presi-
dent, but at all Presidents; at every SYM
boil Of government. Anarchy is no more
an expression Of social discomfort" than
picking pockets or wife beating. The an
archst. and especially the anarchist in
the United States, is merely one type of
criminal, more dangerous than any other
because he represents the same depravity
In a greater degree. The man who adj
vocates anarchy directly or Indirectly, in
any shape or fashion, or the man who
apologies for anarchists and their deeds,
makes himself morally accessory to MUIR
der before the fact. The anarchist is a
II NOT a
system and OF progress, but the deadly
foe of liberty. He is not the victim of
social or political injustice There are
no wrongs to remedy in his case. The
cause of his criminality is to be found in
his own evil passions and in the evil con-
duct of those who urge him on, not in
any failure by others or by the State to
do justice to him or his. He is a male
factor and nothing else. No man or body
Of men preaching anarchistic doctrines
should be allowed at large any more than
IL preaching the murder of some specified
private individual Anarchistic speeches,
writings and meetings are essentially Sc
ditiOus and reasonable.
Urges Laws Against Anarchists.
| earnestly recommend to the Congress
that in the exercise of it's wise discretion
1t should take into consideration the COM
ing to this country Of anarchists or per-
sons processing principles hostile to all
government and justifying the murder of
those placed in authority. If found here
they should be promptly deported to the
country whence they came: and far
reaching provision should be made for the
punishment of those who stay. No mat
ter calls more urgently for the wisest
thought of the Congress.
The federal courts should be given
jurisdiction over any man who kills or
attempts to kill the President or any man
who by the constitution or by law is in
line Of succession for the presideny, while
the punishment for an unsuccessful at
tempt should be proportional to the enor-
NIFTY Of the offense against our institu-
tons.
Anarchy is q crime against the whole
human race; and all mankind should
band against the anarchist. His crime
should be made an ofense against the
law of nations. 1t should be so declared
by treaties among all civilized powers.
This great country will not fall into
anarchy, and if anarchists should ever
become a serious menace to its institu-
lions, they would not merely be stamped
Ont, but would involve in their own ruin