Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1901-09-13

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF PRES1-
DENT MCKINLEY AT BUFFALO.

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF PRES1-
DENT MCKINLEY AT BUFFALO.
Like thunderbolt from clear sky
came the shock and crash of the terri
BILE news that President Mckinley at
public reception in his honor at Buffalo
had been twice shot bp an assassin who
held his pistol masked by handker-
chief in one hand while the other was
advanced to grasp that of the president
as if in friendly greeting.
The nation stands aghast at this at
tempted assassination Of the president.
The universal feeling is one of mingled
horror and amazement. For Of all the
men in the world William Mckinley
would seem to have been the last that
anybody would wish to kill. For he
had no living enemy. Two of his pre-
decessors were assassinated within The
last thirtysix years. But the slayer Of
Abraham Lincoln was fanatic, fren-
zied by the intense passions aroused by
the Civil war, who looked upon Lin
coin as tyrant and wished to avenge
upon him the wrongs of the conquered
South. Guitean sympathized with the
Conkling faction in it's quarrel with
President Garfield, and the blind bitter
ness Of his political animosity moved
him to his crazy deed of blood. But
there seems to have been absolutely no
motive for this attempted assassination
of President Mckinley. Whatever
bitterness in past party controversies
there may have been have passed away,
! and an era of good feeling is now pre-.
vailing which is largely due to the gen
erous and conciliatory influences which
emanate like genial sunshine from
/ the kindly personality of William Nc
Kinley.
Has it come TO this then, that in this
land of universal freedom the life of
the freely elected president of seventy
six million freeman is no longer safe
because group of madmen and fends
who call themselves anarchists teach
the horrible creed that it is their duty
i to assassinate the executive chiefs Of
all governments? It has been claimed
heretofore that this diabolical doctrine
! ! was aimed only at monarchs and czars
and emperors representing more or less
despo,ic governments. But it now ap-
pears that the president Of the United
States is one of the selected victims of
this hideous conspiracy Of maniac MUIR
derers. or at any rate of one of their
number. The United States has hereto
fore afforded too hospitable an asylum
for this society of madmen who profess
political assassination as the cardinal
article of their social creed Whether
this man was formally delegated by
them to assassinated President McKin-
ley or not, his attempt was the direct
result of their teachings, and they are
as responsible IT for it as if they had di-
rec,ly ordered it, 1t is full time that
this gang OF 1naniacs were taken vigor-
ously in hand by congress and the le gis-
latures of the several state 1t should
not be necessary to wait for the overt
act of the man who teaches assassina-
tion as a political creed. AS long as he
| is at liberty to carry ont his devilish
doctrines he is menace to society.
As we now see the president of the
United States is in constant danger of
his life from this secret conclave Of as
sassins. The one thing to do with
them is TO hunt them down>and when
ever found to sentence them to perpet-
ual imprisonment in the maniac wards
of insane hospitals. The people of
America owe it to themselves to purge
this land of liberty Of these reptiles
that use the muniments of freedom to
strike. at the foundation of all govern
ment. 1t is their first and highest duty
to make the persons Of their presidents
secure from violence without any other
guards than the loyalty of free peo-
pie. No other guard than this wonld
President McKinlep tolerate about his
person. President Cleveland, in view
of repeated warnings of designs upon
his life, thought it necessary to have
the approaches to the White House
protected by platoons of armed sen,in-
els. These were promptly dismissed
by President Mckinley, wio never
dreamed that a peoples president of
the United States needed apy other
protection than the love and loyalty of
the American people. Aud he was
right. But no one, much less presi-
dent. is safe from the assaults of luna
tics like the anarchists The place for
thena is in an unkown grave
LINCOLN COUNTY FIFTH.
The published list of the total valua-
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