The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-07
THE TRAGEDY AT BUFFALO.

| TIE Al
The news that came from Buffalo
yesterday that an attempt had been
made to assassinate the President, that
| he had been shot and severely, if not
fatally, wounded, startled and shocked
the entire country. The first thought
was that a rumor had been put in cir
oulation which had no foundation, or,
at least, very slight one. 1T could not
be realized that a President who had
led so blameless a life and who was so
generally beloved could be the victim
of an assassin's bullet. The sad and
terrible news. however, was soon con-
firmed, and the hearts of the people
were filed with mingled sympathy and
hatred, sympathy for the wounded
President and hatred for the man who
attempted to take his life.
There have been greater Presidents
than Mr.. Mckinley. but there has been
none who, during his term of office.
was so near the hearts of the whole
people. He is recognized as a good man,
a kindhearted man and a pure man
as the world knows he has no enemies,
and that was one reason why there was
so much doubt of the truth of the first
dispatch telling of the terrible tragedy.
And it is probable that he has no
enen1ies-such enemies as would desire
to take his life for actual or fancied
wrongs. He was shot by a foreigner, an
avowed anarchist, one of those crazy
creatures who think it their duty to
kill the rulers of nations, whether they
are hereditary or chosen by the peo-
pie. From them no president, emperor
or king is safe, however just, honored
and beloved he may be. Each ruler
realizes that he may be shot to death
or in some other way assassinated any
hour of the day or night.
President Mckinley was guarded by
detectives at Buffalo, and they were
close at hand when the pistol was fired
so close that one of them caught him
as the bullets struck him and another
caught the assassin.
And there does not seem to be any
way of staying the hand of these
stealthy assassins-of preventing them
from carrying out their carefully
laid plans. They are the agents of
secret organizations, whose purpose is
to destroy organized governments by
striking down the heads of them-a
purpose that is without reason, because
the vacancy that is made by the assas-
sins bullet or knife is already provided
for.
1t has been twenty years since Pres
ident Garfield was shot in the railway
station in Washington. His assassin,
however, was not an anarchist. No
secret organization ordered him re-
moved from the sphere of his useful
ness. He was the victim of an embit-
tered, weak minded, and unsuccessful
place-hunter. The man who shot Pres
ident Mckinley was an anarchist. he
declared himself to be one.
1t is evident that in future in this
country this class of criminals will
have to be reckoned with. Our pres
idents, instead of feeling free to go
"OOut AIMING tue peopie, TAKING part
in ceremonies on great occasions, will
have to be guarded whenever they ap-
pear in public as closely as the rulers
OF Europe are. 1t has come to pass
that the benehcent ruler is in as much
danger from assassins when he walks
abroad as the hated tyrant is.
The hearts of the people are with
the President in his suffering. All
over the land their prayers are for his
recovery.