The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1901-09-26

1t maye be In the better land,
Wen read the meaning of our tears,
And there some time wen understand"
"We'n catch the broken threads again,
And finish what we here began
Heav'n will the mysterious explain,
And then, ali then, Wen understand"
'Well know why clouds instead Of sun,
Were over many a cherished plan;
Why song has ceased when scarce begun /;
IT'S there some time Wen understand"
why what we long for most of all,
Eludes so oft our eager hand;
Why hopes are crushed and castles fall,
Up there, some time, we'll understand"
God knows the way he holds the key.
He guides us with unerring hand
Some time with fearless eyes we'll see;
Yes, there, up there, we'll understand"
w. S. KenwOrthy's speech.
W. s. Kenworthy was the closing
speaker, and having been personal
friend of the dead president, his re-
marks were most touching. His en-
tire address follows:
The heart of the nation is at half mast
today. The river of death breaks upon
the shores Of this hour, the busy hum of
the business world is hushed, and our eyes
see only a fraiI boat ahoat on the tide,
vanishing in the mist that hides the UtiIet
shore. Columbia stands upon the beach,
and with wan, white face half covered
with her hands, beneath which trickles the
scalding tears of grief for her fayorlte son.
The roll of distant bells toll off the fifty
eight years of a great mans life. There
are signs from broken hearts in all the
land there are muttled dirges in the hol-
low roar Of lake and ocean surf. For six
long days we stood beside a stricken Presi-
dent and seventy millions of people, with
out-stretched hands appealed to God above
that our President might not pass the por-
tails of death, and yet be strong in life
for the people. 1t reminds us that on the
I'd day Of July. 1863, a mother with two
sons in the Union army in front of Gettys-
burg, fell on her knees In her humble home
and prayed that her boys might be saved
in the shock of battle. Two days later the
mother read, amid her falling tears, the
names of both her loved ones among the
slain; again she fell upon her knees and
cried oh, God, l dare not pray, Thou an
swerest in so strange way" And so with
US.
Twenty years ago at this very hour, the
American nation stood beside the dying bed
of another President stricken down by the
assassin's bullet. Upon this platform l
then asked the question, and to this hour it
remains unanswered: why must this be
Again l ask, why must this beT'
nation was shocked, stunned into uncon-
seriousness, almost, by the blow OF an ass
ASSN, and the great Lincoln, who did his
duty we'll, adOred by all the millions of
the earth, fell a martyr to the cause of
human liberty. And the question then was
asked, why must this beY' God answers
prayer in a mysterious way. We cannot
solve the problem. The only thing that
can console and recompense for these Attic
tiOns is that the roots Of government are
firm and abiding in the hearts Of the com
mon people.
AS Garfield said when the assassin struck
the great Lincoln down, Clouds and dark
ness are round about the throne Of His
habltatiOn; God relgns, and this govern
ment still lives" In this hour we are
hushed by that same voice, of God, or
what? What are we? What is man? God
rules, He exalts a Lincoln, a Garfield, a
Mckinley. lie sets up another The great
thought that should burn in our inmost
souls today is that He, not man, rules the
nations. He has infinite patience; and all
time Is His; so in the end all will be well.
We watched Mckinley for six long days,
and saw his feet go down the slope at the
foot of which rippled the river of death.
We thought at times he would retrace his
deIiverance, and that this cup might pass
from us. But it was ordered otherwise.
And again we ask, why must this be?
We cannot tell. We only know that to-
morrow we must turn from this open grave
to the stern realities Of life, and to the
practical workings out of our individual
and national destiny. and let us believe that
"O'er the tomb of our beloved dead, the
stars of hope shall rise and usher in an
ever during day"
Official position added nothing to the
true greatness Of William Mckinley. We
can look into his coffin today and divest
him of all connection with the public ser
vice and pronounce him truly great-great
because he was good. His private life was
spotless. While he was uncOmpromisng in
his devotion to his convictions, his loyalty
to home and his friends and to God was
sublime. His nature was geniality Itself,
his loving tenderness so marked that ma
tion stood beside his bedside for six long
days and nights alternating with hope and
fear with terrible anxiety. And this Is
why almost everyone In the land takes his
loss as a personal one and weeps above his
bier as though 1t contained valued friend.
This service is the counterpart Of tens of
thousands In every part Of this union. Men
and women by the millions are at this hour
vieing with each other to do honor to his
memory. 1t Is not alone a mark of de-
testation Of the crime OF his taking Off, but
an instructive recognition Of the true
grandeur Of goodness--of humanity's gen
ulne herolsm. Our people will ever regard
William Mckinley as a model citizen Of the
Republic, and history viii so record him.
The Official positions he occupied were the
X-Rrays which showed his true develop
ment. This trying search.llght for twenty
Eve years were turned upon him and to the
hour Of his death naught but spotless
character was seen.
Fellow citizens, pardon me II here
digress and say that in our midst we are
blessed with many lives as pure and unsul-
lied and as worthy OF emulation as that Of
Mckinley Living all about us are men
and women whose existence Is as a sweet
perfume. Let us learn a lesson here and