Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1901-09-26
KEYNOTEs TO SPECIE
Delivered by President at Buffalo, Fur
nished by Secretary Cortelyou.

nished by Secretary Cortelyou.
A Washington special to the New
York World says that President Nc
Kinley's great speech at Buffalo grew
from three phrases thought oat by
him one evening in Canton while he
was smoking his after dinner cigar.
This is the story of the inception ef
the speech, which, Il is generally con-
coded, will live as one Of the great
oratioDs Of history.
About three weeks before he was TO
leave Canton for Buffalo on the visit
which terminated with his death, the
President and Secretary Cortelyou
were sitting together in the Presi-
denJ's Office in his home. 1t was I
o'clock and the lights had not yet
been lighted. The President had
been busy all day with letters and
public matters, and had gone to his
Office to smoke his cigar before taking
up another batch Of correspondence
Mr.. Cortelyou had ready for him.
At such times he usually talked
freely on all sorts of topics. That
evening he sat quietly smoking, look
ing at the ceiling and watching the
smoke curl upwards Mr. Cortelyou
sat across the desk from him, glane-
ing over some papers. Neither hao
said word for ten minutes when,
suddenly, the President took his cigar
from his lips and said, apIopos of
nothing at all, apparently:
ssExpositions are the timekeepers of
progress"
Mr.. Cortelyou had pencil in his
hand. He made note of the cpl
gram on bit Of paper, but said moth
ing.
The President smoked for a few
minutes longer. Then he said:
ssAmity is better than animosity.s
Mr.. Cortelyou made another note.
He said nothing to the President and
Mr.. Mckinley lapsed back into his
thoughtful mood. He pulled on his
cigar for time and once more broke
the silence by saying:
Reciprocity is better than retalia-
tion.p
The watchful Secretay made a nete
of this phrase also.
The President finished his cigar,
walked over and looked out of the
window, returned and sat down at the
desk again.
aWell, Cortelyou,' he said, what
have you for me tonight" There
was not word between the President
and Secretary about the three phrases
but after the work was finished and
the President had gone in to see if
Mrs. Mckinley was comfortable, Cor
telyou went upstairs and said TO one
Of the steaographers: Take this.n
The stenographer put piece of
paper in his typewriter and wrote out
the three phrases as Mr.. Cortelyou
dictated them. He wrote one at the
top of the paper, one in the middle
and one at the bottom and handed
the sheet to Mr.. Coftelyou.
Next morning before breakfast Mr..
COrtelyou took the sheet Of paper and
put it on top of everything else on
the Residents desk. When Mr., Nc
Kin1ey came. In he saw the paper,
picked it up, read it and then turning
to Cortelyou with smile said:
aAh we have begun the Buffalo
speech, see"
The President took the three ideas
and expanded them into the Buffalo
speech. He did not use samity is
better than animosity," or reciprocity
is better than retaliation in those
exact words, but that notable epigram
ssExpositions are the timekeepers of
progress, went safely through all the
revisions and attracted immediate at
tention in the speech.
The President dictated but little OF
the speech. He wrote it out by para
graphs. taking fully two weeks to it.
He used pad on his knee on the
porch and wrote some Of it while he
was in Mrs. McKinley'e room. When
he had it to his liking he dictated it
from his rough draft, and then went
over it two or three times and polish
ed it until it became the perfect piece
Of composition it was when he de-
livered it,