The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-09-30
High in Ideals and
Perfect in
Practice.

Young Mems Christian Association
yesterday afternoon drew to that hall
a large and representative audience.
There was prelude in the shape of a
vocal sole. Lest We Forget" by Loye
H. Miller. OF Oahu College, and the re-
mainder OF the music was by quar-
tet from the Kawaiahao Church. At
the close of the musical program the
address of the day, upon the lessons
from the life of the late President Nc
Kinley. was made by Mr.. Stewart, he
speaking as follows:
Massillon. who preached the sermon
at the funeral of Louis XIV, faced the
most brilliant audience ever gathered
in Europe. The reigning king, the roy
al family. the nobility and gentry of
the kingdom, its legislative assembly,
its executive and judicial departments,
its military commanders and princes.
potentates, ambassadors from every
civilized nation, all, more or less, in
brilliant uniforms, which daZSled the
eye, filled the cathedral of Paris. The
great preacher stood up with downcast
eyes. and held before the audience a
golden urn with its sand flowing fast
and surely. All eyes were fixed upon
that tiny little object, whose lesson
was clearly understood. The preacher
was silent Many thought him dumb,
as seconds passed into minutes, and
he stood motionless and pale as
statue. Many people groaned aloud,
and tears were in hundreds of eyes.
Slowly the preacher lifted his head and
fixed his gaze upon that august assem-
bly,. His lips parted, and his sonorous
voice carried to every nook and corner
Of the cathedral the mighty truth,
ffCOH aIn iS hran -
Because this truth was the keynote
to McKinley's life, he is canonized in
the hearts of his countrymen He
counted neither riches nor honor,
neither fame nor power as great. No
race, no nation, no color, no creed was
his standard. He saw IN man only
man. He bowed down only before God,
and followed only one rule, the rule
of right.
The object OF extraordinary honors
from his youth up. the trustee of unu-
sual powers, the beneficiary of fndf-
Vidual prosperity, the Favored child of
fortune, he remained to the end mod
est, unassuming, gentle. He seemed
to be unconscious Of the greatness of
his character the magnitude of his
work, the splendor OF his achieve
ments, the unlimited scope of his in
flueuce, the boundless sphere of his
power, and the universally of his
fame When the first Duke of Marl-
borough grew old, they read to him
stories of his own brilliant military
campaigns. He always became deeply
Interested in the stirring narratives,
and often forgetting that he himself
was the hero he frequently interrupt
ed the reader with the question, who
Commanded?"
Gentle as a woman, yet challenging
admiration for that strong character
which entered the arena of war in its
TaE fnln rs a
ed rnodeSty and lack of self-conSciOuS-
ness VIII stand In human history the
marvel and the wonder of mankind.
His whole life was one of thoughtful
ness for others. Seeing the maddened
crowd struggle around the f1end who
had shot him, and while his death
wound was upon him. Mckinley cried,
Don't hurt HIM" and In that hour
and in that cry, he rose as upon the
wings of angels into the ranks OF
those holy men who have been canon
lied by the church. Socrates, dying in
prison blessed his executioners, but
they stood weeping before him, grieVed
TO the heart because they were COM
PEELED to administer to the philosopher
the deadly poison. They were not
cursing him, not railing at him, not
abusing him. Few instances in human
history there are like Mckinley, where
dying men have followed the example
of the Divine Master, and cried IN
spirit. Father forgive them. for they
know not what they do,"
And so we have as lesson from the
life of Mckinley this unconsciousness
Of self and recognition of God as the
only standard. and right as the only
guide. This fact explains his whole
marvellous life. Born of humble pa
rentage, broken down in health before
acquiring even an ordinary scholastic
education: yet. when a mere youth, he
rose from private to major In the
army and in tie fullneSs of time, and
alone by force of his character, he be-
came leader of the Congress of the
nation and, thereafter first citizen of
the land, being twice exalted to the
Presidency of the greatest nation on
earth. Grant went into the Presidency
somewhat because of the glory of his
military achievements; Harrison, some
what because of his direct relationship
to a former President; but Mckinley,
without ostentation or display, with
out the aid of a fortune or of family,
passed through the different stages OF
evolution until he ripened into the
sweetest flower of our Americanism,
standing on the same stem with Abra-
ham Lincoln. That he had a military
career may be forgotten. But men
will never forget what Mckinley has
done to secure international arbitra-
ton to perpetuate a sound and stable
currency, TO eXteHu IHteiidIiolldi COil-
mercial intercourse; to guarantee to all
men the equal protection of the law;
70 compose sectional differences, and
10 unite the nation in defense of
common flag; to establish. in dealing
with weaker nations and races, the law
Ds right in opposition to the law of
might and thus drawing all men ev-
erywIsere unto a common platform,
recognizing the fatherhood of God and
he brotherhood of man. What Nc
kiney did along these lines viii never