Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-09-09
KNEW MAJ. MCKINLEY WELt,apitol
Member Of The Herald Staff Talks of
the Great Buckeye Statesman.

Mr. A. E. Benson, The Herald's lin
otype operator, Is Il native of the
Buckeys state, and having enjoyed a
personal acquaintance with President
Mckinley in years gone by, was ma
turally very much shocked when the
news came in of the assassination of
the nations chief executive. This
morning in speaking OF the deplorable
occurrence. Mr.. Benson said;
Ohio has produced some very great
men, and is famous as the birth place
of presidents. This is the second one
of her gifted sons who has been call
ed to the presidency, only to be
stricken down by the bullet of an as
sassin. Garfield was great man
and stood high in the esteem of the
people of Ohio, but he never occupied
the place in the hearts of the masses
that Major Mckinley held. can
easily imagine the thrill of horror that
swept over the state this afternoon
when 1t became known that the presi-
dent had been assassinated.
Major Mckinley was man of the
people in every sense of the word
and he was respected and loved by
rich and poor alike. This fact was
strikingly exemplified when he was
overtaken by business reverses and
his fortune was swept away. At that
time dollar subscriptions were started
by his admirers all over the state to
raise fund for presentation to Mr..
Mckinley and which would place him
upon his financial feet again. The
dollars came rolling in from all quar-
ters. They came from the poor man,
the laborer, the banker, the artisan
and from people in every walk in life.
until the committee in charge was COM
PEELED to send out word to stop the
inpouring of dollars. believe the
fund would have reached a<totaI of
a million dollars had this action not
been taken. This is only an incident
to show the popularity of Major Nc
kinley in his home state.
During the first part of his term as
governor of the state | was librarian
at the Ohio Penitentiary, and | had
the pleasure of meeting and talking
with Major Mckinley many times
He seemed never to forget face or
name, and he met you on the street
with the same cordial good morning
that you would receive from your most
intimate friend. He frequently visit
ed the prison and took great inter
est in the inmates confined there. He
| occasionally spent an hour or so going
about through the institution, and of
ten suggested something that might
be done to tighten the burden of the
many poor unfortunates confined
there. 1t is needless to say that his
suggestions were always acted upon.
81 at one time resided at Mans
field, the home of Senator Sherman,
and 1t being but short distance
from Canton. Major Mckinley was a
| comparative frequent visitor on legal
or political business concerning both
himself and Senator Sherman. | can
safely say that he was personally ac-
quainted with half the people in
Mansfield. This all goes to show the
cosmopolitan spirit of the man, which
| was, no doubt, indirectly, the cause of
his assassination.
Such, in brief, was william Nc
Kinley as | knew him before he be-
| came president, and in everyday life
among his fellow Buckeyes. There
could have been no personal provoca-
tion for the terrible act of yesterday,
| for no man could have been an en-
emy of the presidents to the extent
of being actuated to the awful crime.
The only enemies the president
he had were political enemies, and
their admiration for the man would
be bar to their even wishing him
the slightest physical harm"