The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1901-09-11
Our Washington Letter.
The News Discussed at the Cap

lfal.
Washington, Sept. 9.-The terrible
calamity which has befallen President
Mckinley has been almost the sole
topic of conversation in Washington
since Friday night. The news came
just as people employed in the depart
ments were going home to dinner, and
Just before the shops closed for the
night. There were some hundreds of
people who cid not go home to dinner
at all. They stood about in front of
the bulletin boards watching for the
latest reports and discussing the
news. The three great newspaper
offices, the Times, the Post and the
Star, all occupy buildings on Pennsyl-
vania avenue within about four blocks
of each other, and that part of the
great thoroughfare was black with
people To one standing in front of
the Treasury and looking toward the
Capital it might have seemed that an
actual shadow had fallen across the
pathway which has been twice
traversed by President Mckinley on
his way to take the oath of ,inaugura-
tion. These crowds were not mere
curiosity-impelled sensation-hunters
They felt sense of personal afflic-
tion, for there has been no more popu-
lar President in the White House since
its erection than Mr. Mckinley has
been SO far as his private character is
concerned. His enemies are made
by his public acts and the party to
which he belongs; his personal friends
are found in ali parties.
The lesson taught by this tragic
event was pointed out Immediately.
As one energetic person put it, in
discussing the first bulletin, "This
means Round up the Reds!' - While
to the masses of the people the tragedy
was unexpected and unaccountable, it
was not so to many astute observers of
public events in this city and else
where. The assassinations of the En-
press Elizabeth and of King Humbert
foreshadowed only too plainly the
selection of another victim in the near
future, and the United States, as yet
untouched by Anarchistic plots of this
kind, was the field likely to be select
ed for the next coup. President Nc
Kinley owed his misfortunate to the
fact that he happened to be President
at this particular time, not to any
thing whatever that he may have done.
This is fortunate, since it relieves
all his antagonists from the fearful
odium of having suggested or encour-
aged any crazy fanatic to commit such
a crime. The matter had been care
fully arranged and planned by So
ciety of Anarchists, and the man
selected to do the deed calmly did as
he was told. The question is, how
such things can be prevented in fu-
ture. It is futile to expect to prevent
them by guarding all public men.
The network of police in Russia does
not protect the Gear. There is no
way of shutting out immigrants which
will absolutely nullify the danger.
The suggestion of a morning paper the
day after the event, that restriction
of immigration is the lesson which it
teaches, became absurd when it was
found that the assassin was born in
this country. The remedy seems to be
strict police supervision of such dan
gerous societies. They are against
the law, as much as burglars asso-
citation or murder club would be; in
fact, they are murder clubs. They
should be compelled either to hold
their meetings in public, with the
understanding that incendiary speech
es will not be tolerated, or they should
be suppressed, imprisoned and deport-
ed. It will not do to tolerate such
epidemics, any more than to let small
pox remain unquarantined.
The Navy Department has concluded
that Captain Forsyth's explanation of
his alleged newspaper interview on
the Schley case may be accepted, and
he is forgiven. Possibly the compari-
son with the case of Admiral Howison
and Captain Chadwick, so promptly
made by dozen alert papers, had had
something to do with this magnanim-
ity, for an interrogation point some
times pricks.
The historic National Watchman,
once the Silver Knight, started by
Senator Stewart, has been put into
the hands of Mr.. Bryan.
Mr.. a. A. Adee, Assistant Secretary
of State, has gotten himself into a
little very hot water. He wrote a let
ter to Director General Buchanan of
the Pan-American Exposition advis-
ing him not to invite the Duke and
Duchess of Cornwall and York to come
to the Exposition. The letter was
personal and unofficial, and intended
to save embarrassment to everybody.
Mr.. Adee, in his official position, was
aware of the fact that that the Duke
and Duchess would not leave Canada
on their tour, that they had declined
all invitations to foreign countries :,
and that they would either have to de-
cline this one or be obliged to ignore
it, neither of which would be very
pleasant for them or for Mr.. Buchan-
an. The diplomatic circle of Wash
! Ill l.