Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-09-12
PRESIDENT SHOT;
WILL RECOVER.
ACT OF ANARCHIST COMMITTED
AT BUFFALO.


Two Bullets. Fired Dnring Public
Reception, Take Effect. One Caus-
ing a Dangerous Wound. Assail-
ant Arrested. A Plot Suspected.
An attempt was made to assassinate
President Mckinley while he was at the
Pan-American Exposition last Friday.
An Anarchist fired two shots at point
blank range. Both took effect, one causing
a dangerous wound. The president has
been in a critical condition, but is
improving steadily, and unless compli-
cations arise, his chances OF recovery are
now considered excellent.
A public reception was being held in the
Temple Of Music on the Exposition
grounds. The president, with his
secretary, ,Cortelyou and President Milburn
Of the Exposition, stood near the center OF
the Temple. With him were two or three
secret service detectives to guard him from
danger. A large number OF people were
passing into the Temple, shaking hands
with the president and then passing out
in a line. 1t was about 4.30 O'Clock.
Along in the line came a swsrthy man,
who, when he took the presidents hand,
held il so long that be was finally urged
on. Next came a tall, slender young man
in mechanics garb. His right hand was
done up in a handkerchief and held as il
injured. The officers within reach
suspected nothing. The president
reached out his hand and the man
extended his left hand TO meet it. At the
same moment he raised his right hand
and fired two shots in rapid succession
with a revolver which he had concealed
under his handkerchief. Before he could
fire again dozen men hurled him to the
floor.
President Mckinley at first seemed not
to realize Just what had occurred. sam /
shot?n he asked. and passed his hand
under his coat. He was assisted to a
chair. retaining his strength and
composure to remarkable degree. Mrs.
Mckinley must not know OF this, was
his next remark.
Immediately all was turmoil in the
Temple The crowd surged this way and
that, and had the building not been
cleared at once lives would have been lost
in the crush. An ambulance was
summoned and the wounded president
conveyed to the Exposition hospital,
where skilled surgeons assembled
hurriedly The first shot took effect in
the right breast. The ball glanced from
the sternum and was easily removed, as it
had lodged just beneath the skin. The
second ball entered five inches below the
left nipple and one and one half inches TO
the left OF the median line. The surgeons
decided to operate at once They made an
incision and found that the ball had
penetrated both walls Of the stomach. BY
the exercise OF great skill and care, both
holes were sewed up. The location OF the
bullet was not determined, but il IS
assumed to be lodged in the muscles Of
the back. in rear of the stomach. The
intestines and other organs were found
uninjured.
The president stood the operation well.
As soon as the effects of the ether were
over, he was taken 10 the home OF
President Milburn. where he now Is,
watched and attended by a corps of.the
best physicians and surgeons in the land.
The wound itself was not mortal, but It
was feared that peritonitis or septic
poisoning might ensue. Thus far,nothing
n the kind has developed. The patient
has progressed in the most favorable
manner, and none of the dreaded
symptoms have appeared. The pulse,
temperature and respiration are only what
WOuiQ DE 7NNn
wound. II is considered that the danger
point Is well-nigh passed, and the
physicians all express the utmost hope OF
convalescence.
Mrs. Mckinley was in Buffalo at the
time. Owing to her frail condition, she
knows only part of the truth.
Vice President Roosevelt and most Of
the cabinet officers are in Buffalo, and
between them are discharging the
necessary duties Of the presidency.
The would be assassin. was taken IN no
very gentle manner 10 police quarters.
The immense crowd that gathered sought
~ lvnch him, but police and soldiers
,,-avented. He talked freely after a little.
lie gave his name as Leon Czolgosz
1nronounced Shole- guse1 and said he was
~ Anarchist and. having become incited
~ the teachings of Emma Goldman,
conceived that il was his duty to Kill the
,rasident. He is Of Polish extraction.
he came 10 Buffalo from Cleveland, Ohio,
where his fathers family resides. The
family Is respectable and has no sympathy
Tor him. He is well known wherever he
has been for his Anarchistic tendencies,
but was not considered dangerous. lie
yIories in his deed. II the president lives,
he extreme penalty for this man is only
ten years Imprisonment. The poilce
believe there was a plot ana that otner
Anarchists were involved, but Czolgosz
Hundreds OF condolences have come to
the president, including kilograms from
nearly all the heads of government on
earth.