Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1901-09-23

Il
q master hand.
He was the soul of honor. At the
Republican National Convention on
1888 In Chicago, when 1t became ap-
parent that John Sherman could not
be nominated and one delegation after
another rendered its support to Will
4 lam McKinley,--nay, even insisted
he should accept the nomination for
the Presidency, he addressed the con-
vention as follows:
"'Mr. President and Gentlemen of
the Convention: / am here as one Of the
chosen representatives of my state. l
am here by resolution of the Repub-
lican State Convention, passed with
out single dissenting voice, COM
manding me to cast my vote for John
| Sherman for President, and to use
every worthy endeavor for his nomi-
nation. / accepted the trust because
, my heart and judgment were in accord
with the letter and spirit and purpose
of that resolution. 1t has pleased GER
tain delegates to cast their votes for
Iit lOI lCoItttll. dln lOL
J to the honor they would do me, but
+ in the presence of the duty resting
upon me / cannot remain silent with
honor. cannot, consistently with the
wish of the state whose credentials
! bear, and which has trusted me;
cannot with honorable fidelity to John
Sherman, who has trusted me in his
cause and with confidence; / cannot,
consistently with my own views of
personal integrity, consent, or seem to
consent, to permit my name to be
used us n candidate before this con-
vention. / would not respect myself
IL could find it In my heart to do SO,
or permit that to be done which could
be ground for anyone to suspect that
l wavered In my loyalty to Ohio, or
my devotion to the chief of her choice
and the chief Of mine. I do not re-
quest-I demand, that no delegate who
would not cast reflection upon me
shall cast ballot for me-
president Mckinley the public SER
want, was quick to perceive the will
of the people. and to accede to it. The
deep sense of obligation and respons-
ibility with which he entered upon n
public trust, was strongly evidenced
when on March 1st 1897, just before
leaving Canton 10 take the President
ial chair, he addressed his fellow citi-
zens in these words, which now seem
to have been feighted with prophetic
significance:
"'My Neighbors and Friends and Eel
low Ciizens:--On the eve of departure
to the seat of government, soon to
assume the duties of an arduous re-
sponsibility, as great as can devolve
upon any man, nothing could give me
greater pleasure than this farewell
greeting--this evidence Of your friend
ship and your sympathy, your good
will, and, / am sure, the prayers of
all the people with whom l have lived
so long, and whose confidence and es'
TEEN are dearer to me than any other
earthly honors. To all OF us the fu-
ture Is a sealed book; but IL l cam by
official act or administration or
utterance, in any degree add to the
prosperity and unity of our beloved
country, and the advancement and
well-being of our splendid citizenship,
I will devote, the best and most un-
selfish efforts of my life to that end.
""The assumption of the chief
magistacy Is of such grave import
ance that partisanship cannot blind
the Judgment or accept any other con-
sideratlon than the public good of all,
of every party and every section.
With this thought uppermost in my
mind, | reluctantly take leave of my
friends and neighbors, cherishlng In
my heart the sweetest memories and
the tenderest thoughts of my old home
my home now, and | trust, my home
hereafter, 70 long as ! live l thank
you and bid you all goodbye
Few Presidents were SO well
equipped from the very start, and the
wide range of subjects treated in his
public addresses, seldom equaled by
any public speaker. attests unmlstak-
ably his fitness To cope with every
phase of governmental policy. Never
did he speak an unwlse word, or an
nounce nm unsound doctrine. He was
thoroughly conversant with the duties
of his office. His administration saw
the downfall of the oppressor the ex-
pansion of trade and the return of
national prosperity. Under his bene-
ficient influence, the bitterness of
party strife ended, all sectional lines
disappeared, and there came to our be
loved country such an era of good
feeling as II had never known.
president Mckinley, the statesman,
Will be counted with the illustrous
of earth. His was an unconquerable
stendtastness of purpose, coupled with
almost unlimited physical and mental
powers OF endurance,
The inspiration of his noble life
will incte his successors to emulate
his worthy example In the conscien-
tnus performance OF duty, Tho ten
denotes OF the man. and the high
plane Of his statssmanship, were most
clearly Indicated In his Buffalo speech
when ha said: Let us ever remember
Tint our Interest Is In sccord, not con,
nict, and that our real emlnencs
rests on the victories of peace, moi
those OF war