The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-09-27
Life may be given in many ways
And loyalty TO truth he sealed
As bravely in the closet as the fold

AS bravely in the closet as the fold,
So bountiful Is fate;
But then to stand beside her
When craven churls dcridc her,
To front lie in arms aud not to yield,
This shows, methinls. Gods plan
And measure Of stalwart man,
Limbed like the heroic breeds
Whostands self poised on manhoodssold earth
Not forced TO frame excuses for his birth
Fed from within with all the strength he needs
Such man was he for whom to. ay
great nation ''weeps with the passion
of an angry GRIEF, to whom we are
gathered here, as all over the land our
countrymen are gathered at this hour,
to pay our tribute of praise and love
and tears. a Prince has fallen in
Israel, "a prince, not by the accident
OF birth or the favor of king, but by
the divine right of noble manhood, of
devoted service to his country, of
stainless honor, and the people who
loved him and whom he loved and
served, are sick at heart with grief.
Not alone because great man has
departed, but because a good man has
been fOully murdered, and because the
bullet that struck him down was aimed
through him at the life of the Nation.
He died, not for any sin he had com
United, not for any wrong he had done
to any human being, but because he
represented the government which we
had instituted and of which we had
chosen him the head. la very real
sense he died for us, for he gave his
life for that which We all hold dearer
than our lives. IL is very fitting. then,
that this day, which by singular and
sorrowful coincidence is the anniver-
sary of the death of another of our
Presidents who also fell by the hand
OF an assassin, should be set apart as
a day of mourning and prayer, and
that all the people should for little
while ''leave their mirth and their en-
pigments" and should try to learn
the lesson of this blameless and heroic
life, the lesson of this tragic but sub
lime death.
We are not an emotional people, we
Americans. The AngloS Saxon blood
is cool and the pulse is steady and not
easily quickened. Only great deeds
stir us, only great men command the
homage of our remembrance. We
have had few heroes. With a hun
dred and twenty-five years of national
life crowded with great events, and
marked by mighty struggles, few of
the great actors have more than sur
vived the generation 10 which they
lived. We have had splendid leaders,
gallant soldiers and wise statesmen, a nd
we have not been ungenerous TO them
while they lived; yet when we stop to
count them over how few are the names
that come readily to the tongue. The
history of the commonwealth in which
we live does not compass even a third
of our Nations life time, yet who
among us can name the dozen men
who have been its governors? Who
can recall the United States Senators
who have represented us in that great
est parliamentary body in the world, -
the United States Senate? Who can
name the governors of even half q
score of the States of our Union?
Who can recall the presidents of the
United States in the order of their ad-
ministrations? The country has never
lacked for distinguished and powerful
leaders in field or forum, and in their
day 1t has paid them fealty and hom-
age; but their day was short, and only
the student of history now remembers
them or the work they did.
But there are some names that will
never be forgotten. They rise almost
unbidden to our lips when our mind S
eye is directed toward the mountain
tops of our country's history, Wash
ington and the Adamses, Hamilton
and Jefferson, Madison and Franklin,
Clay, Webster, Sumner, Lincoln, Gar
field, Blaine, Grant, sherman, Sheri-
dan. These so impressed the times,
these so moulded and shaped the des-
tiny of their country, these so directed
legislation, these so promoted and en-
lightened public sentiment, these so
stirred the hearts of the people that
their work out.lived the limit of their
lives, and their names are handed
down from generation TO generation
as a precious legacy. To-day we add
another name to the briet but shining
list of our immortals. Yesterday that
name belonged to party; to-day and
for all time, it belongs to the Nation:
and the Nation will not let it die.
The life history of William McKin-
ley has been recalled so fully to our
minds during these past few days that