The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-29
THE VOICE OF THE PULPIT
CHARACTER OF III MARTYRED
PRESIDENT, WILLIAM M'E<INLEY.
By the Rev. John +. Carson, ID. d.,
Pastor Of the Central Presbyterian
Church, Brooklyn, y. ".

after he had served his own generation
by the will of God he fell on ~sleep."-Acts
xiii, 50.
Here is the biography of a nations king.
the disclosure of the master secret of a
strong character and a splendid career. 1t
tells US at once the motive and the method
of the man whose life it commentaries,
and when il has done that it mas revealed
to us the man himself.
A man is to be judged by his controlling
idea and his ruling purpose. and our text
judged King David in this righteous way.
DR.. c.. T. Berry calls attention to three
elements which it emphasizes-service, con-
temporaneousness and divine inspiration.
Had he analyzed it for a sermon on the
character and carer of William Mckinley
his analysis could not nave been more
fitting. President Mckinley. gifted with
genius, girt with power, surrounded by
all that position could give, served the peo-
pie. The notion sometimes prevails that
the higher ones position the further he is
removed from the burden of work. Not so
if the man recognizes his obligation TO
God and to his fellows. Mr.. Mckinley
recognized both, and in all his life he was
the servant of the common veal.
And he served his own generation. This
was the conspicuous thing in the life Of
Mr.. Mckinley. and his final standard, as
declared in his last public u~tterance, was
for deep fraternal relations with all the
world and the play of a brotherly reel
procity with the people Of our new pos
sessions. Men sometimes accused him Of
hckleness and inconsistency. But he was
living for the need of the present. His
aim was to take occasion by the hand and
translate it into benevolent achievement
He tried to understand the new conditions
and duties Of the day, to solve the present
problems and to guide men and measures
to right issues. And in all he sought TO
fulfil the divine will. In the earthly op-
portunity he recognized the heavenly obli-
cation. And when the end drew near the
will OF God, which had been the guide and
inspiration of his life, became his choice
in death. BY the will of God he served his
generation, and by the will of God he fell
on sleep. God did not do, and He in no
way inspired the dreadful deed of Sept. 6.
That was born in hell and inspired by Sa-
tan. But man and devil could not have
done that deed until President McKinley's
lifework had been accomplished. After he
had served his generation he fell on sleep
A GREAT CALAMITY.
The death Of President Mckinley is more
than a national calamity. 1t is a distinct
personal loss to every American. He was
more to US than a public official. He
seemed a brother to every man. There was
something so vi%rtuous, so innocent, so
strong in his manhood that his death
touches those tenderer feelings which be-
long peculiarly to individual sorrow. The
clash OF personal ambitions and commercial
rivalries and political antagonists were all
hushed when the Nation gathered in the
silent chamber OF its fallen chief.
In Analysing the character Of William
Mckinley four elements stand out promi-
nently. The first is his personal integrity.
Character is everything. Strength lies in
the intrinsic man. Personality is the con-
trolling force. The prophet Isaiah was
philosopher as well as patriot when he said
OF Judah it's manhood was more precious
than it's gold. Sparta boosted a common
wealth whose people rendered walls super
fuous. Goldsmith spoke the truth when
he said that it Jared i'll with a land
where wealth accumulates, but men de-
cay" An English writer has told us that
the richest heritage America received from
God was not a continent rich with unde-
veloped resources, but her first hero,
George Washington. The strength Of a
republic does not rest upon forests, farms
or mines. but upon the elemental man
hood of it's constituents. The best contri-
button Of William Mckinley to America
was his own personality. hat he was
twice elected to the presidency was not
due to the confidence that the Nation had
in his ability, great as it was, nor to its
entire sympathy with his aims, but more
than all to the trust it reposed in him as
a man. In him the lements Of his charac-
ter were so Joined that his value was above
all questions Of coinage and tariff, Of ex-
port and import, of trade and territorial
expansion. Twice was he subjected to the
fierce light that beats Upon an executive
career, but not by the most bitter of his
political opponents was he ever charged
with a dishonest act. In his life there
were no moral lapses to be condoned, no
doubtful financial transactions to be ex-
planned, no divergence Of public advocacy
and private opinion to be justified. The
thirty years of his political life have borne
testimony to the purity of his aims and the
honor Of his acts. However men may differ
about his political philosophy there is only
one opinion about his personal character
that commands universal respect.
OTHER STRONG POINTS.
The second thing that stands cut in his
life is his domestic fidelity. He was wor-
SHIPPED by his mother, he was idolized by
his wife. The tenderness of his relations
with his aged mother. the gentleness and
love and devotion Of his ministry to her in
her sying hours, won the heart of the Ma
ton, as did his constant and loving atten-
ton to his delicate life companion. Every
moment, aside from his public duties, was
given TO her whom he promised to love,
cherish and protect. Neither duty, ambi-
ton, nor passion ever alienated him from
the wife Of his youth. The love which he
early plighted TO his young bride never
knew change or doubt or decay. An IL
lustrious example and exalted standard has