Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-09-21
A NATIONS HOMAGE.
State Funeral Services at Washing.
ton Over the Dead President.
Ex-PresIdent Cleveland and otner Distin-
guished CttizeES Present-Body Lay In
State Until Six O'Clock In the Even
ing, Then TaI1en to Canton.


State Until Six O'Clock In the Even
ing, Then Yaken to Canton.
Washington, Sept. 1s.-The state
funeral day of the Late President Nc
KinIey opened as somber as the oc-
casion. The sky was overcast with
dark slow-moviTlg gray clouds, occa-
sional spasms of rain fell, giving way
for momentaIy intervals to CLEANS
of dull sunSb inc and a soft wind bare
ly stirred into relief the signs of
mourning on building fronts that told
as well AIS the subdued air the pub
lie that this was a day of sorrow.
Thursday the last that was mortal
of William Mckinley will be commit
! ted to earth at Canton with ceremo-
! MES as personal as the national char
| acter and interest in its executive
! will permit. Tuesday was the occa-
sion when the nation was to paw it's
/ last tribute of respect and admira-
4 ton at the bier of the dead president.
All the country had sent here it's
representatives to testify that the
dead held his place deep in the ma
/ tiOns's heart. Other nations had or
| dered their diplomatic and military
representatives to be present as a
token that they mourned with Amer
lea IN its loss. EX-President Cleveland
/ WAS here to take part in the cere-
monies, and like President Roosevelt,
paid his tribute first in private at the
white house and later at the public
! services in the rotunda of the CAPT.
tol.
The funeral services at the capitol
were simple and beautiful. They
were of the form prescribed in the
Methodist church. Two hymns, a
prayer, an address and benediction
comprised all of it, yet the impress
| sion left at the end was of perfec-
ton.
After the funeral services almost
| 20 minutes was required to clear the
rotunda sufficiently to permit the
| opening of the doors for the admis-
sion of the general public. At 1853
the people began to file by the casket,
coming into the building at the east
door and passing out through the
west door.
At one o'clock, while the ire
/ mendous crowd was surging toward
/ the east entrance of the rotunda
! thousands of people, many of them
/ women and children, were caught in
i a crush at the foot of the main stair
case. Inadequate arrangements for
| handling the crowd seem to have been
. responsible for the crush. Scores of
women and children tainted and many
| were borne into the capitol, where
medical aid was rendered.
The last chapter of the sad cere-
monial, the removal of the remains
of the late president to the grave at
his old home at Canton, o., began
] at 500 o'clock last night, when the
funeral train left here over the Penn
| sylFania railroad. The great bronze
| doors of the capitol, in which the
I body had lain in state, had closed
while there was still thousands of
people waiting to get last glance
| at the casket. The guards at the
capitol, who had patiently through
out the long day held the crowd in
leash, were permitted a hurried look
at the face of the deceased; the cover
of the casket was screwed down by
the undertakers; it was lifted once
more upon the shoulders of the body
bearers and by them borne to the
hearse at the foot of the east steps
of the capitol.
At the Pennsylvania railroad station
there was a dense throng and the
| remains were received by large dele
cations of army and navy officers.
| There the soldiers and seamen car
ried the casket from the hearse to
the observation car, placed in the sec
ond section of the funeral train. The
casket was placed on standards
draped with the national colors. It
I HI NJ
| less than 20 cars were required for
the transportation of the funeral
party to Canton.
President Roosevelt's arrival at the
train occurred at 1850 and was I'M
marked by incident. His brother-in-
| law, Capt. Cowles, of the navy, ac-
cOmpanied him.
It was just before eight o'clock
when Mrs. Mckinley was driven to
1 the station. Fearing the firing effect
of the long walk from the carriage
entrance to the car set apart for her
next to the head of the train roll
ing chair had been provided for her.
She declined this, however, and
walked with surprising firmness to
her place, assisted by Abner McKin-
ley and DIR. Rixey. It was $40 o'clock
when this section steamed away in
the darkness, the first section having
preceded it ten minutes. The OBJ
servation car bearing the remains
was flooded with light. Through it's
crystal sides could be seen the beau
tifully draped casket, with its mass
of rare blossoms, SO arranged that
even as the train swept through the
night the people in the country it
passed through might gaze on the
sight of the casket with soldier
standing grimly at the head and a
sailor, carrying his cutlass upon his
shoulder, at the foot.
Preacher Asked to Retraet a sermon.