Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1901-09-13
THE WASHINGTON LETTER.
fFrom on Regnlar oorrespondentl

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WASHINGTON, D. c.. SEPT. 8, 1901.
The tragic aud wholly unexpected
calamity which has befallen Presi-
dent Mckinley and the country is
of course the overshadowing topic
of interest in Washington today.
While astute observers of public
events had long recognized the pos
sibility Of such a tragedy, to the
mass of the people it had the be-
wildering effect Of a thing entirely
unforeseen. 1t had been foreshad,
owed to some extent in the assass1-
nation of the Empress Elizabeth
and of King Humbert, which prov
ed the power and wicked daring Of
the anarchist societies and it was
practically certain that sooner or
later this power would be felt in
America in precisely the form it
has taken. The attempted assassi-
nation of H. c. Frick by Bergman,
after the Homestead riot, showed
that such a deed was not by any
means foreign to the thoughts of
anarchists in America and this
type of assassin regards his victim
as desirable in proportion to the
power which he wields. That the
thing was planned skillfully and
carefully, and that the assassin was
ordered by some secret association
to commit the crime. was proved to
the satisfaction Of everybody within
reach of daily papers before the
news was six hours old. The fact
that the assassin is not of the Grim
inal type, that he has been calm
ana coherent in his testimony, and
that his action was deliberate and
well planned, all remove this case
from the class of crimes committed
by half-crazy place hunters like
Guiteau, or political antagonists like
Booth. 1t is simply the result of an
organized, determined and we'll con-
sidered movement whose object is.
by the assassination Of persons in
power and by causing public calam-
ity of one sort or another, TO intimi-
date and terrorize society with a
view to abolishing all social institu-
tions. That is IN plain English the
anarchists idea of his duty; and
whether he is to be allowed to en-
tertain and obey that idea to the
extent which he thinks fit depends
entirely upon public sentiment.
1t is doubtful if the news could
have caused, in the rest of this
country, such deep-rooted pain and
apprehension as it caused in the ma
tional capital. 1t may be said with
out qualification that no president
has endeared himself to Washing
ton people more than Mckinley. His
unfailing tact, his invariable seren-
ity, his attention to the wants and
pleasures of those around him, have
become known to the people of this
city in a hundred different ways.
Republicans all over the country
may have learned during his public
life, before and after his coming to
the White House, to respect his
ability and admire his character.
In Washington, which has been his
home for many years, he has won
the esteem of even his political op-
ponents by his admirable personal
qualities.
There are men in power who
pride themselves on their ability to
say mo-" but they frequently say
it in such a manner that their in
terlocutor feels as if he had been
kicked. Mr.. Mckinley could always
refuse a favor in a way that made a
disappointed one choke down his
feelings until he was ont of the Of
fetal presence, and even then he
was not always sure that he was
disappointed No one ever had to
complain of a disoourtesy from Mr..
Mckinley, as representative or as
president. He was placed in many
difficult positions, but he always got
out of them without hurting any
ones feelings more than was abso-
lutely necessary. Another lovable
trait in his character is his faculty
of remembering and noticing little
things Of importance to others. If
one of his friends had a daughter
married or lost a child, President
Mckinley never forgot TO express
his sympathy with the joy or sor-
row, as the case might be. If he
could do nothing more he would
send a taotful little note. He was
never on his. dignity. because his
dignity was himself and nota pedes-
tai. He was accessible and ap-
proachable from the first of his
term IN the White House, and he
always seemed to know what to say
to everybody. Possibly a part Of
this tact and consideration may be
traced to his we'll known devotion