Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-02-28
57TH CONGRESS-.
Memorial Services for the Mar
tyred President Mckinley.
Sch .Iac'y and Touching Tribute by
Secretary Of State Hay
The T,II1ncn-!;cLsur.n Affair Again
Bots Up in the Senate.

! V-aS-i1rtor, Feb. c7.-At neon, today.
in the great hall of Representatives. in
the presence OF President Roosevelt,
Prince Henry Of Prussia. brother OF the
German ImrcIor, members OF the cab
inct, the Justices of the supreme court,
The generals of the army and the Of
| lficeIs OF the army ana navy who re-
q ciyc1 the thanks of Congress, the am
bassadors and other diplomatic rep
'icscntatives of other foreign countries,
1.-THE senators and representatives in
Congress and a large number of distin
! Euishcd guests, the Hon. John Hay,
lMcKinley's premier. pronounced
culogy upon his dead chief.
Four times before national memorial
l3ervices for Presidents who have died
lin Office have been held in this hall,
two of them like this in commemora-
| ton of chief magistrates who have
fallen by the hand of assassins. George
Bancroft, the historian, pronounced
the eulogy on Lincoln, and Blaine was
Garfield's orator:
| 1t was eminently fitting that the last
public ceremonial of sorrow for the
lamented Mckinley should take place
| in the forum in which had echoed his
|
his spurs.
| BY strange coincidence, today, was
the 10th anniversary of that on which
1.-The peerless Blaine in the same hall
delivered his eulogy upon the martyred
Garfield, and stranger still the subject
of todays memorial service was the
chairman Of the committee that had
Icharge of the arrangements on that
dreamed that the man who escorted the
Ithen President of the United States and
1.-The orator of the day to their places
Twas destined to be honorcd, like Gar
field with the highest place in the gift
Iof his country, was to meet his sad
Ifate and was himself to be the next
Iu1artyred President above whose open
lgrave the nation would bow it's head.
+ Only one year ago, less five days, at
1.-The head of an imposing civic and mill
Hary procession, Mckinley passed tri-
jumphantly along Pennsylvania avenue
for his second inaugural. Six months
Ilater the tragedy occurred at Buffalo
and another but different sort of pro-
lcession bore his body through the
Istreets to the rotunda of the Capitol,
where the brief funeral grafton was de-
lIivered over his coffin and the tributes
lof the nations of the earth about his
lbier bespoke the universal sorrow. To-
lday once more with uncovered head,
1.-THE nation paid it's last tribute of re-
lspect and publicly expressed its living
lsrief.
Again the broad avenue was filled
| with vast crowds as they were year
Iago Again the streets were sea or
glinting bayonets and waving plumes
and the air was filled with the music of
lresplendent bands. Today, all was
lchangtd The procession was unor-
lganiZed No martial music lightened
the feet of the throng. No cheers rent
1.-THE air The only pageant was the clat-
ltering troop of cavalry escorting Prince
Henry and his party to the Capitol and
lcarriages here and there conveying
officers in uniform or diplomats in
court costume to the place where the
eulogy was to be delivered.
| But notwithstanding the fact pro-
claimed in advance that admission to
the hall OF Representatives and even to
the Capitol itselS was to be restricted
to those holding cards, the people con-
lgregated in unnumbered thousands
about the great marble pile upon the
hin.
If they could not gain admttance
they were content to be near the place
where the ceremony was to be held and
to catch glimpse of the President,
whose accession was made possible by
the death of him whom the representa-
tives Of the people were assembling to
lconmemorate or to see Prince Henry
land the bespangled diplomats and other
ldignitaries. The only emblems of
mourning at the Capitol were the flags
lat half-mast.
The precedent in the case of the Gar
field memorial exercises was followed
Iclosely The hall was without decora-
ton OF any character. The relocated
Marine Band. 60 strong, was stationed
in the corridor which separates the hall
from the rear lobby of the House.
At 10 o'clock the doors were opened
and in five minutes the spacious gal
leries surrounding the chamber were
dense with black rows of people. Even
the aisles were filed. The fact that few
of the ladies present wore bright gowns
was especially noticeable. They had
attired themselves in dark costumes
befitting the occasion.
Gradually the members of the House
stroled in and took their places. In
the area in front of the Speakers ros-
trum heavy leather upholstered fau-
tteuils had been placed for the accom-
modation of the President, Prince
Henry. the cabinet. the generals of the
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