The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1902-03-04

lle SCeIG Ol HIS lie anu HIS place VI Sepul-
ture. Here many blessings awaited him;
nigh repute, professional success, and 90,
nestle affection so pure so devoted and
Of Ghrst ia' lnsuTf Wiz nd in It
theme worthy of their songs. This is sub
ject to which the lightest allusion seems
pr but It Is no
ing that no truer, -enderer knight TO ms
chosen lady. ever lived among mortal men.
If to the spirits of the just made. perfect Is
permitted the consciousness of earthly
things, we may be sure that his falthful
soul Is now watching over that gentle SUI
ferer who counts, the long hours in their
shattered home in the desolate splendor of
his fame
Enters Public Life
A man possessing the qualities with
which nature had endowed Mckinney
seeks. political activity as naturally as a
glboTias 'a ambtion; rare power Of
making friends and keeping, them
faith, which may be called religious,
in his country and its inst1tn t,tnt anu,
could do no nobler work than TO serve
such country-these were the elements
in his character that drew, him lrreslst-
IDLY. into public life. He had from the
beginning a remarkable equipment: a
mannerof singular grace and charm;
voice of ringing quality and great carry.
gathered about him, he reached their ut
most fringe without apparent effort he
had an extraordinary power of marshall
ing and hrm nc me
mind. His range of reading was not
wide; he read only what he might some
day find useful, and what he read his
him well in those early days can never
forget the consummate skill and power
with which he would select a few point,
hammer them into the attention of great
assemblages in Ohio, as Jael drove the
nail into the head of the Canaanite cap
tain He was not often impas ,s,;a IN, ne
NOR; yet l never saw his equal In con-
trolling and convincing a popular audl,
ence by sheer appeal to their reason and
intelligence. He did not flatter or cajole
them, but there was an implied compli-
ment in the serious and sober tone in
which he addressed them: He seemed
one of them. Each artisan in great
crowd might say: That is the sort of
man | would like to be, and under more
favoring circumstances might have been.
He. had the, divine gift of sympathy,
makes all men their friends.
Felt Mt Home in Congress.
So it came naturally about, continued
the orator, that in 1S76-the beginning OF
the second century of the republic-,he
began, by an election to congress, his
political career. Thereafter for IA years
this chamber was his home. l use the
was he so in harmony with his environ
ment as here; nowhere else did his mind
work with 4, such full consciousness of its
to him; here he drank delight of battle
with his peers. In after days, when he
drove by this stately pile, or WI, when on
he greeted his. old haunts with the affec-
tionate zest of a child of the house; dur
ing all the last ten years of his life, filled
as they We're with activity and glory,
ca1 tn na hnrnaciplY iS
hall. When he came to the. presidency,
there, was not day when his congress
sional service was not of use to him.
in such full and cordial communion with
alone. Mckinley knew the legislative
methods. its habits of thought. He had
the profoundest respect for its author
ity and an infexible belief in the ulti-
m mat r r6ettude of its purposes Our his
courts disaster and ruin by assuming an
attitude of hostility or distrust to the
Kiniey's frank and sincere ' trust ' and con-
fdence in congress were repaid by prompt
and loyal support and cooperation. Dur
ing his entire term of office this mutual
trust and regard-so essential to the pub
lie Welfarc-was never Swallowed by a
single cloud.
Pathway to the Presidency.
Someone has said it is easy to love our
enemies; they help us SO much more than
our friends. The people whose malevolent
skill had turned Mckinley out of con-
gress deserved well of him and of the
republic. Never was Nemesis more swift
and energetic The republicans of Ohio
were saved The trouble of choosing a gov
ernor-thc other side had chosen one for
them. year after Mckinley left con-
gress he was made governor of Ohio, and
time by majorities unhopedfor and over
whelming. He came to fill space in the
public eye which obscured a great por-
ton of the field of vision. In two ma
tional conventions, the presidency seemed
within his reach. But he had gone there
in the interest of others and his honor
So his nay was nay-delivered with a
tone and gesture there was no DENYING.
His hour was not yet come.
There was, however, no long delay. He
prominent politician and orator in the
country. l'assionately devoted to the
principles of his party, he was always
| ready to do anything, to go anywhere. ia
proclaim its ideas and to support its can.
didates His face and his voice became
| familiar to millions of our people; and
| wherever they We're seen and heard. men
became his partisans. His face was cast
| in classic mold; you see faces like ii
In antique marble in the galleries of the
Vatican and in the portraits of the great
cardlnal-statesmen of Italy; his voice was
| the voice of the perfect orator-ringing
| vibrating. persuading by its very sound
! by Its accent of sincere conviction So
| prudent and so guarded We're all his ut
| terances. so lofty his courtesy, that he
| never embarrassed his friends. and never
| offended his opponents. For several
months before the republican national
| convention met in 1896, it was evident TIC
all who had eyes to see that Mr.. McKin-
ley was the only probable candidate of
| his party. Other names were mentioned
| of the highest rank in ability, character
and popularity: they were supported by
powerful combinations; but the nomtna.
| ton of Mckinley as against the field was
inevitable.
Faces n Difficult Situation.
| When he came to the presidency he con-
| fronted situation of the utmost difficulty
| which might we'll have appalled, a man OF
| less serene and tranquil elf-contidence
There had been state of profound com
| mercial and industrial depression, from
which his friends had said his election
| would relieve the country. Our relations
with the outside. world left much to be de.
sired The feeling between the northern
and southern sections of the union was
sary to the welfare of both. Hawaii haG
| ed by the preceding administration There
was a state of things in the Caribbean
which could not permanently endure Our
neighbours house was on fire, and there
were grave doubts as to our rights anG
duties in the premises. A man either wea
or rash, either irresolute or headstrong
might have brought ruin on himself and in.
| calculable harm to the country.
| hr If,oop ha ne