River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-03-06

! neve that we could not administer them
/ to their advantage, was to tuTn inhdel 70
our American faith of more than hun
! dred years.
A Great Diplomat.
In dealing with foreign powers, he Will
! take rank with the greatest of our diplo-
matists It was a world of which he had
/ little special knowledge before coming 70
| the presidency. But his marvellous adapt
/ ability was in nothing more remarkable
! than in the firm grasp he Immediately as
played in international relations. In pre-
pairing for war and in the restoration q
| peace he was alike adroit, courteous, ana
! far-sighted. When a sudden emergency
| declared itself, as in China, in state OF
| things Of which our history furnished no
| precedent and international law no sa1e
| and certain precept, he hesitated not mo-
| ment to take the course marked out LOT
/ him by considerations of humanity and the
\ national interests. Even while the lega-
| tons were fighting for their lives agalnsI
bands OF Infatuated fanatics, he decloedd
| that we were at peace with China; anu
| while that conclusion did not hinder MN
| from taking the most energetic measures
/ to rescue our imperiled citizens, it enaD!eo
| him to maintain close and friendly rela.
/ tons with the wise and her ic viceroys OF
| the south, whose resolute stand saved that
1 ancient empire from anarchy and SpOlIa-
| ton. He disposed of every question as II
| arose with a promptness and clarity OF
| vision that astonished his advisers, AND ne
| never had occasion to review judgment
| or reverse decision.
By patience, by frmness, by sheer rea-
| sonableness, he improved our understand
| ing with all the great powers of the World,
| and rightly gained the blessing which be-
longs to the peacemakers.
The Nations Prosperity.
But, according to Mr.. Hay, the achieve
| ments of the nation in war and diplomacy
are thrown in the shade by the vast eco
| nomical developments which took place
| during Mr.. McKinley's administration. Up
! TO the time of his first election, the colin-
TU Silt al ri n rnT q lOT7C
| preston, the reasons of which~I will noG
| try to seek. But from the moment the bal
| lots were counted that betokened his ad-
| vent to power a great and momentous
movement in advance declared itself along
all the lines Of industry and commerce;
In the very month of his inauguration steer
rails began to be sold at $18 a ton-one or
| the most significant facts of modern times.
1t meant that American industries had ad-
Justed themselves to the long depression
| that through the power of the race to or
| ganize and combine stimulated by the con
prospect Of legislation favorable fave to indus
| try, America had begun to underseu the
rest of the world The movement Went on on
| without ceasing. The president and his
| party kept the pledges of their platform
and their canvass.
Ended Third Term Talk.
Mr.. Mckinley was reelected by an over
! Whelming majority. He inspired UNI,
versal confidence, which is the, lifeblo1o5d
of the commercial system of the world.
1t began frequently to be said that such
! a state Of things ought to continue; one
ba tb men WAS 81 hs OWN best
cessor. He paid little attention to these
suggestions until they were repeated py
| some of his nearest friends Then he
saw that one of the most cherished ira
ditions of our public life was in danger.
The generation which has seen the proph-
ecy Of the papal throne-Non yldebls amos
| Petri-twice contradicted by the longevity
of holy men was in peril of forgetting
the unwritten law of our REPUBLIC: Thou
/ cho no 10 n
| ton. The president saw it was time to
speak, and in his characteristic manner
the lightning strikes there is no need of
| iteration. From that hour no one
dreamed of doubling his purpose of re,
| firing at the end of his second term, and
it will be long before another such les
| son is required.
High Hopes for the Future.
| I spent day with him shortly before
| he started on his fateful journey to Buff
! falo. Never had I seen him higher in
| hope and patriotic confidence. He was
as sure of the future of his country as
| the Psalmist who cried: Glorious things
are spoken Of thee. thou 35S Cit. City Of God
had arranged a treaty which gave us.
free hand in the isthmus. @In fancy he
gosies of the world passing through it
in peace and amity. He saw in the i'm
mense evolution of American trade the
fulfllment of all his dreams, the reward
say-an ardent protectionist, never more
sincere and devoted than during those
| procity as the bulwark of protection
not a breach, but fulfllment of the
law The treaties which for four years ar5
supervision he regarded as ancillary to
the general scheme. He was opposed to
any revolutionary plan of change in the
| point out that everything he had done
was in faithful compliance with the law
| itself.
| In that mood of high hope, Of generous
expectation, he went to Buffalo, and
there, on the threshold of eternity, he
o fE o ha of tone mofth
] morality, it's breadth of view, to be re-
garded as his testament to the nation.
The Tragic End.
The next day sped the bolt of doom.
and for a week after-in an agony of
dread broken by Elusive glimpses of
| hope that our prayers might be answered
| the nation waited for the end. Nothing
| in the glorious life that we saw gradual.
/ emplary than it's close. The gentle hui
manity of his words, when he saw his
geance: Don't let them hurt him; his
/ chivalrous care that the news should be
broken gently to his wife; the fine cour-
tesy with which he apologized for the
damage which his death would bring to
| the great exhibition; and the heroic resig-
nation of his final words: ut is Gods
/ all the instructive expressions of a nature
/ so lofty and so pure that pride in it's
| the nations sense of loss. The republic
/ grieved over such son-but is proud
| forever of having produced him After
was extraordinarily happy. He had, all
his days, troops of friends, the cheer Of
! fame and fruitful labor; and he became
| at last
con fortunes browning slope,
The pillar of peoples hope
The center of a worlds DESIRE"
| He was fortunate even in his untimely
| DEATH for an event so tragical called the
| world imperatively to the immediate
| study of his life and character, and thus
| anticipated the sure praises of posterity.
In Conclusion.