Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-03-06
SECRETARY HAYS EUL0GY
Pays Eloquent Tribute to Memory
of the Late William
Mckinley.
SAYS he WAS A TYPICAL AMERICAN.
Commemorative Summary of Memo
rial Address Delivered by Invita-
ton of Congress Before That BODY
Feb. 2. - says He Ranks with
Greatest of Statesmen.

For the third time the congress of the
United States Is TO commem-
crate the lite and the death of a president
slain by the hand of an assassin. The at
tention of the future historian Will be at
tracted to the features which reappear with
startling sameness in all three OF these
awful crimes: the useleSsness, the. utter
lack of consequence of the act, the OBJ
security, the inSigniticance or the crlmindl'
The blame~lessness-so FAR as IN our spneiS
of existence the best OF men may De heio
blamelesS-of the victim. Not one OF our
murdered presidents had an enemy IN the
world; they were all OF such reemlheh
purity of life that no preteXt could De gwen
for the attack of passional crime, thsy
were all men of democratic instincts VINO
could never have offended the most JeaI-
Gus advocates of equality; they were Oh
kindly and generous nature, to If T modn
crate fortune, whose slender means no.
body could envy. They, were men OF aus.
tere virtue, OF tender heart; OF eminent
abilities, which they had devoted WITH
single minds to the good of the repupilc. II
ever men walked before God and man
without blame, 1t was these three rulers OF
our people. The only temptation to attack
their lives offered was their gentle radl-
ance-to eyes hating the light that was OIL
Tense enough.
Going on to speak of the uselessness and
absolute folly of the crime even from an
anarchistic standpoint, he SAID: Inc
stupid uselessness of such an infamy al
fronts the common sense of the worid. one
can conceive now lHe uehll VI q dAS'a''
may change the political conditions of an
empire; how the extinction of a narrowing
line of kings may BRING In an amen IyIaso
~. But in a well ordered repupllc IKE
ours, the ruler may fall, but the state feels
no tremor. Our beloved and reVered leader
is gone-butt the natural process OF our laws
provides us a successor, Identical IN pur-
pose and ideals, nourished by the same
teachings, inspired by the same principles,
pledged by tender affection as well as by
high loyalty to carry to completion the I'M
mense task committed to his hands, ana 10
smite with iron severity every manifesto,
ton of that hideous crime which his mild
predecessor, with his dying breath, for
gave. The sayings of celestial wisdom have
no date; the words that reach US, over q
years, out of the darkest hour of gloom the
world has ever known. are true TO the NE
to-day: 'They know not what they, 90,
The blow struck at our dear friend and
make it; but the blow struck at anarchy
was deadlier still. How many coun-
tries can join with us In the community of
a kindred sorrow. l will not speak of those
distant regions where assassination enters
into the. daily life of government, But
among the nations bound to us by the ties
Of familiar intercourse-who can FORGE
that wise and mild autocrat who hat
earned the proud title of the Liber2tor'
that enlightened and magnanimous citi'
zen whom France still mourns? that brave
and chivalrous king of Italy who only lived
for his people? and. saddest of all, tina
lovely and sorrowing empress, whose
harmless life could hardly have, excited
the luminosity of a demon, Against that
develish spirit nothing avails-neither vir-
tue, nor patriotism, nor age nor youth, nor
conscience nor pity.
A Typical American.
The life of William Mckinley was, from
his birth to his death, typically American
There is no environment, should say, any
duce such a character. He was born into
that way OF life which elsewhere is callec