The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-03-13
Grant and Lee, who knew when they had
fought enough for honor and for country.
A TENDER KNIGHT.

Grant and Lee. who knew when they had
fought enough for honor and for country.
A TENDER KNIGHT.
William Mckinley. one Of that sensible
million of men, gladly laid down his sword
and betook himself to his books. He
quickly made up the time lost in soldier
ing. He attacked his Blackstone as he
would have done q hostile intrenchment.
Finding the range OF a country law liz
Law school. where. he worked energetical-
ly with brilliant success, was admitted to
the bar and settled down to practice-a
brevetted veteran Of twenty-four-in the
quiet town of Canton. now and hencefor-
ward forever famous as the scene OF his
life and his place of sepulture. Here
many blessings awaited him-high repute.
professional success and domestic affec-
tion pure, SO devoted and stainless
that future poets. seeking an ideal OF
Christian marriage. will find In 1t . theme
worthy Of their songs This is q subject
to which the Hghtest a1lusionr seems
proclamation. but 1t is impossible to speak
Of William Mckinley without remember
ing that no truer tenderer knight to his
chosen lady ever lived among mortal men,
II to the spirits Of the just made perfect
is permitted the consciousness Of earthly
things. We may be sure that his faithful
soul is now watching over that gentle suf-
ferer who counts the long hours in their
shattered home in the desolate splendor
Of his fame.
man possessing the Qualities with
which nature had endowed Mckinley
seeks political activity naturally as a
growing plant seeks light and air. A
wholesome ambition, a rare power Of
making friends and keeping them a faith
which may be called religious in his coun-
try and it's institutions, and flowing from
this a belief that man could do no no.
1ar U0rlS hoY fn
these were the elements in his character
that drew him irresistbly into public life.
He had from the beginning a remarkable
equipment. manner Of singular grace
and charm. a voice Of ringing quality and
great carrying power. Vast as were the
crowds that gathered about him. he
reached their utmost fringe without ap-
parent effort. He had extraordinary
power OF marshaling and presenting sig
nificant facts so as to bring conviction
to the average mind. His range Of read
ing was not wide. He read only what he
might some day find useful and what he
read his memory held like brass Those
who knew him we'll in those early days
can never forget the consummate skill
and power with which he would select a
few pointed facts and. blow upon blow,
would hammer them into the attention Of
great assemblages in Ohio, as Jael drove
the nail into the head of the Canaanito
captain. He was not often impassioned.
He rarely resorted to the aid of wit or
humor, yet never saw his equal in con-
trolling and convincing popular audi
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; in heart and feeling he was one
OF them. Each artisan in great crowd
| might say, That is the sort of man I
would like to be and under more favoring
circumstances might have been. He had
tho divine gift Of sympathy which, though
| given only to the elect, makes all men
| their friends.
HIS POLITICAL CAREER.
| So it came naturally about that in 1876,
| the beginning of the second century OF
| the republic. he began by an election to
| congress his political career. Thereafter
| for fourteen years this chamber was his
| home. l the word advisedly. No
| where in the world was he SO in harmony
| with his environment as here Nowhere
| else did his mind work with such full con-
, sciousness of its powers. The air Of de-
| bate was native to him. Here he drank
| delight of battle with his peers In after
| days when he drove by this stately pile
or when on rare occasions his duty called
| him here he greeted his old haunts with
| the affectiOnate ZeSt OF a child Of the
house. During all the last ten years Of
| and glory. he never ceased to be home
| sick for this hall. When he came to tha
| presidency. there was not day when
| his congressional servics was not Of use
to him. Probably no other president has
been in such full and cordial communion
with congress- If we may except Lincoln
alone. Mckinley knew the legislative body
thoroughly. it's composition. its methods
its habits of thought. He had the pro-
foundest respect for its authority and an
iniexible belief in the ultimate rectitude
Of it's purposes. Our history shows how
surely an executive courts disaster and
ruin by assuming an attitude Of hostility
or distrust to the legislature. and. on the
other hand. McKinley's frank and sincere
trust and confidence in congress were re-
paid by prompt and loyal support and CO.
operation. During his entire term of Office
this mutual trust and regard, so essential
to the public welfare. were never shadow
ed by q single cloud.
He was Republican. He could not be
anything else. A Union soldier grated
upon a Clay Whig, he necessarily believ-
ed in the american system''-in protec-
ton to home industries; in a strong, ag-
gressive nationality: in liberal construc-
ton Of the constitution. What any self
reliant nation might rightly do he felt this
nation had power to do, If required by the
common welfare and not prohibited by
our written charter.
M'KINLEY IN CONGRESS.
Following the natural bent of his mind,
he devoted himself to questions Of finance
and revenue. to the essentials of the ma
tional housekeeping. He took high rank
in the house from the beginning. His
readiness in debate. his mastery Of every
subject he handled, the bright and ami
able light he shed about him and, above
all. the unfailins courtesy and good will
with which he treated friend and foe alike
0f the SuroSf natures of nature
born to great destinies-made his service
, | in the house a pathway Of unbroken sue
. cess and brought him at last to the all i'm
, | portant post of chairman of ways and
means and leader of the majority. OF the
| famous revenue act which in that ca
pacity he framed and carried through con-
gress it is not my purpose here and now
| to speak. The embers Of the controversy
, in the midst of which that law had its
!, troubled being are yet too warm to be
!, handled on a day like this. I may only
say that 1t was never sufficiently tested
,, to prove the praises Of its friends or the
!, criticism of its opponents. After a briei
: existence 1t passed away. for a time. In
: the storm that swept the Republicans out
of power Mckinley also passed through
brief zone of shadow. his congressional
district having been rearranged for thai
,, purpose by a hostile legislature.
Some one has said 1t is easy to love oul
enemies: they help us SO much more thar
our friends. The people whose maievo
lent skill had turned Mckinley out oi
congress deserved we'll Of him and OF tht
try. PassionateIy devoted to the princi
, pies of his party, he was always ready t
, | do anything. to go anywhere. to pI oclain
r its ideas and to support its candidates
|, / His face and his voice became familiar t
= millions OF our people, and wherever the
a | were seen and heard men became his par
= tisans. His face was cast in classi
{ mold You see faces like 1t in antiqu
: marble in the galleries Of the Fatca
q and in the portraits of the great cardina
I | statesmen of Italy. His voice was IN
, | voice OF the perfect orator-ringing. "
: | brating. tireless, persuading by its yer
: sound. by its accent Of sincere conviction
So prudent and so guarded We're all HI
1 | utterances. so lofty his courtesy. that
, | never embarrassed his friends and neve
= offended his opponents For sever
a months before the Republican nations
. convention met in 1886 it was evident
: all who had eyes to see that MI Mckii
3 ley was the only probable candidate