Evening star., 1902-02-27


religious. in his country and its institutions,
and, flowing from this, q belief that man
could do no nobler work than to serve such
country-these were the elements IN his
character that drew him irresistfbly into
public life. He had from the beginning a
remarkable equipment: q manner OF singu-
lar 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 an extraordinary
power Of marshaling and presenting signif-
cant facts, 80 as to bring conviction to the
average mind. His range Of reading was
not wide; he read only what he might some
day find useful, and what he read his
him we'll in those early days can never for
get the consummate skill and power with
which he would select a few pointed facts.
and, blow upon blow, would hammer them
Ohio. as Jael drove the nail into the head
Of the Canaanite captain. He was not often
tmpass1oned; he rarely resorted to the aid
of wit or humor; yet never saw his equal
tn controlling and convincing a popular au-
dience by sheer appeal to their reason and
intelligence. He did not fatter or cajole
them, but there was an implied compliment
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 a 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, which, though given only to the
elect, makes all men their friends.
| 30 1t came naturally about that in 1876,
the beginning Of the second century of, the
republic, he began, by an election to Con-
gress. hts political career. Thereafter for
fourteen years this chamber was his home.
use the word advisedly. Nowhere in the
world was he so in harmony with his en-
vironment as here; nowhere else did his
mind work with such full consciousness Of
its powers. The air Of debate 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 child of the house; during all the
last ten years Of his life. filled as they were
with activity and glory. he never ceased
to be homesick for this hall. When he came
to the presidency there wassnot day when
his congressional service was not of use to
him. Probably no other President has been
| In such full and cordial communion with
Congress. II we may except Lincoln alone.
| Mckinley knew the legislative body thor
| oughly, Its composition, its methods, its
habits Of thought. He had the profoundest
respect for Its authority and an inflexible
belief In the ultimate rectitude Of its pur-
poses. Our history shows how surely an
executive courts disaster and ruin by as
sumtng an attitude Of hostility or distrust
! to the legislature; and, on the other hand
confidence in Congress were repaid by
prompt and loyal support and co-opera tion
| During his tie term OF office this mutual
| trust and reg, so essential to the public
welfare-was never shadOwed by single
| cloud.
He was a republican. He could not be
anything else. A Union soldier grated
upon Clay whig, he necessarily believed
/ IN the "American system''-in protection to
home Industries: In strong, aggressive
| nationality: In liberal construction Of the
| Constitution. What any self-reliant ma
| ton might rightly do he felt this nation
n rod h1yf
mon welfare and not prohibited by our
| written charter.
High Rank in the House.
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 readi-
| ness in debate. his mastery Of every sub
| tect he handled, the bright and amiable
| light he shed about him. and, above ALL
| the unfailing courtesy and good will with
which he treated friend and foe al1ke-one
| Of the surest signatures Of a nature born to
great destinies-made his service in the
| House pathway OF unbroken success and
| brought him at last to the all-important
| post Of chairman Of ways and means and a
| leader Of the majority. OF the famous rev.
| enue act which, In that capacity, he framed
and carried through Congress, 1t Is not my
purpose here and now to speak. The en-
| bers 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 it was never
! sufficiently tested to prove the praises Of
it's friends or the criticism Of its opponents.
! After brief existence 1t passed away, for
| a time, In the storm that swept the repub-
leans out Of power. Mckinley also passed
gressional district having been rearranged
for that purpose by hostile legislature
Some one has said 1t 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 Congress
deserved we'll Of him and Of the republic
| Never was Nemesis more swift and ener-
getio. The republicans Of Ohio were saved
the trouble Of choosing a governor-the
other side had chosen one for them. A year
after Mckinley left Congress he was made
governor OF Ohio. and two years later he
was reelected. each time by majoritie,
unhooped for and overwhelming. He came
to fill space in the public eye which OBJ
scured a great portion OF the field Of Wis
ion. In two national conventions, the
he had gone there In the interest Of others
and his honor forbade any dalliance with
! temptation. So his nay was nay-delivered
with tone and gesture there was no deny.
Ing His hour was not yet come.
There was, however. no long delay. He
became, from year to year, the most prom.
| tnent politician and orator in the country
Passionately devoted to the principles Of
| party Ac WdS ways Tcduy 10 90 any
thing, to go anywhere, to proclaim its
| ideas and to support its candidates. His
face and his voice became familiar to mil.
lions Of our people; and wherever they were
| seen and heard, men became his partisans
His face was cast In a classic mold; you
see faces like It In antique marble in the
galleries Of the Vatican and in the portraits
OF the great cardinal statesmen Of Italy
his voice was the voice Of the perfect ora.
tor-ringfns, vibrating, tireless persuadine
by its very sound. by its accent Of sincere
| conviction. So prudent and so guarded
| We're all his utterances, 80 lofty his cour.
tesY, that he never embarrassed his friends
and never offended his opponents. Fol
several months before the republican ma.
tional convention met In 1893, it was ev1.
dent to all who had eyes to see that Mr
| Mckinley 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 nomination
| of Mckinley as against the field was in
! evitable.
The campaign he made will be always
memorable In our political annals. He and
| his friends had thought that the issue for
| the year was the distinctive and historic
difference between the two parties on the
subject Of the tariff 70 this wager of bat
tie the discussions of the previous four
years distinctly pointed. But no sooner