Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1903-02-05
TRIBUTE TO M'KINLEY
President Roosevelt Pays Homage
to the Martyr at Canton.
Glasses Him as One of the Great Men OF
History - Was Well Qualified to
Perform the Tasks That
Fell to Him.

President Mckinney Dlrth'
Mr.. Toastmaster, and Gentlemen:
throughout our history, and indeed
throughout history generally, it has
been given to only a very few thrice
favored men to take so marked a lead
in the crises faced by their several
generations that thereafter each
stands as the embodiment of the tri-
umphant effort of his generation.
President Mckinley was one of these
men.
If during the lifetime of genera
tion no crisis occurs sufficient to call
out in marked manner the energies OF
the strongest leader, then of course
the world does not and cannot know
of the existence of such a leader; and
in consequence there are long periods
in the history of every nation during
which no man appears who leaves an
indelble mark in history. If, on the
other hand, the crisis is one so many
sided as to call for the development
and exercise of many distinct attrlb-
utes, ii may be that more than one
man will appear in order that the re-
quirements shall be fully met. In the
revolution and in the period OF con
structive craftsmanship Immediately
following it, for our good fortune 1t
befell us that the highest military and
the highest civic attributes were en-
bodied in Washington, and so in him
we have one of the undying men OF
history-a great soldier, if possible an
even greater statesman, and above all
a public servant whose lofty and dis
interested patriotism rendered his
power and ability-alike on fought
fields and in council chambers-of the
most far-reaching service to the re-
public. In the civil war the two func-
tions were divided, and Lincoln and
Grant will stand foreyermore with
their names inscribed on the honor
roll of those who have deserved well
of mankind by saving to humanity
precious heritage. In similar fashion
Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jack
son each stands as the foremost rep
resentative of the great movement of
his generation, and their names sym
bolize TO us their times and the hopes
and aspirations of their times.
Faced Momentous Problems
It was given to President Mckinley
to take the foremost place in our polit-
ical life at time when our country
was brought face to face with prob
lens more momentous than any
whose solution we have ever attempt
ed save only in the revolution and in
the civil war; and it was under his
leadership that the nation solved
these mighty problems Alright. There
fore he shall stand in the eyes of his
tory not merely as the first man OF
his generation, but as among the
greatest figures in our national life,
coming second only to the men of the
two great crises in which the union
was founded and preserved.
No man could carry through success
fully such a task as President McKin-
ley undertook, unless trained by long
years Of effort for its performance.
knowledge of his fellow-citizens, abil-
ity to understand them, keen sympa-
thy with even their innermost feel
ings, and yet power to lead them, to-
gether with far-sighted sagacity and
resolute belief both in the people and
in their future-all these were needed
in the man who headed the march of
our people during the eventful years
from 1896 to 1901. These were the
qualities possessed by Mckinley and
developed by him throughout his
whole history previous to assuming
the presidency. AS a lad he had the
inestimable privilege of serving. first
in the ranks, and then as a commits
stoned officer, in the great war for ma
tional union, righteousness, and
grandeur: he was one of those whom
a kindly providence permitted to take
= part in a struggle which ennobled
every man who fought therein. He
who when little more than boy had
seen the grim steadfastness which
after four years of giant struggle re-
stored the union and freed the slave
was not thereafter to be dauntcd by
danger or frightened out of his belief
in the great destiny of our people.
His Rise to Leadership.
Some years after the war closed Nc
Kinley came to congress, and rose,
during a succession of terms to lead
ership in his party in the lower house.
He also became governor of his native
state, Ohio. During this varied service
he received practical training of the
kind most valuable to him when he be-
came chief executive of the nation.
TO the high faith of his early years
was added the capacity to realize his
ideals. to work with his fellow-men at
the same time that he led them.
President McKinlcy's rise to great
ness had in il nothing of the sudden.
nothing of the unexpected or seem
ingIy accidental. Throughout his
long term Of service in congress here
was steady increase alike in his pow
er Of leadership and in the recogni-
tion of that power both by his asso-
ciates in public life and by the pub
lie itself. Session after session his in
fucncc in the house grew greater; his
party antagonists grew TO look upon
him with constantly increasing re
spect; his party friends with constant
~ increasing faith and admiration.