The Indianapolis journal., 1904-02-16

prosperous member of a Christian commun-
ity in this respect He found a pleasure
in helping others and in concealing the good
he did. 1t would be hard to guess the sum
he annually spent in this benencent man
ner, for not even those who were intimate
with him were aware of il. He once said,
| in answer TO an inquiry, that to him half
| the pleasure in aiding others was in Keep
| ing it to ones self.
! Mr. Hanna's religion was the golden rule.
| His widow is a devout Episcopalian, and
Mr.. Hanna was for many years vestryman
| of st. Johns Church in Cleveland. But
with him religion was practice, rather
| than theory.
MIR. HANNA'S FORESIGHT.
| 1t has been said that Mr.. Hanna was one
| of the first to recognize the economic i'm
portance of bringing iron ore and coal to-
| gether. There is not space here TO dwell
| upon the effect which this union played in
the development of the iron and steel in
| dustries. But it is certain that this economy
in processes of production, brought about
| through skillful arrangements of transpor-
| tatlon, played most important part in
| the commercial growth of the United
states. The exports OF the finished steel
from the United States during the first six
| months of 1900 were at the rate of 100000
| tons year. Now, this is but the begin
| ming, and yet that export product represents
| the consumption of 100000 tons of iron ore
and 100000 tons of coke, made out of
| 2,5OJ0oO tons of coal.
These are vast figures. and it must be
| left to the imagination to guess how great
| quantity of labor is employed in digging
| these raw materials, in transporting them
to the furnaces, in smelling them and in
! making the pig iron into finished steel. In
| doing this combinations of capital pay in
the United States almost double the wages
for labor that are paid in England, and
| yet the labor cost in the finished product
| is about one-half what it is I'm England.
1t was the ingenuity, the enterprise and the
persistence of such business citizens as
MT. Hanna that made such wonderful
| achievements possible.
1t has been said of Mr.. Hanna in his re-
| latlons to labor that he never had "A strike.
| Mr.. Hanna encountered several strikes.
| Ihese, however, were not important, and
| ne always went as Tar as the utmost
| stretching of justice would permit in set
/ ting them. He was not a man who could
| be driven. nor was he man who naturally
| sought the path of least resistance. New
| ertheless he believed thoroughly in the
| most amicable relations between labor and
| capital, as tending TO their mutual advan-
tage and to the upbuilding of the entire
| community.
There is one chapter of Mr. Hanna's life
| a very brief chapter, to which occasional
| allusion has been made in the public prints,
| but about which is little known. That is
| MS association with dramatic art. Just by
| an accident one day in 1875. while going
| from his office to lunch i'm Cleveland, Mr..
| Hanna observed crowd about the Euclid
| OptId f1OuSt, WHICH Was DtlLs
| knocked down at auction under a fore
| closure. Mr.. Hanna quickly formed a poo
OF his business friends and bought the
| opera house. Afterward several of those
| who had Joined him in this impuIsive en-
| terprise backed out, and Mr.. Hanna found
himself with the opera house on his hands
| He made an arrangement with its manager
| which did not prove financially successful
But IL was through this accidental con
| nection that he became acquainted will
| such artists as Jefferson, Booth, Barrett
Sullivan, Mccullough and Crane-all mer
| worth knowing and all OF whom appealed
to the happiest and most sympathetic side
| of Mr.. Hanna's nature. He found in theil
society an Intellectual stimulus which
| sharpened his wits for the sterner realities
of the business and political world.
THAT FAMOUS GOLD PLANK.
Much has been said in reviewing recent
political history concerning the authorship
| of the famous gold plank i'm the Republican
national platform of 1896 BY some tn,
authorship of that platform has been at
tributed to Mr.. Hanna, by others various
ly TO Messrs. Platt of New York, Lodge o
| Massachusetts, and Kohlsaat of Chicago
| The truth about this is that Mr. McKinleN
wrote that gold plank himself. He wrot,
II in pencil upon piece OF paper upon Mr.
| Hanna's desk in Mr.. Hannas Office il
| Cleveland before Mr.. Hanna started on hi
journey TO the St. Louis convention. After
ward at st. Louis Mr.. Hanna listened tC
all the turmoil and conflicting advice about
| him, but he stuck steadfastly 10 the Nc
Kinley plank. and that was the pani
adopted by the convention.
| The personal relations between Senator
Hanna and President Mckinley were &c
mented by many years OF close associs
tion into most intimate friendship. Blu
the senator had quite as much respect fol
the serious responsibility and exalted dig
nifty OF the presidency as Mckinley en-
tertained an appreciation OF the loyal CO
| operation Of the senator IL any politician.
OF either party imagined at the beginning
OF the first Mckinley administration tina
Mr.. Hanna was 10 exercise a disproportion
| ate influence over either appointments o
| legislation, they soon learned their mis-
take In fact, so careful were both men no