The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-09-23

l'lrItdlllpti, there are Always a ZIG
few who do the great bulk of the work,
who are men of action, who are selected
by their associates to perform the things
which have 10 be done, who have the
executive gift which makes them wise In
council, and whose advice and assistance
are sought when great things are TO be
lone.
Courteous and Modest.
Constantly courteous, invariably kind
v, always reserved, consistently modest,
never seeking to put himself in the front
rank. Senator Fairbanks is not usually
credited by the world at large with the
extraordinary influence he really pos
sesses here in Washington. His aSSo-
GATES in the Senate, the members OF the
cabinet, and those whose duty 1t Is to
| execute the law have learned, however,
the quiet force Of the Senator from In
diana. and ever since he came here with
Mckinley in 1897 Senate Fairbanks has
been one of the inner circle. He has
grown stronger day by day until his
nomination for The vice presidency was
| absolutely forced upon him because, IN
the opinion of his associates in the Sen
ate and the party leaders generally, he
was the best equipped man for the posi-
ton. and was by his training and by his
political association Of presidential size,
50 that hs E fright arri be ready at a9yyrt tvs
if it should become necessary.
Few people are aware of the unusual
degree to which William Mckinley gave
his confidence to Senator Fairbanks. The
two men were old friends, they repre-
scented much the same element in the
| no rty and in tina aa-lv Months of 1SDI
following the bitter political battle of
the previous autumn Mckinley and Fair
banks We're in constant touch and the
Presitlent-elect began to lean upon the
Senator-elect. This trust in the wisdom
of the statesman from Indiana was never
lessened, but as month after month went
by the Indiana Senator was more and
more dra wn into the deepest condolences
of the President.
There were trying times in Washing
ton during the latter part Of 1897 and i'll
the early part of 1898. The United States
and Spain were drifting inevitably to-
ward war. The sentiment in this coun-
try was overwhelmingly in favor of in
reference in behalf OF the suffering peo-
pie of Cuba. The pressure for action
grew daily stronger. In the public press,
in Congress, in the churches, on the
streets, everywhere from the Atlantic
to the Pacific there was a constantly
growing sentiment that the United States
must put an end to the shocking condi-
tons IN Cuba.
Mckinley Knew Public Sentiment.
When he was elected William MeIIin-
ley well knew what this public sentiment
was and where it was likely to lead. No
man ever lived who was more skilled in
feeling the pulse OF the public thar the
President who laid down his life at
Buffalo. When he came to the White
House, nevertheless. he was determined
to exhaust every device known to diplo-
macy, short of actual warfare, to bring
Spain to terms and to bring peace to
Cuba. Trained in the arts Of war him
self, William Mckinley we'll knew that
war was not to be entered upon lightly.
He was for peace from the beginning.
During the first six months of the Nc
kinley administration the tension here
in Washington was extraordinary. Pub
lie sentiment of itself might have forced
a war because Of the outrages contin-
ually committed by the Spaniards upon
the poor people of Cuba. Then came
the explosion of the Maine, which
touched the spark in the magazine, and
within a few weeks the people of the
United States were raging with the lust
Of blood.
Still William Mckinley stood stead
fast. He knew wal was nearly in
evitable, but he was in a position to
know also that this country, rich though
it was in men and resources, was not
ready for war. He was in a position
to know that there were no rifles. no
cannon, no clothes, no tents, no pro-
visions Of war for even the most mod
crate army. He had not exhausted di-
plomacy, and even then he knew that
time was necessary to prepare the coun-
try for war. The great public which
was ignorant of the real situation and
which did not realize that a mistaken
public policy had allowed our army to
run down to a point where we were not
fitted to fight even a little nation like
Spain, still ~thundered for war and be-
gan to suspect the good faith and the
bravery Of a man like William McKin-
ley.
Mckinley Committed Fairbanks.
All this is history, which the world
knows and which need not be recapitulat-
ed in detail. What the world does not
generally know is that in the small cir
Gle Of men who were daily and nightly