Free press., 1907-10-05
ON 'KINIEY
A Glowing Tribute to the Martyred
President by His Successor
In Office.
THE GREATEST SINCE LINGOlN'S TIME
Mr. Roosevelt Declared That Notwith-
standing the Serious and Complex
Problems With Which Mr.. Mckin-
ley Had to Grapple, His Home Life
Was a Model for All.

Canton, O., Oct. lin an address
at the unveiling of the Mckinley mon
ument Monday, President Roosevelt
spoke in part as follows:
1--WE have gathered together here
to pay our need of respect and affec-
tion to the memory of William Mckin-
ley, who as president won a place in |
the hearts of the American people |
such as but three or four of all the |
presidents of this country have ever !
won. He was of singular uprightness |
and purity of character, alike in pub |
lie and in private life; citizen who |
loved peace, he did his duty faithfully |
and we'll for four years of war when |
the honor of the nation called him to
arms. rs congressman, as governor
of his state, and finally as president,
he rose to the foremost place among
our statesmen, reaching a position
which would satisfy the keenest am
bition; but he never lost that simple
and thoughtful kindness toward every
human being, great or small, lofty or
humble, with whom he was brought in
contact, which so endeared him to our
people. He had to grapple with more
serious and complex problems than
any president since Lincoln, and yet,
while meeting every demand of states
manship, he continued to live beauti-
full live, life very healthy for this
nation to see in its foremost citizen;
and now the woman who walked in the
shadow ever after his death, the wife
to whom his loss was calamity more
crushing than it could be to any other
human being, lies beside him here
in the same sepulcher,
There is a singular appropriateness
in the inscription on his monument.
On the presidents trip to the Pacific
slope in the spring of 1891 president
Wheeler, of the University of Cali
fornia, conferred the degree of LII. D.
upon him in words so well chosen that
they struck the fastidious taste of
John Hay, then Secretary of State,
who wrote and asked for a copy of
them from President Wheeler. They
were as follows:
'By authority vested in me by the
regents of the University of California,
confer the degree of Doctor of Laws
upon William Mckinley, President of
the United States, a statesman singu-
larIy gifted to unite the adiscordant
forces of the government and mold
the diverse purposes of men toward
progressive and salutary action,
magistrate whose poise of judgment
has been tested and vindicated in a
| succession of national emergencies;
good citizen, brave soldier, wise eX-
ecutive, helper and leader of men,
exemplar to his people of the virtues
that build and conserve the state, So
ciety, and 1he home"
4It would be hard to imagine an cpl
taph which a good citizen would be
more anxious to deserve or one which
would more happily describe the quail
ties of that great and good citizen
whose life we here commemorate. He
possessed to a very extraordinary de-
gree the gift of uniting discordant
forces and securing from them har-
monious action which told for good
| government. From purposes not mere
~ diverse, but bitterly conflicting, he
was able to secure healthful action
| for the good of the state. In both
T poise and judgment he rose level to
1
| meet as leader of the nation, and like
| all men with the root of true great
ness in them he grew to steadily larg-
| er stature under the stress of heavy
responsibilities. He was a good citi-
| zen and a brave soldier, 4 chief exeeu-
| tive whose wisdom entitled him to the
trust which he received throughout
the nation. He was not only leader
| of men but prominently helper of
men; for one of his most marked
traits was the intensely human quail
| ity of his wide and deep sympathy.
Finally, he not merely preached, he
was, the most valuable of all citizens
in a democracy like ours, man who
| in the highest place served as an un-
conscious example to his people of the
virtues that build and conserve alike
our public life, and the foundation Of
all public life, the intimate life Of
| the home.