The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-06-11
FROM BOY SOLDIER TO PRESIDENT,
~-= THE LIFE JOURNEY OF MCKINLEY

and the decision OF the easy boah"
to accomplish this end by pushing
Theodore into tho vice presidency.
ROOsoVelt's IntultiVC Feeling.
mt. Roosevelt az that time"
writes Mr.. Olcott. would have liked
nothing hotter than four moro years
as governor and n chance to demOl-
fish Plat. He was. Of courSo. sincere
in his feeling that an active career
as governor would bO preferable to
have enjoyed a fight with Plate aud
tho bosses. and he was right In oh
jectlng to an uncorOmonlous election
from New York politics. Yet no
seemed TO have n Kind OF intuition.
perhaps only vaguely realized. that
something important wAS about to
happen.
III tho call Of destiny was about
to ring hO wished to be- near enough
to get his ear to the receiver. He
seemed to know that tho viCO preBi-
dOntiAl lightning was about to Rtriko
and that hO was himself tho most
conspicuous target and almost GER
tain to be hit, yet, contrary to the
ulNNllNN VI Allh WI lhAklAtAAN Ap Nv
not aeOk safety In a tHt refusal. M
Root. Allison. Bliss and Fairbanks
had done. Perhaps no felt somewhat
like tho crowds In London who go
out Into tho streets and parks to
watch the flight Of n hostile Zeppelin.
knowing that tho cellar would be a
safer place. II wnB not in his ma
turc to MISS any OF the excitement"
Roosevelt 40 dlsplAyed himself that
even while he wAB pushing tho nomi-
nation aside. his magnetic %peraOnal-
Ity made II inevitable, va nrO told.
And even his rough rider hat, worn
ostentatiouSly, was. according to
Wayne MacVoagh. IAN acceptance
hat"
Loyalty Of Mckinley 20 AIgcr
In his Spanish war account, Mr.,
Olcott makes a virtue Of McKInley's
I loyalty to Algor. steadily held by the
+. secretary himself" This ~SteadfRSt-
ness was due not only to friendship,
but to tho prOsident'B conviction that
! much Of the criticism Of AlGcr wRa
unjust. The rift came naturally
whom Alger. n candidate for a United
States senatOrship. sought tho al
lance Of Governor Pingree OF Michi-
gan. n critic Of tho administration.
Writing of White House days. near
the close Of his work. u blographer
says:
There wus n social sido to Nc
Kinley's nature which remained I'M
revealed I oall except Of very few In
Inmates. He liked to have these
friends gather In tho White House In
tho evening after dinner or on Sun
days and sing familiar hymns. Ho
took great delight in making Mark
Hanna and Charles II. GrosvcnOr Join
in with the rest.
ION n occasion no requested
| Secretary Wilson. who is n Scotch
man. to sing Bonnie Doom Wilson.
who did not pretend To sing. never
theless regarded q request from the
president as q command and bravely
lot out n series Of bellOwB. Some
times he would get up a Virginia
Reel and have great fun watching tho
caperings Of Secretary Gage and 9TH
er diEniAed members Of tho cabinet.
He would usually stay with tho Ia
dies for n while and then gradually
draw away into n group of men where
he could talk and smoke.
mfr. Hanna would often sit and
smoke with the president on the
! south porch OF the White House on
hummer evenings after the last cabi-
net officer had gone and the business
of tho day was over. During these
meetings. Hanna wrote, nc had lit
flo to say OF the serious and sad
things Of life, but was always an OPP
timist and his enthusiasm was infec-
tious. Ho was particularly fond Of
telling and listening to stories and
cracking Jokes. always in that good
humored and gentle way which nov
or possessed the rapier touch OF Ba-
tire or temper