Complete Life of William McKinley and Story of His Assassination. Everett Marshall

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      The tenderest sympathy and praise of McKinley mingled with deep abhorrence of the crime and vehement denunciation of the teachings that inspired it from every part of the South prove conclusively that the love for the martyr President was as great there as in the North.

      It is significant that much of this laudatory comment was coupled with grateful recognition of the work done by the President in unifying the two sections of the country. It is doubtful if the President’s most zealous admirers in the North can surpass in fervor of affectionate regard many of the editorial tributes in the Southern press.

      A few discordant notes—not sufficient to merit more than passing notice, however—marred the general voice of sympathy and condolence. In an interview regarding the attempt to take the President’s life, Senator Wellington of Maryland was reported as saying:

      “McKinley and I are enemies. I have nothing good to say about him, and under the circumstances do not care to say anything bad. I am indifferent to the whole matter.”

      The Senator subsequently refused to deny the interview, and his silence was construed as an affirmation of it. For this unpatriotic utterance the Atlanta Journal editorially called upon the United States Senate to expel him from that body as being unfit to represent the people of Maryland in the highest council of the nation.

      In various parts of the country reflections on the President or expression of pleasure at the crime led to rough treatment by indignant crowds. Only cool heads saved several detractors of McKinley from being lynched. Here and there an anarchist would attempt to incite the crowd in behalf of the assassin, but all such attempts were repulsed and the demagogues arrested or driven from the town.

      After the first great wave of sorrow and despair had swept the land, the bulletins from Buffalo brought back hope. From Sunday on to Thursday the indication grew more favorable and the fact that recovery seemed assured led many churches to arrange thanksgiving services.

      The day of prayer seemed to have passed, the prayer granted and the hearts of a grateful people were set on a day of thanksgiving. Among earnest Christian men and women the desire to anticipate the regular annual thanksgiving festival was universal, and even such persons as have little faith in the efficacy of prayer approved the suggestion that there should be some common recognition of our national good fortune in the escape of the President from death.

      Messages of congratulation poured in on the relatives and friends at Buffalo by the hundreds, hope rose high, and cheerful faces shone where all had been gloom. This buoyant feeling continued until Thursday night at Buffalo, and only on Friday morning did the nation learn of the change for the worse.

      Among the cablegrams of congratulations sent by European rulers were those from the King of England, the Czar of Russia, the King of Greece and the Emperor of Austria.

      The following dispatch was received at the American Embassy at London:

      “I am delighted to hear your last most satisfactory account of your President. I sincerely trust that his convalescence may soon be completed.

      “Edward, R.”

      The following message was received from the Czar of Russia:

      “Fredensborg—To President McKinley, Buffalo, N. Y:—I am happy to hear you are feeling better after the ignominious attempt on your life. I join with the American people and the universal world for your speedy recovery.

      “Nicholas.”

      The following message was received from King George of Greece at Fredensborg:

      “I rejoice to hear that you so happily escaped the terrible attempt on your precious life, which has horrified the civilized world, but hope to God that you recover for the good and glory of the American people.”

      Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria sent an expression of his sympathy at the probable recovery of the President to the United States government to-day. The dispatch was sent through the American Embassy.

      On Thursday all was hopefulness; on Friday gloom and fear; on Saturday heads bowed in mourning. Death came with an awful suddenness, notwithstanding the week of suffering. The passionate hope that the President would recover had been followed by a feeling of perfect assurance that he was out of danger, when the wholly unexpected news of Friday put the people on the rack again. There was another torturing day, and when it ended hope and confidence had yielded to universal grief and to a fruitless questioning of the impenetrable ways of Providence. It seemed inexplicably strange that a man so beloved and unoffending and so rich in good works should have been made the victim of the assassin’s bullet.

      All day long the bulletin boards in every city were surrounded by crowds waiting in suppressed excitement for the latest word from the Milburn home, and numerous newspaper extras were eagerly snapped up.

      Every household in Washington was in mourning. The sorrow was complete. Large crowds assembled about the bulletin boards early in the evening of the memorable day, eagerly awaiting the latest news, hoping against hope that something would happen, in the mysterious workings of the Almighty, to spare the President.

      The oldest citizens cannot remember when a calamity brought to the national capital such profound grief. The excitement was more intense when Lincoln succumbed to the bullets of the assassin, Booth, and the people sincerely mourned him, but while he was widely loved, his death did not so afflict the people. Garfield was generally admired, and the calamity that overtook him awakened the sympathy of the people, but he was not mourned as was McKinley.

      If the precedents set by President Arthur are followed by President Roosevelt, the coming winter will be entirely devoid of official gayety. The official mourning will extend over six months and will be rigorously observed. This period will include New Year’s and the usual courtesies extended to the diplomatic corps, the Congress, the judiciary and the army and navy. The official mourning will end on March 14, 1902, and as this date falls after Shrove Tuesday, the official social season will be allowed to lapse. Therefore the New Year’s reception of 1903 will in all probability be the first formal gathering of the official and social world at the White House.

      Half-masted flags and black column rules mutely proclaimed England’s sentiments touching the death of President McKinley. These symbols of mourning, countless in their multitudes, visibly recalled the country’s grief at the loss of Queen Victoria. Not only on land, but also at sea, the British honored the martyr President. Thousands of buildings, both public and private, and all the shipping around the coast, flew the Union Jack half-way up the staff. Every British war ship within reach of the telegraph displayed its ensign of sorrow.

      The Pope prayed an hour to-day for the soul of President McKinley. The pontiff wept with uncontrollable emotion on receiving the news of the President’s death. All audiences at the Vatican were suspended.

CHAPTER IX.

       PRESIDENT McKINLEY’S LAST SPEECH.

       Table of Contents

      President McKinley’s last speech, delivered on President’s Day at the Pan-American Exposition, September 5, the day before he was shot, was the greatest speech of his life. It was a message to all the world, robust in its Americanism, and fraught with good will for all nations and all mankind. It was as follows:

      “President Milburn, Director General Buchanan, Commissioners, СКАЧАТЬ