Newspapers / The Advance (Elizabeth City, … / Sept. 20, 1901, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Advance (Elizabeth City, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
- - - JT . - Lonesome?-; After Reading. Why of course you will be lonesome :: anyVhore in Eastern North -Carolina, if you-.,; When you have . - read this ' paper. v mail it to a friend. Good as a letter - and cheaper, than postage. .Your . friend will - appre- ciate it. - don't ,read' the ' Tak Heel. It cost : , -only 1 . ' : ' $1 a Year. $1 a Year. ' ..'Nv,:ii'A. AA . : A A"' A-'..- : "A 'AV' A A-AA ' ,.,.. tA-: :. - . '.-AAA ' " - A ... . ' ' ' . ..- '. .' , '. . . A ' -J A . ' ' , r . . - - . . Vol. .: 4 AAA 'AA.A- i. A .VA'AlTt-RtAA & ..iATS Vi'SAl f.' Ca A'' "i . - A: iv: lAAAi-l ,, 1 A, . ' .. A , :..A. . .. , , , " TTT- T -t "'?!.;;. i . i 1 '-. ' I , : . : . ragTAlnV. - -- : . L..,- Aj i;-, r a- -i . .. - a Rfsin 3 11 n ii II 1 1 iii r- ii II i - I j 1 '""I.U. .-. ,. 4 mifii 1 HIS The Life Story 'of lWilliam McKinley Who Rose From Le g .Cabin to theWhite House aid Whom t , :.' . . .: .fe. ffA, - "' 1 ' " . ta.W .. . " " ,. .' ' . ." the Niation Was Proud to Point to as a TyR- ' ical American, . . In the tragic death of William Mo. Kiuiey the uatiou has lost more than A presideut. It has lost a man of vhoni It -was prou3 to say, "He is a topical Awericah," just how great is this loss cau hest be realized jby aVreyiew of tlie li e of our third martyred president.: It is a life which can stand the search Inz rays of publicity, for the career of Wiilianj McKinley bears no blot, re veals no blemish, from its humble, be ginning to its illustrious but sorrowful . pniling. v H$ vras born Jan. 29, 1S43, at Niles, Trucibull county, O. When he was nine years old, his par eats removed . to Poland, where be passed the rest of ; his boyhood and , school days. - .. In 1SG0 he taught school, clerked in the Poland postoffice and finally, in June of that year, enlisted as a private in Company E, Twentythird Ohio' vol- unteers.' . , - .; - , . " i In 18C2 he was promoted to be com missary sergeant and later to second lieutenant on the staff of Rutherford B. Hayes. He distinguished himself in several engagements. ; ; In 18G3 he became first lieutenant, f In 1864 he was promoted to captain and detailed as acting adjutant general the'Fipst divisipprFirst'Armyorps, In 18G5, having been bre vetted a ma jor of volunteers and" honorably dis charged, he returned to PoIand and re sumed the study of law. ' ' In lSGT.he was admitted to, the , bar and began practice at Canton. . In 1871 he was married to Miss Ida Saxton of Canton. ... In 187G he was elected to congress, serving as a representative from Ohio for fourteen years. . i .. In 1S00 he acted as chairman of the vay and means committee - which framed the biU that afterward became known as the McKinley tariff law. Ia . 1S91 he was elected governor of Ohio. In 1893 he was re-elected governor of Ohio. . f In 1890 he was elected president, of the United States. In 1897 he was inaugurated presi dent. . lu 18G8 he personally supervised the conduct of the Spanish-American-war. n ;S9Q he shaped tbe policy which resulted in the extension of our do main rar beyona its former ooraers. In 1900 he was re-elected president by a popular plurality of 852,000. In 1901 he had begun his second ad ministration witb tbe establishment of civil government in the -Philippines ami was preparing to inaugurate home rule iii Cuba- V-Early in the spring he made a memorable tour of the country from Washington to San Francisco, the journey being interrupted by the. seri 'pu's' Ilne'ss: pf Mrs. McKinley.: With the retuVriiner' health of Sirs. McKinley lie accepted an invitation -td' visit .tbp PanrAmericaii eVpositioO at Buffalo', and it was at the close of lals third jSay" there that Ue.was phgt. - . , ; ,:.. , . M'KIN LEY'S BOYHOOD. To speak at length of JVilliam Mc Kinley's , ancestry would beito repeat facts that are already well known That he was -descended "from sturdy Scotch-Irish ancestors, that he was the child of William McKinley. a; pioneer in the iron puddling business in Ohio these facts have been thrashed over again and again. Though the town of Canton is most intimately associated with the name of McKinley ,' it "was not his birthplace, He was born In.Niles. The old inhabitants of that quaint fittle village claim to, remember;' him but their mempries are vague, for he 'as only a boy when the family .moved, toPpiand. Mahoninir county, i O.' His People werp not rich then, neither were they very poor, " . Young William was sent to the vil- iage school at Niles. but his father reu 4Jiat better educational advantages for the children could ' be secured else - Devoted - " ' ' '' ' """v :L Z : I --V - - i " w w- vmmmmfc.. -.A'--' A': a . a : A - . . . : "a,. -A .-.A - a 'a: fn-f; wherec ' Accordingly; he moved to I'o land, and the future president was sent to what was known qs tbe. Vacad emy" in that town. 7 : ' , He stood well among his school fel lows in all his studies, but hia work in the debating society seemed to give an early hint of the eloquent oratorical powers which later enabled him to i way multitudes -with even more ease than at that time he swayed the school fellows who gathered to hear the de bates. .. , - M tbe early age of 16 he left the Poland academy for Alleghany college in Meadville, Pa. Here, however, a sudden illness forced him to ; give up bis studies and to return home. On top of this misfortune came what prac tically amounted to the . business fail ure of his father. i Everything was not lost, but the family was so reduced in circumstances that It ' was impracti cable to send. William back to college. C He was "still little more than a boy but, anxious to do all in. his power to aid In the support of his family, he took a position as district school teach er, with the munificent salary of $25 a month. And then came the war, and the young scnooiteacner, Durning witft the desire to aid in tbe great cause of liberty, was one of the first to enlist in the army. a v v HOW MKINLEY ENLISTED. . Robert P. Porter in his "Life qf Wil liam McKinley" gives this description of the young man's enlistment: : Z,r Poland bad strong enlisting: properuiitle. It was the banner township The boys went to the front just as soon- as the national fOYernment would take.tbem. Poland's pride today to that she never etooJ the draft.' Her quota was always full and overflowing;. Said aa enthusiastic PoUnd- er to the writer: " " , ' ffOf this she is riehtiy proud. When the war- cloud had burst over our heads, Poland came to ' . - . . . i ... A the front wjtn more tnan-ner anar 01 treasure sons as her offering. And the preliminaries were, as a rule, conducted at the Sparrow House, one day in June,;v 1861, a crowd bad gathered in this old tavern. An impassioned speaker pointed to the stars and stripes which hung on the wan and exclaimed, with much expression:'' . '','Our country'" flag has been shot at. It has been trailed in the dust by those who should de fend it, dishonored by those who should nave fcDrihi and loved it. and for whatT That this free government maykeep a race in the bondage of slavery. Who wUi be the.nrst to defend UT j A deadly silence 'reigned in that hotel parlor. Many beating hearts there were in me room, ilany young patriots stood, .there-who longed, to serve their country, and yet had not the courage to make the fijrst move. -'Presently 4 space was cleared in front ox tne eloquent speaker.. One by one some of the choic est of the young men ot roiana sreppea iorwro. Among them a slight gray eyed boyish figure might have been observed. f "Too much impressed wun tne lenousness m the situation to put himself in evidence, he step ped up with the rest. He wae only a boyish pri vate .then. V );. ' i;; 5 ; ; 'r-';,. ' '; The company that was formed hen was carefully drilled in the few days that it bad 'before, its departure for. camp, un tne aay mat iuey land half of the town followed them ai-1 post to Youngstown hi their eagerness to keep the brave poys m sigui as as possible. ' y ' At Youngstown tbe tram was noarqeq and the. Journey for Camp Chase at Columbus begun. Here company ta ox tbe Twenty-third Ohio regiment pitch ed its tents, and among these who lay under tbat scant shelter was William McKinley, just starting on tne career that has brought him sucn nonor auu such gratitude from a whole nation. PROMOTED FOR 6AIXANTRY. McKinley's executive ability brought him Into j notice almost immediately. He was made commissary sergeant and for two years was on the staff of Presi dent Hayes, who was then In command of the regiment. On whatPresident Hayes had called the bloodiest day of the whole ".war-: the 17th of September, 1862, in the bftt- - tJe 0f ; Antietam Sergeant" MejKinley'i conduct was 6ueh that his commander lT1 nprson recommended his promotion. TTnder the hottest fire, with men iyri mff dead and dying all about him, witn men suffering bitterly from tne warn ;l ftf - bite to eat and a drop to drink,,' . 1 " . -, to the Industrial Development of Eastern North Carolina; ELIZABETH CITY, N. C, THE LATE PEESIDENT M'KINLEY. Hergcant McKinley, with th staff that he bad organised so well, was every where on the a field, . distributing the food and tbe coffee that the; fighting men so much needed, cheering them on with his brave words and never for an instant seeming to care for the shot and' the shell that were flying so fast about him. "Major Hayes noticed the young man with admiring.eyes.1 While recovering from his wounds he called upon Gov ernor Tod of Ohio and told him of the incident. The governor immediately ordered the ; promotlOncof -SereantjWej-v Kinley and ordered f urther that "the' promotion should be placed upon the roster of the company. - Step by - step after that the' young man won his way up until three months before he was mustered out be was made major by brevet "for gallant and meritorious service at the battles of Opequan, Cedar Creek and Fisher's Hill." I His commission was signed "A. Lin coln." a ; --av . - - HIS POLITICAL CAREER. Returning home from the war, McKin ley studied law with Judge Charles E. Glidden of Canton and at the Albany Law school. He was admitted to the bar In March, l$67t and settled, & Cnnton, Which became his permanent home. He fpon, attracted attention as a lawyer of ability, and, although Stark county was Democratic, he was elected prosecut ing attorney In 1869, but he was defeat ed for the same office two years later. From this time forward Major McKin ley gave much attention to politics. The seeming disasters in McKinley's career brought ' only ; greater honors. Wnen.i McKinley offered . himself a.s. $ candidate for speaker of thft bewse of repiesentatlyes. p Wind tliat tWO Otn western men Burrows and Cannon ' .. . , were asking" for the place. Reed was the only eastern aspirant, and he won handily. It is a tradition in the house of representatives that the speaker hnll appoint '.his most f ormidable op ponent . chairman : of the ways and means ' committee, and ' this chairman becomes ex otficio the leader of the. ni iority. This lot fell to McKinley. It was his opportunity, and he, took ad vantage of it by formulating the Mc K:nlcy tariff ,bilL The outcome is. Known to the world. Two yeans later, after McKlnley'g jigtrict had been changed so. as w the noi mal majority against him moro than 3.0QQ, be was defeated for congress, but he made a strong snow ing by cutting his opponent's vot( Jng by cutting his opponent's vote down tQ a margin of 300. This led to his nomination as governor of Ohio, and his next step was to the White House. Had McKinley been successful In his candidacy for the speakership, and nadMie appointed Reed chairman of the committee on ways and means, In all probability he never would have been president. But McKinley kept to his work. He had no false notions' of luck. In one of his addresses to young men he said, "Luck will not last" The president held, that ' The fortunate, -Is he whose earnest purpose never swerves, - Whose slightest action or inaction server The one great aim. So this brace of temporary setbacks that he exnerieneed merely afforded I him time and space in which to get a f fresH hold on thtf lines of his destiny. , -In 1884 he was a delegate at large- from Ohio to "the national convention, and helped to nominate, James .u. uiame. At tne nexx national couveu- tion he represented the state In the ...(' ' - t , PRI DAY, SEPT. 20, r V mm same manner, and supported John Sherman: At that convention; after the first day's balloting, the indications were that McKinley himself might be nominated. Then his strength of: pur pose and his high ideas of loyalty and nonor ; snowed tnemselves. for - m an earnest and stirring speech he demand ed that no votes be cast for him. : In ,1891 r he was ejected governor j of Ohio by a majority of about 21,000 over ex-Governor James E. Campbell the Democratic candidate. The issue thvn at stake was chiefly the tariff. nMimalieyAalso 0lSdsein opposition 10 tne tree coinage of suverv t in ne -was again a aeiegate at large to the national convention at Minneapolis, and was made permanent chairman. Although his name was not brought before the convention, yet he received 182 votes. He himself was a strong supporter of President! Har riSon. : ' ' . : : - I In 1893 Major McKinley was re-elect ed governor of Ohio by a majority of 80,995. At the expiration of his term he returned to Canton. He had been; a political speaker and leader in con gress, known and adiiiyed throughout the country, and his popularity and the confidence of tbe people in his prin ciples and purposes were constantly in creasing; hence there was little sur prise when he was nominated on the first ballot at the Republican, national convention at St. Louis in 189C. ;. i M'KINLEY AS A SPEECHMAKER, Exper!?nced campaigners declare that McKinley-was an idea candidate. He had all the courtesy Qf a Kentucky colonel, and, hia gallantry was unfail ing. JIte memory for names and faces was pbeuomencl. Though not effusive, he was ever urbane. He had tact and In all the relations of life was a living exemplification of the puaviterjin! mo- do. V Va i . His home at Canton, O., during the progress o: his two canvasses tor tne presidency was r the Mecca of thou sands of admiring supporters. The U'KUTSjEI AS A fcAWTSK. trampling put of; the grass In bis front yard," even down tQ the roots, grew to be a national jest, yet It was.no exag geration. : " l Brief speeches were to the president s liking. Two characteristic addresses Will suffice, to Illustrate his methods of addressone fs- no : longer than Lin coln's- masterpiece at Gettysburg, and the other required not more than three minutes for delivery in his most delib erate style. "At Canton.0 sneaking of the.Dros- amjbl. m 1901. Our glorious ol J fla. the sym'ol of - liberty. floats today over - two hemispheres. During the recent war . we had exhibitions of unprecedented patriotism on the part of the people and unmatch ed heroism oil the part of our soldiers and Bailors, Our second great triumph is the triumph of pros perity. The busy mills, the active industries, the general prosperity, have scattered plenty , o'er a smiling country. Our third great triumph to the triumph we have had over sectionalism. We nre no longer a divided people, and he who woild stir tip animosities between the north and squth to denied jl hearing in. both sections. The boyf of the south and the boys of the north fought tri umphantly on land and sea in every engagement during, our war. . a, -a- At Chicago, three days later, he gave utterance to the following: . The ' United States never struck a blow exoent for civilization and never struck its colors. Has the pyramid lost any of ita strengtar' Ha to KOTHEB OP PBESIDKNT U'TKIiXT. republic lost any of Its virility? Has the self gov erning principle been weakened? Is there any present, menace to our stability' and - duration? These questions bring but one answer! The re public ia sturdier and stronger than ever before. Government by the. people has .been advanced, rreedom. under the flag is more universal than when the Union was formed. Our steps have been forward, not backward. From Plymouth rock to the . Philippines the grand triumphant inarch! of human liberty has never paused, a aa. Aa a. maxim maker the ', president gained fame, and searchers of history have declared that monarchies and J few waxinnB u" caiucbsiuu uaviug uounsueu mosi during periods of popular government. One of the first maxims put forth by McKinley In his first campaign against Bryan was, "It Is better to open the mills than to open the mints. The president once sought to win acceptance of his policy of confidence and hope by saying, "A patriot makes' a better citizen than a pessimist.1 To indicate his confidence In the course that he was steering the ship of state, he declared, "The country is not going backward, but forward.' or younger men McK.inley - gave voice to this oracular saying: "Luck Will not last. It may help you once, but you cannot count upon it.. Labor Is the only key to opportunity. HIS HOME LIFE. When Major McKinley 'first went to Canton to consult his sister on the choice of a profession, he met Miss Ida Saxton, the pretty daughter of James Saxton, a well to do banker of Canton. He was young and good looking; she was sweet sixteen The acquaintance ship was of short duration, for he had to go to Albany, to study law and she had to return to school, but the first thing that he did on his return to Can- ta as a full - fledged lawyer was to seek her out and woo her for his, wife. They were married on the SKtth day of January,5 1871, and he always declared that it was the best suit he ever won. The young couple began then house keeping In. the old Saxton home at Canton. Two children were born to them,' but both died In infancy. Sine tie birth of the second child Mrs.' Me-, Kinley has been an invalid," but yet a happy and contented one, for the devo tion of her husband was untiring- She followed his- political career closely. and often he was fndebted to her for valuable advice. During the 'conven tion which renominated McKinley for the presidency, when the private wire was licking the news, there was no one so deeply Interested in the result as Mrs. McKinley, and when it came and her husband entered the room with the message in his hand ; there were tears in the eyes of ' the others present as. tenderly bending over her, he- kissed her and said, "I congratulate you, my dear," and she replied witn a look tnat spoke more than words. One of the president's most strongly marked traits was his devotion' to his mother and to his wif While his mother, was alive he scarce ly allowed a day to pass without send ing her, some message to let her know that all was well - with him. Ills solici tude for his invalid wife was equally touching, a He even went so far at times when she' was suffering more than usu al to attend i to some -of the little de tails of the household management In order to relieve her as much as possi ble' from the strain and anxiety of such duties. Very frequently during the time he was at the White House, even when some important conference was ' No. 5. being, held, he would excuse himself and run up stairs to spend a few mo ments with - the Invalid woman who , was so thoroughly in sympathy with him. , And no matter how' dark or threatening the situation may have seemed to him he Invariably presented v to her only the most cheerful side. , Perhaps the most pathetic part of It 7 all was that a man of such tender de votion' to his family should have so lit- -tie real home Ufa ; - For the last twenty years or ..more his efforts ' were given v so entirely to the service of his country and he was forced to move from pbice , to place so continuously : that there has been little chance, for that domestic happiness which a man of "his nature . so covets. ' ' " ' ; ' - PERSONAL CHARAlTERISTICS. Mr. McKinley was a plain, liver. He smoked moderately, but did not use In toxicating liquors. - He was clean -; of -speech as he was of character. He was -a model husband,, a devoted son and ' brother and in all the, walks of life so carried himself as to leave the Impress of a noble character. ;! He was strong mentally ) and physically. He had no physical weakness. He walked with , a? decided land energetic step. While his face had a certain pallor under ex citement, "It habitually wore the fine glow of a man m rugged health. Ho Was frequently seen upon the streets of . Washington and . was not hedged about ; by the usual pride and circum stance of rulers. ' He was the most reasonable, the most i accommodating of men. a No citizen was too lowly, no cause too poor to enlist his sympathy, , but with- all this he ; was a business man. .lie knew, tne, value or time. rrue . would have been unable to accomplish .' the work for which fie was chosen if he had failed to husband his resources, and so It was that he got out of every man associated with him the best and . most that was fn him.' He did nothing ' himself that' others should do for him. His cabinet bnlcers were appointed for a purpose to administer the affairs of their great departments. He required of - them aV strict account of steward- ship; he did not , interfere with them hi the discharge of their onerous du ties ; he -called them Into 'consultation; he required a showmg.pf their books; he drew upon them for a strengthenbig of administrative policies; he relied up- on them for material and support; his office was a model , in i the dispatch of public, business. A keen judge of men, be surrounded, himself with efficient helpers. Prom an ordinary government , establishment,!; with very indifferent methods, the execu tive mansion be came one of the most ' practical and helpful of public offices. A position In the office of the president of the United States is today a post of signal honor, highly prized among, the ythousands of ., such places in the federal service. - - -Only the sterling qualities of his character helped him in the dark hours of personal 7 suffering which came to him clnring the last few months of his life. . All public men train themselves In the hard school of self control, but none was more successful than Wil liam McKinley. The nation still re members the cali. patient man who watched for many hours at the bed side of his wife and whose unbending will smothered every outward trace of the emotion which tore . at his heart strings. ' Even in that recent tragic moment when he had been felled by the assassin that grand moral strength of his enabled him to endure pain with a calm, face.' It was he who tried to reassure his friends, although his life blood was ;'. even . then ebbing f away. Such was the stuff ; of which-our third martyred president; was made. If advertisers -wish their, adver tisements tQ be read by the people in E8ctern North Carolina, adver tise in the Tab Heel. ' V A K 4 ; l: ' - f
The Advance (Elizabeth City, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 20, 1901, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75