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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
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WILLIAM Mckinley. 
 
"It is God's way." "His will be done." 
 
 .. The Public Services .. 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 William McKinley, 
 
 President of the United States, 
 
 CITIZENS OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, 
 
 Eastside Park, 
 
 THURSDAY AFTERNOON, SEPTEMBER 19, 1901. 
 
 Eulogy by Hon. John W. Griggs, United States Attorney General in 
 
 President McKinley's First Cabinet ; 
 
 Original Poem by Rev. Charles D. Shaw, D. D. ; 
 
 The Biography and last Public Address of William McKinley. 
 
 Compiled and Published by FRANK AMIRAUX, Paterson, New Jersey. 
 
 "Nearer, My God, to Thee." 
 
. Cr- 
 
 "T^F I. 3RARY OF 
 
 CCM CRESS, 
 Two Curi£s Received 
 
 OCT. 28 t901 
 
 Copyright entry 
 
 IcUM^sO/KXa No. 
 
 COPY X 
 
 Copyright, 1901, 
 
 by 
 
 FRANK AMIRAUX. 
 
 Press Printing and Publishing Co., 
 269 Main Street, 
 
 Paterson, N. J. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In response to an oft expressed wish that the proceedings of the 
 McKinley Memorial Day exercises in Eastside Park be placed in perma- 
 nent form as a souvenir of the occasion, and that Ex-United States 
 Attorney General John W. Griggs' masterly eulogy, and the Rev. Dr. 
 Charles D. Shaw's beautiful poetic tribute to the late President be pre- 
 served in permanent form for future reference, this little volume is offered 
 the public as a memento of that great civic demonstration of grief so 
 touchingly displayed in Eastside Park on the day that the body of the 
 beloved ruler was committed to the tomb. That demonstration showed 
 that the hearts of the people of Paterson are properly attuned to feelings 
 of grief and patriotism, despite the malign influences — of which mention 
 need not be made here — that have been at work casting an undeserved 
 stigma upon the fair name of our people and city. 
 
 To enhance the value of this little volume the compiler has annexed a 
 biography, and the last address of President McKinley, made at the Pan- 
 American exposition the day before he was stricken down by the assassin. 
 Also through the courtesy of C. Mortimer Wiske, the words of that beau- 
 tiful song, "Weary Hands," sung at the exercises, for only the third time 
 in public, are here published for the first. The touching words were writ- 
 ten by Dr. R. W. Raymond, of Brooklyn, and Mr. Wiske arranged them to 
 the music of an old German part song by Chwatal, for use at the dedication 
 of the New York Press Club monument in Greenwood. The second time 
 the song was sung in public, was at the funeral of Vice President Garret 
 A. Hobart, in the Church of the Redeemer, this city, on November 25th, 
 1899, on which occasion President McKinley was deeply affected and 
 moved to tears by its beautiful words. Its selection for use a third time 
 at the McKinley memorial exercises by Mr. Wiske, was a most fitting one. 
 
 As many who attended the exercises failed to secure a programme, an 
 exact fac-simile of it is given. 
 
 It is a matter of regret that a picture of the vast audience could not be 
 secured for reproduction here. However, a view of the grove, by Vernon 
 Royle, is given. Too much credit cannot be accorded that earnest body 
 of men, the Park Commissioners, for the manner in which they planned 
 and carried out this now historical gathering and enabled the citizens of 
 
Paterson to come together as a unit to attest their grief in so befitting a 
 manner; to the Clergy; to C. Mortimer Wiske and the members of the 
 Orpheus Club, for lending their voices to lead the singing; to the veter- 
 ans of the local Grand Army Posts and the members of the three local 
 companies of the First Regiment for their presence, and all others having 
 anything to do with making the exercises so notable a success. 
 
 With thanks to my friends with whom I have consulted on the feasi- 
 bility of compiling and publishing this memorial for their kind words of 
 encouragement, and with the hope that it will be accepted by the citizens 
 of Paterson, and found worthy of a place on their book shelves or library 
 table, I remain Respectfully, 
 
 F. A. 
 
 Paterson, Sept. 24, 1901. 
 
♦ PUBLIC * EXERCISES • 
 
 .. In loving memory of .. 
 
 Milliam . /Ilbcminle^ 
 
 late President of the United States, 
 
 BY THE CITIZENS OF PATEHSON, N. J., UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE MAYOR AND 
 THE PARK COMMISSION. 
 
 " Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
 So clear in his great office, that his virtues 
 Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against 
 The deep damnation of his taking off." 
 
 xrbursCJas Btternoon, September 19, 1901, at 3 o'clock 
 
 EASTSIDE PARK. 
 
 JOHN HINOHLLFFE, Mayor. 
 
 Park Commissioners. 
 
 Hbnby B. Obosbt, Pres't. John R. Lee Vice-Pres't. Hon. John Mallon. Treas 
 
 I. A. Hall, Wkllinqton Swift, Joseph McCrystal, Edwabd Sckiiby 
 
 Fbank Amiraux, Sec'y. 
 
 Musical Director, C. Mortimer Wiskk. 
 
 fAC SIMILE. 
 
•PROGRAMME- 
 
 PRELUDE — Funeral Music (Chopin), - - Robinson's Band 
 
 INVOCATION, .----.- Rev. C. S. Hamilton 
 
 HYMN-" Lead, Kindly Light," Orpheus Club ^ 
 
 SCRIPTURE READING, ----- Rev. Dr. David Magie 
 PRAYER, .-.----- Rev. A. S. Isaacs 
 
 HYMN — " Nearer, my Cod, to Thee," Orpheus Club and Audience 
 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, There let the way appear 
 
 Nearer to Thee, Steps unto Heaven ; 
 
 E'en though It he a cross. All that Thou send'st me 
 
 That raiseth me ; In mercy given ; 
 
 Still all my song shall he, Angels do beckon me 
 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer to Thee. Nearer to Thee. 
 
 Though like the -wanderer. Or if, on joyful Aving, 
 The sun gone down. Cleaving the sky, 
 
 Darkness he over me. Sun, moon and stars forgot. 
 My rest a stone. Upward I fl.y. 
 
 Yet in my dreams I'd be Still all my song shall he. 
 
 Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 Nearer to Thee. Nearer to Thee. 
 
 POEM, - - - Rev. Or. C. D. Shaw 
 
 HYMN-" Weary Hands," ------ Orpheus Club 
 
 ORATION, Hon. John W. Criggs 
 
 BENEDICTION, ----- Very Rev. William McNulty 
 
 HYMN — " America," - - - - Orpheus Club and Audience 
 
 My country ! 'tis of thee, 
 Sweet land of liberty, 
 
 Of thee I sing : 
 Land where my fathers died 1 
 Land of the pilgrims' pride 1 
 Erom every mountain side 
 
 Let freedom ring ! 
 
"Nearer, My God, to Thee." 
 
 'The Groves were God's first Temples." — Bryant. 
 
 1^0, was it fitting that the beautiful grove in Eastside Park 
 should be selected by the Park Commissioners as the 
 place in which the citizens of Paterson could assemble in 
 solemn service, to attest their sorrow and affectionate re- 
 gard for the martyred President. Here, with a unity of feeling 
 born of the national grief, and a spontaneity of desire to show 
 reverence for the great dead, and pay a last tribute of respect 
 to the memory of William McKinley — beloved of all — upwards 
 of twenty-five thousand grief-stricken citizens assembled in na- 
 ture's sanctuary, beneath the stillness of the beautiful trees and 
 under the blue canopy of Heaven, with bowed heads and 
 tearful eyes, and gave vent to those emotions of sorrow that 
 have rent the nation since that fateful 6th day of September, 
 when the President was treacherously shot down in Buffalo. 
 They paid this mark of affectionate regard for William McKin- 
 ley — the soldier, the man, the American citizen and wise ru- 
 ler — beloved and admired by all. 
 
 Grand and impressive was that gathering of sorrowing citi- 
 zens, made historical by the presence of the widow and son of 
 that lamented and honored citizen of Paterson, Vice President 
 Garret A. Hobart — whose name will ever be associated with 
 that of William McKinley, during his first term of office, par- 
 ticipating in the exercises. Further so by the presence of ex- 
 United States Attorney-General John VV. Griggs — associate, 
 personal friend and legal adviser in Mr. McKinley's first cab- 
 inet — as orator of the occasion, and of Rear Admiral James 
 
— 8 — 
 
 Entwistle, Admiral Dewey's fleet engineer in the battle of 
 Manila bay, and Congressman James F. Stewart. In Mrs. 
 Hobart's party were Garret A. Hobart, Jr., Captain Hobart 
 Tuttle and Mrs. Tuttle, Mrs. William K. Newton, Miss Louise 
 Kinsey, vSidney Barkalow, Mrs. Judge John S. Barkalow, oc- 
 cupying seats in front of the platform and near those reserved 
 for the veterans of the Civil War. Citizens of all creeds and 
 walks of life attended to do reverence to the memory of the de- 
 parted. 
 
 The platform was tastefully draped with the national col- 
 ors and in mourning, and back of the speakers was suspended 
 an immense wreath of sago palms, galax leaves and American 
 beauty roses, in the centre of which was a large portrait of the 
 dead President. On the platform were Mayor John Hinchliffe, 
 who presided ; ex- Attorney General John W. Griggs, Con- 
 gressman James F. Stewart, Rear Admiral James Entwistle, 
 Judge John S. Barkalow, ex-Mayor Thomas Beveridge, Pros- 
 ecutor Eugene Emley, Park Commissioners Henry B. Crosby, 
 Hon. John Mallon, Joseph McCrystal, 1. A. Hall, John R. 
 Lee, Wellington Swift and Edward Sceery ; Frank Amiraux, 
 Secretary of the Park Commission ; the Very Rev. Dean 
 William McNulty, the Rev. D. Stuart Hamilton, the Rev. Dr. 
 David Magie, the Rev. Dr. A. S. Isaacs, the Rev. Dr. Charles 
 D. Shaw, the Rev. G. J. Schilling, State Senator Wood Mc- 
 Kee, Dr. J. M. Stewart, Daniel J. Sheehan and Francis K. 
 McCully. 
 
 The following members of the Orpheus Club, under the 
 direction of C. Mortimer Wiske, took part in the singing : 
 Abram Allen, Harry Brown, William R. Hewitt, Edwin N. 
 Hopson, Henry D. Neale, Thomas J. Parker, A. H. Robert- 
 son, John Sutton, Louis Schmerber, Charles F. Thomsen, 
 Robert E. Van Hovenberg, Charles C. Hopper, Otto A. 
 Haenichen, Frederick Haenichen, Ernest R. Moody, John 
 Pounds, J. R. Potter, James H. Slater, John Walton, William 
 L. R. Wurts, John H. Anderson, W. Lake Borland, Henry D. 
 
— 9 — 
 
 Cobb, James M. Chase, William H. Cheetham, Walter L. 
 Hermans, Alexander Grant, Frank A. Piaget, R. S. Parsons, 
 George L. Small, Wessels Van Blarcom, C. M. Van Houten, 
 William A. Zabriskie, Samuel A. Barbour, Jacob Epple, 
 Henry Hodgkinson, Charles E.Jackson, William M. Kream- 
 er, Edward J. Macdonald, H. G. Pounds, William H. Rauch- 
 fuss, Frederick F. Searing, James A. Tasney, Thomas G. 
 Warburton, Wood McKee, Frederick W. Tasney, Edwin Bur- 
 chill, Robert C. Cochran, M. Houman, Dr. S. F. Wiley, 
 Frederick Lankering. 
 
 The programme of exercises was simple, but impressive, 
 as befitted the occasion, and the plain and sturdy simplicity of 
 character of the man in whose memory they were held. 
 
 THE EXERCISES 
 
 were opened by Robinson's band playing Chopin's solemn and 
 beautiful funeral music, after which Mayor John Hinchliffe, 
 made the following brief remarks and suggestion : 
 
 " Ladies and Gentlemen : " We are called together on this 
 solemn occasion by the proclamations of the President and of 
 the Governor of our State, to show in a befitting manner our 
 grief because of the loss of our beloved President, and it is the 
 request of the committee that at 3.30 o'clock the audience rise 
 and stand in silent prayer for five minutes. That is the time in 
 which the clods are supposed to be dropping on the casket of 
 the late President. It is now within four minutes of that time, 
 and after the Rev. Mr. Hamilton shall have delivered the in- 
 vocation, the exercises will be suspended until the five minutes 
 are ended." 
 
 The Rev. D. Stuart Hamilton, of St. Paul's Episcopal 
 Church, then offered the following invocation : 
 
lO 
 
 PRAYER OF INVOCATION. 
 
 " In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost, Amen. 
 
 " Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. 
 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in 
 Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us 
 our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 
 And lead us not into temptation ; but deliver us from evil ; for 
 Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
 " O Almighty God, the Supreme Governor of all things, 
 whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it justly 
 belongs to punish sinners and to be merciful to those who truly 
 repent, save and deliver this land, we beseech Thee, from all 
 false teaching, and from all secret foes ; and grant that this Thy 
 people, being armed with the weapons of truth and righteous- 
 ness, may drive far hence all lawless men and all treasonable 
 fellowships, and so preserve the heritage of their fathers to be 
 the home of a God-fearing nation, ever doing Thy holy will, 
 to the glory of Thy holy name. Look dov/n in mercy upon 
 those here assembled in Thy name and presence. Bless and 
 sanctify these exercises to our good. And may the God of 
 peace make us perfect in every good work, to do His will ; 
 working in us that which is well pleasing in His sight, through 
 Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and honor, for ever and ever, 
 Amen." 
 
II 
 
 **'Twas as the general pulse 
 3.30 O'clock. Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause, 3.35 O'ClOCk. 
 
 An awful pause.'' — Young. 
 
 The vast audience arose and remained standing for five 
 minutes, with bowed and uncovered heads, in silent prayer, as 
 was done by citizens throughout the United States in that now 
 memorable "deathlike pause" of the nation, at the time of 
 depositing the body in the tomb in Canton. 
 
 When the audience resumed its seats the members of the 
 Orpheus Club sang with touching effect the hymn, " Lead, 
 Kindly Light," after which the Rev. Dr. David Magie, of the 
 Church of the Redeemer, impressively read the LXXXth 
 Psalm. 
 
 Rev. Dr. A. S. Isaacs, Rabbi of the Congregation Bnai 
 Jeshurun, Barnert Memorial Temple, offered the following 
 prayer : 
 
12 
 
 DR. ISAACS' PRAYER. 
 
 "Almighty Father, Thou Ruler of the Universe, Thou to 
 Whom we all turn at the moment of our greatest joy and of 
 our profoundest grief, we approach Thy presence to-day with 
 chastened hearts, submissive to Thy will. We ask. Almighty 
 Father, Thy help and Thy guidance at this hour when our be- 
 loved country mourns its vanished chief. We murmur not, we 
 question not. It is Thy will, not ours, which is done on earth, 
 and yet our grief is none the less severe. We pray. Almighty, 
 that Thou wilt make his memory ever abide in our minds, 
 that Thou wilt render his ideals ever mighty in this republic. 
 From this hour. Almighty Faher, let us all realize a keener 
 sense of unity and brotherhood. Make us feel that his exam- 
 ple and his character ever shall inspire us, and cause us to rise 
 from our grief to a purer and a broader patriotism ; and so, un- 
 der Thy providence, from our sorrow may there spring forth 
 new powers and activities for good, and then his life and his 
 death shall not have been in vain." 
 
 " Nearer, My God, to Thee," the hymn quoted by Mr. Mc- 
 Kinley, almost with his last breath, was sung by the Orpheus 
 Club and the congregation, accompanied by the band, with 
 grand effect. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Charles D. Shaw, pastor of the Second Pres- 
 byterian Church, read with great taste the following original 
 poem, composed by him for the occasion: 
 
— 13 
 
 POEM BY DR. SHAW. 
 
 "our dead president." 
 
 Toll, toll the bells! 
 Across the continent let the great swells 
 
 Of iron voices roll. 
 It fitting seems that, high in upper air, 
 Such clangor should declare 
 
 The grief a nation feels ! 
 Our tears fall to the ground, 
 But let the great bells sound 
 Above us, to the sky 
 Voicing our mighty cry of pain and woe 
 
 For him, our chieftain, now in death laid low ! 
 
 Flag of his love and ours. 
 Wave not abroad as in our happier hours ! 
 Droop at half mast ! 
 
 Across thy red and white 
 
 Like streaks of dawning light, 
 
 Across thy field of stars, 
 
 Are laid the gloomy bars 
 
 That symbolize our grief ! 
 Blackness, as of a night that brings us no relief ! 
 A night wherein there is no rest or calm, 
 
 Nor any healing balm, 
 But solemn tread of marching feet 
 
 And woeful sound of muffled drums 
 As, down the black-draped street, 
 A sad procession comes. 
 
 O flag ! In bygone days 
 
 He saw thy glories blaze ! 
 Sometimes above the tented field, 
 And then, a warrior with his shield. 
 He followed where thy wavings led 
 Among the dying and the dead. 
 
— 14 — 
 
 Sometimes above the fertile plain, 
 Rosy with blooms and rich with grain, 
 He saw thy colors waving high, 
 As 'twere a signal in the sky, 
 Calling him on to duties greater far 
 Than the mere shock and clash of bloody war. 
 
 Droop, flag, today, our day of bitter pain ! 
 He will not answer to thy call again ! 
 The hero and the statesman cannot come ! 
 His hand is nerveless and his lips are dumb. 
 
 Dead in the glory of his years ! 
 
 Dead in his blameless worth ! 
 
 Who shall forbid our tears. 
 As now the solemn words are said. 
 The holy office for the dead, 
 "Ashes to ashes, earth to earth !" 
 
 He was our foremost man ! We know it now ! 
 
 We heap our laurels on that icy brow ! 
 
 The foremost man of all our modern time, 
 
 He moved among us with a front sublime. 
 
 And yet, because he spoke with mortal breath. 
 
 And had not gained the awful crown of death, 
 
 We did not recognize the majesty 
 
 Dwelling beneath that brave simplicity. 
 
 But now we know ! The veil is drawn aside ! 
 
 The portals of his life are opened wide, 
 
 And we can see, through every room and hall, 
 
 The greatness that abode within them all. 
 
 The greatness of a royal soul. 
 
 And of a splendid mind. 
 
 Brought under duty's firm control, 
 
 And to self-seeking blind ! 
 
 No ! Selfish gain he never sought, 
 
 But still with highest aim. 
 For country and for manhood wrought, 
 Nor craved rewards of fame ! 
 
— 15 — 
 
 But fame takes up her trumpet now, 
 
 And calls across the land 
 
 From the Atlantic strand 
 
 To every mountain brow ! 
 
 And, from the lofty steeps 
 
 The great voice leaps 
 
 To the Pacific shore. 
 
 Still telling, o'er and o'er. 
 
 The greatness of the man whom we shall see no more ! 
 
 We mourn ! We have a supreme right 
 To pour our tears, and yet a light 
 Falls out of Heaven on our stumbling way, 
 And, 'mid the gloom, shows a celestial ray. 
 For, from that dying bed, a faith serene 
 Bids us look up and on our Maker lean ! 
 
 * It is God's way," he said. " God's will be done ! " 
 To that sublimest height his faith had won ! 
 And, from that height, he beckons to us still 
 To follow him in doing God's great will. 
 Still, in his death, he is the nation's guide; 
 His simple faith rebukes our doubt, our pride, 
 And draws us, 'mid our grief and heavy loss, 
 "Nearer, my God, to Thee, e'en by a cross !" 
 
 O low-browed tomb, within thine iron gate 
 He now is laid, who was so good and great ! 
 The nation gives thee thus a holy trust, 
 Yet gives thee nothing but the sacred dust. 
 For that immortal spirit, full of grace. 
 Dwells with his Saviour in a happier place, 
 And we rejoice in this blest legacy 
 Of faith and hope and earnest piety, 
 "Nearer, my God, to Thee, 
 
 Nearer, to Thee ! 
 
 E'en though it be a cross 
 
 That raiseth me ! " 
 
— i6 — 
 
 At the close of the recitation of the poem, the members of 
 the Orpheus Club rendered the song 
 
 WORDS BY DR. R. W. RAYMOND. 
 
 Weary hands, O ! weary hands, 
 Resting now from life's endeavor. 
 From the conflict, from the fever. 
 Peaceful lying where ye fell, 
 O ! folded hands, farewell, farewell ! 
 
 Gentle heart, O ! gentle heart. 
 Faithful service dids't thou render, 
 Beating ever true and tender; 
 On thee lies the silent spell; 
 O ! loving heart, farewell, farewell ! 
 
 Parted soul, O ! parted soul ! 
 Pass'd beyond this earthly portal, 
 Entered thro' the gate immortal 
 Into life no tongue can tell; 
 O ! weary soul, farewell, farewell ! 
 
 Mr. Griggs, filled with a deep emotion, born of the solemn 
 occasion, delivered the following eulogy upon the life and 
 character of his dead chief, associate and friend : 
 
17" 
 
 HON. JOHN W. CRICCS' ADDRESS. 
 
 It is a hard task, my friends, which you have set for me to- 
 day, to put into formal words the emotions of sorrow that pos- 
 sess us as we stand awestruck before this dreadful tragedy, blind 
 before the darkness of this mystery. All that I can say sounds 
 feeble and inadequate. 'Tis rather a time for tolling bells and 
 booming minute guns, for deep-toned organ swells and solemn 
 service of the sanctuary, with prayer and ritual and pleading 
 litany. Or, these being over and done, 'tis time rather to listen 
 for the heart-breaking bugle-call that echoes from the closed 
 grave at Canton—" lights out ! lights out ! lights out ! " 
 
 There are two names that are in the minds of the people of 
 Paterson— McKinley and Hobart. How friendly and familiar 
 they sound ! We knew them both ; —one, he who went first, 
 belonged to us. They are indissolubly joined in the hearts of 
 all our people, and for all time to come it shall be our honor 
 and pride that we gave to our country the first Vice Presi- 
 dential associate of President McKinley. It was only a little 
 while ago we saw them together within our hospitable walls, 
 full of health and hope and vigor. Now both are gone. How 
 strange I How inscrutable ! 
 
 Only last March I followed President McKinley as he rode 
 down Pennsylvania avenue from the executive mansion to the 
 CiJpitol to reconsecrate himself to the service of the American 
 people. Vast multitudes, which no man could number, 
 crowded the avenues, filled the windows and balconies, clam- 
 bered to the roofs. They rent the air with huzzas, they 
 smiled and laughed and cheered with pride and happiness. 
 Flags and banners streamed from every porch and window 
 and housetop. Though a chill rain fell it could not quench 
 the ardor of the multitude or dampen their universal joy over 
 the second inauguration of William McKinley as President of 
 
the United States. Day before yesterday I followed him again 
 from the White House to the capitol, down the same broad 
 avenue. Again the same vast multitude filled the streets, but 
 this time no cheer or sound of joy escaped them ; only stifled 
 sobs and dripping tears. Flags and banners hung from their 
 accustomed places, but they bore the black insignia of mourn- 
 ing and death. And he who before, full of strength and hope, 
 had met the people's plaudits with smiling, modest recogni- 
 tion, now lay cold and silent in the embrace of death. Fate- 
 ful contrast ! Incomprehensible mystery ! 
 
 One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. 
 But this man had not one, but many, of those sweet human 
 qualities of nobility, of greatness, of gentleness, and of ten- 
 derness, that reveal, in the solemn hour of sorrow and death, 
 the universal brotherhood of man. And so the world weeps 
 with us to-day as the earthly form of William McKinley is laid 
 in the grave. 
 
 Kings and Princes do him honor and reverence his memo- 
 ry ; for in him they perceive a great chief of a mighty people, 
 whose life and example have shown that the true sources of 
 prosperous and successful rule are found, not in might, or pow- 
 er, or hereditary privilege, or the Divine right of Kings, but 
 in the gentle elements of justice, reasonableness, noble pur- 
 pose and love of righteousness, which shone in the character of 
 our dead President. By the shores of the Adriatic a widowed 
 Queen weeps anew to day as she recalls a royal husband 
 stricken by just such a dastard hand, and with no worthier or 
 better purpose than that which laid our own loved ruler low. 
 In far Cathay, the mediaeval spirit of an Emperor's Court and 
 the dim intelligence of his people are touched with grief because 
 they too had experienced the generosity and forbearance of 
 this Western ruler, and had left the strong influence of his tol- 
 eration and sympathy exerted for their protection. 
 
 Now is not the time to take a detailed estimate of his pub- 
 lic services. Time and history must deal with them, and to 
 these his countrymen can confidently leave his fame, assured 
 
— 19 — 
 
 that as with Washington and Lincoln, the greatness and worth 
 of McKinley will grow in the world's appreciation as the 
 years go by. 
 
 Nor is this the time to dwell upon " the deep damnation of 
 his taking oftV He would not have wished us to speak to-day 
 of that. 
 
 To-day it is the human that absorbs our souls, a day for 
 blessed tears, for tender sympathy, for sweet remembrances. 
 To-day we mourn the good man gone, the noble gentleman, 
 the pure citizen, the beloved President. 
 
 Hear the concordance of praise that comes from every wind 
 under the heavens ! The East cries : " We loved him, for he 
 was of our stock. He thought with us. He brought us pros- 
 perity ; we knew him, therefore we loved him ! " 
 
 The West says : " He was of us, he was our perfect pro- 
 duct. We knew him, therefore we loved him ! " 
 
 The North cries : ' ' He fought for us ; he wrought for us. 
 We understood him ; he was loyal and true ; therefore we 
 loved him ! " 
 
 The South cries : "We loved him, for he was magnani- 
 mous, and just to the South; in war an honorable foeman, in 
 peace a friend and a brother ! " 
 
 Gallant soldier, successful politician, wise legislator, pow- 
 erful debater, matchless orator, courtly gentleman, courtly in 
 manner because courteous in feeling ! 
 
 He loved all things that were good and beautiful : children, 
 flowers, music, friends, neighbors, neighborhood, the scenes 
 and memories of his early life, the every-day plain things, that 
 make up the sum of human existence. 
 
 It was his custom to wear a flower in his coat, and many a 
 time have I seen him take the flower and give it to some little 
 child who had come to touch the hand of the great Chief of the 
 Nation. 
 
 He did not condescend, he did not need to ; all he did was 
 high and fine ; but he did not rate the homely habits and 
 thoughts of people as lowly things, but rather as genuine and 
 
20 
 
 admirable expressions of a true and worthy life. Nor did he 
 lack the dignity that is befitting the great station which he oc- 
 cupied. 
 
 No prince or knight of chivalry ever bore himself with 
 finer carriage or firmer step. 
 
 His simple dignity was the wonder and the praise of 
 courts and chancelleries. He bore in perfect poise the great 
 honors of his ofiice, neither vaunting himself, nor permitting 
 the credit and reputation of his country to suffer by contrast 
 with the trained and studied deportment of foreign courts. 
 
 If I were to seek a phrase to describe his public demeanor 
 I would say it was " simple greatness." 
 
 As he lay in those last days upon his bed waiting in calm 
 consciousness the issue of his wound, no doubt his mind was 
 filled with many memories of his life. He had time in those 
 solemn anxious hours to view it all in retrospect. He recalled 
 the days of his childhood and youth, his parents' early love and 
 admonition, his school days and school-mates. It was wonderful 
 how he always remembered a comrade. And then he thought 
 of that day on which began that long service of his country to 
 which all his after life was devoted, the day on which a lad of 
 seventeen years, he swore devotion to the flag and marched 
 away to the war. Pause and think of it for a moment. This 
 lad of seventeen, taking his place in the ranks, a private soldier, 
 carrying a musket, bearing on his young shoulders knapsack 
 and blanket rolled, enduring the fatigue of the march, the 
 homely rations, the discomfort of the camp, the misery of the 
 hospital, the horrors and danger of the battle field. 
 
 Is it any wonder that he had a just and keen sympathy with 
 the men of the ranks? 
 
 Perhaps in this retrospect the dying President recalled 
 nights upon the picket line, and thoughts of duty and country 
 and God that came to the young soldier as he paced his lonely 
 beat under the silent stars. Perhaps he saw again the blood- 
 red fields of Sharpsburg, and the boys of his regiment breaking 
 into cheers as the youthful Commissary Sergeant William Mc- 
 
— 21 — 
 
 Kinley drove his wagon load of rations for the hungry troops 
 right up to the line of battle. 
 
 Perhaps he heard again the rattle of Early's musketry at 
 dawn at Cedar Creek, and saw the Union troops in terror and 
 surprise flung back before the unexpected foe ; and later Sher- 
 idan, on foaming steed, coming up from Winchester; and 
 Captain McKinley rallying the troops and reviving their spir- 
 its by spreading the cheering news that Sheridan had returned. 
 All the panorama of those never to-be-forgotten scenes un- 
 rolled before his memory ; and all the struggles and contests by 
 which he had risen step by step from a simple soldier in the 
 ranks to the summit of earthly power, the head of the Amer- 
 ican Government, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and 
 Navy of the United States. 
 
 His was a life given to his country. For her he lived, for 
 her he died. For her he put aside brilliant prospects of pro- 
 fessional and business success. For her he fought, for her he 
 labored, without ceasing, and gave the best effort of his brain 
 and the loving loyal devotion of his great heart. 
 
 And he was no mere theoretical academic statesman, filled 
 with great zeal and small sense. His mind and methods were 
 of the practical kind. No man ever appreciated more truly 
 than he the real nature and quality of public sentiment, and 
 none ever understood better how to mould and use it for 
 the public good. He had faith in the common sense of the 
 average citizen, and it was to their reason, not to their passion 
 or their prejudice that he always made his appeals, and rarely 
 in vain. He was no trimmer, watching the shifting impulses 
 of the populace that he might trim his sails to the momentary 
 gusts, but a great pilot, scanning always the waters ahead to 
 shun the rocks and whirlpools, and discover where the deep 
 safe channel of national progress lay. His pilot stars were 
 truth and loyalty. 
 
 He was progressive, but not a radical. All his thoughts 
 and methods were deliberate and well-considered. He never 
 acted in haste or passion. Resentment he had none. He was 
 
— 22 — 
 
 the sanest man, and the one most free from hasty impulse and 
 unreasoning prejudice, that ever graced so high a station. 
 
 And he was eminently a just man, never condemning un- 
 heard, nor deciding without investigation. Patient, too, in toil 
 and in perplexity, gentle and sweet in manner towards all men ; 
 loved of his friends, respected of his opponents, silent under 
 slander and abuse ; sagacious, firm in the right as God gave him 
 to see the right ; and loving his country and her people with a 
 love that was all engrossing, and loyal unto death. 
 
 Ah, the flag of his country ! often have I seen his eyes 
 moisten as he caught sight of it waving at the head of some 
 line of veterans, or carried by some regiment returning from 
 the wars. And now that flag is his winding sheet ! And we 
 have lost him : 
 
 " He is gone: 
 "We know him now; all narrow jealousies 
 "Are silent; and we see him as he moved, 
 " How modest, kindly, all-accomplished, wise, 
 " With what sublime repression of himself, 
 "And in what limits, and how tenderly: 
 "Not swaying to this faction or to that: 
 "Not making his high place the lawless perch 
 " Of wing'd ambition, nor a vantage ground 
 "For pleasure; but thro' all this tract of years 
 "Wearing the white flower of a blameless life, 
 "Before a thousand peering littlenesses, 
 " In the fierce light that beats upon a throne." 
 
 But if President McKinley was noble in his life, in his 
 death he was sublime. 
 
 " He taught us how to live, (and O, too high 
 "The price of knowledge), taught us how to die." 
 
 No word of resentment for his assassin, but thoughts of 
 protection, and regard for the authority of the law. Let his 
 example shine forever in the eyes of our citizens to show them 
 the height and the depth of the duty and devotion which they 
 owe to the constituted order of society and the majesty of law. 
 
 No word of disappointment or regret at his untimely call 
 
— 23 — 
 
 to die, but Divine resignation to the higher purpose which 
 overruled his plans and hopes. 
 
 President McKinley believed in a Divine Povv^er who is the 
 author of Being, and in a Divine Law-giver who ordains the 
 rule of righteousness, a rule which every human conscience 
 must acknowledge. He believed that the life of the spirit 
 reaches out and joins over from this world to another world, 
 into which, indeed, our mortal perception cannot pierce, but 
 in which the soul shall take hold of the infinite and the eternal. 
 And shall we doubt it? Shall the greatness of this man's in- 
 tellect, the nobility of his character, the generosity of his spirit, 
 the almost perfect conformity of his life and thought to the 
 standard of the spiritual law that is within us, shall all these 
 things be accounted for as the mere product of an accidental 
 co-ordination of particles of matter? 
 
 Shall we not rather see in him a manifestation of the great- 
 ness and the purity to which the Divine spirit that is in man 
 may attain when restrained and guided by the Divine stand- 
 ards? Shall we not hope, nay, believe! that, in a wider 
 sphere, in a fairer land, his spirit still lives and labors and 
 loves ? 
 
 When the darkness of death was settling over him he mur- 
 mured words of rest and home. I think that when the light of 
 the eternal morning greeted his soul's eyes, he knew thai he 
 had found them — rest and home. 
 
— 24 — 
 
 The benediction was pronounced by the Very Rev. Dean 
 William McNulty, of St. John's R. C. Church. 
 
 THE BENEDICTION. 
 
 " May the peace and blessing of Almighty God, Father, 
 Son and Holy Ghost descend upon all our brethren and fel- 
 low citizens. May the Father of the widow and of the orphan 
 comfort and console the noble widow of our illustrious de- 
 ceased President. May the Holy Spirit of God enlighten and 
 direct our new President and his Cabinet to discharge the oner- 
 ous duties of their exalted office. In the name of the Father 
 and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen." 
 
 Then followed the singing of one stanza of the hymn "Amer- 
 rica," by the Orpheus Club and congregation. 
 
 My country ! 'tis of thee, 
 Sweet land of liberty, 
 
 Of thee I sing; 
 Land where my fathers died ! 
 Land of the pilgrims' pride ! 
 From every mountain side 
 
 Let freedom ring ! 
 
 " Taps" were blown by Bugler William Ridgeway of the 
 First Regiment, thus bringing to a close the largest and most 
 solemn exercises ever held by the people of Paterson. 
 
BIOGRAPHY, 
 
 —AND— 
 
 THE LAST SPEECH 
 
 —OF— 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 Pan-American Exposition, 
 Buffalo, New York, September 5, 1901, 
 
 ^ 
 
 "I am for America, because America is for the common 
 people."— William McKinley, Petersburg, Va., Oct. 29, 1885. 
 
WSLLIAM McKBNLEY. 
 
 William McKinley, the twenty-fifth President of the United 
 States, was bom in Niles, Trumbull County, Ohio, January 
 29th, 1843. His ancestors on the paternal side, who were 
 Scotch-Irish, came from Scotland and settled in Pennsylvania. 
 His great-grandfether, David McKinley, after serving in the 
 Revolution, resided in Pennsylvania until 1814, when he went 
 to Ohio, where he died in 1S40, aged 85. The grandmother 
 of the President, Mary Rose, came from a Puritan family that 
 fled from England to Holland and emigrated to Pennsylvania 
 with William Penn. William McKinley, Sr., the father of 
 the President, was born in Pine Township, Mercer County, 
 Pa., in 1807, and married Nancy Campbell Allison, of Colum- 
 biana County, Ohio, in 1829. The grandfather and the father 
 of the President were iron manufacturers. His father was a 
 devout Methodist, a staunch Whig and Republican, and a 
 strong advocate of a protective tariff. He died during his son's 
 first term as Governor of Ohio, in November, 1892. The 
 mother of the President died at Canton, Ohio, in December, 
 1897, at the age of 89. William McKinley got his education 
 in the public schools of Niles, Union Seminary, at Poland, 
 Ohio, and Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa. At 16 he be- 
 came a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. At 21 he 
 taught in the public schools. On the outbreak of war between 
 the North and South, Mr. McKinley, who was a clerk in the 
 Post OflSce at Poland, enlisted on June nth, 1861, as a private 
 in the 23d Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, participating 
 
— 28 — 
 
 in all the early engagements in West Virginia, and in the Win- 
 ter's camp at Fayetteville, was promoted to be Commissary 
 Sergeant on April 15, 1863. On February 7, 1863, at Camp 
 Piatt, he received his second promotion, to the rank of First 
 Lieutenant. In the retreat near Lynchburg, Va., his regiment 
 fighting nearly all the time marched 180 miles, with haidly any 
 rest or food. He conducted hunself witli gallantry, and at 
 Winchester won for himself additional honors. The 13th 
 West Virginia Regiment fiiiling to retire when the rest of 
 Hayes's Brigade fell back, and, being in great danger of cap- 
 ture. Lieutenant McKinley was ordered to bring it away, which 
 he did in safety, after riding through a heavy fire. On July 
 25, 1S64, at the age of 31, McKinley was promoted to the rank 
 of Captain. The brigade continued fighting up and down the 
 Shenandoah Valley. At Berryville, Va., Captain McKinley's 
 horse was shot from under him. Captain McKinley served on 
 the staffs of Generals Rutherford B. Hayes, George Crook and 
 Winfield S. Hancock, successively. On March 14th, 1865, 
 he was brevetted Major of United States Volunteers by Presi- 
 dent Lincoln for gallantry in the battles of Opequaq, Cedar 
 Creek, and Fishers' Hill. Was detailed as Acting Assistant 
 Adjutant-General of the First Division, First Army Corps, on 
 the staff' of General Samuel S. Carroll. When the war closed 
 he was urged to remain in the Army, but giving way to his 
 father's judgment, was mustered out July 36, 1865, and went 
 back to Poland and began the study of law at Youngstown, 
 Ohio, and later went to the law school at Albany, N. Y. Was 
 admitted to the bar at Warren, Ohio, in 1S67 and moved the 
 same year to Canton, which he made his home to the time of 
 his death. In 1867 he made his first political speeches in favor 
 of negro suffrage. In 1869 was elected Prosecuting Attorney 
 for Stark County, and served one term, having been defeated 
 two years later. He took an active interest in Ohio politics 
 and made speeches in many campaigns. On January 25, 
 1 87 1, he married Miss Ida Saxton. Two daughters were 
 born, but both died in early childhood. In 1876 was elected 
 
— 29 — 
 
 to Congress and represented the Congressional district of 
 which his county was a part for 14 years, except for a portion 
 of his fourth term, when he was unseated late in the first ses- 
 sion. While in Congress he served on the Committees on 
 Judiciary, Revision of the Laws, Expenditures in the Post 
 Office Department, Rules and Ways and Means. As Chair- 
 man of the Ways and Means Committee in the Fifty-first Con- 
 gress, reported the tariff law of 1890, which became known as 
 the " McKinley Bill." At the beginning of this Congress Mc- 
 Kinley was defeated in his party caucus for the Speakership of 
 the House. His district having been changed by the Demo- 
 crats, he was defeated for re-election to Congress in November, 
 1890, although he reduced the usual majority against his party 
 in the counties which made up the new district. In 1891 was 
 elected Governor of Ohio by a plurality of 21,500 and was 
 re-elected in 1893 by a plurality of So,995- I" ^§84 he 
 was a Delegate- at-Large to the Republican National Con- 
 vention, and gave his support to James G. Blaine for Presi- 
 dent. He was a member of the Committee on Resolutions, 
 and presented the platform to the Convention. He attended 
 the Republican Convention in 1888 as a Delegate-at-Large 
 from Ohio, and supported the late John Sherman for President. 
 As Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions he reported the 
 platform. Was again a Delegate-at-Large from Ohio in 1892, 
 and supported the re-nomination of Benjamin Harrison. He 
 served as Chairman of the Convention. At this Convention 
 182 votes were cast for him, although he had refused persist- 
 ently to have his name considered in connection with the nom- 
 ination. On June 18, 1896, he was nominated for President at 
 the Republican Convention held at St. Louis, receiving on the 
 first ballot 66ii of a total of 923 votes. Garret A. Hobart was 
 nominated for Vice President at the same Convention. Was 
 elected at the ensuing November election by a plurality of the 
 popular vote of 601 ,854, the total vote cast for him being 7, 104,- 
 779. He received 371 electoral votes, against 176 for William 
 J. Bryan. At the close of his first term Mr. McKinley was 
 
— so- 
 re-nominated by acclamation at the Republican Convention 
 held in Philadelphia in Jime, 1900, Theodore Roosevelt re- 
 ceiving the nomination for Vice President. He was again 
 elected, defeating William J. Bryan a second time, and receiv- 
 ing a plurality of 839,280 votes, and 292 electoral votes against 
 155 for William J. Bryan. His popular vote was 7,206,677. 
 
 Mr. McKinley gave to the country a wise, prudent and 
 business-like administration, and never before was the coun- 
 try so prosperous as during his Presidency. He carried on to 
 an honorable peace a victorious war with Spain, securing for 
 the Cubans self-government, and adding to the territory of the 
 United States the rich Philippine Islands and the Island of Guam, 
 which were ceded to the United States by Spain. The Hawaiian 
 Islands also became part of the United States through annexa- 
 tion. He enjoyed the utmost confidence of all classes of peo- 
 ple. While according a reception and a self-imposed personal 
 greeting to the people of BufTiilo, and the visitors to the Pan- 
 American Exposition, in the Temple of Music, on the Exposi- 
 tion Grounds, on the afternoon of Friday, September 6, 1901. 
 President McKinley was shot down on the threshold of his 
 second administration, as he was about to clasp in friendly 
 greeting the outstretched hand of the assassin. Mr. McKinley 
 lingered until September 14, and passed away in Buffalo. The 
 body was taken to Washington, where it lay in state in the 
 Rotunda of the Capitol, and was given a National funeral. 
 Later the body was taken to Canton. On Thursday afternoon, 
 September 19, at half past 3 o'clock, all that was mortal of 
 William McKinley was laid to rest in the tomb at Westlawn 
 Cemetery. The day was observed by a universality of mourn- 
 ing throughout the United States and all nations, such as it is 
 believed had never before been seen in the case of any man who 
 ever lived ; an illustrious tribute not only to the head of the 
 nation but the nation itself. The observance of the day in the 
 United States was marked by incidents whose impressiveness 
 has perhaps never been equalled. Especially was this true of the 
 almost death-like pause of the entire nation during the few min- 
 
_3i — 
 
 utes while the body of the beloved President was being com- 
 mitted to the tomb. The suspension of all business of every 
 kind, the stopping of all steam and electric traffic throughout 
 the country for that brief space, was solemn and touching be- 
 yond the power of words to describe. Memorial exercises 
 were held throughout the country in almost every city, town 
 and hamlet, by the grief-stricken people. Few rulers have 
 died so universally loved, admired and respected as William 
 McKinley, the typical American. 
 
 "His name, reaching down the ages of time, 
 Will still through the age of eternity shine 
 Like a star, sailing on through the depths of the blue, 
 On whose brightness we gaze every evening anew." 
 
The Last Speech of President McKinley. 
 
 President Milburn^ Director- General Buchanan^ Commis- 
 sioners^ Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 I am glad to again be in the city of Buffalo and exchange 
 greetings with her people, to whose generous hospitality I am 
 not a stranger, and with whose good will I have been repeat- 
 edly and signally honored. To-day I have additional satisfac- 
 tion in meeting and giving welcome to the foreign representa- 
 tives assembled here, whose presence and participation in this 
 Exposition have contributed in so marked a degree to its in- 
 terest and success. To the Commissioners of the Dominion of 
 Canada and the British Colonies, the French Colonies, the re- 
 publics of Mexico and of Central and South America, and the 
 Commissioners of Cuba and Porto Rico, who share with us in 
 this undertaking, we give the hand of fellowship, and felicitate 
 with them upon the triumphs of art, science, education and 
 manufacture, which the old has bequeathed to the new cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record 
 the world's advancement. They stimulate the energy, enter- 
 prise and intellect of the people ; and quicken human genius. 
 They go into the home. They broaden and brighten the daily 
 life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of informa- 
 tion to the student. Every exposition, great or small, has 
 helped to some onward step. Comparison of ideas is always 
 educational ; and as such instructs the brain and hand of man. 
 Friendly rivalry follows, which is the spur to industrial im- 
 provement, the inspiration to useful invention and to high en- 
 deavor in all departments of human activity. It exacts a study 
 
— 33-^ 
 
 of the wants, comforts, and even the whims of the people, and 
 recognizes the efficacy of high quahty and new prices to win 
 their favor. The quest for trade is an incentive to men of 
 business to devise, invent, improve and economize in the cost 
 of production. Business Hfe, whether among ourselves or with 
 other peoples, is ever a sharp struggle for success. It will be 
 none the less so in the future. Without competition we should 
 be clinging to the clumsy aud antiquated processes of farming 
 and manufacture and the methods of business of long ago, and 
 the twentieth would be no further advanced than the eighteenth 
 century. But though commercial competitors we are, com- 
 mercial enemies we must not be. 
 
 The Pan-American Exposition has done its work thorough- 
 ly, presenting in its exhibits evidences of the highest skill and 
 illustrating the progress of the human family in the Western 
 Hemisphere. This portion of the earth has no cause for hu- 
 miliation for the part it has performed in the march of civiliza- 
 tion. It has not accomplished everything ; far from it. It has 
 simply done its best, and without vanity or boastfulness, and 
 recognizing the manifold achievements of others, it invites the 
 friendly rivalry of all the Powers in the peaceful pursuits of 
 trade and commerce, and will co-operate with all in advanc- 
 ing the highest and best interests of humanity. The wisdom 
 and energy of all the nations are none too great for the world's 
 work. The success of art, science, industry and invention is 
 an international asset and a common glory. After all, how 
 near one to the other is every part of the world. Modern in- 
 ventions have brought into close relations widely separated 
 peoples and made them better acquainted. Geographic and 
 politic divisions will continue to exist, but distances have been 
 effaced. Swift ships and fast trains are becoming cosmopol- 
 itan. They invade fields which a few years ago were impene- 
 trable. The world's products are exchanged as never before, 
 and with increasing transportation facilities come increasing 
 knowledge and larger trade. 
 LofC: 
 
— 34 — 
 
 Prices are fixed with mathematical precision by supply and 
 demand. The world's selling prices are regulated by market 
 and crop reports. We travel greater distances in a shorter 
 space of time and with more ease than was ever dreamed of by 
 the fathers. Isolation is no longer possible or desirable. The 
 same important news is read, though in different languages, 
 the same day in all Christendom. The telegraph keeps us ad- 
 vised of what is occurring everyv/here, and the press foreshad- 
 ows, with more or less accuracy, the plans and purposes of the 
 nations. Market prices of products and of securities are 
 hourly known in every commercial market, and the invest- 
 ments of the people extend beyond their own national bound- 
 aries into the remotest parts of the earth. Vast transactions 
 are conducted and international exchanges are made by the tick 
 of the cable. Every event of interest is immediately bulletined. 
 The quick gathering and transmission of news, like rapid 
 transit, are of recent origin, and are only made possible by 
 the genius of the inventor and the courage of the investor. It 
 took a special messenger of the Government, with every facil- 
 ity known at the time for rapid travel, nineteen days to go 
 from the city of Washington to New Orleans with a message 
 to General Jackson that the war with England had ceased and 
 that a treaty of peace had been signed. How ditTerent now. 
 
 We reached General Miles in Porto Rico by cable, and he 
 was able, through the military telegraph, to stop his army on 
 the firing line with the message that the United States and 
 Spain had signed a protocol suspending hostilities. We knew 
 almost instantly of the first shots fired at Santiago, and the 
 subsequent surrender of the Spanish forces was known at 
 Washington within less than an hour of its consummation. 
 The first ship of Cervera's fleet had hardly emerged from that 
 historic harbor when the fact was flashed to our capital, and 
 the swift destruction that followed was announced immediate- 
 ly through the wonderful medium of telegraphy. So accus- 
 tomed are we to safe and easy communication with distant 
 lands that its temporary interruption, even in ordinary times, 
 
— 35 — 
 
 results in loss and inconvenience. We shall never forget the 
 days of anxious waiting and awful suspense when no informa- 
 tion was permitted to be sent from Pekin, and the diplomatic 
 representatives of the nations in China, cut off from all com- 
 munication, inside and outside of the walled capital, were sur- 
 rounded by an angry and misguided mob that threatened their 
 destruction, nor the joy that thrilled the world when a single 
 message from the Government of the United States brought, 
 through our minister, the first news of the safety of the besieged 
 diplomats. 
 
 At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was not a 
 mile of steam railroad on the globe. Now there are enough 
 miles to make its circuit many times. Then there was not a 
 line of electric telegraph ; now we have a vast mileage travers- 
 ing all lands and all seas. God and man have linked the na- 
 tions together. No nation can longer be indifferent to any 
 other. And as we are brought more and more in touch with 
 each other, the less occasion is there for misunderstandings, 
 and the stronger the disposition, when we have differences, to 
 adjust them in the court of arbitration, which is the noblest 
 form for the settlement of international disputes. 
 
 Trade statistics indicate that this country is in a state of un- 
 exampled prosperity. The figures are almost appalling. 
 They show that we are utilizing our fields and forests and 
 mines and that we are furnishing profitable employment to the 
 millions of workingmen throughout the United States, bringing 
 comfort and happiness to their homes and making it possible 
 to lay by savings for old age and disability. That all the peo- 
 ple are participating in this great prosperity is seen in every 
 American community and shown by the enormous and unpre- 
 cedented deposii-s in our savings banks. Our duty is the care 
 and security of these deposits, and their safe investment de- 
 mands the highest integrity and the best business capacity of 
 those in charge of these depositories of the people's earnings. 
 
 We have a vast and intricate business, built up through 
 years of toil and struggle, in which every part of the country 
 
— 36- 
 
 has its stake, which will not permit of either neglect, or of un- 
 due selfishness. No narrow, sordid policy will subserve it. 
 The greatest skill and wisdom on the part of manufacturers 
 and producers will be required to hold and increase it. Our 
 industrial enterprises, which have grown to such proportions, 
 affect the homes and occupations of the people and the welfare 
 of the country. Our capacity to produce has developed so 
 enormously, and our products have so multiplied, that the 
 problem of more markets requires our urgent and immediate 
 attention. Only a broad and enlightened policy will keep what 
 we have. No other policy will get more. In these times of 
 marvellous business energy and gain we ought to be looking to 
 the future, strengthening the weak places in our industrial and 
 commercial systems, that we may be I'eady for any storm or 
 strain. By sensible trade arrangements which will not inter- 
 rupt our home production, we shall extend the outlets for our 
 increasing surplus. 
 
 A system which provides a mutual exchange of commodi- 
 ties is manifestly essential to the continued and healthful 
 growth of our export trade. We must not repose in fancied 
 security that we can forever sell everything and buy little or 
 nothing. If such a thing were possible it would not be best 
 for us or those with whom we deal. We should take from our 
 customers such of their products as we can use without harm 
 to our industries and labor. Reciprocity is the natural out- 
 growth of our wonderful industrial development under the do- 
 mestic policy now firmly established. What we produce be- 
 yond our domestic consumption must have a vent abroad. The 
 excess must be relieved through a foreign outlet, and we should 
 sell anywhere we can and buy wherever the buying will en- 
 large our sales and productions and thereby make a greater de- 
 mand for home labor. The period of exclusiveness is past. 
 The expansion of our trade and commerce is the pressing 
 problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable. A policy of 
 good will and friendly trade relations will prevent reprisals. 
 
— 37 — 
 
 Reciprocity treaties are in harmony with the spirit of the 
 times ; measures of retaliation are not. 
 
 If, perchance, some of our tariffs are no longer needed for 
 revenue or to encourage and protect our industries at home, 
 why should they not be employed to extend and promote our 
 markets abroad? Then, too, we have inadequate steamship 
 service. New lines of steamers have already been put in com- 
 mission between the Pacific coast ports of the United States 
 and those on the Western coast of Mexico and South and Cen- 
 tral America. These should be followed up with direct steam- 
 ship lines between the Eastern coast of the United States and 
 South x\merican ports. One of the needs of the times is direct 
 commercial lines from our vast fields of production to the 
 fields of consumption that we have but barely touched. 
 
 Next in advantage to having the thing to sell is to have the 
 convenience to carry it to the buyer. We must encourage our 
 merchant marine. vVe must have more ships. They must be 
 under the American flag, built and manned and owned by 
 Americans. These will not only be profitable in a commercial 
 sense ; they will be messengers of peace and amity wherever 
 they go. We must build the Isthmian Canal, which will unite 
 the two oceans and give a straight line of water communica- 
 tion with the Western coasts of Central and South America 
 and Mexico. The construction of a Pacific cable cannot be 
 longer postponed. 
 
 In the furtherance of these objects of national interest and 
 concern you are performing an important part. This exposi- 
 tion would have touched the heart of that American statesman 
 whose mind was ever alert and thought ever constant for a 
 larger commerce and a truer fraternity of the republics of the 
 New World. His broad American spirit is felt and manifest- 
 ed here. He needs no identification to an assemblage of 
 Americans anywhere, for the name of Blaine is inseparably as- 
 sociated with the Pan-American movement, which finds this 
 practical and substantial expression, and which we all hope 
 will be firmly advanced by the Pan-American Congress that 
 
— 38 — 
 
 assembles this Autumn in the capitol of Mexico. The good 
 work will go on. It cannot be stopped. These buildings 
 will disappear ; this creation of art and beauty and industry 
 will perish from sight, but their influence will remain to 
 " Make it live beyond its too short living, 
 With praises and thanksgiving." 
 Who can tell the new thoughts that have been awakened, 
 the ambitions fired, and the high achievements that will be 
 wrought through this exposition.? Let us ever remember that 
 our interest is in concord, not conflict; and that our real emi- 
 nence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war. We 
 hope that all who are represented here may be moved to a 
 higher and nobler effort for their own and the world's good, 
 and that out of this city may come not only greater commerce 
 and trade for us all, but more essential than these, relations of 
 mutual respect, confidence and friendship, which will deepen 
 and endure. Our prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe 
 prosperity, happiness and peace to all our neighbors, and like 
 blessings to all the peoples and powers of the earth. 
 
OCT. 28 190f 
 
 \