Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 September 1901 — PRESIDENT M’KINLEY SHOT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PRESIDENT M’KINLEY SHOT

Chief Executive Victim of Assassin at the Buffalo Fair. President Extends His Hand to One of Throng and Re* ceives Wounds. While Blood Stains His Clothing the Wounded Man Calmly As* snres His Friends. Would-Be Murderer Is Quickly Taken Into Custody to Escape Fury of People. Tragedy Recalls the Slaying of Lincoln and Garfield—Whole Nation Expresses Sorrow. In the presence of thousands of people President McKinley was shot -down by an assassin a few minutes after 4 o'clock Friday afternoon in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition grounds. One bullet struck the breastbone, glanced aside into the flesh and was easily removed by surgeons. The other entered the abdomen, pierced the front and rear wails of the stomach and buried itself in some spot in the President's body not readily reached by the probes of the surgeon. This more serious wound was dressed and closed with several «titcbes and the physicians awaited results, declaring the President had a

fair chance for recovery. The assailant, Czolgosz, was arrested immediately. Subsequently he confessed be was an anarchist and a disciple of Emma Goldman. The startling attack on the Chief Ex--ecuthe took place while the President was exchanging pleasant greetings with visitors to the exposition. Many liundred people bad shaken bands with the President, one of the last being a. burly colored man. He murmnred bis acknowledgments of the honor and moved on to make way for a heavily built young fellow about 28 years old who was slowly following him iu the long line. There was nothing to mark him from the thousands around him, -except that be carried a handkerchief In bls hand and even that, perhaps, was scarce worthy of note, for the building was small and crowded, the weather was sultry and thousands of handkerchiefs were in constant requisition. ' The young man moved rapidly to a position Immediately In front of the President, so close that be could bave shaken his hand. As be bad done so many hundreds of times in the preceding balf hour, Mr. McKiißyy bowed, smiled and extended bls band. But tbe young man did not grasp It. A So quickly that tbe watchful eyes of tbe President's bodyguard bad no hint of tbe menace In his movement, be raised the hand In which the handkerchief was held and fired two shots at

the President. The handkerchief bad covered a revolver, which he had carried thus openly through the crowd. At the sound of the shots Detective Ireland, of the secret service force, leaped upon the man like a tiger and close behind him came the colored man who had just shaken hands with the President. While they struggled with him on the floor President McKinley took a step backward and was instantly clasped in the arms of Detective Gerry, another member of his bodyguard. The President did not fall, nor did he reel, although both bullets had struck him. Half turning his head to the officer, he asked: “Am I shot?” Evidently he had been so stunned with surprise that he had not felt the impact of the bullets. While he was speaking the officer and Secretary Cortelyou had been leading him backward to a Chair and had torn open his vest. Blood was on his shirt front and Detective Gerry, answering bis question, said: “I fear you are, Mr. President.” Secretary Cortelyou sank on one knee beside the President's chair and gazed anxiously into his face. “Do not be alarmed,” said the President, “it is nothing.” His head sank forward into his hands a moment and then be raised it briskly, while the stream of crimson welled from the wound in his breast and spread in an ever-widening circle on his white shirt front. “But you are wounded,” exclaimed Mr. Cortelyou. “let me examine.” “No, no.” insisted the President, “I am not badly Injured, I assure you.” With a bullet in his breast and another through his stomach, he did not lose consciousness. He sat almost as stanch' and straight in his chair as though his assailant's shots had missed and he seemed the calmest and least perturbed of the immense gathering. President Milburn and Secretary Cortelyou were almost frantic with alarm, but the wounded man continued to assure them that his injuries were trifling. This dramatic scene upon the little platform was enacted In the midst of a terrible tumult, which continued uninterruptedly for many minutes. When the secret service men and the colored man first threw themselves upon Czolgosz, the assailant of the President, and pinned him to the floor lest be should try to use the revolver again, twenty more men hurled themselves upon the scrambling quartette and buried Czolgosz from sight. Every man in that struggling, crazy throng was striving to get hold of Czolgosz, to strike him, to rend him, to wreak upon him in any way the mad fury which possessed them instantly they realized what he had done. The grew er part of the crowd was stunned for an Instant by the enormity of the crime they witnessed, but when the reaction came they surged forward like wild beasts, jtlie strongest tearing the weakest back out of the way and forcing themselves forward to where the prisoner was held by.his captors. All the time a tumult of sound filled the place, a hollow roar at first, punctuated by the shrieks of women, swelling into a medley of yells and curses. Men said unintelligible things as they pushed and crowded toward the center of the swaying mob. They wanted to lynch Czolgosz, whoever he was. They wanted to see him and they shouted vainly at the police officers in front to drag him out. Ma t Effort to Gain Rereng?, A little force of exposition guards, penned iu by the clamoring mob, fought desperately to bold their prisoner from the bloodthirsty crowd. They bad Czolgosz safe and fast Ills revolver had been wrenched from bls band in the instant that Detective Ireland fell upon him. and be was helpless, bruised and bleeding. His face was cut when he was thrown to the floor and a dozen eager, vicious hands bad struck at him and reached him over the shoulders of the officers. Slowly, very slowly, the little force of police made way through the

crowd, dragging the prisoner between them. They were determined tbere should be no lynching. Things were b<dl enough as it was, and a lynching would have been tbe crowning horror of tbe day. From outside the building, where tbe

news had spread from lip to lip, more thousands pushed and jostled and shouted In their eagerness to enter the building. Those inside were struggling in two directions—the more timorous to

escape from the place before a stampede should crush out their lives and the het-headed to reach Czolgosz—only to reach Czolgosz was their one Idea. President Keeps Calm. And thus the contest raged while tbe President sat, pale but calm, in tbe midst of the excited little group on tbe platform. It was impossible to take him away at the moment. Every doorway was jammed with a crazy, shouting mob moving In two directions, trying to escape and trying to enter. Toward the main door tbe police were fighting their way with fists and billies to get Czolgosz out of the crowd and place him behind the bars. Upon tbe minutes which were speeding might depend the President’s life, for no medical aid could reach him In that maelstrom, and it was evident that be was sorely Wounded. More police came plunging Into the crowd from beadquarters, where the direful news bad sped. They burled themselves upon tbe swaying mob, they struck and pushed and shouted com-

mands and it slowly gave way just enough so they could reach tbe little band struggling to save Czolgosz from a sudden and frightful death. They dragged him out, bustled him away through the beautiful exposition grounds and threw him behind barred doors, where he was saved for the law to deal with him. Massing their men where they could best handle tbe excited crowd, tbe police cleared n passageway to one of tbe doors for tbe bearing away of the President, and on tbe stretcher of an ambulance which bad come clanging to the door be was tenderly carried from the building and borne in tbe ambulance to the emergency hospital, near tbe service building, within the exposition grounds. NATION 18 SHOCK E x' Whole Conntry Grieve* Over the Murderous Assault on Its Chief. The news of the attempt on the life of the President was received from one end of the country to the other first with horrified amazement and then with the deepest grief. In the clubs, hotels and theaters of every city in tbe United States

meu and women gathered and waited for hours to get every scrap of information that came over the wires. In thousands of small towns the whole population stood about the local telegraph offices and watched tearfully ami anxiously for bulletins. Telegraph offices everywhere were swamped with business, messages of sympathy for the President and his wife from almost every man of prominence in the nation, and for hotirs after the shooting telephone trunk lines were so overburdened that only a small percentage of subscribers were able to secure service. Dispatches during Friday night from every State in the Union showed how widespread and intense was the feeling of dismay and the sense of personal affliction with which the news was received. Public men of all shades of political opinion and social status alike shared the anxiety and found themselves grasping hands with one another and praying that Mr. McKinley’s life might be spared. Ail the details of the tragedy were sought for with trembling eagerness, and in all the large centers of population every effort was made to supply this demand by the newspapers, which issued extras at intervals till far into the night. CONFEBSIB HIS GUILT. Leon Czolgoez Tell* of His Attack on the President. Leon Czolgosz, the accused and selfconfessed assassin, signed a confession, in which he says that he is an anarchist, and that be decided on the act three days before and bought in Buffalo the revolver with which it was committed. He is unmarried. He claims to be a member of the Golden Eagles. Czolgosz has not appeased in the least uneasy or penitent for his action and shows no sign of insanity. The man's name is Leon Czolgosz. Ho is of Polish-German extraction. His home is In Cleveland, where he has seven brothers and sisters. He is an avowed anarchist and an ardent disciple of Emma Goldman, whose teachings, he alleges, are responsible for his attack cn the President. He denies steadfastly that he is tbe instrument of any body of anarchists or the tool of any coterie of plotters. He declares that he did not

ASSASSIN LEON CZOLGOSZ.

CZOLGOSZ’S CUNNING. How the assassin concealed the revolver in his handkerchief.

WHERE M'KINLEY WAS SHOT. Diagram showing points where the bullets entered the body of the President.