Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1896 — MAJOR McKINLEY’S CANDIDACY. [ARTICLE]

MAJOR McKINLEY’S CANDIDACY.

By the Honorable Charles Emory Smith, Editor of the Philadelphia Press. In New York Independent. At the beginning of January four names were conspicuously in ttha public thought in connection with the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Speaker Reed, Senator Allison and Governor [McKinley were active candidates and rightful aspirants. ExPresident Harrison, tho neither candidate nor aspirant, was on thousands of tongues as the statesman whose brilliant and successful Administration marked him as pre-eminently fitted to lead in the restoration of its glories. His early, siqcere and peremptory declension compelled the abandonment of that hope, and concentrated public attention on the three already named. There were others who were proposed within there own States. Of these Governor Morton was the most prominent and imposing figure; but for reasons not at all to his discredit his nomination was never treated as a serious probability. None of the other “favorite sons” were ever regarded as anything more than pleasing diversions. Reed, Allison and McKinley were everywhere considered "the real competitors. They were all earnestly in the field, and were all entitled to aspire to the highest honor by the right of recognized leadership, of long and eminent services, and of undisputed fitness. They were'all of Presi[dential proportions; they were ap-

parently fairly well matched in the elements of their strength; I and at the .’outset uo one, unless gifted with a ran* powAr of divk nation, could easily have foretold the result ofHhe race. ■' The delegates to the National Convention have al! been elected, and Governor McKinley has a decisive majority. His nomination is as well assured as any future political event can be. Never since National Conventions came into being has any contested candidacy been so clearly determined in advance. Lincoln the second time and Grant both times had no contest at all. Clay was named in 1844, after the Tyler treason, by common consent of his party. Aside from these cases, the Presidential prize has always' been disputed, and the result has never until now been so conclusively settled before the convention. Governor McKinley’s overwhelm-

ing success is unparalled in Presidential struggles. It is as remarkable in character as it is extraordinary in its completeness. It is peculiarly and unmistakably the people’s success. It has been carried on the crest of a great and irresistible popular uprising, as broad as the nation and as ardent as its patriotism. The politicians have generally been against McKinley; but they have been as powerless to stem this current as a house of cards to stop a cyclone. What was regarded in many quarters as an invincible combination of bosses has been utterly impotent against this sweeping tide. Such an unmistakable, popular choice is presumptively a good choice. Under our institutions the will of the people is the law of Actions. As & rule their deliberate judgement is unerring. They sometimes make mistakes through a temporary misconception, as they did in 1892, but rarely in the sober, second thought, as now. This is the awakening from that deadly blunder of four years ago, and all the more weighty and impressive as the intense assertion of returning reason. The case for Governor McKinley’s nomination might be rested on the indisputable fact that the people demand it, and that their plain will ought to be respected and followed. And when wq come to examine the reasons for this widespread feeling the argument becomes doubly forceful. Such a profound popular movement never occurs without a gieat underlying and impelling cause. This mighty uprising for McKinley springs from the eager, passionate determination of the people to retrieve the stupendous mistakes of 1892, with its direful blight, and to re-establish the principles ami policies of which they regard McKinley as the foremost exponent and representative. Here are some of the leading considerations which explain this popular devotion and justify his candidacy. First. He personifies protection and typifies the reaction frem 1892. More than any other man he stands for the ideas which, apparently, passed under a cloud in the delusion of that hour and which are again on the high tide of public favor. The attempt has been made to show that others had as much to do with the McKinley Bill as he had. Jt is altogether immaterial. The fact remains that for ten years he has been more conspicuously identified with the cause of protection than any oilier chieftain. His leadership is far from resting on the McKinley Bill alone. It began before and continued after. In 1888 he was the foremost champion of protection against the Mills Bill. After the disasters of 1890 and 1892 he was the one heroic fighter who never lowered his flag. Others faltered, but his faith never wavered. He upheld the banner of protection on a thousand platforms all over the land, and McKinley and protection are everywhere inseparably associated in the public mind. Tho an earnest and faithful advocate, he is not an extremist. He is altogether practical, and would adapt tariff rates to existing conditions. But as the pre-eminent representative of the cause which now appeals to the industrial and business elements of the country de unites, above any other, the aspirations of his own party and the hope of recruits. Second. He is a thorough American, and embodies the patriotic and progressive spirit of

Americanism.' -lie is highly popular ih America and highly unpopular in Eutope 1 . rtj is more interested in building up the prosperity of Ttis bwiF country tSgfi that of foreign countries. He is more anxious to, enlarge our trade than that of our national competitors. Without any narrow impulse of national provincialism, he defends the Anftericau system because he believes it is the best system. He wants the American standard of wages. for American labor, and the American market for the American producer. He would ddvclope the American marine, commercially advance the American flag, and peacefully extend on this continent the sphere of American ideas and interests. He holds that American greatness will best be realized by thg fullest developement of American resources and by quickening all the springs of American enterprise. Throughout his career he has been thoroughly American in the best sense. Third. He is earnestly and faithfully for sound money. His record on this subjett, tho unscrupulously misrepresented, is clear, consistent and satisfactory, His attitude has been that of his party. He voted for free silver coinage once, but that was in 1877, when silver stood at 94, before the Latin Union had closed its mints to silver and before our resumption of specie payments. He has uniformly voted against it since. His root principle has been repeatedly set forth in his speeches. He believes, as the indispensable condition, in uncompromisingly adhering to the world’s money standard, which is gold, and'in uniting with it the largest use of silver which can be maintained at full parity and exchangeability. He would permit no debasement of the standard and no depreciation of the currency. He doesn’t believe in cheap money or “cheap” men. The attempt in some quarters to discredit his devotion to sound money is absolutely baseless. It is simply a campaign weapon of his party rivals against his nomination hud of his political opponents against his election. As already practically the candidate of his party he would not be justified in speaking before the convention. The Convention will* adopt a strong and unequivocal sound money platform; the candidate’s letter of acceptanee, like his record, will plant him unreservedly on it, and thia clatter and cloud of dust will vanish.

Fourth. An important consideration is that the election of McKinley will assure, beyond that of any other, the first remedial financial legislation that is immediately necessary. The first vital step is increased revenue with fair protection. On the currency we are safe, if wo hold fast. The one danger was free silver, and that danger is past. It can’t co m e without positive legislation, and with a Republican House that legislation is impossible. But more revenue and protection are the first measures in the restoration of financial stability and general prosperity, and they require affirmative legislation. The possible difficulty lies in the Senate. The Dingley bill was beaten there by a narrow but sufficient margin of Senators, who said: “No more revenue or protection without free silver.” To dwarf the protection issue is to leave them free for the repetition of that crime; to magnify and emphasize it is to compel their submission. Their own States can be carried on a protection fight, and a home sentiment created which they cannot disregard. The nomination of McKinley means such a fight, and has a significance in that direction as no other could have. - Fifth. The engaging personal qualities and the attested ability and fitness of Major McKinley strengthen and confirm the public reasons for his nomination. He is a* man of singularly attractive personality, of beautiful character, and of a sweet and spotless life. Enlisting as a private in the Union Army at seventeen, he came out of the war major at an age when many youths are still in school. Elected to Congress before he wag thirty, he soon, became a conspicuous leader and has ever since been one of the large figures on the national stage. A strong debater, a trained lawmaker, a statesman of large and varied experi-

ence, a man of even temper, wellbalanced mind, sure insight, sound judgement and stainless honor, he is both worthy and fitted for the Presidency. He is eminently stong in the saving sense which has carried him successfully through a remarkable career. His domestic life is a tender romance which touches every true heart, and his great public safety and surety lie in the fact that he keeps close to the people. It is the people who have stood by him, and he may be relied on to stand by the people. Thus this great -popular movement for Governor McKinley rests upon the salient truth that he represents and embodies, in a preeminent degree, the things which the people are determined to have. Republican policy has a distinct meaning; McKinley’s candidacy expresses what it means, and that is the reason why it has been so irresistible a success.