Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1902 — M'KINLEY'S MEMORY [ARTICLE]

M'KINLEY'S MEMORY

Senator Fairbanks’ Notable Address At Tablet Unveiling. ELOQUENT TRIBUTETOMARTYR His Place of Worship Becomes a Shrine of American Patriotism — McKinley Brought to Public Service a Tremendous Sense of Responsibility—Long After Monuments Have Crumbled to Dust the Influence of William McKinley Will Continue to Be a Benediction Among Men. In the Metropolitan Church at Washington, of which the late President McKinley was a member, a tablet, the tribute of a life-long friend, Justice Thomas H. Anderson, was recently unveiled in memory of the last of our martyred presidents. Describing the attendant services the Washington Post says, in part: As the president of the United States and a number of dignitaries of the nation, with the members of the church, sang with deep feeling, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” at Metropolitan Church, a small silk American flag that had hung in the rear of the auditorium was drawn slowly aside and a tablet of the purest white marble was unveiled, showing in letters of gold the brief statement of the life and deeds of William McKinley, the tribute of his friend, Judge Thomas H. Anderson.

The unveiling was attended with simple ceremony, in the presence of those who had helped the dead president execute the will of the people and those who had assisted him in the worship of his God. Distinguished statesmen added the power of their oratory to the solemn melodies of the choir in making the occasion one that would live long in the memory of those who witnessed it. President Roosevelt and Secretary Cortelyou were among the first to arrive at the church. The service' began at 11 o’clock, and the president with his secretary drove up to the door several minutes before the hour. They were shown to seats near the pulpit, which were afterward filled with members of congress and distinguished men from all sections of the country. Dr. Bristol then Introduced Senator Fairbanks of Indiana, the orator of the occasion, who spoke as follows: Senator Fairbanks' Address. “My friends, we are met to perform a most gracious service—to dedicate here in this house of God a tablet to one of the few names that was born to never die. “We stand upon ground made sacred by the presence of William McKinley. Unto this shrine the Christians will come in the unnumbered years before us and derive new hope and inspiration.

“It seems but yesterday that our friend occupied yonder pew, brave, strong, in the very plenitude of power, the most beloved of our fellowmen. We can yet almost hear his voice as it was raised in song and thanksgiving. Here he came upon the Sabbath day to pay tribute to his Maker, for he was a sincere believer in religion, a devout Christian and doer of Christian deeds. He not only taught but carried the great truths into every act and deed of his life. “It was here he found solace from the great and arduous responsibilities which rested upon him, and drew courage and inspiration to meet and discharge them.

“It does not seem that it was but a few months ago, less than one brief year, that our friend was here. It is, indeed, but a short time, measured by the calendar, but measured by events, how long it is. What mighty events have come and gone; how the great heart of the nation has been wrung with an uncommon sorrow. The tragedy at Buffalo was the master crime of the new century. We could not at first believe the awful truth —it was so unnatural. We stood bereft of speech. Who could be so dead to all sense of pity as to strike down one who so loved his fellowmen? About us everywhere were the ample evidences of peace. Sectional differences were dead; a fraternal spirit was everywhere, and under the guidance of our great president we were moving on to a splendid national destiny. “The theme which the occasion suggests is k-great one; too vast for the brief hour inwhlch we are assembled. There is in all the world nothing so great and beneficent as a good name. It raises our poor humanity to a more exalted plane. It iftts us Into an ‘ampler ether and diviner air.'

A Man of the People. "William McKinley was, in the fullest and best sense of the word, *of the people.’ He arose by the force of his genius from aa humble beginning to stand among the greatest of min. He sought to Interpret the public will, knowing full well that the wisdom of the people is unerring, that their voice is indeed the voice of Almighty God. "He inspired confidence among men in the integrity of his purpose and in the wisdom of his policies. He was a total stranger to arts by which weaker men seek to attain place and power. He did not attempt to rise upon men; he preferred to rise with them. His mind and heart were filled with no shadow of hate; the sunshine of love, affection and human sympathy filled them to overflowing. He was in the truest and best sense a patriot. Hfl

gave the best years of his life—be gave life itself. , “When but a boy he enlisted in the army of the republic as a private and went down to the battlefield to preserve its unity and glory. He did not wait Cor an officer’s commission when the note of war first aroused the country to its supreme peril and its exalted duty, but took his place in the ranks'/ khowing"~:fi3T’ well that the post of duty all honor lies.’ “In the national house of representatives he won enduring fame by his Intelligent service and complete con , secration to the Interests of his fellowmen. His every act was characterized by a high conception of his exalted trust. When summoned by the voice of his countrymen to the chief office in the republic he entered upon its grave and difitcult duties with a full corf j sciousness of the tremendous responsibility that rested upon him. He reverently invoked wisdom from on high tl-.at he might well discharge the task which had come to him. His Stand Against War. “When others sought to plunge the nation into war he stood against it with all his power. He abhorred it, although knowing full well that victory must crown our arms if war should come, and that the prestige of his name would fill the earth. He thought not of that, but of the loss and suffering that war must bring. And not until all pacific means had been exhausted and the national honor commanded did he consent that his country should draw the sword. “When obliged to strike he struck rapidly and with terrific power, and upon the ruins of monarchy he planted republican institutions. His ambition was to give to those who came to us through the fortunes of war and through one of the great revolutions of human history the blessing of republican government. He sought to free, not to enslave; to enlarge the bounds of liberty, not to widen an Imperial domain. His administration of national affairs will stand the impartial and severe test of history. Judged by any standard, it was eminently successful. “He looked forward with pleasurable anticipation .to the hour when he could lay down the heavy burdens of his high office and resume his place In the quiet and attractive walks of private life. ‘’Many happy years seemed to lie before him, but out of an unclouded sky the swift and cruel bolt .came. It seemed the very irony of fate that be might not have lived to see the full fruition of his policies and his administration. The Influence of His Life. “Those who read in a large way- the purposes of an All-Wise Ruler see in what has transpired a far-reaching and beneficent providence. The transcendent beauties of a noble life have been accentuated. We have been taught as never before the nobility of right living and the sublimity of right dying. “The multitude will come and look upon yonder tablet and in time It will crumble away. Monuments will arise throughout the land and disappear. Canvas will seek to perpetuate and be forgotten, but the name of our friend wilt live. His enduring tribute will be found in the hearts oi the people so long as this great republic endures. Long after we have lived our brief hour and the physical monuments we have raised have been resolved into the dust, the pure, patriotic and holy influence of William McKinley will continue to be an inspiration and benediction among men." Brief addresses were made on the same occasion by Representative Taylor, of President McKinley’s old congressional district, and Representative Grosvenor of Ohio, “At the conclusion of General Grosvenor’s address,” continues the Post’s account, “the choir started to sing ‘Nearer, My God to Thee,’ and one at a time the whole congregation took up the song and the volume of sound swelled out until the last strains burst out from every throat in one melodious chord, and simultaneously every person in the vast assemblage faced toward the rear of the church, where the tablet had been placed, concealed by the Stars and Stripes. “Just as the last strains of the hymn floated out on the still air, the cord that held the flag in position was gently pulled and the veiling dropped away, revealing the white marble tablet and its gold lettering. Then the congregation again faced the pulpit and joined with the choir in singing ‘America,* after which Dr. Bristol pronounced the benediction.”