Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1904 — SENATOR FAIRBANKS’ TRIBUTE TO HANNA. [ARTICLE]

SENATOR FAIRBANKS’ TRIBUTE TO HANNA.

Senator Fairbanks’ tribute to the late Senator Hanna during the memorial exercises recently held in the Senate was the forceful eulogy of a friend whose relations with the dean statesman were cordial and intimate. He said in part: “Senator Hanna was a man of practical mind. He did not dwell In an atmosphere of purely speculative philosophy, but among the serious realities of life. He possessed in full degree the power of great initiative. He organized and set on foot vast enterprises which required large capital, and gave employment to thousands of workingmen. He was essentially a creator; never a destroyer. He opened the door of opportunity to others and thus became a benefactor. He was a man of innate modesty and never indulged in the merely spectacular. He coveted the respect and confidence of bls fellow-men, not for selfish purposes, but that he might the better serve them. “He possessed a keenly sensitive nature. He was deeply touched by the criticism of his political opponents, which for a time was so sharp and unjust. That criticism which sought to undermine the confidence in him of his countrymen and to impeach his broad humanitarian sympathies and purposes left a sting. He cared nothing for the criticism of his political views. He held to them tenaciously and conscientiously .with confidence in the ultimate sober judgment of the people. A Man of Sincerity. “He was a plain, blunt man. He was always perfectly natural. He did not pretend to be what the Creator did not intend him to be. He was no mere timeserver. He did not bend to every wind that blew. ’ He was an honest man —honest in thought, in purpose, and in deed; honest with the world and honest with himself. He possessed in a remarkable degree the ‘geniug of common sense.’ He was resourceful and had at instant command all of his faculties. “He was tenacious of his opinions, though not dogmatic. He was ready to yield to a better reason when it was made manifest He sought no compromise with expediency. What was right was right, and what was wrong was wrong. -He occupied no middle ground. “He was the trusted friend of the late President McKinley throughout his Illustrious political career. He possessed his unbounded confidence, a confidence which he repaid with unfailing loyalty and unmeasured devotion. “His name was frequently mentioned, and with entire respect, for still further official honors than those he enjoyed here. The suggestion needed but the encouragement of his assent to make it a formidable reality, but he was content with the great distinction of a seat in this chamber and discouraged all effort to make him a candidate for the most exalted place in the government. His Career an Inspiration. “His career admirably illustrates the great possibilities that lie before the American youth. He became a power in widely separated fields of endeavor. To have achieved distinction in either was honor enough for one man. His early life as the. successful man of business gave no promise of the eminence he was destined to achieve in the world of politics and statesmanship. He did not become a student of statecraft until after he had passed life’s meridian. He proved to be a quick student of those great problems which concerned the state. “He was a man of Indefatigable industry. He believed in the virtue of labor. He wrought on with no thought of self. His friends observed the serious inroads he was making upon his health and sought to dissuade him from overtaxing his strength, but he disregarded their kindly admonitions and labored on until he fell at his post of duty—a virtual sacrifice to tfis country and his countrymen. No soldier ever died upon the field of glory more surely for others than did he. His Fellowship Cherished.

“Senator Hana and I were friends before coming here, and my entire public service to the hour of his death was In fellowship with him. One of the choicest memories I shall take into private life is the memory of his confidence and unvarying friendship. “I visited him a number of times after he entered the sick chamber with an Illness supposed to bo but temporary. He was loath to glvo up his intercourse with his friends. He loved them and he loved the world. Ho had not gathered his harvest He had no time to take account of death. “For many long and anxious days his countrymen awaited tidings of his illness. In the alternations of hope and fear we watched and reverently Invoked the All-Merciful One to spare our friend to us and to his country. But his hour had come, and tenderly we laid h,im away by the lakeside which he so much loved and where he sleeps well. , “Brave spirit, an affectionate farewell! We take up the burdens you left us and press op, and In good time In God’s providence, we shall leav them to others. This historic chamber has its entrances and its exits, through which the stately procession comes and goes. We shah each, In his turn, seek an exit. “Good friend! We shall forever cherish as a prlceles heritage the memory of your nobility of character and your services and sacrifices for the state.”