Tuesday, September 30, 2014

'Talk of the Town' from the Sept. 7, 1905 issue of The Gold Leaf

“Talk of the Town” from The Gold Leaf, Thursday, Sept. 7, 1905.

After an absence of nearly 5 years, Mr. W.H. Alston gave his friends a pleasant surprise by his presence in Henderson last week when they supposed him thousands of miles away. He had just returned from Turkey, where he has been in the employment of the American tobacco Company, representing their interests in that country. Mr. Alston is located at Cavalla, on the Mediterranean Sea, his business requiring frequent trips on that body of water. Henry talks entertainingly of the country, the people and their customs, and says the Turks as a class are better people than the uninformed give them credit for. He will spend a few months in America and return to Turkey about Christmas.

Miss Mary Cole of Rockingham is visiting Mrs. R.B. Powell.

Miss Lizzie Lewis has returned from a two weeks’ stay at Hendersonville.

Mr. A.C. Zollicoffer went to Louisburg Tuesday on professional business.

Mr. William Russell of New York City was visiting friends in Henderson this week.

Editor T.R. Walker of the Littleton News Reporter was a visitor to Henderson Tuesday.

Miss Mary Young, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. O.O. Young, left Monday to enter Salem Academy.

Miss Ruth Harris returned last week from a month’s visit among her schoolmates in Maryland.

Miss Emma Woodlief of Kittrell and Miss Mattie Gill of Bobbitt are visiting Mrs. W. Ed Moss.

Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Fuller of Franklinton visited Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Williams in Henderson last week.

Mrs. E.M. Price of Darlington, S.C., returned home Thursday after visiting Mrs. N.M. Henderson for several weeks.

Misses Maudie Elmore and Mabel Kelly went to Raleigh Tuesday to matriculate at the Baptist Femal University.

Messrs. T.M. Pittman and T.T. Hicks went to Raleigh Tuesday to look after some cases before the Supreme court.

Mrs. R.B. Henderson left yesterday for Middleton, Ohio, where she goes to spend the winter with her daughter, Mrs. W.T. Estes.

Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe C. Witt of Knoxville, Tenn., are visiting the family of Mr. Geo. B. Harris. Mrs. HWhitt is a niece of Mrs. Harris.

Mrs. H. Cohen and children of New Bern, Mrs. B. Harris and children of Raleigh, and Miss Eva Harris of Wilson are visiting Mrs. B.S. Aronson.

Misses Elizabeth Burton of Raleigh, Myrtle Cheatham of Elkin and Mary Etta Haskins of Boydton, Va., are guests of Misses Page in Henderson.

We had a pleasant call yesterday from Mr. D.P. Phillips, agent of the Great Van Amburg Shows, which will visit Henderson Saturday, September 23rd.

A flat notched key or night-latch or similar locks was found near the Methodist church a few days ago and left at this office.

A special coach full of young ladies from Norfolk, Suffolk and Franklin, Va., going to Elon College, passed through yesterday, the Durham train taking it on here.

Misses Mattie and Jennie Davis have returned from Henderson where they had been spending the summer and are again in the George A. Bose Company’s store.

Dr. Nash is conducting a revival meeting at the Methodist Episcopal church this week. Dr. F.M. Smith, presiding elder of this district, preached at the opening sermon Sunday morning.

The Presbyterian Sunday-school children are picnicking at Satterwhite’s mill today. Each one had the privilege of inviting a friend and the little folks went out jubilant over having a good time.

Mr. N.B. Thomas will go North in a few days to buy fall goods for the firm of Thomas & Newcomb. Miss Rosa Thomas will go with him to make her usual purchases of fall millinery and ladies’ goods.

Miss Lillie Burwell of Woodsworth was in Henderson this week visiting her sister Mrs. R.B. Powell. Miss Burwell has just returned from New York, where she has been with her sister, Mrs. George Allen.

Rev. J.O. Atkinson, the accomplished editor of the Elon College Christian Sun, was on the Westbound train yesterday. He had been to Ridgeway to marry a couple, an account of which is published elsewhere.

The condition of Col. W.H. Hood, who was partially paralyzed, as noted in last week’s paper, is improved. He is able to sit up and talks and swallows with less difficulty. The indications are that he will soon be all right again.

Rev. I.N. Lofton has a good horse for sale. Five years old, kind and gentle, not afraid of anything and perfectly safe for a woman to drive. A bargain for somebody as Mr. Loften is going to leave and must dispose of the animal.

Mr. S.R. Harris returned Saturday from a trip to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pa., having gone to attend a meeting of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Protestant church held in the latter place. The next meeting will be held at High Point.

Mr. L.W. Barnes has gone North this week to buy new fall goods for Barnes Clothing Store. The stock is being replenished all the time and you can find clothing, overcoats, hats, shoes, gents’ furnishing goods, etc., there to suit your taste and pocketbook whenever you want them.

Rev. J.H. Henderlite and family returned Saturday from their summer vacation, spent at Norfolk and Red Sulphur Springs. Mrs. Henderlite and the baby have both recovered from their sickness and Mr. Henderlite himself was much benefited by his stay in the mountains of Virginia.

Miss Guessie Verl Satterwhite left last Tuesday for West Lafayette, Ohio, where she has accepted the position of principal in the music department of the woman’s college. Those who know the young lady’s musical attainments will congratulate that institution upon securing her services.

Miss Lois Edwards went to High Point Friday to teach in the graded school at that place, a position to which she was recently elected. Vance county loses one of its best teachers, and the cause of education suffers accordingly by this young lady taking work elsewhere. Better salary paid was the inducement.

Mr. S.F. Chandler has returned to Henderson and is again at his old place in Parker’s drug store. He gave up his position some time ago and went away, but he couldn’t stay. Sol says it was a pair of eyes that drew him back, but whether Dr. Parker’s or a pair softer and more gazelle like we are left to surmise.

A number of desirable town lots belonging to the estate of George A. Harris will be offered for sale at public auction on Thursday, September 21st, by Mrs. Rosa F. Harrell and W.L. Harris. This property is located near the new Graded School building on Harrell avenue, Zene and Arch streets, a plot of which can be seen at J.L. Currin’s office.

En route to Lake City, Fla., Dr. C.L. Crow of Norfolk stopped over yesterday to see his sister, Mrs. J.H. Henderlite. He was recently elected to the chair of modern languages in the University of Florida, and will enter upon his duties with the opening of the fall term. Dr. Crow formerly held the same position in Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Va.

There will be a match game of base ball Friday afternoon, September 8th, between Franklinton and Henderson. Game will be called at 3:30 o’clock. Admission 25 cents; ladies free. A good game is promised.

Prof. A.E. Akers of Roanoke, Va., the new principal of the Henderson Graded Schools, arrived Monday afternoon and is assisting Superintendent Alderman in getting things in shape for the opening next week. Prof. Akers comes highly recommended as a young man of fine talent and ability as a teacher and we doubt not he will prove himself a worthy successor of Prof. Mills.

Prouder than of the splendid record made by the Citizens Bank, and happier than at its increasing deposits and growing business, is Cashier Wm. A. Hunt because of the advent of a little girl at his house. “W.A.” wears his new honors with becoming modesty but he cannot suppress a smile of satisfaction and assort of “I’m a papa” look as he meets his friends now.

Mr. Rufus E. Hardy of Halifax county was a visitor to Henderson yesterday. He was but recently returned form the Philippine waters where he has been in the naval service. Mr. Hardy was formerly a printer in the Gold Leaf office, leaving here to take a position in Durham. In July, 1901, he joined the United States navy and served a good part of the time in the far East. His term of enlistment expired in July and he came home to see his people. He has not fully decided yet whether he will re-enlist or engage in business of some other sort.

Mr. R.P Cunningham tells us of finding a dead horse in his pasture and he is at a loss to know where the animal, an iron grey, apparently well kept, came from. He was hauled there, wagon tracks being found coming from one direction and leaving by another. The bars were let down, the wagon crossed a branch, left the path and went some distance off and deposited the burden. No one in the neighborhood owned such a horse and Mr. Cunningham thinks the animal must have been brought from a distance, but why, he does not understand.

Married in Ridgeway
Mr. John Alexander McGeachy of Wilmington and Miss Helen Mabry of Ridgeway were married in the Methodist church at 1:15 o’clock yesterday. The ceremony was performed by Rev. J.O. Atkinson of Elon College in the presence of a goodly company of interested friends and well wishers. Mr. McGeachy is connected with a leading bank in Wilmington and is a gentleman of fine character and business qualifications. The bride, who is the daughter of Mr. R.C. Mabry, a prominent merchant of Ridgeway, is a young lady of attractive personality and accomplishments and is greatly loved and admired by all who know her.

Mr. and Mrs. McGeachy were passengers on the Westbound train yesterday afternoon going to Blowing Rock to stay a while before going to their future home in Wilmington.

Monday, September 29, 2014

May a School Principal Set and Enforce a Dress Code? 1901


From the Sept. 26, 1901, issue of Fisherman & Farmer, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Shirt Waist Trouble…A Popular Fad Gets Into the Public Schools

The shirt-waist question has bobbed up in the school-room.
As a burning issue it is now taking precedence over the wriggling of the book publishers about depositories.

The State Superintendent of Education has had a letter from a mother who has a son in a graded school in a town in Piedmont North Carolina.
The letter has in it the following question: “Is it permissible in a public school presumably for the education of the masses for a principal to make an arbitrary rule on the subject of dress?” If a boy is sent to school, clad in clean, whole garments, with clean hands and face, has the principal any authority to send him home for his coat when the temperature is such that every man in town is working in his shirt sleeves?”

The letter continues with the statement that the lad in this case has gone to school in Baltimore, New York and Brooklyn without being sent home for a coat, but that in the North Carolina town in question such “arbitrary and tyrannical rules are to be found.”

Describing the clothing of her son, the lady continues, “I dress him in fresh shirt-waists daily, without suspenders, with neat trousers, belt, shoes and stockings. I submit that the child is properly clad and that even if he had on rags a public school has no right to refuse the boy a chance for an education on account of the lack of a coat.”

Because of the annoyance caused the lady, she has withdrawn her son from the school until State Superintendent Toon shall have decided whether or not he can be admitted without a coat. In her letter she says that such actin as this “does not encourage a New Yorker to settle in your State to be obliged to pass the censorship of a man who may know how to teach, but not necessarily the final Tsar on the subject of dress or fashion.”

It seems that the lad, who is in the seventh grade, is the only one without a coat, and that a rule exists for seventh grade boys to wear coats, though the lady says that last year the same trouble was had in the sixth grade. His mother says that she considers his condition much better than that of boys, who, suffering from heat, pull their coats down over their shoulders, expose their suspenders, and present anything but a neat appearance.

She commends the school, but insists that the parents have the right to dress their children as they see fit, and that such acts seem fit for a monarchy and not a free country.

In closing her letter the mother says that all the younger children of the school are bare-legged, coatless and decorated with suspenders. She asks for a decision from the State Superintendent as to the extent of the authority of a schoolmaster over his pupil’s dress.

Gen. Toon will today answer the letter. He has not stated definitely what his reply will be, but if his conversation on the matter is an indication of his decision, he will say that the parent is the guardian of the child’s dress, and that so long as a child is in decent apparel he is entitled to public school privileges, coat or no coat, with suspenders or without suspenders.

Local News From the Watauga Democrat, Sept. 1, 1911


“Local News” from the Watauga Democrat, Boone, September 1, 1911

--Miss Mattie Horton is visiting relatives in Jefferson.

--Prof. A. Masters of Mitchell county has been in town several days.

--The board of county commissioners will be in session next Monday.

--George P. Hagaman, cashier of the bank, visited home folk on Beaver Dam last Sunday.

--James. W. McGhee is at home from Sparta for a few days where he has been working on Alleghany’s new court house.

--Sorry to hear that friend Thomas Jones of Sands is confined to his home suffering from a severe attack of typhoid fever.

--Profs. D.D. and B.B. Dougherty are attending the annual meeting of the County Superintendents of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this week.

--I will be in Boone during court week prepared to do your watch work. Shop at Richard M. Green’s. Give me a call. Silas M. Green, Jeweler.

--C.C. Farthing, after spending a few days with his parents in New River, has returned to his work in Virginia, much improved in health.

--The Walnut Grove brass band will give a concert in the court house in Boone on the night of Sept. 8, 1910. Come out and hear some good music.

--Owing to the continued dry weather there is still a considerable amount of hay uncut in Watauga, which is something rather unusual for Sept. 1.

--Mrs. Emma Setzer of Colletsville, Caldwell county, with her two little children, is visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Manley Green on Meat Camp.

--Dr. L.E. Farthing, wife and babe, John Watts, Jr. of Pittsboro, this state, are visitors at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Farthing, the doctor’s parents on New River.

--Nelia Folk, colored, received a letter Monday bearing the sad news that her son, George, who was reared here, had been shot down at some point in West Virginia without a cause. No further particulars received by us.

--Mrs. Thomas Tugman Jr. died at her home on Meat Camp last week, leaving twin infants only a few hours old. The little ones, we are told, are still living and thriving nicely.

--Each member of Boone, Blowing Rock, Snow and Ashlar Lodges, A.F. & A.M., the owners of the picnic property, is urged by the secretary to bring or send a basket of lunch to our annual picnic on Sept. 9 as a very large crowd is expected.

--Presiding Elder Ashe of the colored Methodist church held quarterly conference in the colored church here last Saturday and Sunday. The elder is a very good talker indeed, and seems to have the spiritual welfare of his people at heart.

--Bennett Elliott of Silverstone, who has been in a Charlotte sanitarium for some time for treatment, passed through town Tuesday on his return home and we take it that he is permanently cured as he was carrying a grip through the rain.

--On last Saturday night Mr. Thomas W. Hopkins, formerly of Elk Park, was married to Miss Lillie, the accomplished daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Greer of Middle Fork. She is a graduate of the A.T.S.; has taken a course at a business college and is a graduate in stenography and typewriting. The groom is to be congratulated on winning for himself such a charming bride.

--Hons. Charles H. Cowles and R.L. Doughton, Republican and Democratic candidates for Congress, will have a joint discussion of the political issues of the day during the noon recess of court on Tuesday, Sept. 18. As this is probably the only opportunity our people will have to hear the candidates in joint discussion, we hope the people will, as near as possible, all turn out and hear them.

--Mr. Calvin Church of Valle Crucis, after several months of declining health, died at his home last Sunday and was buried with Masonic Honors on Tuesday. Deceased moved to this county from Wilkes many years ago, has reared a large family, was a member of the M.E. Church South, and always took a lively interest in all things looking to the betterment of his community or the county at large. May he rest well after his long pilgrimage.

--Mr. George McGhinnis, who has been visiting his sons at Elberton, Wash., since last spring, returned to his home in Watauga a few days ago. He tells us that his son Nelson, who is dubbed “The wheat king of the Pelouse section,” gathered 40,000 bushels of the golden grain this year, which sells readily on the home market at 85 cents per bushel. Rather extensive farming this when you consider the fact that only seven years ago the young man left Watauga with barely money enough to pay his way to his present home.

--On last Thursday Sheriff Ragan with Deputy Jesse F. Robbins, and three citizens of Virgil, swooped down upon the illicit distillery on the head waters of Elk creek, running at full capacity, but the owners or operatives of the plant had made good their escape before the officers arrived. The still was of 50-gallon capacity, and several bushels of beer, besides the “doubling” that was being run off, was found in the shed, all of which was left intact, as the officers had no right to destroy the same. The still, worm and cap, however, all in good condition, were carried a distance of four miles, a conveyance procured and the same was brought to Boone in the afternoon, and will be sold by order of the board of county commissioners. The Sheriff has for several months been trying to locate the still and trip after trip has been made by him to that section, but he always failed to locate it. This is the first plant of the kind captured in Watauga for many years.

--On Wednesday of last week four students were expelled from Rutherford College for attempting to haze a new boy. That is good.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

News From Farm Families Across N.C., Sept. 1955

“Farm News From Around the State’ in the September 1955 issue of North Carolina’s Extension Farm-News

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Saunooke are an Indian couple well up in their 70s, but they still put in full working days, according to Assistant County Agent W.H. Flake. Mrs. Saunooke acts in “Unto these Hills,” which takes three hours of her time, six days a week. In addition, the couple does a considerable amount of woodwork and raises its home food supply. By August 10, they had canned 225 quarts of vegetables. The Saunookes say they prefer to raise a good early garden rather than depend on a fall one.

McDowell County
One of Tommy Buchanan’s young chicks has got itchy feet. McDowell County Assistant Agent Paul L. Nave says that Tommy’s uncle visited the Buchanan home recently. A storm came up and the chickens ran under the car to get out of the rain. After the storm subsided, the uncle got in his car and drove to his home in Statesville. When he got out, one of Tommy’s pullets hopped off the front axle where she had ridden 85 miles.

Davidson County
Assistant County Agent W.W. Johnson doesn’t want to start an argument, but he believes that Davidson County can claim the largest cantaloupe grown in that section. Johnson says that Beamer Wilson of Linwood, Route 1, recently brought a 21-pound, 3-ounce monster into the county agent’s office. Wilson had already cut and consumed a 16-pound cantaloupe.

Gaston County
R.B. Watterson of Bessemer City, Route 1, doesn’t consider rye grass a pest. Gaston County Assistant Agent Dewey W. Hennessee says that Watterson is making good use of rye grass in his cattle feeding program. ”It was a life saver for us because we ran out of hay early this winter, and that’s all we had to feed our cattle.” He admits it has some bad points but says the good ones outweigh the bad.

Sampson County
Proper packing and cleaning of produce really paid off for one Sampson County farmer recently. Assistant County Agent. W.S. Young says that James A. Parker of Clinton, Route 1, collected a prize from the Clinton Produce Market for having a fine basket of peppers. And, of course, he got a premium price for those peppers, too.

Cleveland County
J.C. Randle of Bethlehem community vows it pays to be a jack-of-all-trades sometimes. Cleveland County Assistant Agent Jack G. Krause says that Randle, a Grade A dairyman, decided to pour a new concrete floor and manger in his dairy barn. He found that it would cost between $200 and $300, so he and his sons went to work and did the complete job for $87.

Catawba County
You’d think almost anyone would know how to feed a cow. But it isn’t that simple, as A.R. Ikerd of the Maiden section of Catawba County can testify. Assistant County Agent Frank A. Harris says that Ikerd claims he once thought the finer the feed was ground, the better, and that he could gauge the amount of feed and get cheaper grain. Recently he fed his steers correctly ground feed, kept it before them 24 hours a day, and discovered that he got fatter cattle in a shorter period with no digestion trouble.

Forsyth County
R.M. Ferguson, Winston-Salem, Route 7, once got a whipping for following the advice of his county agent. As Ferguson tells the story to Forsyth County Farm Agent Sam Mitchiner, he was a member of the Stokes County Corn Club in 1910 and, upon the advice of County Farm Agent I.G. Ross, planted Southern Beauty Corn in a bottom, where it grew thick and lovely. Ferguson’s father insisted he thin the corn, but the boy said no. Naturally, he got a beating, but the corn remained un-thinned. It stayed just thick enough to give Ferguson 104 bushels an acre and a champion’s trip to Washington.

Transylvania County
“I fed two milk cows and a mule, fattened two hogs and sold 47 bushels of corn.” There’s nothing astounding about Charles Owen’s statement until you find that he planted only a little more than an acre of corn land! Transylvania County Assistant Agent G.H. Farley points out that Owens accomplished this feat on an upland field with considerable slope during a dry season by adequate fertilizer and good management.

Haywood County
Any of you farmers need to pick up a fast thousand bucks? A foolish question? Not according to Jack Rogers of the Crabtree community. He did it with sheep. Haywood County Agent V.L. Holloway says that Rogers sold $1,125 worth of lambs and wool this year from his flock of 30 ewes. Holloway says that with good sheep and good management, many more farmers could earn an extra thousand or more dollars a year.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

McKinley's Will, Czolgosz Convicted, President Roosevelt Supported, 1901


From Fisherman & Farmer, Elizabeth City, October 3, 1901. An alienist was a mental health professional, like a psychologist or psychiatrist.

McKinley’s Will Probated…His Wife Made the Sole Legatee for Life—Executors Named
Canton, Ohio, Special—Secretary Cortelyou came here last Friday to assist Mrs. McKinley in disposing of matters connected with the late President’s estate. After meeting Mrs. McKinley, the question of filing the will was taken up. The trying task of reading it to her was undertaken by a faithful secretary. Mrs. McKinley made a heroic effort to bear up and succeeded in doing so, although the ordeal was difficult for her. She is resting well. All legal formalities necessary for her to subscribe to were disposed of. At 3 o’clock Judge Day and Secretary Cortelyou went to the office of the probate judge and offered the will of President McKinley for probate. They carried with them the following:

“I, Ida S. McKinley, widow of William McKinley, deceased, hereby decline the administration of his estate and recommend the appointment of Wm. R. Day and Geo. B. Cortelyou as administrators, with the will annexed.”

This recommendation bears the date of September 27, 1901. Following is the text of President McKinley’s will.

“Executive Mansion, Washington

“I publish the following as my latest will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills: To my beloved wife Ida S. McKinley, I bequeath all of my real estate, wherever situated, and the income of any personal property of which I may be possessed at death, during her natural life. I make the following charge upon all of my property, both real and personal: To pay my mother during her life $1,000 a year, and at her death said sum to be paid to my sister, Helen McKinley. If the income from property be insufficient to keep my wife in great comfort and pay the annuity above provided, then I direct that such of my property be sold so as to make a sum adequate for both purposes. Whatever property remains at the death of my wife, I give to my brother and sisters, share and share alike. My chief concern is that my wife from my estate shall have all she requires for her comfort and pleasure, and that my mother shall be provided with whatever money she requires to make her old age comfortable and happy. Witness my hand and seal, this 22nd day of October, 1897, to my last will and testament, made at the city of Washington, District of Columbia. William McKinley

“The foregoing will was witnessed by us this 22nd day of October, 1897, at the request of the testator and his name signed hereto in our presence and our signature hereto in his presence. Charles Loeffler and G.B. Cortelyou

It is given out on authority that the McKinley estate will total $225,000 or $250,000, including life insurance of $67,000. Aside from this insurance the estate consists of real estate here and contiguous to Canton and of deposits in Washington banks. Monday morning has been fixed by the probate court for a hearing prior to probating the will. The will is in the President’s own handwriting.

-=-

Guilty of Murder…Czolgosz, the Assassin, Convicted in Short Order…Jury Was Not Long in Agreeing…The Trial Was Brief But Fair, and the Verdict Was Inevitable—Will Be Sentenced Soon
Buffalo, Special—Leon F. Czolgosz, alias Fred Nieman, was found guilty Tuesday of murder in the first degree by a jury in Part III of the Supreme Court, in having, on the 6th day of September, shot President William McKinley, the wounds inflicted afterwards resulting in the death of the President.

The wheels of justice moved swiftly and covered a period of only two days. Practically all of this time was occupied by the prosecution presenting a case so clear, so conclusive that even had the prisoner entered a plea of insanity, the jury would not have returned a verdict different from the one rendered today.

The announcement made in the afternoon by the attorneys for Czolgosz that the eminent alienists summoned by the Erie County Bar Association and by the district attorney to examine Czolgosz and to determine his exact mental condition had declared him to be perfectly sane, destroying the only vestige of a defense that Judges Lewis and Titus could have put together. Before adjournment Justice White announced that he would pronounce sentence upon the prisoner on Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock. He was taken at once through the tunnel under Delaware avenue to the jail. To all appearances he was in no way affected by the result of the trial.

The crowd gathered at the city hall was the largest which has seen him since his arraignment. People were lined up on both sides of the big rotunda on the second floor when court convened and fringed the stairs leading from the floor above. There was no demonstration except that of curiosity. A large number of women witnessed the proceedings.

At 2:44 in the afternoon District Attorney Penny abruptly announced that the case of the prosecution was ended. Judge Lewis arose slowly and, addressing the court, said that the sudden close of the case against Czolgosz was a surprise to him and his colleague. They had no witness to call for the defense. He asked the court that he be allowed to address the jury at once. The court consented and the venerable jurist began an address that will long be remembered by those who heard it.

The jury retired at 3:51 to consider the evidence. The scene in the court room then became dramatic in the extreme. Decorum was somewhat forgotten and the spectators stood up and many walked about the room and engaged in conversation. The guards about the assassin, who still sat in his seat before the bench, were doubled. Chief of Detectives Cusack and two of his men taking positions just back of Czolgosz’s chair. Others took seats to the left and right and many “plain clothes” men were seen mingling among the crowd surging about the room, closely watching every one whose face was not familiar to them. There was no disposition to crowd about the prisoner, although the object of every one seemed to be to get in a position where he could have a full view of his face.

Czolgosz had been seated in his chair all afternoon, his hands clasped on the arms of the chair and his head bent forward. The room was not warm but he frequently took his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped the perspiration from his forehead and cheeks. At one time during the absence of the jury did he raise his eyes or lift his head or seem to know that he was the object of interest to several hundred men and women. Every time the door was opened all eyes were turned in that direction, the evident thought in every mind being that the jury would take only a few minutes to agree on the verdict.

It was 4:30 when the crier rapped for order and the jury filed into the room. The clerk called their names, each juror responding present as his name was called. No time was wasted. The jurors did not sit down.

Judge White said: “Gentlemen, have you agreed upon a verdict?”

“We have,” responded foreman Wendt.

“What is your verdict?”

“That the verdict is guilty of murder in the first degree.”

There was a moment of silence and then a murmur arose from the lips of crowd. It ended there. There was no handclapping; no cheers. Justice White’s voice could be clearly heard in every part of the room when he thanked the jurors for their work and allowed them to go until 11 o’clock tomorrow morning. Court was at once adjourned. Czolgosz was immediately handcuffed to his guards and hurried from the court room down-stairs to the basement and through the tunnel under Delaware avenue to the jail.

-=-

Sentenced to Electrocution…President McKinley’s Murderer Must Pay the Penalty—Date Fixed for Week Beginning October 27
Buffalo, Special—Leon F. Czolgosz, the assassin of President McKinley, was Thursday afternoon sentenced to be electrocuted in the Auburn State prison during the week beginning October 28, 1901.

Before sentence was passed the assassin evinced desire to speak, but he could not get his voice above a whisper and his words were repeated to the court by his counsel. “There was no one else but me,” the prisoner said in a whisper. “No one else told me to do it and no one paid me to do it. I was not told anything about the crime and I never thought anything about that until a couple of days before I committed the crime.”

Czolgosz sat down. He was quite calm but it was evident that his mind was flooded with thoughts of his own distress. His eyes were dilated, making them heavy and bright, and his cheeks were a trifle pale. The guards put the handcuffs on his wrists. He looked at one of his officers. There was an expression of the profoundest fear and helplessness in his eyes. He glanced about at the people who crowded together in efforts to get a look at him. The prisoner’s eyelids rose and fell and then he fixed his gaze upon the floor in front of him.

At his point Judge Titus came over to the prisoner and bade him good-bye. Czolgosz replied very faintly, letting his eye rest upon the man who had been his counsel. “Good-bye,” he said weakly. Czolgosz was then hurried downstairs and through “the Tunnel of Sobs” to the jail, where he will remain until removed to Auburn to pay the penalty for his crime.

Although the time announced for the convening of court was 2 o’clock every seat and every foot of standing room was occupied before 1:30 and scores were clamoring outside for admission. The doors were locked and no more were admitted to the room. The prisoner was brought into the room at 5 minutes to 2. Five minutes later Justice White took his place upon the bench.

As soon as Justice White assumed the bench, Crier Hess said: “Pursuant to a recess, this trial term of the Supreme Court is now open for the transaction of business.”

District Attorney Penney said: “If your honor please, I move sentence in the case of People vs. Leon Czolgosz. Stand up, Czolgosz.”

Clerk Fisher swore the prisoner and his record was taken by the district attorney as follows: “Age 28 years; nativity, Detroit; residence, Broadway, Nowak, Buffalo; occupation, laborer; married or single, single; degrees of education, common school and parochial; religious instruction, Catholic; parents, father living, mother dead; temperate or intemperate, temperate; former conviction of crime, none.

Then Justice White passed sentence as follows: “In taking the life of our beloved President you committed a crime which shocked and outraged the moral sense of the civilized world. You have confessed that guilt, and after learning all that at this time can be learned from the facts and circumstances of the case, twelve good jurors have pronounced you guilty and have found you guilty of murder in the first degree.

“You have said, according to the testimony of creditable witnesses and yourself, that no other person aided or abetted you in the commission of this terrible act. God grant it may be so. The penalty for the crime for which you stand convicted is fixed by this statute and it now becomes my duty to pronounce this judgment against you: The sentence of this court is that in the week beginning October 28, 1901, at the place, in the manner and means prescribed by law, you suffer the punishment of death. Remove the prisoner.”

The crowd slowly filed out of the room and court adjourned at 2:26.

-=-

From the editorial page, W.J. Crowson, editor and proprietor
Under the New Adminstration

Mr. Roosevelt is winning golden opinions by the wise manner in which he has entered upon the duties of the Presidency of this great Republic.

Evidently he is a man of affairs, and if he does not meet the expectations of the Country it will not be for the lack of effort upon his part.

Mr. McKinley had become so much a part of the whole people that some how all sectional lines had faded and we trust that under the guidance of Mr. Roosevelt all lines which mark sectional differences and strife may be entirely obliterated.

President Roosevelt has pledged himself to conduct the affairs of the government in accordance with the plans marked out by Mr. McKinley, so that on that score we need fear no radical changes.

The democratic simplicity which he has carried into the White House we honestly believe to be his best security against personal danger.

The Fisherman & Farmer propose to stand by the new President to commend what is right and condemn what is wrong, in a spirit of fairness without regard to the mere matter of difference of political faith.

Theodore Roosevelt must be lost sight of in the President of these United States.

God bless the President.

-=-

Washington Letter…From Our Regular Correspondent

Washington, Oct. 1st, 1901—In all probability, the post office department at Washington will throw down the gauntlet to publications of an anarchistic character by excluding them from the mails. If the post master General can discover no clause in the regulations authorizing such action, he will, it is believed, proceed on general principles on the ground that those who advocate the destruction of the Government have no right to enjoy its privileges. Anarchists who disseminate their teachings in print will by this method be at least driven to making a test case and thus settle an important point. If it shall ultimately develop that there is no law under which the spread of such indefensible doctrine can be stopped, so far as the post office department is concerned, then it will be high time to enact one, respecting, of course, the rights of decent publications and framing the new statute in such fashion that it will work no hardship on the guiltless.

The Cubans are slowly preparing to try the experiment of self-government. In a comparatively short time, they will launch their own ship of State and, from the present outlook, Senor Tomas Estrada Palma will be the first skipper. Since affairs in the Island have been gravitating toward self control, there have been evidences of thoughtlessness, an apparent failure to appreciate the gravity of the step about to be taken. Fortunately for the American Government has made haste slowly in completing the emancipation of this youth among nations from the bonds of guardianship.

The people that Congress will deal with persons of the Emma Goldman and Herr Most stripe very soon after it convenes for the winter session. While the right of free speech is a sacred legacy from the forefathers, there is not the slightest doubt that the framers of the Constitution, were they living, would be among the first to denounce the vile and criminal harangues of the typical Anarchists. To the criminal the constitution guarantees only a fair trial, and, the penalty having been paid, an opportunity to reform.

At times there is a humorous side even to a great tragedy. Lord Kitchener, the commander in chief of the British forces in South Africa, has ordered that his so-called “Mobile commands” at once discard the furniture, kitchen ranges, pianos and harmoniums which they have carried from place to place, carefully protected from bullets, while they pursued the fighting burghers. This will be a hard blow to Tommy Atkins for he has had little enough to amuse him during his long warfare in Boer land.

In various cities small pox cases have developed recently, but the disease no longer produces the nervous furore it once did. Medical science, with its bacteriological researches and its antiseptic discoveries has made such remarkable strides during the past fifteen years that the public is no longer terrified by the grim spectre of contagion. Epidemics of very destructive diseases are becoming less and less probable, and within another decade, are likely to be all but impossible.

Wireless telegraphy has proven a great boon during the International yacht races. With the old system, when the boats were hidden by mists or swallowed up in the distance, the newspaper correspondents were practically helpless. The Marconi system is enabling thousands of eager individuals to secure early and accurate reports of the progress of the rival sloops and the result of their spirited completion.

It is interesting to note that Russia, Germany and France are considering measures for dealing with the Sultan of Turkey. But the notoriously Sick Man of Europe has so persistently eluded the punishment due him that it is feared he will once more escape justice on the plea of continued and serious indisposition.

Manila dispatches announce that Filipino leaders continue to surrender and take the oath of allegiance to the American Government. They likewise report that an army of 25,000 will be required in the Philippines for some time to come.

It is a peculiar coincidence that the final reinterment of Lincoln, the first martyred President at Springfield, Ill., is being completed at this time when the nation is mourning its third victim of the assassin’s bullet.

It is to be hoped that Sir Thomas Lipton’s Shamrock will continue to be II throughout the Inter-National yacht races. We have become greatly attached to the America’s cup.

-=-

Arp on President…Says McKinley Was a Good and a True Citizen…He Knows Roosevelt’s Uncle…Arp Went to School With Him, and Thinks It Sould Bring a Government Job
The public grief has assayed. The shock that made the nation tremble has passed away. Editors and preachers have had their say and the wheels of government roll on in their established way. Not for a day was there any interruption to commerce or agriculture. Party and partisans softened down and paid regard to the time-honored maxim, “De martimus nil nisibonum,” say nothing but good of the dead. Even the yellow journals stopped their cartoons and gave their readers a rest. But one extreme always follows another and so idolatry began as soon as the president was assassinated. He would have been sainted if sainting was revived. Now that he is dead he is everybody’s president. But time is a good leveler, and history is beginning to be made. Mr. McKinley was no demigod nor will he be written down as a great statesman. He was a Christian gentleman—a better man than his party—but was carried along with it into an unjust war that will not bear the scrutiny of time. He had to fall into line with the greed of commerce, and the consequence is there are thousands of widows and mothers silently mourning for husbands and sons killed in battle or died in hospitals in foreign land. There is no lamentation over them.

But as Governor Oates said, what are we going to do about it: nothing? Some preachers say it is the will of God and the way to spread the gospel. I don’t believe it; and I have not much regard for the preacher who does. It takes more faith than I have got to see the hand of God in any war for dominion or the acquisition of territory. For more than a hundred years Ireland has been held in vassalage against her will. So were the American colonies held until our fathers rebelled. Napoleon coveted the earth and our government coveted Cuba and found a casusbelli in a pretense of feeding her starving people, but never fed them. Then our commercial greed crossed the ocean to the Philippines and bought them for a song with ten millions of negroes thrown in. England coveted South Africa and has already spent millions of money and rivers of blood in an effort to subdue a free people and get possession of their gold mine! I don’t believe that any of this is God’s will. Greece and Rome and Carthage and Napoleon all came to grief. Offenses must needs come, but woe unto those by whom they come. I don’t believe that any war of aggression has the favor of God, but sooner or later the aggressor will rap what he has sown. John Brown was backed by Henry Ward  Beecher and other preachers who thought they saw the will of Good in an uprising of the slaves against their masters, no matter if it resulted in murder and arson and other outrages too horrible to mention. He was as much an anarchist as Czolgosz, and his infamous scheme a thousand times more horrible; but last year they removed his bones to Connecticut and reinterred them with honors and a monument. No, I am still the same old rebel—unreconstructed, unrepentant, and I am incredulous of any real or lasting harmony between the north and the south as long as the pension grab goes on and gets bigger every year and we have to pay a third of it for being conquered.  If peace and love and harmony prevails, why bleed us forever? Why take our hard earnings to support the children and grandchildren of Union soldiers, one-third of whom were Hessians and hirelings who were fighting for $10 a month and rations, with no thought of patriotism? From that imported class, no doubt, sprang these anarchists that breed discord and discontent among our people, Czolgosz was no foreigner. He was born in Detroit; went to school there, learned his trade there, and his elder brother was a soldier in the Union army and he is just as much an American citizen as 54 per cent of the population in New York city—native-born but of foreign parents. The seed of anarchy was sown long ago, and it is too late to drive it out by any legislation. The assassins of our presidents were all native born American citizens. Indeed, it is not surprising that among 75,000,000 of people there are to be found a few men of such abnormal mind as to glory in killing a president. As Roosevelt said, a president must take his chances. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” Why that wretch should wish to kill such a kind-hearted and unselfish man as Mr. McKinley passeth comprehension. If he was jealous of power or great wealth, why didn’t he pursue Morgan or Rockefeller or Carnegie? Oh, the pity of it! An unselfish, great-hearted Christian gentleman. No wonder the women are helping to build the Atlanta monument for Mr. McKInley was a model husband, true to his marriage vows and ever thoughtful of his loving wife. Even in apprehension of his fate he carried $100,000 of life insurance, and it was all for her—yes, all for her whom he loved better than fame or wealth or power.

And now comes President Roosevelt, the first President from Georgia stock. I like the start he has made and I believe he will be as much the president as was Andrew Jackson. If we had a United States bank he would close it and remove the deposits. Yes, I know the stock from away back. When I was a schoolboy I visited Roswell, where the Kings and Dunwoodys and Bullochs and Pratts and Hands all lived in elegant seclusion. Dan Elliott was one of my companions—a mischievous, black-eyed youth of 16; I went to school with him. He was half-brother to our president’s mother. Yes, I know the stock and maybe I can get some little office with good pay and little work—something like a sinecure or a sine qua non—something that would suit my declining years and let me down easy. I think I would like that, and the presieent ought to give it to me because I went to school with his half-uncle Dan or his uncle half Dan. That’s reason enough.

But my time is up, for my wife says she is going to take an evening nap and I must look after the two little granddaughters. Jessie’s children. There is a brand new little boy there now, and the little girls are staying with us till their little brother gets acquainted. Before long I will have to brush up my old baby songs again and sing that boy to sleep. They keep on working me as long as I last. When I die I reckon the women will build a monument to me and say on it:

“He was a faithful husband and father. He nursed the children and grandchildren as long as he lasted.”

                --Bill Arp in the Atlanta Constitution

Friday, September 26, 2014

President McKinley's Funeral and the New President, Theodore Roosevelt, 1901


From Fisherman & Farmer, Elizabeth City, N.C., September 26, 1901.All f the following articles detailing President McKinley's funeral and the new president, Theodore Roosevelt, were printed in this issue.
The President’s Last Obsequies…The Closing Scene in The Nation’s Sat Tragedy…Dust to Dust; Ashes to Ashes…The Mortal Remains of Our Late, Lamented President Laid in the Tomb…Deep and Universal Mourning…His Devoted Wife Unable to Attend the Public Funeral…Eloquent Tribute to the Dead Chieftain

Canton, Special—With majestic solemnity, surrounded by his countrymen and his townspeople, in the presence of the President of the United States, the cabinet, justices of the United States Supreme Court, Senators and Representatives in Congress, the head of the military and naval establishments, the Governors of States, and the great concourse of people who had known and loved him, all that is mortal of the third President to fall by an assassin’s bullet was committed to the grave on Thursday. It was a spectacle of mournful grandeur. Canton ceased to be a town and swelled to the proportions of a great city. From every city and hamlet in Ohio from the remote corners of the South and from the East and West, the human tide flowed into the town until 100,000 people were within its gates, here to pay their last tribute to the fallen chief.

The final scene at the First Methodist church, where the funeral service was held and the beautiful West Lawn Cemetery, where the body was consigned to a vault, were simple and impressive. The service at the church consisted of a brief oration, prayers by the ministers of three denominations and singing by a quartette. The body was then taken to West Lawn and placed in a receiving vault, pending the time when it will be finally laid to rest beside the dead children who were buried years ago. The funeral cortege was very impressive, and included not only the representatives of the army and navy of the United States, but the entire military strength of the State of Ohio and hundreds of civic, fraternal and other organizations. It was two miles long.

One of the most pathetic features of the day was the absence of Mrs. McKinley from the funeral services at the church and in the cemetery when the body of her husband was laid to rest. Since the first shock of the shooting, then of the death and through the ordeal of state ceremonies, she had borne up bravely. But there is a limit to human endurance and when the day came it found her too weak to pass through the trials of the final ceremonies. Through the open door of her room she mains(?) of the late President. From the body was borne out of the house. After that Dr. Rixley remained close by her side, and although the full force of the calamity had come upon her. It was believed by those about her that there was a providential mercy in her tears, as they gave some relief to the anguish of the heart within.

The streets of the little city of Canton were filled with plumes, prancing horses and densely packed bodies of moving men assembling here for the procession which was to escort the remains of the late President form the church to Westlawn Cemetery. Thirty special trains, in addition to the regular trains, had arrived before noon. The biggest crowd in the history of Canton, which was here during the campaign of 1896, estimated at over 60,000 was exceeded today. The awe-stricken crowds upon their arrival all moved as by a common impulse toward the old familiar McKinley cottage, where the remains were lying. Military guards stationed at the four corners of the lawn paced their beats, but there was no other sign of life about the house of death. The window shades were drawn. A long border of black, which had been put in place after the body was removed to the house last night, fringed the roof of the porch form which President McKinley had spoken to delegations from every State in the union and where he had met and talked with all the chieftains of his party. No badge of conventional mourning was on the door. Instead there was a simple wreath of palms bisected by a beautiful band of wide purple satin ribbon.

The face of the President was seen for the last time when it lay in state Wednesday in the court house. The casket was not opened after it was removed to the McKinley residence and the members of the family had no opportunity to look upon the silent features again. The casket was sealed before it was borne away from the court house. When Mrs. McKinley came into the death chamber for her last moments beside her dead husband she wished to have a final look at the upturned face. But this was impossible and the sealed casket with its flowers and flags were all that she saw.

The collection of flowers was probably the most beautiful ever seen in the United States. The conservatories of the country had been denuded to supply them. From the four quarters of the earth came directions to adorn the bier of McKinley with flowers whose fragrance might be symbolical of the sweetness and purity of the ended life. But these tributes from foreign countries were buried beneath the floral tribute of McKinley’s countrymen. There were tons and tons of them and a list of those who sent them would be almost a complete roster of those prominent in the official, commercial and social life of the United States.

As the time approached for bearing the body of the dead President from the McKinley home to the church, the little cottage on North Street was the centre of a vast concourse of people. Regiment after regiment of soldiers, acting as guards, were in triple lines from the curbs to the lawns. The walks had been cleared and the multitude took refuge in the great sweep of lawns where they formed a solid mass of humanity surging forward to the lines of soldiers. In front of the McKinley cottage were drawn up the two rigid files of body-bearers, eight sailors of the navy and eight solders to go within and take up the casket.

Just at 1 o’clock the black chargers of the Cleveland troop swept down the street, their riders four abreast, in their brilliant hussar uniform, with flags and banded by crepe and every sabre hilt bearing its fluttering emblem of mourning. Their coming was the signal for the approach of President Roosevelt and the members of the cabinet. The presidential party moved up the walk to the entrance of the house and formed in a group to the left. The President’s face looked very grave and he stood there silently with uncovered head awaiting the body of the dead chieftain. Beside him stood Secretary Gage, Secretary Root, Secretary Wilson and Secretary Hitchcock and just across Attorney General Knox, Postmaster General Smith, Assistant Secretary of State Hill, representing Secretary Hay, and Secretary Cortelyou. Extending further down the walk was the guard of honor, the ranking generals of the army on the right and the chief figures of the navy on the left. Lieutenant General Miles, in the full uniform of his high rank, with his sword at this side and the band of crepe about his arm, stood alongside the members of the cabinet and with him were Major General Brooke, Major General MacArthur, Major General Otis and Brigadier General Gillespie. Across from them ranged Rear Admiral Farquhar, representing Admiral Dewey, ranking head of the navy; Rear Admiral Crowninshield, Rear Admiral O’Neil, Real Admiral Kenney and Brigadier General Heywood, the latter commander-in-chief of the Marine Corps.

As the presidential party came up the black chargers of Troop A swung into battalion front facing the house and the long line of flashing sabres advanced to salute. Now the deep-toned wail of the church bells began and every steeple in Canton gave forth its dolorous plaint. It was 1:15 o’clock, and the time had come for taking up the body. A brief private service had been held within the darkened chamber while the relatives gathered around and Mrs. McKinley listened from the half-open door of her adjoining room. The double file of body-bearers now stepped into the room and raising the flag-wrapped casket to their shoulders, bore it through the open entrance. A solemn hush fell upon the multitude as the bearers advanced with measured tread. Not a bugle blast went up; not a strain of the hymns the dead ruler had loved so well. The scene was majestic in its silence. As the casket was borne along above the line of heads could been the enfolding Stars and Stripes and on top great masses of white roses and delicate lavender orchids. Tenderly the coffin was committed to the hearse and the silence was broken as the order to march passed from officer to officer.

It was about 1:45 o’clock when the procession passed the court house and turned into Tuscarawas street to the stately stone edifice where the funeral services were to be held. At the church entrance were drawn up deep files of soldiers with bayonets advanced keeping a clear area for the advancing casket and the long train of mourners. The hearse halted while President Roosevelt and members of the cabinet alighted. Again they grouped themselves at either side of the entrance and with uncovered heads awaited the passage of the casket. Then the coffin was brought from the hearse and taken into the draped entrance, the cabinet following the President. The mourners, too, passed in, but the stricken widow was not among them. She had remained behind in the old home, alone with her grief.

The scene within the church when the casket was carried in on the brawny shoulders of the soldiers and sailors was profoundly impressive. A black border 20 feet high relieved at intervals by narrow white bands falling to the floor, swept completely around the interior. Only the gilt organ pipe back of the pulpit rose above it. The vestibules on either side of the chancel leading into the church were black tunnels, the stained glass windows on either side were framed in black and the balcony of the Sunday school room to the rear, thrown open into the church by large sliding doors, was shrouded in the same somber colors. Graceful black streamers festooned along the arches of the nave formed a black canopy above the chancel. From this, directly above the low flag-covered catafalque on which the casket was to rest, hung a beautiful silk banner with a band of crepe about it.

Dr. John A. Hall, pastor of the Trinity Lutheran church, then read from the Bible the beautiful Nineteenth Psalm and Rev. E.P. Herbruck verses 41-58 of the 25th chapter of First Corinthians. With great feeling he read the inspiring words, telling of the mystery that all would not sleep but all would be changed. The quartette then sang Cardinal Newman’s grand hymn, the beautiful words floating through all the church. Dr. C.E. Manchester then delivered an address which lasted 24 minutes, on the life of the late President and the lessons taught by his noble character and death. Dr. Manchester said in part:

“My friends and Countrymen: With what language shall I attempt to give expressions to the deep horror of our souls as I speak of the cause of this death? When we consider the magnitude of the crime that has plunged the country and the world into unutterable grief, we are not surprised that one nationality after another has hastened to repudiate the dreadful act. This gentle spirit who hated no one, to whom every man was a brother, was suddenly smitten by the cruel hands of an assassin, and that too, while in the very act of extending a kind and generous greeting to one who approached him under the sacred guise of friendship.

“Could the assailant have realized how awful the act he was about to perform, how utterly heartless the deed, methinks he would have stayed his hand at the very threshold of it. In all the coming years men will seek in vain to fathom the enormity of that crime. Had this man who fell been a despot, a tyrant, an oppressor, an insane frenzy to rid the world of him might have sought excuse, but it was the people’s friend who fell when William McKinley received the fatal wound. Himself, a son of toil, his sympathies were with the toilers. No one who has seen the matchless grace and perfect ease with which he greeted such can ever doubt that his heart was in his open hand. Every heart throb was for his countrymen. That his life should be sacrificed at such a time, just when there was abundant peace, when all the Americans were rejoicing together, is one of the inscrutable mysteries of providence. Like many others it must be left for future revelations to explain.

“In the midst of our sorrow we have much to console us. He lived to see his nation greater than ever before. All sectional lines are blotted out. There is no South, no North, no East, no West. Washington saw the beginning of our national life. Lincoln passed through the night of our history and saw the dawn. McKinley beheld his country in the splendor of its noon. Truly he died in the fullness of his fame. With St. Paul he could say and with equal truthfulness, ‘I am now ready to be offered.’

“The work assigned him had been well done. The nation was at peace. It had fairly entered upon an era of unparalleled prosperity. Our revenues were generous. Our standing among the nations was secure. Our President was enshrined in the affections of a united people. It was not at him that the fatal shot was fired, but at the very life of the government. His offering was vicarious. It was blood poured upon the altar of human liberty.”

“Nearer My God, To Thee” The Last Hymn
Bishop I.W. Joyce of Minneapolis followed with a brief prayer, and the services were concluded with the singing of the hymn which President McKinley repeated on his death bed, “Nearer My God, to Thee.” The entire congregation arose and joined in the last stanza. Father Valtman of Chicago, chaplain of the 29th Infantry, pronounced the benediction. Then the notes of the organ again rose. The coffin was taken up and borne from the church. The relatives and those in official life went out in the order they had entered.

It was after 3 o’clock when the silent and anxious throngs outside the church saw the solemn pageant re-appear through the church doors. Out Tuscarawas street the long procession moved through a section of the city where the sound of the dirge had not been heard before. But it presented the same sorrow-stricken aspect that had been observed in the heart of the city. Funeral arches spanned the street, some of them, it is understood, having been erected by school children. The houses were hung in black and even the stately elms along the way had their trunks enshrouded in black and white drapery.

The line of the funeral march from the church to the cemetery was about 1 ½ miles in length. For hours even before the time set for the commencement of the funeral exercises at the McKinley home, the street along the entire length of the line of march was crowded with spectators. From the gates of the cemetery to the doors of the church there was on each side of the street an almost unbroken line of soldiers, ad at the intersecting streets, detachments of the military were posted about 100 feet from the line of march. It was exactly 4 minutes after 4 o’clock when the funeral car bore the remains of the dead President through the gateway of this last resting place. Twenty minutes after that time the brief services at the vault were over, the members of the family and the distinguished men of the nation who had come so far to do him honor had passed through the gates on their homeward way.

One hour and 40 minutes after the hearse had entered the cemetery the place was clear and the dead President was resting alone under the watchful care of men of the regular army. A sentry’s measured tread resounded another kept vigil on the grassy slope above and at the head and the foot of the casket stood armed men. Before the door which was not closed tonight was pitched the tent of the guard, and there it will remain until the doors are closed to-morrow. Sentries will then guard the vault every hour of the day and night until the body has been borne to its final resting place.

Bishop Joyce of Minneapolis read the burial service of the Methodist church slowly, but in a voice that could be plainly heard by all who were grouped around the vault. As his words ended, there was a brief pause, for it had been understood that a quartette of the Knights Templar was to be present to render a hymn. Through a misunderstanding, however, it had not arrived, and after satisfying himself of this fact, Colonel Bingham waved his hand to the Canton band, which had taken station on the side of the mound above and to the south of the vault. Instantly from the sign of bugles rang out the notes of the soldier’s last call, “taps.” It was beautifully done and the last notes of the bugles died away so softly that all who heard it remained listening for a few seconds to hear if it was really ended. When the last note had floated away, Secretary Wilson was in tears, Secretary Hitchcock was almost weeping and the President was gazing grimly at the walk. It was the last moment for the men who had been so closely associated with the President for so long and the thought seemed greater than most of them could bear. It was all ended at last and Captain Biddle of Company G, of the 14th Infantry, who will command the guard which is to be placed around the vault, stationed sentries at the head and foot of the casket and in front of the vault.

The President, the members of the cabinet and the officers of the army and navy then entered their carriages and, followed by the members of the family, passed out of the cemetery and returned to the city. The delay caused by the services at the vault being over, the procession resumed its march. Every man in the line save those in uniform who rendered appropriate honor in other ways, went past the casket with uncovered head. As the head of the division containing the Knights Templar wheeled into the cemetery, the quartette that had been delayed in reaching the place for the previous ceremonies took up a positon to the south of the vault and sang “Farewell, my Brother.” This hymn was followed by others, including “Rock of Ages”, “The Christian’s Good Night,” and “The Wayside Cross.” The selections were beautifully rendered, and no part of the funeral ceremonies in Canton was more impressive. The darkness was gathering fast as the Knights sang on and many in the multitude around the casket were moved to tears, and the sound of sob s was distinctly audible in the crowd that lined the fence beyond the line of national guardsmen.

The last of the procession passed the bier at 5:45 and then orders were given by Captain Biddle that the cemetery should be cleared. The order was quickly carried out and the President was left in the care of his guard of honor.

President Roosevelt and Cabinet at the Vault
From the first carriage that stopped at the foot of the walk leading up to the vault, President Roosevelt and Commander Cowles of the Navy alighted. The President walked slowly toward the vault and took a position on the south side of the walk close to the door. As Secretary Root came up the walk, he assumed a similar position on the north side of the walk and the other members of the cabinet arranged themselves by the side of the President and Secretary of War. With bared heads, the President and cabinet and others stood at the side of the walk, the lines reaching just to the edge of the roadway. Within a minute after the formation of the lines, the funeral car came up the walk. The coffin was gently lifted from the hearse and borne to the door of the vault, where it rested upon the catafalque.

 

Cleveland on McKinley…The Only Living Ex-President’s Feeling Tribute

Princeton, N.J., Special—All formal exercises at Princeton University were suspended, and at 11 o’clock memorial exercises were held in Alexander Hall. President Patton introduced Mr. Cleveland, who was visibly affected and with tears in his eyes eulogized the dead President. Mr. Cleveland said in part:

“Today the grave closes over the man that had been chosen by the people of the United States to represent their sovereignty, to protect and defend their constitution, to faithfully execute the laws made for their welfare and to safely uphold the integrity of the republic. He passes from the public sight not bearing the wreaths and garlands of his countrymen’s approving acclaim, but amid the sobs and tears of a mourning nation. The whole nation loved their President. His kindly disposition and affectionate traits, his amiable consideration for all around him will long be in the hearts of his countrymen. He loved them in return with such patriotic unselfishness that in this hour of their grief and humiliation he would say to them, ‘It is God’s will, I am content. If there is a lesson in my life or death, let it be taught to those who still live and have the destiny of their country in their keeping.’

“First in my thoughts are the lessons to be learned from the career of William McKinley by the young men who make up the students today of our University. They are not obscure nor difficult. The man who is universally mourned today was not deficient in education, but with all you will hear of his grand career and his services to his country, you will not hear that that which he accomplished was due entirely to education. He was an obedient and affectionate son, patriotic and faithful as a soldier, honest and pright as a citizen, tender and devoted as a husband, and truthful, generous, unselfish, moral and clean in every relation of life. He never thought any of those things too weak for his manliness. Make no mistake. Here was a most distinguished man, a great man, a useful man—who became distinguished, great and useful because he had, and retained unimpaired, qualities of heart which I fear university students sometimes feel like keeping in the background or abandoning.

“There is a most serious lesson for all of us in the tragedy of our late President’s death. If we are to escape further attacks upon our peace and security, we must boldly and resolutely grapple with the monster of anarchy.  It is not a thing that we can safely leave to be dealt with by party or partisanship. Nothing can guarantee us against its menace except the teaching and the practice of the best citizenship, the exposure of the ends and aims of the gospel of discontent and hatred of social order, and the brave enactment and execution of repressive laws.

“The universities and colleges cannot refuse to join in the battle against the tendencies of anarchy. Their help in discovering and warring against the relationship between the vicious counsels and deeds of blood and their steadying influence upon the elements of unrest, cannot fail to be of inestimable value.

“By the memory of our martyred President let us resolve to cultivate and preserve the qualities that made him great and useful, and let us determine to meet the call of patriotic duty in every time of our country’s danger or need.”

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A Patriotic Talk…Roosevelt Declares Himself to be Half Southern…And He Has Lived in the West…”So That I Feel That I Can Represent the Whole Country”…He Talks to Congressmen
Washington, D.C., Special—President Roosevelt walked early to the White House Saturday from the residence of his brother-in-law, Commander Cowles of the navy, arriving shortly before 9:30 o’clock. Secretary Hay, Secretary Long and Secretary Gage came almost upon his heels and saw the president for a few minutes in the cabinet room. The doors of the White House were closed to the public but admission, of course, was accorded to those who wished to see the president personally and within an hour a score of men, prominent in public life, had called to pay their respects and to extend their good wishes for a successful administration. Among them were Senator Scott and Senator Elkins of West Virginia, Senator Pritchard of North Carolina, Millard of Nebraska, Burton of Kansas, and Representatives Heatwold, McCleary and Stephens of Minnesota, Gibson of Tennessee, Livingston of Georgia, and Dayton of West Virginia.

Representative Livingston of Georgia was especially pleased with his reception. The Georgia representative had congratulated the president, had expressed the hope that his administration would be a success, and had informed him as a southern man and as a Georgian he would contribute everything in his power to that end. The president replied that it would be his aim to be the president of the whole people without regard to geographical lines or class distinctions and that it was the welfare of all that he should seek to promote.

The president was even more emphatic in his declaration to Senator Pritchard of North Carolina and Representative Klutz of North Carolina, and Representative Gibson of Tennessee.

“The South will support you most heartily,” said Senator Pritchard, speaking for all three of the southern men. “The Democratic newspapers are predicting good for you and of you, and the feeling of all the people for you irrespective of party is most kindly.”

“I am going to be president of the United States and not any section,” replied the president. “I don’t care for sections or sectional lines. When I was governor of New York, I was told I could make four appointments in the army. When I sent in the names, three were from the south and the other from New York. They were brave men who deserved recognition for services in the Spanish war and it did not matter what States they were from.”

The president talked in the same vein with Senator Money of Mississippi, reminding the Mississippi senator that his mother was a southern woman. “I am half southern,” he said, “and I have lived in the west so that I feel that I can represent the whole country.”

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Czolgosz Convicted…Grand Jury Finds Him Guilty of Murder in the First Degree
At the grand jury investigation Leon Czolgosz was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and the final trial set to begin next Monday.

Loran J. Lewis and Robert C. Titus have accepted the assignment of Judge Emery in the County Court, to act as counsel for Czolgosz upon his trial for murder in the first degree in the killing of President McKinley. Judge Titus will return from Milwaukee on Friday and will then consult with Judge Lewis and determine the line of defense to be pursued. Czolgosz is now confined in the Erie county jail. He is kept in close confinement in the tier of iron cells set apart for murderers and is under guard day and night. He is not allowed to read or smoke and the guards are not allowed to converse with him. No one aside from the attorneys will be allowed to see him.

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Anarchists On Guard With Guns
Spring Valley, Ill., Special—Twenty anarchists, armed with double-barrelled shot-guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition are standing guard over the office of L’Aurorore, the notorious anarchist publication which expressed joy at the murder of President McKinley and satisfaction over the announcement of Assassin Czolgosz that he was an anarchist. Meanwhile fully 2,000 citizens of adjoining towns have sent word that they are ready and extremely anxious to start at a moment’s notice for this city and assist in exterminating the reds. The temper of the people here is at the boiling point and the defiant attitude of the anarchist colony is serving to increase their anger.

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No Poison on Bullet
Buffalo, Special—The most important development in the Czolgosz case Sunday was the announcement that no poison had been found on the bullets or the revolver with which the anarchist assassinated President McKinley. Bacteriological and chemical examinations were made and both revealed the fact that no poison was used by the murderer.

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Stop Running Cars in Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Special—At 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon street car and railroad traffic ceased for 15 minutes. Factories and business houses generally were closed. Many worshiped at the churches in honor of the dead President. At the same hour, six years ago, escorted by the city troop of Cleveland, Governor McKinley of Ohio rode at the head of the Ohio militia, which took part in the dedication of the Chickamunga National Military Park.

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Minute Guns Fired in Charleston
Charleston, S.C., Special—From the fortresses on Sullivan’s Island, from ships in the harbor and batteries parked in the public squares of the city, guns were fired throughout the day in memory of the dead President. Memorial services were held in St. Michael’s and St. John’s churches and the South Carolina  Inter-State and West Indian Exposition grounds. Business throughout the city was suspended and public buildings and business houses were draped in black. All of the public services were attended by large crowds.

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Washington Letter…From Our Regular Correspondent
Washington, D.C., Sept. 23rd, 1901—The announcement that President Roosevelt will retain his present Cabinet intact has somewhat surprised the country, but his present actin is thought by many the wisest thing he could have done. One thing is certain, however, there was no real basis for the rumor a few days ago, about sweeping changes in the Cabinet. Roosevelt himself was not talking, nor was anybody very near him doing so. Senators Platt and Hanna were not likely to spread reports of Cabinet changes, for they did not want anything of that kind to happen, and showed an eagerness almost pathetic in letting the public know that it was not going to happen. There was, however, some reason to suppose that there would be resignations and new appointments of one sort or another, for various reasons of party policies. President Roosevelt is a little like Cleveland in some ways. He will not be dictated to; he will not be driven. It was therefore believed that he would surround himself with men who were in sympathy with him, and on whom he could rely to carry out his ideas. But it appears that his ideas are in main those of President McKinley, and that he thinks the present Cabinet can carry them out. If it cannot, then it will be time enough to see about changing.

There was a report that Roosevelt and Hay were at opposite ends of the Isthmian Canal question; but that is incorrect. When the Hay Paunceforte treaty was expedited it is true, Roosevelt disapproved of it rather decidedly, but since that time he has come around to modified views, and the Secretary of State has been under the necessity to modify the treaty since it was rejected by the Senate; so that it is thought Roosevelt may sign.

A matter in which Mr. Roosevelt is thoroughly in accord with the policy of the late President is in the effort to wipe out sectional lines. He told two or three prominent Southern Congressmen the other day that he intended to be President of the whole country and not of any particular section of it. Among other things he said that during the Spanish-American war he had the chance to recommend four men for promotion, and three of the men he chose were Southerners. A little more of this sort of talk will increase the balminess of atmosphere which makes old stagers in politics declare that there has been a return of the “era of good feeling.”

Representative Kluttz, the wit of the Tar Heel section of the House, was in Washington this week, and says that he has a promise form secretary Wilson to visit North Carolina late in September if possible and look into the Appalachian Park scheme a little further. The Secretary, with Mr. Kluttz, Professor McGee and some other Washington scientists, went on a trip to the top of Mount Mitchell this summer, and those interested in the proposed park are anxious that Mr. Wilson should visit Blowing Rock, the Grandfather, and other picturesque peaks of the Appalachian range. It is hoped that an appropriation for the part will be secured form Congress this winter. The region along the French Broad River is one of the most picturesque and least known mountain regions in America, and if the plan goes through, the whole country, as well as the North Carolinians in Congress will undoubtedly have reason to be glad.

One of the appointments which may be made in the near future is that Dr. Rixley, the President’s physician, to the post of surgeon-general of the Navy Department, a position now held by Dr. van Reypen. Mr. McKinley had planned to make this appointment and his successor will carry out his wishes in this and many other matters.

There is one official, however, who is not like to share in this advantage, and that is General Corbin. He was a personal friend of Mr. McKinley, and of Hayes and Garfield before him, and he had some reason to suppose he would eventually become Lieutenant-General of the army. General Miles is booked to retire in two years, and it is thought that Corbin confidently expected to succeed him. This is not likely to happen in the present course of events. Corbin and Roosevelt have not been on the best of terms, and there is really no reason for Corbin’s advancement which would not apply to several other men with whom the President is more intimate.

It is not impossible, of course, that changes in the Cabinet may yet be made, for reasons of ill health in the case of Secretary Hay. It is thought that if Mr. Hay should resign, Secretary Root would take his place and the War portfolio would be given either to General Frances V. Greene or to Judge Taft, the Chairman of the Philippine Commission.

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The New President…Life and Character of Hon. Theodore Roosevelt…His Mother Was a Georgian…She Was Martha Bulloch, a Granddaughter of a Captain in the Revolution

From the Atlanta Journal
Theodore Roosevelt is closely bound to Georgia by ties of blood. His mother, Martha Bullock, was the granddaughter of James Bullock, who was a doughty soldier of the Revolution, serving as a captain of Georgia and Virginia troops.

The father of James Bulloch was Archibald Bulloch, the first Revolutionary Governor of Georgia, and his father was named James Bulloch, also a Scotchman, who settled in Georgia in 1715, and was a member of the Georgia provincial congress. He was closely related to the heroic Douglasses of Scotland. Thus Theodore Roosevelt come of illustrious stock, Scotch as well as Dutch. He has Huguenot blood, too, by reason of the fact that the wife of Archibald was Mary De Vaux, grand-daughter of a distinguished Huguenot, who fled from France after the edict of Nantes was revoked.

It will be seen that the lineage of Theodore Roosevelt is very rich in historical associations. His mother was a woman of rare beauty and graces of intellect. One of her brothers was the gallant Captain Bullock, who resigned from the United States navy to cast his fortunes with the Confederacy. It was he who secured that historic cruiser, the Alabama, for the confederate government and succeeded in getting her to sea in spite of all the efforts of the United States minister, consuls and agents in England. Captain Bulloch never returned to this country and died only a few months ago in London, respected and honored by all who knew him.

The old Bulloch mansion in Roswell, where Theodore Roosevelt’s father wooed, won and married his mother, is still in fine preservation and is now the property of Mr. James D. Wing, who is connected with the White Hickory Wagon Works at East Point, six miles from Atlanta.

Theodore Roosevelt has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Alice Lee of Boston, who died two years after her marriage, leaving a daughter.

In 1886 he married again, to Miss Edith Kennit Carew of New York. They have six children, four sons and two daughters. Never has the White House held so many children among its occupants as it will have during the Roosevelt administration.

Few men have won fame in so many different directions as Theodore Roosevelt. He is a scholar, author, soldier and statesman.

At Harvard he was distinguished for his excellence both in studies and athletics. There he acquired a great part of the intellectual equipment that has been so useful to him and strengthened his originally robust constitution to a degree that gave him remarkable physical power and endurance.

Remarkable stories are related of his experiences among the rough element in the wild West when he was a ranchman and the manner in which he inspired respect where “tenderfeet” are held in contempt until they prove their manhood.

Theodore Roosevelt has been a prolific author of biographical, historical and political works.

Among his more notable contributions to literature may be mentioned “Hunting Trips of a Ranchman,” “Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail,” “The Wilderness Hunter.” These were all written in the first three or four years after the close of his college life. Later he wrote “The Naval War of 1812,” “the Life of Thomas H. Benton,” “The Life of Governor Morris,” a “History of the State of New York,” “Essays on Practical Politics,” and “American Political Ideals.” He collaborated with Capt. A.T. Mahan on the “Imperial History of the British Navy” and with Henry Cabot Lodge on “Hero Tales from American History.”

In 1899 he published his last book, “The Rough Riders,” which gives a thrilling history of the war with Spain, and especially the part which is famous command took in it.

Roosevelt has made many notable public addresses and has appeared frequently upon the lecture platform. He is a very forceful speaker, plain and pointed of speech, and affecting none of the tricks or fancy flights of the professional orator. He is a man of action rather than words. He cares little for society in the technical sense of that word, but has strong social instincts which he loves to indulge among his special friends. These he numbers in various walks of life, from the millionaire to the humble day laborer, from the learned professor to the plain farmer.

A man of more democratic nature and manners than Theodore Roosevelt is rarely seen.

In college he took an active part in debates and soon after his graduation became prominent in his party conventions and among its campaign speakers.

With Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts, and a number of other rising young Republicans, he was conspicuous for his opposition of the presidential nomination of Blaine in 1884. George F. Edmunds, then a Senator form Vermont, was the candidate of this coterie, but he received a very small vote in the convention.

As Governor of New York Roosevelt displayed marked executive ability and firmness and his admirers regarded him as a future President of the United States.

His nomination for the vice presidency was aided by few of the party bosses and was, in fact, accomplished over the desire and opposition of most of them by one of the most enthusiastic and almost spontaneous uprisings ever witnessed in a national convention.

Theodore Roosevelt is one of the youngest men who has ever achieved the vice presidency and certainly few of our Vice Presidents have had so swift a rise or so romantic a career. He was born in New York city October 27, 1858, and is, therefore, under 43 years of age.

The original Roosevelts of New York have been famous from the time the Dutch founded their settlement at the mouth of the Hudson to the present day.

Through successive generations they have bene sturdy, valiant and forceful men, who have contributed their full part to their country’s history.

Their individuality has asserted itself in many ways and there has never been a time since political parties were formed in this country when each of these leading forces did not number Roosevelts among its devoted adherents and valiant captains.

The Roosevelts have distinguished themselves in war as well as in politics. Courage is part of their nature. To this stolidity and stubbornness of their Dutch nature has been added the enthusiasm and fire which has ever distinguished the men of this republic. No family in the United States has sustained itself more steadily. Since the first Roosevelt landed here there has not been a generation in which one or more of them was not a commanding figure.

The fine strain of Dutch blood which predominates in Theodore Roosevelt has been enriched by a dash of the best Scotch-Irish ancestry to be found. The original Roosevelt in American in 1649. He Was Klaas Roosevelt, a man who had proved his quality before he crossed the sea and who showed himself equal to large duties after he was domiciled in New York.

The descendants of this bold and resourceful Dutchman held many places of trust and honor in their adopted State and became connected with several of the other leading families of New York.

The father of Theodore Roosevelt was a strong man in every sense; and he won for his wife a brilliant and accomplished woman, Martha Bulloch, daughter of James and Martha (Oswald) Bulloch of Roswell, Ga.

It is said that the Vice President is as much a Bulloch as a Roosevelt. In him as in many men of marked ability and high ambition the traits of his mother are clearly displayed.

The Bullochs made history in the year of the Revolution, the struggle with England in 1812-15 and on both sides of the Civil War.

Admiral Bulloch of the confederate navy, who succeeded in sending out the cruiser Alabama on its wonderful and historic cruise, was a brother of our Vice President’s mother.

Theodore Roosevelt was born not rich but in comfortable circumstances, with a proud and honorable family name back of him.

He was largely self-educated, but after the high school training he received in New York, he went to Harvard, where he distinguished himself as much by strenuous and daring manhood as by his excellence in studies and society debates.

Like Macauley, he was looked upon as a prospective leader in politics long before he entered public life, and he has more than justified the highest of these expectations.

He was graduated from Harvard in 1880 and after spending a year in travel and stud came to his home to find himself in demand for active party service and leadership.

From his youth he has been a leader. Nature made him one and he has developed and exhibited powers of command which are rarely equaled.

He was elected to the New York Legislature in 1882 and served there conspicuously for five years.

He then resigned it to become champion of many reform measures, and is the real author of New York’s present civil service law.

He was defeated for the mayoralty of New York in 1886 as the candidate of the reform party.

In 1889 President Harrison appointed him a member of the United States civil service commission, an office which he held as president of the board until May, 1893.

He was the author, advocate, promoter and president of the New York city board of police commissioners in 1895.

In 1898 he was elected Governor of New York.

When the war with Spain broke out he organized his famous Rough Riders.

Before the expiration of his term as Governor, he was nominated for Vice President.

Roosevelt’s Tribute to Lee
In his “Life of Thomas H. Benton,” Theodore Roosevelt says of General Lee and his soldiers:

“The decline of the military spirit in the Northeast during the first half of this century was much to be regretted.

“To it is due more than to any other cause the undoubted average individual inferiority of the Northern compared to the Southern troops; at any rate, at the beginning of the war of the rebellion. The Southerners by their whole mode of living, their habits, and their love of outdoor sports, kept up their war-like spirit; while in the North the so-called upper classes developed along the lines of a wealthy and timid bourgeois type, measuring everything by a mercantile standard (a peculiarly debasing one by itself), and submitting to be ruled in local affairs by low foreign mobs, and in national matters by their arrogant Southern kinsmen. The militant spirit of these last certainly stood them in good stead in the Civil War. The world has never seen better soldiers than those who followed Lee; and their leader will undoubtedly rank as without an exception the very greatest of all the great captains that the English-speaking peoples have brought forth—and this, although the last and chief of antagonists, may himself claim to stand as the full equal of Marlborough and Wellington.”