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.
-=-
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.
-=-
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.
-=-
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.
-=-
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.
-=-
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.
-=-
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.”
