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Thursday, September 25, 2014

'President McKinley Is Dead' The News Reaches North Carolina Readers, Sept. 19, 1901

“President McKinley Dead,” from Fisherman and Farmer, Elizabeth City, Thursday, Sept. 19, 1901

 A Nation in Deep Sorrow…Goes to His Reward Chanting “Nearer, My God to Thee”…Brave Battle for Life Ended on Saturday…In the Early Morning—With His Devoted Wife at His Side, William McKinley said Good-Bye, and the Great, Benevolent Heart Was Still…His Life and Character

A Review of the Assassination
William McKinley, President of the United States, was shot by Leon Czolgosz on Friday, September 6, at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York. The President showed remarkable vitality and his condition seemed to improve rapidly, so that the country had high hopes of his recovery, until Thursday night of last week, when his symptoms became alarming. He grew steadily weaker until 2:15 a.m. Saturday, when he died peacefully, and without a struggle.

The President’s Death
President McKinley died at 2:15 o’clock Saturday morning. He had been unconscious since 7:20 p.m. His last conscious hour on earth was spent with the wife to whom he devoted a life time of care. He died unattended by a minister of the Gospel, but his last words were a humble submission to the will of the god in whom he believed. He was reconciled to the cruel fate to which an assassin’s bullet had condemned him and faced death in the same spirit of calmness and poise which had marked his long and honorable career. His last conscious words reduced to writing by Dr. Mann, who stood at his bedside when they were uttered, were as follows: “Good-bye, all; good-bye! It’s God’s way. His will be done.”

His relatives and members of the official family were at the Milburn house. Except Secretary Wilson, who did not avail himself of the opportunity, and some of his personal and political friends, took leave of him. This painful ceremony was simple. His friends came to the door of the sick room, looked at him and turned tearfully away. He was practically unconscious during this time. But the powerful heart stimulants, including oxygen, were employed to restore him to consciousness for his final parting with his wife. He asked for her and she sat at his side and held his hand. He consoled her and bade her good-bye. She went through the heart-trying scene with the same bravery and fortitude with which she had borne the grief of the tragedy which has ended his life.

The immediate cause of the President’s death is undetermined. His physicians disagreed and it will possibly require an autopsy to fix the exact cause. The President’s remains will be taken to Washington and there have a state funeral. Vice President Roosevelt, who now succeeds him, may take the oath of office whenever he happens to hear the news. The cabinet will, of course, resign in a body and President Roosevelt will have an opportunity of forming a new cabinet, if he so desires.

The rage of the people of Buffalo against the assassin when they learned tonight that he was dying was boundless. Thousands surrounded the jail and the entire police of the city and two regiments of militia were utilized to insure his protection.

“Nearer My God to Thee”
After they left the sick room the physicians rallied him to consciousness and the President asked almost immediately that his wife be brought to him. The doctors fell back into the shadows of the room as Mrs. McKinley came through the doorway. The strong face of the dying man lighted up with a faint smile as their hands were clasped. She sat beside him and held his hands. Despite her physical weakness, she bore up bravely under the ordeal. The president in his last period of consciousness, which ended about 7:40 p.m., chanted the words of the hymn, “Nearer My God to Thee,” and his last audible conscious words as taken down by Dr. Mann at the bedside were “Good-bye all, good-bye! Is god’s way. His will be done.”

The News in Washington
Washington, D.C.—The news of the unexpected death of President McKinley came as a crushing blow to the nation’s capital. Nowhere, perhaps, had the citizens been so full of confidence in the ultimate recovery of their beloved President and the buoyant bulletins of the past week from the past week from the sick bed had lulled them into a false sense of security, which made the shock terrible when the news that the Buffalo tragedy would have a fatal ending came to them. All day long the bulletin boards were surrounded by the crowds waiting in suppressed excitement for the latest word from the Milburn house, and numerous newspaper extras were eagerly snapped up. The three cabinet officers in the capital were pictures of distress. Postmaster Smith returned to Buffalo on the 7:15 train at night. Secretary Hay divided his time between the State department and his home, waiting for the end in patient resignation, prepared for his sorrowful duty of conveying to the nations of the world in official form the news of the demise of the President. As the senior member in rank of the cabinet, upon Mr. Hay’s shoulders also will rest the burden of government of the greatest republic in the short, but important, interval that must elapse before the Vice President, under the terms of the constitution, assumes the cares and responsibilities of the great presidential office.

At his home at Woodley, Secretary Gage awaited the close of his chief’s life. During the say he had been at the Treasury Department and kept in touch with financial affairs, in order that the President’s end might not cause any commercial disturbance that foresight on the part of his Department could avert. General Gillespie, Acting Secretary of War, stuck at his post in the War Department for the purpose of making such army orders as the sad event would force him to issue. He got into communication with General Miles at Seattle, and the latter notified the Department that he would return immediately.

The fact that the physicians had given up all hopes caused some discussion among the public men in the city of the probability of an extra session of Congress and of early changes in the cabinet, but the consensus of opinion was that no cabinet changes or important departures in public policy were at all likely for some time to come, and that Congress would not be assembled until its regular session in December.

Death Caused By Gangrene
Milburn House, Buffalo, N.Y.—The following report of the autopsy upon the remains of President McKinley was issued at 5 o’clock.

The bullet which struck over the breastbone did not pass through the skin and did little harm. The other bullet passed through both walls of the stomach near its lower border. Both holes were found to be perfectly closed by the stitches, but the tissue around each hole had become gangreneous, the gangrene involving the pancreas. The bullet has not been found. There was no sign of peritonitis or diseases of other organs. The heart walls were very thin. There was no evidence of any attempt to repair on the part of nature and death resulted from the gangrene which affected the stomach around the bullet wounds as well as the tissues around the further course of the bullet. Death was unavoidable by any surgical or medical treatment and was the direct result of the bullet wound.

Harvey D. Gaylord, M.D., Herman G. Matzinger, M.D., P.M. Rixey, M.D., Matthew D. Mann, M.D., Herman Mynter, M.D., Roswell Park, M.D., Eugene Wasdin, M.D., Chas. G. Stockton, M.D., W.D. Johnson, M.M., W.P. Kendall, Surgeon, U.S. Army, Charles L. Munson, Asst. Surgeon, U.S. Army, and Hermanuel Baer, M.D.

City of Mourning
Buffalo—Buffalo Sunday became a city of mourning. The gay and flaming decorations of the Pan American Exposition gave way to the symbol of sorrow. The black drapery of the city’s streets muffled the tolling bells of the churches. Bits of crepe appeared on every sleeve. The sorrow was everywhere apparent. In the morning a simple service took place at the residence on Delaware avenue, where the martyred President died. A hymn was sung and a prayer was offered over the dead body. That was all. Only the immediate family and friends and political assistants of the late President were present. The scene there was pathetic in the extreme. Then the body was borne out to the waiting cortege on the brawny shoulders of eight sailors and soldiers of the republic. The cortege passed through solid walls of living humanity, bear-headed and grief-stricken, to the city hall, where the body lay in state in the afternoon. There a remarkable demonstration occurred which proved how close the President was to the hearts of the people. Arrangements had been made to allow the public to view the body from the time it arrived, at about 10:30 o’clock, until about 5 o’clock, but the people were wedged into the streets for blocks. Two lines were formed. They extended literally for miles. When 5 o’clock came 40,000 people had already passed and the crowds waiting below in the streets seemed undiminished. It was decided to extend the time until midnight. Then for hours longer the streets were dense with people and a constant stream flowed up the steps of the broad entrance into the hall and p assed the bier. When the doors were closed at midnight it was estimated that 80,000 people had viewed the remains, but thousands of disappointed ones were still in the streets. The body lay in the city hall until morning. It was taken to the station by a military escort Monday morning and at 8:30 the funeral train, consisting of seven cars, started for Washington over the Pennsylvania Railroad. Mrs. McKinley, the President, the cabinet and relatives and friends of the dead President accompanied the remains. Mrs. McKinley bore up bravely during the service at the Milburn residence, and Dr. Rixey, her physician, thinks she will be able to support her trying part in the state funeral at Washington.

Impressive Ceremonies…Religious Exercises Over the Dead President Sunday
The religious service over the remains was simple and impressive.

The pastor was at the door leading into the hall, a station whence his words could be heard at the head of the stairs. The signal was given and there welled out from the hall the beautiful words of “Lead, Kindly Light,” sung by a quartette. It was McKinley’s favorite hymn. Every one within sound of the music knew it and half of those in the room put their faces in their hands to hide their tears. Comptroller Dawes leaned against a bookcase and wept. President Roosevelt seemed to be swaying to and fro as if his footing were insecure. When the singing ended the clergyman read from the fords of the fifteenth chapter of the First Corinthians. All had risen as he began and remained standing throughout the remainder of the service. Again the voices rose with the words of “Nearer, My god, to Thee,” the very words President McKinley had repeated at intervals of consciousness during the day of agony before he died. As the music died away, the pastor spoke again, “let us pray,” and every head fell upon its breast. He ban his invocation with a stanza from a hymn sung in the Methodist church. His prayer was as follows:

“O, God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come.

Our shelter from the stormy blast,

And our eternal home.

“We, Thy servants, humbly beseech Thee for manifestations of Thy favor as we come into Thy presence. We laud and magnify Thy holy name and praise Thee for all Thy goodness. Be merciful unto us and bless us, as stricken with overwhelming sorrow we come to Thee. Forgive us for our doubts and fears and faltering faith, pardon all our sins and shortcomings and help us to say, ‘Thy will be done.’ In this dark night of grief abide with us till the dawning. Speak to our troubled souls, O, God, and give to us this hour of unutterable grief the peace and quiet which Thy presence only can afford. We thank Thee that Thou answereth the sobbing sigh of the heart and doest answer us that if a man die he shall live again. We praise Thee for Jesus Christ, Thy son, our Savior and elder brother, that He came to bring life and immortality to light and because He lives we shall live also. We thank thee that death is victory that to die is gain. Have mercy upon us in this dispensation of Thy Providence, we believe in Thee—we trust Thee, our God of Love, the same yesterday, today and forever.

“We thank Thee for the unsullied life of Thy servant, our martyred President, whom Thou has taken to his coronation, and we pray for the final triumph of all the divine principles of pure character and free government for which he stood while he lived and which were baptized by his blood in his death.

“Hear our prayer for blessings of consolation upon all those who were associated with him in the administration of the affairs of the government and especially vouchsafe Thy presence to Thy servant who has been suddenly called to assume the holy responsibility of our Chief Magistrate. O, God, bless our dear nation and guide the ship of State through stormy seas. Help Thy people to be brave to fight the battles of the Lord and wide to solve all the problems of freedom. Graciously hear us for comforting blessings to rest upon the family circle of our departed friend. Tenderly sustain Thine handmaiden upon whom the blow of this sorrow most heavily falls. Accompany her, O, God, as Thou hast promised, through this dark valley and shadow, and may she fear no evil, because Thou art with her. All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who has taught us when we pray, to say, ‘Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen.’

“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the Father, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all, evermore, Amen.”

Taking the Body Away
All present joined in the Lord’s Prayer as the minister repeated it, President Roosevelt’s voice being audible at the back of the room. The service concluded with a simple benediction. The funeral director was about to step forward to place the cover on the casket when suddenly there was a movement behind Governor Odell. Senator Hanna, who had risen saw that the last opportunity to look into the countenance of his dead friend had come. Pressing forward in an instant he was at the side of the casket and bending over and looking down into it. Almost two minutes passed and then he turned away and the coffin was closed. Colonel Bingham signaled the body-bearers. Four sailors, two infantry sergeants bore the casket aloft and out of the house. The President, cabinet and others followed it. Mrs. McKinley and the members of the family remained. The widow had passed through the ordeal bravely and without breaking down. The trained nurses and the personal attendants of the President gathered on the side of the porch to see the body taken away.

The Cortege Moves
It was within a minute of 11:30 o’clock when three long rolls of a muffled drum told those outside of the house that the funeral cortege was about to appear. From the darkened rooms the assemblage began to file out to the street. Soon the walks and lawns were again covered with the silent throng, with head bared. At the moment the casket appeared, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” ascended in subdued strains from one of the military bands. Tenderly the bearers lowered the casket from their shoulders and placed it in the hearse. The notes of Chopin’s funeral dirge succeeded the strains of the hymn. The soldiers and sailors swung into long columns, and took up the march southward toward the city hall.

Sketch of William McKinley
William McKinley, 25th president of the United States, was born on January 29, 1843, in Nilles, Ohio. He received his higher education at Alleghany college and taught school for a while. In 1861 he entered the army as a volunteer in the 23rd Ohio Regiment, was continuously promoted till he became captain and was brevetted major in the United States volunteers by President Lincoln for gallantry in battle March 13, 1865.

After the war, Major McKinley studied law and began its practice in 1867 at Canton, Ohio, and there has home been ever since. He served a term as prosecuting attorney of Stark county. Beginning in 1877 he represented the district of which his county was a part for 14 years in the national House of Representatives. As chairman of the ways and means committee he reported the tariff law of 1890. In November of that year he was defeated for Congress, his district having been gerrymandered, but he reduced the usual adverse majority of 3,000 to 200. In 1891 and again in 1893 he was elected Governor of his native state. In the first election by a plurality of 21,511 and in the second by a plurality of 80,995.

At the St. Louis national Republican convention on June 18, 1896, Mr. McKinley was nominated for President, receiving 661 out of a total of 905 votes as against 176 for William J. Bryan.

At the Philadelphia national convention of his party in 1900, President McKinley was re-nominated, was again elected President in November of that year and was inaugurated at Washington with imposing ceremonies on the 4th of March this year.

Theodore Roosevelt…Sketch of the Man Who Succeeds to the Presidency
Our government is perpetual; the President being merely an incident—merely an administrative officer. In the history of the country many men have occupied the executive chair; men of different creeds of political belief, of differing degrees of ability.

Twice before has the President been shot down by an assassin. Twice also has natural death bereft the nation of its head. But there is, under our magnificent governmental system, always a man in reserve to assume the important duties of Chief Magistrate. The lapse of time between the death of a President and the qualification of his successor is not a lapse in the government, for all the administrative functions are carried on with the same regularity by the subordinate officers under the law of the land.

On the death of President McKinley the succession to his high office falls to Theodore Roosevelt by virtue of his election to the vice-presidency. But he was not President immediately upon the death of Mr. McKinley, and only when he assumed the oath of office cold he become President.

Theodore Roosevelt is a native of New York, of Dutch ancestry. His life has been one marked by strong characteristics. His habits have always been temperate and he is a fine specimen of vigorous manhood both of body and mind. He has seen a great deal of public service in his native State and city. He has served on the national civil service commission, and been governor of the State of New York.

He served in the Spanish-American war as commander of the “Rough Riders” and did good fighting at San Juan.

He comes to the Presidency with the best wishes of a nation that he may discharge his new and important duties in a just, important and statesmanlike manner.

It’s President Roosevelt…He Takes the Oath of Office With Impressive Ceremonies
When the announcement of the death of President McKinley was flashed over the wires, Vice-President Roosevelt was 25 miles from a railroad station in the Adirondack Mountains on a hunting expedition. Then began the effort to convey the intelligence to him. Special relays of messengers were detailed to notify him and take him to Buffalo. He was found and escorted to the railway station where a special train took him to the scene of the President’s death. He reached Buffalo on Saturday and repaired to the Milburn House. His first act was to express to Mrs. McKinley his condolence. The president was attired in a black frock coat and dark striped trousers, and wore a silk hat. He was somber of countenance, and appeared to feel both the solemnity of the occasion and its responsibilities for him.

He alighted at the Milburn house at exactly 2:38 o’clock. He was accompanied by his host, Mr. Ansley Wilcox, and one of the secret service force.

President Roosevelt came out of the Milburn house at 2:56 and drove to the Wilcox home, reaching there at 3:15. A 10 minutes’ wait for the members of the cabinet ensued and preparations were made for taking the oath of office.

The place selected was the library of Mr. Wilcox’s house, a rather small room, but picturesque, the heavy oak trimmings and the massive bookcases giving it somewhat the appearance of a legal den. A pretty bay window with stained glass and heavy hangings formed a background, and against this the president took his position. Surrounding him were the five members of the cabinet—Secretaries Root, Hitchcock, Long, Wilson and Postmaster General Smith. Nearby him was Senator Chauncey M. Depew, Judge of the Court of Appeals Haight, John Scatchard, Mr. and Mrs. Ansley Wilcox, Miss Wilcox, George P. Sawyer, Drs. Mann, Park and Stockton, Mr. and Mrs. Carelston Sprague Jr., George B. Cortelyou, secretary to the dead president; Dr. and Charles Carey, R.C. Scatchard, J.D. Sawyer, Wm. Jeffers, official telegrapher of the United States Senate, and Judge of the United States District Court John R. Hazel.

Judge Hazel stood near the president in the bay window, and the latter showed his almost extreme nervousness by plucking at the lapel of his long frock coat and nervously tapping the hardwood floor with his heel. He stepped over once to Secretary Root, and for about five minutes they conversed earnestly. The question at issue was whether the president should first sign an oath of office, and then swear in, or whether he should swear in first and sign the document in the case afterward.

Secretary Root Breaks Down
At precisely 3:22 o’clock Secretary Root ceased his conversation with the president and, stepping back, while an absolute hush fell upon everyone in the room, said in almost inaudible voice:

“Mr. Vice President, I” –Then his voice broke and for fully two minutes the tears came down his face and his lips quivered so that he could not continue his utterances. There were sympathetic tears from those about him, and two great drops ran down either cheek of the successor of William McKinley. Mr. Root’s chin was on his breast. Suddenly, throwing back his head as if with an effort, he continued, in broken voice:

“I have been requested, on behalf of the cabinet of the late president, at least those who are present in Buffalo, all except two, to request that for reasons of weight affecting the affairs of government, you should proceed to take the constitutional oath of president of the United States.”

Judge Hazel had stepped to the rear of the president, and Mr. Roosevelt, coming closer to Secretary Root, said in a voice that at first wavered, but finally came deep and strong, while, as if to control his nervousness, he held firmly to the lapel of his coat with his right hand:

“I shall take the oath at once, in accordance with your request, and in this hour of deep and terrible national bereavement I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy of President McKinley for the peace and prosperity and honor of our beloved country.”

The Oath of Office Taken
The president stepped farther into the bay window, and Judge Hazel, taking up the constitutional oath of office, which had been prepared on parchment, asked the president to raise his right hand and repeat after him. There was a hush like death in the room as the judge read a few words at a time and the president, in a strong voice and without tremor and with his raised hand as steady as if carved from marble, repeated it after him. “And thus I swear,” he ended. The hand dropped by his side, the chin for an instant rested on the breast, and the silence remained unbroken for a couple of minutes as though the new president of the United States was offering silent prayer. Judge Hazel broke it, saying: “Mr. President, please attach your signature,” and the president, turning to a small table nearby, wrote “Theodore Roosevelt” at the bottom of the document in a firm hand.

“I should like to see the members of the cabinet a few moments after the others retire,” said the president, and this was the signal for the score of people who had been favored by witnessing the ceremony, to retire. As they turned to go, the president said: “I will shake hands with you people gladly,” and with something of his old smile returning, he first shook hands with the members of the cabinet present, then Senator Depew, and finally with a few guests and newspaper men.

Funeral Arrangements…Exercises to Take Place in Washington City
Washington, Special—Secretary Hay Sunday issued to the public the following announcement concerning the funeral of President McKinley:

Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 15, 1901. The Remains of the late President of the United States, after lying in state in the city hall of Buffalo during the afternoon of Sun day, September 15, will be removed to Washington by special train on Monday, September 16, leaving Buffalo at 8:30 a.m. and reaching Washington at 9 p.m. The remains will then be carried, under the escort of a squadron of United States cavalry, to the Executive Mansion, where they will rest until 0 o’clock in the morning of Tuesday, September 17. They will then be carried to the capitol, accompanied by a military and civil escort, the details of which will be given in a separate notice. The remains will lie in state. Religious services will be held in the rotunda of the capitol on Wednesday at 12 o’clock noon. At 1 o’clock the remains, under a military escort, will be transferred to a funeral car and carried to Canton, Ohio, via the Pennsylvania Railroad, arriving there on Thursday at 11 a.m., where arrangements for the final sepulture will be committed to the charge of the citizens of Canton, under the direction of a committee to be selected by the mayor of that city. No ceremonies are expected in the cities and towns along the route of the funeral train beyond the tolling of bells. (Signed) John Hay, Secretary of State”

Southern Governors’ Proclamations
Jackson, Miss., Special—Lieutenant Governor Harrison, acting as Chief Executive during Governor Longine’s visit to the Pan-American Exposition, have out a statement deploring the death of President McKinley and expressing the sorrow of the people of Mississippi. He ordered that the flag over the capitol to be at half fast and all department offices closed for the day.

Atlanta, Ga.—Governor Candler issued a proclamation expressing the sorrow of the people of Georgia over the President’s death and closed all State offices today and on the day of the funeral.

Tallahassee, Fla.—Governor Jennings issued a proclamation paying tribute to President McKinley and deploring his untimely death. The Governor ordered the flags on all State buildings including armories at half mast for 30 days and ordering the closing of all public offices on the day of the funeral.

Frankfort, Ky.—Governor Beckham issued a proclamation directing the State capitol flag to be suspended at half mast in consequence of President McKinley’s death.

Public Meeting Held
A public meeting was held at the Court House Saturday to give expression to the grief and sorrow of our people over the death of President McKinley. The meeting was well attended, several speeches made and suitable resolutions passed. The proceedings of the meeting have not been furnished the Fisherman & Farmer.

A Negro Choked the Assassin
New York, Special—A special from Buffalo says: J.B. Parker, who grabbed the would-be assassin of President McKinley about the neck with a strangle hold, preventing the firing of a third shot, is a negro who lives at No. 450 Sixth avenue, New York city.

He was born in Atlanta, Ga., 45 years ago, in slavery. He went to the exposition to take a place as waiter in the Bailey restaurant. He lives at No. 223 Clinton street, Buffalo, while at work at the exposition.

He is a giant in size, standing over 6 feet, erect as an Indian, has very regular features and is light in color. The assassin tore his vest buttons entirely off in the struggle. Parker said:

“It’s the very best day’s work I ever did. If I had not grabbed that crazy loon he would have shot again. I got a strangle hold on his neck that I learned down South.

“Just think, old father Abe freed me, and now I saved his successor from death, provided that bullet that he fired into the president don’t kill him.

“Yes, I live in New York, but I never had a chance before to shake any president’s hand. I stood in line waiting my turn; a lady was ahead of me, and behind was a fellow with light hair, about 5 feet 9 inches tall.

“He had a cap in his left hand and a handkerchief in his right hand. He was right in front of me, and I had a good chance to look at him as we walked slowly down the line.

“He didn’t seem nervous as I recall it, but he kept glaring at the president all the while in a funny kind of way. I was watching him when we got to the president, but was looking at the president.

“Suddenly I heard two sharp reports, the handkerchief on the man’s hand burst into a blasé as the fellow raised his smoking pistol to shoot again, aiming this time at the president’s heart.

“It seemed to me that my own heart was in my mouth, but with a jump I threw my left arm around the man and knocked his hand down. Then the detectives and I dragged him into the side room and threw him on a table and searched him.

“The president turned shade paler and sat down on a bench. My clothes were half torn off me, but I thank the good Lord I did what I could to save the successor of the man who freed my people. I shall stay right here, working as a waiter.”

Emma Goldman to Be Arrested
Buffalo, Special—It is reported here that Emma Goldman, anarchist leader, was here last Monday and that she occupied a house a few doors from where Czolgosz lived. Superintendent Bull is said to have asked New York to arrest her. The police are said to be investigating the case at the request of Governor Odell.

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