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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.”

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