The Memory of President McKinley
The year that has passed since the
assassination of President McKinley has not changed the public estimate
of his character, and now probably nothing that the years will develop
will do so, though in the lapse of time the outlines of his personality
will certainly lose their present sharp distinctness. He stands
first in the public thought as a Christian gentleman of kindly feeling
and most winsome personal qualities. He touched the heart of the
people by his domestic virtues and general friendliness of his nature.
As a politician he possessed the consummate art of inspiring others
with his own ideas and purposes. He was careful to avoid open antagonism
with the members of his own party, and though he would yield to
his party rather than incur the peril of its disorganization, in
numerous instances his tact and friendliness changed a recalcitrant
faction into a devoted body of supporters. As a politician he was
consummate. Men differ and will continue to differ as to the wisdom
of some of his most distinctive policies. They judge them by a priori
principles, when nothing but the judgment of time will be decisive.
But the fact that the purity of his character compels general recognition
makes his memory an invaluable legacy to the republic.