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Theodore Roosevelt—President and Man [excerpt]
BY the laws of the land the death of William McKinley
at 2.15 . . on Friday
the 14th of September, elevated to the Presidency the Vice-President.
This contingency had occurred previously four times in our history.
Two of our Presidents had died a natural death during their term
of office, William Henry Harrison, succeeded by John Tyler, and
Zachary Taylor, succeeded by Millard Filmore.
Then, two were assassinated, Abraham
Lincoln, succeeded by Andrew Johnson, and James A. Garfield, succeeded
by Chester A. Arthur.
William McKinley was the fifth President
to die in office and to be succeeded by his associate.
After Mr. Roosevelt’s
arrival in Buffalo he visited the Milburn house to see the face
of his former friend and chief and to comfort the widow. In the
afternoon he was sworn in as President at the house of his friend,
Ansley Wilcox.
To this impressive ceremony came a
few prominent officials and near friends. Among the first were Secretary
Root, Attorney-General Knox and United States District Judge John
R. Hazel, of Buffalo. The party proceeded immediately to the library
of the house, where Mr. Roosevelt awaited them. They were closely
followed by Secretaries Long, Hitchcock and Wilson, and the deceased
President’s Secretary, Mr. Cortelyou, President Milburn, of the
Exposition Company, Senator Depew, Justice Albert Haight, of the
Court of Appeals, and others. Other friends of the Vice- [492][493]
President entered the house within a few minutes, and at 3.35 o’clock
Mr. Wilcox came out on the lawn and said to the press representatives
that it was the desire of the Vice-President that they be admitted
to the house to witness the solemn ceremony. A score, or more, of
newspaper men walked noiselessly into the dusky library of the old
house, where, with bowed heads, stood the members of the Cabinet
and those who had been asked to be present. The room was as silent
as the house of death itself. No word was spoken above a whisper.
Several women were in the little room, and all stood with bowed
heads, as if the presence of death were there.
The Vice-President stood
on the south side of the room, with his back to a small window,
and the members of the Cabinet and the men present stood in a circle
facing him. For some time Mr. Roosevelt talked earnestly with Secretary
Root, whose friendship and counsel he so highly valued. Then Secretary
Root stepped back a few paces, and the Vice-President stood motionless
by the side of Judge Hazel. There was a dead silence of several
seconds, and then Secretary Root said:
“Mr. Vice-President,”—another long
pause,—“I have been requested by all of the members of the Cabinet
of the late President McKinley who are present in the city of Buffalo,
being all except two, to request that for reasons of weight affecting
the administration of the government you shall proceed without delay
to take the constitutional oath of office as President of the United
States.”
He spoke with great deliberation,
and so still was the room that, had his words been uttered in whispers,
they might easily have been heard by every one present.
Mr. Roosevelt’s face was stern and
rigid. Lifting his eyes, he looked steadfastly into the face of
the Secretary for a moment, and in a voice with marked firmness
and all of his characteristic distinctness, replied: [493][494]
“Mr. Secretary, I shall take the oath
at once, at the request of the members of the Cabinet, and in this
hour of deep and terrible national bereavement I wish to state I
shall continue absolutely unbroken the policy of President McKinley
for the peace, prosperity and honor of our beloved country.”
Judge Hazel then administered
the constitutional oath, Mr. Roosevelt repeating the sentences as
spoken by the magistrate:
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully
execute the office of President of the United States, and will,
to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States.”
When the last words were said, President
Roosevelt signed the document in the usual form. All was silent,
and scarcely a movement of hand or foot was made during the solemn
procedure. As soon as the oath was taken the President turned to
the circle of Cabinet officers about him and said:
“I will ask the gentlemen of the Cabinet
to stay that I may have a talk with them alone.”
The President then stepped out into
the hall and shook hands with those who passed out. In a few seconds
the library was cleared of all those except the members of the Cabinet,
and there President Roosevelt sat down with them for his first Cabinet
meeting.
President Roosevelt,
on September 14th, issued the following proclamation as his first
official act:
“By the President of the United States
of America a proclamation:
“A terrible bereavement has befallen
our people. The President of the United States has been struck down;
a crime committed not only against the chief magistrate but against
every law-abiding and liberty loving citizen. [494][495]
“President McKinley crowned a life
of largest love for his fellowmen, of most earnest endeavor for
their welfare, by a death of Christian fortitude; and both the way
in which he lived his life and the way in which, in the supreme
hour of trial, he met his death will remain forever a precious heritage
of our people.
“It is meet that we, as a nation,
express our abiding love and reverence for his life, our deep sorrow
for his untimely death.
“Now, therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt,
President of the United States of America, do appoint Thursday next,
September 19th, the day in which the body of the dead President
will be laid in its last earthly resting place, as a day of mourning
and prayer throughout the United States. I earnestly recommend all
the people to assemble on that day in their respective places of
divine worship, there to bow down in submission to the will of Almighty
God, and to pay out of full hearts their homage of love and reverence
to the great and good President whose death has smitten the nation
with bitter grief.
“In witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
“Done at the city of Washington, the
14th day of September, A. D., one thousand nine hundred and one,
and of the independence of the United States the one hundred and
twenty-sixth.
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THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
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By
the President,
J
H, Secretary of State.”
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