[untitled]
W
B H
B H
a mourning Nation laments another martyred President, the third
within near the average life-time of man.
Stricken unto death by paranoiac assassin
hand, moved to the dastard deed by inspiration of calumnious speech
and villainous epithets applied under undue license of language,
in the fair abused name of Freedom; “McKinley was the tool of Mark
Hanna and Mark Hanna was the agent of oppressive trusts” said the
villainous instigators of this violence, and this of the people’s
executive head, now no longer a partisan but the country’s chosen
chief.
Down the line passed the calumnies
which could not have been said face to face to any citizen without
quick retributive resentment, till a weak misled anarchist takes
up the false accusations and transforms the seditious calumnious
words into murderous action. [720][721]
Thus another noble President is martyred,
this time by anarchy’s foul, treacherous heart, while His Excellency
is in the kindly act of a benignant public function. With his cordial
hand outstretched and a benign smile on his good and noble face
the President is stealthily shot unto death by the hand that should
have loved and shielded him, for the assassin was one of the humblest
and meanest of men, graciously permitted, as in no other country,
to take the hand of the Nation’s great Governor.
Land of the “free hearts [sic]
hope and home” shall another President of this great Republic be
thus wounded to his death by villainous calumny? Shall murderous
Anarchy be instigated and emboldened again to strike another stealthy
blow at this free country’s chief executive by permitting unbridled
villainy of tongue and pen? Liberty demands no such foul pollution
of pen or speech. Statute guarded freedom needs no such license
of language.
The hand of an American president
should be clasped only by patriot people and his fair name should
be exempt from calumnious speech of demagogues. This “government
of the people, for the people and by the people” will live though
its presidents are foully slain, but its presidents should live
also.
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