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.