Reminder of M’Kinley

His Last Public Dinner Was in the New York State Building, Where
Governor Odell Will Hold a Reception.

     Over the main entrance to the great hall in the New York State building is the picture of the late president, heavily draped in black. The picture was placed there on the day before the tragedy, and beneath it the president walked when he entered the room where a luncheon was given in his honor by the New York State Board of Pan-American Managers. After the president died the picture was draped in black, and there it will remain until after the Exposition is over and the New York building is turned over to the Buffalo Historical Society.
     Among the thousands who pass in and out of the New York building each day nearly every visitor pauses to look up at the noble, serious face shadowed by the folds of mournful crape. As the visitors pass on into the main hall they are curious to know the exact spot where the president sat, and the guards are kept busy pointing it out to them. Governor and Mrs. Odell will stand near this spot during the reception on the evening of New York day.
     As it turned out, the luncheon at the New York State building was the last public feast that the president ever sat down to. At that luncheon there were present all of the members of the cabinet in Buffalo, many United States officials and foreign diplomats and dignitaries. The president was in a most cheerful mood all through the hour, and many of his pleasing remarks at the time are treasured in the memories of those who sat near him. The luncheon was given just after he had delivered his great speech on the Exposition grounds, and it is not unlikely that Czolgosz, the assassin, at the very time the president sat at the table was lurking near the building waiting for an opportunity to fire the fatal shot. But no chance was given him on that occasion, for a strong guard was placed about the New York building while the president was there, and no one was permitted to enter or approach the building without a pass.