Great Throngs Visit the Tomb of M’Kinley
All day long on Sunday throngs of
people gathered about the tomb of the late president in Westlawn
cemetery. The lawn in front of the tomb was guarded carefully by
a patrol and no one was allowed to pass near the flowers. The flowers
are almost as beautiful as the day they were placed there. Some
of them are slightly withered but that cannot be noticed from the
distance at which the crowd is allowed to view them.
Several new pieces have been added
to the hundreds already placed there, most notable among them being
a wreath from the czar of Russia. It is an immense one measuring
some seven feet in diameter and made of orchids, lilies of the valley
and palm leaves. The wreath has been placed inside of the tomb and
as the gates were closed it could not be seen on Sunday. It is rumored
that a half car load more of flowers is on the way now from California
and it is probable that the tomb will be decorated with fresh flowers
from time to time until the frosts make it impossible to put them
out in the open air.
A number of beautiful flowers were
also placed on the graves of the McKinley children, which also are
protected by a patrol of soldiers. Many of the crowd wandered from
the vault to the private lot. Many also climbed the high knoll in
the new part of the cemetery, the prospective site of the permanent
McKinley tomb and monument. Those thousands of visitors at the cemetery
were not from Canton alone, but hundreds came from neighboring towns.
The court house was kept open all day for the accommodation of hundreds
of people, who had not yet seen the catafalque and many people passed
through the corridors of that building during the day.
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