Secretary Gage

Says It Seems Like Mockery to Eulogize the Dead President.

     Washington, Sept. 14.—Secretary Gage, upon being informed of the death of President McKinley and requested to make some comment on the latter’s life, said:
     “It seems like mockery to attempt to eulogize him. No words can carry from one mind to another a proper understanding of that unique personality. He himself must be the best interpreter. His acts, his utterances with their indescribable charm have made him known to the American people. Through these they understand and appreciate him. In their hearts can be found the love and the gratitude which his unselfish, untiring and affectionate devotion to his country justly inspire. If I speak of him it must be simply and without exaggeration. In an active life extending over a long period, I have met many men of superior powers and manifold graces, but after nearly five years of close association with this man and a constant study of his mental and moral characteristics, I have come to regard him in the combined individualities which make a man truly great, as the superior of all the men I have ever known. In his death our people are indeed stricken with the most grievous loss.”