pathetic incident of the election was the fact that Bryan failed to carry Nebraska, his own state, his city, or his voting precinct.

As has been noted the public interest in the campaign of 1900 was deflected by other happenings, both internal and external. Of the latter the most sensational was the war between Great Britain and the South African Republic. The sympathy of the American people went out strongly towards the brave and hardy Boers in their dauntless stand against the unlimited resources of the English, but the memory of England's consistent friendship during the war with Spain prevented any official activities in favor of the people of the Transvaal. A delegation of the Boers* to America arrived in New York May 16, and were received with great cordiality by the citizens of New York, the freedom of the city being tendered them by Mayor Van Wyck. Subsequently they were unofficially received by the President, but their mission on the whole was a failure, in view of the fact that Great Britain had announced her refusal to entertain any proposition for mediation.

Under the circumstances

the attitude of the President was correct, for official action in favor of the Boers would have been a repudiation of the declaration of neutrality made by the United States at the outbreak of the war.

On September 9, the nation was ap

* Members of the Boer commission: Abraham Fischer, C. N. Wessels and J. M. A. Wolmarans.

217

palled by the news that Galveston, Texas, had been destroyed by a tornado and a tidal wave. Owing to the destruction of means of communication it was several days before the extent of the catastrophe was learned, wild rumors as to the utter annihilation of the the entire populace in the meanwhile gaining credence. The most exaggerated reports, however, were hardly less fearful than the truth. It was then learned that the town had been swept by a heavy storm throughout September 8, which gradually increased in fury, until about midnight it was submerged by a tidal that, unobstructed by any kind of breakwater, overwhelmed the city. When the storm passed it left behind a city of the dead. The waters slowly receded, sweeping with them into the Gulf the bodies of thousands who had perished, and leaving thousands of others among the the wreckage and strewn along the beach. In this fearful cataclysm 7,000 people lost their lives; 4,000 more than at Johnstown. From eight to ten thousand houses were destroyed, and property aggregating $30,000,000 swept out of existence. The reply of the nation for aid was immediate and generous. The Red Cross, under Miss Barton, again set to work in the cause of the suffering; over a million dollars for relief was raised by popular subscription, which was added to by large donations from all over the world.

Galveston had already been warned of the danger of its situation by dis

astrous storms, one of which had resulted in a loss of 38 lives and $5,000,000 worth of property (1886), but she had not heeded, and now the hand of destiny seemed so strong that it was proposed to abandon the site of the city. The citizens, however, were disinclined to desert a situation that had so many redeeming features, including the finest harbor on the Gulf coast. With grim determination they went to work to build a city that would endure, however hard the elements might beat against it. The streets were cleared of debris, new buildings gotten under way, and plans were made for the construction of a great sea-wall which would prevent a repetition of the disaster of September 8. This was done at a cost of more than a million dollars, and to-day Galveston is one of the most prosperous, safest, cleanest and bestgoverned cities in the United States.*

President McKinley's second inauguration was a splendid pageant, and in its excess indicated the national desire to do him honor. The day, too, was symbolic of the experiences of the nation during the last few years, for although it was stormy for a while, as is its wont on March 4, yet the sun shone from time to time as if

* Galveston was the first city in the country to adopt the commission system of government, the success of which has caused other cities to follow her example. During the eight years succeeding the disaster, the breakwater was structed, the city was raised 17 feet above the former level and rebuilt, but the indebtedness of the city was sensibly diminished by an honest and business-like method of city government.

con

prophetic of better days to follow. The army played a major part in the ceremonies, the military parade being the largest seen in Washington since the epoch of the Civil War.

For President McKinley, however, it was climax and completion of his career. Few of those in the great multitude that acclaimed his second elevation to the position of supreme honor in the gift of his country dreamed that before six months had passed he would be the victim of an assassin's bullet. On May 20, the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York, opened its doors to the public. This exhibition was intended to represent and intensify a spirit of mutual interest that had been growing between the United States and the republics of Latin-America. To this movement President McKinley had given his cordial support, and accordingly was made the guest of the Exposition, September 5-6. On the former date he made an address before an audience of 50,000 people in which he summed up the ideals of his nation as he conceived them. The

closing words of his last public utterance contain a message that should be treasured, coming at the time they did, at this time with a special benediction:

"Gentlemen, let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not conflict, and that our real eminence rests in victories of peace and not in those of war. We hope that all who are represented here may be moved to higher and nobler effort for their own and the world's good, and that out of this city may come not only greater

commerce and trade for us all, but more essential than that, these relations of mutual respect, confidence and friendship, which will deepen and endure.

"Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, happiness and peace to all our neighbors, and like blessings to all the peoples and powers of the earth."

This was the final message of William McKinley to the American people. The next day, at a public reception given in his honor at the Temple of Music, he was shot down by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, who approached under the pretense of pretense of greeting him, as thousands were doing at the time.

Czolgosz, it ap

pears, was not the agent of an organi

219

zation, but acted on his own initiative. He had been impelled to his insane deed by the teachings of Johann Most and Emma Goldman,— a deed that he expiated by his death October 29, 1901.

It was thought at first that the President's wound was not serious, and favorable reports were given to the public, but soon it was seen that his chances for life were growing less each day, and on September 14, President McKinley had passed away. His body was laid in state in Buffalo, and in the capitol at Washington, and was finally laid to rest in his home town, Canton, Ohio.

It would be difficult to conceive two personalities more strongly in contrast than those of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. By origin, training, and by instincts they were antithetical. The former was born of a Scotch pioneer family that had sought, like many others, the Great West, finding there the freedom denied by by the the older communities. Neither rich nor poor, the McKinleys were of that sturdy middle-class who

VOL. X 15

form the solid, resisting material of the American people. The Roosevelts, on the contrary, had been city dwellers from the days of New Amsterdam, gaining generation by generation the accretion of wealth and culture arising from such environment. Yet strange to say the boy born in the little Ohio town, later became possessed of the characteristics assumed to mark the aristocrat, while his successor, more intellectual,

perhaps, nevertheless appeared to react from his type and take on the ideals and traits of the pioneer. In many other ways their careers were strangely at variance with their temperaments, for it was destined apparently that McKinley, a man of peace and compromise, should be the nation's executive in time of war; while Roosevelt, with ideals quite opposed, should control in times of peace. It doubtless is fortunate that such was the case; the cautious nature of the former served as a restraint upon rash and unwise spirits; while the radical and impetuous disposition of the latter drove him to exert his energies against those social abuses that arise and develop in times of greatest peace and prosperity.

President McKinley was not a man of genius, yet the very adaptability of his nature permitted him to attain his point when a more inflexible personality would have failed. This quality, too, explains the remarkable development he apparently experienced after he became the nation's executive. During the earlier years of his career, his affiliations and his record indicate that his horizon was that of the average American politician, but the stress of great events and great necessities appeared to broaden and deepen him, until the politician became transformed into the statesman. Yet in spite of this he owed much to his friends, and it is no secret that had it not been for the financial aid and personal efforts of one in particular, Mark Hanna, he

might never have attained the Presidency, and it may be that the price paid was a shutting of his eyes to certain tendencies just then revealing themselves in the social and economic fabric of the state. The debts made in 1896 are drawing interest to this day. The social conflict that was imminent at that time was aborted by the Dingley Law, the war with Spain, but above all by the yielding of a free hand to industrial forces and interests that have since assumed a magnitude that almost overshadows the state itself. These were the problems and conditions McKinley's successor had to struggle with during the seven years of his presidency.

Mr. Roosevelt was sworn in at Buffalo, September 14. After taking the oath of office he turned to the members of the Cabinet who stood around him, and stated his policy in the following words: "In this hour of national bereavement, I wish to state that it shall be my intention and endeavor to continue, absolutely unbroken, the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and prosperity of our beloved country." He then requested that each of his predecessor's official advisors retain his place as his own. These words and this act did much towards' restoring the confidence of those who were at first dismayed by the sudden elevation of what they conceived to be a rash young man. His initial act thus was instrumental in gaining for him the good will of many who had previously opposed him. He knew very