MeKINLKY. WILLIAM. 



439 



His popularity with the old soldier _ rent. 



and no speaker of his time has ever hern ni<>re 

 heartily -riveted l>y them, lie has spnkcn fre- 

 quently at their National Encampments at San 

 Francisco, Indianapolis. Washington, and Pitis- 

 burg and made many patriotic address Viy their 

 special request, such as that <>n "The American 

 Volunteer .Soldier." Memorial Day. 1880. in 

 York, or on " Pensions and the Public Debt,'' Can- 

 tun. Ohio. May :>n. l*!tl. In his speech accepting 

 hi.- first nomination for Governor he declared: 

 "The public credit and sound finances must be 

 preserved, and every scheme to destroy them must 

 be met with courage and intelligence and repelled 

 by the mighty force of public opinion. Belter risk 

 defeat, which can only be temporary, than capitu- 

 late with the demagogue or surrender to dishon- 

 cMy." He spoke at Mr. Bowen's Fourth-of-July 

 celebration at Woodstock. Conn., and opened the 

 Ohio campaign at Niles. Aug. 22. In this speech, 

 as in every other of the 134 made by him in that 

 wonderful campaign, during which he visited all 

 the 88 counties in Ohio but three, and often spoke to 

 three or four audiences at different points in a single 

 day and night, he declared his unalterable opposition 

 both to free trade and free silver. " My opponent, 

 Gov. Campbell." said he, "declared in a recent 

 newspaper interview that, while he had his doubts 

 about it, he was willing to chance the free and un- 

 limited coinage of silver.' I am not willing to 

 'chance it.' Under present conditions, the country 

 can not afford to chance it. We can not gamble 

 with anything so sacred as money, which is the 

 standard and measure of all values. I can imagine 

 nothing which would be more disturbing to our 

 credit and more deranging to our financial affairs 

 than to make this the dumping ground of the 

 world's silver." The campaign was earnest and 

 spirited; both candidates made a thorough canvass. 

 and met once in joint debate at Ada. llardin Coun- 

 ty, in September. Here, as in the State at large, 

 McKinley made heavy gains over the usual Repub- 

 lican strength. He won a decisive victory, polling 

 the largest vote so far cast for Governor in the his- 

 tory of Ohio and redeeming the Legislature by safe 

 majorities in both houses. Campbell had been 

 elected in 1889 by 11,000 plurality in a vote of 77.").- 

 000: McKinley now defeated him by 21.500 in a 

 total of 795,000. His inaugural address. Jan. 11, 

 1S'2, was devoted exclusively to State topics, except 

 in its reference to congressional redistricting, in 

 which he advised that "partisanship should be 

 avoided." He declared that " free suffrage was of 

 little service to the citizens if its force could be de- 

 feated by legislative machinations in the form of 

 gerrymanders." and the " large majority in the 

 Legislature should require from every member of 

 the dominant party the exercise of the greatest 

 conservatism." 



Soon after his inauguration as Governor the 

 presidential campaign began, and he was impor- 

 tuned by friends everywhere to allow the use of his 

 name as a candidate, many newspapers and party 

 workers declaring their intention to support him. 

 To every such suggestion he promptly replied that 

 he believed Gen. Harrison justly entitled to another 

 term and heartily favored his renomination. Ik- 

 was again elected a delegate at large from Ohio to 

 the national convention, and was by it selected per- 

 manent chairman. The opponents of the President 

 persisted in urging his name, and the delegations 

 from Kansas and West Virginia told him that they 

 intended to vote for him. He asked them not to 

 do so, but urged them to support Harrison, and 

 made the same request of every individual delegate 

 who approached him on the subject. His wishes 

 were so well known that no delegate ventured to 



;it his name, knowing he would immediately 

 withdraw it ; but when the ballot was taken 

 p'TMstcd in voting for him. the Ohio delegation re- 

 sponding 44 to 2 for him. He at once challenged 

 this vote, from the chair, and put himself on r- 

 for Harrison, who on the entire roll call received 

 .">:;.-) votes; Blaine. 1*2: McKinley. 1^ : K.,^1.4: and 

 Lincoln. 1. Leaving the chair, he moved to make 

 the nomination unanimous. ,tnd it prevailed without 

 objection. For the second time he had been greatly 

 embarrassed by the efforts of devoted friends to 

 make him the presidental candidate of their party, 

 and as he left Minneapolis expressed a hearty - 

 of relief that he would, at any rate, never be pi. 

 to witness and endure such an experience person- 

 ally again. He was chairman of the committee to 

 notify the President of his renomination, Jui 

 and from that time until the campaign closed w;:s 

 more busily engaged than perhaps any other national 

 leader of his party, speaking in Maine. Massachu- 

 setts. New York. Pennsylvania. Michigan, Illinois. 

 Indiana. Missouri. Kansas. Nebraska, Iowa, and 

 Ohio, and always to great and enthusiastic audi- 

 ences. His principal political addresses of the year 

 were those at Ann Arbor, Mich., May 17. to a na- 

 tional convention of college clubs : on " the triumph 

 of protection," before the Nebraska Chaotanqua at 

 Beatrice. Aug. 2 ; and on "the issues of 1892 " at 

 Philadelphia. Sept. 23. 



The fight was lost through no fault of his, but 

 the people seemed to have repudiated protection, 

 and, as in 1890. the law bearing his name, as well 

 as he himself, was the subject of sneers and jests 

 from every quarter. Members of his own party 

 were everywhere complaining, timid, or openly hos- 

 tile, and ready to turn their backs on the party's 

 record. But he lost neither courage nor confidence. 

 He had no apologies or excuses to offer. He had 

 not sought credit for his efforts for protection, and 

 he feared no criticism. In 1890, speaking of the 

 Ohio campaign and his own defeat, while his friends 

 were still in the gloom of despair, he declared : 

 ' Protection was never stronger than it is at this 

 hour. And it will grow in strength and in the 

 hearts of the people": and he saw his prediction 

 fully verified the next year. Again, in 18!2. men 

 of his own party gathering about him at his hotel 

 in New York, distressed at defeajl and disturbed for 

 the future, had new faith when he said : " My friends, 

 be firm. This is only a cross current, a choppy sea : 

 the tide of truth flows surely on beneath:" and in 

 a year longer they saw it was so. In responding to 

 the toast "The Republican Party." at the Lincoln 

 banquet in Columbus, in 1893. he again manifested 

 the same high spirit. "The defeat of 1892 has not 

 made Republican principles less true." said he, " nor 

 our faith in their ultimate triumph less firm. The 

 party accepts with true American spiiit the popular 

 verdict, and, challenging the interpretation put 

 upon it by our political opponents, takes an appeal 

 to the people, whose court is always open, and 

 whose right of review is never questioned. . . . 

 What our political enemies may do is no measure 

 of our duty. Whatever they do or fail to do. our 

 course is plain. Whether they keep faith or break 

 it. let us keep ours unsullied and in honor. We 

 must stand for Republican doctrines, and for every- 

 one of them. The best our opponents can do will 

 be bad enough ; little or much, it will unsettle busi- 

 ness and force industrial change?. Even inaction 

 will cause anxious suspense, which will shake con- 

 fidence." 



In his first annual message. Jan. 3, 1893, he called 

 attention to the financial condition of the State, en- 

 joined economy in appropriations, and the applica- 

 tion of strict business principles in every part of the 

 public service. His sympathy with laboring men is 



