of the unfortunate. Needlework was an occupation at which she became an adept. Another of her little domestic pleasures was afforded by her collection of laces, a rare and valuable one, the nucleus of which was some handkerchiefs which she collected when she was abroad. Besides her laces was a choice assortment of gems, which were given to her by her father and grandfather.

In person Mrs. McKinley was singularly attractive. She had large deep blue eyes, a transparent complexion, and an oval face surmounted by a cluster of brown wavy curls. Although she had none of the reputed characteristics of the so-called "strongminded woman," she kept her hair cut short, a circumstance which no doubt contributed much to her youthful and girl-like appearance. In spite of the piquancy of the curly head, her bearing was always that of benignant and serene beauty, which captivated all who approached her, causing her to be viewed at once with respect and affectionate interest. Of the many "Ladies of the White House," few equalled Mrs. McKinley in personal attractiveness, though her feeble health prevented her taking the prominent part in public entertainments which fell to the lot of many of her predecessors. To the President's last day he was not alone a careful husband, but a tender and devoted lover, and his deep sympathy and heartfelt grief during her severe illness in California, in the closing year of his life, endeared him more to the people than almost any other act of his life.

The calmness with which the President asked, "Am I shot?” the lack of excitement or of any other expression, the evident absence of any kind of fear of what might be before him in the next hour, was the kind of bravery that sent a feeling of pride in their chief officer through the veins of all Americans. Whatever else Mr. McKinley was, he was a brave man-a man who exhibited in the last critical moment the dignity of a Christian and a soldier.

Very few, if any of us, can begin to appreciate the devotion and affection of Mrs. McKinley for her husband. More than once the President actually saved her life by his influence over her. She

believed in him so thoroughly that whatever he told her she knew to be true. Her ill-health, the strain of constantly recurring nervous attacks, would long ago have forced her to give up the struggle, but relying on her husband, filled with absolute confidence and affection for him, she held on to life. And when he lay near death the sick woman bore the news of his danger, and ministered to him with as calm attention as any one of those about him. There is something here that is as old as the hills, but that never fails to seem new and fine, because it shows a little of the beautiful and the true side of humanity.

CHAPTER VIII

Member of Congress

T was in 1876, nine years after Major McKinley engaged in the

IT

practice of law, that he entered upon his Congressional career. He had already engaged in politics in his active canvass for the office of prosecuting attorney, of which we have already spoken. Though defeated in his contest for a second term in the latter, his active canvass brought him into very great popularity, and he became an important element in the political conditions of his district. The Congressional District which it was his desire to represent was composed of the counties of Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning and Stark. It was at that time represented by the Hon. L. D. Woodworth, who was again a candidate for the office. There were a number of other prominent citizens who desired the office, all of them older men than the young Canton lawyer, whose candidacy they looked upon as something of an impertinence. The result was a hot fight for the nomination, which proved a surprise for McKinley's opponents. He very actively canvassed the district,

and with such success that he received the nomination on the first ballot.

The district was a very close one, and was rendered the more so in the year 1876 from the fact that the country was suffering from the prostration which succeeded the war; the nation was struggling under an enormous debt, and the Greenback party was vigorously advocating repudiation and fiat money. McKinley ran against a gentleman named Sanborn, one of the strongest the Democrats could have selected. Yet despite these discouraging circumstances, the result of the election was that McKinley received

16,489 votes against 13,185 for Sanborn, thus receiving the large majority for the district of 3,304.

The 45th Congress was called in special session in October, 1877, by President Hayes. Ohio had sent a very strong delegation to the House, among the members being James A. Garfield, General Thomas Ewing, and others of prominence, while in the Senate were John Sherman and Allen G. Thurman. Among members from other states who entered Congress at that time was Thomas B. Reed, who was destined to occupy so prominent a position in succeeding Congresses.

Among the more important laws enacted by this Congress was one providing for the coinage of the silver dollar, which had been discontinued in 1873. McKinley was strongly in favor of this measure, which was passed by a large majority, vetoed by the President, and promptly passed again over the veto. The first time that Major McKinley addressed the House was on December 10, 1877, to present a petition from certain iron manufacturers of his district asking Congress to take no action relative to tariff revision until it had thoroughly inquired into the commercial necessities of the country. McKinley, whose name has become so closely associated with tariff legislation, made his first speech on the tariff on April 15, 1878. In this he sustained the doctrine of protection as opposed to tariff for revenue, and was listened to with the greatest attention, from his apparent thorough mastery of the question. In the course of his remarks he said:

"Home competition will always bring prices to a fair and reasonable level and prevent extortion and robbery. Success, or even apparent success, in any business or enterprise, will incite others to engage in like enterprises, and then follows healthful strife, the life of business, which inevitably results in cheapening the article produced." He ended with an appeal to the tariff reformers and free traders to let the country have a rest from this agitation until there was time to recover from the effects of the war and the panic of 1873. In this connection he said:

"There never was a time in the history of this country more inauspicious than the present time for the dreamer and the theorist to put into practical operation his impracticable theories of political economy. The country does not want them; the business men of the country do not want them. They want quiet to recuperate their wasted forces; and I am sure I utter no sentiment new or original when I say that if this House will promptly pass the appropriation bills, and other pressing legislation, following this with an immediate adjournment, the people will applaud such a course as the work of statesmen and the wisdom of men of affairs."

HIS DISTRICT GERRYMANDERED

The reputation which McKinley had made in Congress as a protectionist was by no means satisfactory to the Democrats of his district, and when they secured control of the Ohio Legislature, in 1878, they decided to re-district him into private life. To attain this purpose they succeeded in putting Stark County into a group that would certainly return a Democrat to Congress. By this gerrymander Stark County was thrown into the 16th District, along with Ashland, Portage and Wayne counties, it being expected to neutralize the heavy Republican majority in Portage County with the Democratic majorities usually given by the remaining counties. The Democrats nominated Aquila Wiley, of Wooster, a gallant soldier in the Union army, with a splendid military record. The Republicans nominated McKinley, and the two soldiers marshalled their forces for the campaign. Despite this action of the Democratic party, McKinley's popularity and the activity of his canvass were such that he received 15,489 votes to 14,255 for Wiley, and was thus again returned to Congress, where he was given a place on the important Committee of the Judiciary. This Congress, the 46th, was made notable by the return of the Confederate "brigadiers," and was chiefly memorable for its bitter partisan contests. In the heated discussion that followed Major McKinley took a prominent part, occupying an advanced position upon the necessity