His great loss to the country will not be in connection with policies now in process of solution, but rather in connection with new questions. What he has marked out and put the impress of his great name upon will receive the unquestioned support of his own party and the great majority of the American people.

He had so gained the confidence of his followers and the whole country in his leadership that practically all differences of opinion on new propositions would have yielded to his judgment.

HIS LAST SPEECH.

The progress of events will not stop.

"Unsolved problems have no respect for the repose of nations." New questions will arise-are arising—have arisen.

With his calm, clear judgment and foresight, he saw and appreciated all this. His last speech was a testimonial to this fact. It was in many respects the ablest, the most thoughtful and the most statesmanlike utterance he ever made. It was the triumphant sequel to his long years of sturdy battle for a protective tariff; a complete vindication of all his predictions in that behalf, and, at the same time, a fitting farewell to the American people whom he had served so well.

Who can exaggerate the gratification he must have experienced in pointing out the immeasurable prosperity that has resulted from the energizing effects of the policies he had done so much to sustain?

Dwelling upon the fact that we had now reached a point in the development of our industries where we are not only able to supply our home markets, but are producing a large and constantly increasing surplus, for which we must find markets abroad, he reminded us that if we would secure these markets and continue these happy conditions we must not only maintain cordial relations with other nations, but must establish such reciprocal relations of trade as will enable them to sell as well as to buy, and that in this great work we should utilize the protective element of existing duties where it is no longer needed for purposes of protection.

Over the details there will doubtless be differences of opinion, but as to the general proposition, his words will live after him to speak with decisive authority.

Such is a brief epitome, imperfectly stated, of only some of the great public services of this great son of our great state.

But he no longer belongs to us alone. We long ago gave him to the nation, and the nation has given him to the world.

There is no place in all Christendom where his name is not spoken with admiration and cherished with affection.

The whole world mourns with us and pays tribute to his memory; not because of his public services, for they were rendered for America, but for the gentleness of his nature and the nobility of his character. In these respects he is without a rival since Sir Philip Sidney.

HIS PERSONALITY.

He was of splendid presence, of pleasing personality and of polished and graceful address. There was no court in Europe where his manner

and deportment would not have commanded the highest respect, and yet it was all so natural and free from simulation or affectation that he was always, without any sacrifice of dignity or change of manner, familiarly at home with Abraham Lincoln's common people of America.

He loved his countrymen and was never so happy as when in their midst. From them he constantly gathered suggestions and ideas and wisdom. The cares of state were never so exacting that he could not give consideration to the humblest, and his mind was never so troubled that his heart was not full of mercy.

HIS ORATORY.

As a public speaker he had few equals. His voice was of pleasing tone and unusual carrying power. He had it under complete control. He could adapt it perfectly to any audience or any subject. It was always in tune with the occasion. From one end of the land to the other he was constantly in demand for public addresses. He responded to more such calls probably than any other orator of his time. Most of his speeches were of a political character, yet he made many addresses on other subjects; but no matter when or where or on what subject he spoke, he never dealt in offensive personalties. He drove home his points and routed his antagonist with merciless logic, but never in any other way wounded his sensibilities.

MRS. MCKINLEY.

The remarkable tale is not all told.

No language can adequately tell of his devoted love and tender affection for the invalid partner of all his joys and sorrows.

Amidst his many honors and trying duties, she ever reigned supreme in his affections.

The story of this love has gone to the ends of the earth, and is written in the hearts of all mankind everywhere. It is full of tenderness, full of pathos, and full of honor..

It will be repeated and cherished as long as the name of William McKinley shall live.

It was these great qualities of the heart that gave him the place he holds in the affections of other peoples. They claim him for humanity's sake, because they find in him an expression of their highest aspiration. By common consent, he honored the whole human race, and all the race will honor him.

HIS RELIGIOUS CHARACTER.

But he was more than gentle.

He was thoroughly religious, and too religious to be guilty of any bigotry.

His broad, comprehensive views of man and his duty in his relations to God enabled him to have charity and respect for all who differed from his belief.

His faith solaced him in life, and did not fail him when the supreme test came.

When he realized the work of the assassin, his first utterance was a prayer that God would forgive the crime.

As he surrendered himself to unconsciousness, from which he might never awake, that surgery could do its work, he gently breathed the Lord's Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.”

And when the dread hour of dissolution overtook him and the last touching farewell had been spoken, he sank to rest murmuring, "Nearer, My God, to Thee."

This was his last triumph, and his greatest. His whole life was given to humanity, but in his death we find his most priceless legacy.

The touching story of that death-bed scene will rest on generations yet unborn like a soothing benediction.

Such Christian fortitude and resignation give us a clearer conception of what was in the apostle's mind when he exclaimed, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

February 27, 1902, official memorial services were held in the House of Representatives. On this occasion both Houses of the Congress and all the officials of the Government, with many distinguished citizens of the Republic, were in attendance. The Honorable John Hay delivered the memorial oration.

The following illustration is a facsimile representation in reduced size of the official card of admission.