THE LATE PERSIDENT.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 11103, 23 October 1901, Page 9

THE LATE PERSIDENT.

THE . FUNERAL.- . _ ■ m

AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE.

[By Teleohaph.] (P.er s.B. Sierra a.t Auckland.) SAN FRANCISCXX ()ctobef 3. The death of the President, coming as it did after every assurance from'the medical staff which attended the wounded man that matters were progressing in a satisfactory manner, was a great shock, and a greater grief to the American people. The fu&eral ceremonies at Buffalo and Washington, and finally at Canton, the President's old home, where the interment was made, were of a most impressive character. The train which bore the President's body passed through a living lane of bareheaded people. From Buffalo up over the Allegheny mountains, down again into the broad valleys of the Susquehana, and on to the city on the oanks of the Potomac, the whole country appeared to be drained of its population to the sides of the track over which the train passed. Work was suspended in field and mine, and the city schools were dismissed, and millions of flags at half-mast were draped' with crape. THE SERVICE. At Washington the services were marked by the greatest simplicity. They were conaucted id accordance with the rites of the I Methodist Church, of which organisation President McKiniey was a liie-long member. The service consisted only of two hymns, a song, a prayer, an actdress, and the Benediction. Gatnered about the bier were reprej sentatives of every phase of American life, including the President and the only surviving ex-President of the United States. Representatives at Washington of nearly every European nation were a.so in attendance. \ Great Britain, France, Germaniv, Italy, Spain, and all the republics to the southward especially monrned the death of President McKiniey. At the conclusion of the service the great audience assembled in the rotunda of the Capitol joined in singing ".Nearer my God to Thee," the words of which President McKiniey is said to have murmured with jus dying lips. Mrs McKiniey was not able to attend the last services, as at the time it was feared she might not survive the ordeal. Since this, however, she has borne herself with great courage, and has nearly regained her usual condition of health. THE JOURNEY TO CANTON. Wihile the funeral cortege moved down the broad Pennsylvania Avenue, whioh stretches between. White House aod the Capitol, rain was falling. The heads of the assembled fchousaode were bared nevertheless, and the scene while soldiers and civilians marched beside their dead chief, was most impressive and sad. After service at the Capitol the body lay in state in the great rotunda, while thousands of people filed past to take a last look at the dead face. The great bronze doors were closed while thousands were still waiting, for another journey was to be made. The-funeral train ■ was again made up, and Mrs MoKinley, almost in a state of collapse, was carried on board for the return to Cautoo. The. interment at Canton was on September 19fcb, the anniversary of the day ■ twenty years ago when President Garfie.d/] murdered as was President McKiniey, \ breathed his last A Canton and other cities of the neigbbournood were fairly wrapped j in mourning garb. Ail the State troops and military companies were assembled as escort, and the ceremonies were more impressive, because concurred in by the neighbours, relatives, and friends of the deceased—those who had been near him •in life and were most sincerely and deeply grief stricken because of his untimely and i most cruel end. ' THE TRIAL OP CZOLGOSZ. The trial of Leon Czolgosz, the murderer of the President, consumed but little time. jHe was tried at Buffalo, and -within two . days the trial by jury was completed. The | prisoner wished to piead guilty, but under ' the laws of the State of New York was not permitted to do so. Attorneys were apointed by th'a Court for his defence, but no actual attempt at defence was made other than that the attorneys saw that ell the points of ht>w in the case were complied with/ No* a friend nor relative game to the side of the convicted man. His father, a Pole by birth, but a long citizen of the United States, is said to be heartbroken hj the act of his son, whose only ! message to the outside 'world' has been a. : request that his father be told he was sorry to leave him such a bad name; The prisoner will be executed in an elec- j trie chair according to the custom in the : New York State before the end of October, as early a date as the law permitted this judge to name. Until the execution he will remain in the State prison at Auburn in solitary confinement, and well guarded. ' . . THE PRISONER'S DEMEANOUR. . It appears Czblgosz only thought of committing the.crime for two days before the murder, and the cases against all Anarchists accused of complicity witih him have ; fallen through. The prisoner has been ' sullen, and for the most part silent since* his arrest. Recently he has admitted he regrets the occurrence, and is especially sorry for Mrs HoKinley. Experts declare the man is perfectly sane, though when, being carried to Auburn •he suffered an hysterical collapse, and shrieked with terror "while tjhe jruards stripped , Mm and'dressed him in prison clothes. • • Altogether, he appears not - so. very different from Guiteau, the man who shot President Ga'rxfeld twenty years "ago. THE NEW PRESIDENT. Theodore Rooseveldt, the new President, ia tremendously energetic, and is original, independent, and courageous in the ex-t;-eme. He is also religious, and , attends a little' Dutch Reformed Church a* Washington. Upon the request of President Kooseveldt, all the membere of President MdKmley's Cabinet will retain their portfolios. When President Rooseveldt took the oath of office iie_said: "It shall be my aim to continue absolutely unbroken the policy of the late President McKiniey for peace, prosperity, and the honour of the country. , ' The following day' he gathered together the personal friends and those members of the Cabinet at Buffalo, and gave to them such'ideas as he had formulated for the conduct of public affairs. HIS FUTURE POLICY. His policy, as outlined, will be for a more liberal and extensive reciprocity in the purchase and sale of commodities, so that the over-production in tne country can be disposed of by ia:r arrangements with foreign countries; the abolition entirely of commercial war with other countries and the adoption of reciprocity treaties; the abolition of such tariffs on foreign goods as are no lenger needed for revenue, if such abolition will not work harm to our industries and labour. Direct commercial lines should bs established between the eastern coast of the United States and South America, and the Pacific Coast ports of Central America and South America;, encouragement of merchant marine and building of ships that shall fly the American flag and us owned and controlled by American capital; the building and completion as soon as possible of the Isthmus Canal, so as to give direct communication with t>be coasts of Central and South America and Mexico; the construction of a cable, owned by the government, connecting the mainland" with the island possessions, notably Hawaii and the Phillipines; the use of conciligiory methods of arbitration in all disputes with foreign nations, so as to avoid armed strife; protection of the savings of people in banks and in other forms of investment by the preservation of tile commercial prosperity of tne country, and placing in a position of trust only men of the highest integrity. " . President Roosevelt has asserted himself by declaring he will not recognise sectional nor political lines, but will appoint good men to office, even though tiiey be of the Democratic party. It is felt this must be death to the President's ambition for renoonmation, but is certainly a way to unite the country, which has been divided bjr sectional lines as bran insurmountable barrier since lons , before the Crvil War. "I am goings to be President of the United States, ami not of any section," President Roosevelt has declared, and he has added he intends to visit the most distant parts of the country while in office. It will be

[seen the conduct of the new Executive- 1 has already been such as to rouse some opposition among the Republican party leaders. It is, however, sale to. say that no President of this nation, was ever more affectionately and) hopefully regarded by the whole American people than Theodore Roosevelt is to-day., *