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This treaty was finally approved by the Congress of the United States late in 1903.

The influence of the United States as a world power was recently shown by the honorable and prominent part which the government took in the international settlement of Chinese affairs growing out of the "Boxer" outrages of 1900. In this year an upheaval was caused in China by an outbreak against foreigners led by an anti-foreign society which demanded the expulsion of

the foreign element from the empire. The disturbances spread from province to province, and the foreign legations in Peking were besieged by the Boxers, who cried for the blood of the despised foreigners. The German minister was murdered, the residences of foreigners were plundered and their property destroyed, and telegraphic connection with the outside world was cut off. Troops of the various powers were hurried to the relief of the besieged legations to which foreign residents had taken refuge, the Taku forts were bombarded and occupied, Tientsin was attacked, and finally Peking was taken and the legations rescued. In these operations American troops participated, and when it came to the matter of settling up with China for the outrages

1900-1901

against the foreigners the government of the United States took the leading part. Some of the European powers would have been glad to take their indemnity in Chinese territory or exclusive trade privileges, as some of them had done on previous occasions, but Mr. Hay, the American Secretary of State, very early during the troubles communicated a note to the allied powers stating that the United States would insist upon the preservation of the "territorial and administrative entity" of China and an

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open door" in matters of trade with all parts of the Celestial Empire.

The justice of this position was so obvious that it met the approval of the civilized world, and one by one the allied powers. announced their acceptance of the principle laid down in Secretary Hay's note. So with regard to the amount of indemnity and the manner of payment, as well as the punishment of the Boxer leaders, Mr. Hay pleaded for a spirit of justice, forbearance and magnanimity in dealing with China, and urged that nothing should be done to degrade her sovereignty or impair her rights as an independent nation. Altogether it was a creditable chapter in American diplomacy and won the admiration and respect of all Americans without respect to party.

I

Chapter XLIV

ADMINISTRATION OF ROOSEVELT. 1901

I

'ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT MCKINLEY

N the meantime President McKinley's first term had come to an end and he had entered upon a second term with every prospect of a successful administration. But within a few months the country was shocked at the news that the President had been stricken down by an assassin's bullet. On September 6, 1901, while holding a public reception in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo he was shot by an anarchist named Czolgosz, who approached the unsuspecting President with a revolver concealed under a handkerchief which appeared to cover an injured hand. For several days the President's condition held out some hope of his recovery, but suddenly he became worse and died on September 14. The popular manifestations of grief over the death of Mr. McKinley were most extraordinary. All over the land meetings were held for the purpose of paying tributes of respect to the memory of the dead President, and in many parts of the country people stood with bowed and uncovered heads for a few minutes on September 19 while his body was being borne to its tomb in Canton, Ohio. Few Presidents have been more popular with all classes and parties than was Mr. McKinley at the time of his death. Especially had he endeared himself to the people of the South by his touching references to the Confederate soldiers and by his thoughtful consideration of Southern customs and traditions. No President since the Civil War had done so much to bring about a complete reconciliation between the people of the two sections and to secure Southern respect for a Republican administration. It was Mr. McKinley's belief that by entrusting prominent Southern white men with office he would be able to attract many of this class into the Republican ranks and thereby create the nucleus of a new party in the South which would command the re

1901

spect and support of Southern men who had shown an increasing dissatisfaction with the economic and financial policies of the Democratic party. There is reason to believe that, had Mr. McKinley lived, his policy would have been largely successful.

Hardly entitled to the distinction of a statesman of the first order, Mr. McKinley was, nevertheless, almost unsurpassed as a political leader. Tactful in his dealings with men and conciliatory in his disposition, he succeeded in a rare degree in winning friends and holding them as if by bands of steel. The purity of his domestic life, the sincerity of his motives and the Christian fortitude with which he bore his last suffering won the admiration and praise of the entire American people.

A few hours after Mr. McKinley's death the Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, took the oath of office as President at Buffalo and entered at once upon the discharge of the duties for which Mr. McKinley had been chosen. The formal assumption of the Presidency by the Vice President was peaceful and orderly and without the slightest interruption in the operation of the government. In assuming the office of President, Mr. Roosevelt announced his intention to continue the policies of the late President, and at his request all the members of the Cabinet retained their portfolios.

A few weeks after Mr. Roosevelt's accession to the Presidency the first session of the Fifty-seventh Congress convened, with Senator Frye of Maine as president of the Senate and David B. Henderson of Iowa as Speaker of the House. President Roosevelt's message gave a prominent place to the dangers of anarchy and recommended legislation making anarchistic attacks upon the President cognizable by the Federal courts. The President further recommended "publicity" 'publicity" as the as the "only sure remedy" for "trusts"; the creation of an executive department of Labor and Commerce; the reënactment of the Chinese Exclusion Law which was to expire in 1904, as well as greater restriction upon the immigration of undesirable persons from other countries; an amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act to prevent discrimination in railroad rates to shippers; legislation for the improvement of the merchant marine; a thorough reform of the consular service; better protection of the forest reserves; Federal aid for irrigation of arid lands in the West; a reduction of the Spanish-American War taxes, and the reorganization of the army by the creation of a

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general staff. Notwithstanding the abundance of recommendations, Congress enacted little important legislation at this session. Aside from the routine appropriation bills, laws were enacted for erecting the census office into a permanent bureau, for repealing the remaining war taxes, and for continuing the present Chinese exclusion laws and extending their application to the dependencies and enlarging the number of persons exempted from the prohibition.

Throughout the summer of 1902 public interest was centered in a serious and protracted strike of anthracite coal miners in Pennsylvania. The strike began on May 12 and lasted until October 23, affecting altogether about 145,000 employees. The cause of the strike was the demand of the miners for higher wages, shorter hours of employment and for recognition upon the part of the employers of their labor union. The miners offered to submit all questions to arbitration, but their proposal was rejected by the mine owners. The attempt of the operators to work the mines with non-union men led to the usual riots and disorders, and these increased in extent and seriousness until the governor of Pennsylvania was forced to call out the militia to protect the non-union miners and to preserve the peace. As the scarcity of the fuel supply increased and the approach of winter drew near, the price of coal rose to extraordinary heights, many manufacturing establishments were compelled to close, and great distress prevailed among the poor in the larger cities of the East. Finally, the situation became so serious that President Roosevelt was led to intervene. He summoned the operators and representatives of the miners to Washington and urged them in the most earnest manner to settle their dispute by arbitration, otherwise the government might be forced to take steps to end the strike. The operators, refusing at first, eventually agreed to submit under certain conditions the questions at issue to an arbitration commission to be appointed by the President. Thereupon the miners resumed work and the most serious labor strike in the history of the country came to an end. Later in the winter the strike commission rendered its award, granting substantially the demands for which the miners had contended.

At the second session of the Fifty-seventh Congress, which met December 3, 1902, a few weeks after the termination of the coal strike, several important measures were enacted into law. One of these created an executive department of Commerce and Labor