Mr. McKinley, more than any one of his predecessors, possessed the happy faculty of taking the public into his confidence when solving the nation's problems, or as it has been expressed, he held his ear close to the ground listening to the voice of the people. At times he seemed to make haste slowly, for which he was often criticised by some of his party and political opponents, but when these important questions came to an issue, or rather when they developed, it was invariably proved that he had weighed all the facts. carefully and that his judgment was correct, and those who found fault at the start had to acknowledge his superior wisdom.

His knowledge of public men and their fitness for office enabled him to surround himself with the best and most competent advisers, regardless of party or section of the country. To show the careful manner in which our Executive proceeded, it is only necessary to cite the numerous instances, in which he sent his Commissioners or Envoys to the various distant points of the globe where American interests were at stake, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, China, the Hawaiian and Samoan Islands, etc. These Commissioners were instructed to investigate on the spot all the conditions and circumstances of the questions to be solved, always keeping in close touch with Washington, in order to prepare the way for the committees sent out afterwards, or the other proper authorities, to arrive at a decision that would be within the American spirit of liberty, advantageous to our country and just to the world.

CHAPTER XVII

RECIPROCITY SPEECH AT BUFFALO

President's Day at the Pan-American Exposition, September 5th, 1901, ran its course under very auspicious conditions, and was attended with every circumstance in keeping with its high import. President McKinley, with Mrs. McKinley by his side and surrounded by eminent persons of high official rank in the service of this and foreign countries, faced a vast throng of people in the "Esplanade" at noon, and delivered an address that brought forth the thunderous applause of the multitude.

Never before had such a crowd gathered within the Exposition grounds. The people were packed in the Esplanade to the point of suffocation and overflowed down the court of fountains and to the vacant spaces in front of the Government buildings at the right and the Horticultural building to the left.

There was almost absolute quiet when President Milburn arose and introduced the President. The great audience then gave a mighty cheer, and for several minutes he was unable to proceed. When quiet was restored, the President spoke as follows:

THE ADDRESS.-"President Milburn, Director-General Buchanan, Commissioners, Ladies and Gentlemen: I am glad to be again in the City of Buffalo and exchange greetings with her people, to whose generous hospitality I am not a stranger, and with whose good will I have been repeatedly and signally honored.

"To-day I have additional satisfaction in meeting and giving welcome to the foreign representatives assembled here, whose presence and participation in this exposition have contributed in so marked a degree to its interests and success. To the comissioners of the Dominion of Canada and the British colonies, the

French colonies, the republics of Mexico and of Central and South America and the commissioners of Cuba and Puerto Rico, who share with us in this undertaking, we give the hand of fellowship and felicitate with them upon the triumphs of art, science, education and manufacture which the old has bequeathed to the new century.

"Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the world's advancement. They stimulate the energy, enterprise and intellect of the people and quicken human genius. They go into the home. They broaden and brighten the daily life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of information to the student.

BENEFIT IN EXPOSITIONS.-"Every exposition, great or small, has helped to some onward step. Comparison of ideas is always educational, and as such instructs the brain and hand of man. Friendly rivalry follows, which is the spur to industrial improvement, the inspiration to useful invention and to high endeavor in all departments of human activity. It exacts a study of the wants, comforts, and even the whims of the people and recognizes the efficacy of high quality and low prices to win their favor.

"The quest for trade is an incentive to men of business to devise, invent, improve and economize in the cost of production. Business life, whether among ourselves or with other people, is ever a sharp struggle for success. It will be none the less so in the future. Without competition we would be clinging to the clumsy and antiquated processes of farming and manufacture and the methods of business of long ago, and the twentieth would be no further advanced than the eighteenth century. But though commercial competitors we are, commercial enemies we must not be.

"The Pan-American Exposition has done its work thoroughly, presenting in its exhibits evidences of the highest skill and illustrating the progress of the human family in the western hemisphere. This portion of the