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Messages and Papers of William McKinley V.2. by William McKinley

W >> William McKinley >> Messages and Papers of William McKinley V.2.




The measure of governmental liability is fulfilled by the passage of the
act of March 3, 1891, and the prompt payment of the judgments rendered
thereunder. To single out for payment a few claims of this large class
to the exclusion of all others would, in my judgment, be unjust; and
such action would also with reason be cited as a precedent for extending
governmental aid in all similar cases.

For the reasons given I am constrained to withhold my approval from the
bill.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _March 7, 1901_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State in response to
the resolution of the House of Representatives of February 19, 1901,
requesting him to furnish that body "all the information in the
possession of the State Department relating to the shipment of horses
and mules from New Orleans in large numbers for the use of the British
army in the war in South Africa."

WILLIAM McKINLEY.



EXECUTIVE MANSION, _Washington, March 2, 1901_.

_To the House of Representatives_:

I return herewith, without approval, House bill No. 321, entitled "An
act for the relief of the legal representative of Samuel Tewksbury,
deceased."

This bill provides for the payment to the legal representative of Samuel
Tewksbury, late of Scranton, Allegheny County, Pa., the sum of $5,697
in full compensation for the use and occupation by the United States
Government of the brick building and premises owned by him in the city
of Scranton, Pa., as a depot or barracks for United States troops by the
Provost Marshal of the United States from June, 1862, to June, 1865,
inclusive.

The records of the War Department show that about April 26, 1865, Col.
J.G. Johnson, Chief Quartermaster, forwarded to the office of the
Quartermaster-General a claim of Samuel Tewksbury for use of a building
at Scranton, Pa., from February 24, 1864, to February 3, 1865, Stated at
$1,133.33, and damage to said building at $1,400, total $2,533.33.

In forwarding these papers Colonel Johnson states as follows:

In the spring of 1864 Mr. Samuel Tewksbury presented to me through his
agents a claim against the United States Government for use of the
premises mentioned in the enclosed account accompanying the papers.

I learn from Mr. S.N. Bradford, Provost Marshal of the Twelfth District
of Pennsylvania at Scranton, that lodgings were furnished to persons in
military service at that place by Gardiner and Atkinson under a contract
with the Provost Marshal, also that the contractors rented the building
used for the above purpose from Mr. Tewksbury.

Considering it a matter entirely between that gentleman and his tenants,
Messrs. Gardiner and Atkinson, I at that time refused to take any action
in the matter whatever.


The claim was again submitted to the office of the Quartermaster-General
on September 30, 1865, by Major W.B. Lane, and was returned on May 1,
1866, with the information that the United States had already paid for
lodging of the troops under the control of the Provost Marshal at
Scranton, Pa., during the time for which charge for rent is made.

The claimant was referred to the officer or person by whom the building
was taken for compensation for its use. No other record of this case is
found in the War Department, although it will be observed that the bill
covers a period from June, 1862, to June, 1865, inclusive, while the
claim as originally presented to the War Department was for occupancy of
the building at Scranton, Pa., from February 24, 1864, to February 3,
1865.

It thus appears that when this claim was originally presented it was
examined by the proper representative of the Government, and was
rejected; that no such use and occupation as the United States
Government had of claimant's building was under a contract between the
Government and the tenants of claimant, and that payment therefor was
duly made by the Government. Now after a lapse of some thirty-seven
years the period of use and occupation covered by the claim has
increased threefold, and the compensation asked therefor has more than
doubled. Under the circumstances of this case I do not feel at liberty
to approve the bill.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.




PRESIDENT McKINLEY'S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS.


_My Fellow-Citizens_:

When we assembled here on the 4th of March, 1897, there was great
anxiety with regard to our currency and credit. None exists now. Then
our Treasury receipts were inadequate to meet the current obligations
of the Government. Now they are sufficient for all public needs, and we
have a surplus instead of a deficit. Then I felt constrained to convene
the Congress in extraordinary session to devise revenues to pay the
ordinary expenses of the Government. Now I have the satisfaction to
announce that the Congress just closed has reduced taxation in the sum
of $41,000,000. Then there was deep solicitude because of the long
depression in our manufacturing, mining, agricultural, and mercantile
industries and the consequent distress of our laboring population. Now
every avenue of production is crowded with activity, labor is well
employed, and American products find good markets at home and abroad.

Our diversified productions, however, are increasing in such
unprecedented volume as to admonish us of the necessity of still further
enlarging our foreign markets by broader commercial relations. For this
purpose reciprocal trade arrangements with other nations should in
liberal spirit be carefully cultivated and promoted.

The national verdict of 1896 has for the most part been executed.
Whatever remains unfulfilled is a continuing obligation resting with
undiminished force upon the Executive and the Congress. But fortunate as
our condition is, its permanence can only be assured by sound business
methods and strict economy in national administration and legislation.
We should not permit our great prosperity to lead us to reckless
ventures in business or profligacy in public expenditures. While the
Congress determines the objects and the sum of appropriations, the
officials of the executive departments are responsible for honest and
faithful disbursement, and it should be their constant care to avoid
waste and extravagance.

Honesty, capacity, and industry are nowhere more indispensable than in
public employment. These should be fundamental requisites to original
appointment and the surest guaranties against removal.

Four years ago we stood on the brink of war without the people knowing
it and without any preparation or effort at preparation for the
impending peril. I did all that in honor could be done to avert the war,
but without avail. It became inevitable; and the Congress at its first
regular session, without party division, provided money in anticipation
of the crisis and in preparation to meet it. It came. The result was
signally favorable to American arms and in the highest degree honorable
to the Government. It imposed upon us obligations from which we cannot
escape and from which it would be dishonorable to seek escape. We are
now at peace with the world, and it is my fervent prayer that if
differences arise between us and other powers they may be settled by
peaceful arbitration and that hereafter we may be spared the horrors
of war.

Intrusted by the people for a second time with the office of President,
I enter upon its administration appreciating the great responsibilities
which attach to this renewed honor and commission, promising unreserved
devotion on my part to their faithful discharge and reverently invoking
for my guidance the direction and favor of Almighty God. I should shrink
from the duties this day assumed if I did not feel that in their
performance I should have the co-operation of the wise and patriotic
men of all parties. It encourages me for the great task which I now
undertake to believe that those who voluntarily committed to me the
trust imposed upon the Chief Executive of the Republic will give to
me generous support in my duties to "preserve, protect, and defend,
the Constitution of the United States" and to "care that the laws be
faithfully executed." The national purpose is indicated through a
national election. It is the constitutional method of ascertaining the
public will. When once it is registered it is a law to us all, and
faithful observance should follow its decrees.

Strong hearts and helpful hands are needed, and, fortunately, we have
them in every part of our beloved country. We are reunited. Sectionalism
has disappeared. Division on public questions can no longer be traced
by the war maps of 1861. These old differences less and less disturb
the judgment. Existing problems demand the thought and quicken the
conscience of the country, and the responsibility for their presence, as
well as for their righteous settlement, rests upon us all--no more upon
me than upon you. There are some national questions in the solution
of which patriotism should exclude partisanship. Magnifying their
difficulties will not take them off our hands nor facilitate their
adjustment. Distrust of the capacity, integrity, and high purposes of
the American people will not be an inspiring theme for future political
contests. Dark pictures and gloomy forebodings are worse than useless.
These only becloud, they do not help to point the way of safety and
honor. "Hope maketh not ashamed." The prophets of evil were not the
builders of the Republic, nor in its crises since have they saved or
served it. The faith of the fathers was a mighty force in its creation,
and the faith of their descendants has wrought its progress and
furnished its defenders. They are obstructionists who despair, and who
would destroy confidence in the ability of our people to solve wisely
and for civilization the mighty problems resting upon them. The American
people, intrenched in freedom at home, take their love for it with them
wherever they go, and they reject as mistaken and unworthy the doctrine
that we lose our own liberties by securing the enduring foundations of
liberty to others. Our institutions will not deteriorate by extension,
and our sense of justice will not abate under tropic suns in distant
seas. As heretofore, so hereafter will the nation demonstrate its
fitness to administer any new estate which events devolve upon it, and
in the fear of God will "take occasion by the hand and make the bounds
of freedom wider yet." If there are those among us who would make our
way more difficult, we must not be disheartened, but the more earnestly
dedicate ourselves to the task upon which we have rightly entered. The
path of progress is seldom smooth. New things are often found hard to
do. Our fathers found them so. We find them so. They are inconvenient.
They cost us something. But are we not made better for the effort and
sacrifice, and are not those we serve lifted up and blessed?

We will be consoled, too, with the fact that opposition has confronted
every onward movement of the Republic from its opening hour until now,
but without success. The Republic has marched on and on, and its step
has exalted freedom and humanity. We are undergoing the same ordeal as
did our predecessors nearly a century ago. We are following the course
they blazed. They triumphed. Will their successors falter and plead
organic impotency in the nation? Surely after 125 years of achievement
for mankind we will not now surrender our equality with other powers on
matters fundamental and essential to nationality. With no such purpose
was the nation created. In no such spirit has it developed its full and
independent sovereignty. We adhere to the principle of equality among
ourselves, and by no act of ours will we assign to ourselves a
subordinate rank in the family of nations.

My fellow-citizens, the public events of the past four years have
gone into history. They are too near to justify recital. Some of them
were unforeseen; many of them momentous and far-reaching in their
consequences to ourselves and our relations with the rest of the world.
The part which the United States bore so honorably in the thrilling
scenes in China, while new to American life, has been in harmony with
its true spirit and best traditions, and in dealing with the results its
policy will be that of moderation and fairness.

We face at this moment a most important question--that of the future
relations of the United States and Cuba. With our near neighbors we must
remain close friends. The declaration of the purposes of this Government
in the resolution of April 20, 1898, must be made good. Ever since the
evacuation of the island by the army of Spain the Executive, with all
practicable speed, has been assisting its people in the successive steps
necessary to the establishment of a free and independent government
prepared to assume and perform the obligations of international law
which now rest upon the United States under the treaty of Paris. The
convention elected by the people to frame a constitution is approaching
the completion of its labors. The transfer of American control to the
new government is of such great importance, involving an obligation
resulting from our intervention and the treaty of peace, that I am glad
to be advised by the recent act of Congress of the policy which the
legislative branch of the Government deems essential to the best
interests of Cuba and the United States. The principles which led to
our intervention require that the fundamental law upon which the new
government rests should be adapted to secure a government capable of
performing the duties and discharging the functions of a separate
nation, of observing its international obligations of protecting life
and property, insuring order, safety, and liberty, and conforming to the
established and historical policy of the United States in its relation
to Cuba.

The peace which we are pledged to leave to the Cuban people must
carry with it the guaranties of permanence. We became sponsors for the
pacification of the island, and we remain accountable to the Cubans,
no less than to our own country and people, for the reconstruction of
Cuba as a free commonwealth on abiding foundations of right, justice,
liberty, and assured order. Our enfranchisement of the people will not
be completed until free Cuba shall "be a reality, not a name; a perfect
entity, not a hasty experiment bearing within itself the elements of
failure."

While the treaty of peace with Spain was ratified on the 6th of
February, 1899, and ratifications were exchanged nearly two years ago,
the Congress has indicated no form of government for the Philippine
Islands. It has, however, provided an army to enable the Executive to
suppress insurrection, restore peace, give security to the inhabitants,
and establish the authority of the United States throughout the
archipelago. It has authorized the organization of native troops as
auxiliary to the regular force. It has been advised from time to time
of the acts of the military and naval officers in the islands, of my
action in appointing civil commissions, of the instructions with which
they were charged, of their duties and powers, of their recommendations,
and of their several acts under executive commission, together with the
very complete general information they have submitted. These reports
fully set forth the conditions, past and present, in the islands, and
the instructions clearly show the principles which will guide the
Executive until the Congress shall, as it is required to do by the
treaty, determine "the civil rights and political status of the native
inhabitants." The Congress having added the sanction of its authority to
the powers already possessed and exercised by the Executive under the
Constitution, thereby leaving with the Executive the responsibility for
the government of the Philippines, I shall continue the efforts already
begun until order shall be restored throughout the islands, and as fast
as conditions permit will establish local governments, in the formation
of which the full co-operation of the people has been already invited,
and when established will encourage the people to administer them. The
settled purpose, long ago proclaimed, to afford the inhabitants of the
islands self-government as fast as they were ready for it will be
pursued with earnestness and fidelity. Already something has been
accomplished in this direction. The Government's representatives, civil
and military, are doing faithful and noble work in their mission of
emancipation and merit the approval and support of their countrymen.
The most liberal terms of amnesty have already been communicated to the
insurgents, and the way is still open for those who have raised their
arms against the Government for honorable submission to its authority.
Our countrymen should not be deceived. We are not waging war against the
inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. A portion of them are making war
against the United States. By far the greater part of the inhabitants
recognize American sovereignty and welcome it as a guaranty of order and
of security for life, property, liberty, freedom of conscience, and the
pursuit of happiness. To them full protection will be given. They shall
not be abandoned. We will not leave the destiny of the loyal millions in
the islands to the disloyal thousands who are in rebellion against the
United States. Order under civil institutions will come as soon as those
who now break the peace shall keep it. Force will not be needed or used
when those who make war against us shall make it no more. May it end
without further bloodshed, and there be ushered in the reign of peace
to be made permanent by a government of liberty under law!

MARCH 4, 1901.




PROCLAMATIONS.


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas public interests require that the Congress of the United States
should be convened in extra session at twelve o'clock on the 15th day of
March, 1897, to receive such communication as may be made by the
Executive:

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States of
America, do hereby proclaim and declare that an extraordinary occasion
requires the Congress of the United States to convene in extra session
at the Capitol in the city of Washington on the 15th day of March, 1897,
at twelve o'clock, noon, of which all persons who shall at that time be
entitled to act as members thereof, are hereby required to take notice.

[SEAL.]

Given under my hand and the seal of the United States at Washington the
6th day of March in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and
ninety-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the one
hundred and twenty-first.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President:
JOHN SHERMAN,
_Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION.

In remembrance of God's goodness to us during the past year, which has
been so abundant, "let us offer unto Him our thanksgiving and pay our
vows unto the Most High." Under His watchful providence industry has
prospered, the conditions of labor have been improved, the rewards of
the husbandman have been increased, and the comforts of our homes
multiplied. His mighty hand has preserved peace and protected the
nation. Respect for law and order has been strengthened, love of free
institutions cherished, and all sections of our beloved country brought
into closer bonds of fraternal regard and generous cooperation.

For these great benefits it is our duty to praise the Lord in a spirit
of humility and gratitude and to offer up to Him our most earnest
supplications. That we may acknowledge our obligation as a people to
Him who has so graciously granted us the blessings of free government
and material prosperity, I, William McKinley, President of the United
States, do hereby designate and set apart Thursday, the twenty-fifth
day of November, for national thanksgiving and prayer, which all of
the people are invited to observe with appropriate religious services
in their respective places of worship. On this day of rejoicing and
domestic reunion let our prayers ascend to the Giver of every good and
perfect gift for the continuance of His love and favor to us, that our
hearts may be filled with charity and good will, and we may be ever
worthy of His beneficent concern.

[SEAL.]

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of
the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this 29th day of October, in the year of
our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President:
JOHN SHERMAN,
_Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas satisfactory proof has been given me that vessels of the United
States in ballast which proceed to Mexico with the object of devoting
themselves to pearl fishery and fishing on the Mexican coasts or for the
purpose of receiving and carrying passengers and mail or of loading
cattle, wood, or any other Mexican product and which shall go directly
to ports open to general commerce so that thence they may be dispatched
to their destination, and steam vessels of the United States are
exempted from tonnage duties in Mexican ports;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the act of Congress
approved July 24, 1897, entitled "An act to authorize the President to
suspend discriminating duties imposed on foreign vessels and commerce,"
do hereby declare and proclaim that from and after the date of this, my
proclamation, Mexican vessels in ballast which proceed to the United
States with the object of fishing on the coast thereof or for the
purpose of receiving and carrying passengers and mail or of loading
cattle, wood, or any other product of the United States and which shall
go directly to ports open to general commerce so that thence they may be
despatched to their destination, and Mexican steam vessels shall be
exempted from the payment of the tonnage duties imposed by section 4219
of the Revised Statutes of the United States.

And this proclamation shall remain in force and effect until otherwise
ordered by the President of the United States.

In witness whereof I have set my hand and caused the seal of the United
States to be hereunto affixed.

[SEAL.]

Done at the city of Washington this 12th day of November, in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-second.

WILLIAM McKINLEY.

By the President:
JOHN SHERMAN,
_Secretary of State_.



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas, it is provided by section twenty-four of the act of Congress,
approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled "An act
to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," "That the
President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and
reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests,
in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or
undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations,
and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the
establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof;"

And whereas, the public lands in the Territory of Arizona, within the
limits hereinafter described, are in part covered with timber, and it
appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and
reserving said lands as a public reservation;

Now, therefore, I, William McKinley, President of the United States, by
virtue of the power in me vested by section twenty-four of the aforesaid
act of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that there is hereby
reserved from entry or settlement and set apart as a Public Reservation
all those certain tracts, pieces or parcels of land lying and being
situate in the Territory of Arizona, and within the boundaries
particularly described as follows, to wit:

Beginning at the northeast corner of Section twelve (12), Township
thirteen (13) North, Range three (3) West, Gila and Salt River Meridian,
Arizona; thence southerly along the range line to the point for the
southeast corner of Section twenty-five (25), said Township; thence
westerly along the unsurveyed section line to the point for the
southwest corner of Section twenty-eight (28), said Township; thence
northerly along the unsurveyed section line to the point for the
northwest corner of Section nine (9), said Township; thence easterly
along the unsurveyed and surveyed section line to the northeast corner
of Section twelve (12), said Township, the place of beginning.

Excepting from the force and effect of this proclamation all lands which
may have been, prior to the date hereof, embraced in any legal entry or
covered by any lawful filing duly of record in the proper United States
Land Office, or upon which any valid settlement has been made pursuant
to law, and the statutory period within which to make entry or filing
of record has not expired; and all mining claims duly located and held
according to the laws of the United States and rules and regulations not
in conflict therewith;

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We do not know the women's names, but their voices are quite distinct. All are pregnant. But while the first woman awaits the birth of her baby with a moon-like serenity, the other two are not so lucky. One, whose previous pregnancies have failed to go to term, is experiencing a heartbreaking late miscarriage; the other is a young student whose accidental pregnancy will end in her child being put up for adoption.

Sylvia Plath's only play was never intended for the stage, being broadcast instead on BBC radio in August 1962. Less than six months later, Plath killed herself, but not before the burst of astonishing creative energy that produced her extraordinary, terrifying Ariel poems.

Anyone who knows Plath's poetry will see the connection between Three Women and Plath's subsequent poems, particularly in the way she talks about the agony of childbirth, the rush of love for this tiny alien being, and both the wonder and wounded rawness of motherhood. It is a beautiful piece, full of startling imagery that draws you in through the sheer intensity of its femaleness, and because it so precisely articulates the emotions that are often thought but seldom voiced by women - certainly not in the early 1960s - about men, motherhood and our relationship to our bodies.

It's been 20 years since there has been an attempt at a professional stage version and - in a theatre world that happily accepts the poetic offerings of Sarah Kane and Debbie Tucker Green, or the staged possibilities of The Waves, one of Plath's own inspirations for the piece, I see no reason why it shouldn't be brought to life. Sadly, it doesn't breathe here, in a production by Robert Shaw that is clearly a labour of love, but which never finds a way to give the internal a physical reality. Plath's poetry, like most babies, is more robust than it appears - and won't break if treated with a little less reverence and considerably more grit.

Instead, what we are offered is tinkling piano music, mournful mood lighting, an innocuous pale setting, as well as three perfectly good but indisputably ladylike performances that capture none of the wounded redness of Plath's poetry, and do her the disservice of making her sound bleached and somewhat prissy. It's a pity. What might have been a wonder ends up a mere curiosity.

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