Page:American Boy's Life of William McKinley.djvu/270

228 Spain in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. Of those times one who was close at hand said:—

"It seemed to me the President hardly allowed himself time to eat or sleep in those exciting days. He was up by sunrise, and I know he was often up still after midnight. He had a wonderful memory for facts and figures, and whenever anything was told to him about army or navy affairs he never forgot it. I remember once something was said about supplies at a certain fort along the coast. Nobody seemed to be able to tell what the fort had, and they were going to consult some papers, when the President spoke up and told exactly what the fort had to draw on. Afterward the figures were verified by the Secretary of War."

This shows well how thoroughly in earnest McKinley was in what he had undertaken to do. At the start he had hoped that war would be avoided, but now that it was thrust upon him he was resolved to bring it to as speedy a termination as possible, and to accomplish this result without injury to private business. As a matter of