Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 07.djvu/188

 McKINLKY

McKlNLEY

the Democratic legislature, and Mr. McKinley, while always a resident of Stark county, was in this way obliged to meet the conditions caused by the combinations of contiguous counties in the efforts of the opposition to defeat him. He was appointed by Speaker Randall in 1877 to a place on the judiciary committee, and he succeeded Representative James A. Garfield on the ways and means committee in December, 1880. In the 45th congress he was ap|)ointed on the house committee of visitors to the U.S. Military acad- emy, and in 1881 he was chairman of the com- mittee having in charge the Garfield memorial exercises in the house. In congress he supixjrted a high protective tariff, making a notable speech on the subject, April 6, 1882 ; .'ind his speech on the Morrison tariff bill, April 30, 1884, was said to be the most effective argument made against it. On April 16, 1890, as chairman of the committee on ways and means, as successor to Judge Kelly, he introduced the general tariff measure afterward known by his name, and his speech before the house, May 7, 1890, fully established his reputation as a statesman and an orator. The bill passed the house May 21, and the senate after a protracted debate, September 11, and became a law Oct. 6, 1890. Among his notable congressional speeches not already mentioned, are : " Arbitration as a Solution of Labor Troubles," April 2, 1886 ; his reply, May 18, 1888, to Representative Samuel J. Ran- dall's argument in favor of the Mills tariff bill, of which millions of copies were circulated by the manufacturing interests of the country ; his speech of Dec. 17, 1889, introducing the customs administration bill to simplify the laws relating

BIRTH PLA<e OF

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to the collection of revenue, and his fc»rceful address sustaining the civil-service laws, April 24, 1890. On the organization of the 51st con- gress, Dec. 3, 1889, he was a candidate for speaker, but was defeated in the Republican caucus on the third ballot by Thomas B. Rood. In 1880 he was chairman of the Republican, state convention and was chosen by the Republican national convention at Chicago in June. 1880, as the Ohio member of the Republican national

committee. In this capacity, during the canvass of Garfield and Arthur, he spoke with General Garfield in the principal northern and western states. He was delegate-at-large from Ohio to the Republican national convention that met at Chicago, June 3, 1884, was a member of the com- mittee on resolutions, read the platform to the convention and supported the candidacy of James G. Blaine. During the canvass of that year he spoke with the Republican candidate on his cele- brated western tour and afterward in West Virginia and New York. In the Republican national convention that met at Chicago, June 19, 1888, he was again a delegate-at-large from Oliio, and as chairman of the committee on reso- lutions again reported the platforni to the conven- tion, and he supported the candidacy of John Sherman, although there was a strong effort to have him consent to the use of his own name as a candidate. In the Republican national con- vention that met at Minneapolis, June 7, 1892, h& was for the third time a delegate-at-large from Ohio, and was elected permanent chairman of the convention. He advocated the renomination of President Harrison ; received 182 votes for the presidential nomination, but refused to consider tlie action of his friends, left the chair, and moved that the nomination of President Harrison be made unanimous, and was chairman of the committee to notify the President of his re- nomination. He took an active part in the i>resi- dential campaign, travelling over 16,000 mile* and averaging seven speeches per day for a period of over eight weeks, during which time it was- estimated that he addressed over 2,000,000 voters. He was governor of Ohio, 1892-96, receivings 21,511 plurality in 1891 over Gov. James E. Campbell, who sought re-election, and 80,995- in 1893 over Lawrence T. Neal, Democrat, the issues of the canvass being entirely national. As governor his sympathies were with the laboring men in their contests with capitalists, and he recommended to the legislature additional pro- tection to the employees of railroads. During his- second administration of the state government he was obliged to call out 8000 members of the national guard to suppress threatened labor riots, and he was able to prevent what apj^eared to be inevitable mob violence attended by lynch- ing. He also personally 8upei*vised the distribu- tion of funds and provisions to the starving miners in the Hocking valley. When the Repub- lican national convention met at St. Louis, June 16, 1896, his name was again before the conven- tion, and on the first ballot made, June 18, he re- ceived 66U votes to 84i for Thomas B. Reed of Maine, 60J for Matthew S. Quay of Pennysylvania, 58 for Levi P. Morton of New York, and 35^ for William B. Allison of Iowa. During the Presi-