handed trick than it was for President McKinley to
do an equally base thing when he was asked to allow his name to be
mentioned at the time he had pledged himself to support John Sherman.[2]
Both men were of equal loyalty, and the word of each was as good as his
bond.

[Footnote 2: See "American Boys' Life of William McKinley," p. 191.]

It was Senator Foraker who put up President McKinley for nomination, and
the vigorous cheering at that time will never be forgotten. Fifteen
thousand throats yelled themselves hoarse, and then broke into the
ringing words and music of "The Union Forever!" in a manner that made
the very convention hall tremble. Then came cries for Roosevelt, "For
our own Teddy of the Rough Riders!" and, written speech in hand, he
arose amid that vast multitude to second the candidacy of William
McKinley. Not once did he look at the paper he held in his hand, but
with a force that could not be misunderstood he addressed the
assemblage.

"I rise to second the nomination of William McKinley, because with him
as a leader this people has trod the path of national greatness and
prosperity with the strides of a giant," said he, "and because under him
we can and will succeed in the election. Exactly as in the past we have
remedied the evils which we undertook to remedy, so now when we say that
a wrong shall be righted, it most assuredly will be righted.

"We stand on the threshold of a new century, a century big with the
fate of the great nations of the earth. It rests with us to decide now
whether in the opening years of that century we shall march forward to
fresh triumphs, or whether at the outset we shall deliberately cripple
ourselves for the contest."

His speech was the signal for another burst of applause, and when
finally Theodore Roosevelt was named as the candidate for
Vice-President, the crowd yelled until it could yell no longer, while
many sang "Yankee Doodle" and other more or less patriotic airs, keeping
time with canes and flag-sticks. When the vote was cast, only one
delegate failed to vote for Theodore Roosevelt, and that was Theodore
Roosevelt himself.

The platform of the party was largely a repetition of the platform of
four years before. Again the cry was for "sound money," and for the
continuance of President McKinley's policy in the Philippines.

The campaign which followed was truly a strenuous one--to use a favorite
word of the candidate. President McKinley decided not to make