r that he gladly relinquished the office.

Mr. McKinley came into office under the most favorable circumstances.
A Congress was elected fully in harmony with him, whose members
gladly acknowledged him as not only the titular, but the real head
of the Republican party. We never had a President who had more
influence with Congress than Mr. McKinley. Even President Lincoln
had difficulties with the leaders of Congress in his day, but I
have never heard of even the slightest friction between Mr. McKinley
and the party leaders in Senate and House.

In many respects, President McKinley was a very great man. He
looked and acted the ideal President. He was always thoroughly
self-poised and deliberate; nothing ever seemed to excite him, and
he always maintained a proper dignity. He had the natural talent
and make-up to be successful to a marked degree in dealing with
people with whom he came into contact. He grew in popular favor
from the day of his election until his death, and I have always
maintained that he would go down in history as our most popular
President among all classes of people in all sections of the country.
His long training in public life--his service as a member of the
House and Governor of Ohio--had well fitted him for the high office
of President. He had many favorites whom he desired to get into
office; and on many occasions, instead of going ahead and appointing
his friends without consulting any one, he asked me if I would have
any objection to his appointing some personal friend living in
Illinois to one office or another in or out of the State. I always
yielded; in fact it was impossible to resist him.

Illustrating this, there happened to be a vacancy in a Federal
Judgeship in Chicago. Presidents usually have selected their own
judges regardless of Senatorial recommendation, and McKinley selected
his; but he managed to secure Senatorial recommendation at the same
time. I was in favor of the appointment of a certain lawyer in
Chicago whom I regarded as thoroughly well qualified for the place,
and the President wanted to appoint Judge Christian C. Kohlsaat.
My colleague and I insisted for a long time on our recommendation.
The President and I debated the question frequently, he always
listening to me and seeming impressed with what I had to say, at
the same time remaining fully determined to have his own way in
the end. Finally, when I was in the executive office one day, he
came over to w