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-
