Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/44

24 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS the wild schemes of the advocates of free-silver coinage. He was renominated for the presidency by the Republican national convention at Minne apolis without serious opposition. He failed of re election. Public opinion has been much divided as to the causes of this result. It was certainly not on ac count of any failure upon the part of President Harrison to carry out the policy of his party, or to realize the expectation of his friends in the ability shown by him in performing the duties of his sta tion. The fatal illness of Mrs. Harrison, and her death a few days before the election, cast a shadow over the closing months of his official life. His administration as a whole was business-like in its management of our domestic affairs, dignified, firm, and patriotic in its foreign policy, promoting the prosperity of our people at home and keeping peace with all nations. In his last message to con gress, on December 6, 1892, after giving a sum mary of the operations of the different depart ments, he said: "This exhibit of the work of the executive departments is submitted to congress and to the public in the hope that there will be found in it a due sense of responsibility, and an earnest purpose to maintain the national honor and to pro mote the happiness and prosperity of all our peo ple. And this brief exhibit of the growth and pros perity of the country will give us a level from which