Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/63

WILLIAM McKINLEY 39 mittee having in charge the Garfield memorial ex ercises in the house in 1881. The Ohio legislature of 1880 restored his old congressional district, and he was unanimously nominated to the 47th congress. His election was assured, but he made a vigorous canvass, and was chosen over Leroy D. Thoman by 3,571 majority. He was chosen by the Chicago convention as the Ohio member of the republican national committee, and accompanied Gen. Garfield on his tour through New York, speaking also in Maine, Indiana, Illi nois, and other states. The 47th congress was republican, and, acting on the recommendation of President Arthur, it pro ceeded to revise the tariff. After much discussion it was agreed to constitute a commission who should prepare such bill or bills as were necessary and re port at the next session. In the debate on this proj ect McKinley delivered an interesting speech, April 6, 1882, in which, while not giving his un qualified approval to the creation of a commission, he insisted that a protective policy should never for an instant be abandoned or impaired. The elections of 1882 occurred while the tariff commission was still holding its sessions, and the republicans were everywhere most disastrously de feated. The democracy carried Ohio by 19,000, and elected 13 of the 21 congressmen. McKinley had been nominated, after a sharp contest for a