Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/68

44 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS tration, at the expense of his colleague, Mr. Morse, of Boston, he showed, by exhibiting to the house a suit of clothes purchased at the latter s store, that the claims of Mills as to the prices of woollens were absurd. His refutation of some current theories concerning "the world s markets" and the effect of protective laws upon trusts was widely applauded. He held that protection was from first to last a con tention for labor. Both congress and the country heartily applauded this speech. The press of the country gave it unusual attention, republican com mittees scattered millions of copies of it, and it everywhere became a text-book of the campaign. McKinley was a delegate at large to the repub lican national convention of this year, and took an active part in its proceedings, as chairman of the committee on resolutions. He was the choice of many delegates for president, and when it was defi nitely ascertained that Mr. Blaine would not accept the nomination, a movement in his favor began that would doubtless have been successful had he per mitted it to be encouraged. When during the bal loting it was evident that sentiment was rapidly centering upon him, McKinley rose and said: "I can not with honorable fidelity to John Sherman, who has trusted me in his cause and with his cause ; I can not consistently with my own views of per sonal integrity, consent, or seem to consent, to per mit my name to be used as a candidate before this