Six hundred miles away, in the State of Ohio, is the pleasant town of Canton, the home of the nominee of the Republican party for the Presidency of the United States. What an impressive illustration of the wonderful studies in discovery it was, that William McKinley, during the tempestuous scenes we have attempted to describe, sat in his library and heard the cheering, the shouts, the speeches and the whirlwind which accompanied his nomination and kept as close track of the proceedings as if he were sitting on the platform and looking into the sea of upturned faces! Such was the amazing fact, for the telephone to which his ear was turned reported everything almost as faithfully as his own eyes and ears could have done, and he, more than half a thousand miles distant, knew the result as soon as did the excited delegates themselves. During the stormy week of the Convention that is described in the preceding pages, Governor McKinley was sitting on the porch of his cottage talking to a group of friends, when an old lady was seen approaching the gate. “That’s my mother!” he exclaimed, springing to his feet and hurrying down the walk to meet her. He gave her his arm and, bringing her to the porch, introduced her to each in turn, saw that she was provided with the most comfortable chair, and to none gave more loving attention than to her. [Illustration: FUNERAL DECORATIONS IN THE EAST ROOM OF THE WHITE HOUSE.] [Illustration: PRESIDENT AND MRS. McKINLEY, SENATOR HANNA, GENERAL ALGER AND THEIR FAMILIES AT DINNER.] CHAPTER XIX. THE GREAT CAMPAIGN OF 1896. Long before the National Convention of 1896 was held, the issues which were to be paramount in the campaign had begun to crystallize. Throughout the country there was a wail of distress growing out of the depression of 1893, and the people were thinking, thinking, as to the cause of the trouble which oppressed them. No nation was ever better equipped to intelligently discuss matters pertaining to its welfare than the United States at that period. Theorists had conceived numerous remedies for the economic depression, and right or wrong, had found many adherents. The Republican National Convention had declared for the first time in the history of the party in favor of establishing the financial system of the country on a gold basis. Protection to American interests, which had long been a cherished principle of the party, also had its place in the platform. The Democrats, on the other hand, adopted a platform demanding the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, and a tariff for revenue only.