caucus by Thomas B. Reed. He resumed his place
on the ways and means committee, and on the
death of Judge Kelley, soon afterward, became its
chairman. Thus devolved upon him, at a most
critical juncture, the leadership of the house,
under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, his
party having only a nominal majority, and it re-
quiring always hearty concord and cooperation to
pass any important measure. The minority had
resolved upon a policy of obstruction and delay,
but Major McKinley supported Speaker Reed with
his usual effectiveness, and the speaker himself
heartily thanked him for his great and timely as-
sistance. On 24 April, 1890, he spoke in favor of
sustainmg the civil-service law, to which there was
decided opposition. " The republican party," said
he, " must take no step backward. The merit sys-
tem is here and it is here to stay."
On 17 Dec, 1889, he introduced the first impor- tant tariff measure of the session — a bill " to sim- plify the laws in relation to the collection of the revenue." The bill passed the house, 5 March, and the senate, as amended, 20 March, went to a con- ference committee, who agreed upon a report that was concurred in, and was approved 10 June, 1890. It is known as the " customs administration bill," is similar in its provisions to a bill introduced in the 50th congress, as the outgrowth of a careful, non-partisan investigation by the senate committee on finance, and has proved a wise and salutary law. Meanwhile (16 April, 1890) he introduced the gen- eral tariff measure that has since borne his name, and that for four months had been under constant consideration by the ways and means committee. His speech in support of the measure, 7 May, fully sustained his high reputation as an orator. Seldom, if ever, in the annals of congress, has such hearty applause been given to any leader as that which greeted him at the conclusion of this address. The bill was passed by the house on 21 May, but was debated for months in the senate, that body finally passing it on 11 Sept., with some changes, notably the reciprocity amendment, which McKinley had unavailingly supported before the house committee. The bill, having received the ap- proval of the president, became a law 6 Oct., 1890. The passage of the bill was hardly effected be- fore the general election occurred, and in this the republicans were, as anticipated, badly defeated. His own district had been gerrymandered again, so that he had 8,000 majority to overcome. Never was a congressional campaign more fiercely fought, the contest attracting attention everywhere. His competitor was John G. Warwick, recently lieu- tenant-governor, a wealthy merchant and coal- operator of his own county. McKinley ran large- ly ahead of his ticket, but was defeated by 300 votes. No I'epublican had ever received nearly so many votes in the counties composing the district, his vote exceeding by 1,250 that of Harrison in the previous presidential campaign. Immediately after the election a popular movement began in Ohio for his nomination for governor, and the state convention in June, 1891, made him its can- didate by acclamation. Meanwliile in congress he spoke and voted for the eight-hour law ; he advo- cated efficient anti-trust and anti-option laws : he supported the direct-tax refunding law in an argu- ment that abounds with pertinent information ; and he presented and advised the adoption of a resolution declaring that nothing in the new tariff law should be held to invalidate our treaty with Hawaii. On the occasion of the seventieth anni- versary of the birth of Judge Thurman, at Colum- bus, in November, 1890, Mr. Cleveland spoke upon " American citizenship," and " made cheapness the theme of his discourse, counting it one of the highest aspirations of American life." Major McKinley, replying to this address at the Lincoln banquet in Toledo, 12 Feb., 1891, to the contrary held that such a boon as " cheap coats " meant in- evitably "cheap men."
At Niles, on 22 Aug., he opened the Ohio cam- paign. In this speech, as in every other of the 134 made by him in that wonderful canvass, he de- clared his unalterable opposition both to free trade and free silver. The campaign was earnest and spirited ; both he and his opponent. Gov. Camp- bell, made a thorough canvass, and met once in joint debate at Ada, Hardin county, in Septem- ber. McKinley won a decisive victory, polling the largest vote so far cast for governor in the history of Ohio. Campbell had been elected in 1889 by 11,000 pluralitv in a vote of 775,000; McKinley now defeated him by 21,500 in a total of 795,000. His inaugural address, 11 Jan., 1892, was devoted exclusively to state topics, except in its reference to congressional redistricting, in which he advised that '• partisanship should be avoided."
Soon after his inauguration as governor the presi- dential campaign began, and when importuned by friends to allow the use of his name as a candi- date, he promptly replied that he believed Gen. Harrison justly entitled to another term. He was again elected a delegate at large from Ohio to the national convention, and was by it selected perma- nent chairman. He asked his friends not to vote for him, but urged them to support Harrison. Still, when the ballot was taken many persisted in voting for him, though his name had not been formally presented, the Ohio delegation respond- ing 44 to 2 for him. He at once challenged this vote, from the chair, and put himself on record for Harrison, who on the entire roll call received 535 votes ; Blaine, 182 ; McKinley, 182 ; Reed, 4 ; and Lincoln, 1. Leaving the chair, he moved to make the nomination unanimous, and it prevailed with- out objection. He was chairman of the committee to notify the president of his renomination, 20 June, and from that time until the campaign closed was more busily engaged than perhaps any other national leader of the republican party. After the loss of the fight he gave up neither courage nor confidence. He had no apologies or excuses to offer. In responding to the toast " The republican party," at the Abraham Lincoln ban- quet in Columbus, in 1893, he again manifested the same high spirit.
In his first annual message, 3 Jan.. 1893, Gov. McKinley called attention to the financial condi- tion of the state, and enjoined economy in appro- priations. His sympatliy with laboring men is apparent in his recommendation of additional protection to steam and electric railroad em- ployees, and his interest in the problems of mu- nicipal government by his approval of what is called the " federal plan " of administration. At the republican convention in Ohio he was unani- mously renominated for governor, and he was re- elected by an overwhelming majority, the greatest ever recorded, with a single exception during the war, for any candidate up to that time in the his- tory of the state — his vote aggregating 433,000 and his plurality 80,995. His competitor was Lawrence T. Neal. The issues discussed were national, and McKinley 's voice was again heard in every locality in the state in earnest condemnation of "those twin heresies, free trade and free silver." The country viewed this result as indicative of the next national election, and he was everywhere
