The Green Ba Vol. VIII.
No.>.-,£»-
BOSTON.
October, 1896.
Mckinley and bryan as lawyers. By A. Oakey Hall. PRESIDENTS Washington, Harrison the first.Taylor, and Andrew Johnsonwere the only ones who filled the National Executive chair who were not lawyers. Ten of these professionals — Jefferson, Van Buren, Fill more, Pierce, Lincoln, Hayes, Garfield, Ar thur, Cleveland and Harrison the second — attained legal eminence irrespective of po litical preferment. And whosoever of the now contending candidates shall be elected, such legal succession will be continued. Of the two contestants, Wm. McKinley has professional seniority with admission to the Ohio Bar in 1867; while the other Wil liam did not reach the Illinois Bar until 1883. The one has always confined his law office to Ohio; but the other removed to Ne braska, where the greater part of his pro fessional life has been passed. Counsellor McKinley had his early schooling at the Academy in the village of Poland, in his native Ohio; and next entered the Meadville College — also the while teaching school — from which institutions, like hundreds of other collegians of the time (1861), his patriotism volunteered him to the tented Union field as a private soldier before he had attained his majority. Pleasantly coin cident with this service it was that both of the after-Presidents, Hayes and Garfield, were officers in the Ohio regiment to which he belonged, together with Stanley Mathews, afterwards judge of the Federal Supreme Court. By successive promotions he reached the rank of Major; and was for a time staff officer with Major-General Hancock, an afterwards defeated candidate for the Presidency.
When peace ensued Major McKinley was pressed to remain in the regular army with promotion, but his yearning was towards legal science. He therefore took private law studies under Judge Charles E. Glidden of the Ohio Bar, and graduated from the celebrated Albany law school. During tem porary residence in the capital of New York State, he there enjoyed attendance upon the illustrious bar of the New York Court of Appeals. Armed with his legal degree he was attracted from his youthful surroundings of locality to the city of Can ton, because his sister was then a teacher there, and when formally admitted to the Ohio Bar he there opened a law office. His early cleverness as a lawyer can be best proved by the fact that in two years after admission he was elected prosecuting officer of the county; and soon obtained partner ship with George W. Belden, then Federal District Attorney for the Ohio district. The request for alliance came from Mr. Belden, who one evening discovered an unexpected engagement for the following morning which would prevent his trying a jury case appointed for the sametime. Young McKinley had al ready received Mr. Belden's interested legal notice, and the latter therefore in the emergen cy selected the youngster to take his place at nisi prius for the occasion. Being much hurried, the elder lawyer brusquely entered the young man's office, threw the papers of the coming case on the table, with the ob servations, "a case of mine for you to try, as I am called away; the papers will give you full instructions," and then left McKinley to his cogitations. The surprised young at393
