§tate of (Dichigan
|Stoclamation
by -
Elaton C. JBIig3, C5overnor
Qn the Oeath of
Ibresièent (Clilliam (IISciFinley
§eptember 14, 1901.

§tate of (IDíchigane)ºrecutive º'epartment
& & & & &
El IS roclamation
To the People of the State of Michigan:
William McKinley, the twenty-fifth President of the United States,
lies dead at Buffalo, the third chief executive of the union to be stricken
by the bloody hands of assassination. The nation bows in agonized
grief at the side of his bier, where the world is sending tributes of praise
for the manly man, the far-sighted statesman, the devoted patriot, the
gallant soldier, the model husband and tender father. His life was the
exemplification of the cardinal virtues of Christian integrity, nobility of
character and devotion to duty, and was an inspiration to all true Ameri-
cans. History will write for him one of her brightest and most glorious
pages. As he was beloved, so will his death be deplored. In the light
of his martyrdom, vanishes all striving. Death has silenced the mighty
brain and stilled the warm heart in the very hour when the nation's
needs are greatest. He had piloted the country through perils the darkest
since the days of civil war, to the time of outlining the wise policies
which the nation must pursue in its career as a world-wide power.
Even as he was called to death, the people were yet drinking in eagerly
the words of his last public address wherein he pointed out with prophetic
vision the path his country must tread, the path of duty and stern
responsibility. God will pardon the people if they cannot see clearly and
accept only blindly the President's dying words, “It is God's way. His
will be done.” The years he has been at the head of the nation have
been years great with momentous events; a war in the cause of humanity
has healed the wounds of civil strife, and planted the stars and stripes on
the mountain tops where all the world may see. The people are to be
congratulated that the law of succession places the presidency in the
hands of a man who has been tested in the furnace-heat of national
requirements and not a flaw detected. May God's richest blessings rest
upon Theodore Roosevelt in the great office to which he has been called.
In testimony of the grief of the people of the State of Michigan it is
directed that the Capitol be draped in mourning, and that the flags upon
all state buildings be displayed at half-mast until after the interment;
that on the day of the funeral all departments of the state government
be closed and all business as far as practicable be suspended. Let there
be special services in the schools and all places of worship on that day,
and the day, a day of supplication to Almighty God that He may
in the future as in the past guide His people, protecting and prosper-
ing them. It is recommended that to-morrow every pulpit call
upon the Divine Father that He comfort the widow of the president and
the people who mourn. Let the flag of the nation everywhere within
the commonwealth be at half-mast, for the nation's chief is dead.
In testimony whereof I have here-
unto set my hand and caused the
Great Seal of the State to be affixed,
at Lansing, this fourteenth day of
September, A. D. 1901, and of the
Independence of the United States
the One Hundred Twenty-sixth.
Signed:
Governor.
By the Governor:
ºx on 4… .
Secretary of State.

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