The OHIO HISTORICAL Quarterly
VOLUME 69 ?? NUMBER 2 ?? APRIL 1960
Governor McKinley's Misfortune:
The Walker-McKinley Fund of 1893
By H. WAYNE MORGAN*
ONE BALMY, SPRING-LIKE DAY in February
1893, Governor
William McKinley of Ohio boarded a
train for a trip to New
York. The tang of spring in the air was
matched by the
bright carnation in his lapel and the
genial smile he gave
the well-wishers who saw him off. In
his pocket he had the
outline of a speech he was to make to
the Ohio Society of
New York.1 It was a common
occurrence for the governor.
Fourteen years in the national house of
representatives and
his lifelong identification with the
principle of tariff protec-
tion had made him a national figure.
Nearly everyone in
the country who could read a newspaper
knew of the author
of the McKinley tariff. He was a
popular stump speaker, on
call for Republican causes throughout
the country. Elected
governor of Ohio in 1891, he seemed
assured of reelection
in 1893, and his name was already being
prominently men-
tioned in connection with the
Republican presidential nomina-
tion in 1896.
Fate intervened that day in Buffalo,
just as it intervened
in that same city later in his career.
The train stopped;
there was a telegram for the governor.
He excused himself
* H. Wayne Morgan is a teaching
assistant in history at the University of
California, Los Angeles.
1 Julia B. Foraker, I Would Live It
Again: Memories of a Vivid Life (New
York, 1932), 236-237.
104
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
from the conversation to read it. The
story it told was simple,
outlined in a few words, yet it was a
tale full of significance
for McKinley. Robert Walker, an old
friend, had failed in
business in Youngstown; his notes were
being called; many
of the notes, how many no one knew,
were countersigned by
McKinley; the governor would be called
upon to stand good
for them as a matter of course.
On the surface it was simple. Walker, a
boyhood friend
of McKinley's, had needed money
periodically for his busi-
ness. In gratitude for loans made to
him as a young law
student, and later for campaign
contributions, McKinley had
gladly signed the notes in the belief
that they amounted only
to a few thousand dollars. When new
notes were given to
him for his countersignature, he took
Walker's word that
they were renewals rather than new
notes. Thus he believed
that his indebtedness was limited;
this, plus Walker's known
integrity and apparent wealth, gave the
lie to any doubts
he may have had about the situation.
Now the panic of 1893
was upon the land, its shadow falling
across the threshold of
every business establishment; thousand
of businessmen were
failing, and Walker was among them. It
doubtless never
occurred to McKinley before the day the fateful
telegram
was handed to him that he might be
involved in a financial
panic not of his own making, that his
integrity as a man
would be at stake, and that his whole
political future would
be jeopardized by a single stroke of
fate.
As he read the message his face
hardened. The easy lines
of geniality vanished; his eyes,
usually gentle, took on a
dazed horror.2 He was
shocked. In an instant the possibili-
ties of the situation were revealed to
him. All his hard work,
all the years in politics, all the
brightness of the future with
the greatest prize coming within his
grasp--all this might
easily be swept away unless he acted at
once. His trip to
New York was cancelled and he sped to
Youngstown, his
mind in a whirl. As the train raced
over the rails, for once
he lost his legendary composure. He
resolved to give Walker
2 Ibid.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 105
"such a talking to as he would
remember the rest of his life."3
Arriving in Youngstown, he spent the
early hours of the
morning with friends and in hasty
consultation with his
brother Abner, a lifelong confidant. He
would not rest. "I
cannot sleep; I must see Walker,"
he exclaimed. "I must
understand the situation before I can
rest, for my whole
future, politically and financially, is
involved in this."4 Early
the following morning he hurried to
Walker's residence, but
his anger had subsided, and upon seeing
how wretched his old
friend was, the harshest reproof he
could muster was a
friendly hand on the shoulder and the
admonition: "Have
courage, Robert, have courage!
Everything will come out all
right."5
Meanwhile, the story had broken to the
newspapers, and
after his talk with Walker, trying to
learn the extent of his
indebtedness, McKinley issued a
statement to the press deny-
ing that he was connected with Walker's
business ventures.
"I was not interested with Mr.
Walker to the extent of a
dollar in any of his enterprises and
only endorsed for him
as a friend, believing that he was
wealthy and that I would
not be called upon to pay," he
said bluntly. So far as he had
ever known, Walker's indebtedness had
not exceeded twenty
thousand dollars, the amount he himself
understood as his
own liability; he had never known the man's true
liabilities.6
By now not only the newspapers but McKinley's
friends
knew of his misfortune. Offers of help
came from them.
"My purse is open," H. H.
Kohlsaat wired from Chicago.7
Haggard from anxiety and lack of rest,
McKinley arranged
a conference with his closest friends
in Cleveland and departed
for that city. Kohlsaat, Myron T. Herrick, William R.
Day, and others gathered to help. The
strain upon the gov-
3 T. Bentley Mott, Myron T. Herrick,
Friend of France: An Autobiographical
Biography (New
York, 1929), 49.
4 Joseph G. Butler, Jr., Presidents I
Have Seen and Known: Lincoln to Taft
and a Day in Washington's Country (Cleveland, 1910), 44-45.
5 Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 49.
6 Ohio State Journal (Columbus), February 19, 1893.
7 Quoted in Charles S. Olcott, The Life of William
McKinley (Boston, 1916),
I, 289.
106
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
ernor was obvious; black rings bordered
his eyes and he
choked with emotion when he talked.
Asked the extent of
his liabilities, he shook his head and answered very
honestly,
"I don't know--it may be $100,000,
$200,000, or $500,-
000."8 The men went to Herrick's home
to outline a plan of
action. Time was of the essence and they must move
rapidly
to prevent disaster to the governor's
reputation. While they
talked, McKinley's weary footsteps
echoed as he paced up and
down in an upstairs bedroom. Finally he
came down the
stairs and entered the room. "I
have kept clear of entangle-
ments all my life," he said
despondently. "Oh, that this
should come to me now!"9
Looking at his friends he said:
"I wish Mark was here."10
Marcus A. Hanna, to whom he referred,
was away then
and could not be in Cleveland for the
original conference.
He was the dynamo behind the governor's
affairs, and plans
hung suspended until he arrived, though
it was decided at
once that some sort of trusteeship must
be established for
McKinley's property.
The newspapers, which by now were
featuring the story in
headlines and lead articles, were
filled with conjecture and
speculation, but were by and large
sympathetic toward the
governor. "The financial troubles
of Governor McKinley
will be learned with deep regret not
only in Ohio but all over
the country. He has been a liberal,
kind hearted man and
has always done more for others than
for himself," said a
leading Ohio newspaper.11
McKinley at once made it clear that he
would assume re-
sponsibility for every cent of the
countersigned notes, and
a statement to that effect was released
to the press. If neces-
sary he was prepared to retire from
public life and resume
his law practice to raise the money.12
Mrs. McKinley, seldom
8 H. H. Kohlsaat, From McKinley to
Harding: Personal Recollections of Our
Presidents (New York, 1923), 12.
9 Olcott, William McKinley, I,
289.
10 Kohlsaat, From McKinley to
Harding, 13.
11 Ohio State Journal, February 18, 1893. See also the New York Times, New
York Tribune, Toledo Blade, Cleveland
Leader, February 18-22, 1893.
12 Olcott, William McKinley, I, 290; Kohlsaat, From McKinley to
Harding
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 107
absent from her husband, on whom she
was deeply dependent,
was visiting in Boston at the time but
hurried home on hear-
ing the bad news. She had inherited a
small amount of
property from her family and she now
proposed to place this
at the governor's disposal without
question. The governor's
friends protested; it was not
necessary; she was not con-
cerned; she must think of her future.
But a native stubborn-
ness in her repelled all objections.
"My husband has done
everything for me all my life,"
she insisted. "Do you mean
to deny me the privilege of doing as I
please with my own
property to help him now?"13
While the newspapers and public buzzed
with speculation
and conflicting reports, McKinley's
friends set quietly to
work. McKinley himself stayed with
Herrick for a few days,
"sweating blood," as he put
it, trying to learn the full extent
of his indebtedness.14 Hanna
finished his business and hur-
ried to Cleveland to confer with
McKinley, Herrick, Day,
and Kohlsaat. Walker's affairs were at
best tangled, and
great anxiety prevailed as to the full
extent of the catastrophe.
Herrick was assured that the
indebtedness was not more
than $20,000, at which he heaved a sigh
of relief; then the
figure changed to $50,000, and was
confirmed; in a few days'
time it was certain that the
outstanding debt exceeded $100,-
000, a sum far beyond McKinley's
ability to pay.15
To meet the rapidly developing
situation McKinley's
friends acted swiftly. With his
approval, Hanna, Herrick,
Day, and Kohlsaat constituted
themselves trustees of his
property and assumed all responsibility
for the acquisition
13-15. Kohlsaat says that he himself
issued such a statement on his own re-
sponsibility and was later thanked by
McKinley for his promptness.
13 Quoted in Olcott, William
McKinley, I, 291.
14 Myron T. Herrick to unknown
addressee, February 21, 1893. A. J. Duncan
Papers, Western Reserve Historical
Society, Cleveland, Ohio. This a fragment
of a letter, written on the letterhead
of the Society for Savings, with which
Herrick was connected.
15 Ten
days after the original crisis, the figure had reached more than $100,000.
J. L. Botsford to Herrick, February 27,
1893. Duncan Papers. This important
manuscript collection contains the proof
of McKinley's indebtedness in the form
of cancelled checks and notes, and some
correspondence dealing with the affair.
The correspondence is, unfortunately, not complete.
108
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
and payment of all the notes involved,
and for the disposition
of Mrs. McKinley's property as well as
her husband's. It
was arranged that every tangible asset
owned by the McKin-
leys would be assigned to the trustees
to be held until the
liability had been fully ascertained. Attempts to
dissuade
Mrs. McKinley from assigning her
property were fruitless;
she was adamant, and nothing could move
her once she made
up her mind. Hanna reluctantly accepted
custody of her
property with the private understanding
among the trustees
that it would not be used.16
Then an astonishing thing happened.
McKinley and the
men of affairs who undertook to manage
his difficulties had
been fearful of the inevitable
publicity. Would it not be said
that a man who foolishly signed blank
checks and who could
not even manage his own finances was
hardly fit to be presi-
dent, or even governor of Ohio? Would
not this adverse
publicity be used to his disadvantage
by political enemies?
Surprisingly it was not so; instead, a
wave of sympathetic
understanding from all parts of the
country and all classes
of people suddenly surged toward the
distraught McKinley.
Perhaps it was the kindly nature which
he manifested toward
everyone, or his great popularity as a
representative of poli-
tical principle, or perhaps simply that
men in similarly un-
happy circumstances were relieved to be
joined by so august
a personage as the governor of Ohio--or
perhaps it was all
of these reasons which now combined to
produce public sym-
pathy rather than disfavor. "I am
receiving an excessive
mail and so full of comfort,"
McKinley wrote Herrick with
gratitude and humility shortly after
the disaster.17
16 "You know that Mrs. McKinley insisted
on giving up her property. But that
is in my hands to use at my discretion.
We propose to raise [ an amount ] equal
to her fortune from the [ governor's ]
personal non political friends and apply it
to pay (we hope) the whole of these
endorsements. Then I hand back the deed
to her." Marcus A. Hanna to John
Hopley, February 25, 1893. Hopley Papers,
Ohio Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio.
At this time, Mrs. McKinley's fortune
was estimated at between sixty and
seventy thousand dollars. Herrick to unknown
addressee, February 21, 1893. Duncan
Papers.
17 McKinley to Herrick, February 25,
1893. Duncan Papers.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 109
There was immediate protest against
using Mrs. McKin-
ley's property on the grounds that her
interests were not
involved.18 McKinley himself
received many letters from
the poor as well as the rich protesting
the possibility that his
ailing wife might be left penniless.
"My mail [is] overflowing
with sympathy and the most earnest
protest against Mrs.
McKinley turning over her
property," he wrote the trustees.19
A mutual friend summed it all up when
he said bluntly, "Be-
cause McKinley has made a fool of
himself, why should Mrs.
McKinley be a pauper?"20
From the beginning of the affair the
McKinleys wisely
and honestly acted in full faith and
with publicity, making it
clear that they both considered the
governor under obligation
to pay the full amount of the debts for
which he had endorsed.
"He and Mrs. McKinley have of
course acted nobly in de-
termining to pay all," a member of
the governor's staff wrote.
"I am inclined to think, however,
that his many and wealthy
friends will look after his interests
fully."21 It was a shrewd
observation, and McKinley's "many
and wealthy friends"
were even then hard at work in an
effort to save the gover-
nor's financial and political future by
raising a private fund
to liquidate the debts. No man with
business interests rested
easy in the spring of 1893, but these
men gladly shouldered
added responsibilities and performed
services for which Mc-
Kinley could not pay them, but which he
never forgot.
To avoid speculation in the debts
outstanding and to defy
sensation seekers, the four trustees
themselves went about
their work with the same acumen and
quiet perseverance
which had made them successful in their
professions. They
left public relations to McKinley, who
was unaware of the
full scope of their activities. Herrick
remained in Cleveland,
where he was an officer of the Society
for Savings, and main-
18 Thomas McDougal to Herrick, February
22, 1893. Ibid.
19 McKinley to Herrick, February 23,
1893, in Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 51.
20 Kohlsaat, From McKinley to
Harding, 13.
21 Charles Bawsel to Lydia Lindsay, February 28, 1893.
Charles Bawsel Papers,
Stark County Historical Society, Canton,
Ohio.
110
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
tained a tight hand over the whole
affair. Day, an eminent
lawyer and jurist, one of McKinley's
oldest and closest
friends in Canton, looked after the
legal details with the
same keen eye that had made him a
leader of the Ohio bar.
Hanna and Kohlsaat undertook the
onerous task of directing
the collection of funds with which to
pay the debts.22
The trustees moved with discretion, not
only to avoid news-
paper publicity but also to prevent the
governor from learning
of their true plans. "As far as I
know, the reporters are
asking all kinds of questions,"
wrote one of the trusted field
agents. "I am however so far from
town that I am not
bothered any except through the
telephone, and then I refuse
to answer or give anything for
publication."23 McKinley re-
turned to Columbus to resume his duties
as governor, leaving
all problems to the trustees, with whom
he was in constant
contact. He made arrangements to close
his bank accounts
and transfer all funds and property,
even his monthly salary,
to the trustees in Cleveland.24 But
news concerning the pro-
posed subscription fund was
irrepressible. Now it came to
him, through devious channels, that his
friends were raising
money to pay his debts. He was
astonished but gratified at
their undertaking. Nonetheless, he
could not permit it; his
integrity itself was at stake. With his
own hand he penned
a lengthy statement disclaiming all
thought of receiving any
assistance in his task. "While appreciating
this noble gener-
osity on their part, I cannot consent
to the use of this fund
for the cancellation of my debts."
He had no objection to
the trustees' acquiring the paper for
which he was responsible,
since it was scattered and in many
hands, paying "dollar for
dollar, but I insist that they hold it,
as an obligation against
22 Herrick
was later governor of Ohio (1904-6), and ambassador to France
(1912-14, 1921-29). Day was assistant
secretary of state (1897-98), secretary of
state (1898), United States circuit
court judge in Ohio (1899-1903), and associ-
ate justice of the United States Supreme
Court (1903-22). Hanna succeeded
John Sherman as United States Senator
from Ohio (1897-1904). Kohlsaat was
prominent in Republican politics and
newspaper circles until his death in 1924.
23 J. L. Botsford to Herrick, March 9,
1893. Duncan Papers.
24 McKinley to Herrick, February 24, 1893. Ibid.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 111
me to be paid off as fast as I can do
it. I cannot for a moment
entertain the suggestion of having my
debts paid in the way
proposed or in any other way than I
have herein indicated,
so long as I have health to earn
money." That he was deeply
moved by his friends' generosity, no
one could deny. "But
you and other of my friends must know
that, feeling as I do,
I must respectfully and gratefully
decline the application of
the contributions from my fellow
citizens to the payment of
my debts."25 And so the
matter rested as far as Governor
McKinley was concerned; he assumed that
the trustees would
continue to buy up the outstanding
notes to be held until he
could pay them sometime in the future.
But it did not so rest with the
trustees. Oblivious of the
governor's stubbornness, they continued
about their business,
raising funds as rapidly and
efficiently as possible. Each of
them had pledged as much money as he
could spare, but they
could by no means cover McKinley's
losses. Field agents
now visited prominent men and talked
with much caution and
tact so as not to rouse sleeping dogs,
newspapermen, and Mc-
Kinley himself. "Great care,
however, must be exercised in
this, in order that no criticism may
fall upon the governor,
as he very earnestly asserts that he is
no 'beggar,' " Herrick
cautioned.26 Their troubles
were complicated by the severe
financial panic and the tight money
market which ensued.
Many wealthy men were sympathetic and
willing to give to
the fund, but they could offer little
more than promises until
their affairs cleared up; many of them
were fearful that they
would be in McKinley's position
themselves before long.27
Of all the men who went out to solicit
funds and untangle
the situation, none went with heavier
heart or deeper feelings
than Mark Hanna. His genuine affection
for McKinley and
his belief in him were well known, and
it was no secret that
he longed to see his friend in the
White House. The whole
25 McKinley
to H. H. Kohlsaat, Myron T. Herrick, M. A. Hanna, William R.
Day, and Thomas McDougal, March 14,
1893, in Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 51-54.
26 Herrick
to unknown addressee, February 21, 1893. Duncan Papers.
27 J. L. Botsford to Herrick, May 19, 1893. Ibid.
112
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
affair had hit him as hard as McKinley,
and at times this,
plus his own worries, dragged him down
into deep depression.
"I have no heart for any other
work until McKinley is re-
lieved from this awful strain," he
wrote a political friend.28
Moreover, one of his chief concerns was
Mrs. McKinley. Her
offer was generous and understandable,
but she was an in-
valid, with no means of support except
her small property;
if the governor should die, who would
take care of her? With
this in mind he made special efforts to
underwrite her prop-
erty so that it could be returned to
her when the affair was
over.29
From the first there had been talk of a
public subscription,
and it shortly materialized despite
McKinley's protests. Con-
tributions addressed to McKinley or to
the "McKinley Fund,"
ranging from nickels and dimes to
dollars, came to Herrick
and McKinley.30 It was
announced publicly at McKinley's
direction that no such public fund
would be established, and
he himself returned such contributions.
But Judge Day did
not see how they could prevent people
from giving their
money to help the governor of Ohio if
they wished to. It
was, after all, a free country.31
Strange things now happened
as the news of McKinley's troubles
spread. General Russell
Hastings wrote to say that the boys in
blue of '61 would not
forget him in his hour of need.32 Old
debtors, many of them
former comrades who had borrowed small
sums from him
during the Civil War, returned the
amounts with interest
and made additional contributions.33
After reading about
his troubles in a newspaper, a man whom
he had helped years
before in college sent seventy-five
dollars on account, with
28 Hanna to Charles Dick, February 23,
1893. Charles Dick Papers, Ohio His-
torical Society.
29 Ibid.
30 See Albert Clarke to McKinley,
February 25, 1893, W. J. Magee to James
H. Hoyt, February 22, 1893, and other
material in the Duncan Papers for con-
tributions from working men and women.
31 Olcott, William McKinley, I,
291; William R. Day to Herrick, February 28,
1893, Duncan Papers.
32 Russell Hastings to McKinley,
February 19, 1893. Duncan Papers.
33 McKinley to Herrick, March 7, 1893. Ibid.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 113
the promise of more when he could spare
it.34 Strangers
offered to lend or give him substantial
sums.35 McKinley
promptly forwarded every payment which
he considered le-
gitimate to the trustees. Others were
returned.
It was doubtless satisfying to know
that the public sympa-
thized with McKinley and would not
apparently hold his
misfortune against him politically, but
the situation was
fraught with danger. Not only was McKinley
unyielding in
his refusal to countenance a public
subscription, but the situ-
ation was ripe for favor seekers, eager
to donate now and
collect later should the governor's
presidential ambitions be
fulfilled. "There are lots of well
meaning people in this world
that want to give a dollar to raise the
Governor's debts, and
in doing it would raise his hair at the
same time," Kohlsaat
noted with the shrewdness of a born
newspaperman.36
Hanna was acutely alive to the danger
of seeming to
sell any favors and made it clear to
one and all with charac-
teristic bluntness that "we are
doing this in a semi-confidential
way and will not receive any money from
persons except those
who give from proper motives."37
He was not one to wipe
out financial liens by granting
political mortgages. Several
large contributions were refused when
it became obvious that
they would later come home to roost as
demands for patron-
age or favors. As Herrick put it,
"That fund had to be as
free as human foresight could make it
of any implied obliga-
tion."38 No move was
made, no funds accepted without this
in mind. If favors were promised, there
is no known record
of it.
By early March some light had been
brought into the
financial darkness, and McKinley was
beginning to see the
extent of his liability, if not the
ultimate solution of the
problem. His temper and demeanor
improved accordingly.
34 McKinley
to Herrick, March 8, 1893. Ibid.
35 See George W. Hazlett to McKinley, February 23, 1893. William McKinley
Papers, Library of Congress.
36 Kohlsaat to Herrick, March 14, 1893. Duncan Papers.
37 Hanna to John Hopley, February 25,
1893. Hopley Papers.
38 Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 73.
114
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
"He is getting more and more
cheerful as the days go by," a
friend noted.39 While his
friends labored on his behalf, he
went about his duties with his
customary composure and
charm. Mail flooded in on him from
everywhere, a good
deal of which he forwarded to the trustees. It seemed
that
his political reputation had not
suffered; he might yet emerge
from the fray not only without censure
but with greater
political popularity than ever before.
Throughout March and April the trustees
were busy.
Wealthy friends were contacted in the
Middle West and
East; financial centers were visited in
Chicago, Cleveland,
Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.40 Hanna's
circle of business
friends contributed as best they could,
and he was relentless
in his quest for funds.41 No
doubt he tactfully reminded them
when possible of the services which
McKinley had performed
for them and the Republican party in
the past, and pointed
out that his future would be ruined if
he did not emerge suc-
cessfully from his present troubles. He
made no bargains,
but the strength of his associations
and the force of his argu-
ments were such that his friends
rallied to him as much as to
McKinley. But it was slow going, which
seemed slower be-
cause of the deepening depression and
the uncertainty of the
future.
Fellow politicians were at first, as
usual, wary of the situ-
ation and were reluctant to take up
McKinley's troubles.
Major Charles Dick of the Ohio
Republican organization, a
close friend of Hanna's, whom he
ultimately succeeded in the
senate, worked tirelessly for McKinley.
Most of the immedi-
ate circle surrounding both Hanna and
McKinley worked
without question, inspired by the great
loyalty which both
men drew from their associates. But
Senator John Sherman,
beholden both to Hanna and McKinley,
spoke for an element
39 Charles Bawsel to Minna Bawsel, March
8, 1893. Charles Bawsel Papers, in
possession of and quoted by permission
of Miss Helen Bawsel, Washington, D.C.
40 Kohlsaat, From McKinley to Harding, 15-16.
41 Herbert Croly, Marcus Alonzo Hanna: His Life and Work (New York,
1912), 170.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 115
which was not so sure and which was
inclined to caution.
"I will with pleasure join in your
movement to help Mc-
Kinley," he wrote a few days after
the initial crisis, "but do
not think we ought to be asked to do so
until it is certain
that our aid will be effective to
relieve him from his embarrass-
ments." Having spent a lifetime in
Ohio's cut-throat politics,
the senator perceived the heart of the
matter. "If his liabili-
ties are so great that this cannot be
done it is hardly worth-
while for us to help."42 In
the end, as the situation cleared
and defined itself, members of the
party organization per-
ceived that harm to McKinley was harm
to themselves and
moved to help him.
Hanna was not beset by any doubts, nor
were Herrick and
Kohlsaat. Their personal regard for
McKinley and belief
in his political future overrode any
thoughts of faltering.
John Hay, later secretary of state for
McKinley and a close
political adviser in Republican
circles, sent a check for $2,000
to cheer them on, together with kind
words for McKinley
and his future.43 Hanna went
to Pennsylvania and found
Philander Knox only too happy to give
$500 and the promise
of more from his friends when they
could afford it; he moved
on to the Carnegie works, where he drew
$2,000 from Henry
Clay Frick; in Ohio, Charles P. Taft
gave another $1,000.44
What arguments he used are not known,
but he could use
rough language and more when common
sense failed.
In Illinois, Kohlsaat was discreetly
lunching and dining
with a variety of businessmen. His head
was filled with com-
plaints that nobody could afford to
help a bankrupt; that
times were hard and money tight; and
that the future was
dark. Heads were shaken, brows
furrowed, and doubts ex-
pressed, but the talkative editor was
as relentless as Hanna.
Sessions over cigars and brandy
generally changed the atmos-
phere, and hard talking did the rest.
Protests waived aside,
42 John Sherman to Herrick, February 20,
1893. Duncan Papers.
43 Hanna
to Herrick, March 18, 1893. Ibid.
44 Hanna to Herrick, March 7, 1893. Ibid.
116
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
the Illinois Steel Company donated
$10,000; George Pullman
was asked for $5,000; and Philip Armour
gave $5,000.45
Under Herrick's blandishments, Ohio
banks holding Mc-
Kinley's notes discounted them ten
percent, this being counted
as their donation to the fund.46 Ohio
men were contacted,
and the importance of saving McKinley's
political future was
not lost upon them.
Little by little the fund grew. Mrs.
McKinley's property
seemed safe and was set aside. The
governor was not in-
formed of the progress of the
fund-raising campaign except
in the vaguest terms, and he assumed to
the end that the
trustees were merely consolidating his
debts for later repay-
ment. By June his future course seemed
settled; among those
who knew, it was rumored that
sufficient funds had been
collected, a rumor denied by the
trustees, who nonetheless
hoped that the end was at hand.47
But politics was a perpetual pastime in
Ohio in the late
nineteenth century, and neither
personal misfortune nor
national catastrophe could stay or
delay the campaigning that
punctuated every summer and autumn.
When the crisis had
settled sufficiently to permit rest and
contemplation, McKinley
had broken away from the cares of
office for a brief southern
vacation with Mrs. McKinley. In
Washington, visiting old
friends and talking politics, he
parried all demands for inter-
views with a combination of bland charm
and guile. "Mat-
ters political are now out of season,
too early, and wouldn't
be timely," he told newspapermen.48
While he continued on
his way, plans were being laid for his
renomination on the
assumption that his personal financial
troubles would not
hinder his race for a second term as
governor. It was soon
evident that his personal popularity
was in no way diminished
by his misfortune; well-wishers greeted
him wherever he
went, in Ohio and elsewhere. Hard times
and financial prob-
45 Kohlsaat to Herrick, February 25,
March 8, March 14, 1893. Ibid. Pullman
apparently did donate to the fund, but
the amount is not specified.
46 Kohlsaat,
From McKinley to Harding, 16.
47 Herrick to Samuel Q. Marsh, June 8,
1893. Duncan Papers.
48 Ohio State Journal, April 11, 1893.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 117
lems only added to the luster
surrounding him, and he was
shortly to be boomed as the
"Advance Agent of Prosperity"
in the national political arena, an odd
title for a man who
was supposedly bankrupt. For years he
had stood as the
champion of the protective tariff and
the good times which it
symbolized for him, and now that hard
times were upon the
land, presumably as a result of fears
of proposed Democratic
tariff reform, he assumed more and more
the role of a har-
binger of good times under Republican
rule.
By late May, two weeks before the state
convention in
Columbus, there was no doubt that
McKinley would be re-
nominated. Senator Sherman declined to
return to Ohio for
the preliminaries, pleading ill health
and the lack of necessity.
"As the renomination of Governor
McKinley is certain to
take place there is no necessity for my
presence," he wrote.49
On the eve of the convention all was in
order; there was no
hint of disfavor emanating from the
Walker-McKinley affair;
McKinley's popularity was at an
all-time high. At the con-
vention itself his name was greeted
with storms of applause
and cheering, and at a spokesman's
statement that his name
was linked the world over, even in the
South Sea Islands,
with the protective tariff, the
delegates erupted.50 He was
nominated without debate or opposition
and made a rousing
speech to the convention.
In the intensive campaign which
followed there was little
talk of the Walker-McKinley affair; the
governor's integrity
was vindicated; his popularity was beyond question. It
was
a Republican year. Taking no chances,
McKinley, with his
customary political shrewdness,
canvassed the state inten-
sively and extensively, making 130
speeches in 86 of the state's
88 counties.51 Those on the
inside of the campaign sensed a
greater victory than ever before. "Everything is
looking ex-
ceedingly rosy and good for the
Governor," an assistant
wrote. "The election is just three weeks from
today. Look
49 Sherman to Charles Dick, May 27,
1893. Dick Papers.
50 Joseph P. Smith, History of the
Republican Party in Ohio (Chicago, 1898),
I, 641.
51 Canton Repository, October 25, 1893.
118
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
out for 25,000 to 40,000 majority....
His meetings are tre-
mendous even for McKinley."52
But the heat of summer and the dust of
campaigning did
not deter the Walker-McKinley fund
trustees. Fearful that
political excitement and indifference
might prevent further
collection of funds, they vigorously
scotched rumors that the
fund was now adequate. They were by no
means out of the
financial woods. Summer dragged on, and
so did their nego-
tiations and bookkeeping. By September
they could finally
report that liabilities totaled
$57,000, and assets, exclusive of
McKinley's real estate, totaled
$63,000, counting uncollected
pledges.53 It only remained
to collect these pledges, which
dreary business the trustees consummated
during late sum-
mer and early fall, even as the
political campaign reached its
climax. By early November, with the
governor's political
future assured, the last of the
financial knots had been un-
tangled by the trustees and the matter
was nearing an end.54
Affairs were cleared up during the
winter, with the stern ad-
monition that McKinley must watch his
financial dealings
more closely in the future. Mrs.
McKinley's property was
placed under Herrick's management, and
a permanent trustee-
ship was established to manage the
property of both the Mc-
Kinleys.55
As his financial problems were being
solved, the people of
Ohio voiced their general approval of
Governor McKinley by
giving him a resounding majority of
80,000 at the polls, the
greatest victory accorded any governor
since the Civil War.
Personal popularity and his
identification with tariff protec-
tion and hoped for good times had
triumphed over the per-
sonal misfortune which a few short
months before had seemed
52 Charles Bawsel to Lydia Lindsay, October 17, 1893.
Bawsel Papers, Stark
County Historical Society.
53 Thomas
McDougal to Herrick, September 12, 1893. Duncan Papers.
54 Day to Herrick, November 6, 1893. Ibid.
55 Kohlsaat,
From McKinley to Harding, 16; Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 54.
The McKinley Papers, Library of
Congress, contain numerous letters dealing
with personal affairs between McKinley
and Herrick. By late November 1893 it
was assumed that the matter could be
closed shortly and that not only would the
McKinleys have no further trouble but
under careful management their property
would increase in value. Day to Herrick,
November 28, 1893. Duncan Papers.
THE WALKER-McKINLEY FUND 119
ready to ruin him. The dignity,
gravity, and honor with
which he had conducted his affairs
throughout the mortify-
ing crisis only redounded to his good.
Personally, politically,
financially, he appealed to the people
of Ohio and the people
of the nation as a man of integrity.
In the moment of victory McKinley must
have paused to
reflect on what his friends had done
for him. Out of disaster
they had wrought success, almost a
miracle. The "McKinley
luck" had held, but those involved
knew that it was not luck
but hard work that had won the victory.
The trustees had
raised and administered the fund
wisely. Ultimately they paid
over $130,000 worth of notes and left
the McKinleys' property
intact, facts made known to the
governor after his success at
the polls and only after the whole
affair had been successfully
terminated.56 Over five
thousand people, high and low, far
and near, had contributed to the fund.57
Not a single claim
was later filed against the McKinley
estate growing out of
the Walker affair, testimony to the
thoroughness and effici-
ency with which the trustees had
transacted their business.58
The secrecy and the method with which
the entire matter
was handled is no less striking than
its success. Mrs. Mc-
Kinley's property was simply held in
Hanna's custody, with
no intention of ever using it, and then
quietly returned to her
name at the close, to be watched over
by the trustees. Mc-
Kinley himself was blithely unaware of the true nature
of
the trustees' activities until the very
end. Absorbed in politics
and his official duties, he implicitly
trusted their judgment
and conduct throughout the proceedings.59
When he later
demanded the names of the donors, with
the assertion that
he would repay them to the penny, the
list was refused him
and he was informed that the debts were
cancelled.60 There
is no evidence that any of the donors
ever asked to be repaid
56 Olcott, William
McKinley, I, 290-291; Kohlsaat, From McKinley to Hard-
ing, 16; Mott, Myron
T. Herrick, 49.
57 Kohlsaat, From McKinley to Harding, 16.
58 Ibid.
59 Olcott, William McKinley, I, 291.
60 Kohlsaat, From McKinley to Harding, 16.
120
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
or were repaid, or that any political
favors were granted then
or later.61
But the most amazing aspect of the
entire affair was the
attitude shown by the people at large.
The striking thing is
not that rich men donated to the fund
but that thousands of
poor men were willing to do so also.
McKinley had patently
been negligent; he may have been an
expert on the tariff, but
he seemed unable to manage his own
financial affairs. This
very fact, however, seems to have been
looked upon as a dis-
play of his unselfishness and lack of
interest in pecuniary gain.
Though he could not have foreseen it
that spring-like day in
February when his composure was so
rudely shattered, the
misfortune had come at an opportune
time in his career, for
it ultimately identified him still
further with the common
people on whom the panic fell with
severity. Some common
chord of understanding seems to have
been struck between
him and the many who also felt the
pinch of hard times, and
his reputation as a spokesman for the
people was enhanced.
"The estimation in which you and
your noble wife are held
today by all good men is worth many
times more than all the
wealth of the Vanderbilts and
Goulds," wrote one hitherto
unknown admirer from Tennessee.62
In retrospect, the affair did not dim
his presidential hopes
in any way. "I believe, Major, it
will not be many years
before you will be in receipt of a
salary of fifty thousand
dollars a year, house-rent and other
perquisites included,"
wrote another admirer in wise prophecy.
"Until that time
your political opponents as well as
friends join heartily in
wishing you a happy issue out of your
present difficulties."63
The year 1893 had opened in doubt and
ended in affirmation.
As he looked toward 1894 and a second
inauguration as gov-
ernor of Ohio, the future seemed
brighter than ever.
61 Ibid.; Mott, Myron T. Herrick, 54. In the course of
extensive research in
the sources dealing with McKinley's
career, the present author has encountered no
evidence, even from unfriendly sources,
that any promises were made in return
for funds.
62 Joseph
W. Allen to McKinley, February 22, 1893. Duncan Papers.
63 S. A. Whitfield to McKinley, February
23, 1893. Ibid.
The OHIO HISTORICAL Quarterly
VOLUME 69 ?? NUMBER 2 ?? APRIL 1960
Governor McKinley's Misfortune:
The Walker-McKinley Fund of 1893
By H. WAYNE MORGAN*
ONE BALMY, SPRING-LIKE DAY in February
1893, Governor
William McKinley of Ohio boarded a
train for a trip to New
York. The tang of spring in the air was
matched by the
bright carnation in his lapel and the
genial smile he gave
the well-wishers who saw him off. In
his pocket he had the
outline of a speech he was to make to
the Ohio Society of
New York.1 It was a common
occurrence for the governor.
Fourteen years in the national house of
representatives and
his lifelong identification with the
principle of tariff protec-
tion had made him a national figure.
Nearly everyone in
the country who could read a newspaper
knew of the author
of the McKinley tariff. He was a
popular stump speaker, on
call for Republican causes throughout
the country. Elected
governor of Ohio in 1891, he seemed
assured of reelection
in 1893, and his name was already being
prominently men-
tioned in connection with the
Republican presidential nomina-
tion in 1896.
Fate intervened that day in Buffalo,
just as it intervened
in that same city later in his career.
The train stopped;
there was a telegram for the governor.
He excused himself
* H. Wayne Morgan is a teaching
assistant in history at the University of
California, Los Angeles.
1 Julia B. Foraker, I Would Live It
Again: Memories of a Vivid Life (New
York, 1932), 236-237.