Murat Halstead, who wrote the book called, "Our Martyred President
or the Illustrious Life of William McKinley", wrote some positive
falsehoods concerning me. This Halstead has always been a defender
of anarchy or the licensed saloon.
William McKinley was no martyr. He was murdered by a man who
was the result of a saloon and could not tell why he murdered the President.
I could tell of many amusing incidents, indeed. I could fill a book
of interesting anecdotes. Once when I was among the Thousand Islands
of the St. Lawrence, in the summer of 1902, a characteristic woman with
a very low dress, with a very long train, the whole a mixture of paint,
powder, lace, flashy jewelry and corset stays, with as much exposure
of person as she dare, came to me in an affected manner, handed me a
roll saying: "I am a temperance lecturer, here is one of my bills." I
replied: "If you are such, you had better make a practical application
of temperance and cover up yourself." The change of her countenance
was instantaneous and she with a queer almost startled look said: "You
go to He--l."
Once in Elmira, N. Y. the streets were so crowded that we had to
leave the Salvation Army Hall. I climbed in a farmer's two horse wagon.
He came out of a saloon and gathered up the reins and laid the whip
to his horses, which were caught so as to let me out.
Mr. Furlong, my manager, had a keen sense of the ridiculous and
would let me alone when I started out.
Pages:
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259