The Times published on Tuesday a sketch of Mr. Mark
Hanna, who, if Mr. McKinley is elected, will, in the judgment of its New York correspondent, be the real President of the 'United States. He is a banker in the State of Ohio, is sup- posed to be upright, and is known to be astute. He managed Mr. McKinley's election by spreading abroad through clubs of voters a " McKinley myth," an idea, that is, that Mr. McKinley, who is a rather ordinary person, was a man of an ideal moral nature. It was owing to him that Mr. McKinley kept silence so long upon the currency question, and owing 'to him that, when the majority in the Convention was ascer- tained, the platform accepted by the candidate pronounced -for gold. Mr. Hanna could, therefore, of course have any office he might wish for, but whatever office he accepts, or even if he accepts none, "he will be the power behind the throne." That depends. Mr. Hanna, for all his artfulness, may have convictions, and if they collide with Mr. McKinley's it is the latter which will win. Mr. McKinley cared nothing about the currency question, which is probably too com- plicated for him to understand, but he did care about the tariff, and upon that no mule could be more obstinate. It is exceedingly difficult to rule second-rate men. The chasm be- tween their powers and those of the first-rate men is too deep.
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