Wendell Lauth
Editor’s note: This is part of a weekly series marking the 120th anniversary of Niles native William McKinley’s presidency.
The New York Times reported:
“WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 The whole length of Pennsylvania Avenue, from the Capitol to just beyond the White House, has suddenly witnessed an eruption of carpenters, timber, booths for watchmen and storage, and a litter of incomprehensible material out of which observation stands of artistic design and within the reach of the slenderest purse are to be constructed.
“Indeed, members of the Senate and the House are admonished, as they go by, that the day is approaching when these preparations must culminate in the inauguration of William McKinley and in the death of the 56th Congress. Those statesman who are to die with the Congress take small interest in the carpenter work, or the jokes about the little sawmill that is working right under the President’s bedchamber window to hasten the construction of the Cou