 Bicycling was the latest craze in the United States in 1896 , and among those who came to salute McKinley was a brigade of bicyclists , who pulled images of McKinley and Hobart behind their vehicles , and performed tricks as they went to see their presidential candidate . The people of Canton joined in enthusiastically , and restaurants and souvenir venders expanded their operations . A popular source of keepsakes was the wood of McKinley 's front porch or fence , whittled as supporters listened , and the blades of his lawn , when not trampled underfoot , made later appearances in scrapbooks . In between delegations , McKinley entertained visitors ; future Secretary of State John Hay , a major backer , came to Canton reluctantly , not relishing the crowds , but wrote " he met me at the [ railroad ] station , gave me meat & took me upstairs and talked for two hours as calmly & serenely as if we were summer boarders in Bethlehem , at a loss for means to kill time . I was more struck than ever with his mask . It is a genuine Italian ecclesiastical face of the XVth Century . " 
