Stark forces..............................

     Here's where McKinley showed the iron resolve normally kept shrouded behind his countenance of magnanimity.  Having explained how the stark forces of reality had imposed upon America the unsolicited duty of receivership, the president made clear there would be no turning back, no wavering, and no hand-wringing.  "Grave problems come in the life of a nation," said McKinley, "however much men may seek to avoid them.  They come without our seeking,—why, we do not know, and it is not always given to us to  know,—but the generation on which they are forced cannot avoid the responsibility of honestly striving for their solution."

-Robert W. Merry, President McKinley:  Architect of the American Century