“By authority vested in me by the regents of the University of California, I confer the degree of Doctor of Laws upon William McKinley, President of the United States, a statesman singularly gifted to unite the discordant forces of the Government and mold the diverse purposes of men toward progressive and salutary action, a magistrate whose poise of judgment has been tested and vindicated in a succession of national emergencies; good citizen, brave soldier, wise executive, helper and leader of men, exemplar to his people of the virtues that build and conserve the state, society, and the home. “Berkeley, May 15, 1901.” It would be hard to imagine an epitaph which a good citizen would be more anxious to deserve or one which would more happily describe the qualities of that great and good citizen whose life we here commemorate. He possessed to a very extraordinary degree the gift of uniting discordant forces and securing from them a harmonious action which told for good government. From purposes not merely diverse, but bitterly conflicting, he was able to secure healthful action for the good of the State. In both poise and judgment he rose level to the several emergencies he had to meet as leader of the nation, and like all men with the root of true greatness in them he grew to steadily larger stature under the stress of heavy responsibilities. He was a good citizen and a brave soldier, a Chief Executive whose wisdom entitled him to the trust which he received throughout the nation. He was not only a leader of men but preeminently a helper of men; for one of his most marked traits was the intensely human quality of his wide and deep sympathy. Finally, he not merely preached, he was, that most valuable of all citizens in a democracy like ours, a man who in the highest place served as an unconscious example to his people of the virtues that build and conserve alike our public life, and the foundation of all public life, the intimate life of the home.