Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-01

family life, a life very healthy for this ma
ton to see in its foremost citizen; and now
the woman who walked in the shadow ever
after his death, the wife to whom his loss
was a calamity more crushing than it could
be to any other human being, lies beside
him here In the same sepulcher.
Inscription on Monument.
There Is singular appropriateness in the
inscription on his monument. Mr.. Cortel-
you, whose relations with him were Of
such close intimacy, gives me the follow
ing information about 1t: On the Presidents
trip to the Pacific slope In the spring of
1901 President Wheeler of the University
of California conferred the degree of LII. D.
upon him in words SO well chosen that
they struck the fastidious taste of John
Hay, then Secretary of State. who wrote
and asked for copy of them from Presi-
dent Wheeler. On the receipt of this
copy he sent the following letter to Presi-
dent Mckinley, letter which now seems
filled with "a strange and unconscious
precedence:
Dear Mr.. President:
President Wheeler sent me the Enclosed
at my request You will have the words
in more permanent shape They seem to
me remarkably well chosen. and stately
and dignifed enough to serve-lOng hence,
please God-as your epitaph.
Yours, faithfully,
JOHN HAY.
university Of California,
"Office of the President.
"By authority vested In me by the regents
of the University of California | confer the
degree of doctor Of laws upon VIII am
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 magis
trate whose poise of judgment has been
tested and vfndicated 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 10, 1901
1t would be hard to imagine an epitaph
which a good citizen would be more anxious
to deserve or one which would more hap
PLY describe the qualities of that great
and good citizen whose life we here com
memorate. He possessed to very extra
ordinary degree the gift of uniting dis
cordant forces and securing from them q
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 po'se 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
good citizen and brave soldier. a chief
executive whose wisdom entitled him to
the trust which he received throughout the
nation. He was not only leader of men.
but pre-eminently helper of men; for one
of his most marked traits was the intensely
human quality of his wide and deep SYM
pathy. Finally, he not merely preached,
he was that most valuable of all citizens
in a democracy like ours, 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.
Chief Lesson Of His Career.
Many lessons are taught us by his career,
but none more valuable than the lesson of
broad human sympathy for and among all
Of our citizens Of all classes and creeds.
No other President has ever more deserved
to have his lifework characterized in Lin
coins words as being carried on with mall
ice toward none. with charity toward ALL"
AS boy he worked hard with his hands;
he entered the army as a private soldier;
he knew poverty; he earned his own liveli-
hood, and by his own exertions he finally rose
to the position of a man Of moderate means.
Not merely was he in personal touch with
farmer and town dweller, with capitalist
and wageworker. but he felt an intimate
understanding of each, and therefore an IN
innate sympathy with each; and his con-
same standard and to treat all with the
same justice. Arrogance toward the weak
and envious hatred of those well off were
equally abhorrent to his just and gentle
soul.
Surely this attitude of his should be the
attitude of all our people today. 1t would
be cruel disaster to this country to per-
init ourselves to adopt an attitude of hatred
and envy toward success worthily Won to-
ward wealth honestly acquired Let US in
this respect profit by the example of the
republics of this western hemisphere to the
south of u.s. Some Of these republics have
prospered greatly; but there are certain
ones that have Jagged far behind. that still
continue in condition of material poverty,
of social and political unrest and confusion.
mer class are those in which honest indus
try has been assured of reward and protec-
ton; those where a cordial welcome has
been extended to the kind of enterprise
which benefits the whole country, while in
cidentaly, as Is right and proper giving
substantial rewards to those who manifest
it, On the other hand, the poor and back
ward repubfics-the republics in which the
lot Of the average citizen is least desirable
and the lot Of the laboring man worst of all
are precisely those republics in which in
posed its owner to spoliation
To these communities foreign capital
now rarely comes. because it has been
found that as soon as capital is employed
so to give substantial remuneration to
those supplying ii. 1t excites ignorant
envy and hostility, which result In such
oppressive action, within or without the
law as sooner or later to work d virtual
confiscation. Every manifestation OF