The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-06-15

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ranks high in the performance of his duties,
who does the best he can, Is deserving Of
honor aud praise. Onlv the idle, thought
less, careless and wicked are dIsgraced and
punished. / have been u teacher, and for Upy
life l would not dare even to chIde a pupil
who has faithfully striyen 10 do his duty.
striVen to succeed and made a failure. Effort
a. well as success has Il need Of praise, and
your associate cadets who have earnestly
tried to win this medal have all the glory that
belongs to honest endeavOr.
Excellence IL valuable always. Excellence
In enort, excellence in attachments aud ex-
celience In character compare favOrahly with
the Christian virtues, Faith, Hope and Chart
ty. Excellence in military drill Is one thing
while excellence IN spelling Is anOther-there
10 excellence and degrees OF excellence In
every worthy act Of life.
Then the rewards OF labor are In proper
ton to Its excellence. Best work gets best
pay. This IL true with all classes of society.
POor cooks get only small wages, but there
are culinary masters whose services com
mand 800 a year. Some students at the
academies make snail-like progress. others go
forward with rapid pace and win laurels of
renoWn and honor. Some divines preach
their hearers TO sleep, others speak the living
truth to admiring and spell-bOund listeners
and receive for their labOrs princely salaries,
Some lawyers are always pettifOggers and
poor In purse, while the best attorneys often
get a bonanza In u single fee. Some physi-
clans give medicine for humps when the
patient has measles, others have skill aud
knowledge which win for them fame and
fortune. BEST work gets best pay" IL the
rule with all, with labolers, artisans, students
and professional men, with all in every con-
ditiOn.
You have won this medal and IL IL yours to
keep and TO enjoy. Blu remember here are
your fellow cadets, they all have the merit of
striving to win. none OF them were dis
tanced" and In the ''hOme stretch" some of
them were only 'hali-a-Deck behind, and
this was only the FIRST heat over life 3 long
race course. Can you keep in the lead:
Ii you aim at the top and necessarily strive
to reach the top. though you may not sue
coed. you will surely reach a proud aud
eDviOus eminence. Then as you ascend In the
scale Of moral and intellectual attachments,
the horizon OF your vision will expand aud
YOU can look upon the scene below with the
utmost satisfaction and pleasure, as when a
traveller climbs y mountain his horizon is en-
larged, his eyes behold new beauties, and the
plain he left behind puts on angelic robes.
There Is more In this matter OF rank than
you think or dream. In rank at drill and in
school your teachers give credits and de.
merits; in your character In lie you have all
who know you, your classmates your friends.
those you meet upon the street or In The cars,
all whom you meet at any time or place, all
OF them are watching every action, even the
nod OF your head, the manner of your walk,
the way you speak rs polite or impolIte. the
tip OF your hat, everything you do, and your
rank, your position IN society will be deter
mined 6v a thousand pairs Of watchful eyes,
Il thousand watchful, enviOus and jealous
eyes.
Do you think the close watching and sure
judgment cruel? No. This watching Is your
salvation, and If fOund In the right. this same
watching VIII elevate you day by day, year
by year, I'LL you rank with the best and be-
come glorified among men. The wicked,
1 fhInvnR mnrhnrnra fnnIn hnn Ennr mat
Ing, these fear the sheriff and dislike the
hangman. 1.-THE wicked fee when no man
pursueth but the righteous are as bold MS q
Hon." In fact. any one. boy or man who bears
watching Is OF very little worth; any one who
stands abashed or shrinks before the eyes OF
the world should at once 20 on his knees and
pray God for strength to resist evil.
You and your classmates as well, will have
rank In all the days you live, same rs rank at
school. You can not avoid It. Where shall
your rank be. way down or way up? Down
or up depends entirely upon yourselves, how
YOU behave, what you do and say, your every
LAY habits and what you may accomplish.
You may descend to the lowest depths of deg
relation or climb to the highest post ions OF
honor as you will. and wish and work.
Honor and shame from conditions rise;
Act we'll your part, there all the honor lies.'
This ls true In free and enlightened Amer
ica. In some countries peasants born OF
Se'ehto nv ohu uC hI"uNb pthSdtISi
In India no one need expect to rise above the
condition OF birth. Caste IL the enemy OF
Hope. Caste blights effort and ambition.
Here work wins and we will surely attain
such standing among men such character and
such amount OF wealth as our work deserves.
l mean all | say and more. AS you will, rs
you wish, as you work you will be. Webster
who became the ~'expounder Of the constitu-
lion" was a youth of moderate abilities
Henry Clay began life. ragged and barefoot,
rs the "Mill Boy OF the Slashers;" Lincoln
as u rail splitter and Grant, rs a 'tanner. =
Cadets In Wentworth Male Academy rank
say from 0Ds TO ninety, and even the lowest
10 this small lumber, II ho has striyen TO be
first, has much to his credit and may boast.
iully exclaim, there are only eighty mine
aheud Of mel In life, In our behavior, in
character. In our standing III society In thi:
country, we rack actually somewhere be
tween one aut sixty-five millions. What
range OF rankl How low, how loathsOme
how to be pitied are those poor fellows at OF
near the bottom; how high, how noble ant
no ' proud are the happy ones who are neal
the top!
Bottom or top, which for you? Will yor
hive grab seats In the 'Pit." or reserved
cushions In the "Dress CIrcleg'
Then IL Is easier rs n matter OF labor only
saving nothing Of the pleasurers and the de
lights OF the journey, It Is easier to climb BY
the smooth paths Of duty and virtue Il
Heaven than TO go down by the dark, DIRT,
and dangerous declIvities of Vice To He'll
Which Is your choice:
But some one saws must have somt
fun" Fun? Yes. have all the innocent anC
harmless fun you wish, all the fun YOU can
enjoy. Have fun enough to keep your youth
ful Spirits buOyant and happy; fun enough
interpreted with lessons and duties to maxi,
Il most relishable sandwich. FunS Fun 4
the !eaven OF lille in the whole Journey from
youth 10 age from the cradle to the grave.
The only trouble with fun Is to distinguish
between fun and crime, between fun and tn
opposite OF fun, between something that I
derisive, hurtful and odiOus instead Of agree.
able. healthful and pleasant. Then there /
rank In fun az we'll a. In lessons, department
and drill. Fun may be very low or very
high, and fun OF the highest rank Is the best
Fun Is much misunderstood. Young boy
think IL fun to wade In water and eat gree
apples; lads think il fun to smoke cigarette
and initiate the foolish and Injurious habits o
grown peoples; cadets and students in tn
schools sometimes think there is fun In 'haz
Ing" In q lark or a spree; and older person
may Imagine there Is fun even In drunken
ness. idleness, poverty aud debsucherY. No
There Is no fun In anything which leaves
sting behind,
But l need not talk In this way to tn
cadets OF Wentworth Male Academy. TIL,
instructions Of your patient and zealou
teachers. the discipline aud the influence O
this school, the ambition you have to excel
the love you have for each other, the hope
you have TO possess a home of your own will
plenty to eat and to wear, the desires an,
prayers OF your parents and friends. tn
noble example Of Stephen G. Wentworth ,th,
founder OF this academy, all these admonisl
you to do your duty, to win honor. position
wealth, and all these declare that,
1.-THE good alone are great"
You know the conditions Of success. Econ
omy, industry and perseverance, these gatue
ducats and knowledge. Add to these punetu
ality. temperance. truthfulness. method
obedience and unyielding grit. and the eau
,iidate for the worlds money and honors will
win. Idlers, dreamers and ~loiterers will b
1ostled aside and fare hard In the rude strii
OF the multitude for the best position.
beP
You arc young and slime flies" Save
work and build for the needs OF age; loo
well 10 the substructure and u beautiful su
perstructure shall arise thereon; choose an
pursue sOme noble purpose and let n
'Lgais FatuuS" allure you into side issues.
The youth is wise who learns and long re
members,
That showerr Aprils bless the bleak DE
cembers.
But the medal. Here, take it. by pat
ence. skill and perseverance, you have earne
il. You will find pleasure in its possession
At s o'clock Tuesday evening at Hagen
opera house, the commencement literary ex
~ercises were begun; breathing room was at
, premium. To speak Uf the girls, they WEI
all there-nO exception to this rule. Tt
young gentlemen acquitted themselves wei
In the following ~"elite"
PROGRAMME.
PRAYER.
) Music.
REGULATION 'JOlInpH tbl cams.