Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1889-07-10
ST. MARTINS ACADEMY.
Laying of the Corner Stone-Address By
Colonel Elmer Otis.

Laying of the Corner Stone-Address by
Colonel Elmer Otis.
The public performance of an act, con-
nected with an institution which will
leave its indeible impress upon the fl-
ture of Sturgis and the surrounding
country, took place Sunday afternoon.
1t was nothing less than the public con-
secrating and placing Of the corner stone
of st. Martins academy, to be built by
the Benedictine sisters upon their ground
Immediately east of the Catholic church.
The ceremony was advertised to take
place at 5 o'clock but long before that
hour the crowds began to assemble
awaiting the commencement Of the exer-
cises. Shortly after the hour set Father
Rosen mounted the platform followed by
Colonel Otis, of the 9Th cavalry, Mayor
Davenport, Ex-Mayor Potter, City
Auditor Hoehn, and others. The 9Th
cavalry band, which had rendered their
services, was present and rendered a
beautiful selection from their magnificent
repertoire, after which Colonel Otis de-
livered the following Grafton:
Rev. Father, Ladies' and Gentlemen.
rise to address you this evening with
difidence and reluctance; public speak
ing is not in my province, and only from
the persistent intercession Of our good
Father Rosen, do 1 now attempt it. i
therefore claim your indulgence whilst I
make a few remarks on this occasion
an occasion of great Importance to the
Catholics of Sturgis and vicinity. tits of
great Importance to the Catholics here,
because, our good bishop and Father
Rosen are about to erect an academy to
instruct our children, to educate them,
and fit them for the duties of this life,
and we meet this day to lay the corner
stone of this building intended for this
academy. The laying Of this stone
brings up the subject of education, a
momemtous one, one SO, great that / can
not even give synopsis of it. In my
daily reading I have learned many
points on this subject, being Of interest
to us all, perhaps some them may be of
interest at this time.
It has been said and written by many,
that Catholics are averse to education.
Especially has this been avered at the
time when the whole world was Catholic,
in other words, during the SO called
Ozark Ages" Let us examine for a
few moments only, these SO called Ozark
Ages" and see what was done during
these centuries by the Catholic church.
/ do not know exactly at what time these
SO called Ozark Ages" commenced, but
it is generally supposed they closed,
came to an end, with the beginning of
the SO called Reformation. During the
Middle Ages or the SO called Ozark
Ages" some Of the finest buildings were
erected the world has ever seen. OF
these may be mentioned all the great
cathedrals of Europe as Saint
Peters, in Rome, Saint Marks, in Ven
ice, Westminster Abbey, in London,
cathedrals in Milan and Strasburg, and
a great many others too numerous to
mention. Now what kind of buildings
are these? Do they reflect the spirit OF
the SO called Ozark Ages?" If SO what
is the reflection? One of astonishment,
of wonder.
What wonderful buildings! What
monuments, upon which time has not
yet made its impress, though built humid
reds of years ago. Are any buildings
built in modern times to compare with
them, in this enlightened age, in this age
of invention? No, thrice no. This age
dare not undertake the astonishing works
of these SO called Ozark Ages"
Let us look also at the works of art,
at the paintings, at the sculpture, are
they not superior to anything now made ?
Yes, yes many times. AS an evidence of
this only look at the hordes of travellers
from all over the known world, making
every effort to view these monuments of
sculpture, of painting, that have come
down to us from the, so called "Dark
Ages all eager, paying vast sums of
money to possess even one of them. If
all these works attest the darkness of a.
few centuries ago, let us have some more
OF these dark ages.
Now what was the leading spirit of
these times? Was it not the Catholic
church? The designers Of these monu-
ments of architecture, were they not the
bishops, tbe abbots and even laymen of
the Catholic Church? How could these
'spoor ignorant Catholics' so called, in
vent and master the details of these won-
derful works unless they were educated?
They could not They required not
only an education, but an education of
the highest order. From whom did
they get this education? From the
Catholic church, for in those ages there
was no other than the grand old Catholic
church. In those days the SO called Re
formation had not been even heard Of.
Who invented printing the means by