St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-22
AN INSPIRING SCENE.
THE SPIRIT or PATRIOTISM HAS
FULL SWING
AT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL.


of the Revolution, Are Award
ed-A Thousand Pupils Listen
to Stirring addresses by Elo-
quent Speakers.
The big audience hall at the Central
high school presented an inspiring
] spectacle at moor yesterday, and the
1000 pupils present listened to words of
wisdom, %eloQuence and patriotic sentl-
ment that could not help making n
lasting impression on their minds.
The occasion was the presentation of
tue medals to the winners in the recent
prize medal contest by the high school
scholars of the state. the contest being
under the auspices of the Sons OF the
Revolution.
The subject of the essays was 1.-The
| Causes That Led to the War OF the
Revolution" the first prize being won
by Ruth Shepard Phelps, of the Central
high school, and the daughter of E. j.
Phelps, the second prize being awarded
to Lucy Wagner, a gifted young lady OF
New Ulm.
Honorable mention was also accorded
to Samuel Pickard, the son of Frederick
w. Pickard. of this city. The prizes,
which are very handsome. bear on their
face the insignia and motto of the Sons
of the Revolution, and on the reverse
side of the seal or medal is Inscribed the
name OF the winners. The prize award
ed Miss Phelps is of solid silver, and the
prize secured by Miss Wagner is of
bronze, the workmanship in both in
stances being exquisite.
The only drawback to the complete
success of the exercises yesterday was
the absence of Miss Phelps, who is now
in Europe. Miss Wagner, a rosy
checked, flaXen-haired laSSle of perhaps
sixteen, was present, and she accepted
the honors so freely lavished with be-
coming maiden modesty. rhe exercises
had a double significance, from the fact
that they partoOk also of the spirit of
patriotism always manifested by the
celebration of Washington's birthday.
The assembly room was gracefully
adorned with the stars and stripes, and
the class notices adorned the walls. The
roStrum was also adorned with the ma
tiOnal colors, a stand of flags surmount-
ing an eagle occupying a conspicuous
place OH the platform.
The st. Paul contingent of the Sons
of the Revolution arrived at the Nicol-
let house at 11:30 o'clock, from whence
they were escorted to the high school.
Seated on the platform were a number
OF prominent educators and w~ell-known
citizens.
Prof. Greer, of the high school, pre-
sided, and there were present Mayor
EuStis, Supt. Jordan, President Ankle
new, Of the board of education of Mill
neapolis, and members of the board,
eX-Ald. Sullivan, of st. Paul. and the
university faculty were represented by
Prot. McLain, Prof. Maria Sanford and
Prof. West.
The assembly was called to order a
few minutes past II o'clock by RUkard
Hurd. secretary of the Sons of Revolu-
ton, who used q gavel made from wood
taken from the old United States war
frigate Constitution. Prof. McFadan
led the musical portion of the pro-
! gramme. and he invited all to join in
singing the grand old national air,
America" which was ung as only
1000 fresh young voices can render it,
the rafters of the building being made
TO vibrate with glorious melody.
A short and patriotic address followed
by Rev. John p. EgberI, of the House
| of Hope ch1rch, ST. Paul. He dweit
upon the significance of the OCCASION,
and congratulated the pupils on their
appearance and theg great feryOr mani
tested. His sentiments were touching
and beautifully expressed, and his I'D
dress was received with deafeiiing ap-
plauSe. In fact, each of the speakers
was %applauded with a sincerity aud
: s~pontaneity refreshing to behold.
Charles I. Noyes, president OF the
state branch of the Sons of the Revolu-
ton, neX sketched the purposes of the
cnniaty anh oIcn cnOka pf tho ohcnnoa
of Miss Phelps. In awarding her prize
he praised the tanner i'll which she had
handled the subject, 1.-The Causes That
Led to the Wal of the Revolution"
Supt. Jordan followed with witty re-
marks upon the fact that st. Paul had
been overcome in the present contest.
Rev. Falk Gjertsen, secretary OF the
board of education, followed with an
eloquent address, laying special stress
on the good work accomplished by the
public schools in asSimllating the diff
ferent nationallties and thereby doing
away with religious prejudice and class
distinctions.
Mayor EuStiS was the next speaker,
and his face flushed with pardonable
and honest pride at the deafening re-
ception accorded him, it being some
minutes before the applause subsidized
sufficiently for him to speak.
In commencing, he alluded to the in
spring character of the occasion, saying
that he looked upon the pupils very
much as a proud father would, do as he
| regarded them as his children, at least
} by adoption.
He then said:
81 am proud of the girl that took the
first prize, and if she were here now
my arms would be open 10 receive her.
Laughter. The boys on this occasion
only take honorable mention, but they
get the prize when they win the prize
winner Once New Ulm was noted for
the fact that a great massacre ana coll
sequent scalping Of the whites occurred
there. Today again we have one of
those same scalpers with us. This
young lady from New Ulm has the scalp
of ST. Paul and all OF the rest of the
state dangling at her belt excepting
that of Minneapolis. The mayor closed
by reading the motto of the class of '95:
New Occasions Teach New Duties"
THAT is the motto Of this administra-
! ton, he added"
Upon closing he was fairly over
whelmed with applause.
President Ankeny closed the eXer-
cises with a patriotic appeal to the pu-
pills. dwelling upon the deeds of WASH
ington and his compeerS, and advising
them to cultivate the heroic spirit OF
'76.
H PRIZE ESSAY.
The essay which took the prize. that
of Miss Ruth Shepard Phelps, of the
central high school, is as follows:
In considering the cause leading to
any great crisis in the history of man
kind. the character Of the people con-
cerned in that crisis must always be of
, primary Importance. Man makes his
tory, but character makes man. In the
= war of the American Revolution char
| acter was the essential point: 1t was Pc
} c%uliarly all ethical war. Had the char
acter of the American ~colonists been
other than it was. the Revolution could
not have arisen. Without their inherent
love of right and liberty they would
have been content under injustice,
for they would not have recognized it.
On the other hand, had George the
Third been a man of different type,
4 InCc Itnafo1 ln-- I1,lI,