Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-03
MAKING YOUNG DOCTORS
Commencement Exercises Today Of the
Columbian Medical College.
Degrees Conferred and Speeches Made
Music and Flowers Add to the
ngnished Audience,

The annual commencement exercises Of
the medical department of Columbian Uni
versity were held this afternoon at AL
baugh's Opera House. The scene was one
Of rare brilliancy. and the decorations were
of unusual beauty. The setting of the stage
was realistic representation Of garden.
On each side of the board were great clus-
tiers of green plants and towering palms,
whose tops reached high up into the flies.
A green hedge extended all around the stage
and hemmed In the faculty and students
with wall of flowing. waving foliage.
Suspended from the proscenium was mass
of tangled ferns. in which the letters c. L..
were woven in the college colors, orange
and blue. All the boxes were draped in ma
tional ensigns, with festoons of the promi-
nently present orange and blue silk. AL
though the students received no flowers in
accordance with a wise custom of the uni
versity. the footlights were banked with
floral gems. The decorations of the re-
mainder of the house were of the animate
kind, and comprised mainly the girl friends
and relatives of the students, arrayed in the
softest and brightest of spring dresses.
They applauded their favorites to the echo,
and 1t must have been, as the valedictorian
said, one of the proudest and happiest days
in life.
Promptly at 2:15 the Marine Band. under
the leadership of Prof. Fanciulli, opened the
exercises with Sommer's overture. Quickly
following this came the rapturous Cocoanut
Dance by Tobani. and then, before the merry
strains of this had died away, the great
musical aggregation broke forth with the
stirring Marine Band March, composed by
Prof. Fanciulii.
Prayer was offered by Rev. j. Macbride
Sterritt. He thanked God for the privilege
He had accorded them of assembling there
and for the peaceful termination of one
more year. He accounted 1t rich pleasure
to assemble as they did on celebration of
the event. In the study of medicine and In
their endeavor to alleviate the sufferings of
humanity the students were following in the
footsteps Of their Maker. DIR. Sterritt asked
divine blessing on the assemblage, the
faculty and the audience and prayed in elo-
quent words that He might guide and con-
troll the outgoing students in their course
through life He prayed that the usefulness
of Columbian University would continue and
that 1t would never cease to exercise its
righteous influence in this the national capt.
tai
Mr. S. johnson performed a bell solo
which won an outburst of plaudits. Then
came the comforting of degrees. This was
solemn ceremony, and so the stud .nts
seemed to regard it. They received their
sheepskns with formal Difference and deep
gravity, as though they had a full aDDre-
citation of the Importance of the occasion
AS DIR. J. c. yelling, the president of the
university, would hand q student his d.
ploma the friends of that student would
break out in applause. and in this way the
popularity of each student, so far as that
audience was concerned, could be readily
gagged.
The orchestra then rendered THE Dar-
kies' Dream" by Reefs. and this made the
people sigh and pat their feet by turns.
Prof. j. Ford Thompson. the orator of the
occasion. then proceeded to deliver the GUS
tomary address to the graduates. DR..
Thompson introduced quite a number of
original observations and did not conllne
himself solely to the conventional lines FOL
lowed by the usual commencement orator.
He gave them a good deal OF sound adyi e
as to how they should gain professional ex-
cellence and popular confidence.
The Bachelors Polka" by FanciIlli.
came next.
Mr.. Sherman d. Maynard, the valedicto-
rian of the class. acquitted himself with
especial credit and evolved a choice pro-
duction both from an oratorical and literary
standpoint.
The intermezzo "Rusticana" was next on
the program, end then came the award Of
prizes by Prof. w. w. Johnson, DID. VIM.
II. Wunderlich performed as a cornet solo
Schuberts ''Serenata' and was rewarded
by well-earned applause. A benediction
and the Dolphin March" closed the oere-
monies.