Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-06-08
TIE COLLEGE oRAT1oss.
Brief Synopsis Of those Delivered by the
Graduating Glass.

Brief synopsis Of those Delivered by the
Graduating Glass.
1t is impossible to do justice to the ex-
cellent o~rations made by the graduating
class at the Black Hills college Thursday
by attempting to abridge them. as it de-
tracts greatly from their beauty and worth.
but our lack of space forces us to condense
them.
DARKNESS BRINGS U THE STARS
Wa the beautiful subject of Miss Angeline
Bergey. Dark indeed is the night when
the stars are hid. The stars come forth at
sunset to remind US that there is light
beyond the little compass of our night
SC the moral darkness of humanity has
been illumined by those who shone as stars
prophetic OF the light beyond" the
coming day" In Europe at one time
faith was a vain. historic knowledge, SUPER
stition. scholasticism. hierarchy and popery
prevailed. Rome. the queen of the world.
was filled with atrocious crimes. What
baseless shame and o%pprobrium we're there!
God suffered in that hour. Did this thick
darkness portend eternal night? Was there
no hope? Here. then. in the great struggle
between Satan and God. at the time when
Europe needed a strong arm. a master
mind. a noble heart. %whoswould dare and
Conquer for the right. she was blessed with
that sublime hero. Martin Luther. Once
more there was light. At the time of the
civil war the Uuited States were ON the
verge of ,ruin-with an empty treasury.
a disbanded army. a ruined credit, a divid-
ed people. Doubt and CONSERVATION filled
all minds. Then came the delivering
Moses. the. messenger of God. the savior of
his country. Abraham Lincoln. as a beacon
light'to cheer and to guide his countrymen.
And so all through history. at the crisis of
a d srk. decisive hour. when progress stops
her onward march. God smiles, the stars
come forth. Amid the crash of empires
none but the fittest live. Not until our
country passed through seeming disaster.
through the deep shadows of the revolution
and the dark night of %internecine strife did
her r%esplendence shine forth in the blazing
star of liberty. The darkness of her night
has rendered her light more visible. AS
obscure surroundings and a humble begin
ming serve to emphasize success when once
achieved. SO it may be said of linen. Dark
ness brings out the stars. 1t was grief that
carved Dante's statue in the temple of
fame. Driven from friends. kindred. home
from all things that make life seem fair and
sweet. into a night Of woe-but for that
long exile. but for that unutterable despair,
his divine comedy would never nave been
written. and one star less of the first mag
nitude would shine for our intellectual
enlightenment. Milton's Paradise Lost
could only have attained such heights of
Borrowing grandeur through a personal
triumph over persecution and suffering.
Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress issued from
prison walls. E~oyhood sorrows tipped
Dickens pen with a sypathetic fire for all
the oppressed of England. John. the exile.
became John the revelator. All those who
have ascended.supreme intellectual places,
those who nave enriched the blood of the
world and have raised humanity to a high
err plane. are those who lave wrestled in
the noblest conflict against all hardships
and storms of this life. Affections are
needed to develop our sympathies and to
soften and humanize the mind.
H SCHOLAR IN POLITICS.
Upon this topic Earl Hare began by say
ing that never in the history of the world
was there greater need of the scholar than
now. After carefully relating ancient
political history he stated that in a republic
every man must live. in part, for his
country. Our republic is a joint stock
company. the profits of which are common
to all citizens. Each voter holds a bond.
and it is his duty to see that it is always as
good as gold. Intellectual force is a grow
ing need in political affairs. The student
is too prone to withdraw within his own
chamber, and there bury himself in
Thought and mysticism. This intellectual
indifference to political obligations which
we see on every hand. is a greater danger
to our free institutions than the grossest
ignorance. We lave received into our
midst hosts of immigrants from foreign
lands to reinforce this home element of
danger. These people are not only with
out the political training all must have. but
through circumstances of foreign birth and
education are antagonistic to the princi-
pies of all government. Our greatest fear
lies in the enactment of pernicious laws
which tend to destroy the fair hopes of our
beloved land. Our only source of deliver
ancc from such disasters lies in better edu-
cation and acquaintance of the masses with
the economic history of our land. There
is great need of profound thinkers in ward
meetings and conventions. 1t is to the
scholar and his benifcent influence that
a. r. - 49,