Evening star., 1895-04-24
A COLLEGE BANQUET
Sons Of Columbian University Gather
at the Ebbitt.
MANY DISTINGUISHED MEN PRESENT
Their Alma Mater GIorified in Sew
eraI Eloquent Addresses.
A L UMNI IN ATTEN ANCE

The annual banquet of the Alumni Asso.
citation of the Columbian University was
held last evening at the Ebbitt House, and
| upward of 125 of the loyal sons of this
fine old institution met together to talk
over past experiences and to renew the
Pleasant associations of college life. II
| was a splendid gathering of men from
all walks of life, although, of course. the
representatives Of the learned professions
| largely predominated About the tables
| were gathered many of the men who are
leaders here in the church, at the bar and
| in the practice of medicine. They ran
| from grave to gay, from the gray-haired
graduate of half century ago down
to the young men who received their diplo-
| mas only last June.
An Enthusiastic Gathering.
1t was an enthusiastic gathering. for the
| Columbian alumni have much to be proud
| of. In the history Of the university, which
| extends through the most of the nine
| teenth century, great advances have been
| made along every line of educational work,
| and, as one of the speakers expressed it,
| Columbian University stands today the
| leading institution of learning in the capt.
| tai city of the greatest nation on the face
/ of the globe. This of itself is an incentive
| to success, and the university has not been
slow to profit from its advantages. In Its
three-quarters of a century Of life it has
increased in its resources until today 1t
has an endowment of round million of
dollars. and few Of the older graduates,
who were students when the college was
up on 14th street beyond the boundary. re-
member when it numbered less than a hun
dred undergraduates all told. Today In the
college, the law school, the medical school,
the Corcoran scientific school and the pre-
paratory school there are in the neighbor-
hood of an even thousand students en-
rolled.
A pleasant feature of the reunion last
evening was the opportunity the alumni
had to congratulate themselves upon the
honor which has come to one Of their num-
ber Postmaster General Wilson was him
self graduate of the university, and for
time one of its honored professors. He
was present at the banquet last evening
and was given a royal welcome by his
brother graduates.
The Banquet Committee.
The banquet was in charge of the execu-
tive committee of the Alumni Association
which is composed of Mr.. ]. H. Gordon
Mr.. Chaplin Brown, Professor A. p. Mon
tague. Mr.. George Steiger, DR.. ]. H. Gallo
way, Mr. E. L. Thurston, Mr.. A. s. Worth
ington, Dr. L. L. Friedrich, Mr.. E. H. Jack
son and Mr.. w. s. Harshman. Mr.. Jesse
H. Wilson is the president of the alumni,
and the other officers of. the association
are DR.. W. E. Handy and Mr.. A. c. Bran
denburg, vice presidents; Professor H. L.
Hodgkins, secretary, and Mr.. John B. Lar
ner, treasurer. To the indefatigable eff
forts of the secretary in arranging the
details of the banquet much of the sue
cess Of the occasion was due.
The banquet was served IN the main
dining room of the Ebbitt and it was COM
pletely filled with the tables necessary to
accommodate SO many guests. The room
was tastefully ornamented with palms, and
ha tables
Easter lilies and pink roses. Behind
screen at one end of the room was station
ed string orchestra, which rendered an
appropriate program of popular airs and
college songs during the evening. The
menus were two cards tied together with
ribbons of blue and gold, The college colors.
On one was printed the menu and on the
other the list of set toasts, each of which
was accompanied by quotation approprl-
ate to the subject assigned. Prior to the
banquet an informal reception was held IN
one of the large parlors, when the alumni
had a chance to greet old friends and make
new acquaintances. 1t was $3.50 O'CLOCK
when the guests sat down ct the table,
and it was long after that before the speak
ing was completed.
The Speech Making.
Mr. Jesse H. Wilson presided at the ban
quet and made a most efficient POSTMASTER.
In opening the speech making, which be-
gan with the appearance of coffee and
which was replete with reminiscences when
the college was on Kalorama hill He re-
ferred gracefully to a young professor of
those days who has grown to such A stat
ure since that the people of the whole
land are familiar with his name and fame.
His eloquence has filled the halls Of Con-
gress, and today he occupies a prominent
seat in the Presidents cabinet. MIR. Will
son paid a high tribute to Columbian,
whose graduates. he said. today fill many
of the most prominent places in the land,
in the courts. in the churches, in the prac-
tice of medicine and in journalism. He
also touched upon the value of Il college
education in enlarging mans mental
horizon, and spoke words of praise to the
memory of DR.. yelling and Mr.. Corcoran.
He then introduced the acting president of
the university, with expressing of the
hope that some day he would find himself
vested with the full title Of president.
President Grecne's Address.
1.-THE Columbian University was the
subject of the toast assigned to Rev. S. H.
Greene. D. D., with the appropriate quota
ton, Education is the chief defense of
nations" from Burke. DR.. Greene spoke
eloquently and with feeling Of the memory
of DR.. yelling, whose familiar face has
marked so many gatherings of this sort in
years gone by. Then he passed on to refer
to the wisdom of the founders of the uni
versity. The original charter provided for
denominational teaching and ministerial
culture, but it went beyond this, in that it
took under it's aegis all the broad and gen.
erous branches of a liberal education.
But leaving the past" said DR.. Greene,
'let us come down to the present and to
the consideration of the question, What
have We today?' First we have the heritage
Of the sacred memories of the past, and
these are neither mean nor insignificant.
The university today has a round million
in buildings and grounds and in produc-
ing investments and there is not an in
sttution in all this broad land that. on
the basis of the capital available, is doing
the work that is being accomplished by
Columbian University. So we have the
memories of the past and it's inherited
wealth. If we come to speak of the grow
ing enthusiasm of the sons of Columbian,
We come to one Of the most potent elements
of present strength. AS for the future, we
have the most natural educational center
in the country. DR.. yelling never spoke
truer word than when he called atten-
ton, as showing the value of Washington
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