The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-09-03
An Address to Graduates.
DELIVERED BY CAPT. Sll.N ESTER. PRESI-
DENT OF TIE MARYLAND AGRlCTL-
TURAL COLLEGE.

and Senior Glasses
This exercise. at the close of each
year. should he productive Of much
good from many standpoints. 1t is
uniqucin It's nature. The Senior Class.
filled with the "reminiscences of the
past and huLhling over with the wills
perinys Of hope 'or the future. presents
to the thoughtful mind 4 volume of
possibilities for them, in the presence
of which those of mature Years stand
with much reverence For four years
YOU have struggled in the contracted
arena of college life, to prepare your
selves for the wider field of manhood's
estate. The arena of life has room for
YOU. The world wants men, high
minded men. The whole fabric of our
social system needs the pruning hand
of honest men.
The laws of social development are as
immutable as those of gravity. 1t on
ly needs that men recognize them and
incorporate them in our social auton-
omy. How we'll you are to fill this
function Of your life remains to be
seen. In the great struggle of life re-
member that ''it remains only for God
and the angels to be lockers on" You
must, whether You would or not, be
actors OH the scene. That part you
are to take in this great struggle OF
lie is, in the main the result of your
own volition. An actor YOU must be-
AS | stand before you tonight, how
| would like to be able to impress YOU
with an ardent zeal, Il fervent ambition
to make every faculty in you to bear
Four years experience has taught me
that each of you have those qualities
of mind, which if exercised would de-
velop into the material, out of which
men are made, men who can realize
that out of the environment of self
there is Il duty for each living being,
that every man is bound to every 9th
er man by the invisible ties of human
ity. That as the force of gravity in the
material world binds the planets to
their orbits and gives the quickening
throb of appreciation of its power, to
every atom in the whole universe OF
worlds, so does the law of brotherhood
of man p2rmaate every tilamcnt of the
warp and woof of humanity. and
makes the whole word akin. Would that
| could wave the magicians wan over
you this evening, and give you in pan
oramic view, not what this county will
be in 30 years, but what it can be, if
every man on its princely domain wonld
grasp the sentiment, ages old, which
came to the Roman Poet, and which
he has put into the mouth Of one of
his creations, Il am Il man. and every
thing that affects my brother man is
of interest to me-" This. gentlemen,
is sentiment for you. If the rising
generation would embrace the same
and live up to the requirements OF the
sentiment. then would every dan
ger to the republic vanish rs a
mist in mid air. and return to the
simplicity of our chartered rights as
delivered to us by the fathers of the
re ,,u!.lr, would be an easy task. These
lights and privileges are fully set forth
in the declaratio of independence, and
it and Washington 5 farewell address
Should be bound together in 4 single vol
ume, and every child born on American
soil should be taught toe draw inspiration
| from these sources while in the pro-
cess of development to manhoods es-,
tate. In these two papers. yonng
gentlemen, let me say to You, is all
the wisdom of the past, and tell you
as stand before YOU tonight and hook
out on the warning elements ofsocial
contention, that they contain oar 6nlye
hope for the future. Let me beg of
YOU to take on board these charts as
the guides Of your lives. No cxpres-
sion Of ambiguous intent can b, found
in their lines. They constitute the
gospel OF social life This much for
the obligations to others.
Tlis is the second critical period in
your l:"es. The first came when YOU
entered college. When YOU for the
first time entered the broader field of
college life When YOU left home
when home relations were severed rOr
4 longer period than they had ever
been severed before. when each night
No longer brought to You the inspira-
ton of i Saintrd mothers face. love
and confidence When intervals of Il
fathers counsel and experience length
cnel into molths. When for the first
time the rrsistvc power of yolr home
training was to b. subjected t. the
test Of the temptcr,s viles. How have
yon stood the test! Wher, do you
stand tonight? ? For four years the
test has been malr. Only two beings
in the universe can ever know the re-
salt OF the trail. \"n and your God
are the only ones who understand cx-
actly h Nv the natter stands tonight