The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-04
OVER 800 GET DIPLOMAS.
WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL PRIZES
ANNOUNCED-THE ROLL OF
HONOR.
Presidents Reception in the Even.
ing Attended by Hundreds of
Prominent People.

| faces whose owners were directly in
terested in the commencement exer-
cises in the Armory building at the
! Minnesota university yesterday fore
noon, it is fair to assume that not one
bore an expression of disappointment
when the programme was concluded,
for as comencements CO. it was sue
! cess. The immense hall, which holds
5000 people seated was filled and some
few were standing. 1t was a pretty
sight. Before the class marched in, the
Whole floor and gallery with the ex-
ceptlon of one section on the main floor
reserved for the class, was one mass Of
brilliant colored life, the brilliant bon
nets and hats making the room look
like one vast conservatory. On the
stage was a wealth of ferns, potted
plants and flowers in bloom, and about
the balcony was festooned the class
colors, in profusion of silken hanging.
Many were present who had gradu-
ated in years past, and to them the
whole was a novelty. They saw for
the first time the commencement held
in room adequate both in size and
acoustics, and to many the caps and
gowns were an innovation, and one
|
mented upon The class itself was a
large one, and the thoughtful faces
I showed that while it's members might
be prone to merry-making, yet sterner
! thoughts were uppermost, and the
| grandest day of school life found an
| echOing response in the hearts of all.
| They looked upon the stage, where, be-
hind the display of ferns and flowers,
were seated those with whom they had
! held daily communion for four years.
There was the worthy president, the
tutors ALL the professors who had
| guided their way through toilsome
paths and before the exercises were
over something like the suspicion of a
tear glistened upon the lashes of more
| than one of those gathered there for
| the last time as a member of that great
| fraternity which seeks knowledge in
the halls of the state.
THE OPENING PRAYER.
Rev. w. NJ. Kincaid stepped to the
! front of the stage, and all was hushed
as the eloquent voice tested the acous-
| tic properties of the hall. His prayer
was a short, thoughtful one, calling
upon each bearer of the standard Of
learning to battle for the right He
| asked the blessing of divine grace for
the young people who were to go out
from their school life, to face the
world, and charged each to SO act out
I the future that the state would be
proud tC claim them as sons and daugh-
/ ters.
Helen Celestial Woodman was the
champion of the Latin professor, who
triumphed over the Greek branch, and
opened the exercises with a salutatory
which was programmed "Oratio Salu-
tatoria." While the comments were
unfavorable upon the good taste of
! having any kind of numbers in an un-
known tongue, Miss Woodman won
merited applause for her delivery,
! which was with spirit and good voice
She was at ease and perfectly at home
upon the rostrum. 'Regentes Uni
vcrsitatiS Minnesotensis, vos saluta-
mus" came full and round and with
/ good pronunciation, and through the
whole effort, which must have been
very difficult to memOriZe, there was
not a trip or hesitation.
An grafton, THE Adoption Of Social
+! IDEALS" was handled by J. Burt Miner
| who rather startled his hearers by his
! beliefs. His delivery was Gear aud
feeling, which made his propositions
! all the more hazardous. To his mind
I humanity was too prone 90 jump at
immediate propositions, instead of Civ
ing problems the thought required. To-
ward the end, in emphasizing his re-
marks, he referred to the slave prob
lem. Henry Clay, he said, had formed
a plan for the emancipation of the
slave, which was to have the govern
/ ment declare every new born black
man or woman free. Had his plan
been carried out, a million lives would
have been saved but finally, when the
Idea that man was bornfree and equal
was forced upon the people. they rose
en- masse, and by the sacrifice of life,
p. 100000 ignorant negroes. without
means Of support. were thrown upon
the nation.
NOT CONTENT WITH THIS"
he cried These inexperienced negroes
must be granted the right of suffrage,
and we may suffer many decades more
before these mistakes are rectified.'
Laurence Nelson Booth showed a
finished presence, and considerable de-
clamatory power His grafton, The
Needed Element in Present Reform. .
was lesson full of apt platitudes and
pleasant SMILES, to- show that what
was needed in the great social and
political fabric was a more evenly
balanced effort. To his mind, the So
luton lay in clearer appreciation OF
the needs of a wide Christianity. We
4 may limit the actions of our citizens. -
he said, "but no legislation can make
our people honest. We cannot lcgis-
late virtue into one single soul" He
wanted to know why it was that the
most sacred offices were bartered for
} gold and for silver. He launched a
merited rebuke upon the way the peo-
pie treat the law of the land, and gave
it as his opinion that there was toe
much familiarity with the most sacred
institutions OF our government Law
had come to be looked upon only as a
restraint upon individual freedom and
matters were coming to such a pass
that criminals were consulting lawyers
before committing crimes. A broader
belief in Christianity and a purer ming
ling with religion would improve this
The hearty applause which greeted the
effort showed that the speaker had
some believers in the audience
IF He WE'RE ONLY A "REGE."
Bert Leroy Newkirk, in his grafton
gave his ideas of an education from
his experience. under the caption. "a
Reasonable Education for a Profess
siona1' He had learned that the ordi-
nary course was far too short. Instead
of the four years a man before start
ing upon professional career should
have ten long years of search afte,
knowledge. The world was movinn
toward specialization. No one mar
could hope to grasp all that was neces.
Sary for one profession, and must "a ke
to a specific branch To do this hf
must first have reasonable college
education; then at least a four-yeal