Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-06-11

The commencement at Brattleboro
academy opened Sunday, June u. Rev. j.
II. Rabbit delivered a very able and i'm
pressve baccalaureate sermon before the
graduating class in the Congregational
church. On Monday and Tuesday the
final examinations were held al the
academy.
Monday evening in spite of threatening
skies the Congregational church was filled
with friends of The graduates to witness
the commencement exercises. The church
looked very pretty in the tasty and varie-
gated decorations with which the ladies
and students had decked it. Al $3.50 the
pupils of the academy, preceded by the
speakers of the evening and marshaed 10y
Avery L. Miller, marched in by twos and
took seats in the body Of the house. After
prayer by Rev Nj Rabbit, James ;.
Clark %, delivered a very scholarly and
entertaining address on Ancient Greece.
He first contrasted the two leading re-
representatives. of the Greeks, the Spartans
and Aihenans But for her martial ex-
PLOTS. he said Sparta would long ago
have been buried in oblivion. And of her
military heroes 1t may be said that only
when they escaped from the whitening
touch OF the Spartan aristocracy, only
when they ceased to be LacedemOuians did
they become great men. For centuries
Sparta was little more than a military
camp without homes, art, letters or re-
finement. Athens, on the other hand, was
the "eye Of Greece Great are the obi
cations that We owe to her democracy, the
first and model democracy of the civilized
worll Greece taught the world local
autonomy in government, Rome taught
us aggregation into large political units.
1t was reserved TO our Teutonic race to
combine the advantages OF the two by
means of the principle OF representation.
but what shall we say of the intellect
ual triumphs of Greece? Other nations
have made but one contribution 10 the
world 5 progress. We are indebted to the
jews for their perfect code Of ethics to the
Romans for their jurisprudence to the
Italians for their masterpieces OF art. to the
Teutonic family for the idea of representa-
tive government. But to the Greeks are
we indebted for models in many. and mas
terpieces in all the departments of art,
science, literature, and government.
"Iher, can be no greater monument TO
the genius OF any race than the vitality of
the Greek language which FOR 1000 years has
remained the medium for the expression of
Grecan thought. Nowhere in all history
can such record be paralleled. The
slight notifications, the language in which
the Greek still converses. reads his news
paper and drives the bargains of the street"
Jesse c. JohnsOn's, '9o Grafton on the
Dignity of Labor was very happily
conceived and written article. and delivered
with telling effect. That standard, he
said, which ostracizes the mechanical and
agricultural arts is a false one. II is
part Of the accursed heritage bequeathed
to us from the days of slavery Thought
finds expression in the mechanical product
as well as in the sculptured marble or
printed page He closed with scathing
denunciation of idleness: "Ideness is the
elimination of human selfishness. The
most niggardly miser that ever piled up
accumulatOns does not work for self alone.
He works in part for family or dependents
His is mitlgated, diluted selfishness.
But he who is idle is not idle for child or
friend. He is idle for his own personal
enjoyment His is the purest, the most
unmitigated, the most inexcusable form of
sefshness."
A chorus of l. voices from the school
rendered the selection, Voices of the
Woods 1t was enthusiastically received
by the audience and gave evidence of the
effective training of their teacher, Miss
Hattie Clark.
Miss Florence L. johnson, 90, discussed
"Cleveland's Veto of the Immigration
Bill" Miss johnson showed an admira-
BILE comprehension of her subject, and ex-
planned III clear concise terms the effects
OF immigration III its economic, political,
and moral aspects The liberal policy
toward foreigners, that was adopted in the
early history of the country, is generally
admitted to be wise But changed cond-
tons now demand a reversal of that policy:
first, the quality of the immigrant has
sadly deteriOrated.
Once 1t was the pluckiest and most en-
terprising that came to us, now it is the
shiftless and dissatisfied: second, we are
passing the point of diminishing returns,
and large acCessiOns, even of good quality,
are not longer desirable. The liquor
problem, labor trouble, Sabbath desecra
ton, are all aggravated by the increase of
foreigners The sacrificing patriotism that
pushed the immigration bill to its passage
i'll spite of the opposition OF the foreign
element suffered rude shock in learning
of its veto by Cleveland.
The Future of the Anglo Saxon" gave
Geo. L. Mather, '9S, scope for the free
play OF reason, fancy and Imagination. He
took full advantage of his subject and pro
duced an article of rare interest. He
sketched in outline the past achievements
OF this energetic race "Let it be observed,
then, that wherever he goes the Anglo
Saxon takes with him a great load of per
sonal property-laws, religion, customs.
and languages-which he will not exchange
from which he will not part wherever he
goes he is not absorbed, he absorbs" The
present status of this race is suggestive
and inspiring. Though comprising but
one-ffteenth of mankind it is now wealth
Ter than all other peoples combined. 1t
rules more than one-thrd of the earth's
surface and more than one-fourth of its
people"
"Some Evils of Frequent Tariff Revis-
ion was the timely topic treated by Rob
ert C.. Clark, '9S. Mr. Clark was at his
best. His usual racy style was reinforced
by a striking, forcble delivery. Ii is
neither high nor low tariff that, in itself,
works the great harm. 1t is the constant
and incalcuabie oscillation from one to
the other that does the mischief. Once
secure permanency in tariff schedule and
adjustment to those conditions will follow
as a matter of course Under the present
see-saw conditions of the two parties no
manufacturer can manufacture, no mer-
chant can buy with confidence. A new
election may by the change of a few votes
turn a stOTehouse of goods into a magazine
of disaster
The essay on Fiction" by Miss Kate F.
Fisher showed wide range of apprecia-
tive reading and mastery of the prnci-
pies of literary criticism. OF the wisdom