The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-06-10

of Utah were held amid a bower OF
roses in the Salt Lake theatre yester-
day morning. Long before it was time
for the exercises to commence the
floral contributions began to ar
rive at the theatre, and when the %
graduates came upon the stage the
scene was a most attractive one. The
boxes were draped with American
flags and the entire front of the. stage
was a mass of flowers. On each side
of the stage were large palms sur
rounded by pyramids of growing plants
and flowers and at the rear of the
stage, behind the students, were two
immense stands covered with the
American colors and banked several
feet high with roses. The floral work
was done under the direction of
Schwarz and Heinicke. and it called
forth warm approval from the audi
ence. There was every indication of a
rain storm at 1890 o'clock in the morn
ing, but Notwithstanding that fact the
attendance at the theatre was very
large. The exercises passed of most
successfully, though there was one un-
avcidable disappointment in the pro-
gramme Governor Heber NJ. Wells
was on the card for an address, but
he was unable to be present. Profess
scr Joseph T. Kingsbury presided and
awarded the graduates their diplomas
and certificates. There were five mem
bers of the senior class who had taken
the full collegiate course and it is a
noteworthy fact that among these Miss
Grace May Heikes is the first non
Mormon woman to receive a degree
from the university and Leon L. Wat
ters is the first Hebrew to receive the
same.
THE PROGRAMME.
The programme consisted of several
addresses and an essay and there was
also music by the orchestra. The Rev.
F. c. Lockwood, pastor of Tiff NJ E.
church, offered the invocation, and
Miss Elsie Poll. one of the normal
course graduates, read an essay on
The More Perfect Education" She
said that an education which would
lead one only in the direction OF ac-
cumulating wealth for weaNh's sake or
that which had the result of develop
ing only one hue of action in life, to
the exclusion of the requirement of
general knowledge and Information,
was at fault. A man whose whole life
was devoted TO the accumulation of
wealth became selfish and sordid and
an education with no broader scope
than that was unsatisfying. The COM
plete man consisted of body, mind and
spirit. and all parts must be educated
together.
THE VALEDICTORY.
Milton Bennion, who spoke as follows:
In the life and relations of mankind
certain natural and fundamental princi-
pies may be recognized. Among them
are the rights TO personal liberty, the
freedom of thought and the possession
and control of property. These principles
were once only feebly realized; but, in
course of centuries have come slowly TO
be known and acknowledged. Applied to
man as member OF society, they have
been called the law of equal freedom"
which claims for man the right TO eXer-
else his faculties and to enjoy the fruits
of his labor so long as he does not inter
fere with the rights of others.
In unciviliZed societies brute force holds
sway over the finer instincts of man and
the principles of association are but lit
tie understood. 1t is natural to find in
such tribes that the power to take and
to hold is the law in matters of owner
ship. The idea of plumber necessarily
blunts the idea of property; the disre-
gard of the rights of others makes a
proper regard for the rights of self i'm
possible In primitive societies many
evils result from this vagueneSs of moral
perception Lie ana property arg Not
safe. Men as matter of course become
warriors both for attack and for de-
Tense
1t is not desirable here to trace the
obscure beginnings of government or of
state organization. but only to contrast
them with later developments. The
DflInltlNe man, as seen IN our unclElllZed
races, differed from the modern in mental
characteristics and social tendencies. So
likewise the forms of government suited
TO early societies differ from those of
modern states. The more ancient organi-
cations protected to some extent the per-
sonel and property rights of their sub
jects. but did not give them full liberty
in the exercise of their faculties. AL
though they may have had no book of
statutes. yet custom was their law. The
citizen was supposed to exist for the
benefit of the state, and not the state for
the benefit of the citizen But with the
growth of society and the development
of civilization. external restraint have
been gradually weakened and respect for
individual liberty has CORRESPONDENCE
increased. This evolution of the idea of
government has continued until il is now
generally recognized that its function is,
not to regulate our ideas, our works, or
our exchange, but to secure to each his
natural rights and to prevent a few
from monoDOliZing the sources of the
necessities and comforts of life. Viewed
in this light. it must be evident that law,
or force. which goes beyond this govern
mental function restricting the exercise
of the faculties and interfering with the
control of private property. IS viola
tioa of the very principles for which ii
stands. Blackstone says that no human
laws are of any validity if contrary TO
tie law of nature; and such of them as
are valid derive all their force and their
authority mediately or Immediately from
this original If this is fundamental
truth, as we believe il is, then as men
become capable of conforming to the
laws OF nature by personal insight and
moral mower, the need of human laws
and external control is diminished Just
rs much as the love of Gods law is
deficient" says Herbert Spencer, must
the fear of man s law be called to supply
its place" This relation of human laws
to the laws of nature is not always
clearly defined. Human laws are some
times COMPOUNDED with justice and il is
supposed that whatever is enacted by
LEGISLATORS is the supreme moral law. But
IKE fact is that the moral law is before
the laws OF man and independent of
them Human governments are instituted
10 protect those that conform to the
supreme moral law and to restrain those
that injure their fellowmen by disobeying
that law.
Another common error is the notion
that the state is an almighty power able
to give to the people all sorts of benefits,
AID chat Il could make all the citizens
rich and prosperous if only the right
political party could get control Instead
OF the peoples supporting the govern |
ment, it is thought that the government
should support the people. OF course 1t |
would follow that instead of the peoples J
controlling the government the govern
nnent should control the people The I
French constitution of lS4S declared that /
France had constituted itself republic
for the purpose of raising all the citizens !
10 an ever increasing degree of morality, (
enlightment and well being. As though /
f'-ance were some divine spirit, apart 4
from and above the citizen. merely 4
cnansin- It's form that ii might be the ]
better able to bless the people with its 4
bounties. With this magical conception /
of an all-wise and all-powerful state. il I
nat -