The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-05-27
WAKE FOREST
COMMENCEMENT
EXCELLENT oRATlONS BY THE Gradual
ING CLASS.
A Programme Repete With Interest Evi-
denciRg the Progress Of the
Students.

1870 CiUSGu iOOuy Win lAt FpNNNhNE ~
one of the best elias of men who ever
graduated at this old and famous col
lege.
The exercises in the morning opened
with prayer by Rev. II. T. Vann.
President Taylor announces as salu-
tatorian (second honor Mr.. L. ii. Lacy,
of Oxford, who after a bright welcome
and some well received remarks ON coli
lege athletics, traced the history OF
college athletics and made an excellent
defence of college games.
Mr.. ]. ID. Larkins, of Pcnder, spoke
upon Doing" announcing as his sub
iect "Shoot, or Give mp the Gun. rms
is n day of crises Crises make men or
stranded weeks. and this is the salts
faction of progress. There are three
things that concern us in the battle of
lfe--home, country and God. Fame Is
builded upon Il people, yea upon the peo-
pie. He who forgets his fellow in bro
gan shoes is Il failure. A state Is made
of men. Our country calls for young
men. No other country so early brings
out its youth. She waits to-day anxious
TO know on which side her young men
will go-on the sideo money or of h,l-
llanllN. lONe nOulSs L 1ONt GUILTY. uul
hnck of them stands God Almighty. Mr..
1arkins is a graceful speaker; he promi-
ses to be King of the Platform.
Mr.. s. ]. Honeycutt, of Madison,
spoke on the subject. Write me as One
who Loves his Fellowman." In MI
times there have been differences Of opin-
ion as to what constitutes a truly great
man. During the NEUROLOGICAL period,
fbc of nphonI tho
carnation of physical strength. After
a while the philosopher became the great
man. Man discovered that he had an
aesthetic nature and his conception of
greatness took on new phase. This
passes away, and new character is
called great: we may term it regal maj
esty. Christ steps upon the scene. \
new principle is introduced. unselish
love for humanity The servant Of his
generation is the truly great man. We
must use whatever comes in our way
for the saving of our people to better
things. Mr.. Honeycutt represents the
earnest. thoughtful but unimpassioned
style His speech was excellent. and the
audience received it well.
After pleasant interlude of music by
the orchestra, Mr.. G. S. Burgess, of Cra-
ven county. spoke on the subject of the
North Carolina academy He introduced
his remarks by proving the Importance of
the secondary schools. The public schools
receive their teachers from the academy.
The leaders throughout the State are
largely academy men. Better more
academy men and less uneducated popu-
lation than few college graduates lead
ing a State of ignorant people. A com
mon mistake Of the times is the omission
of academic training by young men in
their haste TO 90 the college and get a
diploma. The academy ought to be
well managed and thoroughly efficient
The requirements of some colleges are 50
low that the work of the academy is
eliminated. This is wrong.
The next speaker was Mr.. Ii. NJ
Evans, of Tennessee The subject of Mr.
Evans Grafton was Poetry and Fact.
He defined poetry as being the realization
of life in the language of beauty. He
showed that poetry is essentially. emo
tional and spiritual, and that it embodies
the intellectual life of this time. 1t is
the story of man, what he has thought
and felt and experienced. He showed
that intellectual and scientific progress
had robbed the old traditions of their
emotional interest. At first we could not
adjust our emotions to our new intellec
fual surroundings. Consequently we have
had a poetry of skepticism and doubt
But the very things that uprooted faitl
and ideaism offer us now a larger faitf
and a loftier idealism. The new knowl
edge gives us Il foundation for n new
poetical literature; the poetry of hope
and promise and poetry built on q more
rational faith. The speaker was happy
in fitting his delivery to his subject
chaste. quiet, gentle, clear. His speed
bettered the average of the morning il
quality.
Mr.. G. Nj. Beavers. Of Wake county
spoke ON the Danger of Victory
Our nation is large and prosperous
with the great blessing of being withou
internal divisions. The tendency Of th
age is towards the expansion of the mos
powerful nations. We ought TO set tn
world an example of noble, unseliish en-
deayor to aid the oppressed. This WI
both be polite and laudable.
Mr,Jacks6n Hamilton, of Union coun
ty, spoke i'll behalf of an Anglo-Ameri
can alliance. Our fathers taught MS I
the contrary; but. with all respect 70
them, we must not be bound utterly a
the Chinese to the beliefs of our ances
tremely different from those of the dn
of Washington. The world has moved
and America has moved most rapidly
Our seaboard States are closer 10 Eng
land than they are to the Pacific slopt
Our institutions are no longer exper
mental Our nation has taken its pIac
in the civilized world. We are entangle
with all the nations Of the globe neces
sarily The question, Shall we drift .
we have or select our allies? He pr,
duced three reasons to show the wisdof
OF the alliance: commercial. political
and religious. England and the Unite
States are akin, in blood, in interest, i
destiny, in mission He made Il YER
good speech.
Mr. A. G. Cree. of Halifax count,
spoke on the Grand Old Man. an "hun
bic Briton points us to the greatest Bri
on of them al"
Opening with pretty description 1
a sunset. he applied it in beautiful
touching manner TO the close of I'll
great statesman's life. He made his
toric comparison of the work Of Cincii
natuS. Kossuth, Washington. Napoleo
and Bismarck These men," said III