Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-03-18

| school scholars will graduate. How
many of you will next fall take their
| places?
Many advantages are offered you in
pursuing this course. You can take up
the study of typewriting, stenography,
bookkeeping, chemistry, advanced
mathematics and other branches, thus
Qualifying yourselves for better posi-
tons in business life.
Even by our presence here tonight
you have shown your appreciation of
what your committee have endeavored
to do for you; for it has cost some OF
you no little effort to reach here, and
at the close of the exercises you will
have to cover some weary miles before
reaching your homes. In behalf of the
| committee, l thank you for coming.
We trust that this gathering may be
a stimulus to the teachers as we'll as the
pupils, and If in the future there should
be other such closing exercises, you
will encourage your scholars to well
doing In prospect of the comparison of
their school with the others of the eve
ming graded schools.
In concluding my remarks, desire to
express my thanks to you, Mr.. Super
intendent, Mr.. Supervisor, and to the
members of the evening school commit
tee, for your hearty cooperation in my
plans for this evening and throughout
the entire term.
Mrs. A. w. johnson sang Counsel to
Nina" which was most enthusiastically
encored, and annie Laurie was given
in response.
Prof. c. F. Hodge of Clark University
was then introduced. There is nothing
he said, so inspiring as education. 1t is
a study that concerns life itself and, il
were asked for a definition l should
simply say life is education, education
is life" From the lowest thing that has
| life up to man, the thing upon which
life depends is the education which that
thing has had. There is something about
an education gained under difficulties.
1t is far more inspiring than the kind OF
education that is forced on the people.
feel that l learn great deal every
time that | meet people who are strug-
Cling for an education. 1t is a struggle
for life, higher life. Some time ago
overheard the remark of young boy
to his companion, which was: Its easy
enough to do it if you only know how
and then he added, TITS easy enough to
do anything if you only know how" 1t
seems to me that that little fellow struck
the keynote of life. Life is made easy
and happy by a knowledge of how to
live it. We hear about men out of work,
that times are hard, that there are too
many mouths to feed, too many men.
Don't believe word of it. There is
plenty of work if men were not so much
all down on level and in crowd. None
are stepping up to do the things which
they might if they only knew how. The
struggle of all education is to leafn how
to do things. There Is nothing to pre-
vent a boy in this city who gets the
idea that he is going to know how to dc
some thing better than amy one else,
from carrying out the idea. The illus
trations of this are all about us. The
country is free There is always room
at the top When we look at the prob
lens to be solved and see the number of
people that have no mind what to do to
solve them, we are forced to the public
schools and educational institutions as
the one thing that is to give the people
instruction and inspiration to enter the
struggle and not to drop down on the
low plane of life. Every year in Mass
achuSetts $4,000 people die of sickness
because we don't know how to prevent
or cure certain diseases. What a field
here to learn how to do something? l
hope as you enter the struggle you will
carry it on manfully. Don't grumble
because a man has money. Don't beheVe
that your chances are not fair. l firmly
believe that every man who sets his
mind to do something well enough, Will
find people in the community who are
willing to pay for 1t. / close with the
boys words, TITS easy enough to do 1t
if YOU only know how Everything is
easy enough if we only know how"
Superintendent of Schools Clarence f.
Carroll was the next speaker He said
it was always a pleasant duty for him
to look into the faces of those who com
posed the public schools. The nine
years schooling, he said, which boy
or girl in assachusetts secured accord
ing to law, is a good beginning. The
national government is insisting more
and more that those who come to our
shores shall have at least a good ele-
mentary education. The idea is to have
no person in this broad land who does
not possess a good degree Of intelligence.
l read the other night that 65 per
cent of the people of Spain were unable
to read or write. l am sure at this
time the point of the statement will be
plain.
/ am sure that we all appreciate the
advantages of living in such a country
as ours. The city of Worcester makes
ample provision to carry out the decree
Of the state regarding education. ] be-
lieve there is no spot on the earth where
facilities for obtaining an education are
better. Ninety school rooms have been
added in the last five years, and more
are under way now. The city provides
promptly and amply all school accom-
modations demanded of it. Everything