The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-02

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Sixty young people were graduated
from the Salt Lake high school at the
sixth annual commencement exercises
of that institution at the Theatre last
evening.
In every respect the commencement
was most suspicious. The Theatre was
never more beautiful than in its garb
of red. white and blue-the class, as
well as the national colors-and with
its stage setting of pretty girls in
dainty white gowns and bright-faced
young men in black, all empowered in
flowers and with the national emblem
draped above them. The essays and
orations were unusually bright and
clever. the music was capital and the
crowd was vast, so, all i'll all, the tare-
we'll to the class Of '99 was a huge and
undoubted success.
The crowds had been gathering at
the Theatre since the early evening,
and crowd of jolly juniors in the gal
lery beguiled the time of waiting with
their popular and national airs sung
spiritedly and merrily. Meanwhile the
graduates had been gathering upon the
stage, and at $50 the curtain rose amid
burst of long-continued and hearty
applause The Theatre orchestra, led
by Willard Weihe. opened the exercises
with selections from Victor Herbert's
opera, The Serenade.'
The Programme Begins.
After the invocation by Bishop Abel
Leonard, Miss Maydelia Alden Hobbs
gave a thoroughly and earnest Grafton
on The Work and Influence of Two
Great Women" Florence Nightingale
and Clara Barton were the subjects OF
her address. She described the wonder
full work of Miss Nightingale, the an
gel of Crimea," during those terrible
times before the fall of Sebastopol.
THE Red Cross Movement" said
Miss Hobbs. was the outcome of Miss
NightingaIe's work, and its leader and
head is Miss Clara Barton. Patriotism
was Miss Rarton's inspiration, the pa
triotism of deeds. not words. 1t has
given her the power everywhere, in fire,
IN flood, in war. to alleviate the misery
and the pain of the suffering. In Ar
menia, in India, and in Cuba her work
was wonderful. She stands at the head
among women as patriot, as a phil
anthropist and as a lover of mankind
Unique in its idea was the recitation
by Miss Ina Dee Eddingfield of Edwin
Markam's famous poem. The Man
With the Hoe" OF a sudden the The
atre was darkened. and then, in mo-
IL
a huge facsimile of Jean Francois Mil
let's wonderful painting. Miss Edding-
field stood before the screen in the half
light reflected from the calcium light,
and there told of the work of the IA
nous peasant painter. and how Edwin
Markham was inspired by looking upon
the painting of the weary peasant lean
ing upon has hoe to write the poem
which has brought him so suddenly
into prominence. and even to fame.
Then she recited, with excellent effect,
the poem itself
An Interesting Debate.
Once more the Theatre blazed with
light. and while two young girls dis
tributed to the fortunate seniors the
wealth of floral gifts with which the
flies of the stage were fairly heaped,
there was a debate upon the question:
SHOULD United States Senators Be
Elected BY Direct Vote of the People?"
Jacob Coleman spoke to the affirmative
He said that the trainers of the con-
stitution only embodied in that docu-
ment what they considered absolutely
necessary, and they left the rest to the
wisdom of the people of future genera
lions. Formerly legislators were close
in touch with their constituents, but
now they have grown .unruly. and are
no longer amenable TO the wishes of
its grip upon them, and current history
tells more and more surely of their
susceptibility to corruption. The simple
solution of the whole difficulty would be
to delegate the whole matter to the
hands of the people.
Edison Coale took the negative side
of the question Reform. he said. was
perhaps necessary in some departments
of government, but change was not
necessarily reform and to change the
method of eiecting senators would not
necessarily mean that matters would
be bettered. The senate's purpose is
TO hold the house IN check, he went on.
and for that very reason it is necessary
that its origin should be different and
that it should reflect the opinions of the
wisest and best minds of the land and
not of its more ignorant citizens. 1t
might be less easy to bride all the peo-
pie than a few legislators. but in WELL
nigh every election the matter sim
mered down TO a few who cast the |
votes which decided the whole election
and these. irresponsible. machine rid |
den voters could be swayed only too |
easily one way or the other. He urged |
the danger of changing the constitution !
and prayed that its principles be ever
upheld and maintained unchanged.
A Charming Essay.
After another selection by the |
orchestra Miss Winifred Jeremy Hardy |
read a charming essay on the influence
of mountains on character. She des- |
cribed the uplifting. ennobling influence |
OF the hills upon the peoples and ma |
tons who dwelt among them, in |
stancing the Swiss and the ancient |
Greeks as examples Of sturdy races /
whose life among the hills had made 4
them what they were or had been.
Then there was some very clever /
crayon sketch work by Miss Flora |
Leigh Block and James Henry Pitts. |
The two in marvelously short time |
sketched q sunset behind Black Rock |
in such vivid ana realistic colors that |
everyone appreciated and We're pleased /
with it. \ violin solo by Miss Louise /
Nelden was to have followed but Miss
Nelden is in Chicago taking the eXami- |
nation for entrance to Bryan Nave |
college and was not able to be present. |
List of Graduates.
In a short and pleasing speech Pro-
fess0r Clark then presented the class
TO President Nelden Of the board of |
Who was TO confer the !
diplomas. Mr.. Nelden addressed a !
few complimentary words to the class /
and then turning to the audience he (
spoke strongly on the lack of interest
that the parents of school children |
seemed to take in The school work OF
their children. He urged greater inter
est in the schools, as il was only by
that they could he kept to their present
state of efficiency. President Nelden
l,c,, conferred GiploO1aS on tho follow