The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-06-22
ALUMNI ADDRESS.
DR.. EFT. WHITE AT TRINITY COM
MENCEMENT.
An Eloquent and Stirring Grafton
Which Was Listened to by Large
and Cultivated Audience-"The
Man of Affairs" as Discussed by
One of Them in Broad, Dignified,
Scholarly Manner.

delivered by DIR. f. +. White, Of Ok
ford. 1t is spoken Of in high terms.
We copy from the Raleigh Christian
.4dcocate a. follows:
DIR. White graduated from Trinity
College in 1878, and was one Of the
brightest and most popular men OF
his class Everybody loved az. T."
White. After apse of over twenty
wears he had come back to speak
word in behalf Of his Alma Mater.
He looked a man every inch OF him,
as he stood calm and self-poised be-
fore the cNpectant audience. He had
done his audience the high honor of
making thorough preparation for the
task. His theme was The Man OF
Affairs" He discussed it in q broad,
digniiicd. scholarly way. The
thoughts were practical and vital, ex-
pres oed in tersc, luminous language,
and delivered with grace and enthus-
iasm- Among many things DIR. White
said:
This is proud day in the history
of this institution our alma mater.
Those Of Us lis who finished her cur
riculum and left her walls some 20
odd wears ago can scarcely recognize
her a. she advances in age and grows
in beauty. We loved her back Wonder
when clad in the worn garments OF
poverty. We loved her as she strug-
glcd alone through those years OF
adverse circumstances. We love her
to-day as she stand. a browning
beauty, an ornament to our church
and State This memorial hall, these
grounds, these buildings, are the re-
wards Of tolls and tribulatiOns. Born
| and reared amid trials, | re dice to
see her shed the clothes Of bare neces-
sitv and don the trappings and en-
broidery in keeping with the advance
ment Of this progressive age. All
honor to our men of affairs who put
| their shoulders to the wheel and
made the evolution possible. | talk
| to those whose duties at this institu-
| ton are about rendered up and are
| now entering the threshold of active
| citizenship. | talk to those who have
| already taken wide compass of in
| tellectual survey and in shaping the
aims and ambitions of life chose diff
| fcrent objects of pursuit. Coming
| fresh from the fields of business, |
| cannot hope. nor shall | attempt to
| entertain YOU with an address illu
minated with genius, or enriched
with learning, but shall be content
| to speak to YOU about some of the
| leading factors in the lives of bust
ness men and men Of affairs.
DR.. White then began discussion
Of his subject and spoke in substance
| as follows:
AS we turn from art to nature we
find everything stamped with quail
| itv peculiar to itself. There are no
| two trees alike. Every man has a
| character peculiar to himself which
| marks and discriminates him from
| others of the human family and en-
| dows him with a manner and tenn
| permanent peculiar to humanity, and
when the particular quality is worthy
and commendable it is his business
to cultivate and preserve it. In this
respect pattern after no man, pre-
serve your own individuality. 1t is
said that no man ever yet became
great by imitation. individuality is
the stamp Of nature, and leaves its
| impress when science, art and skill
fail. We need men with a design and
plan of their own upon which can be
centralized all the power of their
inbred nature. You cannot make a
Vance Merrimon, or a Merrimon a
Vance. Neither can you make Glad
| stone Bismarck, or Bismarck a
Gladstone. Not Vance 4 sham, not
Gladstone an imitation.
In pleading to preserve the indi-
| viduality of man. | would not under
value the work of any literary insti-
tuition. would not detract from the
strides of higher education; for the
deeper and more fertile the land, the
more quickly aud surely it responds
to cultivation. Absorb all the infOr-
nation we can from men and books,
and after we have gathered up the
shcave> from the granaries of the
| past, we own the material from which
to build.
1T is well for us to gather all sorts
of information. Gather ideas from
men living and dead. Draw from the
histories of individuals and nations.
The God of nations plants the germ
education and culture assist the
growth.
The temperaments and DISPOSE
| tons OF men vary as the shade and
coloring Of vegetation. We have the
different temperaments. An idea or
thought is looked at differently
through these glasses. Thoughts and
ideas grow and assume these temper
aments. and to grow into strange
man all this education must be used
to forward, strengthen and develop
this Unborn nature and not convert
him into something he cannot be.
We see in the self-made man the
paintings Of nature bursting, bud
ding, growing. This principle i'm
PEELED our beloved Craven to brook
difficulties and burn the midnight
Gghtwood and torch. that his name
might be transmitted a memorial tC
coming generations.
when we step out upon the arena
Of life and come face to face with
its problems we find two grand
divisions - necessities and super.
tluities.
The necessities of life are strewr
around within easy reach OF all. and
whatever is uctually necessary is
divinelv arranged so that it can be
obtained. In this life muscle has full
sway But as we step across the
line from necessities to supertiuities
we come in contact with what the
combination lacks. which can be as
sured only by skill. Education anc
brains now come TO the front and have
full recognition. Along the line o
necessities and superiluities. we fine
its battle ground where this age O
commerce and competition are strug
CLING.
There was perhaps never time
in the history of the world wher