The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-05-30
GRADUATING CLASS

"A U~llADUAllNu ULAND
Continued from First Page.
ships had permeated every avenue of
commerce; but today, by the neglect Of
her physical. mental and moral powers,
she has been shorn of her possessions,
her wealth and her position. A direct
contrast to this is the history of the
progress Of our own country. In every
phase of life there has been advance
ment." She then spoke of the vast
amount of territory governed by the
United States, Of their wealth, the
large number of towns and cities, and
of the wonderful increase in popula-
ton: she spoke of the modern con-
veniences for travelling and traffic, the
railroads, the steamers, canals, ferry
boats. She spoke of the wonderful adj
vancement in machinery and said: "a
few years ago the farmer sat on his
fence, watching his sixteen men har-
vest his grain; now the sixteen men sit
on tho fence and watch the farmer Oh
his machine do the work formerly done
by them. Indoor occupations are also
largely aided by small machines, those
most widely used being the typewriter
and sewing machine; marvellous
changes have been made in the art of
warfare; education has made rapid
strides; of newspapers and periodicals,
as many are published in the United
States as in all the rest of the world
taken together; women are now adj
mitted to all classes of work; the tele-
graph and telephone are modern in.
ventions; memorable things have been
achieved in medicine, architecture,
music. painting and literature. We
live in the worlds maturity, hence
is expected of US, and if we
would keep apace with the advance
ment of this country we must press
onward and upward"
valedictory. "0ueen of American Women
by Miss Harriet stebbins.
Miss Harriet Stebbins was chosen by
the class to deliver the valedictory and
selected as her subject, 1.-THE Queen of
American Women" taking as her
model that most noble Christian
woman, Miss Frances Willard. She
opened with the following:
"There is an old fable handed down
from the Greeks that Jupiter has given
to each man a rich jewel that none a
take from him. Some treasure the
Jewel, while others throw it aside.
Some lose the precious stone and some
few find again what they have lost.
Do you not think these ancients were
trying to tell US a great truth? Is not
the rich jewel character1 Good char
acter is the one thing that is within the
reach of all. A good character will
invariably bring to the possessor the
good name which is the immediate
jewel of the SOUL An example of a
beautiful character and a name all love
and revere as the highest type Of
womanhood is that of Frances
Willard.' She then spoke of her life
and told how she, by her efforts III the
cause of humanity, won for herself the
title "Queen of American Women"
''Even in her youth we see that strong
determination, that calm Judgment
which ~characterizes her. From all &C
counts she must have been very shy,
although all shyness melted away dur
ing recitation. Throughout her school
life she was modest, gentle, generous
and good, remarkable in scholarship,
graduating with the highest honors.
In 1869 she was elected president Of
the Evanston college, which position
she held for three years. 1t was during
her visits in the east in 1874 that she
received two letters. one Offering the
position of principal in a young ladies'
school and the other begging her to
take the presidency of the Chicago
branch of the Woman's Christian
Temperance union. She chose the
latter and began her life-work. In
1879 she was elected to the presidency
of the national union. The last years
of her life were very busy ones. She
was constantly trying to win friends
for the cause. She was eve bringing
comfort and cheer to the desolate fire.
side, ever fightig against King Alcohol.
Just at the time when her work was
beginning to show what a wonderful
movement she had started and it
seemed she could least be spared she
was obliged to leave her life-work in
the hands Of Others. She died i'll New
York City February 18, 1897, recogn-
lied by all as the leading woman of
the age.
"'Her lavish mission richly wrought
Leaving great legacies of thought -
Baccalaureate Address, by Rev. Father
Van Clarenbeck.
A large gathering wa present at the