The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-06-05

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Cooke. \. r. Dnnning. f. F. Numford
"; -. Sanderlin and ID. G.. Washburn
nose receiving the Bachelor Of Art.
degree: l.. w. Alderman. r.. c. Bar
re't, '. [. Cotfey. T. S. Crntchfeid
-. +. Edwards. G.. g.. Foote. c. NJ
neck. &. W. May. O. L.. Powers. !. +
ItoNSter. Geo. T.. Spruill. G.. X. TAYLOR
y. -. Bagley, r. j. Britt. j. +. Crntch
1leld, \. X. Cunning. j. 4. Enre. s. f
farmer. j. Y. Irwin. +. {. FRYE. W. @
Itossser. II. G.. Sears. H. Trantham
bachelor of Laws: \. w. Cooke. j. T
Davis. A.. T. Goodwin. +. w. Pearce.
In addition to the salutatory and
valedlctory addresses. orations were
delivered by five Of the graduates. rs
follows:
a. Wayland Cooke, Hartford County
National Conscience"
o. L. Powers, Fender Countrywide
Nations Crisis"
G. F. Edwards, Moore County-eThe
Dawn Of a New Era-Its Demands and
Possibilities"
j. 4. Eure, Gates County-"Asleep on
the Field of Battle"
d. NJ. Springfield, Fender County-"The
One Who Creates and the One Who En-
rloys."
The Sa~lntatOrian was Mr.. A. r,
Dnnning. Of Iertie county.
The valedictorian Ghe leader of the
class was Mr.. Harry Trantham. of
kerShaW county. South Carolina.
All these OratiOns and addresses
were OF q high order. both as to
thought and subject matter as we'll
as to the manner in which they were
delivered.
Theses were submitted BIZ the fol
lowing graduates:
Trusts-L. w. Alderman, Harnett Coun-
ty.
The Triumph of Truth. b. Ragley,
Halifax County.
The Equity of the War in South Africa
r. c. Barrett, Moore County.
Culture and Progress-E. J.. Britt,
Robson County.
Assurbanipal's Library-V. c. Coffey,
Caldwell County.
Herman Husbands, the Regulatory. F..
Crutchtield. Guilford County.
The Jewish Synagogue-T. S. Crutch-
field, Chatham County.
The Private Life of Cicero. T. Davis.
pasquotank County.
The Genius of the South-G. A. Foote,
Warren County.
Martin Luther and his Works.. f.
Garner. Carteret County.
Trial by Jury-A. p. Goodwin, Hartford
County.
The Origin of Elements and the Be-
ginning Of life-C. NJ Heck, Wake County.
The Nicaragua Canal. Y. Irwin,
Cleveland County.
Richard Caswell-G. w. May, Franklin
County.
The American Woman-E. +. Mumford.
Pitt County.
The influence of Geography on History
r. G. Nye, Robeson County.
The Naval History Of the American
Revolution-E w. Pearce. Stokes County.
The Jew under the Romans-W. O..
Rosser. Halifax County.
Amiel, Critic and Philosopher. r.
Register. Wake County.
Chaucer and his Times-H. c. Sears.
County.
The Personality Of Alexander the Great
C. Z. Spruill. Franklin County.
Mohamed, the Arabian Prophetic. r.
Taylor. Pender County.
The Claims of Humanity Upon Young
Men-D. G.. Washburn, Cleveland County.
On conclusion Of the orations by
the graduates President Taylor in
presenting them their diplomas spoke
as follows:
BACKWARD GLANCE.
1t seems not uniting that. at this
commencement. before the lifting curtain
shall disclose the scenes Of the Twentieth
century, we should take a backward
glance and briefly review the work and in
fuence Of Wake Forest College. Just
of the Nineteenth century have
been covered by its life. When measured
by the life of man, this is 4 long period; |
short. however. for the life of an i%nstitu-
lion. But it has extended enough to af-
ford some criterion as to the extent and
value of the work Of the college and its
relation to the State and the kingdom |
Of Christ in the world.
In order to appreciate Alright the strug-
giles and the significance of the sue
cess of the enterprise, one must have a
clear idea as to the condition of North
at the time when the college
was founded. Interest in education was
at ebb-tide. Perhaps the most reliable
testimony to this fact is 10 be found in
the reports of Mr.. Calvin II. Wiley, who
was superintendent of Common Schools
from 1872 until 1865. Writing in 1855, he
the educational condition of the
State in 1896, just about the time when
Wake Forest was first opened. | con-
dense some of his statements. Twenty
years ago, said he, the facilities for inn
DrOvement furnished to the masses were
very Indifferent. The subscription system
Of old field schools was utterly made
uuate. There was not q SchOOl-hOuSe for
every ten miles,-perhars it would be
more true to say, fifteen miles square in
the State. Many of these were without
floors and with chimnieS built of sticks
and dirt. The teachers, as a class, were
Indifferent scholars. The lazy. the lame,
the eccentric. the crippled were but too
often the old field school teachers. Many
could not write their own contracts with
their patrons. Those who did produced
literary curiositieS. unique in style.
spelling. and chirography. The studies
were reading. writing and arith-
m and geography were
unknown in the best of these
The method of teaching was eX-
tremely primitive. To get through the
book was the great end, and to whip we'll
was the chief means thereto. The schools
were generally limited to three months
-. " nnrt of tho Uinfn |