The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-05-30
STRONG ORATIONS MADE
The Seniors Distinguish Themselves
by Their Work.
Gov AYCoCK DELIVERS THE DIPLOMAS
A Large Audience in the Academy of Music
Witnesses The Exercises Which Close
the Most Successful Session in the
History of the College.


Yesterday morning the commencement
exercises of the College of Agriculture and
Mechanic Arts were brought to a close
in the Academy of Music and the largest
land best prepared class in the history of
the college was graduated. In this class
of twenty three there were six who were
on the honor roll. The graduating ora
tions were most excellent, and none bet
ter have been made at the A. and NJ.
The Academy stage was lastly ar
ranged for the occasion, and on it were
seated President Winston, Governor Ay-
cock and the members of the graduating
Glass; In the boxes were members of the
Board of Trustees and of the Board of
Agriculture Music for the occasion was
furnished by the college band.
The lower floor of the Academy was
well filled when the exercises began with
prayer by Rev. Eugene Daniel, of the
Presbyterian church. Following this there
was music and then President Winston
announced the orators.
There were five of these selected from
the senior class, two having been chosen
by the faculty of the college for the best
scholarship, w. D. Faucette and F. H.
Barnhardt, two by the societies, Martin
kellogg by the Pullen and F. w. Bonitz by
the Leazar, and one by the senior class,
Jesse James Lilies.
IMPROVEMENT IN. POWER TOOLS.
The first orator was Mr.. w. d. Fau-
cette, of Halifax, whose subject was I'm
provement in Power Tools He began by
saying that every now and then we are
startled by some forecaster who tells of
new powers, new motors or new applica-
tions of old powers. The waves of the
sea are to turn great turbines, the far
reaching rays of the sun are to move the
wheels, or gravity is to be geared for
mans accommodation. But in the past
few years there has been greater revo-
luton than these, and now power, once
dependent upon short betting is now
transmitted to tools manipulated miles
away from the dam or boiler that produce
power. In this revolution three agencies
were at work first the pneumatic, second
the hydraulic and third, the electric.
Following this idea the speaker pro-
ceeded to tell what these three means
had accomplished and would accomplish
in a social, sanitary and economic way.
He spoke of the pneumatic force, now en-
tongs. once nown as but idle zephyrs for
use by Venus and Cupid, of the hydrau-
lie power erecting huge buildings, ships
end bridges and of the electric, the cheap
est and most portable power known, as the
Ajax of the modern shop, these whose
action made machinery so intelligent that
under the suffrage amendment to the con-
sttution it would soon be entitled to vote.
Behind all of this he told of the need of
the man with the cultivated brain as
well as Drawn and closed his excellent
effort by saying, Formerly our best tall
ent went into professional callings, but
now. since there is such a demand, and
a demand at far more lucrative figures
than the professions pay, for scientifically
trained directors and managers fer indus
tries much of the best brain and blood
Of the nation is seeking equipment for
these new fields and reaping rich rewards
They have what the age demands-brawn,
skill, knowledge, hence tremendous power
for good or i'll. May each year add to the
number their skill. their wisdom, their
power"
NEEDED CHANGES IN FARMING.
The next speaker was Mr. Martin KEEL
logg of Gates, his subject being, Some
Needed Changes in Farming" in which he
depicted the land culture of the future
Said he, the great interest shown in the
farmer marks great change in the Uni
ted States, the study of agriculture first
scoffed at is now the salvation of the
farm and the farmers. For more than a
hundred years the tiller of the soil had
been moving westward towards the Pa
cific, eXhausting the lands with destruc-
tive agricultural methods, but today the
farmer was studying how to improve and
build up and to make farming intensive
upon a small area, rather than expansive.
He had gotten out of the idea prevalent
as TO farming before the war that "the
farmer skinned the negro and the negro
skinned the land He urged that steps
be taken to. carry instruction to the farm
er if the farmer would not come to it,
and that he be taught to diversity and
not to raise one crop, using the money
from it to buy supplies fot home He
extolled the value of stock raising and
in concluding his thoughtful address urged
that farmers learn to do their life work
just as other business men did it, feed
themselves from their own smoke houses
and their horses from their own cribs
These things, he said would bring such an
accession of prosperity and wealth as will
put our farmers on a parity with the
most successful of the mill men and man
ufacturers.
AN GRAFTON REPLETE WITH HUMOR.
The third Grafton was by Mr. J. ]. Lilies,
Wadesboro, whose subject was utilization
of Our Water Power" who not alone
made an address full of value, but also
one full OF general humor. 1t was happily
received by the audience and was liber-
ally applauded He began by the state
ment that mans utilization first arose
from laziness, for he quit fetching water
from spring and dug WE'LL chuckling
as he did so. He became too lazy to haul
up the bucket and fixed saplings to do the
work chuckling again. Getting tired of
turning a windlass he invented a pump
and again chuckled, as he had only the
handle to lift to get water He got tired
cf this and made windmill to pump up
the water and again chuckled as all he
lad 10 do was to sit in rocking chair