Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-06-20

make our lives full and strong and
rich, just for the sake OF the content
and satisfaction we get out OF them
for ourselves. One thing which adds
to the goodness of ones life is the
large relationship OF it. The more
things we know, the more things we
touch. the more things which lie
about the circle of our lives, the rich
er our lives are Helen Keller had to
begin with but one door through
which she might go into relationship
with this wonderful world and all the
wonderful things which it holds. That
was the door of touch. She was born
into silence, into dumb darkness, and
in silence and dumb darkness she lives
still; and yet through that one door
has come knowledge and love and their
Interpretation in their full divine pos
sibllity. Can one possibly conceive
how much richer her life is to herself
because she knows all these things,
and how much more it would mean If
the windows were opened and her hear
ing unstopped and her speech unloos-
ed. Education does all this for us. 1t
opens the doors and windows of life.
1t brings US into thousand unknown
and undreamed of relationships. 1t
enriches us with the vast possibility
of knowledge and revelation And
then ones life is enriched for one self
by ones own power; just the power to
do things, to be master OF ones body,
and to be master of ones mind,
and to be master of ones powers, and
to dwell in their centre in conscious
kingship. All this makes immensely
for the worth of life And then our
lives are good to us because they are
whole. Integrity is a priceless asset.
Health is integrity of body, and sani-
ty is integrity of mind, and righteous
ness is integrity of soul. And all
these are worth so much we can pay
anything to get them. No matter
what we get in exchange we are poor
if we have lost them.
And then the value of life is bound
ed by its value to others. We have a
right to get very great deal out of
our own lives, but we have no right to
keep them for ourselves. They are to
be enriched and then used And our
value of others depends, think, upon
two things-the attractive service of |
life and the redemptive service of life. /
We all work together trying to make /
this better world, trying to add pos
itively to it, to build 1t up. To this T
work of upbuilding every one of us
must bring some contribution. by our |
by our essential helpfulness, to bring
nearer the divine and eternal. And |
then, because mistakes are being
made, and because men are selfish and
4 ~, -, b.
a work of atonement, which is just
the work of righting things which
have been done wrong to begin with,
and cleansing things which have al
ready been stained. And this we have
to do just as all such work has been
done, and always will be done, by pain
and toll and sacrifice. And then for
the last, life is bounded of its value
to the future, to the spiritual, to truth.
TO beauty. and to love / think one
nay venture to sum all this up and
say that the final value of life is value
o God, and this is the value of trans
mission. We want to keep our lives
20 open to the true, the beautiful, the
good, the divine, the eternal that they
hall live in us and move through us.
peak with our lips, and work with {
,ur hands. and love with our hearts, ]
md so realize themselves in world |
rom which they would be forever shut |
ut if we did not give them place to q
ONE and door tc come through and
self to live in and work with /
All these values are not exactly ours a
o be had for the asking. They are k
ertainly ours to be had for the siren /
lous seeking. We will if we may be y
ich in all these ways, towards our Ii
elves and our fellows rich in kind Il
f wealth which can never be taken
way from US, which will grow with !,
assing years. and which the more we ;,
pend the more we shall have, and !
'hich if all our deeper dreams and +
opes are true, as they must be, be u
urs forever. ~
At the close of Mr. Atkins address II
he High school chorus sung again and Z
rincipal II. X. Whitaker made brief Il
beech in presenting the graduating u.
Ass to the school board. Charles H. 8
thompson. chairman of the board. -
ooke briefly in reply and then con -.
FRED the diplomas. This was fol- =
wed by the singing of the class ode ~,
Id another selection by the chorus. +
he members of the class are as fol- h.
VS.: Classical course. Emily Rose
lapp, Amy Harriet Van Doom, Maude
my Young; latin course, May Elvins
ond Dana Howes Gilman. Inez Daisy
oodale, Arthur Wayne Scott English D.
urse, Samuel Earl Arnold, Leon Ed =,
ard Barnes, Lelan Gardner Carlton. "
lillian BiXby Douglass, Scott Perley Hi
lmes, Raymond Minor Frost, Alice
la Holden, Arthur John Hyde,
larles Clifton Heminway, Helen
larlotte Rohde. Arthur Louis Rohde,
annie Hobart Taylor, Leon Emerson
NTH.