The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1903-06-03

pass as men and women, but they are
only grown up boys and girls, who have
never put away childish things. From
such people come the lament over lost
youth, and the wish that they could turn
the years back again, and live in the
past once more. But beautiful as youth
is, manhood and womanhood, when oc-
cupied with noble tasks and cheered by
high ideals, is far more attractive. You
will not find any Of our strong men and
women, who are influential in their
communities. wishing to 20 back to the
small experiences and restricted enjoy
ments of youth. They are too happy
in the use of their splendid powers, too
much in love with work which only
strong men and women can do, and too
conscious of their usefulness. If you
want to be among these strong men and
women, who are creating new and
higher type of humanity. showing that
man can do greater things than any He
brew, Greek or Roman dreamed of as
possible, and making our country fore
most among the nations of the world,
you can be among them. You have only
to love and believe in the best things IN
tensely, and they will lift you up, and
carry you forward, continually bringing
out and developing the best that is in
you. You cannot now form any concep-
ton of the greatness of the best that is
in you. No young person can; nor can
you yet form any conception of the best
that life has for those who try to get it's
best. | speak, probably, the feeling of
every successful and happy man, when
| say that we are amazed every year
more and more with the greatness of the
opportunity, the perfection of the joy,
and the supremacy satisfying nature of
the rewards that life has brought us.
Some of us have not much money, but
we would not exchange the capacity to
think Gods thoughts, love as He loves,
to understand the way the world is mov-
ing, and the power to leave every place
where we go little better than we found
it, for all the wealth there is.
RICHES ARE ALL RIGHT.
But am not meaning to be so foolish
as to depreciate wealth. If you know
how to use it wisely it is one of the best
things, because it puts so much else that
is best within our reach. You can have
all you want of it, for this is going to be
a very rich country before you die, but
whether, if you get wealth in abun-
dance, it will be a good or i'll to you de-
ponds on whether you love and believe
in better things more than you love and
believe in wealth.
Here opens before us a world of infin-
lite charm, the true source of recreation
and restfulness. 1t is the world of beauty
with which God has made nature to
abound. Some do not notice it, but it is
all around us:
Thou canst not wave thy staff in the air,
Nor dip thy paddle in the lake,
But IL carves the brow of beauty there,
And the ripples in rhymes thy oar forsake.
All around us is this infinite charm of
beauty. The summer air is melodious
with beautiful sounds, our pathways are
strewn with flowers, every one of which
speaks word from the beautiful soul of
God river, and mountain, and valley,
and every landscape, speak the same
language. Don't go through life with
closed or dull eye for all this. Let poetry,
art and music, and above all Nature,
speak to your heart as well as the prophet.
If you really understand and love these
voices you will love and understand the
prophets voice better also. The more
good things you love, the stronger will
grow your power to love and believe in
every other good thing. Do not be con-
tent until you have brought them all into
the category OF your loves and faiths
them will grow the conviction, which
will at last become part of your very
nature, that nothing but the best things
are worth loving at all.
My young friends of the graduating
class, within very wide limits you can
have anything you want in the life that
is before you. Let me say again, it is
simply a question OF love and faith. You,
like all other men and women, will be
governed by your loves and faiths. You
see how serious the question is. What
are your loves and faiths going to be?
Your country needs you and will give
you some of its best work to do, with
higher rewards than you can form any
conception of now. If You will do your