Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1903-05-28

this truth. The sun gives itself to tiis
sea, the sea gives itself to the clouds,
the clouds give themselves 70 the soil.
the soil gives itself to the grass. the
grass gives itself to the herd, tie herd
gives itself TO mar, and man--to whom
does ne gave hiinseis All, the great
circle Of sacrifice may be broken at last
Let me picture TO you a sad possibility
Here is a young man or woman going
ont of the high school into whose mind
a thousand influences Of kindly teachers
have been poured, into whose equipment
the muses. of art and science and htera-
ture have enpsied the treasures they
have cleaned for a Thousand years
Aristotle lived for that boy Dante sang
for that boy. Bacon led the
sciences ont of their house Of
bondage for that boy. The disci-
pline and training Of the ages. the
colossal achievements Of history are
laid at the feet Of that boy. He is heir
Of all ages What thea. He goes ont
OF the high school pampered and fat
tened by all his knowledge. forgetfnl of
all his benefactors and wrapping himself
up in his cloak OF seIfishness is dead to
the world with its pain and want, and
which cries out to him, 'Give, give 10
MS as we have given to you" There is
nothing sadder than this. A young
student of books and nature and men
who sees this great law everywhere, the
giving up Of one order OF existence that
the one above it may live, who sees thai
he himself would never grow III knowl-
edge and power If somebody had not
offered a personal sacrifice for him, to
see all this and not to know that it is "a
prophecy of what he ought to do and be
in the world toward his fellow men
this il degeneracy indeed. BE strong,
good believers. If you would advance,
destroy the twentieth century dragon,
greed. Ayarice has never heard OF
mercy and hates the thought of sympa-
thy. 1t buys virtue and feeds upon the
ruin OF chaste characters. 1t has com
mercialized all trades and professions
and stoops to deeds unworthy. 1t has
laid its hand upon the pulpit and has
attempted to prostitute the church.
Kill it. There is no progress in greed
and coyetousness II you would advance
and make pure contribution to gener-
ations unborn, die. Sow your lives.
Give your time, talent and life to be
Teapcd by others. There can be no
progress except through death.
Are you able TO die: That is true OF
character and your eternal life. God
grant that shis class may be reaped by
the future, and that the harvest will be
profound truths, great inventions,
immaculate character and redeemed
unselfish lives.
Members of the class Of 1903, you
have reached the end and you find you
are only at the threshold of a beginning
Your eyes are DOW, more than ever,
turned toward the. future. Ii is no
longer puzzle to you why we call this
commencement week You realize that
you are at the parting Of the ways and
are looking intently along the many
appealing lines of life before making an
;rrevocab!e answer by choosing any one.
You are considering the possibilities that
are soon, so soon, to become actualities.
1t is thought that conner eloquently
ont Of your situation. ! will not now
speak OF the possibilities of evil. They
are very real and most of us have already
learned of them from our experience
however brief. But the most effectual
way of guarding against evil is to keep
bright before our minds the possibilities
and prospects Of good Ny young
friends, believe in your own possible
ties of good. Think not of disaster but
of Triumph. not Of failure but of success.
To despair il to court defeat from the
outset. In your care to avoid self-con-
ceit, you need not go the extreme of
self-depriciation. Seif-reGance is alto
gether consistent with becoming mod
esty. Fear not to build castles in the
air, they may materialize into castles on
the ground. ideals are prophecies of
achievements You may attain worthy
plaos IL the work Of life Disappoint-
rrents and.crosses may come, but even
they may become the stepping TO
later prosperity and happiness. Scarcely
any man who bas nssssasiieai to eminence
has had immediate aud uninterrupted
success. There have been checks on his
| impetuous efforts, defeats after hard
fought battles. But broken heart did
not end in a broken spirit. Hope sprang
anew ont of the ashes css dead hopes and
the undespairing soul pressed onward to
final victory. So I say to you: Keep
heart whatever may befali. Have faith
Il