The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-06-20
COMMENCEMEN AT THE ORE
CON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
Flowers, Decorations, Orators and
Sougs-A Large Crowd At
seuded-Governor Cham
herlain Delivered the
Address to the
Glass.

Wednesday was graduating day
at GAG. The exercises took place
i'm the Armory. They began al
10 o'clock a. m., aud at high n Don
the great audience was dismissed
with a benediction by Rev Joseph
Emery.
The exercises were good OF bet.
ter than any that have gone bs-
fore. The day was ideal. There
had been showers, but the clouds
had broken away temporarily, and
the heavy atmosphere was laden
with perfume of flow ers and the
freshness of the morning. The
potted plants and palms on the
platform had the expsctant faces OF
29 young gradu ,tes for a back
ground. The stfeamers Of purple
aud gold and The national colors
draped about the gall-ries height
ened the colors of the hats and
gowns with which the main floor
of the big auditorium was robed.
On the platform were Governor
Chamberlain, President Weather
ford of the board, members of the
faculty and choir, In the gal
leries and in the seats en- the main
floor there were perhaps 1,2oo
persons, making such an audience
rs seldom gathers, especially dur
ing the businesa hours of an or
diuary Oregon town.
The program was spirited and
interesting, After the invocation
by Rev. Emery. fine song was
rendered by a male quartette. The
singers were. John fulton. Otto
l.. Herse, B, W. Jphoson, and D.
w. Pritchard. 1t is doubtful if
there is better quartette of male
voices in the state. The third
number 90 the programme was the
s.latatory by Miss Mabal Able,
Her sahj ct was, "a Plea for the
N stional Supervision of Prisons. "
She said that The function Of pris
or aiuses should be The Tefsrm
alton of convicts; not for revenge
on them, but for thsir reclamation
The influences set to work should
be such that in the end the under
ground dung cons for prisoners t,
bxood in would not be considered
necessary. In time the conduct
of prison au horities toward pris-
oners would be of the hypothesis
that under prison garb there is
heart and not a stone.
Miss Edna Irvine read Long
fellows The Legged Beautiful"
and J. Edwin Johnson, valedictor-
ian of the class delivered his ora
tien. The subject was, "The
Blight Of the Twentieth Century"
He declared that 100000 chill
dren in the United States were la
boring in mills and factories. Their
slavery, he declared, to be worse
than chattel slavery. This toll
ing by children for existence is the
crowning disgrace of the 2oth CEN
fury, To them the joys of child
hood are unknown. Most Of them
cannot read or write.
Mrs. Jennie Houghton Edmunds
of Seattle, sang most sweetiy,
"Heart's Delight" and responded
with another selection to a hearty
encore.
The address to the class was by
Governor Chambe lain. He ad-
vised the young people to choose
early the vocation they expect to
follow, and then to bend every en-
ergy in that direction. The ac'
quirements gained in the college
are but the beginning of education
that information yet to be obtained
is of more striking importance,
The governor spoke for three
quarters of an hour. His address
was one of the most classical that
has been heard at the college. Il
contrasted the education of earlier
times with that of today, and point
ed out the growing demand for q
more utilitariah college curriculum
such as is exempted in the courses
at. the Agricultural College. In this
blending of the practical and theo'
retical is to be found a long stride
for better methods in every voca-
tion.
The governor declared the pres
emit time to offer great opportunity
for the college graduate. There il
a demand for young men and
women in special eallings. and be
yond all high standard of citizen
ship is required. Men are
wanted for public position who viii
mot yield to the Establishment o
corruptionists and petty politicians
men who will not subvert publi