Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1903-08-12
ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT.
Graduating Exercises of DEBORAH Institute
at the Opera House Last Evening
Close a Prosperous Year for
the School. p

A large audience, made up of tile
best class of Decoralr's citizens, as
sembled at the opera house last even.
ing, the occasion being the thirteenth
annual commencement of DEBORAH In
stitute, to give an encouraging well
come to the class of 1908 into the
broader field of usefulness and work
upon which they have just entered.
The program was carried out exactly
as planned and although Miss Adams
lecture was of course the feature of
the evening, the music by the orches-
ira and the physical culture drill by
the young ladies under the leading of
Miss Julia Breckenridge were excel
lent and received hearty applause.
Miss Adams was listened to with
closest attention throughout her dis
course. She is no orator and does not
even come under the usual idea one
has of popular lecturer She is a
plain woman. in appearance, in dress
and in speech, and in the plainest of
language she talked to her hearers of
the history of settlement work from
its beginning in the East End of Lon
don and then of her own personal
work at Hull House in Chicago, where
since 1889 she has led movement for
the uplifting of the many Italians,
Russian Jews and Bohemians who are
dumped into the Nineteenth ward of
Chicago, one of the most notoriouslv
unclean and unhealthy wards in any
city of America, but which, thanks to
the unselfish WORK of such as she, is
gradually being made more clean and
more wholesome intellectually,
economically and morally. Miss Ad-
dams impresses one as an exceedingly
active woman and the word sac
tivity" was perhaps the one she most
frequently used in speaking of the
settlement work. Her lecture opened
the eyes of probably the greater num-
Der of her hearers concerning the con-
dition of the foreigners who live in
our great cities and also as to the
methods employed to teach them
American ways and manner of living
as we'll as to preserve the best gifts
they have brought with them from
their native, lands.
Tho commandments olocaI Tho -, osk
prosperous years in the history of De-
corah Institute. The attendance has
been the largest and the grade of
work, which has been steadily rising
for several years. has been the highest,
as is evidenced by the graduating
class, also the largest which the In
stitute has ever sent out While the
common branches are still given
especial attention, tire work along
more advanced branches of study is al
so receiving more notice. The attend
ance the past year was 465 in all de-
partments, record which both the
instructors and the people of the city
may we'll feel proud. A faculty of
twelve teachers is employed and this
will be increased next year by the ad-
dition of an expert instructor for the
commercial school. The large attend
ance has taxed the capacity of the
building to its utmost and Mrs. Brock
enridge has been compelled to rent
additional rooms for use of the school
next year.
The Institute has been given a recog-
milton by the state during the past
year, the Importance of which is per-
haps not fully understood by DEBORAH
people in general. To fill the place
of another much needed state normal
school the Legislature authorized the
state superintendent to designate
eleven schools throughout the state as
state training schools for teachers, +"
and DEBORAH Institute was chosen
among the number by State Supt
Barrett. This gives it's graduates the
PiiNiiOSO VI tahinB tlo eAdiuludtlOHS
for state certificates the same as is
given to graduates of the State Normal
School. 1t is fitting recognition of
the character of the work the school
does.
DEBORAH Institute is now in its
thirtieth year and enjoys the distinc-
tion of being the Oldest purely private
school in Iowa. 1t numbers among
it's alumni men and women who have
achieved success and distinction In
many states of the west and it is
matter of much pleasure and pride OH
the part of both the citizens of De-
corah and the owners and teachers of
the school that this, it's thirtieth year,
has been it's best one and that the
future is so promising.