The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-06-17
The Baccalaureate Address.

Sunday morning was not partlcu-
larly propitious for the baccalaureate
exercises of Dakoat University, which
were scheduled to be held in the
corn palace, on account of the rain
which came up a little before the
hour, but the building was nearly
filled with people of the city and
visitors. Previous to the address
PRAYER was offered by DR.. T H.
Y~oungman, Of Huron, and the scrip
tural lessons we're read by Rev. j.. S.
Surbeck, of the Presbyterian church
and Rev. A. Craig Bowdish, of the
Congregational church. The music
for the morning was furnished by
the Misses Lee, Lathrop, ScaIlin and
Mrs. S. FL. :Scallin, and Messrs.
DO whey. Olson, Kratz and Peck,
two special selections being gwen.
Mrs. r. N. Kratz presided at the
piano.
Or. Thomas Nicholson, president
of the University, delivered the bac-
caiaureate address to the graduating
classes Of the University, and it was
"a mastery effort throughout. One
year ago DR.. Nicholson, then on the
faculty of Cornell college, filled the
same duty that he did. Sunday.
He selected his text from Hebrew
II :26, 81. His theme was On the life
of Moses, ana the passage OF scrip
ture emphasized the life OF this man,
when it said, ''esteeming the re-
proach of Christ greater then the
treasures of Egypt. He referred TO
Moses as Being reared in the land Of
vice and human passion, surrounded
by people whose influence tended to
draw him in the paths of re%ctitude,
but Moses, arriving at the years of
discretion deliberately forsook Egypt,
and refused to be called the son Of
Pharaoh's daughter: and that when
the two courses were placed before
his fully developed mind deliberately
chose "rather to suffer atfliction
with the people of God, then to en-
Joy the pleasures of sin for a season.
The preacher took up the human
side of Moses for an interesting dis
cussion, how his life was preserved
during the genera. slaughter of the
innocents, low in later years he
was educated in all the learning and
arts of the Egyptians, and how af-
ter attaining all the knowledge he
might have risen to high power had
he remained in the land of Egypt,
but it vas tie vice so prevalent there
which turned him in disgust from
that country, and the further fact
that God showed him what he could
do for a man who could thus deliber-
ately choose tine service of the In
visible. What he chose was simply
God and Gods people in preference
to Egypt and Egpyt's honols. On
the human side he left honor,
wealth, pleasure to endure affection,
repfoach and kingly anger, and it
was an infection of which he was
bcholding daily examples in the cruel
indignities of the task masters lash.
Df. Nicholson wondered that if in
this day there is a person WHO i'm
AGNES for moment that in this land
of liberty and freedom of thought,
this land where it is an honor to be
a follower of God. where a true
Christian is universally acknowl-
edged to be the highest style OF man,
that any such odds are against him
in deciding for God as were against
Moses in making his decision. Touch
ing upon the revelation which was
the basis for all Of Moses achieve
ments, he said that we may properly
suppose that his earliest knowledge
of God was derived from his mothers
teaching and traditions. 1t is the