The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-06-08
Twenty-Eight to Leave
Alma Mater.
MAN, OWN THYSELF"
The Subject of a Powerful BaccaIau-
reate Address by DR.. Woodward.
Henry B. Adams Jr Award
ed the Wiley Gray
Medal.

Durham, n. c., June Tomorrow
Trinity's commencement will come to
a close and the twenty-eight young
men and young ladies will go out into
the world. The diplomas will be pre-
sented after the commencement adj
dress, this being at II o'clock. In
connection with the presentation of
diplomas will be the presentation of
medals, certificates and prizes an
nouncementS will be made and the
commencement, which is largely at
tended, will be part of the history
of the college.
This was an exceedingly busy day
about the campus. This morning the
final session of the board of trustees
was held At IL o'clock DR.. Frank
Woodward, of Richmond, delivered
the baccalaureate address. At four
o'clock this afternoon the annual
meeting of the board of trustees was
held, and tonight the oratorical con-
test between four of the graduates
for the Wiley Gray medal was on.
The Graduates.
In the graduating class there are
two young ladies and twenty-six
Miss Corrie Scruggs, Miss Nellie
Stephenson; Messrs. Charles Scarlett,
G. II. Smith, M. e. N. Tillett. j. b.
Walker, Jr., -. S. Womble, Hall p.
Adams, G. P. Blackboard, A. B. Brad
sher, w. =. Budd, -. w. Bynum, T..
G. Baker, K6pe Elias, A. G.. Elliott,
Jr., w. D. Finger, j. p. Frizzele, L.
III. Gibbons, M. S. Giles z. Hinohara,
G. f. Hoover =. M. Hoyle, j. G.
Huckabee, o. ]. Jones, c. H. Livin-
good, w. S. Lockhart -. S. Lowder-
milk, and H. c. SatterfelG.
Trustees in Session.
The board of trustees of Trinity
college held a session this morning
and adjourned until the next regular
session to be held a year from now.
This evening it was stated that there
was nothing to give out to the public
at this time other than that the board
found the affairs of the college in
good shape and that the college was
never in better condition than at the
present time. 1t is rumored that at
the commencement exercises tomor-
row morning some announcements
will be made that will be of great in
terest to all friends of Trinity college.
These nnouncements will mean. it is
said, the placing of the college on o
better and different basis from that of
the past
The Baccalaureate Address.
The baccaIaureate address was de-
livered this morning at IL o'clock by
DIR. Frank c. Woodward. of Rich
mond. Dr. Woodward was at one
time president of South Carolina col
lege. He is a pleasing speaker and
deep thinker His address today
was one that was elevating and up
lifting. He held the attention of his
hearers throughout. His subject was
"Own Thyself, and he spoke in part
as follows:
We have to change our watch-word
now and then. "Know thyself," an
early philosophical dictum did good
service till it degenerated into it's
modern definition: Know thy capa-
city to squeeze the biggest possible
money-gain out of time, talent and
opportunity 1t is time for new
Watch-Word How will it do to sub
stitute for the effete: "Know thyself"
it's echo, own thyself? This is a con-
venient aphoristic form of the truth
that the ideal of human society is the
largest individual freedom consonant
with social and civil organization.
'The menace of modern life is the
weakening of the individual will to
maintain personal convictions against
organized agencies and corporate in-
terests; the tendency that is robbing
men of their liberties in the name of
human progress. This danger is i'm
minent. Individual initiative in trade
must not fool us into thinking we en-
joy like enlargement in higher rat
ters. We do not. In truth, individual
money-piling is made possible only by
an astute exploitation of the gross
many by the clever few: and this is
IL serious count in the indictment
against society for its repression of
personal freedom
Material wealth is not the sure
basis of happiness; nor anything but a
false measure of worth. It's applica-
tion is too narrow and partial: di-
vided among us earthlngs, earth's
wealth would grant each about 5000,
and impoverish the race Our money
standard of success is in the millions,
and yearns billionward. Evidently,
then. with this measure, only about
one or two per cent of the world pop
ulation could hope to attain either
success or excellence.
Nor is there better hope in the
spell binder boast about our Demo-
cratic civil and social polity. We are
not Democrats at all, but would-be
aristocrats. But our so-called Democ-
racy is based on the oppressive prin-
ciple of majority supremacy not only
in politics, but illogically and unfor-
tunately in nearly all concerns of life,
public and private. Public opinion,
finally controlled by majority dicta-
(Continued on Page Sixth.)