The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1904-06-15
BAceALAUREATE DAY.
Happy Predictions for the Passing Gem
tury-Sermon and Song.

uIf-SCImOn anu OUDS.
A new age Of christianity is to
sweep over the world. Christ is to
be made pre-eminent in all the af-
fairs of men and nations, and uni
versa1 brotherhood is to possess
mankind. The greed for gold and
the Vaccinations by which men
lay hold of vast wealth and fnan-
cial power are to be ultimately ov-
erthrown by the sweep and swing
of this advancing revival in chris
tianity. Such was' the theme of
the baccalaureate sermon delivered
before an audience of 1900 people
in College Ar1nory, Sunday morn
ing.
The speaker was Rev. William
Hoppe, pastor of the First Method
ist church at Salem, and a recent
arrival in Oregon from Mt. Pleas
ant, Iowa. His subject was, "Christ
and the new age" "The most re-
markab1e age of all time, he said,
was the first century, which usher
ed in the birth of Christ. 1t is a
towering summit to which all look
back, and beside it the centuries
that have intervened are but foot
hills. The centuries that brought
the revival of classical learning, the
Lutheran upheaval, the various
revolutions and the growth of the
spirit of liberty were cited as land
marks, but far above them towers
that initial century upon whose
threshold the world now stands.
The inventions, the easy means o1
communication, the consequent in
tercourse of nation with nation, the
intermingled interests of the one
with the other have all prepared
the way for the new and mighty
sweep of christian influence that is
to speed throughout the world
What has been seen in the growth
and spread of the church and its
influence is but trihe compared
with what is to come within the
passing century. Individuals are
to be possessed of and controlled
by the christian spirit, and are to
plough, to write, to mine, to man
ufacture, to 1egislate for Christ
Nations are to disarrn, and univer,
sal peace is to prevail. The broth.
erhood of man is to be on the lips
and in the hearts of all peoples, and
tribes and governm nts are to learn
war, no more. A new Eden is to
be opened for man, and peace
plenty and happiness is everywhere
to rule.
For an hour Or more the great
audience listened with undivided
attention to the delightful theories
of the speaker. With many a fer
vid burst of oratory thought afte1
thought teening with pleasant pre-
diction and coming delights wa:
flung into the listening ears of tn
multitude with an earnestness ane
/ zeal that in many an instance, il
spite of the optimistic views of th'
speaker, carried conviction. A
the close the graduating class aros
and remained standing while th
preacher told them of the opportun
ity the coming years presented
and urged them to prepare for th
struggle by early acceptance of tn
conditions in which he declare,
christianity is to play SO large
part. At times the scene was al
most dramatic, int ne spell the ora
tor forced upon his hearers.
The service was the most pleas
ant in the history of the college
The day was ideal. and the frag
rance of wild roses hoated in through
the open windows and mingled witt
the perfume of the flowers inside
Decorations of Lady Washington!
and cypress. were about the stage i,
profusion, and three huge palm
were conspicuous on the platform
Cedar boughs were festooned abou
the room, which with the setting O.
humanity in the galleries and mail
floor made a scene seldom beheld
The program was like the other
that have preceded it. Their
were anthems by the Ladies Chor
us, and hymns by the congregation
The college faculty, the city min
listers and the singers occupied til
platform. Rev, Carrick delivers
the opening prayer, Rev. Gree
read the scripture lesson and Rev
Deck pronounced the benediction