The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1905-06-01

debted to others, will he paw
back to humanity what he had
received with INTEREST," Upon
the choice he made depended
his possible greatness. Will he
serve himself, or will he serve
his people and his God? Ex-
ceptional opportunity either
makes men Exceptionally selfish
or it opens the door to great
service. But that great service
is usually only possible by
great sacrifice. He that would
find life at it's highest, must
seem to lose his life. So Moses
chose rather to suffer i'll treat
ment with the people of God
than to enjoy the pleasures of
the world for a season; and in
the providence of God he ac-
hieved lasting fame and influ-
ence.
In America thousands of
young men and women have
thru our schools and churches
opportunity for developing
greatness of life far superior to
that of Moses. His most un-
selfish desire for his people
that they might have econo-
mic political and spiritual free
dom is in a large measure real
lied among us and in the gen.
Grafton to which you belong
will be realized as it never has
been in the history of the world
And so I will remind you of
your debt to the past in order
that you may be able to see
more clearly what the world
has right to expect of you who
as graduates of a High School
have already had exceptional
opportunity, and what will be
expected of you who are look
ing forward to further study.
1 wish to show you what you
owe to the world by fret show
ing you what you cost. The
average age Of the graduating
class is eighteen. According to
the standard of living in the
families from which you. come,
you have cost your parents
from 5000, to $3.50 a year since
your birth or from $1,000 to $45OC
for your board and clothing.
This city spends about 80 dol
lars a year per pupil for. its
schools, the higher grades be-
ing the most expensive. Sc
your education has cost the city
from $4OO to $3.50. Outside Of
your graduation clothes you
have cost society from $4,000 ia
5000. Some of you have in the
last years earned a little of this,
In the eye of the law you are
stitlinfants dependent on others
for your living. You are very
expensive animals to raise.
The reason for your prolong-
ed infancy as DR.. John Fisk
showed is that you may have
time to learn not only what
your parents can teach you but
also make your own the &C.
cumulated wisdom of all ages
past. All future progress is
dependent on a proper use OF
past experience. A bird learns
in few weeks all it's parents
can teach. But a human child
must spend years before it can
even get a glimpse of all that
men have learned up to his
time. You graduates know
thousands of things that Moses
never dreamed Of. The com.
monplaces of your life, a tele.
phone, electric light and a r
r. train are marvels far greater
than Pyramid or Sphynx or
statue of Memnon. Moses was
before all literature. and history
that you have studied. Wha,
ever literature and history was
before Moses has perished out
of human knowledge except q
few uncertain fragments. 1,
was not till the time of Solomon
that literature of our Bible be-
gan to be gathered, and tina,
was a. thousand years before
Christ. You began in the
primary class with an alphabet
that is the result of millennium.
of experiment in writing. The
first TO use an alphabet were
the Senaetic people from whom
Moees came. The Hieroglyphs
of the Egyptians were a very
crude attempt to rec or Z
thought, and could not have
been read but by q few. The
progress Of the world intellect.
ually has been in a large meas
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