The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1905-05-25
CENTER TIP. COMMENCEMENT.
Twenty-eight Pupils Graduate from
the Common Schools.

The annual commencement of the
eighth grade graduating class of Cen
ter township took place Saturday ev-
ening, May 20 at the Opera house in
Plymouth. The house was filled to
Its utmost capacity with spectators.
The stage was nicely decorated with
the class colors, rose pink and green
Upon the stage were seated those
who took part in the program, the
twenty-eight graduates, and the
teachers of the township. The Class
Motto was "Our First Step" and the
Class Flower was the Pink Rose.
Very excellent music was furnished
by the Plymouth orchestra.
Both the Salutatory, given by Boyd
Stephenson, and the Valedictory, Civ
EN- by Gladys Wise, were good in
thought and given without hesitancy.
The address of the evening was de-
livered by Prof. NJ. E. Bogarte, head
of the department of Mathematics of
the Valparaiso Normal School He
chose for his subject "The Draft of
the 20 tn Century" He gave to the
audience a good, sound practicable
talk and among other things impress
ed the idea of originality, of perfect
ion in what we do, and of paying the
debt we owe to our ancestors.
The speaker laid down the propo-
sition that we of the present are in
debted to those of the past. He
showed how we are reaping the bene-
fits of thousand years of Christian
civilization; and, more directly how
we are reaping the benefits that come
from a great country which our fore
fathers after numerous sufferings and
the laborious clearing away of OBJ
stacles, conquered for us. 1t takes
an unselhsh man to plant where he
knows he will not reap. He cited
several examples among them being
man who was continually planting
the wilds of early Ohio and Indiana
with apple trees which were of no
benefit to himself but only to those
who came after him. We are indebt-
ed to this man. We are indebted to
him who writes great book or po-
EN-. What would this world be with
out our literary lives? To those who
compose music. and to those who
paint their vivid imaginations upon
canvass-to any strong man or wom-
The demand of the Goth century is
an we are indebted.
for a man who can do something for
the good of mankind-and it is neces-
sary to do that a little better than
anyone else has done it. 1t is glo-
rious to be Petrarch but how much
more glorious to be Dante! The
speaker gave the example of Luther
Burbank who is doing something for
the good of mankind in raising the
cactiis plant without its present prick
ly leaves. In time he will be able to
supplant the old with the new variety
and thus revolutionize desert travel
for beasts of burden will then be able
to feed upon the cactus.
Mr. Bogarte emphasized the fact
that we should pay the debt we owe
to the past by honest, sincere and un-
selfish labor and service, not for our
selves but for others. The rarest vir-
tue of mankind is unsel1shness. 1t
is good to be in debt little for it
arouses every faculty in manit serves
as an incentive to push on. We as a
race are indebted to thousand years
of progress. The highest form OF
success consists in the best payments
which we can possibly make OF that
which we owe to the past
There are few people in this world
who can do anything All follow in
the footsteps of others. We are
bound iron clad to the tyrant Prece-
dence We arc PARASITES instead OF
original thinkers and doers.
The speaker ended in strong plea
for us to do somthing for humanity
be afraid to die until you have done
something for humanity-not partial
ly to do it but do it perfectly. In life
whatever we do we should do not
eighty per cent perfectly but hum
dred per cent perfectly-"Be ye Per-
feet"
Prof. H. M. Tebay in presenting
the class for graduation made sound
talk showing that this priod was a
decisive period in the graduates lives.
County-Suprintendent Marks in
presenting the diplomas urged the
pupils to go on in their school work
and not stop at the completion of the
common schools.
Following is the program as it was
given:
March Oregon ......Fu Fulton
Invocation ......... Rev. G. A. Plug
Overture "Zenobia" ....... Rockwell
Salutatory .......B Boyd Stephenson
Serenade Sounds from Heaven IL
C,of~~d