The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-01-18

er tree adds new qualities to the earth
that sustains, and every branch shot
forth becomes a feeder Of the great
mother trunk.
This fruit. these roots Of our be-
| loved alma mater, and her alumni and
surely when one contemplates that
| long list OF distinguished sons one can
not refrain from exclaiming in the ex-
uberance of devotion! What strength,
what vigor, what life-giving force,
what a perennial source Of growth
and Development
The alumni Of the South Carolina
college. What theme-a theme for
poets and for sages that should go
! sounding down the ages telling to
generations yet unborn that the past
of the South Carolina college is secure
| in the grandeur Of it's great men; that
the present, with all Of its heritage
of accumulated glory, is ours, and the
future, with an earnest made steadfast
by the achievements Of the past and
present-the future, young men, is
yours.
Call the roll, ye marshals of distin-
guished alumni! Announce their
achievements, ye heralds, and there
will be such chorus Of adsuns and
such loud sounding tributes Of praise
as would make the welkin ring. re-
sounding the, praises Of her sons.
The adopted son of a foreign coun-
try espoused the cause of his fostering
rfatherland with such unfaltering devo-
ton that at last he sealed this devotion
with his life's blood; the master Of the
rolls instructed the herald that when
ever the name Of this hero was called
to answer, absent, but accounted
for Let your herald call tonight the
name Of a man distinguished i'll any
walk of life among the alumni Of the
South Carolina college, and one will
hear either Joyful present" or "ab-
sent, but accounted for"
If, therefore, I should attempt to
enumerate the names of the great and
distinguished alumni, Of which the
South Carolina college has just reason
to be proud. I should set for myself a
task stupendous in its proportions
and my faculty Of selection in this
vast concourse of greatness would
be staggered by the quandary where
to choose.
On occasions such as this the past,
present and future seem blended into
one active living present, and tonight
let the promises Of our fathers, the
fulflment of their sons, the pledges
Of our heirs, unite in one firm, fixed
resolve to make the fruition Of the
College that we love richer and more
beautiful than its flower.
When the great heather poet,
Horace, felt that he had finished his
work he was justified in exclaiming:
"Exegi monumentum acre prem
MUS
The sons and heirs Of the South
Carolina College rejoicing in the rich
heritage bequeathd by an illustrious
line Of alumni, the friends and sup
porters Of this institution, may tonight,
with just pride, exclaim: I'VE have
erected monument more enduring
than brass" Standing steadfastly
upon a firm past that is fixed, exult-
ing in the brilliant achievements Of
the present. let us here tonight in all
seriousness and earnestness resolve
that we shall not be satisfied until we
welcome as beautiful daughter OF
this grand old institution daugh-
ter fairer to look upon and richer in
its benefcent infuence-the University
of South Carolina.
An everlasting monument to the
liberty of thought and religion which
has ever signalized our people, mon
ument to the mind, shedding through
oout the broad limits Of the State the
pure rays Of knowledge, undimmed by
the dark lanterns of sectarian teach
ing, and standing in our midst like
goddess of liberty. bearing aloft
torch lit by the. electeric fires of
science and Of art.