Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1906-06-20

DdDy grown INTO the boy, fair faced,
happy, good. In her dream she saw
him the young man; upright, straight-
forward manly noble. And then she
saw him the full-grown, mature man.
taking his place with the good and the
great Of the earth, honored bv his
fellows, self-respected and successful
So have there been dreams and
thoughts and hopes Of you That
father and that mother have not lived
unto themselves. The days came
when they watched you as you started
off for school for the first time and
they knew that their baby was now
The school boy or the school girl
Then the teacher took up part Of the
work How patient those teachers
have been through the days in which
You have been under their guidance.
Dull you were, perhaps, on some days
and on others full Of that strange
spirit Of mischief that at times seizes
older people than Won have been.
Here you are tonight, so far as they
with hard work and great patience
could make you, the finished product
OF the public school The public
school it is for the public has had its
share in this work of helping to form
your lives 1t has contributed to
that work by providing the teachers
who have assisted the parents TO give
you the education you possess. Have
you caught sight of the obligation
resting upon you by reason of these
things: | trust you have. And see
ing 1t have learned that these all have
not lived unto themselves, and so
have learned also to live not unto,
yourselves.
There is another obligation resting
upon you Tt arises not from what
you have received, but from what you
are. The French have condensed the
thought which I have i'm mind into
the little proyerb, 'Nobles-e Oblige.'
Du nobility there rests am obligation.
Because Of your nobility the nobility
ot am educated mind, conferred ON
You by your accomplishments thus
lar, there rests ON YOU am obligation.
You have learned many things. The
High School graduate of today has
more than had the university grad
uatc of forty years ago This makes
you more capable; enlarges your field
If opportunity, places greater powers
within your grasp than have those
around YOU who have not had your
privileges. This but increases your
duty to your neiphbor The delivery
to you Of these talents and privileges
is but the call TO greater duty as mem
bers OF the family and of the COM
munity You are called, therefore, to
7 live not unto yourselves, but to Justify
the high hopes and great expectations
Of all those who have contributed to
the confcrring upon you Of this no
biiity Of an educated mind.
How then shall y.u discharge this
duty First in carncstncss This is
an age which has been described by
our president in a phrase now trite
but still expressive, as strenuous 1t
is a time in which if we are to achieve
results we must be not only we'll
equipped but dead in earnest. That
means we must be Industrious Tie
world yields It's returns TO honest in
dustry 7 know that wicked men
/ flourish and that the CRATER and the
corruptionist seem to be prosperous,
but they are so at the cost Of self
respect and the esteem Of others.
They live in perpetual fear Of ex-
posture and loss and God alone knows
how they die. The difference between
the industrious person and the spon-
ger is well illustrated in nature by
the difference between the honey bee
and the mosquito. The mosquito goe:
about seeking whom he may devour
lie lives on the blood he sucks from
his victims He is a pest and ar
abomination, making life miserabl,
for all those with whom he comes
in contact He is an illustration o
the sponger, the CRATER, the gambler
He lives unto himself. How differen
the honey bee She flies from Aower
TO flower and the path of her industr,
is a path of fragrance and beauty. Sh,
LAYS up in store for herself vet find.
a portion for others. Be Industrious
Don't be a mosquito. The world wait.
: for the worker and rewards him. ant
a great share of the reward Of m,
honest worker is the knowledge thaf
his work has not been only for him.
self.
Be exact. The day is passed wher
we can RIM about as did that mar
who. holding his hands in a certain
. position. shouted Don't Jar me.
have the measure of a door" Tn Other
words we must he thorough Never
saw "Tt's good enough" until YOU hav,
n, 10 - 4bc boct ,-o,, ~ov