Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-22

GRADUATES OF 1906
Received Diplomas At Their List Pub
 uc Meeting Last Nlght

| Polls theater was crowded to the
 doors last evening by an audience
 eager to be present at the annual
 commencement exercises of the high
 school graduates who seem to at-
 tract more attention as the years
 roll by.
 Aside from the presenting of tho diplomas by Mayor Thoms tho main attraction was an address to be de- livered by George w. Cable, the American author who wrote "Old Creole Days" and "Dr Sevier." Early in the evening the theater started to fill and when 8 o'clock had arr rived there were ex-graduates, under graduates, college graduates and members of the high schol alumni, which exists in name only, all mak-
 ing a gathering which was very representative one.
 The stage was neatly decorated for the occasion with potted plants with few cut flowers here and there. It
 was some time after the appointed
 hour when the first bars of music of the ever welcome march were heard and as the curtain ascended the class of 1906 marched upon the stage and took their seats to be gazed upon for a couple of hours by the audience, which on such occasions use their eyes very frequently.
 The speaker of the evening was introduced by Senator Finton J. Phe- Ian, who referred to the author as the Honorable Dr Cable.
 MT Cable touched briefly upon the public school system in this city, giv- ing 1t little boost ere he started on his address. The speaker had for his subject Courage and Constancy," from which he stated character Is formed and all true love of heroism springs. He had his manuscript in his hand during his address and made frequent reference to his paper.
 Mature and good books are two things never rightly loved," said the speaker as he went on to point out the advantages to be derived from the best literature and continued somewhat as follows:
 Our social life every now and then becomes too intensely interest ing. We fly to the woods for rest. We cannot take the crowd with us, 1t is from the crowd we are escaping. But we can take books, which are the quintessence of the crowd. Both books and woods, and especially they and the woods together. have the educatiye value of wise, sweet friends with perfect manners.
 What are the good, the great, books? Books of the imagination. The more we feel the more we live, and the imagination is the Beautiful Gate to the temple of emotions. Books ren- der the actual world immeasurably more beautiful and less difficult to live in. If they do not they are not the right books.
 The right intent of life and story is one, the joy of heroism. the tri- umph of the will in retention or quest of the good, the better, the best. Let us train, enlarge and purify the emotions. our powers of feeling. Let us learn to confront life with our vision for truth and our vision for loveliness in harmonious and equal partnership, the only true and con- summate practicality. And let us give to all these tasks the ease and i joy of temperate feasting. So shall woods, books and human fellowship array life in that veil of poetry, which, without denying, puts into kind shadow the trivial and unlovely, and iliumines and emblazons the strong, the glad. the sublime and the beautiful"
 After a short intermission the re- mainder of the program was carried out. Superintendent Tinker present. ed Miss Anna Elizabeth Eagan with the $50 gold medal which was of- fered by the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution for the best essay writted by high school pupil on certain period in American history. The Misses Marion Weinstein. Helen Baker, Eva Sheridan and Ethel Jen- ner received honorable mention in the same contest from the judges. who were Rev F. D. Buckley, c. F. Chapin and E. w. Tinker.
 Mayor Thoms was down on the present the graduates with their diplomas, but as he was not on time. Vice-Chairman of the Board of Education J. J. Mcdonald started tc do the work. When the exercises were almost over the mayor put in an ap- pearance and after delivering short speech finished distributing the