The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-05-22
The ASSOCIATION OF
ALUMNI give BANQUET
Mr.. G. S. Dobbins Delivered Magnifi.
cent Address, His Subject Being
"The Man With Purpose" ID. r..
jenkins Receives Degree of B. A..

Last night were held the graduating
exercises of South Mississippi College,
with the largest attendance of any
occasion of commencement week.
These exercises closed the third ses-
sion of the College. One graduate,
Mr. D. R. jenkins, received a diploma
as Bachelor of Arts, the first diploma
ever awarded by the institution.
After the invocation by Rev. A. L..
O'Briant, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist
church, President Thames announced
first the opening of the Summer Nor
NAL School June s, and then the open
ing of the fourth regular session of the
college September 7, 1909, with the fol-
lowing faculty: w. I. Thames, presi-
dent and superintendent; T. o. Grlf-
fis, vice president, Latin and Greek;
Z. S, Balthrop, science; Miss Josie
w. Clark, English; Miss Martha Pin
ton, primary; Miss Grace Fittes, art;
Miss jamie Knox. expression; Misses
Marie Wahle, voice, piano; Miss Helen
S. Wright, violin, piano; Miss Minnie
Hopper, domestic science; Miss Ad
die West, librarian: Miss Effie Gent
secretary; Mrs. NJ. S. Brown, matron.
Mr.. jenkins delivered thoughtful
and interesting address on the sub
ject, The Progress of Education in
the South" He was followed by Mr..
G. S. DobbinS, the speaker of the even
ing, in the baccalaureate address.
Alumni Banquet.
At the close of these exercises the
members of the Alumni Association,
with invited guests, returned to the
city, where the annual alumni banquet
was held, Prof. Thames presiding. Ow
ing to the absence of official toastmas-
ter Mr.. Herbert Gillis, the formal
program was dispensed with. The
Poplarville High School Association
having affiliated with that of the
college, there was large number of
visitors present. After an excellent
five-course dinner, the party re-
turned to the college.
Following is, in substance, the ad-
dress of Mr.. Dobbins.
Today is the day of the man with a
purpose. 1t is the age of the man
with a mission, of the man with a
message-of the man who says, This
one thing l do" The widening of
mans horizon, the compleXity of So
ciety. and the marvellous advance in
science and philosophy, have combined
to force the individual of the pres
ent to be a specialist, if he would not
sink into the oblivion of mediocrity,
or perish in the wreck of the unfit.
Purpose, Success, Happiness.
Purpose, success, happiness-the
three for an ascending scale, and are
inseparable. Indirection, failure,
wretchedness-the three form de-
scending scale, and are likewise in
separable The curse of mankind
through all ages has been happiness.
It is your quest and mine. How TO
gain this happiness and avoid this
wretchedness is a subject that occu-
pies the greater part of your thinking
hours-it is life's universal theme. Yet
the formula is simple. A right pur-
pose, rightly directed, brings success;
and such success brings happiness. Or,
lack of purpose, or a purpose misdi-
rected, brings failure, and such fail
ure brings woe and misery.
You smile, perhaps, you who have
been buffeted in lifes storm, for you
think /; lies deeper than this; yet I
hope to show you that the principle
is sound, the formula true. Purpose,
success, happiness; indirection, fail