Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-08

One hundred and sixty-six candidates for
degrees received diplomas at the annual
commencement exercises held this MORN
ing at the Belasco Thea.er.
The procession of candidates, all in
academic gowns, started promptly at
1890 o'clock this morning from the uni
versity to the theater. and iled past the
spectators who lined the sidewalk on II
street.
Big Crowd in Theater
The theater was crowded as the mem
bers of the faculty and of the board of
trustees marched to the stage The long
line of candidates filed into the seats in
the orchestra reserved for them, while
the United States Marine Band played a
march.
As President Charles w Needham
opened the exercises Rev. DR.. Samuel II.
Greene offered the benedictiOn.
William Gordon Brantley, jr., of the
department of law, delivered an Grafton
Ernst Otto Schreiber, jr., of the gradu-
ating class of the college of arts and
sciences spoke on THE Direct Primary"
President Needham's Address.
President Needham devoted himself in
his address to the graduates to the serv-
ices which a strong. well-organized uni
versity renders to the state. and urged
the necessity of such an institution here
at the American capital. He said:
Every institution, to show itself worthy
of support, must keep in view its rela-
tions to the commonwealth. These rela-
tions ought to be based upon mutual and
reciprocal benefits. II an institution In a
high degree serves the state. the state
should, in a substantial way. support and
cherish the institution. A university
should seek. within the range of its prop
er activities, to render services that tend
to strengthen and upbuild the state, espe-
cially by giving to it its richest posses
sion-honorable. high-minded, efficient
men,
The speaker dwelt upon the way in
which education advances the public well
fare. by cultivating the imagination of
the people, SO that they can create right
ideals; by training their reasoning powers
so that they can compare the actual con-
their purpose to change from undesir-
able to ideal conditions. He continued:
American Social Questions.
Americans boast of freedom, Of wealth
and Of power. Never in the history of the
worlds progress has God and nature been
| more bOuntiful to any people. But do we
love knowledge, and righteousness, and
truth, better than these things? True,
there is a greater proportion of hunger
and famine and rags in some other lands.
But why is it that our people are feeling
today the great burden Of the advance in
the cost of living in country OF unbound
ed natural resources? Why are the rich
so lavish upon the things Of the moment
and so unmindful of the institutions whic
| endure and work for righteousness? There
two ctc lone
among us caused by the artificial, and
often purely accidental, possession of
gold. Tyranny is not extended over our
people by a despot, surrounded with
hordes Of non-productive and useless hu-
man beings who live upon the labor and
industry of others, yet the great majority
of the things we use. that are necessary
in our modern life. are burdened with spe-
cial privileges and unnecessary taxation.
which work for the inordinate enrichment
| of a few.
"The great corporations which manufac-
| ture the foods We eat. the materials which
enter into the structures we build, and
the railroads upon which we travel are.
many of them. capitalized far beyond
| their actual value in order that unearned
and inordinate gains may be paid to pro-
moters and so-called capitalists. These
! conditions should be studied and whole
| some remedies suggested by sc1entif1c and
! unprejudiced men.
Legislative Corruptlon.
| Again, legislation is sometimes cor
| rupted at the source, and statutes in
| tended for the public veal are weakened
or destroyed by cunning phrases and
| 'jokers, purposely intended TO make the
law ineffective and to continue the evil
practices which the legislation is sup
posed to correct. Even the judiciary al
times has supinely followed solemn prece-
dents or technically construed a consti-
| tuition and upheld or perpetuated prac-
| tees condemned by the common honesty
of the people. Men in public places,
| have not hesitated to take 'retainers
from rich corporations to serve them In
private affairs. but the size of the fee
| suggests to every honest man that the
corporation had more in view than sim
ply securing the services OF lawyer
| There Is great need for higher mo-
| rality in public and business life, and
| for a broader. and deeper. and more in
| telligent comprehension Of our complex
| business political industrial and socia
life In the last few years there has
| been a great advance. When time shall
| have given the people of this nation q
| fair perspective it will be acknowledged
that the administration Of President
| Roosevelt was a period of the greatest
! moral awakening in business and civic
| affairs that the country has ever expert
enced. At last 1t has come to be gener-
ally acknowledged that railroads anC
public highways are synonymous terms
utilities to be protected and regulated BY
the state under it's ministrant functions
All schemes which the Vaccinations Of
highly intelligent capitalists or legal ad
visers may devise to defeat such regu
lations are. from the political standpoint
fundamentally and morally wrong anG
should be made statutory crimes. Mo
nopolies Of the great natural resource:
of the country. which nature has giver
and which no man has ever created. are
| vicious and public evils"
Education the Greater Hope.
Referring to other conditions in tn.
American life demanding reform, DR.
Needham said:
while the immediate remedy for thes,
and other evils may be sought through
Intelligent, wise and patriotic legislation
the greater hope is In the education O
the rising and coming generations. givin,
to them a truer definition and a finer ap
probation of righteousness. The law will
be better fulfilled through knowledge
kindness and common good will than |
can be through the instrumentality O
courts. policemen and prisons. There 4
vast wealth In this nation, laboriousl,
and sincerely accumulated by high mind
ed. unselfish and patriotic men; thi
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