The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-06-28
HIGH. SCHOOL PRIZE WINNERS Miss Laing and MT. Irwin
 Share Highest
 HOnorS Thousands In Jackson's s Theatre Attend Gradua- tion Exercises of Class
 1910 Barnum Prize Essays Read and Prizes Distributed Fairchild and Commercial Prizes Are Awarded.

NmSty-e1ght young men and women last evening severed the ties which hadS bound them for a varying period of years to the Bridgeport High school and were granted diplomas as graduates of that institution. The geoeral course comprised three stu- dents. the Normal preparatory nine keen. the college course forty-two and the commercial thirty-four.
 Of these students, five had main tainsd . standard of 90 per cent in fhsar work throughout their entire eouzse. and twenty-two averaged S5 Rar oent
 | The stage presented its customary Attractive appearance, being occupied chorus. Principal Henry D. Simonds. and superintendent Charles. w. DSane, iTEe white gowns of the toung Ia slies, while very sheer and dainty, were characterized by simplicity, a matter whioh rendered them eminently appro- priate to the occasion. The boxes containsd members of the Board of Education, the High School faculty And the relatives of the graduates Prominent educators were observed in the auditorium, where seats were at a premium.
 d tablished custom, no flowers were passed oyer the footlights. The reel plents of such tributes were notified to appear at the box office where the flowers were distributed as the grad 11ates filed out.
 Following the introductory music by the High School Mandolin club, How ard L0ens Stone. salutatorian, deliver ed the address of welcome.
 Salulatory.
 TrisndS of the High School:-The class of 1910 celebrates this evening the attaining of one goal in their pathway of advancement. What the future holds for,us is problem which time can solve; whatever it may be, we shall always remember our indebt- ednsss to the Bridgeport High school, and srecall with pleasure the days we have spent there.
 Tonight we are assembled for the last time as a class; and standing upon the threshold of the broader life be- fore us, we bid you welcome 10 the closing exercises of our school life, the graduating exercises of the class of 1910.
 By the brevity and conciseness of his speech MT. Stone made a very favorable impression. As the presid- ing officer of his class his experience In addressing his peers has operated
 
 Under the direction of Miss Cora Marian Purviance the school chorus rendered three selections, during the evening, the prettiest one being Car mena'' by Wilson.
 aAmid the Roses' F. H. Losey as Interpreted. by the Mandolin club, was especially pleasing, little undercur- rent in the melody constituting an appeal to the lovers of music.
 Interest centered, however, in the delivery of five essays by their writer's, the contestants for the Barnum prizes. These essays had been previously marked as to their literary merit by a committee composed of Rev. J. Mc- Lafen Richardson, Philip l.. Holzer, and Mrs M. H. Ford. The same con- mittee ad1udged the delivery:
 their respective subjects, were Sara Louisa Williams, 'The Passion Play. Robert Newton Blakeslee, ''The Pana- ma CanaP. Henry Lee Irwin, ''The Passion Play; Eleanor Agnes Cush- man. Abraham Lincoln"'; Annie Mur- ray Laing. '@The Prevailing of the English Language"
 Miss Williams delivered her essay with very good effect. The youthful quality of her voice did not possess the carrying power of that of an old er person. The speaker, however, is deserving of much credit for her per sistent -endeavor to reach her audi tors by a well directed intonation. Her matter was well prepared.
 Miss Cushman's paper on ''Abra- ham Lincoln" gave evidence of much careful reading of the biographies of Honest Abe. The we'll known attri- butes of the martyr to his country were discussed in very comprehen- gfve fashion.
 Miss Laing's essay on "The Preveil- Ing of the English Language was di- rected from the view point of some one desirous of establishing a uuiver- cal language. The speaker urged the protection and purification of the tongue native to the two greatest nations in the world-England and he United States. Miss Laing was awarded second prize.
 MT. Irwin presented a we'll written essay on "The Passion Play" His 5slivery was very effective, every sv1Iable of his utterance was distinct fv audible in all portions of the audi t6rfun. The value of this condition E freduent1y overlooked by young ssdies who apparently have no ff,0Hef1f beyond the persons in their