The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-06-19
DR.. FINLEY'S "THlRTIETH MAN"
CITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT ON
PUBLIC SERVICE.
Mrs. Grover Cleveland Was at Bacca.
laureate Exercises 10 Hear Him Tell
what One Man out Of Every Thirty
Does for the Other enty.nine.

Does for the Other nty.nlne.
Mrs Grover Cleveland was one of those
who heard President John H. Finley of
the College Of the City of New York de-
liver his baccalaureate address to the
graduating class in the Great Hall of the
college yesterday afternoon. DR.. Finley
had something to say about public service
Il have estimated" he said. that one
person in every thirty adults is a public
servant who is going up and down in some
vicarious capacity for the other twenty
nine. l call the public servant there
fore the thrtieth man. He is the man
who sweeps the streets and il pontifex
OF the country roads. He lights the lamps
when the natural lights of heaven go out
and extinguishes the fires of the earth
With one hand he gathers our letters Of
affection and business and with the other
distributes them in the remotest cabins
in the mountains
He weighs the wind. reads the potents
OF the clouds. gives augur of the heat and
cold He makes wells in the valleys. he
fills the pools with water. He tastes the
milk before the city child may drink it. he
tests and labels the food in stores and
SHOPS he corrects false balances and short
measures. He keeps watch over forest
and stream gives warning of rocks and
snoals to men al sea and of plague and
, poison to those on land
He Is warden of fish and bird and wild
| beast, he is host to the homeless and
shelterless he Is guardian and nurse 10
| the child who comes friendless INTO the
world and chaplain at the burial of the
man who goes trendless out Of it, He is
assessor end collector of taxes. treasurer
and comptroller: 10 is the teacher of
children, youths, men and women; he 10
public librarian and maker of books;
overseer Of the poor and supervis or,
superintendent. doctor. nurse and guard
in hospital. prison and almshouse; coroner
and keeper Of the potter's field. He s
mayor. judge. public prosecutor and
sheriff. He ~ soldier IN the army and a
sailor in the navy. he is general and ad-
mlral. legislator. justice. member of the
cabinet. governor and president"
DR. Finley said that once society. got
along with one person in every one thou
sand doing the public work and that now
the multiple thirty may be too large for
this community at least. He said that the
mere names OF the thirtieth men, (some
OF whom were women in New York fill
a volume Of nearly six hundred pages OF
the size Of the City Record or the Con-
| BFeSdOVUf neCOTU.
One who saw the real sig nificance OF
| this list he went on. could find IN II
more heroic. poetic material than Homer
found in the siege of ancient Troy.
have thought that Walt Whitman might
have made a heroic poem of great power
il he had but written in his rugged strength
the titles Of officers and soldiers in this
great army Of peace.
The gathering OF votes for such kin &c
of democracy in barber shops and like
places does not impress one with the i'm
portance and sacredness Of the franchise.
And yet the timid going of Samuel TO a
Village in Judea TO anoint a son OF Jesse
to kingship was not more significant
than 10 that of your mechanic or lawyer
who goes to the next block to cast his
vote FOR the thirtieth man in this repub-
lie"
DR.. Finley said that no great city has
a. a city intended more loftily. more un.
selfshly than New York" He hoped that
the City College graduates would be will.
ing TO starve their own lives out to Ill
up the life Of the city which has given
some Of you birth and all OF you rebirth,
Prof Adolph Werner OF the German
department. who was acting presiden,
Of the college during DR.. Finley's absencs
, abroad. sat on the platform with DR.
Finley After the baccalaureate servic,
/, Prof. Samuel A. Baldwin gave an organ
recital
! The principal speaker Of the commence
ment exercises to be held on Ihursda,
morning az 10 o'clock will be Preeiden
Ira Remsen Of Johns Hopkins University