The Mena weekly star., 1912-05-23

Welcomed Teachers, parents.
schoolmates. Welcomed Friends.
school board, citizens each and
every one. Mortal tongue cannot
express the words in terms too
warm to greet you. Though you
live to be a thousand. no one can
extend n more cordial welcome
than we wish to extend to you this
evening. AS we near the Ford Of
Life we see the Iron of Fate beck
oning us to another sphere of ex-
istence. You, my dear audience, in
still into our veins the possible
hope of a safe landing. Can it be
doubted, then, that we wish to ex-
tend to you the blessings Of a hear
ty welcome. Welcome, yea, a
thousand times welcome, to this,
our Commencement.
In the life of every man there has
come supreme moment of deci-
sion. A moment to exert the last
atom of energy he possesses.
Whether he does this or not re-
mains entirely with the individual.
Only the persons who have become
familiar with the power of Effort
and the overcoming of lardships
untold, are qualified for this Test.
Out of the many people who have
acquired an education,t the most sue
cessful have been the ones who ear
battled their day through and put
forth the supreme effort of their
lives. 1t was necessary to exert
this energy in their youth, and inn
perative that they succeed at the
outset. Failure at first is apt to
dampen the energy of all future at
tempts, whereas, past experience
nerves one to future vigor. The
successful man never relaxes in his
effort to make a showing. Every
involuntary fault is like the falling
of a ball of string which one is
carefully windinga single slip
undoes more than great many
turns will wind again.
Great cities sometimes are ruled
by men who have lived on a snail
income. There was perhaps one
who lived otherwise, but history
fails to recall his name. These
men are the individuals who rec
ognize and grasp opportunity at
first sight. No matter how full a
Ireservoir of maxims one may pos
sess, and no matter how good ones
intentions may be, the character
will remain unaffected for the bet
ter is every concrete opportunity is
not grasped. The brain grows with
the use of effort, and every time a
resolve or a fine glow of feeling
slips by without bearing practical
fruit, is worse than a chance lost,
| it works so as positively to hinder
future resolutions and emotions. A
little gratuitous exercise Of the fac
ulty of effort every day has always
rendered full value to it's possessor
If one keeps busy each hour Of the
working day, he may safely leave
| the final result to itself. The ac-
tual presence of the practical OPP
portunity alone furnishes the full
crum upon which the lever can
rest, by means of which the char
acter may be raised aloft. There
is adequate reason to believe that
if we often finch from making an
effort, before we know it the effort
making capacity will be gone. The
person that acquires this capacity
has a possession Of intrinsic value
that will be of inestimable good.
True, this may be hard TO do, but
smile, suffer, be patient, and sue
cess will be yours. Former ey-
periences have proven that the Su-
preme Effort intimidates the hypo-
critic, weakcns the arrogant and
halts the rich. II is the man of the
Supreme Effort that will stand like
a tower when everything rocks
around him, and when his weaker
fellow-mortals are winnowed like
chat in the blast.
My effort enables me to stand be-
fore you this evening, and | wish
TO lay the credit Of this at the feet
of the teachers and friends, who
have many times helped me; at the
feet Of this venerable man, who
has pushed me over many OBJ
stacles; at the feet Of my Sacred
Mother, who has been the guiding
star Of my life.