The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-18
Annual Exercises Began
With Pageant Presented
by Students Last Night
BISHOP MCCOY TO
DELIVER SERMON
Board of Trustees Meets Tomorrow
and Commencement Exercises and
Awarding of Diplomas Will
Take Place Tuesday
BY RALPH II. SILVER

Montevallo. May 17.-(Special)-
With elaborate musical, oratorical and
dramatic features. the seventeenth an
niversary and commencement exercises
of the Alabama Girls Technical insti-
tute began here this evening with a
dramatic pageant entitled "The Way
of Life" The pageant was given by
the pupils of the school, It's story be-
ing woven about a beautiful old Paw
nee Indian religious ceremony. 1t was
one of the most successful commence
ment events ever given by the Mon
tevallo school and was witnessed by a
large crowd composed of people from
all parts of the state.
Tomorrow morning at II o'clock the
baccalaureate sermon will be preached
to the graduating class by Bishop
James Henry Mccoy. d. D., of Bir-
mingham Bishop Mccoy is one of
the most eminent divines of the south
ern Methodist church and an excep-
tionally large audience is expected to
hear him. Tomorrow morning at Z
o'clock the senior class will conduct
farewell services at the Young Wom-
ems Christian association.
Monday morning at $3.50 o'clock and
also at / o'clock p. m exhibits will
of the school
Monday morning at Q o'clock the an
nual meeting of the board of trustees
will be held, which Gov. Emmett O'Neal
will attend At 10 o'clock Monday will
occur the alumnae meeting, at 6:45
in the afternoon the class day exercises
and at o'clock Monday evening will
be held the governors reception
Tuesday morning at IL o'clock, ac-
4companied by beautiful musical pro
Eralnne and a baccalaureate address
by Marion Luther Britain, state su-
perintendent of schools of Georgia and
president of the southern Educational
association at Atlanta, the diplomas
Will be awarded to the graduating
class by President Thomas Waverly
Palmer This Will complete the COM
mencement exercises.
Story of Pageant
The story OF the dramatic pageant
given last night is as follows, with
the cast of characters:
This pageant is founded upon a
report OF the American bureau of eth
nolcgy on a Pawnee ceremony called
the hako. The text of the pageant is
valuable as a fairly authentic account
of Indian religion. The poetization is by
Hartley Burr Alexander
The meaning of the ceremony can
best be followed by regarding it as n
symbolic portrayal of primitive man S
awakening to a sense of God, in the
physical powers of nature, his impulse
to pray and the increasing fervor and
spirituality of his prayers. A realza-
tion of the immediate answer to all
prayers is also confidently presented
'"The pageant falls in two parts
First, symbolically clad groups exhort
the people to look upon the heavens
as the abode of the Father: upon the
winds as messengers of the living. and
upon the earth as the universal moth
er. The Inhabitants of the heavenly
realms are invoked to look down upon
the abode of man which is symbolized
by a group arranged to suggest the
walls of a circular lodge. Within the
house of life thus instituted is reared
an altar from which arise flames sig
nificant of prayer Then the chief of
the father voices the most urgent de-
sire of the people in a prayer for the
material blessings of life. he asks for
bread. Directly there appears the Spirit
of Corn, who is hailed as the harbinger
of plenty, of physical we'll being, ana
of mastery over the brute forces of ma
fure. pacan OF thankfulness follows
and ends the first part of the pageant
having presented mans awe and ador-
alton before the physical powers of
nature and his simple content in ma
terial blessings.
"The second part opens with an ex-
preston of the tantalizing mystery un-
derlying the visible world and mans
eSnse of blindness. pettiness and futility
In this great universe Now comes A
passionate desire for clearer vision, for
wisdom, for progress. The Spirit of