The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-06-03

on purity OF thought and life. We
| thank you for the interest you have
manifested in us, and which. we be-
| EeVe, has followed US every step of
| the way since we left your desk till
the present hour.
| We extend to you the gratitude of
| our hearts. We love and appreciate
you for your own worth. and for your
| works sake.
Climax in Career.
/ This night marks the climax Of your
career as teacher. Year by year you
| have grown in the esteem of your great
| circle of friends, till now the wreath
| Of laurels is complete. and you stand
| out as one of the very few who have
| written upon the pages &C history such
| Il record of q well spent life.
| We congratulate you on the wei
| deserved vacation upon which you are
| entering.
May your remaining days be as
| happy and free from care as your past
| has been useful and full Of labors.
And may He who deIighteth in His
| faithful servants reward you album
| dainty in this life, and throughout the
| rolling ages of a glad eternity. May
| you strike the harp of glory and wear
! the crown of a victorious life
Prof. Tate's Response.
| Prof. Tate spoke as follows:
| Tonight my friends l am carried
| back in memory to the medieval times
when a conqueror returning from his
| ed by his subjects a magnificent
| triumph.
a splendid pageant whose gorgeous
| sumptuousnesl defed the power Of
words to depict its magnif cence, greet
| ed the hero of the hour, whose appear
ance was hailed by the welcoming
hUzzas of the multitude who strewed
| the path of the cOnqueror with wrea tbs
| of victory, and buried him in an ava
| lanche of flowers. But all this ovation
| that enthusiasm which emanates from
| truly loving hearts, but the honors
heaped upon the conqueror were given
by those who desired to cultivate favor
with the despot whose very nod de-
cided their welfare or their woe.
Come With Tributes.
Tonight we are assemble unher-
aided by the clarion notes of authority;
instead of parade and pageantry you
have come in the civilian garb of
American citizenship bringing in your
hands no spoils of war, but offering
to your late tutor and instructor.
'As this humble parsonage. | stand
before you tonight with a heart almost
bursting with qualification at this dem
onstration of love and confidence. Ma
poleon, Hannibal nor the Scipios In
their palniest days were rendered the
priceless tribute you are offering your
teacher tonight, nor were the hearts Of
the mighty potentates ever filled with
the exquisite pleasure and gratitude
| that pervades the breast of your hum
BILE instructor tonight.
There are occasions of such mo-
mentous interest that appalls a speaker
and prevents the free utterance of his
thought, and he feels that any effort
to express his true feelings are power
less. The present occasion with the
memories which this great gathering
of my former pupils have conjured up
all conspfre to make me feel that what
I say is pueri!e and totally inadequate
to express my sentiments.
This night is the proudest moment
of my life' I confess to the charge Of
being an optimist. From infancy
INDUCED in cast1e-building; many
structures have I reared-many of
them probably in the air-for the &C.
cupancy Of my pupils, never for per-
sonal habitation. OF a sanguine tenn
permanent my aspirations were lofty,
but alas, have often found my castles
overthrown, my Ctoian efforts crowned
with failure and disappointment. With
persistency that knew no discom-
future I laid new and better foundations
and in some instances I find them still
standing and doing practical service.
A TaIisnan For Success.
Tn early youth my beloved tutor.
now long go dead, gave me as copy
to write this quotation: Let all the
ends thou aimed at be thy country's,
Gods and truth Pinning this on my
sleeve. I went into the battles trusting
that this should be a talisman for sue
cess.
"As a student my ambition was al
ways to excel and to stand at the head
of my class. In choosing at the out
set the legal profession I pictured my
self as pleading the cause of the limo
cent and as a judge dispensing justice
without fear or favor.
"WhAO the toCSjD IF sounded
patriotism dictated my siding with my
state Ambition pictured for me an
honorable death on the battlefield or
an exalted position in a victorious
army. All these aspirat ions were des-
tined for failure. Returning from an
unsuccessful and disastrous campaign
to a ruined home, I Immediately set
about to earn those things In civic toll
for the support of myself and others
dependent upon me. The condition Of
affairs prevented any immediate profit
from the practice Of the law, and by
the stroke of good fortune a friend
suggested my taking a, school so that
could earn enough to tide me over
until times should assume a more ia
vorable aspect I took this advice and
commenced to teach q school in the
suburbs Of my home town. Tuskegee
and my residence was on the precise
spot of ground now occupied by Book
er Washington's industrial institute
And If I may be pardoned by calling
II mind incidents of my early man
hood, 7 will, say that my school after
two terms was so prosperous fnan-
cially that I felt justified In taking a
life partner, and accordingly shortly
thereafter / was united in marriage to
Miss Sallie Clark of Tuskegee, whose
benef1c cent influence induced me to ally
myself with the church and a few
months thereafter I Joined the Meth
odist church with the sainted B. B
Ross as my pastor.
IT afterward moved from my sub
urban school into the city OF T>uske-
gee where with my brother Clarence
as assistant. I established a mae high
school, as The Sunday Journal states.
After three or four years we gave
up this school 7 coming to Roberts at
the earnest solicitation of DR. w P
Dickinson, one of my cid pupils. my
brother q short time therea fter going