The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-05-30
NURSES GRADUATE


A new feature OF the Commence
ment season in K.sasas City this year
was the graduation of the first class
of Negroes from the Nurses Training
School of the City Hospital. Those
who have the distinction of being in
this class are Misses Mayme Branch
Vaughn, of Moberly, Mo; Bertha Co
rinne Hanna, of Boonville, Mo-; and
Marie Vickers, of Springfield, Mo- On
Sunday, May "a, at the Second Bap-
list Church, an able and forceful Bac-
calaureate Sermon on the subject
THE Sword of the Lord and Gideon"
was preached to them by Rev. Samuel
w. Bacote, pastor of that church. Be.
sides a soprano solo by Mrs. A.
Holmes, of Springfield, Mo-, the ex-
.cellent music on this occasion was un-
der the direction of Mrs. S. w. Ba-
cote, particularly beautiful being the
chorus, "By the Waters of Babylon"
by Coleridge Taylor.
The commencement proper was
held at Allen Chapel the evening of
Monday, May 25, and was witnessed
by a large audience, about one-third
of whom were of the White race, con-
prised mostly of Nurses and others
connected with the City Hispital. The
Master of Ceremonies, Hon. T. NJ.
Flynn, a member of the Hospital
and Health Board, was introduced by
DR., VIM. ]. Tompkins who paid him a
glowing tribute 1or his Jealous and
enthusiastic efforts on behalf of the
Negro, since being connected with the
Board, and of their results as shown
in the many improvements in the Col.
ored Department of the hospital dur
ing that time. Mr.. Flynn proved him
self worthy of this tribute by declar-
ing the highest ambition of his ad-
ministration to be the complete pos
session of this part of the hospital
by Negroes-since. at present they
have only Staff officers, Nurses, and
Internes, and none of the administra-
tive positions-and asserting his de-
termination to exert himself to the
utmost in helping the Mayor to
achieve this.
Dr. Thompkins then gave a concise
and enlightening sketch of the "His-
tory of the Colored Department of the
General Hospital" He told of the poll
tical conditions that surrounded and
really made possible it's origin, of
some Of the difficulties that have been
encountered, due both to race preju-
dice and to political differences, and
also gave statistRss showing the ma
ture and extent of the work and the
vast amount of good that is being ac-
complished there. He extolled in
highest terms of praise the Hon. w.
P. Motley, who, tho a Southerner, and
a Democrat, was really the savior of
this department to the Negroes, when
he was a member of the Board. Be-
ing the Official Representative of the
Hospital and Health Board, Dr.
Thompkins was the one best fitted
to give the facts in the development
of this institution, and in doing so he
was careful to give credit where it
was due, expressing a regret that so
much incorrect information has been
circulated at different times, and par
llCuldTly Oll lue OCcdSlOu Vi lu6 IeCeHL
visit of DR.. Booker T. Washington,
when, because of being misinformed
by others, he made a serious error
concering the Hospital in his speech
before the public,
A splendid commencement address
was delivered by Rev. H. T. Healing,
President of Western University, and
after listening to the oratorical, logi-
cal. and inspiring treat that held his
audience spell-bound, each one pres
ent felt that the Master of Ceremonies
had not erred in proclaiming him,
second to none, only Booker T. Wash
ington, tho the last part might have
been omitted.
The music was furnished by the
combined choruses of Western Uni
versity and Allen Chapel, under the
leadership of Prof. r. G. Jackson, and
surpassed even the standard of that