The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-06-13

| hsNoiu iAohOi tA'poNiNiiAef
program, sang creditably, (a) "Till
Dawn" (Loeme) and (b) "Nhen the
Roses Bloom" (Reichardtl.
Or. Collins Address.
"Children of Good Fortune" was the
subject of DR.. Collins commencement
message to Spaulding, 1914. For more
than an hour the audience listened care
fully to college professor interpreting
the principles and aims of the public
school system in America. His remarks
were not confined solely to those who
were later to receive diplomas certifying
TO their completion OF that long educa
tional program which the public school
system has created; rather, it was A
clarifying discussion of the message
which the free school in America has
waiting for every American child. APP
parently the speaker aimed to interest
every person in the audience and in this
he was measurably successful. Never
once did his listeners relax their atten-
tion.
In the beginning, Prof. Collins referred
to the intellectual lights of other ma
] tons. Rome with her Cicero, Greece
boasting such giants of learning as Soc
rates, Plato and Aristotle. Truly. he
said, these men were sages whose teach
ings are not vet forgotten; and yet they
were among the comparatively few edu-
Gated men in nations that were the first
to be civilized. Education was not for
the masses in those days. nor was learn.
ing to be had for the asking in enlight-
ened European countries OF later day.
1t remained for the public school system
to take root in the soil of America and
to thrive in the free air of her democ
racy. To-day there is education waiting
for every child who reaches the school
age In that respect, civilization has
made rapid strides and those who argue
that this age, on the whole. is one OF
retrogression, need only to take cogniz-
ance of the vastly improved advantages
Of education, education that is pareelled
out fairly through the public school sys-
tenn. the leveller of all classes and one of
the bulwarks of democracy.
To prove his point that education is
worth the seeking that the advantages
of learning extend beyond the public
schools. the speaker mentioned number
| Of specific instances in which the old
theory that the bov who is inherently
"bright" will succeed without too much
schooling" was converted into a fallaev.
| In its demands on present day manhood,
/ the world is placing premium on moth
| ing so much as education. the professor
commended Addressing himself more d.
rectly TO his youthful hearers, the speaks
er urged upon them the wisdom of carry
| ing further their quest OF knowledge.
At some length he explained the correla-
| tion of the school and the college show
| ing how effectively the one is blended
with the other. and how essential, new
ertheless is thorough preparatory
| training if one is to elect higher studies
| With hardly more than passing fling,
| vet not without a convincing argument,
the speaker waved aside the arguments
| of those who would criticize the public
school system as it exists to-day. He
declared that it is still the best solution
of the educational problem and that un-
It'll something better is found TO sup
plant it, the purposes for which it was
ordained will be realized continually in
the thousands OF young men who each
year are graduating from publicly main
tanned institutions of learning.
First Honor Grafton.
Prof Collins address was followed by
hearty applause, which did not end en-
tirely until the ,glee club had marched
to the stage to sing "The Bells of st.
| Marv's" tRednevl The chorus was di
rected by Miss Hovey. while the accom-
paniments were PLAYED by Miss Blanche
Russell. The second essay Of the even
ing was given by George Huntington
Cove. the first honor student in the class
| of 1914. Mr.. Cove. himself a wireless
operator prominent among amateurs,
chose for the title of his commencement
effort, "The Amateur Wireless Opera-
tor" Carefully arranging his subject
matter, he gave a particularly interest
| ing narrative of the wireless operators
experiences and touched briefly on the
possibilities OF Marconis marvellous in.
vention.
| With the program proper concluded,
came the solemn moment when the grad
Iuates were to receive their diplomas. In
single file the students marched to the
/ stage to be addressed by II. G. Woodruff,
president of the school commission. Mr..
! WoodrIf's parting message to the grad
Iuates. while brief. teemed with whole
/ hearted advice. and was well received.
I In bringing the exercises TO a close. the
class honored a long established Spauld-
/ ing custom bv singing the school hymn,
/ Newman's LEAD Kindly Light" As the
last lines of the hymn died away. the
audience arose and another Spaulding
class had been graduated into the world.
Graduation Notes.