The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-06-16

| to the graduates. Father Davis said:
| The duty that devolves upon me
this evening is one of the most con-
genial that could present itself for
fulfillment; that of addressing the
| graduates this year. ST. Peters young
men and women stand today upon
! the Threshold of demarcation, be-
| tween school days, free from care,
and the stern realities of responsible
life In executing this duty no slight
embarrassment confuses me. l know
the graduates, severally. They are
talented, of promising parts, and
adorned with many virtues. What
then, is to be the import and burden
Of my words? What message can
presume to convey? Tie feeling is
that odd one of the man so bewil-
dered with the enhancing beauty Of
the forest that he could only COM
plain "he could not see the forest on
account of all the trees" Happily,
! when in this mood, / went casting
about for an escape from this entan-
| clement of thought there flashed
across my mind remark incidentally
made one time. by your erstwhile
popular superior, Sister Margaret,
concerning the school. In substance,
the good sister showed that her life
was bound up with the entire school,
but the little tots constituted the OBJ
! ject of her supreme desires. her pre-
objection: But what pity they do
not remain so always" she subjoined,
/ and the tone of regret and despond
ency was so accentuated that we
could well nigh see the big tear glis-
| tening in her voice. ] Immediately
self-imposed the task of restoring
/ the fallen crest, of reassuring the de-
! jected spirit and proving chat the
/ tone that ought to dominate yonr
! lives should ever be "sursum corda"
cheer up" in painfully common par
lance And remember that sister
| viewed things and persons with the
single eye'' that m likes bodies light
some She admitted that the little
ones mature crescent" would grow
in thews and bulk; that would be
to succeed naturally; but her appre-
hension was that las this temple
wakes, the inwardd service of the
mind and soul would not grow wide
! withar': and that would be to fail,
systematically as the body would
wax, she feared the soul would wane.
Fears Are Groundless
/ They were groundless- vain fears;
as is apparent to one weighing your
facilities. considering your opportuni-
ties, your environment, the very
Catholic atmosphere that you inhale.
Were your lot cast by cruel fate. in
the moral cess-pools in many cities
in slum where ignorance permeates
daily life then one could not so
readily entertain such buoyant hopes
g.. ~.I &C.,
ture career. But loving Providence
has had you born heirs to the richest
! legacy. after the gift of faith, to the
Inheritance of this splendid Catholic
institution of learning, the priceless
bequest of your ancestors; this en-.
during monument to lively faith, a
disintereSted devotion. a spirit of
supreme self-sacrifice erected it; a
spirit of self-sacrifice undiminished
strongly maintains it. Herein was ex.
PEELED from your minds the parent of
so much vice and crime, ignorance,
and culture was enthroned- This you
can more fully appreciate by asking
\ what has filled our jails, our asy.
lums and reformatories, and true as
an echo, the response Will be: Ignor.
ance. Nature demonstrates this Ma
ture grows a foul jungle of pestil
ence, breeding weeds if left fallow
and neglected. Neglect a field and
i'll, unsavory weeds grow apace. Ne
elect to cultivate the mind and it be
comes a receptacle for all that is foul
and evil But if nature be torn by the
pick and broken by the ploughshare
it will yield rich ore and richer
grain. Nature, mother, kind alike
to ALL still grants her bliss at labor's
earnest call" With analogous aim
and result, the field of your mind has
been tended and husbanded with care
| To impart secular knowledge, this
staff of competent, interchangeable
teachers was at your disposal. The
course planned for you measured un
to the most approved standard ana
the method. the most feasible.
i They equipped you for the mos
IS worthy vocation a high school gradu