The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1916-06-09
MERGERS
"Blind Man ElOquent'-NOtable Ad-
dress at Commencement of School
for Blind

TOT MhI3N hihAHfI
At the bnnauct which followed the
graduation exercises Of the Ohio state
School for the Blind Professor }. Frank
Lumb, the blind principal Of the institu-
tion delivered a beautiful speech In re-
sponse 10 the toast, school Friendship
After mdulginE in few pleaSantres, al
rected at the aged toastmaster. ProIes-
"The guests of honor here tonight are
these four graduates constiluunB lho
class of 1916. Naturally, our hearts ana
minds are all Ccntercd upon them, we
have watched their growth irom chlld
hood to manhood and womanhood ana
nothing Is more fascinating than the de-
velopment of the child The law OF grown
as we see n everywhere Illustrated In the
moral and physical world may confer the
greatest JOY or inlet the seVereal pam,
Heaven help the man who feels thdt ne
has reached the point where growth must
cease.
"These commencement occasions bring
social meetings and greetings with an hd'
mixture of NalCdiCtOry ] may not eN-
press Ia words the emotions that M my
heart when these boys ana girls nave
grown up under our care about TO leays
us and say farewell. You VIII do mo lhe
Justice to believe that my feelings are no
less sincere because / cannot express
them in suitable language, "tafeWelI
is "a word often lightly uttered ana quick
ly forgotten. But when II marks the
rounding of and completion of Il chapter
in life, the severance OF many Iond iflehu-
ships ud especially when il Is spoken in
the shadows of the western light, it sticks
somehow in the throat.
"Our peculiar kind of life in an instt-
tuition of this sort, develops mink NSly
strong ties of friendship between the
students and teachers. No word IN our
English vocabulary so thrills the hearl
and sets It's cords to vibrating as does
the good old Anglo-SaNon WoIu' lIlohu-
"Nlan is by nature a social being and
fellowship with other men rs necessary
to his development as the air and sun
shine are to the growth of the plant. "A
true friend says Emerson, is the mas
terpiece of nature. The laws of friend
ship are natural laws ethical laws, God
laws. and happy Is he VINO gives lhem
proper thought and obedience.
From the soil Of friendship We may
gather harvests of golden grain OF the
Promised Land. On polar mountain top
or on the burning deserts of the tropics
there Is no soil so barren, no climate
so severe that the flowers of friendship
do not bud and blossom and by their IRA
Crane eand beauty delight every passerby.
king and peasant; prince and beggar are
alike held by their charm and cumiorted
by their presence
experience, / mya say truthtully that I
have ever found friendship the brightest
Hover In lfe's garden. My debt Of love
and gratitude to friends ! may not de-
clare. These school friendships mean
more to all Of us than wealth or position
and the older we grow the more we Shdll
realize their meaning and their scope.
Someone has said that our friendships
often hurry to short and poor COnclus-
ions because We have made them of a
texture of wine and dreams instead OF
the tough fibre of the heart 1t is true
that there Is much sellishnCsS in this old
round rolling world and unalloyed friend
ship may be rare and much counteriietcd
IL is also true that the greed for weaItu
and power, which makes men mad, shows
itself everywhere but in spite of these
a great zeal of genuine friendship in the
world and ! believe there is ample eN
emplihcaton of it right here in this BAN
quet hall where most Of our hearts are
beating true.
Dear friends. allow me to express the
hope that during the coming years We
may gather even brighter blossoms from
the -bathed meadows of tre ndshlp
and put forth our best effori$ " scatter
their fragrance and their beauty along
the dusty. travelWOrn, highway of life.