The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-05-28
DIR. L. r. SCARBOROUGH, OF FIT
WORTH DIVINITY SCHOOL,
DELIVERS SERMON.
AMBITIONS PERIL
Address Replete With Patriotic Refer
ences - Large Crowd In Attendance
Upon First Services of Ardmore High
School Commencement.

"If you are called to live, to conquer
or to die, may God help you to be true"
This was the closing sentence of the
baccalaureate sermon delivered to the
graduating class Of the Ardmore High
school by DIR. L. r. Scarborough, presi-
dent of the Ft. Worth Baptist Divinity
School, at the High school auditorium
yesterday forenoon. Several hundred
people, from every church in town,
heard the address, the city churches
having been dismissed that their con.
gregations might attend the union SER
vices at the High school.
The address, the subject Of which was
the "Perils of Ambition" was replete
with patriotic references to which the
congregation responded with vigorous
applause. There are wrong ambitions
and there are right ambitions. There
was a Cain and an Abel an Isaac and
a Joseph. an Esther and Ahasurus, a
Daniel and Belshazzar, a Paul and an
Ananias. a Napoleon and a Duke Of
Wellington a Washington and Bene-
dict Arnold, a German emperor and a
Woodrow Wilson" The congregation
applauded
Selflshness Peril to Ambition.
"Selfshness," he said "is a peril to
ambition. Judas was selfish, John was
altruistic; Judas is world hated. John is
world loved. There is a man in Europe
today who is selfish and unaltruistic
who has gained the hatred of the world;
there is a man in this country, unset
fish and altruistic, who has gained the
worlds love" Again the congregation
applauded
"The man who values material things
more than manhood is an undesirable
citizen. II enjoyment is placed above
attainment, ambition is besought by
peril. If gold. oil ana wealth are placed
above the spiritual, the spirit of educa-
ton has been missed. When you place
morality above religion you have missed
life's meaning Success bought at the
cost OF character is defeat instead of viz
tory.
To-day is a day of the spectacular, a
movement toward the sensational It
has taken two years of the world war
to bring Germany and France to their
senses. If you do not grip the substan-
tial. the vital, you will be a parasite.
Do not go after the spectacular, keep
your machine on the ground. The
heights cannot be attained by one jump.
You must take your steps, round by
round.
Trying TO reach the goal without
paying the price of preparation is an
other peril to ambition. A high school
education is just a start. 1t is the first
milestone which points the pupil TO the
college or university. To be a COVER
nor, the head Of a corporation, or a
leader, one must pay the price.
"If you leave God out of your life You
peril your ambition. If you try to climb
without God you find the rounds out II
you leave God out OF the your work, God
will leave you out. The only way to pu.
religion into the school is TO put 1t into
the lives of our teachers Money is most
tainted by its misuse and not in its
getting. Money can be legally made;
but you wrong God by its misuse. II is
wrongfully distributed
A Human Tragedy.
1t Is a human tragedy for a pupil
not to have an ambition, but IL the am
bition is misdirected the pupil becomes
human wreck. A well guarded ambi.
ton is one Of Gods great opportunities.
The test of teacher as leader is the
power to awaken the latent ambition Of
his pupils"
DIR. Scarborough spoke from the text:
Neglect not the gift that is within
thee" The forty members OF the senior
class, robed in dark gray gowns and
caps, OF conventional academic pattern,
attended the services in body, march.
ing to reserved seats at the right of the
auditorium. They were headed by Prin-