Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1919-07-01
Capacity Crowd Attends
Finals of Alexandria
High School
REP. MOORE SPEAKS
Speaker Lauds Public School System
In Virginia-Tells Graduates to
Have a Purpose in. Life.

Representative r. Walton Moore Of
/ Fairfax county last night addressed
the thirty members of the gradual
ing class at the annual commence
I ment exercises of the Alexandria High
I School held in the auditorium Of that
school.
s The auditorium was packed to its
& capacity with relatives and friends of
I the graduates, officials of the city
school board and others. Tie grad
J guates occupied seats on the sta sc, the
( young women were attired in white
and wore handsome boquets of flow
/ ers.
d Those who graduated were:
A Misses Leonie Simms, Ruth
Ward, Ida Harvey, Marion Ad-
ans, Margaret Abramson, Elva
Waters, Irene Manley, Almedia
]. Park, Reba O'Neal, Margaret
Linn, Rose Shapiro, Helen Barn
house and Hilda Putnam and Messrs
d Charles Smith, Edgar Dare, Herbert
O'Meara, Thomas Brooke Howard,
Thomas Kelly, Leslie beavers, Ev-
erett Pohl, George Smith, Purvis
Downham, Alvin Friedlander, Hugh
Marsh, Paul Speilman, Paul Barrett,
William Blake, Edward Trum'5le,
William Duvall, Elmer Davis.
The exercises were presided over by
Capt. w. H. Sweeney, superintendent
of schools and the diplomas of gradu-
alton .were awarded by w. F. H.eFinke.
president Of the school board. Many
5Sof the graduates were the recipients
of flowers and other presents.
Rev. DR.. John Lee Allison, pastor
Of the Second Presbyterian Church,
opened the exercises with invocation
and; during the evening selections
were given yby an orchestra. The as
sembly hall was decorated with or
ange and black, the schools colors.
Miss Irene ;Manley gave the salpta-
!. tory and Edgar w. Dare was the vale:
dictorian Rev. Edgar Carpenter, rec
tor:of Grace P. E. Church, ,tpronounc-
ed invocation. Supt. Sweeney made 4
short address on the unit system now
IN operation in the schools.
Representative Moore gave. very
|practical talk to the graduates. In,
Espater Of all of the horrors OF the worN
war he said the opportunities today
were as great as ever. !.
4 HE then turned 2 his / attention,
Ito the steady growth of the
public; schools since the time of
George Washington. Their success,
however, he; said did not become, so
[nr6nounced until after the civil war.
Since the civil war he said they have
|Sgone on with marked rapidly, grow
ling better all, the time.
REPRESENTATIVE Moore. declared the
teachers have got to be better paid,
and he added they make great sacrl-
fices.
The day&,is approaching asserted
1.-THE esspeaker when IN addition to ply
Isical training some military training
will have to be added. Continuing he
said: ~ am not willing that this ccun-
try fail to prepare to meet any con-
Y tingency that may arise in the future,
The speaker said that this is the
golden age for all who have ambition
and he urged all of the graduates who
can to attend some college or uni
verssty, although he added that some
$of the most successful men in the
country were men who never attend
Esed.:a university, but who were sell
leducated men. He urged all to i'm.
sprove education by reading.
In conclusion the speaker request
led all to have a purpose in life anc
| above all to have character and HI
Il ,pressed the hope that they woult
a. honor to themselves, and be
lit to their country, their stat
and their city.