Daily Kennebec journal., 1922-06-20

49, P"'t man 10 gam Tor
himself college educatio those
qualities which spur men on to face
the task before ther, without falter-
ing through the ;ow days Of prog
ress. Her past character has been
revealed IN men of no less caliber
than Elijah Parish Loveioy. Richard
CUTS shannon, George Dana Board
man her present characte~ must be
revealed by thoTe who are now leay-
ing her halls. If among them. there
are number who have comn,ied
with the requirements of a good COL
lege citizen. the class is to be highly
compllmented. 1t shows that not
one but many a. catching the true
spirits of their Alma Mater. It is for
them TO reflect to the world the trun
CODY, TO embodY the qualities of
character courage and power as did
her immortal sons of the past.
Address to Junior Class
Mr. Lawrence emphasized the fact
that lndivlualism is declining in tho
country and people are beginning TO
feel that it is better to wor together
rather than to try to excel. However
Mr.. Lawrence said that the REACTION
must not go too far and lot the scope
OF lndlviduali"m be so narrowed that
Individuality is lost.
mere Is peculiar satisfaction
IN ADDRESSING class of Juniors. Yol}
nave eliminated the crudities of tho
freshman and the exuberant smart
ness or the sophomore, but have rot
yet acquired that feeling of selt-cs-
TEEN sometimes associated with So
called senior dignity" You renre-
sent, IN other words, the normal hl-
man being. blessed, l trust, with
your due endowment of self-confi-
dence and assurance. but not vet
obsessed with the Alexandrian no
tlon that there are no more worlds
Tor YOU to conquer.
In fleeting year another occasion
IKE TINS will mix your transition
from academic shades to the acrive
world of affairs. Inevita bly,. perhaps
unconsciously. YOU are beginning ia
visualize the meaning of that change
IN your several lives. Heretofore
your path has been to a large extent
mapped out before YOU. Once yo,,
receive the coveted parchment vou
VIII become aCutely conscious that
YOU are in real sense "the master
or YOUR fate, the captain of YOUR
soul"
Inc part which You are 50 soon TO
play on this great stage is in the ras-
clhatlhg drama of tomorrow. To
play that part well YOU have of ne
cessltN studied the Backgrounds and
the stage settings of the past. hut
only that through them YOU NAV fbe
more readily and fully compre hond
the changes Of the future. IF Won
, Will pardon the sudden change of
metaphor. YOUR mental carburetor
must be adjusted to tomorrow at
mosphere: otherwise the engine of
your ambition will labor on the hills
regardless of the bore of YOUR intel
lectual cylinders. the stroke of YOUR
physical pistol, or the luXuriance of
Your cultural upholstery 1t is i. uni
Nersal biological truth that growt h
is impossible without adaptation to
environment. The page of world his
tory are replete with stories of men
and women of surprising talent who
fell short because of this failure to
adjust. as we'll as of those who, while
limited in natural endowment, en-
tered the ranks of the great because
they interpreted and voiced the spirit
OF the age in which they lived.
In noting the progress of the hl1
man race we often speak with easy
carelessness of the passing of an
epoch, the daWnin of an era, the
advent of a new day. drawing across
the pattern of history hard and fast
INES inconsistent. perhaps. with its
essential continuity. Be that as it
may, there are quite obviously GER
tain transition periods when men be-
come acutely aware that far-reach-
ing changes have taken place. that
one cha pter in their relations has
been closed and another lies before
them, 50 the American people today
are slowly aWaking to conscious
ness of profound change. particu-
larly in the relation between the in
dlvidual and what for want of a bet
ter term we call society. 1t is of that
change that | wish briefly to sneak.
Hitherto, roughly speaking. the
American conception of the social or
sanization has been a system in
which the individual played the
dominant part.
founded by pioneers of individua ism.
Cramped for room to develop, stfled
by rigid conformity to the fixed
routine of an old civilization, they
sought the western wilderness, not
only to worship God but otherwise
to conduct themselves, free from all
forms of tyranny. Fortunately for
posterity they We're imbued with
profound respect for law and order.
but with some exceptions, mainly of
a religious character. they wisely left
TO the individual the largest possible
outlet for self elf-expression and self
development Any other course
would have been suicide. Individual
prowess was vital. Leaders must be
forthcoming, giants of Drawn. prodi-
gies of brain, masters of resources.
else the very life of the infant ma
ton would be snuffed out like a can
die in the breeze. The mastery of
continent was no task for pigmies. 1t
was virile stock that took root in
the new soil, and it was inevitable
that the nation it was TO mould
should be founded upon principles
and practices of individual liberty
such as the world had never seen.