The Kadoka press. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1923-current, 1924-05-23
MAJOR COURSEY
ADDRESSED GRADUATES

DoulH DakOIaS educator, soldier
and poet. major 0. W. Coursey of
Mitchell, so we'll and favolahly
known in this. section. once more
appeared on the local platform last
FRIDAY evening before a packed
house to, deliver the commences
ment address.
In his address to the graduates
Malo 0. w. Coursey, Of Mitchell,
took for his subject The Harm of
Life" He divided the address in
to three sect-ions--life in general,
life IN particular, and the combat
ting spiritual influences that strug-
gle to control it.
In the way ofs introduction he
SAID: Just as we were going into
battle on the Marilao river twelve
miles straight north of Manila in
the Philippine islands Oh the hot
sultry morning Of March 27, 1899
2 Filipino family, consisting of the
father, mother, and little girl about
ten years Of age. whose small bam-
boo hut lay directly between the
two opposing armies which were
less than a mile apart. sought to
make their way out of the zunc Of
fire around our right flank.
Hastily packing their scanty
household contraptions onto q two
wheeled cart drawn by a Chinese
pony, they climbed in and took
their places on the front seat watch
consisted of a hinged beard turned
backward,-the father on the left
hand side, as is the custom of the
l.
hand side. and the little girl be-
tween them.
"As they passed by in front Of
where we were. with the horse run
ming at break-neck speed, the
father beating it with a piece of
bamboo at every jump that it took,
the little girls harp, about 30 in
ches high, made of hand-hewn ma
hogany. inlaid' with sea-shells from
Manila bay. and containing 29
strings, jostled off of the back end
of the cart when the hit rice
dyke and fell to the 81 ound.
AS we came up to 1T IN our mad
rush forward in a deadly charge
upon the Filipinos' lines. stopped
hurriedly to grab it up. AS | did
so. the man directly behind me was
shot,-he receiving the bullet that
was intended for me.
1nasmuch as the little girls harp
had saved my life, called it My
Lies Harp; and from it | envoived
the subject upon which shall
speak to you tonight The liafp
of Life"
This catchy introduction imlled-
lately arrested the attention OF ne
large audience, and MaIcr Coulsey
found it easy II hold thei:' attent-
ion for the tVcn.ng.
During ttc frs part C his ad-
dress the speaker d, tined hue;
showed the '.;lle of each day. dis
cussed the comparative value OF
dollars md life: set forth var, rs
rules for mrssurmg lle and closed
1T with comparison of the lives 0i
Methuselah and Roosevelt.
As an introduction to the second
part of the address life in pal ticu-
lar-the speaker said: Every child
born into this world alive is prl-
marily tiny stork's egg $50 small
that if you were TO place it under
a powerful microscope and enlarge
it to 179 times its own diameter it
would still only be equal in size to
an ordinary copper penny. This
tiny insignificant egg ain ost IN
visible to the keenest human eye
is cultured by the ess ace Of the
fathers blood. Dame Nature eau
ses it to grow for threc-quarters Of
a year. Then the fairy winged
Angel of Birth descends into the
birth chamber where the curtains
are drawn and the lights are burp
ing low; ushers it forward through
the gateway of life into the arena
of action: breathes into one tiny
nostril the breath of life, into the
other .asovereign Wlls and the
child becomes a full-fledged SOU :
ready and willing to begin to play,
lus tune upon the harp of It's lie.
He set forth the seven stages OF
human existence: discussed the
whole range of life with It's multi
piled experiences from the cradle
to the grave; and then took up
the last phase of his theme.
He declared: Every man'is both
real and ideal. What he is today IS
his real. That which he hopes
sometime to become is his ideal.
The carriage in which he rises
from his real to the attainment, OF
his ideal is his soul-oplane: The
motor that propels it upward in It's
onward course is the human will.
The current that generates the
motor is spirituality. And Just so
long as that current is turned on,
mans soul-oplane continues to rise;
but the moment that he himself.
by some sinful act of his own. dis
connects the current, that moment
his soul-oplanc topples over to
perdition. True--he may have ac-
ouired such momentum, and may
have risen to such 2 commanding
height of goodness. that he may be
able. as we say. to vOlDlane for a
little while and save himself; but,
in the end. unless that current is
reattached through repentance,
faith, prayer. and obedience to dII-
vine law. just that sure his soul,
oplane will keep on plunging down!
down -down!-until it smashes
itself into fragments on the mem
Grated crags of hell"
Mr.. Coursey enriched the address
throughout with quotations from
the worlds classics, used several
poems of his own composition, and