Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-06-15
PRES. ROBERTS
breaches TO
GRADUATING CLASS

President Arthur J. Roberts
preached the annual baccalaureate
sermon to the members of the gradu-
ating class at Colby college Sunday
morning at the City Opera House,
taking for the theme of his address
Tolerance" The services started at
/, $50 o'clock and were brief in char
acter.
The services were opened with the
| reading of an extract from the Scrip
lures by President Roberts, after
which quartet composed of Otto L.
Totman. Miss Amy Morgridge, Miss
| A. True Hardy and L. L. Cadwalla-
der sang a selection. The audience
Joined in the singing of the hymn.
THE Morning Light is Breaking" af-
ter which President Roberts preach
ed his sermon to the senior class.
benediction at the end of the service.
President Roberts address was as
follows:
One of the functions Of a liberal
education is to liberate, and especial
ly to free one from the tyranny. of
prejudice. Intolerant old Doctor
Samuel johnson once said, "Sir, the
Americans are a race of convicts."
His great contemporary, Edmund
Burke. in quite diffeffrent spirit re-
marked that he did not know the
| method of drawing up an indictment
against a whole people. The memory
of your intimate association here in
this college with students of other
races and religions than your own,
| and your study of the progress Of
civilization in all ages and through
out the world will always keep you
from making any sweeping general
izations in wholesale derogation of
people whose religious faith and ra-
cial origin are different from yours.
You will, I feel sure. never be guilty
! of the wicked un-Americanism that
seeks to divide our peaceful, friendly
| communities along lies of race and
religion. Senator Hoar Of Massachu-
setts belonged to what DR.. Holmes
! used to call the Brahmin caste of
New England. In a memorial ad-
dress on the life and service Of
President Mckinley he uttered a
conviction that made great impress
sion upon me at the time. all the
greater because of Senator Hoars
well known conservatism and part1-
sanship, and with the passing years
this utterance of his has increasing
ly claimed my acquiscence and as
sent.
Senator Hoar said. eff the Repub-
licans should all perish from the
earth, believe the Democrats would
still carry on the republic; II the
north should be swallowed by earth
| quake, I believe the south would still
carry on the republic; If the Protest.
ants should all perish by restilence,
1 believe the Roman Catholics would
still carry on the republic" Such
faith do I have in the penetrative
quality of the American spirit, that
go a step farther than Senator Hoar
went; If Protestants and Roman
Catholics were all to perish, be-
lieve the Jews would still carry on
the republic! Your college expert
ence has taught you that there are
good people wearing every sort OF
tag or label, and that the essential
difference among people are much
smaller than intolerance and preju-
dice and ignorance would have the
world suppose.
The people whom we do not like
are as a rule the people whom we
do not know. Intimacy of associa-
ton is largely responsible for the
quality of college friendships. We dig
deep in college and we find the gold.
If you get to thinking that the world
is growing worse and worse, give up
reading the newspapers for a month
and spend the time in getting better
acquainted with the neighbors!
Some of you, I have no doubt.
pride yourselves upon entertaining
rather advanced theological views.
Let me warn you against intolerance.
The bigotry of liberalism is quite as