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L. B. Ellerson, of Newark,
N. Jm prenottnced the benedic
tien,and thus came to a close
of the best* if not the best
aencement in the-history of
C. Smith University,
commencement exercises
on Friday night, May 29,
firfththe High Schoolgraduating
class receiving their certificates,
find ended on; Wednesday after
«eon>Jane «, with* the College
and Theological classes receiving
their diplomas, and the institu
tion conferring honorary de
grees and givingprizes to suc
cessful Students. ■ '
?1 Gh;o d weather prevailed
and enthusiastic. The
, Hfifitew auditorium is,
was f6rceftdly illustrated by the
“"la^ge audiences thdt! Were
nil i MMLkL3±LlkiiA±lkLii itiJ
was up td*0ie usii
dk^nie Quintette
the house more
and the orchestra was
shape. ®r. Long Was the
••**»»*
.tions by the students
‘ tful and well deliv
: bf the speakers a£
to great flights bi
iencement was the t ..
§ former
its of the University who
;fer the firm-nd re-un
. <rf Seneca, S. C. Tbe men
lived over their school days as
tjmymetand mingled with each
cm. A re-union meeting was
h&d in the chapel. when the men
in a reminiscent and witty mood
made effective speeches.
The Alumni meetings were the
most, largely attended, and were
effective and far-reaching in the
history of*the institution. Sever
al items of business beeringup
on the development and advance
ment of the school were attend
ed to. Among other things the
Association presented the,school
with a gift of $400 to be used
on the Oftime Clock Fund. The
banquet was welf attended. Dr.
J. L. Hollowell was the orator
and made a notable speech. Oth
er speakers enlivened the occa
sion..
The Association appointed a
commission to select a graduate
athletic manager in co-operation
with the athletic manager of the
school.
The Association also took the
matter of building an athletic
field under advisement. ;
The officers of the Associa
tion are as follows: President,
Dr. W. L. Metz, Edisto Island, S.
G.; Vice-Presidents, Rev. S. Q.
Mitchell, ^Brunswick, Ga., and
Dr. J.j A* Bethel, .Charlotte; Sec.,
Dr. C. H. Shute; Assistant Re
cording Secretary, Dr. Field'S.
Bussell; Corresponding Secreta
ry, Rtetr. I./ B. West, arid Treas^
nrar, Dh J. D. Martin, all of
'.The Association heard with re
sident of Mrs. John
Kmith, in which a"°
wkuxtXl abroken arm,
graphed its sympathy ana a
quet offlowers.
The Association adopted reso
lutions thanking Mrs. Johnson
€. Smith wad Mr. J. B. Duke for
theft* generous gifts and ex
pressed their appreciation of the
worit andworth of President Hi
L. McCroi e.v.
M High School
School closing took!
>f JrrOx. o».
n/L-'IA .J .// Dan .VI
Invocation.; , .-s.mv fixlw
Masici .OMl t A site
Option, “Woman’ll Equali
ty,” Leon Steels <„;kt ysrfT
Oration, ‘.'//WlBtamt
Mark the Progress of a i^ace,’
Lockwood kove, i. laiod* adT
Comet JJarmon.Per?y«i
Oration, “Education in. North
Carolina,’' Vaaee H. Chavis..
i"-lOration, HEleetricity theiOenii
of the Modern AladdM4”jHart
Aadii’iPerryi-oirio 4a»ia^|prfT
v i Piano »olo, LaSalle Williams.
Oration, “la tilt Gompensation
fit Skilled Mbabor i Justifiable I”
Oration,4 incentives, Life’s
'DenassMB IMiwpnkfisytwi aosd.
^ClariaetJamerf
Xoung, texpyss
Annual /Address, John Edgar
SmitlvWasHiH0titapI>^Cki-H. w
Music, Orchestra. <::u^n, md
Awarding of Diplomas,
presentation Oratidk, Vance
H,-4l9HSS|Sfe.~ vrid tiyiuih ?3fnsl,
Announcement of Prizes, up s
Benediction. .MU?
The young men acquitted them
selves well. Their orations were
full of thought. The Alumiii fiVe
dollar gold piece went toMrl Le
6h Steele, bf MOcksVflfc.10'
ran
f Mr.Ei ‘y
splendid additote front *the sub
ject, “What tTY^nr '
*“ "^ccatorfeSaUirii'1'' s
vi. ^ Ujv . van.gnc
Craig, D. D., of Latrobej, Pa. The
President, Dr. Hi L. McCrorey,
had charge of the service Dr.
C. N. Jenkins made the invoca
tion. Dr. W. C. Hargrave read
the Scriptures. Rev. L. B, West
offered prayer, in presenting
Dr. Craig, the President ex
pressed the pleasure he had in
haying him present, and Dr.
Craig in turn told of what a
pleasure it was for him to visit
;the institution for the first time.
He was highly pleased with what
he saw.
Dr. Craig selected for his text
Matt. 6:19, “Seek ye first the
kingdom of heaven,” etc. He an
nounced as his subject, “Life’s
Relative Yalpes^ Dr. Craig said
every man is a religious being.
The gospel is, therefore, ah ap
peal to a natural instinct. Man
jis constantly seeking something,
for where* there is no vision and
no seeking the people periSh.
Civilization is the result of mail's
seeking in science, in govern
ment and religion. Men must
have material things—food,
clothing, knowledge, etc., but
these are of less importance than
spiritual values. The power to
discriminate and to estimate'file
relative value of things ia the
secret of success.
yv e must/ mane a cnuiue ui val
ues because life Is so Short that
we can do only so much in the
time allotted to us, had
should seek to achieve the best.
Horace Mann said one should be
ashamed to die whohadnot
done his best to render some
abiding serv^eiR rJ'H
Qod y^ants Us
pm jfirst. ]
years, notf'
our lives. Ruskin says the man
•Who kiVes! raligion the. second
place in his life gives it no place
at all. The good is often the en
emy oi toe best. Money, for in
bes
seek His
prefe^trc
fag-end of
stance,* iS fcn essential thing of
life, hilt ft is not thie best thing.
Character is better than money.
M
class
men
MOffi«hdS
*t) Commewement. ; Jmi ?
was »o «*fj0^ion, ThepWM^
iProf, F. B. ,
9bfa jmmdpdy T3&^moca\
was mad© by Dean Yorke Jones!
of the School of Theology of th|
institution. The *§*
m*de,by,Pr.ILP<
naa**>;of;iihe Bwi <4 Trusteas^l
The program was as fqllowsfl
iHMai^'; “Lorraine,” Ganne. 1
Invocation.
-•.i*New Ftow*f Bong*’■, GsifeeJkaJ
Oration, “The Psychological!
Effect m the Negft/s Rapid Ao*l
quisition of tha Civilised Arta/f
David P. Allen. n
1Oratioh, “The Challenge tji
Knowledge/’ George L, Allen.
- Muakv *B«»ean>Uei” (from
Tales of Hoffman), Offenbach,
String Orchestra* w.
Oratiom *Thb Eternal Strugs
gle for.Peare,” Eugene A. Am**-.
stttrng. >> l- .A ,.A..kv;jM
JOiktion^'Ettemies &
Judge W. Graham. .*a**
^MusW-(T>urf) *Venetian Low
Song,” Nevin, Members of tU|
University Quintette.
4{briMo% “Thb Rewartf of Con
Tne young men maae spienaia
addresses which evoked great
applause. The judges were: Dr.
C. J. Baker, of Atlanta, Ga.;
Rev. S. Q. Mitchell, Brunswick,
Ga.; Rev. Marion S. Sanders,
and Mr. A J. H. Clement, each
of Charleston, S. C., and Dr. L.
B. Ellerson, of Newark, N. J.
The gold medal offered by the
Alumni Association went to Mr.
Samuel C. Johnson, of York,
Si-45, il ■ •• a
Class Day Exercises.
The class day exercises by the
Senior class were full of serious
thought as well as wit and hu
mor. The boys not only picked
out one another for thrusts of
their witticisms, but the profes
sors got a generous share.
Re-Union
After dimer oil Tuesday the
large gathering of Alumni and.
former students was photo
graphed on the campus by Mr.
J. E. Hemphill, local photogra
pher^ Classes from 1877 to 1925
were represented. It whs ah in-,
spiring group. Immediately af
ter-the picture wasraUde every
body repaired to the chapel au
ditorium where the reunion ex
ercises took place in charge of
fb^ Joe S. Williams, of Seneca,
wno sponsored the move
Sb 0«( In“y v**y, ***v' ’ ^
ment. Seated on the rpstrum
were.: Rrof. J. E. Ratley, '77,
Washington, D. C.; Rev. J. P.
Crawford, ’j7, Mayesville, S, C.;
Rev. J. G Murray, ’80, Moores
vffle; Rev. A. C. Johnson,: 79,
ery,
Murray, *85,'
C.1
ter, S. C.
pT„.e; Dr‘ B. F.
evel&nd; Prof . C.
es
•me opening prayer was maae
by Rev. J. 0. Murray. ’The op
ening remarks were made by
Dr. Williams. He then intro
duced the speakers who made
•Stays* I******
pause and take note of the
~ » dfiN hand and their v
it the books of the cohc<B£n
definitely determine the staU
of affaire. This period of
first of ill, brings
concerned face tcr face
the mistakes of the past In
f light of the^sperience these
mistakes have brought, one is
bled more tleariy-to analyze
resbs that contributed to
mistakes. Thus fortified, a
goal is set, with“errors of
#&h past eliminated, and the bus
iness goes forward.
I With this thought in mind we
pSy i|ptly compare the Work of
pHs university^WTtti a big busi
ness organization, and these
commencement exercises enable
^is to check up the mistakes of
the past and then go forward.
evelopment of human char
ts the highest type of bus
. v in which any organisation
i engage, and that is the God
en privilege in which ?ifliis
old institution has been
d for nearly 60 years-—
fitting men for service,
j)ing them for life work,
v What is life? you ask. That de
fends upon the pom% of view;
In the words of another—
Uo. the preacher life’s a S0fr
mon, ' ;
thf joker ip |
the miser life!
_ the loafer Iifd
o the lawyer life’
e poet life’s
Ldogbatllfft Si a .pa,, T.....
Who needs treatment right
moneys
is rest, i
a song
along.
“To the soldier life’s a battle,
To the teacher life’s a school;
Life’s a good thing to the graft
er,
It’s a failure to the fool;
To the man upon the engine
Life’s the making of a grade;
Life’s a gamble to the gambler,
To the merchant life is trade.
“Life is bat a long vacation,
To the man who loves his work ;
Life’s an everlasting effort
To shun duty t othe shirk.
To the earnest Christian work
er,
Life’s a story ever new;
m
Brother, what is life to you?’’
T shall attempt this evening
to outline a process of reasoning
that will enable each one pres
ent to answer that question for
himself, especially as it applies
to our own racial group.
In 1907 the late Andrew Car
negie, the great iron master aiid
lover of education, in an address
before the Philosophical Insti
tute of Edinburgh, Scotland, on
‘"The Negro in America,"’ began
his address by saying: “No ra
cial movement m the worid to
day is more interesting; few, if
any, more important,” He then
propounded to himself and pro
ceeded to answer the three ques
tions that to him were the deter
minants as to whether or not
our particular group could hope
to attain full-fledged citizenship.
His first question was, “Has the
Negro proved himself able to
live in contact with civilization
as a freeman, or does he die
slowly out, like the American In
dian?” This question was asked
because prophets of evil had
predicted the extinction of the
Negro between the meeting
flames of shiftlessness and im
morality.
Mr. Carnegie was able to point
out that from 1889 to 1900 the
Negro had increased from <>W
millions to 8% millions, or 34,3
per cent. Today, with the Ne
gro’s increase frormS millions at
the close of the civil war to more
than. 12 millions, itean no longei
fuP'ns W* ill num £ pine oil
sion for
to l&lQiius Uhtencjft^Mt'jam
duced from90 per ce n^t©30 per
cent. Ibis Advssncemeia cab best
be appreciated when lie realize
that, it was made in tk# face of
the most tremeadoiwnhdda, far
during this period the rural one*
foookar a*
teacher school of twa or three
months’ duration wasftherule
and the Seven months’ «ty grad
ed school was the exception.. The,
Negro has evinced and)toatiim«s
to evince a desire foredusktian
Coming now to my own State,
and I am proud of the fact that
it was in Charlotte that I was
born, North Carolina has with
in the past four years appropri
ated $2,200,000 for its higher
institutions of learning for Ne
groes—four Normal Schools and
the Agricultural and Technical
College. These are actual appro
priations for buildings, improve
ments and maintenance. It
should be remembered that
much of this is still used for
secondary education, since all, of
these schools most, for the pres
ent* maintain high school depart
ments in whole or in put.
A building program of nearly
a million dollars for the two-year
period, 1923 and 1924, is now be
ing completed at these institu
tions. This includes dormitories,
dining halls, homes for princi
pals, administration and class
room buildings, shops, laundries,
homes for faculty members and
the like.
xne salaries ox iNegro xeacners
in this quadrennium, 1921-1926,
will be in excess of $7,000,000,
New school buildings in cities,
towns, and rural districts built
in this period will exceed a total
cost of $5,000,000. Other spe
cial purposes, such as supervis
ion, summer schools, vocational
education, county training and
high schools, will add $750,000
making a total expenditure ii
the fOur-year period of approxi
mately $15,000,000 of pttbtk
funds on Negro schools of’the
State. " f tiny :|£ awtf biu
This is more money than wai
'spent on the whole public sehoo
system of North Carolina, in
cluding the State University
(whiter and all other state insti
tutions, in the decade 1895-1905
No four-year period ' prior tc
1910 in the State's history usee
'so large a sum on all the publii
schools, white and colored,^
Please bear in mind that thesi
'facts refer to what the State it
self is doing for the deveiOpmeh
of the race. Add to this the worl
being done by Johnson & Smrtl
University and similar denomi
national schools within bar bor
benefits to be derived from
discipline,
- - _ ''one's
self. - - A'' ■ wohderftij - eatihlbMIMi
from the 'individual vie^pcdnt,
thought-If ' • '*‘t Vt n nd* fiks
Then I turned from the com
dreds of* undergraduates, young
men and young women, the flaw
meet. ,,But what inet the eye?
Those on the sidelines had brdk
en past the stakes and ropes
set to keep the field clear and
were swarming over the field.
fa pnmA n^(i»
decision? yon ask. No, no, not at
all. Instead this disregard of the
rules of the school occurred just
jthusiasnl every one wished to
congratulate a favorite winner.
!The officials plead in vain for or
Ll__i*l i.1_!• _ 1___
m
***** *****
were called would .ithfpe under
graduates dear the field.
-■ Life te them meant dtafeganl
of constituted authority of their
own race—rebellion, against «*->.
Ceaaary restraint. Thereforeit
was but a short step from rebet
lion on the athletic field to rebel
Hon and atrike against all. celt
lege authority. For just a few
weeks ago fromthat smtstu
dent body came a demand that
they beyermitted to be absent
more than 20 times from class*
esr without penalty tqand other
inirPimnnaMi jjle b
them ^meant rebellkm i against
constitutedsuth<»ity. Whet
doe* life mean to: ybu» under
graduates of Johnson CL Smith
.; What doea life mean toyon» -
i my taeUier* litain its largest,
t ifullest sense? M
The analytical mind would
ask, What ia life? One tin not
state *hat m m#** you say,
m
(Continued
it&oj irssu sum