Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / June 13, 1907, edition 1 / Page 3
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THE TAB HEEL 3 THE INITIAL ALUMNI DAY. PICTURESQUE RITES OF GRADUATING CLASS. THE Address by Major Stedman Class Reunions ltiter-Soclety Debate. Saturday and Sunday of Commence ment week had fallen below the record expected, owing to the inclement weather, but Monday, June 3rd, the first regular Alumni Day in the annals of the University, dawned with a clear sky, a fitting day for the inaug ural of a custom that is hoped to do so much for the success of future com mencements. And as the day grew the crowd swelled. Alumni in attend ance on the reunions of the classes of 1857, 1882, 1897. and 1902, arrived on every train. Visitors in throngs poured into the campus by every gate. Music was at last supplied in plenty by the 2nd Regiment Band, which arrived, somewhat belated, on the morning train. - Fortunate it was that the final exer cises of the Senior class under the Davie poplar had been postponed from Saturday afternoon.. Although their session in the afternoon forced the silk hats and Prince Alberts that ruled the day to give place for a time to the sober academic cap and gown, there was not the least of ill feeling, and the exercises, coming as they did in a vacant afternoon on the Com mencement program, did much toward rendering the day more eventful still.; The first big feature of the day was i h p a A d r ess to the alumni by Major nu.:ac M StpHman. of the class of KsLXCLL IV. O Jlj- w ; '57. of Greensboro, that great-hearted whole-souled gentleman, typical at nnroVf the old time Southerner and of the Confederate soldier. MAJOR STKDMAN'S ADDRESS. Maior Stedman prefaced his oration witv. a few remarks concerning the associations and recollections of days' cOM in i Wo. "There is," he said, "a. o-l amor connected with our Um vprsitv life which comes to us but on re. It is filled with a brightness whose tints are luminous with mellow tender, and golden rays. The memo ries of these days ever comeback laden with fragrance and delight. They are the chimes which bring melody in a11 the. vears which follow, and as they 1 1 i-i ver w ith us their eclio of the long -v, is rft and low and sweet. How delightful to recall the associations of iIiorp. vears of happiness ana joy. lei to one separated from them by the lapse of nearly half a century, there comes with the memory of them a sad pathos which is the music of a vesper hymn." . Referring to the hopes and aspira: tionsofthe college boy the speaker said that the dreams of many of his own college mates were quenched in their blood on the battlefields of the Civil War. Of those who survived that conflict many won success in later life. His recollections of what the friends of his college days hoped to attain in life, together with the speaker's own observation and knowledge as to results in specific cases, led him to the theme of his discourse, namely, "What Coustitutes Genuine Success?" THE SUCCESSFUL UFK. To lead a really successful life one must, in the first place, regard the promptings of conscience and listen to the call of duty. Duty destroys sel fishness with its brutality and cruelty, and even endows one with, the power of self-sacrifice. Truth and duty are immortal twin sisters in the realms of morality and virtue. They are the basis of all character, and without them life is a sham, a fraud, a delusion and too often a crime. Industry is another essential to success. Labor is not only a necessity, but to every prop erly constituted . person it is also a pleasure and a blessing. A noble mind will spurn ease, comfort and indulgence earned by the labor of others. The speaker went on to say that complete success was impossible without self-control, which, like indus try, can be traced directly to a sense of duty. Many men and women who intellectually realize the necessity ot self-control, lack therestrainingpower of conscience and the aid which comes from moral power. Hence their lives become sad and unhappy wrecks, often culminating in disgrace, dishonor, and crime. From self control comes courage, that most admired of all per sonal attributes. Men whose lives are governed by conscience and duty follow the path of honor and right during life, and leave a name resplendent with the halo that gilds the tombs of the blessed. "It ought not to be accounted strange," declared the orator, "that in any age whose marked characteristic is the worship of money, that one whose moral perceptions are not acute sVinnld regard the accumulation of wV O - money as the greatest of earthly bless ings. How grievous and sad the error is ever shown in the final result; gen erally to the possessor, and if not to him, always to his descendants. Great opulence acquired in violation of the moral law is uniformly followed by a corrupt and degenerate life in which there is neither joy nor happiness, it matters not how bright and dazzling may be the outside surface ot such a life, in the inner recesses will be found the canker worm of destruction whose appetite is insatiate and whose sting is death. NEATH THE DAVIE POPLAR. ROMANTIC WEDDING OF '07'S BENEDICT. Ceremony Yells demagogue's dream false. "The demagogue to whom truth is a stranger and sincerity an unknown novelty when by falsehood and hypoc- ricv he has won hisrh office and the emoluments which he has so eagerly sought, vainly imagines that genuine success has crowned his efforts. Not so. When a few years have passed and he has no longer power to grant favors or patronage to bestow, he will realize how false has been his dream, ; how useless his life. So it has always been and always will be, with all classes. Be not deceived. Neither permanent renown nor lasting happi ness can be secured at the expense of conscience, truth and duty. TRUE IN PEACE AND WAR. "As in peace, so it is in war, no gen uine personal success can be won where no obedience is paid to the dictates of conscience or the call of duty. "History has furnished the names of . " . ... j many who nave won renown anu achieved genuine success, illustrated by the glorious heroism of their death; Wolfe died on the heights of Abraham the death of a hero, and as his spirit took its flight to another world left as a legacy to his countrymen words which will for ever live. Nelson at Trafalgar illustrated by his conduct his supreme sense of duty to England and her glory. The Scotchman who died at Waterloo by the sabre of the cuirasser of the guard has been im mortalized by Victor Hugo. But not one of these is more entitled to the crown of immortality than Major John by Dr. Hume College Speed the Happy Couple. At the foot of the old Davie poplar where over a century ago the plans were laid for the founding of the Uni versity, within a. horseshoe formed by his classmates, Mr. Roby Council Day, the first of the class of 1907 to fall a victim to Cupid's wiles, was wedded to Miss Annie Elizabeth Hearn of Chapel Hill, just after the seven o'clock bell had sounded its summons to the sleepers on Wednes day morning, June 5th, While the bright morning sunshine still gleamed on the dewy grass and foliage of the campus Dr. Thomas Hume, in a cere mony simple but impressive, pro nounced them man and wife, and in a few minutes, sped by the ringing cheers of the Seniors beneath the old poplar, the happy couple were on their way toward the Jamestown Ex position. Mr. Day, in taking his diploma on - , , . 1 . ii . j. one day ana ms Driae on me nexi, is to be doubly congratulated. While in college he was one of Carolina's most loyal supporters, serving her on an inter-collegiate debate, and giving much of his time, so valuable to him, as an entirely self-made college man, to the work of the Y. M. C. A. He is known by his college mates to be a man of character and ability; for none the future seems brighter. During the coming year Mr. and Mrs. Day will be located at A&M, Miss., where Mr. Day will serve as general secre- tarv for the Y. M. C. A. of the A & M College of Mississippi. The pres ent of the members of the class of 1907 to the bride of their more fortunate brother was a solid silver chafing-dish and tray. The Final Red Letter Day. (Continued from page 1.) ilderness and conducted the march of the English-speaking Amer imn from the seaboard to the Alle ghanies, then to the Mississippi and then on to the Rockies, until that march across the continent, ended at the Golden Gate, is one of the won ders of the world's history. "This sweep of settlement west ward, the long engagement in subdu ing nature, the hard necessities of life, the need of making a living all the while these and like factors, developed the practical spirit in us. It is to this day in an excess of that spirit, so fine when it serves higher ends and so base when it serves only selfish interests, the inner, invisible things in which the real greatness of our life depends are being attacked and challenged particularly so in the sphere of higher education. It is being assumed by many as a matter of course that the only education worth having is one which teaches some industrial or technical knowledge which enables the boy or girl to get on in the world College education, with its quiet round of life and study seems to them un practical and useless. Of what good is a college education ? they ask It is to this question that I beg your attention for a little while. "In the first place let us grant that having unless nf Paid well Countv. North 'no education is worth MtiriAkJ j i . Carolina, and Captain Thomas C. Hoi-it is useful. Let us by all means go liday, of Mississippi, alumni of this even further than this and grant that tt;0;tt TViev died unon the bat- ' while a useful education mav be a J lit V Vl J J tlefield of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. most desirable thing, still it is not (Continued on page 5.) the most necessary thing in life. It is not absolutely necessary that a man oe educated, it is absolutely neces sary that he be clean, decent and honest. A vicious man who is hisrhlv CD J educated is simply a more powerful engine of evil in the world. 'Nevertheless for all who are fit to be educated a good education is so valuable as to be priceless. It is too late in the world's history to gainsay this obvious truth. Let us then ioin with the practical-minded spirit of - j. industry and commerce and agree that an education, to be desirable, must be useful. But what is useful or useless? What makes a man useful or useless? Let Us take that matter." Dean West then discussed the difference between the things obvious, immediate, neces sary to usefulness, and things which make the whole life usefulresting the case for college education on use as a utility for man's whole life. This was shown by the value of college education in training- a bov to find the full range of his powers and possibilities, in acquainting him with the best knowledge and the discipline ot duty. It was turther urged from the magnificent contribution made by our colleges to the service of our country, and by the priceless service rendered from the earliest days by the universities of the South in enlighten ing and leading the best thought and action of these several constituents. Governor Glenn next addressed the body of graduates, on the invitation of President Venable. He spoke for several minutes, takintr uo in review the diffent views and the various phases of life that had been discussed and presented by the student speakers and synthesized these into an organic whole, on which he based his appeal and his advice to the young men who were going out with the stamp of the institution's approval on their brows, urging that they live the broadest and the deepest lives possible to them, lives of courageous, yet self-sacrificing endeavor. THE PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS. President Venable made announce ment of the resignation of Dr. Kemp P. Battle, from the department of history, and Dr. Thomas Hume from the department of English. He said:' "I cannot report the resignation of these two honored professors without some expression as to the great debt which the University owes them for their distinguished services. They have borne a splendid part in its up building and have earned the years of rest and leisure for congenial labor which lie before them. These come to them now through a noble philan thropy. The pain of parting with them as active colleagues is borne in upon me in this hour. . ' 'To you especially, my beloved president," he continued, turning to Dr. Battle, "for you are my president still, do I turn with a deep affection and reverence. Through these years your kindness has been that of a fath er and in no hour has your wise helo and counsel failed me. May the years deal gently with you and may you long be spared as our counsellor and friend." President Venable then said that at a meeting of the trustees a new professorship of law had been creat ed, yet to be filled, and likewise an associate professorship in French. Mr. James Finch Royster is elected associate professor of English, Palmer Cobb, associate professor of German, and Henry M. Wagstaff associate professor of history. A leave of ab sense is granted Mr. George McFar- land McKie, and Mr. Irvin I. Potter succeeds him as instructor in English. (Convinue4 on page G.)
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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June 13, 1907, edition 1
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