Commencement No. 35

The "skull race" for Anti Arbor High School diplomas for the year 1894 was finished Friday, last week, at High School hall, and eighty-six pupils went forth, sandpapered, polished and varniahed - finished goods trom the admirable educational factory, of which Prof. Ferry is "business manager." The Ann Arbor high school has achieved on its merits the reputation it enjoys as an educational institution and is known far and wide as the junior trotting mate of the University - a distinction it wil] continue to enjoy under its present able directorate. The young people who went forth Friday, armed with seal and signature of graduation, of coursetake a roseate view of the future. But they will not find everything iust as they expected. Fresh from the field of literary thought, with the June rose decorating their graduating garments and perfuming the air with its dying breath, many of them will go home to their parents, feeling that life is a literary bower; that every hair on their heads is a Jew's harp, and their walks in shady bowers, redolent with sweet odors and stocked with humming birds. But at home they will meet pa and ma. Pa and ma have galloped over the same course and the romance is all out of them; therefore, "Sis" goes to the kitchen and "Bub" to the garden or hay field and in about a week the young man's Elysian ideas of life will melt tdown with his shirt collar, as he pulls the ragweed and blisters his hands; and Sis's fingers will be reddened with the hot dish-water of post-graduation and she will find many things to mar the frescoed walls of her fancy. This is why the finishing process is called "Commencement." It leads to the outer world of practical life. High School hall was beautifuily decorated; potted plants, flowers and ferns graced the platform, and the class colors of pink and blue were shown in festooned bunting over the platform. "Ergo ou Logoi," the class motto, faced the audience with that confident expression that seemed to say, "Are you onto me?" From the gallery looked forth the motto of the class of '95 - "Treu im Kleinen," "Faithful in small things." At 10:30 Prof. Perry, with the school board, preceptresses, invited guests and the orators of the occasion, forïning an imposing retinue, ascended the platform. The Chequameüon or!:hestra, der the leadership of Lew H. Clement, made the air blossom with harmony. The opening piece was a selection from the "Fencing Master." The divine blessing was invoked by Rev. J. T. Sunderland. A selection of song, "It was not so to be," was rendered, after which, time was called and the first educational gladiator, Frederick J. Austin, of Ann Arbor, trotted to the front with his javelin poised at the breast of "False Patriotism," which he handled in such a forcible raanner that if there breathed a man in the hall, with soul so dead that he would sell his vote this fall for two dollars, he will die "unwept" but perhaps not "unhung". He scored statesmen for intriguing for personal ends, condemned the treatment of the Indians and Chinese, and jabbed a thorn in the nervous system of the A. P. A. "Punctuation Marks" formed the theme of Winifred Beman. The subject was given a figurative ïnterpretation, the application lying along the practical lines of the world's history, which was punctuated with epochs, events, and with numerous interspersals of exclamation raarks. Walter G. Curtis, of Salem, without a muscle tremor, grappled with the tough subject of "The Elective Franchise," and showed before he finished that if the thing were left to him, the Bohemian or Polack o: fresh importation who thereafter managed to cast a ballot at an American poll would be a curiosity. "The Effects of Invention" were portrayed very gracefully by José phine Daniels, of Gregory. Her subject was discussed with reference to its effect on employment, since the production of labor-saving machines dealt directly with the interests of the laboring classes. The young lady passed heartlessly by the subject of thetwo-story bonnet, invented evidently for noother pur pose than to cause a man to roos on the back of his seat to catch a view of the opera house stage. The audience stood up while the orchestra rendered the "Cocoanu Dance," which was much enjoyec and even elicited a kind of rhythmic movement among the feet of some, who, by their dress and unirapeachable bearing, were deacons. "The Influence of the American Mother," by Ralph Farnum, of Ann Arbor, showed that the maternal influence was potent in molding the spirit of liberty and framing the character of the patriot. In a fine vein of poetic composi-, Miss Genevieve E. .Mills, illustrated the beauties of "Nature's Climax," and handled the sul ject with an ingenious and pretty fancy. S. Louise McKenzie, of Ann Arbor, introudced an argumentative appeal in behalf of "Our National Flower," and carried the hearts of the audience with her in a fervent appeal in favor of the Golden Rod. So effective was the young lady's advocacy of the flower that the Argus will hereafter disbelieve the scientific denunciation of the "Golden Rod" as a disease breeder, the home of the ague germ and the nursery of typhoid fever. We will knock them out with untaxed quinine and still shout for the floral idol of the nation, "Golden Rod.." The orchestra rendered the spir ited March, Elks' Thiele." Della Read, of Shenandoah, Ia., dwelt on the subject of "Individuality." She illustrated the subject with citations of the diversities existing in nature, argued their pleasing and beneficial effects and applied the the theory to education and intelligence. Joseph B. Scarborough, of Flagstaff, Arizona, did as much as he could to rescue the character of "Gen Lee," from the aspersions cast upon it, and believed the time had come when the qualities and merits of the rebel generáis could be appreciated and judged by an impartial, disspassionate standard. "Self-Luminous, or Reflective," was the subject selected by Louise P. Weinmann, of Ann Arbor. The syllabus of her fine reasoning was, that to become luminous we must shine from within; we cannot illuminate others properly without being ourselves reflectors of light. This concluded the literary program and the 86 graduates received fheir diplomas. The occasion was highly pleasing to all present, makome allowance for the discomfort of the fervid atmosphere.