Baccalaureate Address

The commeneement exerclses commenced Sunday night with Acting-i Kient Harry B. Hutchins' baccalaureate address to the members of the various graduating classes. The address was given in T'niversity hall and was most attentively listened to by an audience that nearly filled the seaticg capacity. Prof. Martin D'Ooge read the scripture lesson and offered prayer. A picked choir from the choral Union furnished the music. President Hutchins í a i i1 in part: "Ycu stand tonight upon the ttíresh-.!d of a new life. You are soon to ■ the credentials of the University and to go forth to test your powers ín the arena of actual experience. Upon an occasion like this, one cannot escape, ir l-.e would, a sense of the grave reponslbility Uiat rests upon teacher and pupil alike, a responsibility that demands of the former the constant and conscientions exercise of nis predcmmant energies and highest powers in guiding aright both by precept and exarnple, those committed to his charge, and of the latter a painstaking and igent and appreciative devotion to the duties imposed. It is to be hoped that we have perf"ned our part and that you have made a wise use of the opportunities for study and development that your residence at the University bas afforded, but whatever the record, it is closed. The preparatory period is at an er.d. You must now öuild upon the foundation that you have laid. . We know that there are certain elements of character that are fundamental; that any attempt to build vi;nur efforU. It has seemed to me not lvrough their careful and conscientious ultivation, we may reasonably expect fair measure of success to reward ut them must result in failure-; that nappropriate to discuss briefly upon this occasion some of the basal elementó that make for succass and the lack of which counts for failure in the Ufe of the college-bred man. And, flrst, I beg to suggeA that the more possession oL a university diploma is no guaranty of the future. It is not a talisman that will open up at the bidding of the holder the way to honor and distinction. Te most university graduates the moderate estímate ajpparently accorded to this certifícate ut' atainment by the practical and energetie man of affairs, is a surprise and a aistppolntment. But, as a matter of tact, he usually takes it for just about what t is worth. He knovvs that in the stnigie for recognition it is valueless excepting as a statemeat from a responsible source that the holder has enioyed the advantages of a preparatory training. He regards It as a card cf introduction- nothing more. The reasons for failure are many, but it is not infrequently due to the fa et that graduation has been sought as an end and not as a means. It s apparently glory enough for sorae to have been upon the honor hst at the uniyersity To such the world seems eom and heartless and unappreciatiye, because it fails to recognize the victories of academie life. Some. moreover, are seemingly exhaustecr oy men p""torv efforts, and, although brüliant Od strdents, reach their limitations in tilt college class room. They leave the university wlth a thorough prepaxatlon but without the capacity for adaptation and IVrther growth. Failure is the natural and inevitable result. lt is a stu truth my friends, and I would ring h in the ears of every one of you, thal the world will take you for jast abovu what you prove yourself to be v What 'you have done is of little consequence as compared wlth what you show yourself capable of deins In the hand to hand conflict of every day Jfe, ir ia the ability te accomplish results that counts, not the diploma oL tnis or any other ■ university. The educación of the schools, a prime necessity m this age of thought and activity, is cïiiefly valuable, not for what it gives :n the way of position knowledge, but ratner for what it cloes in the way of devilopng-eapacity for thought and action: Learning must, of course, be the basis he means for the accomplish-ment of an nd; but mere learning is not Uie whole f education; mere culture is not Lhe whole of it. They are beginnings, that is all Henceforth duties to the peopU; and to the state will rest upon yo-i that win te quite as important and .(uitc ...- 11:1 perative as any i.hat are morely sonal iI■ observation has lea i the conu "usion that r.otonly I steneraily but university gradúate well t iften lose bigh:. of tne large public Eunctions that rest upen nu ucationál instiiutions. W-2 center aur attention upon the uuuvMuai nivj thróugh our interest in nim fori?et that ht is simply a factor to ahl in th ccmplishment of a grand general resi.lt. The university is too often thought 01 s an inptitution rounu';u axiu ajiyul simply far the educátion of üiose who lre sa fortúnate as to er.joy its privileges I need not suggest that the take is a grave one. The Lmm object cpf the school and the nnive-rsity is undoubtedly the training of these who are in attendance. and this is an t that must be cbnstantly kept in view But above and 'beyond all this, Infinitely greater in importanee and more in resülts is '.': fluence upon the entire that comes from a well ordereü edweaticnal system. You will make a gra e mistake, and 1 would bring this home to every one of you if you go into the worM wlth the noti'on that to perform your duties to the people and to the state you ruist necessarily seek political pieferment or play the role of agitator or reformer. In my judgment the duties of the educated man or woman to the people do not of necessity, involve a public c at all. nor do they justify a consuming ambition for notoriey or place. Leaders we must, of course, have in every denartment of human activity. But to pay the debt that you owe lo humanlty and the state, by virtue of the privileges that you have enjoyed, you need reach none of these heights. Greatness in the world's estimation is not necessarily the only measure of success. Thousands are the work of héroes and patriots of whom the world n hears. In the quiet of private life the foundations are laid for epoch-making events. The great field for work and influence, the field in ivhich every one of you can make himseïf feit, and In wlikh you should labor until you have proved yourself fitted for public lea ship isa t the very source of political and social power; it is among the people. Leaders may formúlate and plan; conventions may ratify and promúlgate.; erators may expound and prophesy, bul the great public questions of the day are after all really settled at the tircsides. It is a lesson that should be early learned that in order to attain personal success and at the same time perform his whole duty to the public, the euucated man must be bound by bonds o' ,n and of ap■ 1 with whotn his worK Is lo i!D to the f act that although ' :ation of the g, ii is not everylomplish fubstantial and to become an nci Cor g iod in the communily m he lives or in awider sphen . lnterests of the community must be hls interests, not simulated but geruime through and through. Whenèver n s iry he must take his place in the ranks and stand shoulder to shoulaer with his humblest neighbor. I have an abiding faith in the people, in the plain, every day people. I believe in their devotion to country and in their earnest desire for the right. I b that their judgment can be tri when they have an intelligi n hension of the issues that have a part in deciding. 1 hi truth, and their teachers should be the educated men and women of the land whcse hearts should beat in unisón with theirs.-" The speaker then closed with a well . ference to President. Angi 11.