Clemson University - Taps Yearbook (Clemson, SC)

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404 THE CLEMSON COLLEGE CHRONICLE. which no man of you need be ashamed of. It is need- less to here enumerate the things which you have done, but there is one thing that might be especially com- mended — that is the projected scheme to erect a class memorial. You have sought to beautify the Campus by putting on it a fountain. This fountain to be a token of the fact that your memories cling around your Alma Mater. May it also be emblematical of the fact that the class of 1899 is a fountain of inexhaustible virtue pour- ing forth to the world its good deeds. Soon you will turn from us to take a part in the crowding interests and activities of life ' s duties. May your aspirations be high, and may your efforts be crowned with success. Your past record bespeaks for you the energy that is to accompany your lives in pro- ducing a force that must prove a leading factor in your generation and that will give you a life coupled with a glory that is imperishable. L. O. M. A TOAST. Here ' s to the graduating class ! Come, boys, drink deep this wine, To the health of each and every one In the class of ninety-nine. II. They ' ll not come back again, boys. Perhaps we ' ve seen the last Of each bright face and shining eye Of our noble Senior Class. III. Bid them a sad farewell, boys. Let tears be in your eves; Say to them that in life, boys, There ' s success to the man who tries.

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THE CLEMSON COLLEGE CHRONICLE. 403 along the various lines remains yet to be elaborated. Fellow South Carolinians are we not destined to exert a profound and potent influence in continuing the work begun by the genius of the Nineteenth Century ? Does it not become the duty of men who have taken advan- tage of the great opportunities offered by the Clemson Agricultural and Mechanical College to do a great deal in developing our country ' s resources and in bringing to light the hidden fruits which nature with her lavish hand has stowed away on every side ? In speaking to you, fellow students of the graduating class, I say nothing intentionally in the sense of advice, but when you go out into various parts of this State and perhaps of other States, to assume charge of the duties that await you I would have you know that you have left behind men who are interested in your welfare and men who as co-workers are willing to put forth vigorous efforts in the material advancement of everything which tends to the improvement of mankind. The generation which is going on to the field of ac- tion will live in stirring times and it of greatest impor- tance that we make the necessay preparation in order that we may be enabled to live up to the requiremets of the times and to cope successfully with the difficulties that are to be constantly met with. During your career here you have been applying your- selves diligently to make this necessary preparation and yet perhaps any man of you could say with justice to his conscience, The more I know, the more I know I don ' t know. However, you have had implanted within your minds seed thoughts that may in after years become mature ideas and if properly matured may perhaps be the means of inconceivable good. You have left behind you a noble record, a record

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THE CLEMSON COLLEGE CHRONICLE. 405 IV. Lift up each glass again, boys; Fill them to flowing o ' er, And drink to the health of the class, boys, The class we ' ll see no more. A. T. Our Country and Its People. Our hearts swell with pride when our country ' s name is called. We are proud of the principles upon which our government was founded. We boast of our liberty and of our progress, but we, too frequently neglect to consider how our present position was reached, and upon what our destiny depends. The secret of our past success, as a nation, is in the fact that, during the greater part of our country ' s his- tory, it has been filled with heaven-inspired men, men who sought nothing less than manly independence, or nothing more than justice. Men who faced duty without flinching, and who contended for their rights as long as there was a spark of hope left to encourage them. It is to men of this character that we owe all that we have to-day which entitles us to the distinction of being considered a people deserving of the blessings of heaven. This is the kind of men that fought for our independence, and built the foundation of our government, a solid foun- dation, upon which has since been erected all that we behold in the way of the superstructure. Men of a more world-wide reputation have lived and died and been forgotten, but grander souls never strug- gled toward the light, nor bowed before the ever-living God than those noble heroes who so gallantly fought for our liberty. They threw the gage of battle full and fair in Britain ' s haughty face. When defeat followed defeat, until the new nation was bankrupt, and they were