Hastings High School - Saxon Yearbook (Hastings, MI)

Page 21 text:

GRADUATION EXERCISES Hastings High School Friday, June 27, 1877, at 8:00 p. m. M usic under direction of Miss Belle Wightman Board of Education Thomas Altoft J. W. Bentley Frank Campbell A. Philo Drake H. J. Kcnficld J. A. Sweezey Nathan Barlow C. S. Burton Geo. M. Dewey R. J. Grant D. R. McBlwain M. T. Wheeler. Officers of the Board of Education Nathan Barlow...................President Jas. A. Sweezey ...... Secretary R. J. Grant......................Treasurer Samuel Dickie .... Superintendent The First Commencement Program Sacred Quartet; ‘‘Be Thou Faithful” Prayer Vocal Duet To the Front.......................Marshall Cook Little Things....................Charles G. Curtis Trio: “Distant Chimes” Our Calling......................Charles W. Jones Success in Life...............William B. Sweezey Solo “Nothing But Leaves” . Hannah Belle Throop Presentation of Class .... Superintendent Conferring Diplomas . Pres’t Board of Education Music Benediction

Page 23 text:

Commencement Parts Valedictory “The Guiding Star That Perpetuates” We arc a nation in the vigor of youth. Thus far our growth has never been checked by the op- pressions of tyranny. From the beginning we were a simple, hardy, intelligent people, accustomed to self-government and self-respect. Our extensive plains and fertile valleys give us the choice of many products and means of independence. Our repub- lican institutions are free, religion is free, the press is free. The mighty deep on either side protects us from any dangerous foe. Already the age has caught the spirit of our institutions and winds have wafted across the ocean, even to the heights of the Andes. With these fair prospects to accomplish a sublime end, can America betray herself? No! We might be carried away with national pride and enthusiasm, did we not realize that the sting and stain of dishonesty and corruption do exist in our proud land. Politics have entered almost every phase and avenue of life. Periodicals have exposed and de- nounced the infamy. We would not slay those who are responsible for this condition by upbraiding them. Neither would we plead for a reorganization or building anew this, our government. But we do plead that the spirit that animated the founders of these glorious institutions shall guide and lead us to enjoy and reap the benefits of our inheritance. They come to us as fruits of the efforts and lives of our ancestors. They are ours to enjoy, ours to protect, and ours to perpetuate. We will never be able to pay the great debt we owe to our fathers, but by honesty, integrity, national pride, and by the protection of all that is good and noble, we may be able to enioy the benefits of our inheritance through our lives and bestow them untainted to our posterity. “Honor and gratitude to those who have attained. Honor and gratitude shall be to those who preserve and maintain.” Political corruption is not partisan. It is the common enemy. Recent exposures in nearby states show only too well the tendency toward graft. Such effort to secure control of our government, are not recorded in our early history. The free use of money to influence legislation has become so common that the kings of dollars might soon be- come kings of our people. One by one represen- tatives of great wealth become a part of our law- making bodies. The magic power of money has paved their way. And who are they who would usurp the guid- ance of our nation’s destiny? What have they done to assume so great a responsibility? We know of them only by their notorious records in seeking of- fices. Selfish men seeking selfish ends would place them in positions of trust. Thus brought into power the trend of their service is foretold. And because wc believe the future welfare of our country can only be maintained by stamping out these microbes from national integrity, we condemn them.