THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
5
ed in th is school: and if we have b u t heeded th a t teaching and advice,
we have unconsciously been absorbing those th in g s w hich go to form
character; finding and developing those pow ers w hich will be called forth
to m eet the situ atio n s in life w hich will confront us w hen th ere is no one
b u t ourselves upon whom to rely.
T h en , indeed, will we m ore fully realize the im portance and w orth of
th at equipm ent w hich has been given us here in th is splendid in stitu tio n ,
when we find how well it enables us to take and to successfully hold, a
place in our chosen profession. For, in th is in stitu tio n , we have had
greater advantages then have pupils of the public schools, in th a t we
have had given to us the vocational tra in in g w hich is now looked upon
as being so very necessary to fit young men and women to take th eir
places in th e world of today.
And the w orld needs us now: for the hopes of th e world of today lies
in its boys and g irls who are to be its great men and women of the fu tu re.
It is to us, the th o u san d s of you n g m en and women w ho are passing
out of the schools and colleges th is m onth, th a t the world is looking to
find the fu tu re men and women who shall attain to such high distinction
in the trades, professions, and literatu re, as have th e men and women
of the past generations and who did so m uch to spread abroad A m eri
ca’s fame in all p arts of this great world; and who have m ade it possible
for her to hold a place of distinction along w ith the oldest nations of the
earth.
A nd of these men we are ju stly proud; especially so w hen we th in k
of the hardships and difficulties th ro u g h w hich so m any of them had to
struggle in order to reach th a t place w hich they now hold.
In our past y e a r’s school w ork we have become acquainted, th ro u g h
good lx>oks, w ith some of the men who have been th e creato rs of our
n a tio n ’s fame, and a very lasting im pression has been made upon our
m inds by one great fact—th a t a num ber of them have had to overcom e
such physical infirm ities as m ight well have been m ade an excuse for
inactivity and lack of am bition on the p art of any m an.
T here was Dr. K ane, who carried A m erica’s fame into the A rctic Sea,
as he w ent forth upon th a t m ission of mercy in his search for th e lost
party of explorers. H is lack of physical stren g th , his days of illness,
are in m arked co n trast to the indom itable will w hich carried him
th ro u g h all those m onths of h ard sh ip and suffering.
Or we may th in k of the fam ous historian Prescott, w ho, th o u g h d e
prived alm ost entirely of his eyesight bv an accident in his yo u th , was,
nevertheless, able w ith th e assistance of others, to mem orize, arrange
and dictate so great an am ount of historical lore as has enriched th e
literature of th e whole w orld.
T hen, too, w here can we fi id a greater exam ple of th is than in our