THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 121 



Take, as an example the poet Keats, who has written poetry 

 which has neared the mark of perfection as well as any ever writ- 

 ten. He sat by the roadside tearing up sheet after sheet, — he 

 studied every faihire, and he punished every faihire by making it 

 teach him something. Classmates, you do the same, — punish every 

 failure by making it teach you something; if you do, you'll always 

 come out ahead; if you don't you'll probably join the force of grav- 

 it_y and go downward instead of upward. 



Classmates, before I go on, I feel it my duty to pay a tribute 

 to the young women of our class. The young women of the class 

 of 1910, as you know, have done wonderfully well, and are fully 

 c[ualified to go out into the world as the equals of our young men — 

 equals I say, probably their superiors. Not long ago there existed 

 the tradition that women ought not to be educated beyond a knowl- 

 edge of reading, writing, arithmetic and a knowledge of house- 

 keeping. It was held that they had no right to education ;' that, 

 however, they needed money they ought not to be allowed to earn 

 it save in menial capacities. ]\Iodern civilization has partly put an 

 end to this tradition and, as a result, great colleges for women 

 graduate thousands every year. They have not only proved that 

 they have the right to education, but that to educate them is the 

 safest way to insure the rapid progress of the human race. Take 

 as an example Turkey. What are its women? And as a result what 

 is Turkey itself? In America, however, conditions are totally dif- 

 ferent. The reason I introduce this digression, classmates, is that 

 many men, not excluding the members of the class of 1910, look 

 down upon and ostracize a woman for undertaking the study of a 

 worthy profession. This is eUtirely wrong, for let it be remembered 

 that partly as a result of the keen essence of what is morally right 

 and morally wrong, they easily hold their own with men in busi- 

 ness and in the professions, and let it not be forgotten that in one 

 of the greatest occupations, the teaching of children, they are by 

 far the superiors of men. Classmates, forget the glittering phrases 

 "Something for nothing," "Easy money" and "Fortunes without 

 work," for these have sent more men to destruction than cannon 

 have ever done. You must sacrifice what you call pleasure ; you 

 must be ever ready to decline amusement and as a result you will 

 always be fitted for a better place. Do not follow the beaten path 

 of tradition but branch out ; do something new ; make a path of your 

 own that leads to some really important achievement and follow it 

 until it has made your existence justifiable. 



Now, classmates, as we part to-night, I do not wish any of 

 you to bend your heads in downhearted silence, but, on the con- 



