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The University Courier.
Commencement of School of Arts.
The graduating exercises of the School of Arts in the University Chapel on Wednesday morning closed commencement week of Kansas State University for the year 1893. About the exercises of this school centralized the interest of all the other schools and the work of the week. Strangers, visitors, friends of the sweet girl graduates, alumni, and citizens of Lawrence filled the chapel and galleries long before the hour for opening the exercises. As the orchestra struck up the lively strains of Wheeler's K. S. U. March, Chancellor Snow stepped upon the stage, followed by Governor L.D. Lewelling his staff, the members of the faculty and the members of the graduating class.
All the art, skill and taste of the Junior class had been expended in decorating the chapel for the reception of the honored guests and the graduating class. From each of the five tall windows of the chapel hung in elegant and graceful folds as many American flags while from the walls, ceiling and chandeliers hung the gorgeous and victorious crimson of K.U. The decoration of the stage was elaborate and beautiful and gave it all the appearance of a unique and artistic flower bank from which was wafted the sweet and delicate odor of the flowers all over the room. Stands and urns on the stage were covered with flowers and around the edge of the stage, flowers were profusely scattered.
After the invocation by Rev. Rodgers, Chancellor Snow introduced Miss Josephine Berry of Waterville who spoke on "The Influence of the Novel on Culture." Miss Berry is composed and easy on the stage and delivered her oration in a very pleasing manner. The speaker said:
"The present generation is a generation of readers, but chiefly readers of fiction. Works of fiction have come to be the most complete literary representative of our nineteenth century civilization and are in turn an important influence upon that civilization. The novel, and by that I mean the good novel, is first and above all literature. In the literature of power it ranks next to the poem. It is a picture of human life with its romance and reality combined in such true and just proportion as to demonstrate that they may and should go together. It deals chiefly with love, for in that passion all men and women are most generally interested: and must repossess with life and force those great practical truths which have become imperative in the soul, and which are the springs of action.
"The influence of the novel upon culture is of two kinds—moral and intellectual. The moral influence is exercised indirectly by the ideals unconsciously drawn from the characters of noble men and women portrayed by the word painting of the novelist. The intellectual influence of the novel is exercised chiefly on the imagination."
Mr. Thornton Cooke, of Herrington, K. U.'s representative in the oratorical contest, discoursed upon "The Hon. John Jones." Mr. Cook is a strong thinker and his experience on the stage has given him an easy manner before an audience. He said:
"It is a necessary incident of imperfect character that there should be laws, just as it is of bad health that there should be medicine. Yet there is unnecessary law making as there is unnecessary dosing. The quack in medicine finds analogue in the untrained men and women who think to cure all the ills of the body politic by statutes. For instance, here is Mr. John Jones elected to legislature of—not of this state, some other state—a shrewd, ignorant, bigoted citizen, carried into office by the catch-cry of reform. He is "worked" at the capitol by the glibtongued men of his party into supporting fiat money, free silver, woman suffrage and prohibition. He will by and by comprehend rational notions of broad public policy, but meanwhile his foolistic laws weaken the moral force of good laws. When ripe for usefulness he will be retired by an unprogressive constituency, and the process will be repeated with his successor."
"One Answer to a Question," by Miss Alberta Corbin was a well written and an admirably delivered oration. Miss Corbin has a good voice and is a pleasing speaker. She said: