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Vout. VII. No. 40.
NEW HAVEN, CONN., TUESDAY, JULY 12, 1898.
Price Tren Cenrs.
SPLENDID COMMENCEMENT,
An Imposing Procession—How Mc-
Kinley’s Name Was Received.
‘Yale had a great Commencement
Day.
The procession in the morning was
the most impressive one of any since
the new order of Commencement exer--
cises was established. Yale gave ap-
proximately six hundred degrees this
year, and nearly every one who re-
ceived his diploma marched through
Phelps Gateway and across the Green
and back behind the old Brick Row
to Battell Chapel. And besides these
six hundred, as many more of the grad-
uates fell into orderly line behind the
long black-gowned companies of candi- |
dates.
And the members of the Yale Cor-
poration and the distinguished guests
who were to receive honorary degrees
from Yale that day closed up the long
line very impressively.
But that isn’t mentioning the most
interesting, if not the most important
incident, of that procession. Professor
Schwab, the now veteran marshal of
these exercises, planned and executed
all very well, but did nothing quite so
satisfactory to nine out of ten who
watched this stately ceremony, as the
placing together at the head of their
classes the Academic and Scientific
Seniors who wear the uniform of the
army and navy of the United States,
and who were near enough to New
Haven to reach it in a twenty-four
hours’ leave of absence.
The uniforms made a happy contrast
with the somber Academic gowns, and
the meaning of it all, the thought of
what these boys were doing, was par-
ticularly clear and impressive under
these circumstances. The American
Band, leading, played “Onward Chris-
tian Soldiers” to slow marching time,
which was as it should be.
There was nothing of the ordinary
dress parade show about it. The oc-
asion rather emphasized all the deeper
the significance of patriotic service.
Men spoke -.of it afterwards in the
‘Chapel. There was more or less bustle
-and inattention at the opening prayer,
‘but those who looked about saw that
‘most of those coats of blue were on
‘forms in attitude most reverent.
Naturally enough, even in the exer-
‘cises themselves the note of country
was struck again and again. President
Dwight very happily referred to the
response of Yale to the call of the
country, in his address reviewing the
principal incidents of the year, and he
was again and again interrupted when
his language meant the Yale Volun-
teers.
PRESIDENT MCKINLEY’S : PLAN,
The crowning illustration of this feel-
ing came just at the end of all the
exercises in the Chapel. For two or
three months a very few who were in
the secret had been looking forward to
Commencement Day as a day when
Yale would have peculiar opportunity
to honor one who deserved well of the
Republic. It was known that the Presi-
dent of the United States had been in-
vited to attend the Yale Commence-
ment and to receive from the Univer-
sity the degree of LL.D.: and that he
had very readily and gratefully accepted
the invitation, and had made all plans
to allow himself even the briefest ab-
sence from Washington, so that he
might receive in person this honor.
As the troubled times grew more
troubled, and the prosecution of vigor-
ous war went on all the more vigor-
ously, it of course grew doubtful that it
would be within the possible that Mr.
McKinley could leave the National
Capital. He himself, however, cher-
ished to within two weeks of Com-
mencement the hope that he might
carry out’ his long planned trip to this
city. At that time he was obliged re-
luctantly and finally to abandon his
object.
Despite the very strict r-le about the
conferring of degrees in absence, the
Corporation . decided that his should |
nevertheless be given as the reasons
for his absence were entirely beyond his
control. The secret was well guarded,
however, until the very last, and it was
only on the day of Commencement that
here and there you met men who had
heard of the projected action. As the
conferring of honor degrees proceeded
from the A.M’s. to the D.D’s. and
finally to the LL.D’s., those who were
in the secret began to whisper to their
neighbors to be on the lookout. A
very few of the Seniors, by their very
close attention at this time, seemed to
be in a special mood of anticipation.
Nothing, however, had been said, and
only a very small fraction even guessed
what was to be done.
Of course, nothing whatever was
planned except the mere presentation
of the name to President Dwight, with
a brief statement.of the reasons for the
conferring of the degree.
It was about half-past twelve when
Professor Fisher began with the
usual words: “Mr. President, I have
the honor to present for the degree of
LL.D., in absentia’—these. last two
words gave the key—“His Excellency,
William”’—and the rest” of it was
drowned. As unanimously as if by pre-
concerted arrangement the entire audi-
ence, young and old, men and women,
Every pair of.
jumped to their feet.
hands clapped its loudest, and from
clapping the applause went into a shout
and then into a roar. The great audi-
ence stood on their feet, it seemed,
for several minutes, clapping and shout-
ing. But that didn’t seem to satisfy,
and it was in response to pure instinct
that out of nowhere in particular the
first sharp notes of the Brek-ek-ek-ex
were heard. From everywhere in gen-
eral: that yell was taken up and swept
through the entire great assemblage.
It was one of Yale’s great cheers, and
worth coming to New Haven to hear.
No one would hardly have dared
prophesy up to noon that day that he
would ever live to hear the Brek-ek-
ek-ex in chapel, and it probably never
will be heard there again; but it has
been given and everyone is glad who
heard it that day. The Yale Volunteers
were quite as much pleased with that
part of their Commencement as with
their own degrees.
THE OTHER EXERCISES.
As to the other exercises of Com-
mencement morning, they were all ex-
cellently carried out. The music by the
Symphony Orchestra, led by Professor
Sanford, was unusually good. The first
number was the Overture to Ruy Blas,
and the second orchestral piece was
Walther’s Preislied from Die Meister-
singer. The postlude was the Corona-
tion march from Die Folkunger. As
usual, after the opening prayer, the first
hymn was the 65th Psalm to the York
tune, and the exercises closed with Mar-
tin Luther’s Ein Feste Burg. ~
The address by the President was
much briefer than usual. He merely
rehearsed a few of the important events
of the. year, dwelling particularly on -
the Sheffield Semi-Centennial and em-
OTHNIEL CHARLES MARSH,
PROFESSOR OF PALAZONTOLOGY IN YALE UNIVERSITY.
phasizing the success of that school as
demonstrated by these exercises. Most
of the rest of the talk was. an exhorta-
tion to make the Bi-Centennial celebra-
tion of Yale an auspicious beginning of
the new century that is so close at
hand. After that the President, as
already said, dwelt on Yale’s part in the
war, and paid a very beautiful tribute
to the Yale Volunteers. In closing, he
gave his blessing to all those who were
going out from the University that day.
When it came to the presentation of
degrees for Bachelor of Arts, Norman
Buckingham Beecher one of the Philo-
sophicals of Ninety-Eight, and a mem-
ber of the Yale Battery, was the first of
the Class marshals to receive the de-
grees for the Class. Of the applause
given to the different men, that for
Edward Carter Perkins, Captain of the
Track Team, was’ particularly notice-
able. Henry Wright, son of Dean
Wright, was also received with unusual
demonstration.
NINE WOMEN TAKE DEGREES.
The giving of the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy to nine women. was,
naturally enough, the occasion for en-
thusiastic demonstration. This was al-
most too enthusiastic.
The announcement of prizes brought
forth very liberal applause. The names
of those receiving honorary degrees,
with the address of Professor Fisher in
each case in presenting them for the
honor, and the list of prizes, fellowships
and scholarships, are given elsewhere.
Of the second session of the great
exercises of Commencement Day, the
Alumni Dinner, .a full. account is
printed elsewhere.
The order of the procession was as
follows:
Chief Marshal, Prof. J. C. Schwab.
Aides, Prof. R: N. Corwin, Dr. L. W.
Bacon, Mr. Roger S. Baldwin.
Second Regiment Band.
The High Sheriff of the County of New
Haven.
Candidates for the Degree of B.A.
Mr. T. F. Archbald; Marshal.
Thirty Class Marshals. —
Volunteers from Light Battery A,
Conn. Volunteers.
The Academic Senior Class. °
Candidates for the Degree of Ph.B.,
Prof. F. E. Beach, Marshal.
Class Marshals.
Fifteen Volunteers from’ Light Battery
A, Conn. Volunteers. |
The Senior class of the Sheffield Scienti-
fic School. 7
Candidates for the Degree of B.F.A.
Mr. O. G. Bunnell, Marshal. —
Candidates for the Degree of LL.B.
and LL.M.
Prof. G. E.. Beers, Marshal.
Candidates for the Degrees of M.A.,
Coho ane. 2,
Dr. R. R. Boltwood, Marshal.
Candidates for the Degree of M.D.
Prof. H. B: Fernis, Marshal.
Candidates for the Degree of Ph.D.
Mr. C. M. Lewis, Marshal.
The President and Corporation, Prof.
H. W. Farnam, Marshal.
The Faculty and Invited Guests. _
The graduates in the order of their
graduation together with the graduates
of other colleges and universities and
with the friends of the University.
Please hurry to this office every scrap
of war news about Yale men which comes
your way. Put im every detail you can.
Please send this news as fast as it comes
to you. It is especially necessary to get it
promptly.
