THE BATTALION
5E
Norman and the Board of Directors occupied immediate
places on either side, with the Alumni and other guests
occupying the remaining places. The elegant and courtly
manners and address of Professor Philpott as toastmaster
wen the admiration and applause of all present and per
fected the success of the felicitous occasion.
“Our Guests” was responded to in a most happy manner
by the venerable President of the Board of Directors, Major
A. J. Rose, who put the visitors at ease in a few cordial
words of welcome and good cheer and closed with an
eulogy of the college.
P. L. Downs, of Temple, made the welkin ring in response
to “The Alumni,” and urged his fellow collegians to be
unceasing in their efforts to uphold and upbuild their
much loved alma mater.
“Our Young Men” was delightfully presented by Gover
nor Culberson, who, being a young man himself, found no
difficulty in entering into the spirit of the subject and the,
occasion. He said:
“Although there are others here who can talk far more
ably than myself, I will say a word in response to the toast
of the young men. Long ago it was said, ‘we need old men
for council and young men for war.’ I don’t know how
true that statement may be, but surely to a great extent
it has been obliterated by experience and history.
“If you will pardon the reference here, the Savior of
mankind, who performed the mightiest revelation under
Christendom, was a young man. You may look back
throughout all ages and wherever you have seen great
thought, wherever you have seen superb action, it has all
been through the instrumentality of young men. You may
take Napoleon, the master of Europe, a mere boy. You
may take our own country. Jefferson, who was scarcely
above 30, wrote the declaration of independence, and Mad
ison the constitution of the United States, which Mr. Glad
stone has declared the mightiest instrument ever penned
by man, yet he was barely above 27. So you see wherever
we look, whether in philosophy, war or poetry, you see
great things performed by young men.
“Take our last war for instance. Stonewall Jackson be
came immortal and Jeb Stuart also. It was he who said
that ‘duty is the sublimest word in the English language/
You may look back in history and no matter what field of
activity you may take, the young men have done great