| OCR Text |
Show lows:-Regent Riter responded as fol the Board: Mr. Van Cott and Gentlemen of on regent, hr. Van Cott, "The words Spoken by my fellow h me deeply, though I presenting me with this diploma touc I meet the ViciSSitudes have reached the age when ordinarily I believe I was ty. of life with some degree of equanimi taken by which it was first informed of the action that was I Sle.1n bed. agreed to confer upon me this honor, when of it Since I ght was greatly moved, and when I have thou .. You know ions have scarcely been able to control my emot In the ation. educ ol scho on that I have not had even a comm s root s gras the from language of the day, I almost came r? occu r neve it ess, succ re futu and in all my day dreams of le With arab r comp hono an ive rece ever red to me that I should this. Whether I deserve it or not I do not know. It would take a good deal of egotism on my part to admit that it is But whether it is or not, I sincerely thank you deserved. I value them a good feelings in the matter. good for your deal more than this diploma, and I value the good feeling of this faculty of the University of Utah as evidenced by this gift more than I am now able to express. "As far as the cause of education is concerned, it has always been near my heart. My father was a farmer, but in his day was in the lead in his desire to educate his children. He was a pioneer of 1847, and a few days after we first pitched our tents in what was then a desolate waste, a sister of my mother opened a school in a very small tent and to this I was sent.. There were six other pupils. This was probably the first school between the Missouri River and the Sierras, and from that very humble beginning the educational system of Utah has grown to the proud distinction it now enjoys, and the head of which you gentlemen have the honor to direct, and I believe you have directed it well. There are some of the elements of romance in this occasion. It was on this spot that the sturdy pioneers of this country first commenced to lay the foundation of this institution by partially erecting a stone wall around a future campus. A part if not all of our present campus was embraced within the limits of that first proposed one. That was about the year l850,--sixty-nine years ago. As a herd boy on these grounds I learned that that stone' wall was to enclose a future university. My knowledge was so limited that I scarcely knew what a university was and now when I look around and see those magnificent buildings, built and dedicated to the cause and advancement of humanity and that with you gentlemen of the Board of Regents I have had some hand in producing these results, I am filled With emotions as first stated. "To you 3 Dr. Widtsoe i and Gentlemen of the Board and th' e honored faculty of this institution, I return my sincere st thanks for this honor and let me here express the Wish that the future may bring to all of us additional opportunities i:3: |
