Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1920 — PUPILS ORATE IN 6 TONGUES [ARTICLE]

PUPILS ORATE IN 6 TONGUES

World’s Record Broken at Exercises in U. S. School in Constantinople. GREAT CROWD IN ATTENDANCE Armenian, Turkish, Greek, French, Bulgarian and English Used in Addressing Cosmopolitan Crowd at Commencement. Constantinople.—The world’s record for the number of languages used In its commencemeut exercises will probably go to Robert college this year. • Orations were delivered in six tongues, and, at that, the program was less polyglot than it used to be before the war. Each of the orators spoke his native tongue, according to the traditions of the American school established 57 years ago. The school has American standards and Ideals, and a majority of Its teachers are Americans, but its alm is to educate men for service in their own countries, rather than in English-speaking countries. Cosmopolitan Crowd Attends. Armenian, Turkish, Greek, French, Bulgarian and English were the languages used by the orators, and the chapel of the college was filled with a cosmopolitan crowd typical of Constantinople’s intellectuals. At the very time Admiral Bristol, the American high commissioner, was advising the 32 graduates to devote their lives to a lessening of the racial ■ and religious hatreds of the Levant, war was going on at four distinct fronts in the Turkish empire, the British, French, Greeks and Armenians all being engaged in the conflict with the Turkish nationalists. The band of the Second battalion British Cheshire regiment, which is guarding Constantinople from nationalist attacks, played for commencement and warships of the allied powers lay in Bosphorus at the foot of the heights on which Robert college stands. Turkish Girls Graduate.'About the same time the Constantinople College for Women, another American institution, held its commencement exercises. Two Turkish girls were among the 23 young women graduated this year. The college is notable for having managed to keep its work going throughout the war and for having kept peace among its students from 17 nations, most of which were fighting either with or against America. The two Turkish graduates wore the same., black academic gown as their classmates, but instead of the mortarboard cap wore white veils draped about their hair. A little Turkish woman who is a member of the faculty also wore the white Moslem head dress. Admiral Bristol here also delivered the commencement address to the class, which contained one Jewish girl, nine Armenians, nine Greeks and two Bulgarians. Music for the .exercises was furnished by the orchestra of the British dreadnaught, the Iron Duke, and the diplomas were presented by Dr. Mary Mills Patrick, president and founder of the college which has conferred the degree of bachelor of arts upon 30 classes and numbers among its graduates prominent women all the Balkan states.