SILVER LINKS

A COLLECTION OF SALUTATORY, VALEDICTORY AND
OTHER ADDRESSES DELIVERED AT THE FIRST
FIVE COMMENCEMENTS OF THE FEMALE
STENOGRAPHIC AND TYPEWRITING
CLASS OF THE GENERAL SOCIETY
OF MECHANICS AND
TRADESMEN
OF THE
CITY OF NEW YORK

COMPILED BY

W. L. MASON

NEW YORK
ALBERT B. KING, 89 WILLIAM STREET
1892

TO

MR. ISAAC PITMAN

THE “FATHER OF PHONOGRAPHY”

THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS MOST RESPECTFULLY
INSCRIBED

BY

THE COMPILER

Introductory Note.

It is always beautiful to see the young confront the uncertainties of the future, and look forward with faith to happiness and success. I am proud of young women who are willing to devote their evenings, when they must toil for a livelihood through the day, to a course of study which will secure to them the knowledge of a mechanical art. This knowledge becomes a treasure which no disaster of fire or flood can ever destroy, and a source of comfortable income through life. It makes dependent young women independent, and I congratulate every one who graduates from this excellent school of instruction with her well-earned diploma, which is more valuable to her than any legacy of gold or precious stones.

New York City, April 16, 1892.

Address of Rev. C. S. Harrower, D. D.

To the Class of ’87.

“Ladies of the graduating class,—Ladies and Gentlemen: It seems as if words were hardly in place to-night, because of the interesting programme which is before you. I suppose we have no conception of the exercises prepared for us this evening. I never knew of this Institution until Mr. Moore told me of it, and I am particularly glad to be here.

“I have often remarked that our New York life is like the life of one of our great rivers,—the Hudson. Did you ever live upon its banks and look away upon its stretch of water to the south or to the north; count its sails, and its tugs, and its fleets of canal boats and all its life,—for half an hour fascinated by the beautiful scene; and then go away to your work, or to your pleasure, for a few hours, and return and look upon that great stretch of river and see that other sails had taken the place of those first sails, and other vessels were coming into view, indicating the marvelous life of that mighty stream? I did that, year after year, and it seems to me that the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen is like the mighty river Hudson, doing its work day after day and year after year,—a work that seems to me to be so useful and inspiring.

“The gentlemen interested in this Society are to be congratulated. It seems to me that such an Institution as this is among the most beautiful, among the most stimulating of all institutions that mark our civilization.”

Dr. Harrower then spoke of the serious consequences which often follow the carelessness of a lawyer, the blunder of a switchman, the neglect of a servant, or the indolence of a physician, and, in contrast, dwelt upon the beneficent results attained by close attention to duty, explaining also how great good arises from even very trifling acts. He also remarked how strange it is that some people have every chance of getting on in this world, while others are “mortgaged to begin with,” and hampered and chained through life.

“But,” said he, in conclusion, “it seems to me that this Society is engaged in a work that is characteristic of the civilization to which we belong, and is following after our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who lived not to serve Himself, but the world. I congratulate you, young ladies, that when you were put upon your trial it was found that you had been laboring in the race of life; and to-night you are to receive the signal token of the skill you have attained, and of the favor in which you stand in this school.”

Salutatory Address

By Miss S. J. Sirine.

Class of ’87.

In meeting you this evening, gentlemen of the Committee and friends, we, the members of the Classes in Shorthand and Typewriting, experience a double pleasure. First, is the satisfaction that we have accomplished the task which we undertook last October, and the consciousness that we are about to go forth carrying our diplomas as proof that the Winter has been well spent, and that we are master of a very fascinating and important art; and, secondly, we feel the delightful sensation of being highly complimented at the kindly interest taken in the Class displayed by those present this evening.

We sincerely hope that the exercises of the evening, and the gratitude of the teachers and class, feebly expressed through this channel, will be ample proof to you of our appreciation of the compliment conveyed by your presence, and trust that we shall continue to receive your good wishes for our success; that we shall go forth into the business world making good use of our profession, and worthy of the interest in our progress displayed by the Committee and friends of this Society, and of the care and attention bestowed on us by our teachers.

To my classmates, cordial congratulations that we can meet to-night, and, comparing notes, find that the report for the Winter is goodly evidence of time well spent; that, in spite of what at first appeared to be the insurmountable obstacle of the alphabet, we plodded bravely on to the primer, and from the slowly and carefully drawn outlines of familiar words, we entered at last into the spirit of our art, and with pencils tipped, as it were, with electricity, learned to catch the swiftly flowing words from the lips of the speaker, and to present them in a tangible form, ready for future reference. So also with typewriting. Though the unruly instrument at first persisted in spelling “cat” t-a-c, and always put an interrogation point where a period ought to be; still, with patient perseverance, cheered by the inspiring words of our teacher: “I used to do the same thing,” and filled with envy at his display of skill, we took fresh hope, tried again, and, as we were told we should,—succeeded. The pleasure of the art of shorthand, more than any other, is not confined alone to the artist. You all know the important offices in business life which shorthand fills; of its importance to the press and all departments of the literary world, it is not necessary to speak. From the eloquent words of gifted speakers to the eagerly watched for words of the President’s