copy of his address to the graduating class of Burritt on May 22, 1903, of which I was a member. It is entitled, “No Excellence without Great Labor,” a theme on which he often spoke, as it was the keystone in the arch of his philosophy of education and of life. May I quote the concluding paragraph as an example of his eloquent, sincere, and inspiring leadership?

“You have all heard,” he declared, “the story of the stone-cutter in a strange city who had no greater ambition than to earn a humble living for his dear ones. This was his joy, his life. Faithfully and conscientiously he does his allotted work with patience and care. Today he carves a leaf, the next a flower, hour by hour bringing some new beauty out of the rough stone or marble before him, not knowing what was to be its use. One day, however, when walking quietly along the street, he came to a large building of stone rising loftily and grandly above its surroundings. He stopped to admire it and, on drawing nearer, recognized his own work. All unconsciously he had helped to rear a monument that would be as lasting as time, that would be an example and joy in ages to come. So it is with our lives; if we are engaged in honest work, we shall go on from day to day, all unconscious of the monuments which we are building, the fabrics which we are weaving. The day may often close and leave us discouraged and dissatisfied, feeling that little, if any, good has been accomplished; but let us remember that, if we have worked faithfully and honestly, in the fabric we have woven there will be many bright shining threads—threads of gold and silver, mingled, they may be, with the darker ones of sorrow, disappointment, and failure, yet all so interwoven as to form a pattern of grace and beauty. In cheerfully, patiently doing what our hands find to do with Christ for our foundation, we can build monuments of worth,—yea, of eternal glory.”

How often did we hear Professor Billingsley, as we called him, declare, “There is no royal road to learning” and “Knowledge is power” and quote these inspiring lines by Longfellow:

In March, 1906, Burritt College suffered a great disaster when the main building was destroyed by fire. But through the energetic leadership of President Billingsley money was raised for the reconstruction of the building. After being closed only one term, the College continued its useful educational service. Burritt, Phoenix-like, had risen from its ashes.

Billingsley by this time had become an important figure in education in Tennessee, having served as President of the State Association of Public School Officers, and of the State Teachers’ Association as well as a member of the State Textbook Commission and of the State Board of Education. In 1911 he was, accordingly, invited to join the faculty of the Middle Tennessee State Normal School at Murfreesboro.

Unfortunately death came to him the following year just after he had entered into this broad field of usefulness. I remember, with what a feeling of personal loss, I read the news of his death which reached me some weeks afterwards in Constantinople, Turkey, where I was then a teacher.

“There has not lived another man in this portion of the State in the last forty years,” declared the Sparta Expositor, “whose influence has been more widespread and powerful for good than was his. Earnest, honest, modest, clean, wholesome, highminded, honorable, tireless, and unceasing in the discharge of his duty, a well grounded scholar, a wise counsellor and true friend, he has inspired thousands of young men and women to lead the life that is worth while.”

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