Education: The Live Wire 1914, Warrior's Mark High School, Warrior's Mark Township, Huntingdon Co, PA Transcribed and submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja jbanja@email.msn.com NOTE: Typographical errors of the original have not been corrected. Jokes section has been omitted. An html version of this file is available at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htmwmhs1914/livewire1914.htm USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information are included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ THE LIVE WIRE 1914 Compiled and Edited by the GRADUATING CLASS of the Warrior's Mark High School For Their Own Edification and For the Delight of Their Friends. May 19, 1914 As an expression of our gratitude for the opportunity afforded us to prepare for future work, and for the support and sympathy shown us in our tasks of the past three years, to you, the tax-payers of Warrior's Mark Township, we, the class of 1914, gratefully dedicate The Live Wire. * * * * * THE LIVE WIRE STAFF Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . .H. Paul Cox Associate Editors Aden Beck, Lettie Neff Editor of Jokes . . . . . . . . . . . .Mildred Conrad Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . H. P. Cox Class Officers President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H. P. Cox Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Wills Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lettie Neff Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Grace Nearhoof Class Flower: YELLOW ROSE Class Motto: "VINCENS ET VINCTURUS" EDITORIAL. Believing that our many friends would appreciate some tangible evidence of the result of our scholastic training we take pleasure in presenting herewith "The Live Wire." In the compilation of The Live Wire we have endeavored to produce a book of quality, rather than of quantity, and yet one in which nothing that would strengthen the interest might be lacking; in all, a book of beauty, of honor, of personal anecdotes, of sound thought and of eloquent language. Through various fortunes we have lived our high school life, and now, with reluctance, we depart. And so, it is our wish that this little product of our united efforts may be a source of immediate as well as of future pleasure to our interested friends; that it, in its small way, may help to keep green our memory, and that, in after years, it may serve us as a retrospective vista of our lives in our beloved W. M. H. S. CLASS POEM H. Paul Cox. We think, we believe, we hope that life is bright, Like some sweet summer morn, And that clouds of Despair shall never blight That which in our youth was born. We think that storms of Life shall never rise, Our beliefs, our aims, our hopes to appall And cast our Star of Hope down from the skies: To spread their murky darkness over all. Alas! Our hopes, our aims are turned to fears; Even now we scent the distant woe, And as we gaze into the coming years, We see a dark and ominous glow. Ah though the distant scene may be darkened by despair, And clouds of Doubt may rise, Which will seek to hide our Star of Hope shining there, And sear our azure skies. The lowering clouds their torrents wild dispell, Wild ruin follows in their wake, Upward, onward, strive through the surging swell. Stand! Be firm! Your honor is at stake. The hurtling waters rush wildly on their way, Above, the wild storms rage on We look into boisterous heaven for the breaking of the day, And a bright and glorious morn. The muttered thunders of a thousand furies in descent, Rise high above the rending storm. Ah wretched elements! The bosom of the heavens now is rent, And we look for our cool bright summer morn. The light breaks through - the furies cease, The roaring deep grows less and less, We turn our faces to this new found peace, And, Behold! Our dear W. M. H. S! There is a Star of Hope for every hour, Though hidden by clouds of darkness and despair. Fear not, in all its radiant power, It is still shining there. And so the storms of Life may rage, And bring ruin to many a pleasant scene, We can look up and away from the present page. There Is the Star of Nineteen-Fourteen! ADDRESS OF WELCOME. H. Paul Cox. Friends and Fellow-students: It has devolved upon me, as the president of the class of 1914 to give expression to a few thoughts appropriate to this occasion. It is with pleasure indeed that the class is afforded the opportunity of welcoming you to its commencement exercises. The class appreciates very greatly the kind assistance and encouragement given by the teachers, directors and patrons during the past four years. We do not propose, in welcoming you here, to weary you with a long program, but rather wish that you may be able to say that the evening spent at the commencement exercises of the class of 1914 was one of profit and pleasure. We recognize this occasion as a commencement indeed. We have finished, yet are just beginning. We are merely stepping from school life into life's school. Although we have completed the prescribed course, and have complied with all the requirements demanded of us as students, during the past few years, there is a greater field of study before us. There are greater questions to be answered, greater problems to be solved. Are we ready for them? Are we prepared? I believe so. Perhaps we may not be able to conquer them at the first encounter but I assure you that we shall overcome in the final conflict. Now that they may be insured against defeat in this final conflict, I hope that the members of this class will continue their studies, whether at home or in an institution of higher learning, so that at some future day they may be able to credit themselves and us by saying, "I have. fought a good fight." In conclusion I wish you to accept the assurance that the high ideals as upheld by the W. M. H. S. will fit, or at least, should fit a young man or young woman to fulfill their highest duties toward God and man. CLASS HISTORY. Helen Dorothy Wills. I well remember the day on which the class of 1914 first met. It was a beautiful day in September in the fall of the year 1910, we first met in the High School building, and the occasion was the first day of the school term. The school building is placed on one of the back streets of the city of Warrior's Mark, an ideal place for study because the children are not so much ennoyed by the noises from the city. The school house is a large white frame building. Surrounding the school building is a beautiful, large green playground and leading from the main street of the city to the school building, there is now a very good cinder walk, which is much better than the muddy path we formerly traveled. On this day recruits gathered from all points of the compass and started the journey through High School. The class was composed almost entirely of green country boys and girls, few of them had ever before been in a city so large as Warrior's Mark, and this poor little timid bunch of country boys and girls were frightened very much indeed by the clanging of the trolley cars, the whistles and other noises from the many factories, and the honking of the automobiles and taxis. After some narrow escapes from being run over by automobiles and trolley cars, we all reached the school ground in safety and gathered in groups in the anteroom and talked until the signal for beginning school was given. When we were given our books some of our terror left us and we felt at home, for they were the same subjects we had in common school. This first year was spent in some very hard work and in becoming acquainted with one another. In the fall of the year 1911 we again came to Warrior's Mark. This time we did not walk down the middle of the street but on the side-walk so we were not in so great danger of being run down by automobiles as we were the first year. We were very much frightened on receiving our books for they were very new and we had never before studied these subjects. This was our first year in real High School work, and we were much alarmed about Latin for we had heard from people who had studied it that it was very very hard indeed, but we found later that it was not so very difficult and was really a very enjoyable study which should not be considered an old dead language and no use to anyone. All the other studies were something like the common branches so we did not worry much about them. The year 1911 was surely a momentous one in the history of Warrior's Mark High School because in that year the first sophomore class was organized; it consisted of seventeen members, a greater number than we have at present. Our class officers during this year were president, Aden Beck; vice president, Homer Thomas; secretary, Helen Wills; and treasurer, Mildred Conrad. Our amusements during the term were ball games in which the boys did the playing and the girls the cheering. After a term of eight months of good hard work we said goodbye and left the school house for a vacation of four months. In the fall of the year 1912, we returned anxious to take up the duties of last year. The books were all new but we were not nearly so much frightened, green and timid as we were the years before. Our algebra was harder this year but we were accustomed to hard problems now. In this year the War with Caesar was begun and although it seemed sometimes that Caesar would conquer us as he has so many other tribes of people, we fought bravely and but very few of us were conquered. During this year we chose our class colors, purple and white, and procured our class pennants. Our amusements during this year were much the same as former years. On the social side one of the most enjoyable functions was a party for the members of our class held at the home of one of the members. The evening was spent in playing games, telling stories and singing. During the evening excellent refreshments were served. After a very enjoyable evening we separated singing our farewell songs. About the close of the school term we had a series of three very interesting debates; it happened that in each debate there were two girls on one side and two boys on the other, perhaps the boys were a little chivalrous, at any rate the girls won every debate. All this year we had been wading right through our studies, we were the originators of a great many new ideas; ideas which Professor said he had never heard of before. All too soon the singing of the birds, the blooming of violets and the preparations of the Seniors told us that the school term was about to close. After commencement we parted sorrowfully from the seniors who had shared so many of our good times, we knew that when spring came around again we ouselves would be leaving for good. In the fall of the year 1913 we all returned realizing with regret that this would be our last year at dear old Warrior's Mark High School. The most difficult of our new studies was Geometry, because it was very different from anything we had ever studied before but before we had gone very far we found it to be much easier than we had expected. The theatrical debut of the class was made when they presented the play entitled "The School Ma'am" which was pronounced a great success. Our class flower, the yellow rose, and our motto, "Conquering and still to conquer," you all see. During this year we have tried to conduct ourselves as dignified seniors should, and now, as we are about to leave Warrior's Mark High School, some of us perhaps never to attend school again, I trust we shall always think of the happy days we have enjoyed and the many friends we have made here, and shall be loyal always to Warrior's Mark High School. CLASS PROPHECY. Kenton Cox. In one of the best residential sections of Philadelphia stands a large, handsome brownstone mansion, well back from the street. In front a large veranda overlooks the beautiful green lawn which slopes gently to the sidewalks, and is dotted here and there with flower-beds. As an observer paused here one bright morning to note the beautiful surroundings, the owner of the mansion came out. It was Mr. Aden Beck (formerly known as "Pickle"). He was mayor of the city and was just starting on a business trip to New York. He stepped into a large touring car, which was standing by the sidewalk, and was quickly taken to the station. After securing a ticket, he stepped aboard the train and was soon speeding towards New York. On the afternoon of the second day he entered a building on Fifth avenue, stepped into an elevator, and was taken to the second floor. As he left the elevator and started along a hall he quickly stopped as his eye caught this sign, "H. P. Cox, Artist." He stepped to the door on which the sign was painted, and rang the bell. A voice from within called, "Come in." He stepped into the room and saw his former classmate Paul Cox, now an artist, seated before an easel on the opposite side of the room with brush in hand. Paul at once recognized Aden and arose to greet him. "Hello Pickle! How are you?" "Good! How are you?" "Fine. Where did you drop from anyway?" "Oh, just came up from Philadelphia for a few days. I was just passing your door when I saw your name and couldn't go by without dropping in for a minute." "I'm glad you did. I saw in the paper not long ago that you are now mayor of Philadelphia. How about it?" "Yes I'm mixed in politics now." "Good for you. But say. What has become of the rest of the class of '14 ? I was thinking of the bunch just the other day." "I don't know. I don't know anything about any of them except Lettie. I was in Wanamaker's store one day last week and saw her there. She is one of the head book-keepers." "Lettie Neff! Is that so? Why she must be doing pretty well." "Oh she is. She is getting along fine." "Well," said Paul, "I saw in a paper not long ago that Wilson Geist is in the West engaged in raising cattle for the St. Louis packing houses." "Good for him. Say. If Lettie can come along, I'll bring her up next Thursday and we'll take a trip in an aeroplane and visit our old classmates." "Agreed." "Alright, goodbye," said Aden. "I'll see you next week." "Goodbye. I'll be ready." With that he was gone and after completing his business Mr. Beck returned to Philadelphia. On the following Thursday morning at nine o'clock, in company with Miss Lettie Neff, he was ushered into the private apartments of the artist. After exchanging greetings they descended to the street and were soon aboard the aeroplane and off on their journey. "We shall go to the West first," said Paul and visit Bing and perhaps we can learn from him something of the whereabouts of some of the rest." "A good plan," agreed Aden and Lettie. As they were flying over central Pennsylvania Lettie saw a beautiful farm just below and wished to stop for a few minutes. Descending, they came to stop between the house and the barn. Standing by the house and watching them with wondering eyes was the farmer's wife. As they approached her they recognized her as their classmate, Miss Helen Wills, but now Mrs. -. "Hello Helen! You look well and happy," said Lettie. "Why hello Lettie. I didn't know you. And if this isn't Paul and Aden. Where have you been and where are you going?" "Oh," said Paul, "we are just looking up our old friends. Get ready and go along. The more the merrier." "Alright. I shall be ready in about five minutes. The children can manage things 'till I come back." "How many children do you have?" asked Aden: "Only ten," replied Helen as she entered the house. In a few minutes they were on their journey, rapidly pursuing their course over green fields and rolling prairies, dotted here and there with villages. As they came near St. Louis, they descended, left the aeroplane and started down one of the main streets. They proceeded only a short distance when they came to an open square, where an excited broncho was trying to put the "bust" in Buster. They stood around awhile, admiring the perseverance of its cowboy rider, when, suddenly, at the sight of them, he did a queer thing. Sliding down the broncho's backbone, he landed on his feet and approached, while the bunch was undecided whether to run or to stand still. "I may look dangerous," the said "but believe me, I'm perfectly harmless." "Why hello Bing!" said Aden as his senses came to him and he recognized his classmate Wilson Geist. "You surely look like a cow puncher now." "How many Indians have you killed?" asked Lettie. "I would like to know what you people are doing out here," said Wilson. "Paul, I saw in a paper that you won a big prize in a drawing contest. How about it?" "I guess it's all so," replied the artist. "How are you getting along?" asked Aden. "First rate. I just brought 1200 head of cattle to town. Gee! They looked fine." Have you heard anything of any of the other girls of the Class?" asked Helen. "Yes, last week I was in Chicago on a business trip and saw Ethel. She is a teacher in one of the city High schools." "We shall call on her," said Paul. "You had better go along with us." "Sure. I expected to go up today anyway, so that will just suit me." They returned to the areoplane and a few minutes later had landed in Chicago, left the areoplane, and were seen mounting the steps of the school- building in which Ethel was teacher. Down the hall came the sound of her class reciting the well known words, "Ductus sim! Ductus sis! Ductus sit!" She was drilling her pupils in those "distracting Latin verbs." "Is she bright?" asked Aden aside. "Is she?" replied Wilson. Why man alive, you can't look at her without smoked glasses." They knocked at the door, to which they have been directed, and a moment later it was opened by Miss Ethel Rumberger. "Hello Ethel! How do you do! were some of the greetings which met her, while Ethel with wide open eyes threw up her hands and said, "Good morning everybody! My, this is a surprise." She invited them all in but they did not accept the invitation because of the lack of time. After a few minutes talk they learned from Ethel that Miss Grace Nearhoof was a music teacher in Berlin, Germany, and that Miss Mildred Conrad had a large millinery store in Pittsburgh. After talking a few minutes more and wishing Ethel and Wilson good luck, the other four started on the return trip. They stopped in Pittsburgh and looked for Mildred's store, which they soon found and entered. "Why how-do-you-do," said Mildred as she came from the back of the store. Where did you people come from?" "How are you getting along out here?" asked Helen after the "hub bub" of the first greetings had somewhat subsided. "Oh good," replied the milliner laughing "and how are you all getting along?" They replied that they were doing very well and in a short time resumed their journey to look for Lester Ross. Going back to the "Three Springs Fruit Farm," his old home, they saw the farmers were busy making cider in a modern press which had replaced the old one. Just as they were about to enter, the proprietor, Mr. Lester Ross, came to the door. "Hello Pinkus," said Aden. "This looks as though business is progressing." "Hello Lester," said Lettie and Helen. "Why, how-do-you-do!" I wasn't expecting to see you people here today, and, as you see, I am right in the rush of business. Come in and have a drink of fresh cider." "Well Pinkus,"° said Paul as he laid his hand on Lester's shoulder, "I see you are still squeezing." "Yes, but it is apples now." They talked for a few minutes and learned that Lester owned the farm and was sending his children to the Warrior's Mark High school and that a few days before, he had seen Kenton Cox go by, with a grinding-organ and a monkey, in search of his "cottidianum cibum." The party then re-entered the aeroplane and a few minutes later began to separate, and each returned to his or her work with lighter hearts. - Extract from "Our Contemporaries." Vol. II. Published May, 1952. ORATION. "Why Pennsylvania Has Compulsory School Attendance Laws." Ethel M. Rumberger. Friends and patrons, I shall not endeavor tonight to show all the reasons why Pennsylvania has compulsory school attendance laws. The subject takes in such a broad scope that it would be impossible to give all the reasons in such a short time. But I shall attempt to give a few of the most important by showing the value of an education. Before we consider the value of an education perhaps it would be well to see just what an education is. Some people believe that, if a child attends school for some time and crams his head full of the facts in the various text-books, and if he has passed the necessary examinations satisfactorily, he is educated. But this is a mistake. A child may have learned many things at school, but if he has not learned to apply these facts in solving the problems of life, the result of his school work has not come up to the required standard that it may be classed as an education. The word educate is derived from the Latin word "educere" meaning "to lead out." From this we see that education means to "lead out" or develop the individual; that is, the personality of the individual. The undeveloped ability of a child may be compared to gold ore. The value is there, but it is in such a shape that it cannot be used. Education is the refining process that brings out the pure gold, the child's self fully developed. Education is the development of of the physical, moral, and intellectual powers of a child, and of the ability to concentrate these powers upon whatever task he may have in hand. Ability without the power of concentration is of little value. However, for the purposes of this paper we will consider as educated all those who have attended school and have completed the prescribed course. I shall attempt to show, in part, the value of an education, to show that a knowledge of the subjects taught in High schools and colleges, which we often hear people say they do not see the value of, really does result in increased earning power as well as in modifying in many ways the lives of the students. These people are inconsistent, for with one breath they say, "If I were educated I would be doing something better;" with the next they say, "I do not see how the study of the High School subjects is of any value." Is it not the study of these very subjects that educates one. We see on all sides demonstrations of the fact that educated people hold better positions and earn better wages than uneducated people. Is it necessary to see how it is done? Can those who have never studied these subjects hope to see just how? Let us first consider the money value of an education. Dr. Nathan C. Schaeffer, Superintendent of Public Instruction in Pennsylvania, estimated the value of each day spent at school to be ten dollars. He calculated in this manner: the average wage of an uneducated man is $1.50 per day, for 300 days in a year, if he works 40 years he will earn $18,000; the average wage of an educated man is about $1,000 per year, if he works forty years he will earn $40,000. The difference between $40,000, the earnings of an educated man and $18,000 the earnings of an uneducated man, or $22,000 represents the value of the time a boy or girl spends in school. If we say it takes 11 years of 200 days each, or 2200 days to acquire this education, the value of one day spent in school is equal to as many dollars as 2200 is contained times in 22,000 or 10. Mr. Marion Read, calculating in a somewhat similar manner presents the value of each day spent in school as $11.50. We may think these estimates are too high; but let us consider some clearly proven facts and we will find they are really too low. The wage earners in Massachusetts earn a sum sufficiently large that if divided among all the people it will average $ .75 per day for every man, woman, and child in the state. The wage earners in the United States as a whole earn such a sum that if divided among all the people it would average only $ .073 per day for every man, woman, and child in the United States. There must be some reason for such a contrast. We will try to discover it. It is not such a difficult task; we find that the average number of years spent in school in Massachusetts is 73 years, while the average number of years spent in school in the entire United States is only 43 years. In Brooklyn, educators watched two hundred boys after they had graduated from the Grammar school. They all graduated at the age of fourteen, but one hundred of these boys went out into the world to earn a livelihood while the other one hundred boys spent 4 years in High school. All the boys had, so far as could be seen, the same advantages and ability. The first one hundred boys in the eleven years from the time they started to work until they were twenty-five earned an average of $5,722 each, while those who remained in school for four years more, in the seven years from the time they started to work until they were twenty-five, earned an average of $7,388 each. That is, at the age of twenty-five, the boys with a High school education, had already earned over $1,600 more than the boys who had started to work four years earlier. Perhaps it would be interesting to the farmer to know that an education is just as valuable to him in earning his livelihood as it is to a man in any other work. A farmer with an education will be more able to solve the problems he meets than one without an education. Dr. H. J. Webber, the head of the New York State Agricultural College at Cornell, has found that the money value of a High School education, to a farmer, is worth more than $6,000, in 5% bonds. By deducting all expenses, hired labor, 5% interest on the money invested, and allowing for depreciation in tools, etc, he found the average labor incomes of the farmers. He said that of 573 farmers, there were 398 who had attended district schools, and their average labor income was $318 annually; while 165 who had attended High School had an average labor income of $622, and the ten men who had attended college, had an average labor income of $847. Thus we see the difference between the average labor income of High School graduates and those with only a district school education is $304, while the interest on $6,000 worth of 5% bonds is only $300. We will now see how education affects the economical condition of a country. If we hurriedly glance at the primitive peoples we will find conditions in their society are very simple. The primitive people have but few wants and needs, and these few are much the same for all the people. Therefore we could not expect many varied industries. Education by developing the personality develops a taste for better things and the ability to obtain these things. Thus we see education is the key to the economical condition of a country. If we compare the economical conditions of United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany, the nations having the most highly educated peoples, we see a great contrast between them and China. Education also develops capability. If it had not been for capability we would never have had great statesmen. It was this that gave Alexander the Great, Caesar, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln undying fame. Education also develops initiative. This is almost invaluable to the progress of a nation. If it had not been for the initiative of Robert Fulton, ships with sails in place of great steam ships would now be sailing over the deep. If it had not been for the initiative of James Watt, we would now be riding in the old-time stage-coaches instead of in steam cars. Not only our progress but civilization itself is the result of education. The two chief factors in determining a civilization are heredity and environment. Education determines civilization by modifying both these. First it changes heredity by giving each generation greater capacity for civilization than the last., Then it changes environment as in a school for example; here children have new and varied associates and they are surrounded by the best thoughts of the past. They acquire higher ideals and, in an attempt to attain them, improve the conditions about them. Furthermore we can see that education is a mighty civilizing power by considering the percentage of illiterate inmates in our jails and prisons. We find that in the county jails 41.8 per cent could not read and write, while the knowledge, not education, of the remaining was not very great. Sixty per cent. of the prisoners in New York State Reformatory are illiterate, while of the remaining forty per cent. only a few can in any sense be said to be educated. Crime is really the result of the inability to earn a good living, as well as of the inability to distinguish right from wrong. Criminals as a rule are very dull or dislike learning, or perhaps, some have never had an opportunity to get an education and have never come in contact with high ideals. In the struggle of life they are handicapped and become discouraged. Most ignorant people are emotional and impulsive. Education by developing self restraint prevents crime. Then when tax-payers are giving their money for keeping up public schools, they are decreasing the taxes they would have to pay to keep up jails. More than this they are encouraging civilization and improving society in general. Last and most important is the value of education to life. Few people ever have attained or ever will attain the highest point of success without education. If by no other means they, like Abraham Lincoln, must educate themselves. Of the people who have attained the highest point of success in the United States, six thousand were college graduates, two thousand two hundred High school graduates, two hundred had a common school education, while there were only thirty-one self-educated. No man can now, in a country like ours, attain the highest point of success without a good education. If not educated in school, he must educate himself. Abraham Lincoln was one of the brightest and best educated men of his day. But few people have sufficient ability and persistence to educate themselves. Nearly two thousand years ago, Cicero in his oration defending Archia, the poet, after acknowledging that the great men of the state were inspired by, and drew ideas from literature, stated admirably the advantage of an education. He said, "Should any one inquire: What? Were the famous men whose deeds are handed down in literature accomplished in that learning which you exalt with praise? It is difficult to establish this concerning all, but nevertheless this which I reply is certain. I admit many men of admirable character and achievement have been without education and by the almost divine character of their very natures have been through themselves wise and influential: I even add that natural endowment without culture has more often redounded to men's glory and success, than culture without natural endowment. And yet I also maintain this; when a certain theory and the moulding process of education have been added to excellent and noteworthy natural ability, then that indescribable excellence and distinction is wont to manifest itself." We estimated the average income of an educated man at $1,000. This does not mean a life of luxury; however, it does mean a life of comfort and independence. In showing the increased earning ability of an educated man I did not wish you to think that on account of this acquired wealth a man would be relieved from work. When a man is truly educated he cannot cease work. He is ever seeing something higher and better which he has not yet attained and it is only by labor that he is able to reach it. He fully realizes that "Heights by great men gained and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they while their companions slept Were toiling upward in the night." And then again a truly educated man feels it his duty, perhaps pleasure, to aid his fellow-men in obtaining the little he himself has. Education also develops self reliance. By self-reliance I do not mean conceit. The educated man can do things well and from the knowledge of former things well done gains the courage to undertake new tasks, not vauntingly and boastfully, or for show, but in a spirit of humility. And one who starts out trusting their own ability usually accomplishes what he sets out to do. Education awakens new ambitions and ideals. The individual through education gets a taste of real life and it proves so delicious that, encouraged and inspired, he toils on. When he thinks he has almost attained his ideals, he finds they are farther away than ever. His ideals have been raised as his intellect has grown. His ideals will never be realized in full but he will continually strive for something higher, nobler and better. Education modifies the meaning of nature. When an educated person strolls in the woods or along the roads, the trees and flowers smile at him and bear a message to humanity. The birds in the tree-tops warble a message in song. The robin's clear, sweet "Be Cheery!" encourages him. The soft laughter of the little brooks makes him joyous. While the chatter of the saucy little squirrels enlivens him. Education enables one to think in larger units. It broadens the mind. It aids us in seeing that other people besides ourselves have rights. If a person realizes that the people in his home have rights, he is not wholly narrow and selfish, but if he recognizes the rights of his next-door neighbors he is by far less narrow. As the mind broadens it sees the rights of a township, of a country, of a state, and finally of a nation. But this is not yet the limit of a broadening intellect. If it recognizes the rights of all nations, that intellect has become wholly cosmopolitan. There is a wonderful opportunity in a public school for this broadening of mind. Here we meet many kinds of people. We learn to respect their rights. We learn to be courteous and kind to them. We learn to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We learn that we cannot attain success without being virtuous. The school is really a miniature world, where we learn how to act toward our fellow-men without being thrown out upon a great thoughtless world with no experience. We all remember King Midas and the strange power he had of turning to gold everything he touched. Just so is education. With its mysterious, golden touch it transmutes life from a sordid struggle to a beautiful thing of joy, golden opportunity and service. In looking back over my three years of High School life, it seems to me like a golden June day. And I venture to say it is no less precious to my class-mates. In spite of the few clouds that appeared, the sun has continued to shine. But now our golden day is ending with a bright, glittering sunset. The sunset is giving way to the soft restful twilight. Twilight is fading into the night of sorrow at leaving our school life around which sweet memories cling; but tomorrow's sunrise, the dawn of hope, will offer us still greater opportunities. For although we have been conquering, still there is much to conquer. To-morrow we will be able to do better work for we have learned to live, not merely to exist. Education has enriched our lives and made them full and beautiful. ORATION. "The Roman Empire at the Time of Christ." L. Grace Nearhoof. To understand the Roman Empire it is necessary to look back at the conditions existing in the times preceding the empire, that is the time of the republic, and to get an idea of the government under the republic. In so short a paper it would be impossible to give a full discussion of the government, so I shall discuss only such factors as are necessary to understand Roman life at this time. Rome, at this time, had under her authority a great part of the civilized world. The great nations which had flourished on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, such as Carthage, Macedonia, Greece, the nations of Asia Minor, Phoenicia, Judea, and Egypt, all had become parts of one great empire. The more barbarous peoples which she conquered, like those of Spain, Gaul and Britain, were transformed by her civilizing influence. The government of Rome rested largely with the Assembly of Tribes, which was composed of the common people. This assembly had the power to elect tribunes and other Roman officers and to pass all laws submitted to it. The executive power was divided between two men called consuls, who held office for one year. These men had equal powers and each acted as a check upon the other. They presided alternately over the senate, proposed laws to the assemblies, and commanded the armies. There were also ten tribunes. They were appointed from among the plebeians, or common people, in order to protect them from the injustice of the patricians, or nobles. The tribunes had the power to forbid the act of any magistrate which bore unjustly upon any citizen. Thus whenever they saw fit they could prevent the arrest or punishment of a plebeian. In the early days of the republic, the Senate was really the guiding force of the state. Although the Assembly of Tribes was, in theory, the ruling body, it generally acted at the advice of the Senate. The Senate had control of the religion and finances, of the provinces and foreign affairs, and generally the approval of laws submitted to the assemblies. As Rome conquered the various peoples, she built up a provincial system under which a governor was sent from Rome to rule the province. The governor was the supreme military and civil ruler of the province. He was commander-in-chief of the army and was expected to preserve his territory from internal disorders and foreign invasion. For a time Rome ruled successfully and her subjects were loyal to her. But later came corruption which caused a decline. The Roman revenue was mainly derived from the provinces. Instead of raising these taxes directly through her own officers, Rome let out the business of collecting them to a set of money dealers who agreed to pay into the treasury of Rome a certain sum for the right of collecting taxes in a certain province. These money dealers then extorted from the provincials the money paid into the treasury and as much more as they could. Two conditions, the corruption of Roman citizens and the danger of barbarian invasion, made monarchy inevitable, a third condition, the need for better government in the provinces which composed the greater part of the Roman world, made it right. After a series of civil wars and campaigns a monarchy was set up by Julius Caesar. The new monarchy was repulic in form; but empire in fact. The old republican forms continued, the Senate deliberated, consuls and praetors were elected as before. But all the more important powers were drawn into the hands of one man who was given the title of Imperator. Soon after, Caesar was assassinated and after a short interval of disorder, was succeeded by Augustus Caesar. No other man was so well fitted to put the new monarchy into an attractive form, as Augustus. When we contrast the condition of Rome under his government with that of previous times, we will look upon him as a wise and successful statesman. His policy was one of conciliation. He wished to wipe out the hatreds of civil war. He regarded himself as chief of no party, but as head of the whole state, and exercised his powers under titles which were not hateful to the Senate or the people. The system of government for the provinces was also made over. The old governors had plundered the provincials and treated them very cruelly, but the new governors were checked by other officials who were dependent directly upon the Imperator. Thus they were obliged to rule in the name of the emperor and for the welfare of the people. The governors were paid fixed salaries, and were not allowed even to accept presents from the provincials. The establishment of the new government proved to be a great benefit to the provincials. Their property became more secure, their commerce revived, their cities became prosperous, and their lives were made more endurable. Citizenship was also widely extended at this time. At the age of seven the Roman boy began the education which was to make him a soldier and a citizen. At the same time he learned to be frugal, temperate in eating and drinking, modest and seemly in behavior, reverent to his elders, obedient to authority at home and abroad, and above all pious toward the gods. The boy also received some definite teaching and learned to read, write, and cipher. He also learned the Greek language, the only one besides his own which to a Roman was worth knowing. If the Roman boy belonged to a wealthy family, he would probably receive his education at home, commonly he would go to school. Most of the early teachers were Greeks. Often they were bought as slaves and were then set up as schoolmasters, sometimes receiving a salary. These schoolmasters were also sometimes teachers of eloquence lecturing to men. These lectures were attended by some of the most famous men of these times. The three great centers of learning were Rome, Alexandria, and Athens. In these cities there were universities, as we should call them now, fully organized with vast liberaries and numerous professorships. The professors had the rank of senators, with good salaries for life and with various privileges. The three chief studies were language, rhetoric, and philosophy. There was also a group of mathematical studies such as arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. In some universities special studies flourished. Below the universities in all large towns there were grammar schools which corresponded in some measure to our high schools or colleges. In the small towns were many schools of a lower grade. All this education was for the upper and middle classes and for occasional bright boys from the lower classes who found some wealthy patron. Little was done toward dispelling the dense ignorance of the masses. There were four classes of Roman society. At the top of the social scale were the emperor and imperial household. Nearest the emperor were his friends and selected guests. These persons were from all classes and were often freedmen and provincials whose position depended solely upon the favor of the prince. Next were the aristocratic classes, the senators and equites, who still formed a sort of nobility. The senators were no longer restricted to certain favored Roman families, as they formerly had been, but were selected by the emperor on account of their wealth, ability or influence, and were chosen from persons from every part of the empire. The equites were also becoming less and less, an exclusive body and admission to them was a gift of the prince. The great body of the common people consisted of the professional classes, the lawyers, teachers, writers and physicians, the commercial classes the merchants bankers and traders, the artisan classes the smiths, weavers and bakers, and the agricultural classes the farmers and free laborers. So far as their strictly civil rights were concerned, all the people were on a plane of practical equality with the upper classes. The slaves were at the bottom of the social scale and were deprived of civil rights. But their condition was better than in the time of the republic. They were treated with more respect and their lives were protected. The social enjoyment of the Romans, like that of the Greeks was found chiefly outside the home. The Roman sought his chief recreation in the baths, crowds of the circus, and the ampitheater. The private baths of dwelling houses no longer satisfied them but public baths were built on an enormous scale. In addition to bathing rooms, they contained gymnasia for exercising, gardens for lounging, galleries of statues and paintings, libraries for reading and halls for conversation. The baths became the centers of social life where the rich and the poor, the emperor and the slave met together, showing the democratic spirit of life under the empire. The circus afforded a greater attraction for the people in general. The games consisted chiefly of chariot races in which the excitement was due to the reckless driving of the charioteers, each striving to win by, upsetting his competitors. There were also athletic sports. The most popular amusements of the Romans were the sports of the ampitheater. Chief among these were the gladitorial shows and combats of wild beasts. The gladitorial shows were contests between two men, in which they would fight until one was killed. Sometimes the contests were between man and beast or between wild beasts. Although the Romans enjoyed these amusements, their influence was almost always bad and tended to degrade the morals of the people. The home life of the Roman, especially in the city, did not present the simple domestic life of the ancients, but was affected by the general passion for luxury and fondness of display. The houses were no longer the simple structures of the early republic, but were modeled after the most elaborate houses of the later Greeks. In the elaborate preparation of their food, the Romans showed great fondness for display. Not satisfied with the simple meals of their ancestors, they vied with one another in obtaining the rarest delicacies from all Italy and other parts of the world. Fortunes were spent upon single feasts and gluttony was reduced to what was supposed to be a fine art. In three distinct ways the empire had made preparation for Christianity. There had not been much war in the empire and the people became accustomed to live peaceably. The softening influence of the Greek culture also made them more gentle and considerate toward each other. This gentler tendency of the age made easier the victory of Christianity, the religion of humility and self-sacrifice. The political machinery of the empire had important influence upon the organization of church government. An incalculable debt is due to the unity of the vast Roman world. Except for the widespread rule of Rome, Christianity could hardly have reached beyond Judea. The early Christian writers recognized this and regarded the creation of the empire as a providential preparation. Rome had tolerated broadly the different religions in the countries which she conquered. No other government was tolerant enough to permit the spread of this worship. The union of diverse peoples under the empire, with a common language, common sentiments and customs, a common government and habits of easy intercourse, laid the foundation for their spiritual union in Christianity. MARCHING THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL Song used on the evening of March 14, 1914, as part of the program of "The School Ma'am." (With apologies to the author of 'Marching Through Georgia.') H. Paul Cox. Ethel Rumberger. We'll take the first declension boys, now get your lesson swell, Also second conjugation if you know the first one well, We'll say it as the seniors used to say it, good and loud and strong. While we were marching through High School. First Chorus W. M. H. S! We never knew defeat, W. M. H. S! We never will retreat, By the aid of wisdom we will conquer all we meet, While we are marching through High School. How the students shouted, when they heard the joyful sound, Now turn to page sixty-three where equations still abound, Get to work and don't you ever dare to look around, While we were marching through High School. Yes and there were many who sighed with honest fears, When they saw the Ancient History they hadn't seen for years, Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in tears, While we were marching through High School. So we made a thor-ough-fare for wisdom and her train, We have done it once and we can do it twice again. Ignorance fled before us for resistance was in vain, While we were marching through High School. Second Chorus. W. M. H. S! Her seniors here you see, W. M, H. S! We say good night to thee. We thank you for your kindness, of coming here tonight. While we are marching through High School. ORATION. "The Puritan's Gift." A. F. Beck. For three months the Mayflower had been tossed about by the stormy billows of the Atlantic. At last, on that bleak November morning, when the mist which enshrouded the shore lifted, anxious eyes peering out over the water beheld the long-prayed-for shores of the New World. The ship skimmed over the blue waters to the harbor of Plymouth where the Puritans landed and kneeling on the sand offered thanks to their Maker for having reached the goal of their wishes. They were homeless in a strange land. They had only their faith and their God. Is it possible then, that such could make bequests and that these bequests should be great enough to form the foundations of a mighty republican government with its institutions and intellectual life? The Puritan has proven it is. We are indebted to the Pilgrim for many of the things which make our nation what it is; for his literary pursuits, for his ideals in politics and education, for his preservation of freedom, and for his staunch moral character. The Puritan had left comfortable homes and friends for a trackless forest infested with wild animals and hostile savages; but under the hand of these sturdy liberty seekers the land soon assumed a different aspect. Villages sprang up on the forbidding shore, churches and school houses were built, and the wilderness was transformed into beautiful farms. But they did not spend all their time clearing away the forest, building houses, and tilling the soil, for their keen intellect soon found expression in literature. This was not a great literature and perhaps seems rather narrow and uninteresting to us today. Yet we owe much of the progress of our American literature to this humble beginning. These people were the precursors of our great thinker and pholisopher Ralph W. Emerson, our master of romance Nathaniel Hawthorne and our greatest poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Our literature would be barren indeed without these men representing its different phases. Never was there a people prouder of their nation than we are of ours. To whom are we in indebted for this republic? We hear the answer ringing down through these many years, "The Puritans." When the English "gentlemen" came to Virginia they formed what might be termed an extension of the Mother country, always loyal and obedient to her. Pennsylvania was settled by the Quakers who were opposed to war and New York was settled purely for commercial reasons and was content with English laws. But New England was settled by a people who had been grieved by English rule and were determined to have at any cost the liberty which they came to America to seek. This spirit they handed down to their descendents. Not being in any too friendly relation with Great Britian every infringement of their liberty was stored up until the people finally demanded "no taxation without representation." From this feeling the Revolution came. England lost, and America came forth a republic. It is among the Puritans that we find our first public schools which now form the foundation of this nation. In 1671 William Berkley, governor of Virginia, wrote, "I thank God there are no free schools, nor printing, and I hope we shall not have these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience and heresy and sects into the world, and printing has developed them." This spirit did not prevail in the north, for only a few years had passed after the landing of the Puritans when every town that did not provide a school house and teacher was fined twenty pounds. There was no system of education like it in Europe and it was the only one in America. From this germ has grown our magnificent system of public education. While the Pilgrims were sowing the seed of civil freedom, they were also planting the seed of religious freedom, for they came to the New World seeking a place where they could worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience and preserve religious liberty. Without their gifts our nation could not be what it is today. We would have a literature, but it would be a literature without Emerson, Hawthorne and Longfellow. The Revolution might be yet to come and this land yet to be made a republic. The United States could not stand without its excellent foundation of public education. Bereft of these things we would be as our Puritan fathers seemed when they landed on the New England shore that bleak November morning almost three centuries ago. STATISTICS. Name Nick-name Hobby Expectation Disposition Fault Ethel Rumberger Venus Ethics Teacher Sweet (?) Perfect. Grace Nearhoof ? Study Music Teacher Reserved Talks to much. Mildred Conrad Bobbie Ask Marriage Flighty Too charming. Wilson Helen Wills Mother Looks Something Agreeable Her size. Lettie Neff Trixie Anything Vague Peculiar Hiccoughs. H. Paul Cox Tiny Devil's Artist Grouchy His feet. Food Aden Beck Cromwell His Pipe Actor Fast His mouth. (or Pickle) Lester Ross Pinkus Cicero Nothing Loving His hair. Kenton Cox Casey Girls A New Girl Simple Tricky. Wilson Geist Bing Frog Priest Bashful His walk. Town ~~~*~~~