Academy of the Holy Angels - Echoes Yearbook (Fort Lee, NJ)

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4 if I-gg., 5 A 'C' ECHOES Ei i s 1'9'Qf'8 is . , . , if 2 S 19 F, J lllllllllllllllllllllllllllla 5 iii , The Constitution Let us hail it as that which has served the cause of human freedom and world democf racy as no other doctrine has ever done-our Constitution! By its adoption, our country passed, without civil revolution or military dictatorship, from probable anarchy to order, from weakness to strength, from death to life. It far surpasses the landmarks of democracy in all other countries, although they were laid years before it. As first established, the Constitution was intended to be the strong, wellflaid foundaf tion upon which future generations were to build an imposing and noble edifice, the Temple of Liberty and Justice. The comparatively small assembly that met to enter upon that stupendous task of drawing up the Constitution consisted of men of great political wisdom and foresight. It was not an assembly of demifgodsfas Jefferson would make it, it did not embody most of the wisdom and resourcefulness in the land-it was a gathering of diverse types-it consisted of men of different abilities, different temperamentsg and widely different ex' periences, and therein lay its strength. Was it not said at that time that the genius of republican liberty seems to demand that all power should be derived from the people? This, then, was the task that faced them-to establish a Constitution that would hold the interests of its own people as para' mount, to establish a workable document that would meet the emergency that demanded support at once, and one that could be adapted to the needs of the futureg briefly, one for all the people for all the time. The Constitution, as it left the hands of its framers, was not entirely satisfactoryg therefore it contained a provision by which any unforeseen future condition might be remedied-the provision for its own amendment to meet the demands and needs of any age. The Constitution is without precedent in the manner in which it has withstood the ravages of time and developed and enlarged itself in many ways, the foremost being by laws, by judicial interpretations, by usage, and principally by its amendments. People have maintained of late that our government is a government of laws and not of men. Yet, the Constitution, as it was drawn up, stands for government by the people. It is the people themselves, according to its provisions, who make the laws by which they themselves are to be governed. Is it, then, the fault of these foundation' builders that the succeeding generations, restless and impatient instead of steadfast and true, as their forefathers had been, have added hastily, thoughtlessly, and uncertainly to their most noble beginnings? As the leaders of the State are, so will be the State itself. If the laws passed and the amendments of recent years added to the Constitution have not met the expectations or fulfilled the desires of the people, is it not the fault of the people themselves who have elected the leaders and thus indirectly made the laws? The Constitution of the United States ranks above every other written Constitution for its simplicity, brevity, and precision of language. It is by this very simplicity of lan' guage that we are made to understand that it stands for freedom. Freedom is its one great cry. Freedom of life and liberty, freedom in the pursuit of happiness, freedom of religion! Do we not consider ourselves as prudent as those able and conscientious men of our country 67

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5 G -Q32 6 U Eonolzs t rims 1 9 2 s n lil In What People Never See Some people look for evil, And some folks look for goodg But most poor mortals fail to see The things they really should. They don't see hearts that proudly beat 'Neath many a tattered gowng They don't see love that's hid behind A stern, forbidding frown. They don't see all the yearning 'neath An urchin's wistful stareg The longing of his bursting heart For someone who will care. They envy him who wears a crown, But, oh! do they not see, Though he wear a pearly diadem, How weary he may be? They can't see pain that they have caused By some word, harsh and heedless. A gentle word will anger soothe And save much pain that's needless. A jester's words have meaning deep, His thoughts are often bestg Ah! fools are we, who cannot see The truth beneath a jest! Folks don't see God's great Providence, And yet, 't is all aroundg They don't see love and beauty, that In every plant are found. And, lastly, they see not themselves. Ah! 't would from vain thoughts free us, If God would grant that we might see Ourselves as others see us. 66

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as 3 gli. 6 as ,ff VX if v sfi fair, s- 29 A ' 'M in-93 ! . llll n I ,C-Y i. .i L ge, fi ' a xxmxxx kxxx aww , x vu who exercised such wisdom and foresight in the framing of the Constitution? Why, then, do we not use that prudence in amending that precious document and in maintaining the the government it has so securely established? Why do we, in our ignorance, persist in choosing for ourselves biased leaders, and allow them even to seek to instill into our minds their own perverted ideas-ideas that will prove to be only a menace to that freedom which we are now permitted to enjoy? Prudence tells us that we have but ourselves to blame. lt has been said that the Constitution has changed in the spirit with which men regard it, and therefore in its own spirit. Change, we know, is inevitable, if it is to adapt itself to the conditions of a new age, yet, are we warranted in allowing it to change for the worse? Is it not, rather, our duty to safeguard and to protect the sacred trust handed down to us? Franklin says: Our Constitution is in actual operation, everything appears to promise it will last, but in this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes. Although not overfproud, the framers built the Constitution better than they knew. True to ap' pearances, it has lasted these long years. Are we now to allow it to decay rather than further insure its safety? As at the entrance to our glorious harbor stands forever the symbol of our liberty, so at the very threshold of our own American Government stands the Constitution-the true fulfillment of that symbol. Let us never lose faith in or love for the Constitution of our Fathers. Let it not be merely written with ink on parchment, but, with flaming letters let it be engraven deep in our hearts. Then, if the thoughtlesslyfadded work of present generations totters and falls, the foundation will yet stand, it will not fail, but will remain despite the present inf difference of its citizens and the restless spirit of an impatient age, facing the unknown future, a noble ruin of the Temple of Liberty and Justice. -GRACE M. CHRIST, '28 My Lady Moon On summer nights she brightly gleams, My lovely Lady Moon, A golden ball with drifting beams, My lovely Lady Moon. On winter nights, a silver sheath, My lovely Lady Moon, Glows gently on the snow beneath, My lovely Lady Moon. A ray of heaven's own bright light, My lovely Lady Moon, Floats softly o'er my pillow, white, My 'lovely Lady Moon. And when tonight your fair face beams, My lovely Lady Moon, Of you, my love, will be my dreams, My lovely Lady Moon. -CLAIRE R. POHLY, '28 68