Alton High School - Tatler Yearbook (Alton, IL)

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tli fortune seekers. Vet gold was merely the key which disclosed the vast and true wealth and opportunities of the land. Progress has continually moved Westward, and in the New West it rests today. “Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past. A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time’s noblest offspring is the last.” August Luer, ’10 THE COMET First Prize 0 vagrant of the boundless blue, Thou wanderest in the hazy hue Where whirling worlds in circle swing, And whence no mortal eye can wing. What mind can rise to starry heights And trace thee through the heavenly lights? Whose earthly powers can estimate Thy trackless path and meteor fate? Is it that Omnipresence strong That lists unto the children’s song, 1 he Power that guides the sparrow’s flight, That marks thy swift, onrushing might? This comfort know, through all the years, The One whose bane the comet fears, I need fear not; in peace can rest, His Word hath said, “I love man best.” E. B. 18

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courses, or have been converted into enormous reservoirs, veritable inland seas; for miles and miles the precious liquid has been carried overland, by means of tunnels, aqueducts, and canals, and thus, by the aid of irrigation and dry land farming, thousands and thousands of acres of desert land have been reclaimed. Xo longer is the Western farmer harassed by dreams of droughts and dying fields of grain or withered orchards and vineyards; he is practically independent of rainfall: he gives his time and labor to his crops, assisting them in every way possible, knowing that for every degree of care and patience which he expends upon them, he will be repaid tenfold. His object is to produce the very best: he is “in the service of quality.” Then, when his crops are matured, he does not have to rush immediately to market to beat his neighbor and to get the first chances for a sale: neither is it necessary for him to store away his crops and pretend a scarcity of them. But by the aid of co-operation, central exchanges have been established, which attend to the grading, packing and shipping, not only finding a good market, but securing the very highest market prices at any time of the year. So efficient are these institutions that others are constantly being organized, the officials being paid by levying a tax or duty on the shipments. Their business integrity is of such high standard that, when a merchant receives a shipment from any of them, he knows it is just exactly what he has ordered. lie knows that if the articles on top are A Xo. 1, those on the bottom will be of like quality. Upon receiving a carload of grain it is unnecessary for him to go to the additional expense of sorting it out. When he receives a shipment of apples, oranges, lemons, grapes or any other fruits, he knows that he can put them in cold storage and that they will keep, that there is no danger of decay, because they have been packed with the greatest possible care, and furthermore, because goods of inferior quality are not allowed to be sent out. Therefore, he can afford to pay higher prices; in fact, he will even pay premium prices to get Western crops. Can the same be said of the Eastern farmer? The East must give way to the West in the future as it has in the past. Throughout the ages the call of the West has been imperative. It was in response to this summons that our Aryan ancestors left the Far East and moved on and on until the Atlantic checked their progress. Then with the discovery of America by Columbus the long restrained tide of emigration poured itself into the land of promise. Gradually this tide moved on' until the discovery of gold furnished a new impetus—an impetus that soon filled the country 17

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THE FOURTH DEMERIT First Prize i T was a sad and dejected looking boy that threw his hooks upon the library table. “Why, Janies, what is the matter?” asked his mother. “Got my fourth demerit to-day.” “Well ?” “Well ! it means that I am to take all the finals, and just think, mother, ‘exams’ begin day after to-morrow ! “It really is too bad, son.” “Well, I should say it is too bad, when uncle promised me a watch, providing I didn’t have to take the finals, and hadn't more than three demerits. That's not the worst part about it either, I didn't deserve that demerit.” “Why, how is that ? ’’ “It was this way. Victor Hugh saw my foot out in the aisle, and what did he do but stamp on it. I yelled ‘ouch,’ out loud, and then was told to report a demerit. Now mother, do you think I was to blame? ” Truth and Falsehood. “Not altogether, son, but, if I were you, I should keep my feet under my desk, after this.” Next door a youth laid his books upon the table in a way that startled his mother, too. “Why, Victor, what is the matter?” “Oh, nothing serious, mother, only James Richard is a little ‘huffy’ at me because he has four demerits, which, you know, means that he must take all the finals.” “Why is he angry at you?” “He says I deserved the demerit, not lie. 19