Anaheim Union High School - Colonist Yearbook (Anaheim, CA)

Page 24 text:

ment has every right to check the power of the others. Therefore there is no fear of one body or individual becoming too powerful. It took fifty-five men only eighty-five days to compose the Constitution. Their vitality and devotion gave life to the document. Interpreted and unfolded by the greatest men in America, it has become our heritage in its full meaning. VVash- ington laid the foundation, Hamilton built it, Madison championed it, XVebster expounded it better than any other oratorg Lincoln humanized it, and now the Constitution comes down to us with a fuller meaning than when it was written. The Constitution of the United States has well proved itself worthy of its title, the 'fCitadel of Freedom. No world power at the present time has a gov- ernment which reaches back without a break as far as ours. No other power of today has escaped one or more complete changes of government since our Republic came into existence. Europe, today, is no further along, governmentally, than were the thirteen States under -the Articles of Federation. In no country in the world is the individual so protected from oppression at the hands of government. No other nation has equaled our own in generous friendship toward other nations. None has proved stronger under Civil strife or more invincible from without. A truly sound government must have as its first foundation the divine light of the Christian religion. We may be thankful that our country's foundation was thus laid, and fully preserved and protected by the Constitution of the United States. Another important factor in this maintenance of a stable government is education of the masses. We may be thankful that education is encouraged and provided for in the free school system. VVho would wish for other tribute to his country than to say her first existence was with intelligence, her first breath the inspiration of liberty, her first principle the truth of divine religion. Our internal improvement and industrial development followed the establish- ment of the Constitutional government. The small group of colonies on the Atlantic coast has grown to a great nation, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico, and to the Isles of the NVestern Sea. A nation of great cities, thundering traffic, railroads, canals, gigantic factories, millions of productive acres, where once were only prairies with thundering herds of buffalo and wandering Indian tribes. Science and invention have advanced beyond the most cherished dreams of our forefathers. In short, the Constitution of the United States, the product of a few great minds, composed to protect the rights of the individual, has come down to us after one hundred and thirty-six years, comparatively unchanged. It has weathered the storm of liberty to the world. It has marked unprecedented development and advancement. Through this government we are bound to maintain public liberty and by example of our own systems, to convince the world that law and order, religion and morality and the rights of the individual can be secured by a govern- ment purely elective. Our ancestors at the close of the first century looked with joy and admiration at the progress of the country. How much more emotion ought we now to feel looking back over one hundred thirty-six years of advancement. Our Constitution is not simply a constitutional compact but the fundamental law, and if there be one word in the language which the people of the United States should understand, it is that word. We know what the bonds of our union and the security of our liberties are and we mean to maintain them. Agitators are l23l

Page 23 text:

OUR HERITAGE DOROTHY BISHOP Three thousand years ago, in the wastes of Arabia, near Sinaifs brow, was given a code of divine wisdom for the government of the individual. The Ten Commandments will stand until the end of time as a standard of human conduct. Passing down through the years, we find the world bursting the bonds of the dark ages by forcing from King John of England, the next great law of civiliza- tion, the rights of equity and justice, the Magna Charta. But never before in history has a group of men wrought such a code, involv- ing the principles of liberty, justice, and personal security, as the American Con- stitution. This great record became at once the turning point of the era which was to come. The Constitution is more sagacious than any set of laws since the T en Commandments, more radical than any since the Magna Charta, and embodies the lasting principles of both, together with a greater vision of freedom than was ever before conceived. The Pilgrim fathers set their faces toward America to escape religious per- secution and tyranny of government. Colonies grew up. Tyranny of King and Parliament became unbearable. Then the blow was struckf' America was severed from England forever. Then was kindled the first spark of nationalism, common interests, common temporary laws, and a common cause to fight for. The struggle for liberty bred a desire for freedom. But freedom can only be preserved by a regularly constituted government. America, quivering in the newly awakened consciousness of her independence, stood on the threshold of self government. Political philosophers and practical politicians predicted that Amer- ica would go the way of her predecessors-petty kings, temporary alliances, revolt and then the same thing over again. The first feeble attempt at self-government Linder the .Articles of Federation, had the right to do everythingg the power to do nothing. Taxes remained unpaid because the government had no power to collect them. The federal department was on the point of bankruptcy. Liberty, property, everything dear to the heart of man, became more and more insecure. The wide separation and diversified interests of States created a selfish sentiment of Stages rights. The nation was totteringg disruption from within, danger from without. The mother country might by force of arms bring the feebl States again under British rule. It was then that the greatest men in our history, imbued with the idea that only in union is there strength, set about to put our nation on a firm foundation. This distinguished group met in Philadelphia in 1787. The convention began under the shadow of uncertainty. The ceremonies were simple and characteristic of the men who formed the assembly. The figure of Washington, as presiding officer, moved silently in the background, a tremendous force toward an indisoluble union and a sacred justice. The conventionists did nothing radical. They simply weighed the laws of every nation since time began and took from them the enduring principles of equity. They compromised over differences of opinion and finally rounded out a complete compact. The result was a system of checks and balancesg a three-fold government, executive, legislative and judicial with powers divided. Each depart- l22l

Page 25 text:

today trying to undermine the government. The nation will never be rid of cults who try to influence the people to overthrow the laws, but the upright American citizen, with head erect, will defend his country and the laws which have given him the right of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. The Constitution must be left unpolluted to shine on in deathless splendor, the light of law. This will be the heritage of the coming generations on to eternity. THE LANGUAGE OF THE FLOWERS How few people are natural enough to understand the language of the flow- ers. And yet, there is a language-a language that is vital, alive-and there are some who understand. Celeste stood in the garden. She wore no hat and ber hair shimmered like gold in the sunshine. She was simply dressed, and she was beautiful, with the beauty of a flower that blooms, then fades. For, like the flower, she is kept alive only by bright sunshine and happiness. Under care and sorrow she would wither and fade. Celeste looked around, the love of flowers reflected on her face. She caressed a flower tenderly with her lips, her eyes straying dreamily toward the far horizon. The elder bent swiftly toward the mayflower, and whispered compassionately, Celeste loves and is loved. The mayflower nodded, as did all the brothers and sisters, and the velvet petals of the red rose became softer and more beautiful as they heard. The red rose told the honeysuckle, and the honeysuckle the forget-me-not, until the whole garden reflected the mood of the red rose. Celeste turned, picked a blue violet, and smiled. The flowers nodded wisely for they understood the choice. It was faithfulness. She walked swiftly toward the house and her slender flgure soon vanished. lfVithout her the garden seemed desolate and forsaken and the flowers whispered forlornly among themselves. The China Astor alone seemed unchanged, and her tiny voice from the pure depths of her heart quieted them all. The flowers knew of the fate of the violet. lt had gone its way sealed in a letter that did not reach its destination for many days. Celeste waited for an answer. It did not come for a long time, and the flow- ers were puzzled at the mysterious something in the air, and then it came. The letter must have made Celeste happy, for she picked the everlasting and the white clover, and together they followed the violet. ' But the flower had seen a milfoil slip from the letter, also, Celeste had picked it up, crying a little as she did so. lt meant but one thing to the flowers and her- self, and that was war. Days passed, and the flowers in the garden bloomed more abundantly than they had in years. Under Celeste's loving care the weeds were banished, the vines trimmed, the garden cleared, and the whole garden was radiant with beauty. In Celeste's room was a chest. It was large and roomy, and mysterious. When she was not working in the garden she was sewing on dainty things that always l24l