Fostoria High School - Red and Black Yearbook (Fostoria, OH)

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RED C. W. I Urz Heidelberg B. Sc. in Gracluate XVork O. U. lfclucalion IONA IJEVERS Miami l7niversilyTez1chcr follege Music Course MISS STERLING ND BLACK OPAL STANIIORTH Denison Univ., A. B. CLARA A. SHUEY Heidelberg Univ. A. B. CARL REED Michigan State Normal College Life Certificate Ashland State Normal Summer School

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RED.'.AND.'.BLACK 13 Love of Applause O BE insensible to public opinion, or to the estimation in which we are held by others, indicates anything, rather than a good and generous spirit. Indeed it shows a mark of poor character devoid of principle and therefore devoid of shame. That young man or young woman is not far from downfall and ruin, who can say with- out hesitation, I don't care what others think of me. But to have a proper regard for public opinion, is one thing, to make that opinion our rule of action, is quite another. The one we may hold consistently with the purest virtue, and the most unbending rectitude, the other we can not adopt, without an utter abandonment of principle and disregard of duty. In every emergency, the first question We should ask is, what will my companions, what will the world think and say of me, if I adopt this or that course of conduct? Duty, the eternal laws of rectitude are not thought of. Fashion, popular favor, these are the things that fill his entire vision, and decide every question of opinion and duty. He dare not be different, he is tied to the apron strings of popularity. Such a man can never be trusted, for he has no independence, no individuality, no initiative. He is at the mercy of every casual impulse and change of public opinion, and you can no more tell whether he will be right or wrong tomorrow, than you can predict the course of the wind. Many men, just commencing business often imagine that, if they would advance their secular interests, they must not be very scrupulous in binding themselves down to the strict rules of honesty. They must conform to custom, and if, in buying and selling, they sometimes say things that are not true, why, their neighbors do the same, there is no getting along without it. There is so much competition and rivalry, that, to be strictly honest, and yet succeed in business, is out of the question. Now, if it were so, it would be better to quit business. ' But is it so? Is it necessary in order to succeed in business, that you should adopt a standard of morals, more lax and pliable, than the one placed before you in the Bible? Possibly, your neighbor or contemporary by being less scrupulous than yourself, may invent a more ready way of acquiring a fortune. If he is willing to violate the dictates of conscience, to lie and cheat, and trample on the rules of justice and honesty he may, indeed, get the start of you, and rise suddenly to wealth and distinction. But would you envy him, his riches or be willing to place yourself in his situation? Sudden wealth, especially when obtained by dishonest means, rarely fails of bringing with it sudden ruin. Those who acquire it, are of course beggared in their morals, and are often beggared in property. Their riches are corrupted, and while they bring the curse of the Almighty on their immediate possessors, they usually entail misery and ruin upon their families. If it be admitted, then, that strict integrity is not always the shortest way to suc- cess, is it not the surest, the happiest, and the best? A young man of thorough integrity, may, it is true, find it difficult, in the midst of dishonest competitors and rivals, to start his business or profession, but how long before he will surmount every difficulty, draw around him patrons and friends, and rise in the confidence and support of all who know him? What, if, in pursuing this course, you should not, at the close of life, have so much money, by a few hundred dollars? Will not a good character, integrity and an approv- ing conscience be an abundant compensation for this little pecuniary deficiency? Classmates, there is a time coming when integrity, initiative, and individuality will be accounted of more value than the wealth of a thousand lands like this. In that hour, nothing will sustain you but the consciousness of having been governed not by popular opinion, not by the applause from the sidelines, but by worthy and good principles in life. -Mary E. Cover.