George E Westinghouse High School - Sketch Book Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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RELIGION The determinations of Providence are always wise, often in- scrutable, and, though its decrees appear to bear hard upon us at times, is nevertheless meant for gracious purposes. I shall always strive to prove a faithful and impartial patron of genuine, vital religion. It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. True religion affords government its surest support. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial Ere called Conscience. PK PK P14 FRIENDSHIP True friendship is a plant of slow growth g to be sincere, there must be a Congeniality of temper and pursuits. The company, in which you will improve most, will be least expensive to you. Speak not evil of the absent, it is unjust. I t is better to be alone than in bad company. Be courteous to all, but intimate with few 5 and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. Pk :ac it PUBLIC SPIRIT The due administration of justice is the Hrmest pillar of good government. The tumultous populace of large cities are ever to be dreaded. it Pk Pk LOVE OF COUNTRY Let us have a government by which our lives, liberties and properties shall be secured. Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distresses of every one. To stand well in the estimation of one's country is a happiness, that no rational creature can be insensible of. While we do not underrate difficulties on one hand, we should not overrate them on the other 1 nor discourage ourselves from a very important undertaking by obstacles, which are to be surmountedf' Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people. The welfare of the country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. The love of my country will be the ruling influence of my conduct. Seven

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Sayings of GEORGE WASHINGTON ir CHARACTER Characters and habits are not easily taken up or suddenly laid aside. A good moral character is the first essential in a man. I t is, therefore, highly important to endeavor not only to be learned but to be virtuous. Error is the portion of humanity, and to censure it, whether committed by this or that public character, is the prerogative of freemenf' I never wish to promise more than I have a moral certainty of performing. Discourage vice in every shape. Dk Pk Pk HUMAN NATURE I We must bear up and make the best of mankind as they are, since we cannot have them as we wish. The best means of forming a manly, virtuous and happy peo- ple will .be found in the right education of youth-without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail. Let your hand give in proportion to your purse. Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence, and the higher in Rank the officer is, who sets it, the more striking it is. We should never despair. I t is our duty to make the best of our misfortune. Every hour misspent is lost forever, and . . . future years can- not compensate for lost days at this period of your life. This reflection must show the necessity of unremitting application to your studies. I t is a maxim with me not to ask what, under similar circum- stances, I would not grant. Six

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EDITORIAL OUR FUTURE OR some years young people leaving high school have seen the future through rose-tinted glasses 3 they have been confident of success in their chosen work. But, we, who are having the misfortune to graduate in a period of economic stress, are troubled and perhaps even pessimistic about the future. We see our intentions frustrated by present conditions, instead of the pleasant vista we had looked forward to we face a blank wall that gives us a feeling of despair. How- ever, because we are hindered at first, are we to give up our desires, our purposes, and our ideals to become slackers that blame the times, the government, the cap- italists, and, in fact, everyone but ourselves for our failure? Instead, our dis- appointment should make us realize that in the span of our lifetime we must constructively plan to lessen the peaks of good and hard times in order to give our people greater economic security. No other generation has been trained for in- dependent thinking as we have beeng therefore, we should be more successful than any other generation in finding the royal road to the economic and social happiness of all our people. In the history of our country these periods of economic stress have demoralized business over and over again. In times past, have our citizens ever definitely planned to avoid such casualties? Or as times have improved have they again struggled against each other to increase their wealth irrespective of the welfare of the employee and the consumer? Such a policy ignores the fact that every thrifty man is entitled to financial security for himself and family. To be sure the securing of this happy economic state will tax the intellectual and cooperative powers of our people. But can it not be done? With the knowledge of social science we have acquired in school, we should be able to see the snares of politics and by meritorious legislation remove the causes that permit undemocratic conditions to exist. It is more or less an estab- lished fact that if our predecessors had not been so disinterested and neglectful in regard to politics our country would not today be menaced by the depression and unemployment, as well as by the bootlegger, the racketeer, and the kidnapper. If we will make better use of our vote than our parents have done, we may be able to prevent a recurrence of these calamities. In this way we would maintain for ourselves safety from a plight similar to that in which many of our families find themselves today. At the same time, we may make possible the realization of dreams that, at present, seem to be shattered. To whom shall we look for guidance in formulating plans for a more perfect social state? We have the thought of the ages at our command. Again and again in history men have dreamed of the perfect state where all men really are equal, a state which has no swindles, no poorhouses, no suicides. As far back as the time of the Greeks we find Plato urging a plan on this order. Then, in the early six- teenth century Sir Thomas More presented a book, U topia, which had many new social ideas. In the latter part of the sixteenth century Sir Francis Bacon gavelthe' public New Atlantis, which is the study of an ideal commonwealth. In the nine- teenth century john Ruskin expressed theories that economists of today believe to be true. To him an employer's first consideration is the happiness of his work- Eight