Oakland High School - Oaken Bucket Yearbook (Oakland, CA)

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30. THE' HIGH' -S.cH,ooL . PEGIS- ' , 3 1 1 T ,lEdivus and the SDDFIIX- ' MAY E. WALKER- , , A I 4 J V is , r ANY thousand years ago in a land beyond the'5ff3 there1iVed a-'man' named CEdipus, the rulerjof-'thiS,a,1'C-?l1fIl Of P99--Cel and PICUW' He Was I a peaceful, humane, and conscientiouS 913911 3 1111321 Qf'.U111C.h1Vll15d0U?, and well versed in ancient lore. the 'fiU1e,OffW111Ch I 1W1'1Fev'l?1S, home, Thebes, was troubled by a monster ,calledfa Sphinx, who infested the higlr- ways and was terrible to behold. It layton the top of ,El 11959, .f0Ck fflild StOPP1Ug every traveler, gave him a riddle with the condition th,at,those who ,could fsoluven it might pass unharmed, but those who were so unfortunate as to fall must dieq No one had yet succeeded in guessing the riddle. - QEdlpl1S determined to E1,Sk his life, and without hesitation boldly advanced to theutrial., ,,The,Sphinx asked him, What animal is it that in the morning goes on four feet, at noon ,on two, and in the evening upon three? CElip,us replied, Man,,5:who in childhood creeps on hands and knees, in manhood walks erect, and in old age goes with the aid of a staff. The Sphinx, finding her riddle had been-fsolved, threwher- self from the rock and perished, j I V a I I- V 5 A 1 , 1 ' V , - Q ' This is just a simple tale, tbutbelownethie simplicity lie great questions of life. ' Each of us starting. on life's ,journey has obstructions: toovercome, has greatiand, vital questions to solve, and on the- solving of these bprobably depends our future, for from morning tonight we are scattering the seeds, the harvest of which ,we cannot -fortell, and, the-soil in which they fall isfthe human heart, as soil ,so rich that of alltthose, seeds none utterly perish. There is trouble, sin,qand sorrow all aroundiusg, thehhorizon of the future is black -,with clouds, andfour sole duty is to endeavor to lift some of the- burdens and solve some ofthe manv Sphinx riddles and thus be of,s,ome benefit to humanity, 4, I ' , , p D Each one of us has some particular duty 5 jeach has hisfown calling. The time of the politician is not taken up considering questions,-that concern the art-ist, nor is the artist concerned with the problems that present themselves to the politician. The artist ,is not pondering over the advisability Of enlarging our foreign policy ofh acquiring new' landsg .norlis he concerned in the controversy between Frailceiand England, nor the outcome,gog,.the,...Chinese Question ig noir the probable trouble of the United States and Germany over the Pliillipineg, These questions are not vital to him, are not essential, but he is probably rrrnum- ing because of the seeming decline of art, and probably thinking that -until the merchant is banished ff0U1 aft it will remain in the present condition. The painter of to-day paints to please the rntltitude, the sculptor does likewise g the

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THE HIGH SCHOOL A-Bois. 29 C., there was, on the island of Samothrake, a shrine to the strange divinities called Kabeiroi, to which came princes, kings, and queens to be initiated into their mysteries. With them they brought rich gifts of statuary, and each tried to surpass the other in erecting temples to the Great Gods. The island was like a veritable fairy land, with its buildings of white marble shining in the sunlight, and overlooking the blue waters of the Egean. At the end of the valley in which these temples were situated, in clear relief against the ever verdant growth of the hills, was the imposing figure of the Winged Victory. Stately, majestic, with sweeping robes, she'stood upon the prow of a ship,,as though ready to rush down into the valley on her swift errand of victory. Many centuries have passed since then, but still is preserved to the world this collosal figure. Not as she appeared -in the palmy days of Samothrake, when, perhaps, she stood with both arms upraised, one hand holding a trumpet, and her head held erect as if looking into the distance, but beautiful, majestic still. It was in 1863 that M.,Champoisean, the French consul, while strolling over the ruins of the island, noticed a bit of white marble emerging from the earth. Scraping the soil away, he found that the marble was part of a statue, so he called the workmen who were excavating among the ruins, and they very soon brought to light the fragments of a winged figure. A dispatch boat was sent in all haste from France, and carried back with it the precious freight, and, at last, three years after, the pieces were Htted together, and the whole statue was set up in the Louvre. The whole frieze of the Parthenon represents a vast procession making its way to the festival held in Athens every five years in honor of Athena, the favorite deity of the city. Along the eastern end of the temple, the frieze pictures a religious ceremony in which a veil is offered up to the fair goddess, Athena, in the presence of twelve duties. Two processions are making their way toward this spot, along the northern and southern sides of the building. The one on the northern side is composed of chariots, mounted guards, citizens carrying olive branches, or playing upon musical instruments, and graceful maidens carrying jars. Although this company of more than a hundred figures seems to be in great confusion, still every line is distinct and the whole seems to move onward with a rythmic motion. The southern group advance in a more regular line, for they are the trained cavalry of Athens, bringing the sacrifices to the altar of their goddess. On the western side, noble youths are bridling their spirited horses, and preparing to join the procession. The bas-reliefs which we have, picture d-iierent parts of the festival, some showing the cavalry and some the Attic youths. In this hasty sketch, we see that each piece of art has its own history and its own hidden beauty, therefore let us be faithful in studying our small collection, so that when greater opportunities come, we shall be ready to appreciate them. 2

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THE HIGH SCHOOL EGIS. 31 musician selects pieces that are popular, so called, that have tunes, not deep feel- ing. So the weary artist works away, wondering what can be done to change the existing state of things. I But thoughtful men have still more Sphinx riddles to deal with, namely, the questions of competition, of immigration, of intemperance, of wealth, of woman's rights, of the condition of our divorce laws, of the condition of our politics, and many more which I have not time nor space to mention. First let us consider the question of competition, briefly. Is competition the law of life and growth? Is it the law of life, or has it been only the struggle of life? Is it an enemy to progress as some one has said, or is it the law by which we have our being? What complications arise because of greater and greater competition? There are manyf Thousands toil for the benefits enjoyed by the tens, and only a few have wealth and power while thousands, yes millions, are sinking daily in the depths of degradation, oppression, sin, and misery. So comes the riddle, how are we going to remedy the many complications that arise from competition? It is one of the most importcnt and vital questions with which the coming generation will have to grapple. . Another serious question, and one that materially affects our institutions is the question of immigration. ,What are the influences of immigration? ,You know as well as I that while many foreigners of ability come here in sympathy with our people and institutions and hold positions of trust and responsibility, these do not represent the mass ofimmigrants, Many of them, are from the peasant class, Some of then belong to the criminal class. So our mind, is burdened with another Sphinx riddle. VVhat shall we do in regard to restricting immigration? What is the best policy? J Another Sphinx riddle that is troubling our people is the corruption in politics. One of the greatest dangers to our institutions is the large number of purchaseable votes, but, if you notice, most of our corruption is among the foreign element of our population. They have not intelligence, they care nothing for, nor know nothing of, morality, virtue, nor justice, and consequently are perfectly Willing to sell their birthright for the almighty dollar. , Intelligence and spiritu- ality are as necessary in a commonwealth as brain and heart are to the human body, and if the people have not these requirements, and, if true, as has been said, that the foreign class is increasing more than our nativepopulation, what will be the result? So again we have a riddle to solve, namely: what is the best way of getting at the corruption in politics? Along with the question of immigration comes the question of intemperance. I link them together because two-thirds of our saloon-keepers, our law breakers, our criminal class are foreigners. The saloon-keepers of to-day are the ones that do not hesitate to buy votes, defy the laws, or intimidate voters, and while it is known that thousands have been spent in bribery, no one has ever been caught, and from the present condition of affairs, no one will be. God speed the time when these evils will be a thing of the past, and these dens of infamy be forever banished from our fair land. We have now another sphinx riddle to solve: What is the best course to pursue in order to settle the question of intemperance? .