Plainfield High School - Milestone Yearbook (Plainfield, NJ)

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18 TRE ONACTE: Class Day Poem IIE sun peers o’er the Eastern mountains, and espies Te A traveler far beneath him, staff in hand. With eager steps the steep ascent he tries, And gazes ‘round him on the fruitful land. At first the way is easy, fresh his zeal and strength; But soon the underbrush ensnares his feet. The path grows rocky then, and seems of endless length; The traveler longs for rest amid the heat. The Sun hath climbed the arch of heaven; down doth send His parching beams upon the traveler’s head. He groans and cries aloud, “Ah, will this never end? ’T were easier far,” he thinks, “if I] were dead.” But now, amid the noonday’s burning sun, He comes upon a cool and sheltered nook. Neath friendly crags he rests, and hopes his journey done, And drinks reviving draughts of a clear mountain brook. Reluctant, but with strength renewed, he leaves the spot, His eyes turned toward yon distant shining peak. The uphi!l road is rocky still, the sun beats hot ; Yet keenly strives he on, the top to seek. Traveler, the way leads upward to the very end. You look ahead, and hope ere set of sun, To gain the top. A few more steps, another bend— And now you see your journey’s just begun. Thus on and on, as strength allows, you climb and rest, Oftimes too weary to enjoy the view. But lose not courage, care-worn traveler, all is best. Climb while the daylight lasts; soon comes the evening dew.

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Tre ORACISE, é 17 fluence ended a great deal of misery. The only living ex-president once said, “We face conditions, not theories.”’ Mr. Roosevelt realizes this. The question of to-day is the right to monopolize. Mr. Roosevelt recently show- ed the Chicago strikers that monopoly is as much an evil among laborers as among capitalists. The Northern Securities case, the Beef Trust case, the Sherman Anti-Trust act, and the establishment of a Bureau of Corporation, are great strides President Roosevelt has taken in the solving of this problem of monopoly. This is an age of tremendous accomplishments, but the accomplishments of no two individuals stand out in bolder relief than those of our two master- workmen. Emperor William’s versatility and fearlessness will always brighten the pages of German History; an admiration for Mr. Roosevelt has already been engraved upon the hearts of the American people. Many sides our President has. Indeed, the St. James’ Gazette says: “Smack of Lord Cromer, Jeff Davis a touch of him, A little of Lincoln, But not very much of him, Kitchener, Bismarck and Germany’s Will, Jupiter, Chamberlain, Buffalo Bill.” But after all what makes him the man of the time? It is the wisdom that enables him to seize upon the action necessary to the circumstances. It is the fearlessness and confidence with which he enters upon that action, once decided upon. It is the consecration of heart and soul to the cause of pro- moting righteousness. And it is the personal force which he throws into everything he undertakes. These qualities make him great. Mankind awards the crown o f distinction, not to mediocre workers, who, shunning the chance of failure, leave no lasting mark behind, but to the eager worker who grandly dares and nobly does. Such a master workman is Theodore Roosevelt. School Teacher (showing off her best boy): “Now, Perkins, can you name some of the important by-products of the steel industry ?” Perkins: “Yes’m; Carnegie libraries.’—Ex. Miss Cumming, after a toilsome canvass of the Junior English class, had just succeeded in eliciting the term “evolution” in connection with the Darwinian theory. Budding genius, triumphantly to her seat mate: “Why of course! We evoluted!”

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THE ORACLE. 10 At length amid a glow of rosy sunset light, The traveler sees the summit near at hand. Amazed, he gazes; all about him now is bright; ’Tis but a step into the Perfect Land. LILLIAN SNODGRASS. History OST class historians make names for themselves by narrating things which might have happened in such a way that they will read as if they had really happened. But in the case of our class, the simple truth would sound like a reckless exaggeration, Ax, and so we must confine ourselves to describing the more com- x mon-place achievements of our class. In the first place, the class of 1905, during its High School career, has made a record in athletics which cannot be duplicat- ed by any other class in the school. For three years in succes- sion our class has won the athletic championship, and one of its members has held the individual championship. In our Senior year espec- ially did we prove our superiority by defeating the next best class by twenty- nine points. In tennis also the class of 1905 stood far above all competitors. For the last three years the tennis championship in singles has been won by one of our members. In doubles we were also very successful, since for the last two years our class has also carried off this honor. In our Senior year, however, more honor was heaped upon the class when our crack tennis play- er, Chester Briggs, won the Columbia University Interscholastic champion- ship. The last two seasons in baseball, basketball, and hockey, also speak for the ability of Thompson and Craig as captains. One might continue indefinitely in this strain, telling how all the officers of the Athletic Associa- tion are ’05 fellows, and how our class team easily defeated the mighty class of 1903 in a baseball game in our Sophomore year; but this is entirely un- necessary. Records speak for themselves, and the banners and cups which adorn our school testify to the athletic prowess of the class of 1905. Our dramatic ability is also exceptional, and the Athletic Association is indebted to it for liberal financial aid. In our Freshma n year we gave a Kinder Symphony to an enthusiastic audience, and as a result of this several handsome pictures were added to the school’s collection. In our Junior year our dramatic stars again delighted a large audience with their pre- sentation of “The House-boat on the Styx.” But our final and crowning