Reading High School - Arxalma Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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LITERARY 15 short, the country would be far better off without him. And then there are the men who would sell their very birthright for a mess of pottage. They are willing to betray their country into the hands of political schem- ers for pieces of silver. If they would follow the example of the betrayer of old, and hang themselves, they would have chosen the easiest path, for if a man had one spark of conscience left, he could not help but revile himself for his faithless- ness to a trust imposed upon him by his forefathers. The ignorant voter is the one with whom the educated man has much to do. It is the duty of every good citizen to see that these men are made to see the right in matters of government. But we should not apply the correction to the grown tree but to the tender plant. It is true citizenship, to keep as many young men as possible in school, so that they may develop reasoning powers to be used in governing affairs. True, we have Lin- coln and Garfield who had no education in schools, and yet swayed nations. The general type of man needs to be educated to exercise his voting powers properly. The good voter, one who thinks and one who acts, is the type that we should all emulate. Here the true citizen is in his sphere. An honest man, anxious to do his duty, cannot help but feel a thrill pass over him as he casts his ballot, for he is one on whom the welfare of the country depends. lt is his word combined with others that moves the whole country. Who could not revel in the fact that he is need- ed, that he is a part of one compact unit necessary to make the whole, that he is the government? It is the duty of every true citizen, and especially the rising generation to help counteract the influence of the ignorant, indifferent, and corrupt voter. Not until all these are done away with, will we have a model republic. It is to that end that all should work and what we do, however small it may seem, to reach thi point will John Brown Cof Ossawatomiel said: One good strong, sound man is worth cnc hundred, nay, one thousand men without character, in building up a state. render us truer and more desirable citi- zens. Another important obligation falls upon the shoulders of the true citizen. He must intrench labor against amassed cap- ital, so that it shall stand firm against any approaches. It is fair to expect that the same thing which happened to Rome will destroy our country provided capital gets too strong a hold. That city flushed by progress became thoroughly aristo- cratic and tottered to its fall. We must 110t stand by idle and watch capital en- croach upon our rights. Neither is it necessary to destroy it. Capital and labor by all means must be kept on the balance. It is the duty of every true citizen to pre- serve this balance. Let neither side at- tain the preponderance and as surely as the heaviest weight drops in a scale so surely will our grand republic sink into oblivion. We have seen it built up from a pigmy of a few states into a world power. Yet so Rome grew. It was Rome that enjoyed just before her downfall, such wealth, position and influence as we have. If we would preserve our country from ruin we must balance capital and labor on the scales of progress. We must pro- gress and we must preserve equality. Look at the white-headed veterans of our wars. How proud are they that they have done their duty. Yet, could you view the hearts of any of those who shirked, you -would find the bitter pangs of conscience. Can he escape? Never! But he who has performed his duty has a feeling of content, a knowledge that he has done his best. Like remorse, it fol- lows to the grave, but what a different feeling it leaves in its wake! Go to the cities, go to the wilds but you are in a haven of peace for having done Your duty. Do your duty as true citizens and you will be free from the pangs of a conscience forever. And ln the future when these scenes are forgotten and our class may be scattered to the four winds may one and all say that the Class of 1913 put forth nothing but true citizens. A youth should have that self-respect which lifts him above meanness, and makes him independent of slights and snubs.

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14 THE RED AND BLACK ie 5? as FIFTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT Y or THE if WTS . . glfbzamzlmg Htqh Szlrunl fm: QBUQS its . dl? 255 READING, PENNSYLVANIA age 255 TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 17, 1913. Sl? Nb S22 ZKS mv TRUE CITIZENSHIP SALUTATORIAN-BY ROGER F. M,CALL. RIENDS and Fellow Classmates: The Class of 1913 welcomes you to these exercises which close our four years' course in this institution. These four years represent hard work on the part of every one of us and now we are about to enter higher institutions and the World. One and all we greet you and trust that the mention of the class of nineteen thir- teen will always recall pleasant memories in the years to come. As we are assembled this morning in what is our last real relation to the school as students, we are brought face to face with the fact that we are going out, out into the vast unknown which others have entered before us. As we make this final step we discover ourselves in the world of today, and we will be called upon to bear the burdens of the conflict. In a few years we will be thorough citizens and hence it is extremely importantthat we fully realize the obligations of our civic actions. A citizen is denned as being an inhabi- tant of a city or country. But it is not plain inhabitants of the past who are known to all, not the men who let the others do all the work, but the doers, those who had always the good' of the state at mind and labored for its uplift. We are not celebrating the birthdays of men who shirked their duties as true citi- zens, but of men who saw the opportunity of helping the state. But did they see itg think about it and then forget lt? No! They grasped it. That is one of the char- acteristic features of good citizenship and it presents itself in everyday life. And then a true citizen must be pre- pared to answer the first call for his as- sistance. What a fine example of true citizenship we lind in that heroic answer to Lincolnis call for volunteers! We may not be called upon to bear arms against any foreign enemy, but we will be the ones to bear arms and bear them well against civil foes. And though the shot and shell of public criticism shall fly about us let us not shirk our duty as true citizens. Our forefathers have reserved a place for us to combat against civil foes by means of the ballot. This ballot, for which they 'shed blood and gave their lives should be held sacred. It will be our duty, when we become voters, to keep alive this feeling of sacredness for the ballot, both by our actions and by in- structing others. In reality, the ballot should be an insti- tution for only those who can use it right. But this is necessarily one of the evils of a republic. We must grant equal suffrage to all, or we are unworthy the name of a republic. There is only one way to over- come this evil and that is to make the poor voter into one of good value. This remedy places itself upon the shoulders of the rising generation and it will be our duty as true citizens to turn all into thinking, efllcient voters. Of all the voters of this vast republic, there are four distinct classes and they are as common as day and night. The type of the indifferent voter is perhaps the most disheartening. A man who has the ability to vote well, and neglects to do so on account of indifference is a slug- gard, and a man who is not wanted, in

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16 THE nizio AND BLACK ICH DIEN CLASS 0RATION'BY THEODORE M. LEINBACH man of God approached the close L f-- ' of his life on earth, his great soul burst forth in words of supreme and exultation, I have fought a good tight, I have finished my COIIFSC, I have kept the faith. The apostle had served faithfully and well his fel- low-men and his God, and now at the close of his toil and service he ex- perienced his highest reward, the peace and joy of duty well performed. Thus it is with service. It brings it's toil. It brings it's burden. It brings it's suffer- ing. But as a crowning reward for these stern hardships, it brings it's joy. It is the supreme triumph rendered to those whose names are indelibly written on the lists of the faithful. The noblest lives are those consecrated on the altar of ser- vice. The most treasured laurels adorn the brow of the faithful servant. But where is service most needed? Where is the call most urgent? When a youth emerges from the plastic stage of development into the field of definite activity and concentrated effort, he is be- set on every hand by persistent calls to service. Whither shall I turn? Whom shall I serve? is the quandary. But from out this confusion there arises a call so clear, so penetrating, so insistent that it must touch all loyal hearts. It is the call of the state, the appealing cry of the God- dess of Justice and Liberty, beset on every hand by the ravages of dishonesty, indifference and corruption, demanding the staunch support of all true men in the defense of the state, and all that is high- est and noblest in the control of men. It is the demand for a stronger government, a better citizenship and a higher civiliza- tion through service to the state. A man can serve the state in many ways, but he must begin in the home. Just as the state is founded on the home, so must service to the state be founded upon service in the home. There is an urgent need for such service, because of all our institutions the home needs most the nurture and support of all that ls best and mightiest in our modern life. In the existing complexity of social and political reform, the home has been neglected and HEN the Apostle Paul, that mighty 1 I ' t j0Y its influence and power diminished. We must take heed, for this indifference to the essential features of life, this neglect of the fundamental agencies of progress and development is the peril which may wreck a mighty vessel, yea a mightier than a Titanic, for it threatens the ship of state. We must guard and defend the essential features of our existence more diligently and more zealously, that We may escape the punishment of indiffer- ence and preserve inviolate our high privileges and mighty institutions against the ravages of vice and greed. We must serve, and serve well our homes, our kins- men, our friends. We must respect our associations in the world of affairs and strengthen our bonds of filial and pater- nal affection. We must be true men that We may be loyal citizens. We must link the home and the state by faithfully serv- ing the one that we may faithfully serve the other. ' But our service to the state, our in- fluence on society should extend to broader fields of action. We must be good citizens of the empire within the home, but we must also be willing ser- vants of the empire without. What is man's first civic duty? What is the prime requisite of true service to the state? The highest privilege, the most lasting obligation, the most sacred trust that can be imposed upon any man in the service ofthe state is voting-intelligent, faith- ful and honest Voting. A man must vote intelligently that his vote may be of the greatest service, and that his voice may be raised to the great- est benefit in the administration of af- fairs. If greater intelligence were dis- played in exercising the privileges of suffrage, the state would be rid of the Judas Iscariots who betray whom they profess to serve, with not so much as a kiss, at the dictates of those whose god is gold and whose creed is power. And a man must vote faithfully that his voice, though small and weak, may be constant- ly raised in the defense of the right and the destruction of the evil. The neglect of the highest functions ot citizenship, the indifference to that inestimable privilege