Arlington High School - Indian Yearbook (Arlington, MA)

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6 ARLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL CLARION. rieved. But you say these people are ignorant, and would it be possible to ad- mit them to the Con jress of the United States ? They evidently can put up a ood running fight, and such people gen- erally make good statesmen. Thus it would be only a few years before their minds would advance, until they would become competent. In order to bring about conciliation all acts contrary to this result should be voted down, and as far as possible ke])t from the House. But if force is con- tinued the result is easily conceived. The . mericans will l)e victorious and the Fili- pinos will hate us, and as soon as a good opportunity presents itself will rise up, and the history of England in 1775 in regard to the colonies may repeat itself. How much better it would have been for England if she had followed out Burke ' s plan. Then let us take warning and prove to the world how much better it would have been, and to ourselves how glorious it is, to have a nation subject which will greatly advance our wealth, prosperity and happiness. Arthur E. Freeman, 1901. “COMUS ’ PRODUCED BY BOYS. When the curtain lifted, an open in a wild wood w’as discovered. On either side rose leafy trees dimly outlined in the light : at the back were faint suggestions of hidden springs and grottoes. Forth from these obscure depths a graceful little spirit danced, and as it first ap- peared it seemed a being of light and beauty in its white dress spangled with gold stars. As it advanced, we saw a round, fair face with baby blue eves and golden hair that fell in little ringlets over the broad forehead. Right to the front of the stage it came and with a graceful wave of its wand be- gan to speak. What a pity it had to speak and break the sweet illusion, for it was not the silvery tone of some forest sprite which came to us, but the lusty voice of a ten-year-old school boy as he panted forth with monotonous accent his well learned verses. Ay, they were, in- deed, well learned, and emphasized at in- tervals by stiff, conscientious gestures. Hardly stopping to take breath, he hur- ried through his verses — describing the wickedness of the wily Comus, who in the assumed form of a kind shepherd wins the confidence of the weary trav- elers, and while pretending to lead them to his cottage for rest and comfort, be- trays them to his palace. Here he en- tices them to drink the wine of Circe, which takes away their human forms and changes them to beasts. The Spirit tells, also, how he himself, at Jove ' s command, descends from Heaven to stay the artful Comus in his evil purpose. Here he came to the passage where he “hears the tread of hateful steps’’ and “must be viewless now.” After announcing this important fact in a loud, excited tone, he disap- peared. When next we saw him, he was in a shepherd’s dress. On top of his yellow curls a little red cap sat jauntily and his stout little body was wrapped in a loose dress of cream color borderefl with wide bands of red. Now he informed the anxious brothers of the danger of their fair sister, who has unfortunately fallen into the hands of wicked Comus. “O poor hapless nightingale,” thought I, “how sweet thou singest, how near the deadly snare !” The words came forth in rattling haste, while his eyes fairly beamed with boyish fun and excitement. IMeanwhile the brothers stood stiffly before him, staring vacantly round, ex- cept when thev heard a “catch” word. Then they reached for their swords, brandished them bravelv before them and then with due precision and evident satis- faction. replaced their manly weapons.

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ARLINGTON HIGH SCHOOL CLARION. 5 o-i :P ' ®c»-g LITERARY DEPARTMENT I-©. 1 ’ CONCILIATION WITH THE PHILIPPINES. There is much discussion at present, one may say all over the world, as to whether the United States is pursuing the correct method in dealing with the bit of humanity, which lies literally un- der our feet. I will not say what my opinions are, but will simply state a few facts which occur to me in my most mel- ancholy moods. The war, or as we are informed, the chase, over in the Philippines has been drawn out until every man, woman and child, at least in the United States, has had opportunity, and renewed opportun- ity, for deliberating this subject. I hope my classmates will pardon me if my thoughts run in a furrow formed by a noble orator of the eighteenth century, which has lately been reproduced, per- haps, on a small scale, in a spare corner of my brain. If one stops to think over this ques- tion the awfulness of the whole matter at once presents itself. Think of the young men tramping in an unknown land, re- ceived perhaps only by hunger, hardship and ambuscades, and all for what ? Some people argue that this is not the right policy. They th.ink that peace should be a worldly virtue, and advocate dealing with the Philippines in a con- ciliatory manner. Peace is of little value when it is won at the point of the bayonet, as my friend, Burke, has told me, for if the bayonet is removed war again springs up. This idea of peace is admissible to the L ' nited States, as other questions equally important have been settled without war ; and again, may not a su- perior power offer peace in perfect safety? The inhabitants of these islands are chiefly Malays in the western part, and Papuan Negroes in the east. They live mostly on the coast and lead a sea-faring life. Certainly a most ideal lot of subjects to conciliate with. Care is necessary in dealing with such an object, for is not the honor of the United States involved ? The industries of these islands have greatly increased in the jjast few years, but one may see a number of their most civilized inhabitants lounging on tbe piers as he enters any port on the coast. In the case of commerce, the carrying trade has been mostly done by other countries. However, they even export tobacco to the United States, although it is one of our chief products. They also export the famous Manila cordage, hides, rice, gums and cigars. Were we to use force in subduing them, it would only, perhaps, be temporary, un- certain, and would greatly impair the ob- ject. Then, too, the islands are so far aw ' ay that the advantage would be entirelv with them, as it takes days and even weeks for a slow transport steamer to reach the seat of action. The United States has three ways in which to deal with this outlawed world in regard to its rebellious spirit — to change it, to prosecute it as criminal, and to put up with it as necessary, but to change it is impossible, to prosecute it inexpedient : thus compliance is neces- sary. Do the inhabitants of these islands want to be governed by a nation of which they know comparatively nothing? Do they wish to be governed by a man sent over, who knows, perhaps, nothing of the wishes and needs of the people ? Certain- ly they have reason to be touched and

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ARLiNcrroN iik;h SCHOOL CLARION. 7 When the shepherd told of the wiles of wicked Comus, each head turned simul- faneously, it would seem, on a pivot, and their large eyes rolled backward and for- ward in dreadful and awe-stricken terror. But the best fun of all was the last act, where the scene was laid in a stately palace. High in an enchanted chair sits the beautiful lady, while Comus, clothed in white and crowned with a wreath of green leaves, entreated her to driid the treacherous wine, but she with disdain put it from her. Standing about the room were creatures of strangest description ; frogs reared on their hind legs and rab- bits four feet in height. The walls were all hung with tapestries of fantastic de- sign with a generous amount of red. During Comus’ speech we could let our imagination carry us so far that we could almost think the lady really beauti- ful. We could round out the cheeks and soften the lines of the mouth, forget the long, thin nose, and the one long stringy lock of straight black hair which had been pulled out from the gauzy veil. But when the lady replied in words of righteous resentment, “Fool, do not boast,” “’Twill not false traitor,” and so on, mercy! the words were called out in a loud, dee]) voice without th.e virtue even of sounding natural. The tone was forced and harsh, the effect coarse and grating. Then, too, in his gestures the actor was exceedingly awkward. When the lady raised her hand toward her wicked betrayer, it stuck out stiffly before her with threatening firmness ; and, too, when her brothers rushed in and rescued her and the spell of her enchantment was broken, down came my lady fair, with a loud ho]) and jump from her lofty seat, and then with a violent kick at her train she marched in manly strides over the stage and made her exit. Helena Robertson, igor. THE WRECK OF THE JASON. Three years ago next twentieth of De- cember we had a terrible storm along the coast of the New England states, and it was especially fierce on the Massachu- setts coast. The Jason, a hundred ton two-masted schooner, with a cargo of cotton, was on her way from Savannah to Boston. She had as crew six men — Joe Dinks, cap- tain ; Manuel Silva, mate, and Bob Hicks, cook, with three deck hands. The weather as far as New York had been very good ; they had passed Hatteras in safety and all hands were anticipating spending Christmas in port. At this point, however, Captain Dinks saw that trouble was brewing, but thought he could get into Boston harbor before the storm broke. Instead of gath- ering slowly, however, the storm gained strength rapidly, and at nightfall, off Highland Light, Cape Cod, about eighty miles from Boston, the Jason was ap- parently in the centre of the storm. The wind from the east’ard blew a gale, and the seas broke over the vessel almost constantly. Presently one of the tiller chains broke, and could not be repaired, so great was the violence of the storm. After this the fated vessel, completely at the mercy of the wind and waves, drifted rapidly shorewards. The life-saving stations in the region of Provincetown and Truro are stationed about four or five miles apart, and the beach between them is constantly patrolled. A life guard leaving one sta- tion is given a brass check which he gives at the half-way house, a small shed with a fire in it, to the guard from the next station, receiving in exchange a check bearing the name of that guard’s station. Tlicse men keep a sharp watch on the sea for any signs of a wreck. If one is seen they light a red-light torch to show the sailors that they are discovered, and