Boys High School - Epitome Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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THE EPITOME 53 affairs. Later he is rushed to the other side. There again he is given further instruction, and in due time his turn comes. He is sent to the battlefield. He is found at the front, waiting for his chance to meet the enemy. While he is lurking in the trenches and sees before him no- man's-land and the barbed wire, in fact, all the many entanglements, his mind is set ablaze, is picturing all sorts of outcomes and results when he is to have his chance. Gverhead he hears the thunder of bursting shells. But some of these shells do not explode. These duds set him to thinking and make him anxious to get the thing over with. Finally comes his crisis, the zero,' hour. It is now time for him to take his turn on the battlefield. He is all afire, his nerves are all a-tingle 5 he is excited. Then the charge is made, and he goes over the top to do his bit whether it result in glory or in death. These same factors apply to us on our battlefield of life. Already we have passed through the stages of being chosen for and having received our training. We are now to enter the arena of conflict, where our continual struggle is to take place. We shall be compelled to face the bursting shells of adversity. There will be entaglements. The zero hour will come. There will be the crucial moment. How shall we fare in this battle of life? NVhat are the qualities of a successful soldier in life's struggle? He must possess industry, fidelity to the truth, adaptability, resourcefulness and discrimina- tion. These are the traits of character which have made men successful in the past. They will fashion the degree of success which we shall enjoy. Edison, through his continual efforts and unfailing activity, has accomplished things which he set out to do. Steinmetz, though impaired by a great physical handicap, wrought other marvels in the field of science. All of us must be perse- vering and industrious if we hope to realize our ambition. Then, too, we must always, remain faithful to the cause to which we have dedicated ourselves. We must have courage to plan to do a thing and then do it. We must know that we are right and then go ahead. Columbus cherished a great ideal. Fidelity to that hope made him the discoverer of a new continent. Though the battle seemed almost lost, he urged his men to victory. Another factor in the equipment of a successful soldier is resourcefulness, tact. He must ever be ready to act quickly and act wisely. Look at the char- acter of Benjamin Franklin as an exemplification of this trait. When a person was needed to represent Colonial affairs in France, who was selected? The modest Quaker, Franklin, a practical and tactful business man. Look for a mo- ment at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. See the indecision, the confusion. Now there arises the gray-haired patriot, pleading for a wise handling of affairs. Franklin's solution, an appeal to the God of Light, is a classic example of the man's wisdom. ' Today we stand on the edge of this battlefield of life. Soon we shall receive our commission for the conflict. The days of our camp life are ended. W' e have been prepared. Let us go forth to conquer, determined that each of us for himself and for humanity shall find a way or make one. Ladies and Gentlemen: Upon me now devolves the duty of voicing our farewell. ' Parents and Friends: But for your sacrifices for, and interest in us, we should not be standing here before you today. We appreciate your every effort. We thank you. Farewell! To the Superintendent of Schools, the Assistant Superintendent, and the Board of Directors: To you, for your concern in our behalf and for the excellent service which you are rendering the cause of education in our immediate vicinity, we are truly grateful. You, too, have helped to make possible our being here today. We thank you. Farewell!

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52 THE EPITOME VALEDHCTORY Wlfhe attllefiielldl of Business? R. MILTON POETTER Business! What is it? Business, as I see and feel it, today, is life. It is that force which constantly keeps us moving. VVill you pause with me a few mo- ments this morning to look upon this word business in a newer light? For our purpose it is necessary to incorporate in the term a larger idea to fit the times. Too long, I think, has business been judged merely from the economic stand- point, in terms of profit and loss, wages and dividends, employer and employee. In this ever changing world of ours we now look upon business as life. All our life's work is business. A mother, in rearing her child, is performing an im- portant mission. It is her business. and she does it as her husband labors in what- ever field he may be employed. This new conception of business is the product of a process of growth. Years ago the word was applied merely to various trades which men had to perform. Now the term has been extended to include any life work or activity. 'Through the ages men have ever been in quest of Hgures of speech, concrete conceptions, to express the abstract idea of life. Various similes and metaphors have been employed to advantage. Often we find life compared to a sea, upon which everyone is cast, bound for some port. Today we are setting sail. We are just leaving the shore. Whither are we bound? VVhat of the voyage, of the destination? Again, Life is but a dream. Here, with the idealist, we seek realities. Then, too, Life is like a road. VVe have our ups and downs, our good roads and poor roads. Often we will reach the cross-roads, crises in our lives. NVhich way are we going to take and who is to lead us? Let us ever choose the right road at all times. Life may be a sea, a dream, a road. It may also be a battlefield, a battlefield of business. Is not this, our battlefield of business, indeed, a striking and unusual one. Battles have come and gone. There was the battle of Yorktown in the Revolu- tionary VV'ar, the battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War, and in our late world C011- flict, the struggle of Relleau Woods. Yet these conflicts lasted but for a few days at most. Our battle is a continual one. It will endure while life lasts. We must not give up, because it is to be an everlasting struggle. It is to be our life's work, a realization which should induce us to struggle on, to succeed. Now, from a philosophical standpoint, is our conception true, or is it like some of the mere theory that certain over-zealous and hyper-optimistic schools of philosophy teach? Some persons maintain that our life is a mere playground. These are extremists. XVe should not expect life to be merely one enjoyable event after another. Neither your life nor mine is to be entirely a bed of roses. VVe shall be forced to meet stern realities upon our battlefield of business. We must not be deceived, we must maintain this sensible philosophy and always hope for the best, and work and fight for it. In facing facts as they exist, we have our battlefield made a reality. In our struggle we shall be thrown amidst whom we do not know, but there is going to be a clash of opinions. Each of us must remain faithful to the ideal that our school helped to set for us. Only in this way can character or personality be formed. The mention of battlefield brings to our mind the concept of a soldier, per- haps a soldier of the recent war. First, from amidst thousands, he is chosen for service. Then he is sent to some camp for a brief interval of training in military

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54, THE EPITOME To the Principal, the Vice-Principal, the Class Adviser, and Members of the Faculty of the High School for Boys: You have ever kept before us the realities of life for which we have been preparing. You have been unsparing in your efforts to gird us for the fray. Ere we go forth to the battle for those ideals which you held before us, we grasp your hands and thank you. We say, Farewell! To the Members of the Class of 1926 June: When Duty whispers low, 'Thou must,' The youth replies, 'I can.' Duty has spoken to each one of us. A clarion call has summoned us to service. I.et us, with our faces toward the dawn, go forth to battle, to victory. I.et us, in this day, fight a good fight for those high ideals which old Reading High has held before us. The zero hour is here. Let us go over the top to victory. Farewell! SAILUTATOJRY M'The Golden Roomm' THOMAS BARNETT Ladies and Gentlemen: Speaking for the Iiaculty and the Class of 1926 June of the High School for Boys, I bid you a most hearty welcome to these, our Commencement Exercises. When the name of Robert Louis Stevenson is mentioned, one usually thinks of Saint Gaudens' conception of the man as displayed on a mural bronze in St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. There is the author, pallid, wan, consumptive, reclining on his couch and penning delightful poems for children, verses that bear to the world the wonders of the Land of the Counterpane. Then there is that other Stevenson, author of exciting tales for boys, creator of Old John Silver, the Admiral Benbow, and the stockade on the island. Rarely, however, do students think of Stevenson as an essayist, author of Virginibus Puerisquef' or as a philosopher. Yet it is in the latter role that I would have you regard him today. Stevenson is sitting perhaps amid the tropical grandeur of his home in the South Seas. He is contemplative and philosophical. He is thinking of a certain character, concerning whom he makes this observation: His life from without may seem but a crude mound of mud, there will be, however, some golden room in which he dwells delighted. Upon this truth as a basis, Agnes Turnbull, in the current issue of a repre- sentative magazine, has built up a wonderfully gripping father and son story. When Joe Crawley was a mere lad, his mother died, leaving her son to the care of his grandparents, who did not understand him. joe was unlike the other boys of the village: he was frail, shy and easily imposed upon. He loved to roam about, drinking in the natural glories of field and wood. He had the soul of an artist. Time came when he felt the urge to write poetry. He found an outlet for his feeling in beautiful words. But he was afraid of being criticised, so he jealously guarded his newly found delight. Poetry became for Joe the golden room into which he could withdraw when untoward circumstances threatened to overwhelm him. Circumstances, indeed, were unkind to Crawley. judged by outward appear- ances, his life truly bore all the drab resemblances of a mud house. Wfhen he was a boy, his playmates mocked him and beat him. He was too impractical to