Boys High School - Epitome Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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THE EPITOME 61 LITERARY The Transition RAYMOND A. IIOFFMASTER As far as concerns most young men, graduation from High School signifies a cessation of the absorption of book knowledge and a shouldering of duties which have been increasing ever since the faculty of reasoning came to them. The in- dustry or business in which each graduate becomes interested neither thrusts great responsibility upon the newcomer, nor awaits him with great expectations. His lot is now that of an apprentice, a learner. The novice's integrity and capability of service is dependent upon the training received in the schools. If he was dili- gent in the performance of the seemingly trivial duties while at school, and sincere in his relations with classmates, he will be more ableto serve mankindg to show his devotion to his God by allegiance with the Church, and to support, as an alunmus, the school which promoted his fellowship and his attainments as a scholar. - lVe value life as we desire it to satisfy our wants. The schools should train us to want the right things and to use our intelligence that these things might be realized and improved. Our zeal to this end should depart from narrowness, and, with good will, should lead us to help satisfy the needs of others as well as of our- selves. Thus an education develops in us good will toward men, inspires us to partake in unselfish pleasures, and aids us to get rid of wants not fitted to our world. To secure these wants we have received instruction pertaining to the world of objects and of human beings, have been taught to manage the forces of nature and of artifice with marked skill, thoroughness and self-control. VVe do not get what we want by merely claiming it, but must have our intellect trained to receive knowledge and power. Many people agree that the eventual happiness of the world is an aim of great import, yet in reality they object to stressing happiness because they believe that by deprecating it mankind will receive more. Their pessimistic practice is false, for by training students according to their conception, such students could be given habits that would tend to hinder their pursuit of happiness in later years. Much unhappiness, -even in these propitious days, is caused by disease, war and poverty. We have learned to despise ignorance, which may be the cause of distress. Happiness is essential to the prosperity of the world, and only by imparting knowl- edge to unknowing mortals can happiness be perpetuated. We pay homage to some Deity whose attributes are mercy and loving kind- ness. It is in the edifice dedicated to the service of our God that we of the same belief commune with Him and receive spiritual inspiration to guide us in all the walks of life. This benefit makes us debtors to the Church, to which we should render our fullest loyalty and support if we would be dutiful to the faith we profess. Because the world pays a money-price for an article does not in. any way lower the quality of th-at article. Irrespective of the amount Bunyan received for Pilgrim's Progress, that work would be the same. Thorndyke, a noted psy- chologist, explains this fact when he says: It is only because people in general are stupid, and because the great benefactors of mankind do not drive hard bar- gains, that the really valuable service is illy paid. It is because society at large does not know what is good for it, and because scientific men do not extort what

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60 THE EPITOME Joe Heffuef has at last found a job that isn't too strenuous for him-a sea- faring job. He calls the stations on a trans-Atlantic liner. . Ernest Artz is in the doctoring business. He also has a shingle hanging above his office door. It reads: Dr. Ernest Henry Artz, Jr., M. D. Tonsils removed, fallen arches painlessly lifted, and general repair work done while you wait. Come in and try my service. You risk nothing, for all persons killed in this ofhce will have their money refunded. In close competition with Doctor Artz is William George, who is also a suc- cessful physician. He has established a wonderful record for himself in his many years of practice. Out of 2,000 patients whom he has treated, only five have re- covered. He hopes for still greater things in the future. NVal'demar Schaefer has left the old town and has gone to Hollywood. He has a wonderful job in connection with the movies out there. He is a kissing instructor in a school for young actresses. Johnny I-Ieilman is also in the moviesg he is a comedian. He has a hard time getting his plays filmed, however, for he is so funny that all the camera-men and directors that he hires die laughing at him. He is so popular with the actresses, too. They just can't resist his beautiful, wavy hair. jasper Elmer, strange to say, .is a strong man in a circus. He is very tough. W'hen the lions fight, he goes into the cage and bumps their heads together. He takes as many vacations as he wants, and the manager is afraid to say anything for fear 'of getting his head broken. . Robert Hershey is a wanderer on the face of the earth. Years ago he fell madly in love with a certain very lovely little lady. One evening she refused to kiss him good night, and poor Robert's heart split right up the middle. He took the next train for Pogo-Pogo Islands. The last time he was heard from he was hunting dodo birds in the wilds of Manchuria. ' James Rick is now president judge of Berks County. However, his streak of bad luck still follows himg he is married and has thirteen children. Marvin Letcher, the inventor, is working on a new device, which he hopes to sell to Jimmie. It is a maximum silencer for squawking kids. Leroy Snyder has become famous. He is editor-in-chief of the New York Times. When asked how he' rose to such a lofty position, he replied that he had grown so accustomed to being editor-in-chief of things in his school days that he just cou1n't break himself of the habit. Leroy is also married, but, unlike Mr. Rick, he d0esn't have thirteen children-he has nineteen. ' And now, folks, we come to the saddest part of this prophecy. There may have been parts of it that were disappointing, but this is absolutely the worst. It is the section which concerns the pride and joy of '27 Feb.-the president of the class. Here is the heart-rending statement which is inserted about him: Fenton Laucks has' fallen by the wayside. He has married a, tango dancer from the South Seas, and is at present principal of a high school for girls in Hooligan's Flats, Nebraska. As I mentioned before, we got the information for this prophecy from aHindn snake-chariner. After I had read through the material that he gave ns, I noticed that there was nothing in it about me. , S ee here, I said to the Hindu, what about me? Where will I be twenty- five years from now? A W ell, to tell you the truth, he said, your future is a bit doubtful. If the fellows that are mentioned in that prophecy ever catch you twenty-five years from now you will still be in the hospital.

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62 THE EPITOME they might for their wares, that society pays the inventor and advertiser of a patent medicine a hundred times more than the discoverers of the cause and pre- vention of yellow fever. The more rational human beings become, the more will the money price approximate the real value in cases where the thing can be bought and sold at all. If our training has been merely for wage-earning, the kinds of work which we can do is limited to the kinds for which we will receive only worldly goods. But education has sought to make the idea fitting us to 'get a living one part of fitting us to live. To serve humanity beneficiently, such as a tqacher, physician or clergyman, we must have loftier motives than the acquisition 0 lucre. Education frequently errs when it aims to put one in a position where he is served, but does not serve for others. Should we despise labor, that we should not be fitted for service? VVe ought to master the forces of nature, and not tread down our fellow workers. By co-operation with others we can make use of nature and be useful to men. The ideal life is one of work and recreation, both enjoyed. T he successful man is happy in his work and wants it. Only a mislead- ing education puts anybody above labor. VVhat will be an education for service for one person may be for waste in the case of another. Digging foundations would be an offense to a man who is an expert engineer. So men must co- operate for mutual benefit, each in the way he can do most good. Our knowledge and power, in whatever degree we possess them, should not be given for ostentation or to elevate us to apparent superiority, but for use. To rightly apply these qualities' necessitates specialization rather than perfectionism. As men depend upon each other in life, it is the duty of every man to perform services for the common good in the manner he is most qualified. The creed, race and hereditary qualities by which we are distinguished causes each to face certain conditions different from those confronting others. It is to make us com- petent and happy in those situations that we have been given an education. Milton, in his Tractate, set forth the aim of education as: I call, therefore, a compleat and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly, skill- fully and magnanimously all the offices, both private and public, of Peace and W'ar. Prize Winning Essay: P. O. S. of A. Contest Lincoln the Statesman BY LE Roy E. SNYDER, '27 FEB. If statesmanship is a practical science to be tested by the touch-stone of endur- ing success, then is Lincoln entitled to a place among the world's greatest states- men. I-Te was not of the rulers who seek only to impress their own will on the nation. He was not of the rulers who plays for mere place in the great game of politics. Above the tyrants and scheming politicians stand men who have sought power to hold it as a sacred trust, and whose ambition and conduct are regulated by an ardent purpose to serve great national interest. It seems not too much to say that among these was Lincoln. He was pre-eminently a democratic ruler. Profoundly believing in a govern- ment of the people, by the people and for the people, however earnest his wish, as