Boys High School - Epitome Yearbook (Reading, PA)

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THE EPITOME 63 a man, to promote and enact justice between classes and races. he never went faster nor further than to enforce the will of the people that elected him. His strength as a President lay in his deep sympathy with the people, the plain folks, as he loved to call them, and his intuitive knowledge of all their thoughts and aims, their prejudices and preferences, equally and alike. Growing as the people grew, sympathizing with them and aiming only. to do their will, Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as a model democratic statesman. What he achieved endured, because it was founded on the rock of the people's will. It has been the destiny of many illustrious reformers to outlive the reforms for which they zealously strove, and history furnishes innumerable illustrations of the truth that reforms not based on public opinion rarely outlast the lifetime of their champions. Lincoln's loyal deference to the will of the majority, his tardiness in adopting radical measures and his reluctance to advance more rapidly then the plain folks -time has shown to be the highest wisdom in the ruler of a democracy. I.incoln's deep-rooted faith in representative democracy wasstrikingly illus- trated in his first public act-the appointment of his Cabinet. Believing in the rightfulness of party rule, that is to say, in the rule of the majority, instead of seeking to call as his councillors men who might serve his personal ends, he se- lected them from the most popular of his rivals-men who had competed with him for the Presidential nomination. It was a Cabinet of all the talents and the popularities 5 and yet among these veteran statesmen, most of them long trained and skillful in the art of statecraft, Lincoln was acknowledged the master spirit. He felt himself capable of confronting all the difficulties of his high place, and this faith in his own strength sufliced to guide xhim thru some of the severest trials that have ever fallen to the lot of a public man. His many-sided nature enabled him to excel in most of the tasks that he attempted, and the triumphant power he showed on most occasions was one of the essential characteristics of his nature. It was this power of compassing the most trying situations that made the brief and crowded space of four years sufhce for him to accomplish a task that genera- tions had been preparing, and which, to use his own words before assuming the Presidency, offered more difficulties than had devolved upon VVashington. Those who follow his life must be impressed with the equal serenity of Lincoln's temper, in moments of darkest adversity as in the hours of greatest triumph. This trait meant much to the great captain as a statesman. , The responsibility of office weighed heavily upon Lincoln, but never over- whelmed him. Lincoln was sometimes weary of the great burden that had fallen upon him, and he would have gladly resigned it to others had this seemed possible without imperiling the national interests he had so close at heart. 4 His masterly common sense was the guiding beacon in every stress and storm of events. As has been said, Although his head was in the sky, his feet always remained on the earth. He was so great in all the larger attributes of statesman- ship that few aside from those intimately associated with him recognized his genius as a practical politician. He was ambitious not merely because he knew his own great resources and aptitudes, but because he profoundly believed himself to be necessary to the country in the dire exigencies of the period. His common sense, his unselfish purpose, his keen perceptions, his unostenta- tious manners, his mental ubiquity has placed him in the ranks of the world's greatest statesmen.

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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

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64. THE EPITOME The Student Council Because little has been heard during the last term about the Student Council, do not think it has not been functioning. Under the capable leadership of its officers, LeRoy E. Snyder, president, Samuel Bertolet, vice-president, and Lee L. Blyler, secretary, much has been done to elevate the standard of Reading High and its students. The most important things undertaken by the Student Council this term were the management of the lunch room and the establishment of a, chapter of the National Honor Society. Several members of the Council have watched over the order of the lunch room each period daily, not toshow their authority, but to keep the diners from becoming unruly. This system, which was instituted last term, has proved itself a success and will be continued. Probably the most important step taken was to establish a, chapter of the National Honor Society, which is now in force in the school. The purpose of this society is to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to develop character in the pupils of Reading High. Only those members of the class who stand highest in scholarship and other activities are elected to membership in this society. C