Brattleboro Union High School - Colonel Yearbook (Brattleboro, VT)

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Class Poem TUNE: Love Lei UJ Wafzde1 ' We think of earlier days, Memories we recall so clearly, And we shall never forget Guidance now cherished so dearly, Childhood and youth are past, Joys no regret can allay, We can't stay behind, We've new worlds to find, The pathway ahead doth wind. Upward we'll ever strive, Seeking the highest slope, Armed with courage and faith, We'll march up the hills of hope, Knowing the world has need Of that which we each wish to give, Thoughts which still seem But a youthful dream Before us a torch shall gleam. CHORUS Dear School, we pledge each heart, Trusting that we may impart All the ideals which in each happy year We have aspired to keep sacred and dear, And as we go our way, Our future begins this day, We'll strive to excel 'till our goal we attain, While ever fond memories remain. -eBe!lie Tanker Ivy Ode TUNE: The Heart Bowen! Dawn The ivy mounts the red brick wall, And leaves a glossy sheen Of tiny tendrils stretching tall From depths of jagged green, And walls which once were bare are hardly seen, The shiny, pointed, verdant height Is ruffled by the breeze, And golden grows beneath sunlight, Then cools 'neath towering trees, Which cast a spotted shade On darkening ivy frieze. With each new class of graduates, More ivy starts its upward climb, And each moves high nor hesitates, But strives on, enduring time And reaches the goal which makes each life sublime, For life without desire is bare, And hope is all we need To make our lives grow full and fair, And by each word and deed Our goal draws slowly where Our paths more quickly lead. -Dorff H e yer Television KCom'inued from page 9j -the transmission of more or less distant events. These new cables will carry television signals without any loss in quality, and they will make it possible to transmit news pictures for at least 700 miles. An interesting quality of the television camera as used in England, in Germany, and in the United States is the idea of perspective which it gives. It goes even beyond the movie camera, in that it gives an object a third di- mension. For instance, a face does not appear flat, but one can actually see its round contour. This, as well as other rapid developments, was considerably speeded by the exchange of patents between an American and a Ger- man television company. The United States has probably outwardly shown the least progress of the three countries under considera- tion. It is not that our engineers and inventors have not made as much progress as have the German and English workers, for they have done so. But just look at the dif- ference in the geography and in the populations of the countries! For instance, England is a rather small island, with its population fairly well centralized, while the United States is a large country, with its population spread over its entire area. Until about two years ago the Co- lumbia Broadcasting System conducted on experimental television station with indiderent success. At that time it was a rather difficult proposition to present an act to be televised. In the first place, since the apparatus was not nearly so far advanced as it now is, very strong, glar- ing lights were used. The artists had to use heavy make-up. Since the photoelectric cells used were not sensitive to red, the players used eye shadow for lip- stick. One performer who, along with many others, regarded the studio as little more than a chamber of hor- rors, exhibited considerable nervousness as the minutes passed. About three minutes before program time he could not be found. This was one of the first cases of television fright on record. fC0nlinued on page 182

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IVY ORATION Television HO wants television? Will television serve any useful purpose, become popular as a source of en- tertainment, or will it, having been perfected, serve a very narrow field? These are a few of the questions which have arisen as a result of the continuity of the line of de- velopment which has already given us the talking movie and the radio. Incidentally, when the talking movie first made its appearance, the word soon went around that this was only a passing fancy, and that it would soon com- plete its run. This statement was also applied to the au- tomobile, to the airplane, to the radio fall of which are still herej, and is now being heard in relation to tele- vision. Television is not the result of a sudden fancy on the part of mankind, but it is the realization of a desire that has existed in man from his very beginnings. The auto- mobile, giving man the speed he wanted, has stayed, the airplane, giving him the wings he sought, also has stayed, television, giving him the distant sight he has longed for, is here to stay. The desire to see and to hear things at a distance is as natural a desire as is eating. The Indian put his ear to the ground to hear the approach of enemies who were too far away to be seen with the naked eye. And what is the modern newspaper but an instrument to enable us to see and to hear beyond the horizon? The printed page offers us a chance to visualize what has happened-but, would we be content with printed material if we could see the actual occurrence with sufficient clarity as to make us seem actually to be present at the event? Certainly we would not. Television is to be the means of our accom- plishing this end. Without delving very deeply into the technicalities of the subject, let us suppose that here sits the object to be televised. Light rays are directed upon the subject, and, since they obviously cannot penetrate, they are refracted. These rebounding rays are picked up by photoelectric cells, which convert them into varying electrical im- pulses, which are in turn sent out on the air. At the re- ceiving end, these electrical impulses are captured by a catbode-ray tube, and are transformed back into light rays, which are flashed onto a screen-and there it is- television! Television is no longer just around the cornern for several million people. It is actually available today to those who live in the vicinity of London or of Berlin, and will soon be offered to several other millions living in or near New York City. One Berlin station is transmitting daily programs, mostly speeches, the receiving sets picking up both the words and the features of the speakers. According to present plans, Germany will have ten other sending sta- tions, which will be connected by wireless and cables which can be used for telephone traffic when not in use for television. Receiving sets are being built to sell for iilJOut 35200. One rather unique method of transmission is in opera- tion in Germany. After sound pictures of an event have been taken, the film is developed in a very few minutes aboard a truck. The film is then submitted to a scanner, and the beams of light are changed into radio waves with the aid of a photoelectric cell. These waves are then broadcast. This method makes it possible to take sound movies of such events as baseball or football games, and to transmit the pictures within a few minutes after the ac- tion has occurred. Broadcasts from a London station, covering a radius of about thirty miles, have been highly successful. This is a ten-kilowatt station, and it is believed that when its power is increased to thirty kilowatts, the range of ef- fectiveness will be considerably increased. In London, the greatest interference to clear reception was the effect of the electrical equipment upon automobiles. This trouble has been greatly remedied by increasing the power of the stations. Another remedy is to place receiving aerials at least seventy-five feet from heavily travelled streets. There are three methods in general use in England. One is the direct pickup, whereby the television camera is trained upon the scene. The second method, called the intermediate film process, was developed in Germany. This is the method used by the trucks, in which films are developed and televised. In the third type, the film is de- veloped and printed as in talking pictures, and a device called the telecine picks up both the scene and the sound of the film, and televises them. For a short time the Baird engineers, in England, have been working on a system for reproducing television images on full-sized moving picture house screens. Heretofore, the average screen did not exceed twelve inches on a side. Of this new development, Captain A. G. D. West, technical director of the Baird Company says: This new development will bring television of news events to all the cinemas, and will result in enor- mously increased revenue for them. Only a few years ago movies were revolutionized by the advent of talking pictures. Within a short time we shall see a further revolution with the advent of television to the cinema. Instead of crowding around a loud-speaker to hear the result of the derby, people will be able to go to their local theatre and see the event as it happens. He also states that a new cable development makes possible a thing which previously has been regarded as impossible fC0n1inued on page 101

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IVY ESSAY The Story of Shorthand ' HE evolution of shorthand has extended over many centuries. Historians believe that this system of writ- ing originated in Greece and was then passed on to Rome. During the debate on the Catilinian conspiracy, in 63 B. C., the orations of Cicero and Cato were reported in shorthand. To Cicero is attributed the invention of this method of writing, but the credit for originating the first system belongs to Tiro, a freedman. Tiro was a highly educated slave, whom Cicero freed and made his secretary and confidant. Forty shorthand writers, stationed by Tiro in the Roman Senate, wrote down what they could of the speeches. Some stenogra- phers were trained to take down the first parts of sentences and others the closing words. The transcripts were after- wards pieced together into connected discourse. A word must be said of the materials used by Tiro and his staff. The writing in those days was done on tablets covered with layers of wax, and fastened together at the corners, thus forming a kind of book. As many as twenty tablets could be fastened in this way. The instrument used in writing was a stylus, the size of an ordinary pencil, the point being of ivory or metal, the other end was flattened for the purpose of smoothing the wax, after a record had been made and transcribed, in order that the tablet might be used again. Much credit is due Tiro and his followers for the transmission to the world of some of the most effective orations of the Roman period. Even several of the Caesars are associated with the development of this writing method. Augustus Octavius, first and greatest of the Caesars, was an accomplished writer of shorthand, and regarded it so highly that he had it taught to his grandchildren. Julius Caesar was also a writer in this medium. In composing his famous Com- mentaries, he dictated to six stenographers at a time. The method employed was, without doubt, the same as that used by reporters in the Roman Senate. Each one took down what he could, and the transcripts were later pieced together to make a complete record. The shorthand writers of those ancient times had their troubles. Marcus Aurelius, a famous Roman poet, related the unhappy fate of a stenographer who was re- porting a trial in court. The centurion, Metellus, having been converted to Christianity, refused to perform some of his duties as a Roman soldier. Metellus asked a fel- low Christian, who was also a shorthand writer, to report his trial. The verdict was decided against Metellus, and immediately the reporter threw his tablet at the judge. By order of that magistrate, he was torn to pieces as punish- ment for his impulsive act. Then there is the fate of the stenographer to a great ecclesiastic who was found sleeping when he should have been transcribing his notes. He was dealt a vigorous blow on the ear, and died from its effects. The church man had to leave the city in order to avoid trial for man- slaughter. Considering the difficulty of writing with a stylus on wax tablets fwith such a crude form of shorthand, one would think that the shorthand writer of those days had enough worries, but more troubles were in store for him. In the third century, the Emperor Severus decreed that if any mistakes were made in reporting a case in court, the writer guilty of this offense should be banished from Rome, and that the nerves of his fingers should be cut so that he would be unable to write again. The practice and teaching of shorthand were again revived with the rise of the early Christian Church. At that time there was a great demand for the exact records of the orations of the religious leaders. Shorthand writers were employed by the church for reporting the trials of the early Christians. In the archives were preserved the declarations of constancy to the new faith, the discourses interchanged between the accused and the pagan judge at trials, and the tortures to which many were subjected. At the anniversaries of the martyrs' deaths these trans- cripts were read to in-spire others to steadfast adherence to Christian doctrines. Origen, a distinguished and influential theologian of his time, had seven stenographers, who relieved each other alternately in writing from his dictation. On one occasion he wrote to a friend stating that the absence of his shorthand writers prevented him from dictating his thoughts. A stupendous amount of work was performed by this famed theologian with his staff of stenographers. One of his works comprised thirty-two volumes. In the ensuing period, known as the Dark Ages, the arts and sciences, among them shorthand, were banished from the earth. Following this dark period of history, there came a new revival of learning and new ideas of life and culture. It was a great age! Freedom of speech and thought were introduced, a new world was discovered by Columbusg astronomy, science and literature were reborn and re- vived. Timothy Bright of England, in 1588, took the first step toward the revival of shorthand. He dedicated his first book on this subject to Queen Elizabeth. In return, she granted him a patent giving him free liberty and license to teach, improve and publish for and during the space of fifteen years a new kind of character to the furtherance of good writing. During the next years many and various systems of short writing were introduced to the world. In the American Colonies, shorthand was also in use. Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, was probably the most notable and skillful writer of this brief art of writing in the Colonies. An Indian Bible belonging to him with notes in shorthand is preserved by a New Eng- land historical society. Even at the age of fourteen Wil-