Brilliant High School - Blue Devil Yearbook (Brilliant, OH)

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and failures, who would solace themselves with the delusion that they cherish a more tender conscience than their prosperous fellow-men? Wie will find wher- ever we go the worship of Umaterial success. Its temples rise on every side. This is no mere fancy, the evidence can be found in whatever way we turn. Cities are run 'iwide-open, with all that that phrase implies of vice and shame, because it helps business and swells the stream of revenue. Rivals in business light Teach other with all the cunning and ferocity that they can muster up. They pay absolutely no attention to the Golden Rule: their Golilen Rule is Do others before they have a chance to do you. If truth does not tit in. they just tell a little lie and consider it perfectly all right. Everywhere 'illusiness is Business. Apparently ethics and business have no connection whatever. lVhen the business man has won a competency, what then? Surely he will soon be waving again the Hag of high ideals, and hearken back once more to the spirit of the Golden Rule. But we do not realize how hard this will beg old habits are hard to break, and so, gold and the power it brings is the Idol, and greed is the dominant principle. The Scriptures say, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. And so these sacrifices are laid upon the altars of the goddess, and the gold is gathered in. Surely this is not the rule of Christ? No! lt is simply modern philosophyg they seem to think: Be strong and masterful, be honest as you can, and 'Succeed !' Perhaps many of you think this makes all men ambitious rascals, but this is not so. All those within the temples are not worshipers. In the crowd you will find many goodly persons: those who thinkg yes, those who know they will win success. but not through tricking and vice. They will not bow down to gain success at the price of their ideals. To them the temples are shrines of honor and sacred trust. Golden Rule Jones of Toledo was one of these. VVoodrow Wlilson is another. The moralist need not despair. VVe have still many citizens who arc mczz. But let us not deceive ourselves, although we may regret the facts, they arc here. If we look the situation squarely in the face, we are forced to admit that the men of high ideals are not in the majority. 'What is to be done? How shall this theory, Success at any cost, be abated. Q Wlhatevcr change comes, must come through the realization by individual men and women that ideals are distinctly worth while, and if the nation is to pro- gress morally. as well as materially, it is of vital moment that our future leaders understand this truth, W'here can this best be taught? There is no better place than our present day schools. These schools can, and are teachers of High ldealsf' Throughout the land the fight for purer govermnent is being led by edu- cated men. fln every comnuinity they belong to the moral aristocrats. They are those in whom idols have not displaced ideals.. Let us then learn to believe. yes. learn to know, that the pocketbook is not the symbol of our national devotion, nor the dollar-mark the seal of our greatness.

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most noted physiciansf, Thus we see him going on through life. perfumed with asafetida, giving pills and powders to all who are ailing. Once more the vision faded and another took its place. l beheld a school- house in Florida. On looking closer I beheld an old, gray-haired teacher sitting at the desk, busy with her work. From her appearance she had grown ol:l-maid- ish in the profession. Turning again to the prophet, I said, I see nothing inter- esting here. Wfhat does this scene mean ? The prophet answered thus: Do you not see in yonder teacher the likeness of yourself? ,lt seems to have been decreed that you must teach other people's children till the end of time. Then this vision faded, and no more took its place as I continued my walk through the wood, rejoicing in the fact that I alone 'had been permitted to peer into that future that awaited each member of the Class of 1915. EMMA lll.x1,L. Hilhnla zmh Zlhvala' HE average man in the street will not hesitate to tell you that we are the greatest people a11d ours the greatest country in the entire world. XN'e, as Americans, are immensely proudnof ourselves 1- we are proud of our prowess in war, of our natural equipment as a nation, and the limitless resources which God in His mercy has given us. We realize that we occupy the center of the world's stage, ours is not the complacency of mediocrity. but of success. To- day it is to a tune we are playing that the world is marching. XVe areboasters who make good our boasts. Gfttimes we sing our own praises with more enthu- siasm than good taste, but despite this fact our pride is so true that criticism loses more than half its point. Ive have self-confidence. and that. based on reason and optimism, can hardly prove disastrous to the nation. But like most great virile national characteristics, it is the source of some evils which can and should be attacked. . Infatuated with the theory of our greatness, we as individuals are indif- ferent to the abuses that do not closely concern us. and slow to take action against those that do. This is the chance given for reformers and exposers to arise and point out the gulf of ruin yawning for us, but generally, the average citizen, secure i11 his belief of his country's greatness, heeds them not. VVhat is tl1e true test of a uatiou's greatness? Is it wealth? Of course, in some measure, for wealth makes possible churches. schools and hospitals. as well as parvenues. undemocratic castes, and asinine ostentation. Is it power and prestige among the nations? Undoubtedly. for power breeds self-respect and responsibility as well as selfishness and greed. Is it the general well-being? Indeed, yes! For the welfare of the citizen is necessary to the permanency of the state. But is there not still something else? Is this out- cry against commercialism and That Almighty Dollar all bosh? The worn out notion of old fogies, who are out of step with our civilization. and blind to the greatness of our success and triumphs? Or does it COHIQ from incompetents 1 l

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Z-Xgrirnlinrv anh Elia 1 ffvrta iipnn Gliuiliz-Minn GRICULTURE is one of the oldest sciences in the world. Long before history was written, in wl1at is known as the Old Stone Age, people raised crops, as their rude implements and pictures carved in stone in- dicate. Egypt, we are told in Bible history, raised not only enough corn for its own people, but supplied the surrounding country with grain. liecause of this pursuit Egypt became the first in rank of the civilized nations of antiquity. And because of the decline of this profession, due to the fact that the agricultural class was held inferior to the other classes, Egypt, under the reign of Necho, fell under the power of llabylon. another nation which owed its prowess to the fact that she too was an agricultural country. Egypt had greater fertility, but it was restricted to narrow boundaries: liabylon had wider domains and a larger ann more warlike population, and consequently waxed great while the declining ener- gies of the Egyptians wasted to feeblencss and extinction. The Romans at first were farmers. No other ancient people were so strongly attached to the rural life. Throughout the whole history of the King- dom, Republic and Empire the old rustic disposition asserted itself among the Roman people. The most dissolute of the emperors retained the ancient instinc- tive preferencc for country residences. Citizens, poets. statesmen-all looked forward with pleasure to an escape from the broils and heat of the city to a cooler, quieter life in some remote spot by the Alban or Sabine Hills. As the Republic of Rome assumed imperial proportions, there was esti- mated to be within the city half a million of idlers. These represented all classes of society-from the Patrician fop to the ragged loafer, from the granddaughter and nieces of the Emperor to the courtesians of poverty This vast throng hur-- ried from end to end of the city, seeking for something that should amuse or per- haps satisfy the unappeasable hunger of the idle. Perhaps no other city of the world has ever presented so vast a throng of protitless humanity-such a sea with its tides and storms. In the old 'hardy Rome of the early Republic the slaves were not numer- ous. The ancient Roman, even of the highest rank. was himself a laborer. Wfar, however, brought in its captives, and servile labor was substituted for free. Wfith this extra force in the field, our former freemen increased the rush to the city, and there both by day and by night wickedness and crime brought forth their progeny. The moral standard of ancient Rome began to recede and with it comes the physical degeneracy: so that when Attila and his band of barbarous invaders came in from the North. Rome fell a victim to her agricultural neigh- bor: her crops were ravaged and her villages burned, and in a very short time this once most powerful nation faded into a mere shadow of her former strength. Again let us cite the overtiowing of Spain by the iilohammedans in the eighth century., These newcomers were respectable, law-abiding citizens, who built homes and took up farming. Agriculture was their fort. The effect these