Brockton High School - Brocktonia Yearbook (Brockton, MA)

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24 BROCKTONIA VINCENT XV EUDACO Class Omtor GIEIEH Ubratinn THE MEANING OF AMERICA Fellow classmates: It is the cus- tom for class day speakers to en- deavor to rouse the minds of those about to be graduated to a contem- plation of the ideal. This is entirely fitting because of the nature of the occasion. This day marks, as it were, the ending of one phase of life and the entering upon a newer and larger phase by those about to receive high school diplomas. lt is indeed ap- propriate that, at such a time, the thoughts of all should be directed to those intangible assets of a good life, high ideals, And so, today, it is my purpose to consider with you one of the most important, perhaps the out- standing high thought that has been constantly before us during the years of our schooling. I am to be your spokesman in telling how well we have learned a great lesson. That lesson is the meaning of America, the significance of our country and its institutions in the lives of school- girls and school-boys. l speak with- out the authority of older and more experienced men, but I speak with the perhaps greater authority of being one of you. The Meaning of America How mighty a stream of sentiment and emotion springs to mind at mere mention of the wordsl These thoughts, I think, are best represented by the matronly figure of a queen. A glittering diadem on the splendid brow reveals the name inscribed- AMERICA. Held within her arms, pressed to her broad bosom, are two baskets, one labelled Opportunity, and filled to the brim with exuberant gifts connoted by the word: the

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BROCKTONIA 3 R A EAREWELL TO THE SENIORS FROM THE OTHER CLASSES Eriendship, whose rays shine thru the earth Sent to us from God on high, Vwlhose shadow follows our work and V play, Lives on-tho' we say good-by. Thru all school paths we've trod to- gether, Vvlorked together, and played to- gether Glad of each honor that fell to your lot, Loyalty being our bright shining spur. When at last life tests your worth, Give to it all that you can Know that you have our friendship thru all Lift up your head, be a man! 'Tis only commencement that greets you that eve, Commencement of a trade to ply: Remember that light shining for you, lt's there, tho' we say good-by. Bessie Feldman, '29, R Q5

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BROCKTONIA 25 other called Liberty, and overflowing with privileges for free men. A smile playing about the lips, lights up the beautiful countenance and the whole attitude seems to demand of us the best we can give in loyalty, ser- vice, and obedience. To us, fellow seniors, America is this kind and in- dulgent mother who gives of her re- wards generously. who showers us with blessings. Yet our motherland has not al- ways been a queen, although an omniscient Father had prepared her a royal growth even before her birth. Rugged mountains, swift rivers, plains, forests were her endow- ment. She has mined the mountains, harnessed the rivers, and cultivated the plains. America's existence has been an exciting and eventful one, a truth which adds depth to her mean- ing. The bleak land of the Pilgrims gave our country birth: the colonies were her childhood: the states are her youth and her maturity. America is now in the full blossom of that ma- turity and we are the ones to realize her future possibilities, to be granted her choicest prizes. America's rewards are far, far more precious than much fabulous gold. No wealth on earth could change our Republic into a tyrannical despotism or into an autocracy, nor could it purchase the invaluable privilege, right of self-government, without which life is death. Ex- perience put into words by a great man. Lincoln, has proved that a government of the people, by the peo- ple, and for the people, is the only basis for a stable government. lt is a blessing that includes freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of conscience, freedom of worship. From a democratic viewpoint, all other government is slavery. Truly, self-government is a glorious gift of America. The Union of forty-eight states is an equally priceless gift from the same basket. Liberty. Union is the heart, the very life-blood of America. Upon it depends our general welfare, progress, and perhaps liberty, itself. The delicate art of masters produced the Union. Its limitless 'strength has resisted Mars both in the form of a foreign invader and as an insurgent at home. The skill of the ancient law-givers have scarce produced an equal. Without Union, our land would be torn with strife. Hypocrisy would supplant love. Suspicion would replace trust. Commerce and industry would be a farce. Riot would overcome law and order. But because of this fact of Union, such a condition is a dire impossibility in America today. That Union is a pledge of solidarity, a bond of strength which now makes our country invincible. America is proud to bestow upon us Union with the accompanying peace and prosperity. The other basket called Liberty is overflowing with opportunities that America freely offers us. Of these. the one with which we have been brought most closely in con- tact is the opportunity for education. America. provident mother, has di- verted millions and even billions to the instruction of her youthg for these young must become strength. must care for her industries, manage her government, when the older gen- eration will have accomplished their tasks, Annually, at this season of the year, grammar schools, high schools, colleges, universities are dis- charging armies of young men and women, with broader vision, better prepared and better able to fulfill their responsibilities. Though not now as common perhaps as in other days, self-education is yet the chief source of training for many. For that purpose, where can you find more important or more valuable helps than are furnished by the public libraries, which are, in every sense, schools of learning? Education, made a law of our earliest forebears, has been many years in the bud and now has burst into bloom. We of the younger generation must be scrupu- Continued on page rzo