Danville High School - Medley Yearbook (Danville, IL)

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Our Aim This year we have tried to make the literary department of The Medley worthy of its name. By that we do not mean that it is to be compared with the works of the masters. Neither are all of the good writers of the school represented. But we do believe that the selections here are as near the standard of literary excellence as could be obtained from high school pupils. The usual collection of two or three stories has been varied by an oration, some sketches, poetry, and an essay on Democracy which, in the years to come, when the world war is only a memory in the minds of the oldest inhabitants, may make interesting reading for our grandchildren. , “We March ! We March! To Victory!” What is democracy? Why is it so exalted, so valuable, so ennobling as to make it worth the sacrifice of millions of lives? Lincoln said, “It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Webster said, “It is a government in which the supreme power is directly exercised by the people.” Altho we are the first people to adopt democracy permanently, it is as old as mankind. W’hen the world was first made from infinite nothing, man was given dominion over it all; but he fell before the designs of creation were carried out. And as he fell,—the victim of evil treachery, so have the innumerable hordes of the earth fallen and been conquered and forced into submission by cruel tyrants. History’s record contains incidents of glory and heroism and the slow, sure rise of democracy and civ-iilzation, but it also contains the many periods of tyranny, oppression, wars waged for lust and mad ambitions, of millions slain in the defense of right. So history proceeds ; so democracy struggles, sometimes in the light and sometimes in the oblivion of merciless oppression; so liberty ebbs and flows, like the restless waters of a mighty and untiring ocean; advancing, only to be broken and beaten back by the shoals and the rocks of tyranny. Democracy is now, as it has been for all ages, in danger of being crushed. The first records of kings mention them as making war upon each other. Wherever a monarchy has existed there has developed a lust for conquest and power. Thru the long ages of antiquity wars have been made upon unoffending peoples by brutal and ambitious monarchs. Modern history contains the same black re- Page Twenty-seven

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Funk Miss Louis Tensren Callais McLean Funk Dye Atkedarian Literary Societvj The purposes of the Athedarian Society are quite different from that of any other organization in the school. They have no contests with other schools as do the Wranglers, and the Glee Club, and the Athletic Association, but are quite exclusive, and entertain only themselves and D. H. S. with their shows. The Thursday mornings upon which the Athedarians give the assembly a little taste of stage life are always welcomed. To see one fellow student declaring a passionate avowal of love for another is a great treat. A surprising amount of talent and ability is found too, and this organization de-velops it . The big event in the life of all Athedarians is the big Spring Play. A big play is chosen, and everybody tries out for parts. The best actors are chosen, and the lucky ones (or unlucky ones, ac-cording to the way you look at it) begin to work up their respective characters. This is the only entertainment given by the Athedarians to which the general public is invited. Last year you will remember “Joy” was given, before that “The Piper,” and before that some of Shakespeare’s plays. They have always been a success as far as acting is concerned, for the students have always put their whole heart into the work. V D. H. S. would miss the Athedarians greatly, for they are the fun-makers of the school, creating in the wake of their clever plays, laughter and high-spirits. Page Twenty-six

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cords. Autocracy, or rules of brute force, has ruined nations and wrecked empires. It has devastated fertile and fruitful countries. It has led multitudes of brave men to destruction. It has left millions of people suffering in the throes of agony and death. It stands before the potent tribunal of public opinion as convicted of the blackest crimes in history. Democracy has much to its credit. When the Pilgrims, unable to endure longer the penalties of a tyrant king, came to the New World and founded a free colony open to all, they were the real pioneers of democracy. Weary of autocratic rule, they came to these shores to establish a more democratic government, free from the persecutions of a self-glorified ruler. But democracy was not so easily established. The pernicious influence of autocracy reached across the Atlantic; but the newly formed colony refused to longer bow to the behests of a distant ruler, declared that equality and liberty were the birthrights of all men, and prepared to fight in defense of their rights. After eight long years of bitter struggle, altho matched against the most powerful nation on the earth, who boasted jurisdiction in every quarter of the globe, they defeated their oppressors and were left to enjoy their richly deserved peace. Then it was that the long, broad avenue of human possibilities was opened and democracy was given its greatest advance. The fate of democracy is at stake. If the Central Powers should be victorious, it will have received its death blow, the uncounted centuries of progress will count as naught, and the heroes and martyrs of civilization will have lived and died in vain. The opposition to democracy has never been as powerful as now. Autocracy has challenged civilization. The crowned heads of Central Europe have turned loose the engines of destruction until the land has become a vast area of ruin. They have recognized the onward march of democracy and for years have been preparing to meet it; and today the whole world stands aghast at their deeds. They have upset the whole structure of civilization. In their thirst for increased power, for empire supremacy, for territorial acquisitions, they have defied the combined forces of democracy; and we, as a nation with the allied enemies of Germanic autocracy, are fighting for humanity, for the world’s freedom from the divine rights of kings, fighting for democracy and human liberation, and when the war clouds are rolled away and the mightiest of human struggles is over, Heaven grant that civilization shall witness the downfall of autocracy and the greatest epoch in history; the making of the world “safe for democracy.” J. Kieran. Page Twenty-eight