Emmerich Manual High School - Ivian Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

Page 27 text:

MIND AND HAND. With these facts hefore it, ought, the United States acknowledge Cuba ' s belliger- ency r? Caroline Auuusta Hunter. THE DELAY OF JUSTICE FOR CUBA. §IIALL we or shall we not recognize Cuban belligerency ? This is the ques- tion which has proved a Gordian knot for Congress. It seems curious, however, that anything so clear should puzzle that august body. It seems curious that representative Americans (which our Congressmen surely are) can stand in our Senate and House of Representatives and defend the Spanish method of subduing the Cubans, when it has been characterized by such utter ma- lignity and such outrages against all the laws of civilized warfare and of common humanity. Spanish pride has been wounded by the Cubans, and the Spaniards are in a fever heat of ras:e and vindictiveness. The fol- lowing extract from a publication in Spain voices, to some extent, the intensity of the |iulilic feeling: Extermination is the only solution of the conflict. Let the romantic North Americans, hypocrite defenders of the Cuban insurgents, say what they wish :,: every suspect should be killed the insurrection should be quenched in floods of blood. The article continues in much the same strain, displaying through- out a barbaric savagry totally unexpected in a journal of civilized people. And yet Congress has remained compar- atively inactive. Truly, when we see the very men who condemned England in her dilatory policy and who professed so much sympathy for the oppressed Armenians re- main idle when just such horrors are com- mitted on the very threshold of our own country, truly, I say, it is brought home most forcibly to us how much Congress has degenerated since the days of Daniel Web- ster. Harry Bad ;ek. CHEMICAL LABORATORY.

Page 26 text:

H) MINI) AND HAND. CIVIL GOVERNMENT. ENTHUSIASM? If anybody wishes to see an enthusiastic class let him look in any Friday afternoon on the pres- ent Civil Government class, when the two factions are hurling bomb-shells at each other in hot debate. Of course we do not debate as eloquently as our honorable and dignified Senators, but with good, common sense views that we have gathered from our various readings. There are some very good speakers in the class, and an excellent drill for driving the point is ohtained by the two minutes allowed each orator. Often unexpected questions are put to the other side, and which no one feels competent enough to undertake. Too proud to let the opposing side win, up goes a timid hand or two, a speaker rises, stares at the floor as if an answer were there, stammers out a word or two, climaxed by — why — a — a — 0, 1 forgot what I was going to say! and shoots into his seat, shamefaced, while the class is convulsed with laughter. A clinching argument in favor of pro- tective tariff was given by a would-be ora- tor the other day. He said that a man could buy a pair of boots a few years ago for two dollars and seventy-five cents ; now he could buy the same pair of boots for one dollar and a quarter! And then he wondered why the class roared with laugh- ter. Clara Leonard. THE CUBAN QUESTION. rPUIE question of the United States ac- X knowledging the belligerency of Cuba has occupied much of the public attention lately. It is not a question to be decided by our sympathies. It is far too serious for that. It is a question which must be ap- proached impartially from all sides. The whole principle of rebellion is wrong, just as the principle of Lynch Law is wrong. Truly, there are cases in which the violation of both these principles is not only justifi- able, but necessary. There may be exten- uating circumstances, as in the American Revolution, but in the case of Cuba we can not find those peculiar conditions. The American colonies were fighting with or- ganized forces under an organized govern- ment. According to the latest authorities Cuba has no government, and her army consists of bands of guerrillas pouring down from the mountain regions upon the Spanish forces. Is the United States to recognize guerrilla warfare, and to recog- nize a government which does not exist ? But if, out of sympathy, or, perhaps, the hope of some possible future benefits in the way of commerce, the United States should acknowledge Cuba to be in a state of belligerency, what would be the result? What benefit would it be to Cuba, and what effect would it have upon the United States itself? The aid to Cuba would be insignificant. The harm to America would be great. To be sure the Cubans would be encouraged and given a dignity among the nations, but that is practically all. The United States, as a nation, dare not send war supplies to Cuba, as that would be a direct violation of international law, and Spain would guard against the insurgents receiv- ing aid from private individuals. As for the United States, such an action would be equivalent to declaring war against Spain, a nation with whom she is at peace. In accordance with the laws of nations, what right has the United States to do that? It is stated, moreover, on good authority that the rebellious Cubans acknowledge that their greatest hope lies in the possibility of a war between Spain and the United States on their account. This would turn Spain ' s attention away from them, and so give them an advantage.

Page 28 text:

18 MIND AND HAND. POLITICAL LEADERSHIP OF UNITED STATES. THE world is at this time considerably disturbed. Turkey ' s future is uncer- tain ; the Cubans are tottering between des- potism and republicanism. Venezuela and England have not yet settled the boundary dispute, and many other corners of both hemispheres are quivering with the uni- versal thrill of res novae. Consequently, this is a period for setting forth to the world new modes of government, new ideas of international relationship and new poli- cies. The United States has been steadily ad- vancing, gradually gathering strength, till now it is ready and able to give to the world advanced doctrines. When, in re- gard to the Venezuelan question, the United States stepped from the ranks of conserva- tism and, in effect, said to England : We are protectors of republicanism ; we shall investigate and give our decision without partiality, the world did not laugh. It was the stand of a nation which has given proof of its capability for leadership. The revival of the sentiment of the Monroe Doctrine has given to our nation a distinct individuality and to the world a noble policy. But this is only the first of many forward and upward steps yet to be taken by a nation in itself a departure from the usual civil polity. For instance, from arbitration may soon spring the abolishment of the standing army. Every nation has its period of leadership. The United States is now at the threshold of a brilliant age. Irene Collings. HIGHER ALGEBRA. I 1ST 1637 Descartes, a Frenchman, noted that the position of a point in a plane is completely determined if its perpendicular distances from two straight lines in the plane, at right angles to each other, are known. These perpendicular distances he called the coordinates of the point. In a single indeterminate equation in X and Y — that is, one satisfied by an infinite num- ber of values of X and Y — it was found that by taking associated values of X and Y as coordinates of a point, it was possible to graphically represent any number of solu- tions of the equation as points. As the coordinates of every point satis- fied the equation, it became possible by this method to produce a graphical repre- sentation of the equation ; that is a line or curve which l ' epresented the path pursued by the point whose movement was de- termined by the condition laid down by the equation. This invention has been in- valuable in all branches of scientific re- search, so much so that almost every science of to-day illustrates many results of its investigations by this method. Besides becoming familiar with various means of solving an equation, it has been the purpose of the class in higher algebra to investigate the meaning of an equation by means of its graphical representation. Thus peculiar characteristics of several kinds of equations have been investigated. For instance, a pair of simultaneous equations of the first degree has been shown to produce two straight lines which intersect at some point. The coordinates of this point satisfy the pair of simul- taneous equations. A quadratic or an equation of higher degree generally repre- sents a curve. The peculiarities of this curve are, that it can not cross the hori- zontal axis more times than are indicated by the highest exponent of the unknown term of the equation. Furthermore, if the curve does not cross the X-axis as many times as the highest exponent indicates, another truth is revealed. This last case shows that the equation has some imag- inary roots, for the imaginary roots can