Hudsonville High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Hudsonville, MI)

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which prepares man to see the difficulties of the present and future. Armed with the knowledge of what has preceded, we stand better ready to cope with the problem at hand. No invention, no philosophical theory, no achievement in any line of human endeavor, but it has been built on the knowledge evolved before it. There could have been no Thomas Edison unless there had been a Benjamin Franklin. There could have been no Plato unless there had been a Socrates. Without a Plato, no Aristotle would have followed. Progress, then, is built step by step on the education of the past. A government, therefore, which depends for its existence upon intelligent laws must supply the education and means foi unbiased judgment to those who w'ould both make and obey those laws. In America we enjoy these free institutions of learning. We pride ourselves on our great army of boys and girls educated in our common schools, without regard for wealth or social distinction. We rejoice with those more fortunate ones who have gone beyond the common schools and have the privilege of the high school education and, indeed, mankind looks up to that smaller remnant which succeeds in graduating from our great colleges and universities. In these higher institutions of learning, men and women, working side by side, have the privilege of studying the history of our institutions of government. They have the chance to study deep into the theory of political economy, sound economics, sociology, and, in the light of history, they have learned to see the disasters and dangers befall- ing people who neglect their duties to the law's of their nation. This educa- tion purifies and steadies political sentiment; it brings to civic problems a keener insight. God grant that the students toiling in these universities, these minature preparatory worlds, may be worthy to mingle among our less fortunate but equally deserving brothers and sisters and help to tem- per public opinion. May they expose the insidious schemes of dishonest politicians. May they dare to speak their honest convictions in the face of opposing factions. May the honorable statesman replace the unscrupulous politician, and may justice reign. Education, then, as our second necessity in the scheme of progress, steadies and purifies human relationships. With the light of history as its basis, it gives a clearer understanding of the past and, therefore, prepares for the problems at hand. But w'ith law' and education alone, progress would be a thing—cold and pulseless, indeed. A far greater quality is still needed to keep the w'heels of progress turning aright. Man-made laws, man-made theories, do not suffice undex the stress of moral decisions. A great store of intellectual knowledge is barren indeed without inspiration from on high to guide and strengthen it. Religion, then, is a crowning- essence to this progress, an indispensible light. Without vision the people perish” is still true. It has been said that civilization rises no higher than its highest con- ception of Deity. Centuries ago, in the midst of the polytheism of the age,

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Nations, as well as individuals, must regard it as a basis for action. Notice, if you will, the nations which have been doomed by reigns of despotism, by the tyranny of the few dominating the rights of the many. Monarchies have lost their beneficence by displays of tyranny and their corresponding outbreaks of anarchy—while today, as a crowning achievement of govern- ment and law, stands the Constitution of our own United States—the basic law of our land, fostering democracy for all—equal rights and privileges. Ihis Constitution has kept pace with the demands of progress ever since John Hancock and his worthy colleagues inscribed the principles of its first provisions. It has stood the test of years—of dark days of chaos and unrest, and now its supremacy is long since assured. We have only to visit the ports of our country and view that great army of earnest, liberty-seek- ing- men and women clamoring for our shores, to realize that here is a nation with democratic law offering protection to its citizens, holding aloft a beacon light of hope to depressed and downtrodden humanity. With the world war behind us, today finds us confronted with new problems, and we ask—are we true to that fundamental basis of progress—law? In the period which follows, we must bend our efforts to maintain law and order. When men rise up in violence and defy the laws of state and nation, shall we sit back and call it progress? From many quarters we hear those who would l ead crime in legal codes raise the cry, “No government, no law.” We hear of men reaching out for equality of possessions, regardless of achievements, and on the other hand we hear demands that capital be guarded as a public trust and that every form of industry be regulated by the state. The anarchist would plunge humanity into strife and convulsion—the socialist would mould man for that complicated system destined to be shattered by the friction of its parts or crushed by the burden of its mechanism. Both these extremes are advocated for the sake of progress, but they fail because they do not observe that obedience to law is a primary necessity for righteous progress. Picture, if you will, the chaos that would result if our prisons were sud- denly unlocked, our ports left unguarded, and every constitutional restraint withdrawn. Indeed, there is no freedom without law. It is law that has made us a political unit, endowed our schools and universities, established our system of public charities. It is law that has checked the encroach- ments of capital, given increasing justice to labor, stayed the hand of mur- der, established the home and secured its sanctity. It is obedience to that law which the individual citizen owes as a support to the law, if he would take his place in the universal progress. Today citizens must not only obey the law but they must help to make the law. In the evolution of constantly changing conditions, new cir- cumstances require new laws. Thus, we come to our second constituent of progress, namely, education. It is education which fits men for a keener discernment of the problem at hand. It is a thorough study of the past

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it was the higher conception of Deity, the monotheism of the Jews, which made possible the advent of Jesus. Down through the years it has been our highest conception of Deity which has produced our Luthers and our Calvins. 1 care not what your creed or sect may be; I care not what religion you profess. I believe there is no one in this audience who believes there is no God, however different his conception of this God may be. Who can step out into a vast open space, of a calm evening, and view the mighty works of the firmament and say, “There is no God.” Who can watch the ceaseless flowing of streams to mighty rivers, the unerring movement of the stars in their course, and say, “There is no God.” Who can look upo . the return of the seasons, the green grass springing up, coming to maturity and finally dissolving to the ground from whence it came, and say, “There is no God.” All nature—yes all human achievement looks up to this great power without which there is no progress. Each individual, you and I, must recognize this light from on high, if we, individually as well as collectively, would progress. Today, we, as a civilization, as a nation, and as individuals, stand at the apex of progress—built solidly upon the achievements of the past—looking- forward hopefully on the problems of the future. New names have gone down in history and have taken their places in the progress of the world. Much remains to be done. It is our privilege, then, to obey and make the fundamental law—it is our duty to marshall all possible facts of education to improve this law, and, above all, it is our privilege to invoke inspiration from on high to lead and point the way. ■ May we meet every issue squarely, solve every problem correctly, use every opportunity justly. May we, as individuals, press forward and take our places in the cycles of uni- versal progress. Henry Wiersma. CLASS WILL We, the members of the class of 1921 of the Hudsonviile High School of the city of Hudsonviile, township of Georgetown, county of Ottawa, and the state of Michigan, being of sound mind and disposing memories, do hereby make, publish and declare this our last will and testament thereby revoking all former wills, bequests and devises of whatever nature by us made. Item I. We request that the School Board buy some railroad spikes from the Pere Marquette Railroad with which to fasten down the seats. That they supply each member of the faculty with a book of hall rules and a Traffic Officer’s semaphore for their convenience. That they pro- vide jitney bus service to and from the car line Monday mornings and Friday nights to transport the teachers at those times.