Lancaster High School - Mirage Yearbook (Lancaster, OH)

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4 THE ORBIT. trine, today united by religious liberty is marching with irresist- ible power against the evils of our country. Its pathway may have become smoother, the fires of persecution may have died out, the load of jealousy, ignorance and supersti- tioe may have been removed; but its work is not yet done. The evils of divorce and drunk- eness are threatening our homes, immigration is pouring its vicious hoards from Southern Europe into the already corrupted centers of our civilization; the greed of gain stands ready to choke our Chris- tian manhood. And we invoke the spirit of Liberty to rise again in her might and deliver us from this dreadful bondage of Satan. Her answer is already in the air. The American citizen has attained great heights in civil and religious liberty; these he must maintain as well as exterminate the other ex- existing evils, by clarifying his in- tellect, by strengthening his judg- ment through the medium of uni- versal intelligence. But through what fiery furnace, what dens of lions, has this spirit of universal intelligence passed in its struggle for supremacy? We see it first held captive by the priests and nobles who. as history states, confined it for centuries to the monasteries and courts; while ignorance and superstition deter- mined for ages the destiny of the individuals and nations of the old world. We see the armies of Atilla, Charlemange and Caesar watching the flight of birds or consulting some witch or oracle as to their next movement. While the armies of Napoleon, Von Moltke and Grant fought their battles and won their victories guided by thoughtful in- telligent effort. And the great- ness of the resulting nations was in proportion to the education of its people, hence we now appreci- ate the spirit of liberty inspiring Alfred the Great in his struggle to bring universal intelligence into a land darkened by superstition and ignorance. The same spirit led John Guten- berg of Germany as he invented movable type; though the peo- ple of his own day considered him in league with the devil. We see the tireless Luther walk- ing through the markets, and along the streets, and fields of Germany, gathering those simple words of the German peasants, which later gave to them,through Gutenberg’s printing press, the eternal truths of the Bible in simplified form; and paved the way for the Rennai- ssance. While we see ignorance and superstition walking along the Ganges river of India filling the stream with its baby victims and the country with its child widows; the spirit of universal intelligence dots the bosom of the mighty Mississippi with majestic vessels each bearing its rich harvest of golden grain or its burden of hap- py. busy people, down a valley fragrant with the blossoms of prosperity, and rich with the blessings of liberty. Oh, civil liberty, religious liber- ty and universal intelligence, tri- une spirit of America’s greatness where have you won vour victor- ies? By what principles have you conquered? The battle fields where liberty has suffered and bled, the fiery stakes where conscience has been persecuted, the darkened minds of the masses groping for the light ot universal intelligence, all these give back the answer. The nations of the old world are looking upon us with deepest in- terest as we solve these problems. The twentieth century is greater than any that has gone before and we will show the world in this great centurv, that the power vested in us will eventually be- come the salvation of the race. For this great work we will need men—real. true, courageous men; and with the monarch of old we cry: •’Bring us men to match our moun- tains. Bring us men to match our plains; Men with empires in their purpose And new eras in their brains; Bring us men to match our prairies; Men to match our inland seas— Men whose thought can pave a high- way l’p to ampler destinies; Pioneers to cleanse thought’s marsh- land. And to clean foul error's fen; Bring us men to match our moun- tains. Bring us men.” J. Russell Driver, L. H. S. 08. MORT ARTICLES. There has been a steadily increasing interest this year in oratory as shown by the enthusiasm around our own oratorical contest and by the presence of a larger crowd than ever before at the inter-scholastic meet at fircleville. This awakening in- terest has also made itself manifest in the revival of the open rhetoricals given by the various Knglish classes. At some time during the second semester every member of the second and third year Knglish classes has presented s-une original work along this line. For the most part, these productions were given nist as they were written in class exercises without special devel- opment. Some of them have seemed meritorious enough to warrant publication. THE CHIPPEWA LEGEND. In a beautiful little poem entitled The Chippewa Legend. lx wc)| has told us the story of the faithlessness of a son and daughter to a promise given to their dying father. One day an old chief called his eld- est son and daughter to his side and told tin in that he was about to die. lie mud' one request of them, which was that they should always love and care for their little brother. Shccmuh. This they both promised to do. and the old chief died In peace. Not many months after Ills father's death, the elder brother became weary of the loneliness of his home, for their wigwam stood on the hank of a lake far from the other dwellings of their tribe. He was strong, brave and well- skilled in hunting and saw no reason why he should not go out among his kin and become a great chief. So one day he went out with his bow and ar- row as If to hunt ami he Journeyed to the dwellings of the next tribe. Here he soon married and in his busy, new life he soon forgot little Sheemah. Meanwhile, the elder sister waited in vain for her brother's return. She wept more for Sheemah than for her- self. She now cared for him more tenderly than before. Love stayed longer in her heart than In her broth- er's. and when love was gone duty lingered and bade her still care for Sheemah. But selfishness and vanity soon came to lure her away. She no longer cared for the beauties of na- ture a rout d her. but longed to get away among the people whire her own b auty should be praised. At last. she. too. yield- d to the temptation and went out into the world. Not long afterwards she was married and In I r household cares she also forgot little Sheemah. her father's charge. Now Sheemah. left all alone, watch- ed anxiously for his sister's return, thinking each rustle of the leaves was her footstep, until every sound changed from hope to fear. But there were few sounds: the occasional chirp of the vquirrel or the blue-jay's scream seemed to make the silence and the

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VOL. I. LANCASTER, OHIO, JUNE 9, 1908. No. 1. The Pathways to Our Greatness. The stately march of history re- veals with equal clearness, and develops with equal majesty three converging: lines of advancement, distinct yet harmonious, along which the generations of the past have fought their way, and at whose summit lies success for our nation, and hope for the hu- man race—the pathway to civil liberty, the pathway to religious liberty, and the pathway to uni- versal intelligence. Since the dawn of creation the mind of man has been occupied in seeking a form of government, which would give to its citizens more civil rights. The republic of the Grecians, the empire of the Romans, the democracy of the Americans all testify to this striv- ing of the human intellect after a perfected form of government. As we look back over the history of the past, we note with deep human interest the struggle of man in his efforts to secure civil liberties. We see the people demanding from King John their civil rights in the form of the Magna Charta. We read in the determined faces of Cromwell’s round heads,” that struggle for justice as they defeat- ed Prince Rupert and led Charles I to the scaffold. And although this spirit of liberty which flour- ished under Cromwell was crushed by the return of Royalty, it was not destroyed, but, wafted across the Atlantic we see it take pos- session of the souls of those brave pioneers, who sought a home on these shores. And the struggle is renewed with all the earnestness and fierceness of its life in the old world but under better conditions. The spirit of personal liberty had emerged from the accumulated crust of the centuries—from roy- alty with its divine right of kings; from tradition with its hopeless- ness for the masses, and had turned her feet to the shores of a virgin soil where man was to be- gin life anew under conditions of equality and justice. But on the very threshold she must turn and gather her forces, and in the Rev- olutionary war she gave the op- pression and tyranny of the old world a last stinging blow. Man freed from these conditions swings now to the other extreme; through fear of a monarchy, he becomes suspicious of all unified government; and driven by the hopelessness of the masses he rushes to the verge of anarchy. Liberty calls again for her de- fenders: men to wield not the sword but the pen; and at her call the hills and valleys of America echo with the stately tread of those noble literary warriors — Hamilton, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams. And how well did they perform their work? They pro- duced and set in operation that in- instrument of government which Gladstone pronounced, the great- est govermental document that ever emanated from the human mind.” A document whose spirit went ringing around the world, dethroned kings and despots; revolutionized France; wrested the scepter of tyranny from King George, and gained the independ- ence of America. Today it sends a thrill of terror through the breast of Russia’s Czar, Germany’s Kais- er, and England’s King, for they see the power of the individual, but are not willing to recognize his rights. But how long was it unchalleng- ed; how long undisturbed? The voice of Hayne in the United States senate was but the prelude to that mighty struggle whose closing strains were the awful harmonies of the roaring cannon and bursting shell of Gettysburg and Appomat- tox. All along this perilous but glor- ious pathway, whether in the leg- islative hall, upon the field of bat- tle, or fighting the evils of today; this spirit of civil liberty granting dignity to American citizenship and safety to American homes has won its victories, by facing with fearless courage and patriotic de- votion the dangers that have ap- peared upon every newly won vantage ground. Running parallel with this strug- gle for civil liberty we see the pathway of another conflict just as fierce and as determined— the struggle for religious free- dom. Starting with the teach- ings of the Christ we can trace its footsteps through the smok- ing arena of Nero. We hear its cry on the public square of Florence from the lips of the saint- ed Savanaorla. We go farther and again we behold this spirit in the soul of the patient martyred Huss, as it wings its way from the burning faggots of persecution to the pearly gates of Paradise. We hear its voice defiant even in de- feat from the lips of the lion- hearted Luther. What has been accomplished by the sacrifice of these prophets and leaders of the old world? What is the message they have brought to the new world? Was it not this spirit which shed its life-giving rays upon the soul of Jonathan Edwards, Roger Wil- liams, or John Wesley; tempering their hearts like steel and purify- ing their consciences, until these unfold and blossom forth, and with their children and children’s children make the atmosphere of our country fragrant with the blessings of a consecrated citizen- ship? Has it not walked beside that rugged, ungainly youth in the hills of Kentucky, whispering its won- derful message into his soul, until with transformed and glorified personality, this backwoodsman becomes the emancipator of the American Negro? Today its most signal service is the separation of Church and State, here it has opened the door of useful citizenship to every con- scientious, God-fearing American. And whether he be William Mc- Kinley with his Methodist faith or Theodore Roosevelt with his Re- formed doctrine, or any other statesman, without question of creed or political belief, we bid him use his talents to fight the wrong and build up the right. Christian citizenship so long sep- arated and weakened by unimpor- tant differences of creed and doc-

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T H E O R B I T. 5 I ► loneliness more dreadful. Often in the dead of night he heard the hollow, hungry howling of the wolves. The small store of provisions that his sis- ter had left, was soon gone. He then lived on roots and berries which he gathered, in constant fear of the blood- thirsty wolves. But when winter came, made bold by hunger, he was glad to glean after the harvest of these wolves who half feared this lit- tle being, more wild and starving than they. Gradually Sheemah and the wolves became friends and spent the rest of the winter together. l ate in th spring, the elder brother was fishing in the lake close by his father’s wigwam, when he heard a low. moaning sound which seemed half like a child, half like a wolf. Something in the sound reminded him of Sheemah. So he rowed quickly to the shore. There in a thicket he saw a child which was fast turning into a wolf. Its face was turned from him. but he knew it was Sheemah. He hid his face in his hands so that he might not see the first look of his brother's eyes. Then he cried out: O. Sheemah! O. my brother, speak to me! I am your brother! Sheemah was silent a moment as if recalling the human voice. Then he answered. I know thee not. nor art thou what thou sayest. I have no other brethren than the wolves, and until thy heart be changed thou art not worthv to be called their kin. The elder brother looked up fear- fully. but only saw a wolf that shrank from him and ran away to hide in the woods. PEARL BAIR. 1910. THE DUTY OF THE VOTER. As the privilege of voting counts so much to the average man. and as the part of the citizen in helping to guide bis nation by his vote is so important, the question of the duty of the voter naturally comes into discussion. Every man's duty is to do right and as a voter he should not deviate from his right-doing. A man’s duty as a voter is pointed out to him by love, patriotism, religion, common sense, and even sometimes by selfishness. As a lover of his friends and of his posterity, a man cannot afford to vote against anything which tends to up- build his nation or to vote for any- thing which, in any way. would cause his nation to deteriorate. Patriotism is love of country and whosoever does not love his nation enough to help in the guiding of her course aright in the world's history, is not fit to be a citi- zen. Peaceful progress is all impor- tant. Rome’s proud armies were con- stantly victorious as long as the citi- zens of Rome helped her to progress in arts and peaceful achievements, but when the Roman citizenship be- gan to grow worse, her legions turned upon each other and left the one-time mistress of the world to ruin. Men press forward in great numbers to en- list in their country's armies when war is necessary. How much more should they add to her power by their thoughtful votes! Religion teaches the beauty of doing one's duty at all times and under all circumstances. Why forget religious duty in voting? Common sense Is used in all successful matters, why shouldn't it be used in voting? Why vote for a thing which destroys hu- manity and human happiness? Let us consider what constitutes a voter’s duty. First, he cannot vote sanely if he does not know anything about the issue at hand. Therefore, one great duty of the citizen is to be well informed concerning the political problems of the day. With newspa- pers so thickly strewn across the country, time and industry are the only necessities for procuring a wide information of current topics. Another means of keeping in touch with the times, is to attend political meetings as often as possible and to give the matter of voting some time and study, to become acquainted with the views and beliefs of the different politicians. The time of party rule is fast pass- ing. and instead of voting for party, thoughtful people have begun to vote for men. This change of custom has become greatly apparent in recent campaigns where parties intermingled and cast an almost solid vote for good men. In local politics each man should attend the primaries of his party and take an active part in seeing that good men are nominated. It is claimed that while the government of the Union is growing stronger, the city govern- ments are becoming weaker. This is possibly due to the fact that so little interest is taken in the local primar- ies. About voting time the average citizen wakens up. and possibly find- ing no good man for a certain office on either ticket, grumbles some at the prospect and votes with his eyes shut, when if he had acted sooner he might have pleased himself, anyway. Another duty of the voter is to en- courage good men to go into politics. It is generally considered that at least eight politicians out of every ten are snitzers and sharpers. An honest man running for some lowly city office finds himself suspected immediately and even his friends, who know him to be straight, suggest that they did not know he cared to associate with • politicians. May the day hastrn when a man can enter the field of politics without fear of blemishing his character. CHARLES BRASHARKS. 1909. THE LIFE OF A QUESTIONABLE CHARACTER. Written by Himself. I have undertaken to write this, the history of my life, not with intent to afford pleasure to the reader, but rath- er that he. seeing the sad fate of one who has gone before, may change his ways before it is too late. I was born in 1S9I at Lancaster. County of Fair- field. State of Ohio. Being by nature a rather shiftless and unappreciative youth. 1 did not at the time realize what a great event in my life this oc- currence really was. Not having an especially retentive memory. I do not remember much of Interest in the two years immediately ensuing, but at the age of three. In company with my mother. I took a trip to Philadelphia. New York. Atlantic City, and Asbury Park. Being from the backwoods ham- let of Lancaster. I naturally took a great Interest in the sights of New York, especially the overhead rail- ways. One day. while shopping with my mother in one of the great stores of the metropolis. I grew inexpress- ibly weary of the crowds and fancy articles within the store, and a few minutes later I had dlsapepared. Aft- er a frantic search of five or ten min- utes. I was found calmly sitting in a doorway, gazing at the city sights. Had 1 not stopped upon reaching the exit, in all probability the reader would be spared hearing this narrative. Fi- nally. escaping from the terrors of New York, the land sharks of Atlantic City, the Jews of Asbury Park, and the police of Philadelphia. I returned home again a sadder but wiser young- ster. Not much of interest occurred in my life between the ages of three and eight, except that I had scarlet fever and started to school, neither of which happenings was to me at all interest- ing. At the age of eight I took another Eastern trip, visiting all the cities I had seen on my first trip and two or three others. Chief among the pleas- ures of this journey was a trip by water from the Atlantic Highlands to New York City. Between the ages of eight and thir- teen I vigorously pursued my studies, but like a small boy pursuing a rabbit. I seldom caught them. In the autumn of 1904. I entered High School, where I was universally designated as the dunce of the class. On one occasion, shortly after ground-hog’s day. our es- teemed teacher extended me an invi- tation to visit the blackboard, which invitation I promptly declined. Our beloved and respected instructor there- upon inquired of me whether I had seen my shadow on the 2nd. Inst., and added that it was to be hoped not. as I had been asleep so long already, that if I did not reform before six weeks. I would be beyond hope. In June. 190F». I started a business which up to that time was unknown n Lancaster, and the proceeds from which some people are still prone to regard more as graft than honest money, although it is a business which has been established for many years in all of the large cities. I remained out of school the following winter, and did not return until September. 19h»’ . since which time I have made a rec- ord which would not bear too much boasting. As aforesaid 1 am a rather shiftless and unappreciative youth, but as I have at the same time some regard for the feelings of human be- ings. I will bring this so-called auto- biography to a close, hoping in the meanwhile that the reader has not committed suicide while engaged in the perusal thereof. ELLWOOD R. HI TLER. Author’s note.—Feeling that I must offer some excuse for writing the above article. 1 may add that on my part It has been a rather involuntary contribution to the evils of mankind, but as Shakespeare says: Strong reasons make strong actions.