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Page 9 text:
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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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Page 10 text:
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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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