Oakfield High School - Oak Leaves Yearbook (Oakfield, WI)

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'Phe motto of every citizen should he, “The best means to promote the greatest good to the greatest number.” If all practice this it will bring the greatest general happiness to the country. There is something seriously wrong with the government of a nation if a large portion of its population is discontented. The true citizen will try to find the cause of this trouble and then use all of his influence to correct this defect. Many of the corruptions in our government exist not by the desire of our citizens but because of their ignorance of the presence of such evils. This brings out the great need for the purification of the ballot-box. This can l e best carried out by having a strict educational qualification for the voters. They should be able to read and write and at least have been a resident of the United States for ten years. A voter, not having these qualifications, can not be expected to understand the laws, customs and needs of our country; without these qualifications, such consequently become inefficient voters and citizens. The true citizen promotes this progress of civilization in the world by striving for measures which will bring more comforts to mankind and lessen their needs. The real man has the power of turning his inward thoughts upon himself and can judge his own strength with a view of putting it to the best uses. He will know for what he is best fitted and thus will not waste his time and energy in some occupation for which he is not adopted. If this simple practice were taken up by all, it would lessen the dissatisfaction and discouragements of mankind and each one’s natural talent could be extended to its fullest capacities; thereby doing the most good. Everywhere we see evidences of the good which is accomplished by our noble and true citizens. Abraham Lincoln has been endeared to the American people by his kindliness, honesty and lowliness of manner. He was undazzled by power or place and his moral courage which supported him against adverse politicians and hostile criticism, made him a citizen of the highest degree. Emerson always considerate and respectful of the rights of others, showed, not only by his books, but by many little acts of kindness and courtesy that he constantly bettered the condition of mankind. Gladstone is another good example of true citizenship in his labors for England and Ireland. Among the women are Francis Willard, Florence Nightingale and Harriet Stowe each of whom labored faithfully for the enlightenment of their fellow beings. Why is it, that in spite of the flight of time the reputation of these people grows larger? It is notso much the great works which they have accomplished as it is their pure, noble characters that have impressed their many admirers. What powerful illustrations these are of the fact that character is the greatest force in the world. With like characters we all become citizens of the highest order. We may not have the world renown that these people have but we can imitate them by keeping a clear record and tho we may find ourselves in just such a small circle, we can still practice kindness, affection, helpfulness, humility and true courtesy to our associates and thus in our small sphere we can still be true citizens. Eva Paynter

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is also the cause of leading many other persons to partake of a life like that. These ideals must be developed in the child and so the parents, teachers and associates are responsible, in this sense, for the standards of our citizens. The strength or a nation is not measured by the quantity of its natural resources and the amount of its possessions but by its citizens, and their character depends upon the character of their homes, their training and their associates. When we leave the home roof, our foundation as a citizen has been laid and insomuch as we loved our homes, so we will love our country. The home of our New England ancestors is the corner-stone of the United States citizenship. These homes were very simple in structure and lacked many of the conveniences which we enjoy to-day. But these people were strongly united by the ties of love, reverence and loyalty. Here the children had constant examples of riyid respect to duty, conscientiousness, strong courage and strict obedience. '1 hese children became men and women of character and developed into citizens of the highest order. If trained in such a home, the children of today will grow up with strong, firm characters and will be powers in their communities. It is in the family that we first learn the rules of government and to respect the rights of others. t hese are the fundamental rules which govern the town, state and nation. These are so made as to give to the individual as much freedom as will not infringe upon the rights of others. To accomplish this end, each separate township needs men who will inspire respect and command confidence. In the different communities, for this general welfare of all, are officers to look after the public schools, the poor, the highways, and other public property. It is their business to provide for the protection against fire, the offenders of the Jaw and to attend to the other general business of the town. These officers should be trustworthy men who will be willing to spend a good share of their time in this work. It is not necessary that every true citizen should fill one of these offices and thereby be serving his fellow-men, but he should use power of voting so that these places will be filled with noble men not only voting for them himself but trying to persuade other voters to do likewbe. He will try to bring about measures which will raise the standards of his neighbors, intellectually, morally and circumstantially. “Ours is a government of the people and is no better nor worse than the people make it.” This shows the need of true citizens both in office and among the voters. “God give us men. A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands. Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who posses opinions and a will: Men who have honor—men who wilt not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty, and in private thinking. '

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THE ROMANCE OF CONQUEST The pages of history are filled with romances as entrancing and captivating as are contained in the best tales of love and adventure. There are many different phases of this historical romance, but none is more interesting than the Romance of Conquest, and to us in particular, the Romance of American conquest. Between the ideas of discovery and those of conquest there is a close connection. Every nation, in acquiring new territory, assumes the role of a discoverer, a claimant, a conqueror, and an organizer. If we will look back in History’s volume, to the early eighteenth century, we will find that not all nations have succeeded in carrying out these successive roles. The North American continent, tho discovered and claimed by Spanish, French, Portuguese, and English, was left, by the year 1763, almost entirely in the hands of the last who had conquered and colonized it. The years came and went. British rule continued and became oppressive. At last there dawned a day when the transplanted Englishmen, living in English colonies could no longer endure the rule of the mother country. As a result they created a new nation, giving to mankind a new name to place in the gallery of the worldpowers. The formal creation of this new nation took place on July fourth, 1776, in the form of a Declaration of Independence, by which the thirteen dependent colonies became the thirteen independent States of America. But tho this great event brings thrills of gladness to our hearts, tho we think of it with a swelling pride we must also call to remembrance the eight long years of gloomy war which followed it, in order that that Declaration might not have proven in vain, but might be instead, a glorious reality. And, when the war was ended and the independence of the little nation secured, a new and distinct race of people had been born, to us, prouder than all others,—the Americans. From that time on, this people has been making conquests of its own, and forming a Romance than which there is none more thrilling. After the United States became an independent nation, there were several years of distress and misery. The idea of a Federal government was laughed to scorn by Europeans, and the first attempt of the United States in that direction, the Confederation, prov ed a failure. But failure has never been able to discourage Americans, and a new Constitution was formed, which has ruled the people successfully ever since. Soon after the wheels of the national government had been set in revolution, the nation, obeying the true instinct of development, began to expand toward the west, crossing the hitherto impenetrable wall of the Alleghanies. There were two streams, one of New England Yankees, and one of Pennsylvanians. They met beyond the mountains and pushed on untiringly thru the great, unknown, western wilderness, lead by the desire for homesteads, and, perhaps, by the love of adventure. Another parallel procession in the South headed by Daniel Boone, crossed Kentucky and Tennessee. Soon in the valleys of the Ohio and the Cumberland, log cabins, churches, and school-houses arose showing the promise of the