Polytechnic High School - Polytechnic Student Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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Labor is embodied prayer. Labor is dignified. Labor is sacred. The workman's tool is the symbol of humanity's splendor. Animals never use tools. But man is a creature of God's own divinity, and that divinity in man is illimitable. It constantly strives to extend its scope, and the tool, the machine, is the means by which that is done. By means of the tool man makes his arm a little longer, a little sharper, a little heavier. Shall we then regard the use of the tool as a thing of shame? Yet there are those who, in their ignorance, conceive the notion that there is something particularly noble about luxurious idleness, and something degrading and low about manual toil. And so, the tool, the badge of man's transcendence, becomes an object of scorn. Have they forgotten that the Son of God made His home in a carpenter's shop and labored with chisel and saw and hammer? If these words mean nothing else to you, remember at least these two thoughts: first, the tool is the emblem of man's emergence and superiority over the brute. There- fore honor and respect him who can use it skillfully. Second, a tool once rested in the hands of Him who is the Saviour of the World. Therefore be not ashamed of being like l-lim, the Most High, a Maker, a Creator, a Producer, a Worker. From Behold Him, the Carpenter, Sermon, St. Alban's Pro-Cathedral WIALDEMAR BRAY, S'17, Porto! Department Ifditor The Pobftetluzic Stzzdeflt, I9 I7 Intelligent and profitable reading might well be viewed as a mining venture in search of the permanently valuable in literature. Was not the Wise Man merely la- menting the unsatisfying nature of barren and effusive writing when he characterized much reading as conducive to weariness? There is something about certain passages which unfailingly refreshes. Age is unknown to them. Temporal customs neither constitute nor mar their charm. Men of all times read them with delight. Their mes- sage can be successfully translated into any language, for they are universal. They are words litly spoken. They are a joy forever. From an essay, What Endures in Literature, Christian Science Monitor ROLAND SHARP, S'21, Editorial Stuff, Clvriftimz Xcience Mofzitor Preiident Ayyoriuted .Ytuderzt Body 0f1Q6llIfZtlff07l, W' 31 just as the World War had its origin in the schoolroom, so must it be outlawed in the same place. War will be eliminated, not in the palaces of Versailles, not at Geneva, but in the schoolroom. However, jingoistic newspapers and a few psuedo- patriotic instructors today incline the mind of youth to a belief that participation in the World War was necessary, inevitable. With this propaganda they are laying the foundation for future wars. There are those who yet preach the dogma, In time of peace prepare for war, not realizing that nations, like individuals, usually get what they prepare for. I would substitute for this a new, less harmful dogma, In time of peace prepare for peace. From An Appeal for Mental Disarmament, Valedictory, Univ. of So. Cal.,S'3O CHARLES WRIGHT, S'25, Imtructor in Latin, Santo Paula High School Prefident Auotidted Student Body Orgenziqution, .Suzf

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. . . To thine own self he true, And it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not then he false to any man. Our former heloved principal of Polytechnic High School, ,lohn H. Francis, made the principle expressed in this quotation the corner stone of his life and that of his stu- dents. His dynamic personality so impressed its significance upon our minds that no admonition received hy us during our lives has had such a profound and lasting effect upon our consciousness. The especial value of the thought grows with the years, for it is true that as age ap- proaches we either show an ever increasing reliance upon truth or else a degradation into untrustworthiness. There is an old proverh to the elfect that as a twig is hent so shall grow the tree. By so indelihly impressing upon us the value of honesty, .Iohn H. Francis has done us a greater service even than that resulting from our material education. lt is my hope that I shall he ever true to the ideal set hefore us hy him. 'IOHN Black, S'O9, fitt11r11qy-111-fi111' Pre.r11Je11l A.l'.l'lILifzIfFtl .S't1z1Je11t lglllfl' Olgrlllfzzlffrlll, .Snug ln our country we are called upon to give hut little in return for the advantages which we receive. Shall we give that little reluctantly? Patriotism calls for the faith- ful performance of the ordinary duties of citizenship in small matters as well as in great. There is no more menacing feature of these times than the disinclination of so- called husy people to assume tl1e hurdens of government. lf we desire to preserve to future generations the high standard of our institutions, we must impress upon our new citizens that ahove all pleasure, ahove all conveniences, ahove all husiness they must plan first their duty to their government. LnoNAno WIl,SL7N, S'12, Att11r11qy-txt-lt111' D1'l211t111g H111mr.r, 1911-1912 To one who has had the opportunity of going to a high school such as Polytechnic, which draws its students from all sections ofthe community, the advantages are mani- fold, hut most important is the experience one gains from friendships with those in school from the different walks of life. A student seldom looks into the future and realizes what the friendships he is mak- ing will mean. But after heing an alumnus for many years, he looks into the past, and comes to the realization that such friendships have proven of inestimahle value. for it will he found that the companions of school days are now husiness associates. One comes to realize further that after all, an important privilege of going to high school is this opportunity of meeting others so that one's sphere of influence may he propor- tionately hroadened and one ceases to he just another person in the life of the com- munity. Therefore, cultivate such friendships while young and your value to the community will increase with time. As a reward you will reap success with the ioy and happiness which accompany it. FRANK FRANK, W'l5, .Tt'L'lll'fli'l'-l'ifl'.l'f Nt1tio11.1l Hank Registrar' Aflllllllf Arrociutiazz

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gli? ronze M emoriczl The unveiling of the bronze bust ofjohn H. Francis on the lawn in front of the Polytechnic High School building on the afternoon of Friday, May 2, 1931, together with the impressive program presented, marked the very successful culmination of an idea which originated in the mind of a student who was graduated from the school in 1913. This enterprising former student immediately sought out several other ad- mirers of Mr. Francis and took counsel with them. The result was the selection of a committee to assist in carrying out this project. The membership of this committee represented practically every class, beginniufg in 1899 with the opening of the Com- mercial High School on the site ofold Fort Moore on North Hill Street, and ending in 'june cf 1910 when Mr. Francis resigned the principalship to assume the position of Superintendent of the Los Angeles City Schools, as well as several representing classes down through 1930. lt was made up of a carefully selected group of successful men and women, now mature in years, each of whom had received a definite inspiration from the man whose memory they were about to perpetuate. Each member cheerfully put his shoulder to the wheel, and the necessary funds were promptly contributed by friends as well as alumni. The response was spontaneous. The chairman of the general committee then placed in the hands of a special com- mittee the diflicult task of selecting a sculptor, and after much investigation Mr. Merrell Gage was unanimously decided upon to undertake the work. To reduce the likeness and personality ofsuch a man as Mr. Francis to a bronze bust was an extremely dillicult and painstaking task, but that excellent judgment was shown in the selection of Mr. Gage for the work is plainly evident by the result. It is the especial hope of the Alumni Association as well as all of the friends who took part in carrying out this project that the members ofeach class may receive some inspiration from this material symbol ofjohn H. Francis. His concept of education, his courage, his candor, his readiness to face facts, his manhood, his gentleness, his deep sympathy, and his keen appreciation of all the qualities with which the average American boy and girl is endowed should constitute a heritage on which each one should feed and grow strong. We build such a monument only that men may be re- minded, day in and day out, ofthat heritage which is theirs to claim. The author of this article, having spent all of his high school days Lll'lLlCf Mr. Francis and then having been in the employ of the Board of Education and closely associated with Mr. Francis during practically all of the period of his incumbency as Superin- tendent of Schools of this city, deeply appreciates the privilege of writing these few words concerning a man about whom so much can be said, one who lived according to the ideal he expressed in The Polytechnic Student of 1910: The permanent success of every one of us will ultimately be measured by what we give to the world .... lf you want to be happy, try to do something to make someone else happy. CLARENCE E. Ml'lAlJ, S'10