Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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The Pioneer Page Nine the service of humanity in general. Cecil Rhodes was born in Hertford¬ shire, England, July 5, 1853. He started in life with almost every possible handi¬ cap. The son of a poor English clergy¬ man, and one of the youngest of nine children, he was moneyless and sickly. At the age of nine the boy was sent to attend a local grammar school. Seven years later he graduated a tall, fair-hair¬ ed youth with a shy, reserved manner and delicate health. In the hope that his health might be benefittted, he was- ship¬ ped off at the age of seventeen to an older brother’s farm at Natal. A year after his arrival in South Africa there arose great excitement over the discovery of diamonds at Kimberley. There was a rush of wealth-seekers to the scene, and the boy, eager for the chance to gain sudden fortune, hastened thither, making the journey of four-hundred miles in an ox-cart and carrying with him no other equipment than a spade, a bucket, and a few thumbed volumes of Latin and Greek classics. Kimberley in those early days —the year was 1871—was a place neither inviting nor healthful. It lacked santi- tation and was upset by fevers. Young Rhodes even found it hard to get whole¬ some food, and the outlook for anything approaching success, far from promising. However by dint of stick-to-it-iveness and perseverenee, within a year of his arrival he had gained himself claims valued at $25,000. Indeed he displayed such keen judgment and of such uncanny business ability that no one wTio dealt with him could believe that he was only a boy of eighteen. It was about this time that the young diamond digger determined to further his education by going to Oxford. He set sail in 1873. His health was still wretch¬ ed and there came a time when he was told by his physician that he had only six months to live. But this was a man who defied adverse conditions and over¬ rode obstacles. He simply refused to die! and winter after winter he jour¬ neyed to England, where, at the great university he studied diligently. It was not until 1881, eight years after entering the schools, that he finished his course. At Oxford, Rhodes came under the in¬ fluence of John Ruskin, then a professor there. Inspired by him, it seems, Rhodes ' ' conceived the great purpose in life which was to guide himi throu to the end — service to humanity. He is said to have ' made the statement, however, that “it’s no use to have grand ideas if you haven’t the ihoney to carry them out. ” Witlu this in mind he spent the early years of his life in amassing a fortune. He continued to increase the extent of his diamond claim, out-manoeuvering all rivals, until, seventeen years after his start in the diamond fields, he had amalgamated all the South African mines into one great company, with himself at the head. In fact, at the age of thirty- five he personally controlled the diamond business of the world, having formed the greatest business combination ever estab¬ lished in the world up until that time, which produced nearly all cf the dia¬ monds, regulated the supply, and fixed the prices. If time permitted, we could go on and tell how this international diamond king branched out and gained control of a large share of the South African gold mines, how in numberless ways he stamp¬ ed himself as one of the most gigantic financial and business figures in the his- - tory of the world; but that would be be¬ side our point. Service to humanity, we - have said, was his great purpose in life. What was his idea as to how this service ■ would be best rendered? Let us go back to that great teacher in Oxford Univer- . sity, John Ruskin, whose gospel of pub- - lie service was—“have a fixed purpose,- of some kind for your country and for yourself, no matter how restricted, so that it be fixed and unselfish.” Fixed and unselfish indeed became the life pur¬ pose of Cecil Rhodes, but restricted would be far from the right adjective to acompany the other two. He has been called the empire builder, the man who “thought in continents,” and this brings us to his great work, the thing made possible by his magnificent success in money-making. He cared nothing for money except for the power its posses¬ sion gave. Throughout, he had kept it in mind as only the means to the end, and that end, the great ambition of his life, was the promotion of the best in¬ terests of humanity by creating a power

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Page Eight The Pioneer g alutaton} Parents, teachers, friends, for the Class of 1926, I extend to you a hearty wel¬ come to our graduation exercises. We welcome our parents who have sacrificed so much that we might gradu¬ ate. You are here in response to our urgent invitation. Do you smile at re¬ membering that we have not always been so anxious to have you visit school? But this occasion would not be complete with¬ out you here. We welcome our teachers and all those in the school, who, by faithful teaching and patient effort, have led us through this peiiod of our training . We know that we have been trying many, many times, but you kept on showing us that persevering, well-directed work in our studies and extra activities was worth while, and now is your hour of triumph as well as ours. We are also happy to have the mem¬ bers of the school committee here with us. It takes a strong guiding hand behind an educational system to keep everything running smoothly. You have been inter¬ ested in the progress of the students and will continue to guide the affairs of the school wisely. To all our friends we extend a true welcome because we know you are inter¬ ested in our success and joy. If, in the past four years, we have been discouraged by petty failures, if we have been downhearted because of twists and turns along the way, we have, with the encouragement of our parents, the assis¬ tance of our teachers, and the steady guidance of the school board, at last com¬ pleted this most important step in the path of life, and are eager to take the next step, whatever it may be. We know that we shall have some work to do. To get the full benefit of work we must do it purposefully. As freshmen we came to high school unfamiliar with the routine. We were given a daily pro¬ gram card which started us at our work systematically, forcing us to plan our studying at school and at hbme to fit in with our recitations. The teachers di¬ rected the way which would be the most beneficial for us to follow. By this co¬ operation on the part of the teachers, we got the correct start in high school, and then much of the responsibility rest¬ ed with us. Work is a conscious effort guided by the desire to accomplish a task. If we know what must be done and want to do it, we shall succeed in our studies or in whatever else we undertake. The Class of J 26 has had supervision and co-operation from many sources. It has followed the motto “ Directed Work Conquers Everything ” and has won. As we continue to work may we continue to conquer. May every way we take be as happy and as successful as the one we are completing. Once again I wish to make you wel¬ come. We hope that you will get as much joy and satisfaction from our ex¬ ercises as we in presenting them. Nelcena Copeland. (Elasii Unttora CECIL RHODES AND THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS America has always been noted for her ardent devotion to the cause of educa¬ tion. No amount of money has been too great to spend in the training of her youth. Rockefeller has contributed mil¬ lions to the promotion of learning, and Carnegie built libraries and endowed col¬ leges without number, and, in addition, gave a large pqrt of his huge fortune to the Peace Movement. Yet it remained for a • cool-blooded Englishman, a South African diamond king, to conceive a plan whereby, through education, universal peace may be secured. Though Cecil Rhodes was the originator of one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching schemes of modern times, people in general know comparatively little about the man, himself, and still less in regard to the scholarships, the greatest in the world, which he founded at Oxford. And so, on such an occasion as this, it would seem to be altogether appropriate to give a brief biography of this man, one of the most remarkable of all time, and also to describe his great contribution, the Rhodes Scholarships, to the field of education in particular and

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Page Ten The Pioneer so great that war would be rendered im¬ passible, that power to be the result of the close union of all the English speak¬ ing peoples of the world. Whether or not we agree with Rhodes as to the probability of the splendid result desired being accomplished according to his dream of the way to bring it about is beside the question. What interests us is the undoubted fact that Rhodes was sincere in his conviction that his part in bringing the millennium to pass was to be the enlargement of the British Empire and with it the promotion of the cause of peace, industry, and freedom. Again time prohibits us from more than summarizing. Suffice it to say that this business man, this money- grabber, devoted his great wealth to the end for which it had been created—that he spent it unsparingly in public service until by use of it plus sheer force of personality and display of astounding genius he overcame all opposition, con¬ quering the natives and outwitting the other European nations interested in South Africa, with the result that he added to British dominion an area equal to that of the British Isles, France, Prussia, Austria, and Spain combined. Today this immense region of South Africa, called after him, Rhodesia, amply testifies to the greatness of this amazing Englishman. What man in all history ever accom¬ plished more of real importance than did Cecil Rhodes? No Roman emperor ever won a greater extent of territory. Rhodes was less than forty-nine years old when he died. His last words were: “so little done, so much to do.” He was buried in his chosen resting place, a plateau on top of a high mountain in Rhodesia. An important act of tribute at his death would seem to indicate that he had made his part in the enlargement of the British Empire actually beneficial to those most vitally concerned. On this occasion the natives whom he had con¬ quered and then befriended gave him the royal salute only given to their kings. Thus they bade farewell to the one they had learned to love as the Great Spirit of Africa. Service to humanity, the great end, and the spirit of Cecil Rhodes lives today in the Scholarships to which he left his vast fortune and through which he hoped could be brought about that close union of English speaking peoples which, to his way of thinking, would be truly necessary for the promotion of the best interests of mankind. What is the na¬ ture of these scholarships is the first question which might logically be asked. They are open to selected students from the British colonies, Germany, and the United States. The fortunate young men are entitled to three years residence and study at various colleges of Oxford University. The United States has nine¬ ty-six—two for each state. The scholar¬ ships have each at the present time an annual income cf approaching $2000. Mr. Rhodes in his will specifically stated that he did not desire mere “book¬ worms” to enjoy the scholarship ad¬ vantages, but the students elected should be all-round men, of superior scholastic ability, fond of manly outdoor sports, and of high character. The mode of election was left in the hands of com¬ mittees in the various countries and colonies. The examinations are not com¬ petitive but are merely to test the appli¬ cants fitness for the honor. The first examination in the United States was held in 1904. Except in Massachusetts where candidates from secondary schools are accepted, American applicants must have reached the end of the second year n some college or university which grants degrees. Up to date the majority of Rhodes scholars have shown a prefer¬ ence for law, so that the Rhodes students will some day help to fill the ranks of distinguished public men. What are the benefits of residence at Oxford that these scholarships should be considered of such paramount impor¬ tance? In the first place the fact that these picked young men of different parts of the world being brought to¬ gether results in a more complete and sympathetic understanding among them cannot be denied. That the feeling of kinship wall be spread more and more in the process of time, and therefore that closer union preached by the practical dreamer become a reality is a logical consequence to expect. Secondly, the advantages at Oxford are equalled no-