Rome Free Academy - De O Wain Sta Yearbook (Rome, NY)

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14, Tur SENIOR ANNUAL. speakers of the evening. Floyd Wayne Bell, in his subject of “The Mysterious Horseman,” told of the prominence of Benedict Arnold in the battles of Bemis Heights and Quebec. One of the pleasing efforts of the evening was that of Miss Ethyl! Jones, whose subject was “A Question of Honor.” It detailed the bold effort of a lady to save her lover who was con- demned to death. By forging the gov- ernor’s release and setting the seal her lover was freed. The story was well rendered, the most effective passage be- ing easily understood in all parts of the room. Miss Grace Louise Weller recited “Dolores Defies the King.” It was a difficult piece well rendered, telling of the demand of a maiden that her father be pardoned and protected from punish- ment for a murder which the King him- self had committed. The last speaker on the program was Henry Daniel Schilling. By many he was looked upon as a likely candidate for place in the awards. His rendition of the “ Battle of Oriskany” was very good, accompanied by a pleasing voice and stage presence. He told the pur- pose of the battle, its result and the effects it had in repelling the advance of the invaders. At the conclusion of Mr. Schilling’s recitation the Committee on Award, Henry White, A. M., of Hamilton Col- lege; Herbert Morse Burchard, Ph.D., of Syracuse University; Elmer James Bailey, A. M., of Utica Free Academy, retired, and after a few moments’ de- liberation Prof. White, as chairman, an- nounced the following awards: Slinger- land prize of $35, Miss Susan Brayton Pillmore; second prize, $15, Ernest George Countryman; third prize, $10, Arthur Seth Evans. The Boston Tea Party “ SaMUEL ADAMS”’—RICHARD J. WILLIAMS. , 1 O other event previous to the actual LN opening of the Revolutionary War revealed more explicitly that our fore- fathers were struggling for the sake of a principle than did the episode popu- larly known in the history of our country as the “ Boston Tea Party.” That prin- ciple was voiced distinctly in the protest made by James Otis, of Massachusetts; namely, that “taxation without repre- sentation is tyranny.’’ Patrick Henry’s famous utterance, ‘Give me liberty or give me death,” before the Virginia House of Burgesses, also illustrates the same underlying principle. While, on the one hand, it was the resolute determination of the English Crown to impose unjust taxes upon the American Colonists, the latter, on the other hand, were equally determined to resist, and from the very first they re- nounced the theory that ‘ Parliament possessed the constitutional right to bind them in all cases whatsoever,”’ inasmuch as they were denied the privilege of elect- ing representatives for that body. The conditions under which the emi- grants sailed to the new country, and the indifferent attitude of the home govern- ment toward them for over a century after they had settled in their adopted home, accounts for this spirit of inde- pendence with which they were instilled. Great mercantile companies were organ- ized to send out families, with a view of having them settled in various colonies on the eastern coast of North America, which England claimed as her own by right of discovery. As soon as the emi- grants reached their appointed places of settlement they were left to act much as they pleased and to shift for them- selves. One alternative or the other re- mained for them, either to labor for

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Tue SENIOR ANNUAL. 13: modern conditions New York is, no doubt, destined to become the largest and most prosperous city in the world. ‘So we see the importance of a city’s geography right here at Rome. What if there had been no low divide, but a ridge of mountains connecting the Cats- kills and Adirondacks? Then, either New York city would have been located on the St. Lawrence Gulf, or the Great Lakes would have been connected with the Mississippi River, and New Orleans would have been the metropolis. Such is the influence of the geographical loca- tion of a city upon its history and upon the history of the surrounding country. “Tf we will only open our eyes and see, we could interpret many things by geography which we now try to explain on some other basis. If such has been the past influence of Rome’s environ- ment and location upon its history and upon the history of New York State, and the country in general, we have every reason to believe that this influ- ence will continue. So may Rome ever form this great connecting link between the East and West.” e¢@¢s @ Slingerland Contest HE second annual Slingerland prize speaking contest was held in the study hall of the Academy build- ing, February, 1905. The hall was filled, as it was an opportunity to see the work done in the school. Commissioner C. C. Hopkins pre- sided and announced the speakers. Miss Elinor Elizabeth Evans, the first speaker, in her rendition of the “Swan Song” improved as her recita- tion progressed. Her subject dealt with a contest for young musicians for a prize of 200 thalers and a violin. The contestants were to compose their own selections. One of the contestants, from hearing another practicing, and realiz- ing its merit, stole the merit by playing the piece first. The young author rec- ognized the injustice and meanness and by an unseen power was aided in telling the story through his violin, winning the prize. Walter Griffith Evans, in his rendi- tion of Royal W. France’s War, in a clear and pleasing manner alluded to the enthusiasm which is aroused by news of war and heroic deeds done in battle. His subject also dealt with the sorrowful side of the subject and the homes made desolate by the failure of the loved ones to return. “The Present Crisis’’ treated of the oppression of the poor by the rich, by the trusts and monopolies. A severe arraignment of the oppressors was fol- lowed by the statement that there must come a change through either the ballot box or the misery of a civil war. In the handling of the subject Arthur Seth Evans was particularly pleasing and made an excellent impression. Miss Susan Brayton Pillmore, in a well modulated voice and clear enuncia- tion, spoke on the subject entitled “ Free Grace.’ It was the story of the effect of the life and belief of an old black mammy on the life of her young master, convicted of murder and serving a life sentence. To be near him in his prison, to occasionally see and cheer him was her object. In his serious illness she was sent for and he was brought to a realiz- ing sense of the meaning of free grace. The efforts of The Unknown Speaker, who urged all to sign the Declaration of Independence, and, worn and ex- hausted by his eloquent effort, sank into his seat, were excellently portrayed and handled by Ernest George Countryman. With pleasing voice and appearance he was readily selected as one of the best

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THE SEN their living, or else to die of starvation. Gradually, through earnest, concen- trated efforts, the colonists prospered, and became a mighty people; whereupon, they insisted upon having personal rights and freedom in the homes which they themselves had established. Again, for over a century after the settlement of the colonies, the presence of the French in Canada had suppressed any possible aggressive movement on the part of England to subjugate the Americans. The power of France in the North and her hostile attitude toward the British government compelled the latter to resort to extremely liberal measures in dealing with her colonists in America; hence our ancestors were not lax in grasping the opportune advantages which resulted from the strained rela- tions between the two dominating powers on the new continent. After the fall of Quebec in 1759, which event virtually closed the French and Indian War. the British, upon turn- ing their undivided attention to the colo- nial governments, actually found them to be independent States, governed by as- semblies which exercised all the powers and functions of Parliament. This, naturally, was objectionable to the Eng- lish. sence accordingly, it was the policy of the Crown to extirpate this deep-rooted feeling of independence from the hearts of the American patriots and to subdue them under the relentless power of British Parliament. The King, urged by his friends, sought to effect his plans indirectly, by imposing taxes upon the colonists for the support of the home government. This appears to be the key to the whole situation, the details of which are indispensable to properly un- derstand such outbreaks as the Boston Tea Party. The first step taken by King George III, who ascended the throne in 1760, NIOR ANNUAL. 15. toward accomplishing his purpose was a rigid enforcement of the old Naviga- tion Laws of Cromwell’s time. These prohibited the ships of all foreign na- tions from trading in the colonies, with additional restrictions intended to injure the foreign trade of the colonists, whose commerce had prospered without inter- ruption for nearly a century. For, although the home government had dili- gently imposed custom laws previous to the close of the French War, it had by no means been as diligent to enforce them. In other words, all laws became a dead letter and remained so for many vears. Now, suddenly, Parliament was determined that the old laws should be enforced, and the Americans learned that the ‘‘hope of their gain’ was threatened with ruin at the hands of the mother country. soon Men-of-war were immediately sta- tioned along the American coast to stop the free trade conducted chiefly with the French and Spanish West Indies. Fur- thermore, in the large seaport towns, officers of the King, armed with search- warrants, termed “ Writs of Assistance,” broke into men’s homes and places of business in search of smuggled goods, regardless of the owners’ innocence. The leading citizens were greatly exasperated by such outrages, but their complaints for a time were utterly disregarded. Shortly afterwards, a new system of taxation was proposed; namely, the ‘Stamp Act.”” Moreover, the obstinate opposition of the colonists caused it to be repealed the year following its enact- ment. The next movement of the King and his friends was to impose a tax upon glass, paper, paints, and tea, for the pur- pose of securing salaries for the soldiers, governors, and judges quartered in America, thus making the citizens wholly dependent upon the Crown. However, this attempt to exalt royal power and to