Roxbury Memorial High School for Boys - Bostonian Yearbook (Boston, MA)

Page 101 text:

llvumlliilii 0444 gg IQ 6 i13.1lllliI.i ..:lllEEElllilllxl l lzil lll lllillllil lli!!l lil l liz.lllll lillli!llllllllliilfllllllEl!l llil!llFilllllillllilll lill?l l152 iii? l 1.i lL. lll? llll?ll lil llilll fl iillllliiillfllllllllllllllll'llll'l'll'll''l l' CLASS ORATION Today, as We attain the goal for which we have striven these past four happy years--today, as we leave a sheltered existence to enter a turbulent, refractory World, let us take account of ourselves, lest this world find us unprepared to assume our rightful place therein. Taking personal inventory, we find that we have just completed courses of instruction offered by an outstanding secondary school, four years at our beloved Memorial. Four years that seemed like an age, a happy eternity to us who have attached ourselves to the protecting, matur- ing influence of our school-these four years, what have they taught us, what have we gained? Coursing through our minds come memories of friendships we have gained, of joyous incidents never to be forgotten, these we have gained, these have left us better men. We think of the invaluable qualities of leadership and fellowship that have grown upon us with the time. Dominating these reflections is the thought of the for- mal learning we have acquired. I will not call this last benefit we have received merely education,for education,it is true is a careful combination of knowledge and association under ideal conditions. Ours has been. a training of soul, mindfand heart. This is what enables us to leave our Alma Mater, to quote the spirit of the Athenian boys, oath, not less, but greater than when we entered. Then, as we take our places in a world quite new to us, clothed in our sturdy armor of education, we ask ourselves why this training has been given to us. The state has encouraged, persuaded, even forced us to at- tend schools where vast sums have been spent for our education-why? This effort on the part of the state has been society insurance, for in a dem- ocracy such as ours, it is necessary that We have an educated, intelligent populace. As a nation we exist only because of the impassioned desire for democracy stirring in the breasts of the patriots who founded our country. Democracy keeps our country alive, hence, it is only meet and fitting that our country maintain democracy. The conception ad- vanced by the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equali' is considered by some philosophers to be erroneous, but there is no one, I am sure, who will deny that all men possess the inalienable rightv of equal opportunity. This equal opportunity, for such equal ed- ucation, has been given to us during-these last four years by a state that expects us to use it in perpetuating a society that demands an intelligent, cultured, and educated class-and requires that to this class belongs its every member. Today, as we enter a world beset with hardship and strife, we are continually threatened with the possibility of war, We see races and classes lullllmllumlmumiiimmilmmiiiriiiiiiiiiiiii?l li ililiiii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iii iLiliiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiii iiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiA iii ii iiillilliiiliiiiiiiiiiiill 'lllll All ml mm iswllvlmui E971

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ll l'lll'l lll'llllll ll ll3 lllixi li ll,l lll:l ll? l lllixl lllii. lYll llli lli:i i li: iilil lli:i lijllllflllllii l LQ i lla,i 11.1ii1111iii llllil lli llg. E.ii l 1:i lii..lll11:5llillll lil li li lllllil.lllllnglllllillill Q46 50.4f0lfLi6ilfl lllllllllll With Mr. Campbell, we leave our regrets that he will lose the mate- rial of the best football and baseball teams Memorial has had thif year. To Mr. Reardon we leave the hope that his new perch will be more successful in frightening the Freshmen and Sophomores than us lordly Seniors. We also leave 300 nice, new, shiny bean-shooters with which he may arm his patrol. ' To Mr. Dole we leave the English language still in tolerable condi- tion. To Mr. Edmonstone we leave a calendar of the hunting season so that he may know when not to wear his fur rug. To Mr. Rideout we leave, in place of the inimitable thespians he will lose, an elaborate and complete- set of marionettes so that he will at last have actors that will follow his directions. To Mr. John A. Hennessey we leave 1800 dime banks to be dis- tributed in September to all the boys of Memorial 'to save for their sub- scriptions to The Bortonian. To Mr. Keefe we leave our regrets for the passing of a brilliant group of Commercial Seniors. The patrol Captains, Lebb, Shatz, Smith, Doucette, Elkind, and Burt Cohen, leave Mr. Reardon not unappreciative. Thanks to their OGPU vigilance the student body restrained itself remarkably well from more than its usual quota of murders, mayhem and harikari. In witness whereof we have signed, published and declared this in- strument to be our last will and testament, on this date. Signed: Class of l936. The above signed declared the foregoing instrument their last will and testament in our presence and as attesting witnesses, we hereunto set our names at Boston, in the County of Suffolk and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this date in the year of our Lord, one thousand, nine hundred and thirty-six. Signed: The Honorable QVQD Russell Tfuvwxyzj Werby, Q.E.D., F.O.B., Cell 5 Sir john Oswald Carroll, A.W.O.L. Lord Bennett Izzie the Katz Nleow, P.W.A. Benjamin Plushbottom Lockhart, Esq., A.B.C.D. In witness thereof: Stooge the First Stooge to the Stooge the First immmwii iiiimiiiiimiiiinifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iililili iiiiii iiiiiii iii?ii iil iiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilliiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiliiliiiliiiliiiliiililliiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiilliiiiiliiLiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimumuuiiiiummmumiuunmnummnnm E961

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' 0 ''ll ll'llllllllll 'lll lllllllillllllllllllillllFillllllllil!llllFllllllllllll!!!lllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllfillllll llllizflllllt?lllEllllrliclllES!ll:illlllil lilllilllilllfllllllllllllll 246 gdafvlflabdlfl ''''''l 'll 'l' bitterly pitted against one another. There are poor, incompetent leaders and with them inefficient government, there are selfish, hardened business executives, and with them, want in the midst of plenty. Ignorant mobs become easy prey of the demagogue and dictator. These conditions, most acute abroad, where people have in several countries actually given up their prerogative of thinking, are caused by one despoiler-ignorance. They can be abolished by education. Although education does not connote intelligence, this quality is soon developed by education, for one cannot study and analyze without begin- ning to think, the more one must seek and glean the facts to become ac- quainted with what he is studying, the more intelligent he becomes. This intelligence is indispensable in combating those sorry conditions of which I have spoken. WVhen people learn to analyze social and political prob- lems and to think for themselves, they will not be precipitated into war, they will not become the prey of any demagogue. The educated man, in his quest for learning, has not been content to accept hearsay as fact, when he attempts to use his education to become a worthy citizen, he should not be satisfied until he is positive that his information on all public matters is absolutely correct. We must not let false reasoning tell us that we are fully educated. We may, after leaving these sacred portals, attend college or the univer- sity, but still we should not consider our learning complete. Education in school or college should serve as a foundation upon which to build the magnificent structure of knowledge. This knowledge is not necessarily the peculiar heritage of the man who has been so fortunate as to attend school or college. Education and the accompanying power and capacity to affect an ideal society should belong to every man. The time will soon come when it will be considered commonplace to be cultured and learned, when every citizen of our country will exert a healthy, intelligent influence in his government, when knowledge will broaden the prejudiced mind and outlaw subversive philosophy. The time will come, soon we hope, when all nations will be peopled with intelligent citizens, who will establish a capable government, responsible to their enlightened control. Then, per- haps, will idealistic visions of 'fPeace on earth, good will toward men come true. Then will we approach the ideal society. Fellow classmen, 'fthe old order changeth, yielding place to the new. It is our duty, as we leave Memorial, to assume our place ,in a socilety oppressed by far too many ills. We are young, we have a powerful weapon-education-to guide us on. Let us prove worthy of the trust that has been given to us. Let us do our part to make the world a better place in which to live. Our world looks to her youth for dleliverance from economic, social, and political chaos, we cannot, We must not fail! RUSSELL T. WERBY i iiiummiiiiwmnrlmm ni iiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiii iiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiililiiiiiiiiiiiifiii iiiii i iii iiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiifiiiiiimi wi 1 ri iiiiiiini miizinumii V l981