Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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THE CHIMES 15 THEY DO REPENT Sherman Gates, ' 40 The jury has found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree. I hereby sentence you, the defendant, to die in the electric chair March 8, 1937, May God have mercy on thy soul. A silence, a murmur, and a sigh, but no words as a solemn, repentant figure leaves a dismal courtroom. The last hour is approaching. At last his fantastic vision of death is turned to reality. Regretful thoughts and tormenting reminiscences are reflected vividly upon his troubled countenance. Was this punishment by death a correction for one moment of heedless frenzy or a penalty for faulty upbringing? Now the long walk into the dirty-walled room, lonely and isolated, except for a giant armchair from which eternal rest emanates. The elec- trodes are adjusted. The switch is turned on. Now he lies limp; he speaks no words; he thinks no thoughts; and he breathes no life. His body is gone with life and its possibilities. Was society compensated for the loss it had suffered? That old idea relating to an eye for an eye might only be termed as a barbaric procedure. Is anything gained by such a procedure? Could it be satisfaction or content? Should our courts have the powe r to execute? Is life so valueless that we can afford to end it? The courts have taken it upon themselves to rule the destiny of man. The words of God are, Thou shall not kill. God is the only rightful prosecutor and he alone is the supreme governor of life and death. Some of us may say there is no cure for the hardened criminal. But this hardened character by patient and resourceful guidance may be melted and remoulded into new forms and patterns. In the prisons of the United States, our prisoners receive kind treatment and training. They partici- pate in sports and enjoy other home and educational assistance. Many of our prisoners have been found to be a help rather than a hindrance in our prisons for many have written excellent stories and possess other wonderful talents. Many have rendered the deepest service to mankind by giving their lives to medicine and science. Shouldn ' t a man who has been deprived of education and moral training receive these in a public institution rather than in a vast unknown? Should we continue to show such extravagance with human life? Those in the courts do make mistakes and the error of executing an innocent man can never be retrieved by anyone; his family and friends are forever deprived of his companionship. Life imprisonment could stave off such a fatal miscalculation. The inequity of the present system is plainly apparent. We shall never reach the height of civilization until we can fully esti- mate the value of a human life.

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14 THE CHIMES dis lodging onh an occasional pebble. Vague, shadowy prognostications of myriad dangers were whispered to him by the softly sighing wind. Gently easing himself to the ground where he could peer around a spreading bush, he saw the mysterious camp ! A tall, bearded man was vigorously cleaning an antiquated oil stove. There seemed to be two other villians around somewhere, for Peck could clearly hear their voices. The topic under discussion was the armed robbery of some bank. Peck cautiously drew his blue-black revolver and crept forward with bated breath. Suddenly there was a loud pistol shot, and a new voice cut in: And now. folks, we regret that the Crime Club ' s time is up and we have to leave you until tomorrow. Again let me urge you to try Bigheart Dog Food for your dog ' s smile of health! There was a sharp, final click as the bearded man shut oft the small, compact radio that lay beside him. Sergeant Peck, disgruntled and dis- illusioned, wearily crept back through the prickling thorns, the tearing bushes, and the sinuous creepers and vines. ' ' There ain ' t no justice, muttered Peck to himself, as he clashed the motorcycle into gear and roared away into the dank blackness. DAY AND NIGHT Elizabeth Damon, ' 37 The eastern sky is colored with the rosy hues of dawn, And soon the sun will raise his head to tell us it is morn. Slowly the sunbeams light the sky, — and, as I pass, I see them shining in the dewdrops on the grass. Now% it is noon, and from the sky the glaring rays shine down. They fall on crowded city streets, on villages, and towns. The air is still. It hangs above us like a pall. And from the forest glades the birds no longer call. In the west the £un begins to sink at close of day. And soon we shall be seeing its last, bright, crimson ray. The air cools, as twilight settles gently o ' er the land. And little children now are on their way to slumberland. One by one the stars appear like tiny points of light; To the people here on earth, they tell the approach of night. Majestically across the sky, the full moon proudly sails. Again it will sink in the west, and another day we ' ll hail.

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16 THE CHIMES CITY PARKING Maugaret Soule, ' 37 Have you ever tried to find a place to park a car in Boston somewhere near your desired destination? If you haven ' t, you ought to try it about four o ' clock some afternoon. A short while ago I went in town with my father and it took us fully twenty minutes to find a piece of curbing slightly less than twenty feet long. It may sound queer that this should be so hard to find, but we don ' t like to leave our car next to a red or yellow curb. We drove slowly past our destination, hoping against hope there would be a space near it, but there wasn ' t. We moved on, both keeping our eyes wide open. Oh! There is a place, I said; but when we got nearer, I saw a sign that said No Parking from 7 A. M. to 6 P. M. , and, as it was only 4 o ' clock, we rode on. A little farther along there was a space about forty feet long, but there was also a sign that said Taxi Stand — Two Cabs. We didn ' t con- sider ourselves in the taxi class — at least our car isn ' t checkered, even if it does do a great deal of taxiing. As we crept along, I noticed that we were going down Beacon Street, and there were over a dozen buses parked here with Special on the fronts of them. I learned that there was some kind of a labor dispute going on and people from Taunton were consulting or maybe insulting the Governor. Look! Isn ' t that a space? asked my father; but when we reached it, we saw an innocent-looking hydrant nestling on the curb. There is a car that is going out, I said; but it was a woman driver, and she decided to stay put. As it is a woman ' s privilege to change her mind, we could say nothing. That car is going out, and this time it ' s a man, said my father; but the car ahead of us had seen it too, so we had to keep going. By this time we were beginning to get discouraged, especially when we saw one car occupying a space large enough for two cars, but we finally found a space with no paint on it, no signs near it, and no hydrant. Now we had to walk over half a mile to accomplish a very simple errand. When we at last reached our destination, we saw a place directly in front of the store we were going to. Although it was difficult, we managed to rin and bear it. The only thing I can suggest is — when you want to park in Boston, offer a prayer first, and then keep your eyes peeled.