South High School - Tiger Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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 CL fSS OR ITlOn. WILL OUR REPUBLIC ENDURE? THERE is in the very atmosphere of a free Democratic country something that inspires both mental and physical activity. Freedom is essential to activity, activity leads to development, and development results in perfection. That little band of pilgrims felt that they could attain no high degree of perfection, either mentally, morally or physically without freedom, and, braving the stormy waves of an unknown ocean, they crossed to a solitary wilderness and made settlements where now stand some of the finest and largest cities of this grand Republic. But little over a century and a half had passed from the time they landed, until they had successfully resisted the tyranny of the mother country and } ecame an independent nation. From that time forward there has been but one cessation in the onward march, and even that was caused by being compelled to stamp out a degrading and unnatural evil that had been brought over from the Old World and which had gained such a firm foot hold, that it was not without a terrible struggle, great loss of life, a heavy drain on the treasury and a general shattering of the government that it was enabled to rid itself of that curse and mockery, that for so many long years gave the lie to our very motto and watchword of “ Liberty. ” I refer to the trade in human souls, SLAVERY. But not to pass thus lleetingly over the period between the Revolution and the Civil War, go back to the time when the Declaration of Independence was so bravely and nobly defended, when that Constitution was framed, that Lowell has said, “ Is perhaps the most remarkable monument of political wisdom known to history. ” From the very hour that the country became free and independent its star of fame and glory began to rise and has not to this day reached its zenith, but is steadily ascending. When the patriots of ’76 realized that they had, by their consumate valor and almost superhuman sacrifice, gained their freedom and that the young republic was thrown upon its own resources, they laid down their arms and went forth with ax and gun to develop the hidden resources and spread civilization over the then unexplored wilderness that stretched away to the west.

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and kind forbearance to give this creature a name, worthy of such qualities that bring into use the wealth of cultured minds, of warm feelings, of manly courage and of womanly devotion, in a word the mighty influence of twenty-seven true American girls and boys; and however widely they may be separated in the future by mountain, stream or sea, they will ever carry with them the sheaves of knowledge gleaned from many fields. Edith Hannah Hookey.

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And we who live in this prosperous and enlightened age can testify to the success of their efforts. As we look away across the vast expanse of western prairie to the Rocky Mountains that loom up, seeming to touch the very heavens and interrupt our view, or as we glance up and down the fertile valley of the Mississippi, we see spread out before us one of the richest and most fertile stretches of country in the world. Dotted about the prairie like oasis in a desert, or scattered along the banks of the Mississippi and its tributaries, standing as monuments to the achievements of a free people, are innumerable populous cities and thriving towns. In Minnesota and her surrounding sister states we have many examples of the enterprising northwestern spirit, where towns spring up in a day and do not wither and fade away like some fair flower but take firm root and grow up to be such cities of renown and beauty as Minneapolis the Metropolis of the Northwest and her saintly sister St. Paul. In the Middle and Atlantic states are numberless large cities whose business and commercial activity gives testimony of great enterprise. It is true throughout the Union that there is not a state but that contributes in some way to the energetic and progressive spirit characteristic of the people. Taking an inventory of the stock on hand let us consider the country’s resources. In the wheat fields of Minnesota and the Dakotas we have graneries that are sufficient to supply the entire want of this country and have a surplus for those less abundantly provided. Going toward the west and southwest there are to be found those wide expanses of grazing land supplying the great herds of cattle that furnish us with l eef. From California, that narrow strip of land beyond the Rockies, one of the richest mining and fruit raising districts to be found on the globe, comes fruit, vegetables and from her mountains gold in never-ceasing supplies. In the Alleganies are the coal mines, in the different ranges of mountains and along the Great Lakes are mines of tin, copper, iron and other useful metals. Within the confines of this country there is to be found the raw material for the manufacture of every article of necessity and even luxury, also the power and machinery for making use of them. There may come a time when the demand will be so great that the present sources of power will not be adequate to supply the requirements; but when that time comes, there will be at least one reservoir of energy as yet unutilized and whose capacity is almost immeasurable. When necessity demands it, that immense lx dy of water that now pours over Niagra Falls will not be wasting its force on the rocks, but will be under the control of man and take its place of usefulness with the other natural and artificial forces, turning the wheels of our mills and factories, driving our engines and lighting our cities. Although the United States, with her inexaustable fountain of resources, is comparatively independent of the remainder of the world, and while many of the thickly populated countries of Europe look to her for their subsistence. Yet she is in a measure dependent upon them to take the over production off her hands and keep up the demand for lal or. Besides having direct commercial intercourse with all the nations of the civilized