Townsend Harris High School - Crimson Gold Yearbook (Flushing, NY)

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CRIMSON AND GOLD The judge denied the motion, request- ing proof of these assertions. This, Mr. Sut readily agreed to furnish. Dr. Sunger took the stand on his own behalf and brought forth rather astound- ing information. Where did you meet jonathan Apelyf' Mr. Sut queried. I never met jonathan Apely, was Sungers retort. I created him. Five years ago on a visit to South America while walking through a dense forest I perceived that which anthropologists con- sider as the missing link. This was the first time that such a living specimen was seen. The Dutch physician, Dubois, in 1891, near Trinil, java, discovered the Pithecanthropus Erectus, or erect ape- man. It appears that Apely was the last of this genus. Modern paleontological research has proposed the Pithecanthropus as the connecting link between man and the rest of the animal kingdom. I led this being to my hut and was surprised at seeing that he behaved amicably. I was struck with a novel idea which I determined to carry into effect. By means of many difficult surgical opera- tions I made him seem as a man. He was extremely adept to learning, readily com- prehending all that I taught him. Over four years I spent in performing these operations and educating him. Finally, I was confident that my creation would re- main undetected. L E Last September I booked passage for New York. Arriving here I brought him to the Hotel Calpin, amply supplying him with money. By january I wearied of the endless surveillance of my protege and his excessive expenses and deter- mined to destroy Apely, which I did. The prosecuting attorney, wholly un- prepared for this testimony, declined the privilege of cross-examining Sunger. To substantiate the new evidence in- troduced many phylogenists and paleon- tologists took the stand. During their corroboration, the District Attorney by means of cross-examining attempted to prove that Apely was a man since he performed all of the exigent functions of man and confirmed the Dar- winian theory. Sut, having recapitulated the testimony, pleaded with the jury for an acquittal. The judge charged the jury and they retired. Tension was rife until the jury returned, after eight hours of delibera- tion. As the gentlemen of the jury entered the courtroom, Dr. Sunger drew a knife and stabbed himself through the heart, He was pronounced dead. The jury was dismissed without rendering its decision which would have no effect anyhow. I am still in a quandry when I seek to discover the decision of the jury. Was this being an ape or a man? QTHE END, T ,fa .JL .4 3 v Page Fifiy-right b SWS? l

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CRIMSON AND GOLD determine what was the cause of this death. Beyond the fact that the accused asserts that he did not commit murder, the indications strongly refute this. However, that is for you to decide. The gentlemen of the jury retired to make their deliberations, and, within four minutes, re-entered. The foreman stepped forward and delivered the verdict to the gentlemen present. He read the most logical and anticipated answer, Murder in the first degree, as a result of a knife wound in the vicinity of the heartf, IV. At the request of Dr. Sunger, Mr. Sur, the attorney for the defense, arranged that the trial be held as quickly as possi- ble. Accordingly within ten days follow- ing the inquest, this was effected. All preliminary formalities having been completed, the District Attorney was granted the floor and he proceeded to prove that Dr. Elias A. Sunger had mur- dered jonathan Apely. Sunger was seated, quite composed and free of expression. By his side was Sut displaying one of his usual conf'ident-of- victory smiles. The first witness to take the stand was Sidney Orkin. After having been duly sworn in, he proceeded to reply to the queries of the prosecuting attorney. Are you a resident of the Hotel Cal- pin P Yes. Wl1ere were you on the evening of March tenth between nine and ten o,clock?,' I was seated in the lobb of the Cal Y - pin with another resident, Mr. Benjamin Berk. Did anything unusual occur? Yes. At about ten minutes past nine I saw Dr. Sunger, with whom I had pre- viously made an acquaintance, draw up close to Apely, who had just come out of the elevator, extract a knife from the pocket of his top-coat and, without a change of expression, plunge it into the breast of Apely. The latter reeled and fell forward. This done, Sunger stood serenely gazing at the result of his act. That is all. I will now submit you to a cross-examination by the attorney for the defence, Mr. Sur. With a sweeping bow and a smile of satisfaction, the District Attorney gestured Mr. Sut to proceed with the cross-examination. I do not choose to cross-examine the witness, was the amazing statement of Mr. Sut. This answer was repeatedly rendered throughout the presentation of the state's lawyer. Q The six other eye-witnesses testified to the same effect, disclosing no additional helpful knowledge. john Dudley, the bell-hop, then bore witness concerning the character and habits of Apely. Finally the District Attorney recapitu- lated his side and concluded as follows, addressing the jury: No substan- tial motive has been established for this crime other than a desire for gaining pub- licity and then relying on your mercy. It is time that these crimes were obliterated. I ask you to convict this man, not upon evidence which is gathered inferentially from the circumstances in the case, but upon actual facts testified by numerous creditable witnesses. Gentlemen, to ful- fill the trust invested in you by your fellow-citizens, it is your duty to return a verdict of guilt. The jury would have willingly obliged the People without hearing the defence had the court allowed it to do so. At this moment, Mr. Sut opened the defence by requesting that the case be dismissed from court on the following grounds: jonathan Apely was not a man, and the game laws of New York State make no provision for the prosecu- tion of ape-killers. These statements presented without oratorical elaborations brought consternation and perplexity to the District Attorney. Page Fifty-seven

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CRIMSON AND GOLD OUR ALMA MATIER ARTHUR N the course of our high school W J, I career, do we ever pause to consider what we gain by at- tending Harris? Do we ever t realize that we are deriving more from our high school course, more than the thousands in other New York schools? ,Z f . K X: I L I. T16 lf' ,: se '9 tif Tig To the average I-Iarrisite, only two advantages are evident: first, that we obtain in three years that to which many others devote four, then, on en- tering City College, that we may resume the college curriculum without any un- necessary trouble and change of custom. The pessimist will also contribute his views. Inevitably, he will indicate the fact that to retain good scholastic stand- ing in I-Iarris, a student must perpetu- ally drudge over the studies assigned. Moreover, he will claim, Harris lacks a gymnasium which is essential to the physical development of every able student. To the former we can reply that by the time one has attained Upper B, he has become accustomed to the difficult work and arduous assignments. To the latter we can only express our desires that in the near future this missing ele- ment in our equipment will be supplied. But let us enumerate the advantages which overshadow these alleged shortcom- ings. Due to our comparatively small number, our individuality is furthered, whereas in an institution four or five times our size we would be in an immense wheel and would remain personally merely cogs most of us unassociated with school affairs. of little im- However, individuality is portance when compared to some other benefits. Perhaps more than in any V. BERGER other school, our instructors bear a deep- seated concern in all our activities, both curricular and extra-curricular. Thanks to our Director, the Harris Faculty has been convinced that All work and no play makes jack a dull boyf, In all student enterprises, the Faculty willingly offers its support and encouragement. Although that is true, it does not nec- essarily follow that our Faculty ac- complishes the work that we, the students of Harris, profess to do ourselves. We may be proud of the fact that both our publications are managed almost entirely by the students, which is not always so in other schools. In addition, we have still another ad- vantage. Contrary to the consensus of outsiders, school spirit does exist both among the instructors and the students of Harris, so remarkable as to enable the maintenance of a vast sphere or' organiza- tions. No such word as failures ap- pears in the vocabulary of Harris work- ers. As a result of this, many and sun- dry clubs have been established and up- held, service squads have been encour- aged, class organizations, of a type ex- isting in no other high school, have been well managed. All these and many others are the ad- vantages of attending I-Iarris, From our Alma Mater we graduate disciplined in the best personal qualities, experienced in self-government, well instructed in the foremost scholastic subjects, and, finally, equipped with a spirit of fine sportsman- ship, a very necessary factor in public life. In scanning the records of the present Seniors, notice how few, if any, have not at least one item to their credit as evidence of the Harrisite's acknowl- edgement of these advantages. Page Fifty-nine