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

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MR. TOWNSEND HARRIS By Nlaximilian Price Summer was dying, and the last, sere leaves of now-barren trees rustled as the wind disturbed them. Vernal fertility had given way to golden abundance, which was now succeeded by the advent of premature win- ter. The farmers hurried to complete the last details of their harvesting before the deadly frost might approach. Amidst all this hurry and confusion, Townsend Harris was born in 1804 at Sandy Hill, New York. Little notice was paid to the occasion since Towns- end Harris was the youngest of a large family which struggled hard to sustain itself. Mrs. Harris, however, petted and pam- pered Townsend whenever her numerous ac- tivities permitted her absence. When Jona- than Harris said that he was linancially unable to send Townsend to school, his wife gladly assumed the position of teacher and gave her son his first knowledge of the con- ventional studies. She also imparted to him the tendency to read good literature, a thing which he later did mechanically, rather than intentionally. At the age of thirteen, Townsend braved the manifold perils of the great City of New York, where he was employed in a dry goods store. He worked industriously until he joined in partnership with his father and brother in the croekery and earthenware busi- ness. He advanced creditably in his profes- sion, proving the value of the honesty which he practiced. Perhaps because of his own youthful de- sire for instruction and the partial frustra- tion of his hopes in that direction, Harris became interested in popular education. As a Democrat he was elected to the Board of Education and later was chosen president of that body. He proposed a Free Academy, and fought the opposition of Columbia and the University of the City of New York, both private institutions, requiring payment for their tuition. Many of his friends tried to dissuade him, but Harris, convinced that he was right Cas no doubt he wasl, refused to hear them. He fought single-handed, but in the end he triumphantly carried through the legislation which founded the present College of the City of New York. Harris is acclaimed as almost the creatori' of that organization, page forty-nine . 3'-4?-Evil-mlsp1I ,L fl Q H . f... L - uw Jef, I, J rlvvx, I' W4 fi 1 w- vi x ' ' ,' ' -2.31: fi Q x,., f'ffE' cf 1 5 A3522-Y was ' - .fs ffi. 1.- T ri A r, x il-.ff U A . un., un Xt Xp X - xg Quads TENIH -' J E1 ig 'MEA Eli'-' 5-L,-:L 32

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, w wf ' n'Q -p ' y 2 ly Tfl f room to the bridge, knocked awry by a fall- ing crane during a monsoon that cost me my master's ticket. The sandy shore extends for miles on either side of me. It is not clean and white like Faringford Beach, just below the Manor, in the autumn, but tawny and scarred, lit- tered with iiasks and broken bottles that glitter in the rays of the setting sun, rotting driftwood, cast upon the shore like . . . I tossed the book as far out to sea as I could, and prayed that he might forgive me for reading as far as I did. VIII I am back at my desk again, hearing fa- miliar sounds and passing through familiar situations, but the great burden of unrest has been removed from my heart. A thousand separate melodies, a thousand separate rhythms--the paper is going to press . . . 66 G .SUCCESS Now Apollo's chariot ends Its course across the sky, Now the Workman homeward wends With many a weary sigh. Dull and drear is the dragging day For them whose efforts lead to nought, For them who toil and them who may Achieve not what they sought. 'Tis not creations by our souls That make the hours flee, For oft attained, those conquered goals Refuse to set us free. Ambition kindles in our breast A craving for success, And though we've far surpassed the best, Passed, too, is happiness. So 'tis not greatness of the deed That makes a day well born, But the achievement of that need For which we aimed at morn. Then, when Dian in silver dress, Smiles down on Mother Earth, If 'twas a day of true success, It was a day of worth, And thus a day of happiness, An eve of joy and mirth. Henry Maas. Page forty-eight

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2 '-4 ,152 Q. iff 4 1' and it is true that his incorruptibility, his just convictions, and his perseverance were of primary importance to the successful out- come of the issue. After the death of his mother, who had had great influence upon her son, Harris fol- lowed what his ancestors would probably have termed 'Gthe road of dissipation. Be- cause of the demands of his public duties and the extravagance of his conviviality, Har- ris neglected business, thereby causing the partnership with his brother to be dissolved. Having only temporarily deserted his Puri- tan views, Harris soon promised reform and purchased an interest in a trading vessel bound for California, around Cape Horn. At the destination he assumed full ownership and spent the next five years in trading and exploring voyages, which finally resulted in financial disaster. During these voyages Har- ris acquired a vast knowledge of Oriental culture. When Commodore Perry, passing through China, en route to Japan, stopped at Shang- hai, Harris sought a position with the expedi- tion, but his services were refused. In 1853 he applied for the consulship at either Hong Kong or Canton, but received the minor port of Ningpo. Harris was rather ambitious, so, having been disappointed in his request, he sought the aid of William L. Marcy and Wil- liam H. Seward. His injured feelings aroused much sympathy at Democratic head- quarters, and Harris was appointed Consul General to Japan. On his way to that coun- try he concluded a favorable treaty with Siam, but the greatest task was to obtain a personal interview with the Shogun. Stranded near Yokohama, after eighteen months of parley- ing, he succeeded in meeting Premier Di, whom he convinced of the necessity of the treaty by citing examples of violence em- ployed by the European powers in China. Harris remained Minister General at Yido until Lincoln was elected president in 1861. He then became an ardent War Democrat. Harris never married during the seventy-four years of his life. As a diplomat, Harris followed the usual policies of his contemporaries, except that he was exceedingly honest, resisting as long as possible the avaricious demands of mercy. No doubt he shone in his international ser- vice, but his greatest achievement was prob- ably the foundation of the Free Academy, a beacon for later enterprises of similar nature -a creation which will live as long as the untold riches of education are appreciated. page fifty