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

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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

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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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AS CANINES G0 By Lady Agatha the Third In Collaboration with Irving Levenson My goodness, when I hear these so-called human beings discussing us canines as though we were inferior beings, it makes me mad. What have they over us, anyhow, that makes them think they're the high--whatever it is- and walk around with their chests stuck out so far that the buttons on their vests are liable to pop off ? fBy the way, we animals term ourselves canines, not dogs. A dog in our language is a tramp in yours. And after all, Lady Agatha the Third, Champion, and blue ribbon winner five times, cannot very well be termed a tramp, eh?D And another thingg in what way are these humans better than we? Have they got nice, sleek, warm hair like ours? Most certainly they haven't. When winter comes they have to bundle up with only their noses showing, and still they shiver. I've often wondered how they manage to move about, loaded down as they are like persons with Christmas pres- ents. And did you ever see those women, with their hair covering their ears completely, or wound fancily around their necks, like tails? You would think they were afraid of having their dirty ears seen. Humph! And last, but not least, they talk about their petty love affairs as though they were the only living creatures that made love. Say, did you ever see two doves cooing, or snakes necking? fThey're all neck it seems to me., Indeed, we anilnals can truthfully ask-what have you humans that we haven't? And that is where my story comes in. It's about three characters--four, to be exact. Myself QI'm a collie, with long, brown and white beautiful hair, a perfectly shaped head fthe judges say all thisl, and a very friendly disposition, except when my ire's aroused., Next comes Sir Colvin the ninth, Champion, and the snubbiest canine you ever saw or smelt. Third, is my mistress' baby. I like the little tot, although she does annoy me frightfully at times by pulling my hair and twitching my ears. But she is sweet-in fact, all we canines of Mitsville, N. J. love her. Fourth, is something or otherg heis a page fifty-one