Westport High School - Herald Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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18 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. p the courage of Anglo-Saxon blood, evidenced by revolutions and wars, that the sun of lib- erty now shines around the world on the Eng- lish-speaking race. The battle of Hastings, the infusion of the Normanblood through VVilliam, the Conqueror, the Wlars of the Roses, the cruel struggle led by the stern Cromwell, the fall of the Second james through VVilliam of Grange, the Continental wars of john of Marlborough, and, crowning all, the victory of Nelson at Trafalgar, were elements in the movement of the Anglo-Saxon toward the highest civilization in history. The same conclusion is reached when we take as an example, the history of the Hugue- nots in France, in whom were bred the bone and sinew of the French nation throughout their years of persecution and suffering. Saint lt3artholomew's Day was not without its influ- ence on generations to come, the lives of many thousand heroes were-not sacrificed in vain, for the echoes of that day were heard through- out the world. The French Revolution, though carried be- yond the bounds of lawful war into the Reign of Terror, was fought for the rights of the common people. It was terminated by Napoleon who then seized the opportunity of creating a greater France. But he became dic- tator of Europe, and, in turn, was overthrown because his boundless ambition threatened the liberties of the race. The American Revolution was a protest against the exercise of despotic power and against the suppression of human rights. Inde- pendence won the day because men loved lib- erty and justice more than they feared the fire of the musket and death by the sword. At the present time, many countries are awakening to the drift of the world toward higher life and better ideals. The unrest of the Russian serf and the Siberian exile have forced from the Czar the promise of the Douma, bringing with it the dawn of a consti- tution. The young Turks, just realizing the trend of the world's thought, have overthrown the sick man of the East, and are fighting for a constitution that will wipe out the dark- est blot on Turkish history. Portugal reS611t6Cl the immoral life of Don Manuel, and, by driv- ing him from the throne, laid down a precedent of righteous living-not only for the lOWC.Sf subject of the kingdom but for the monarch as well. VVars and bloodshed have played their part in the worldls development. Now, the stage has been reached where peaceful questions of even greater moment are engaging the atten- tion of civilized people. Among them one of the most perplexing is the equalizing of the relative rewards of labor and capital. The square dealy' is helping to solve the problem of increasing the earning capacity of men to a point comparatively equal to the increased cost of their living. This is a matter for the pres- ent generation to settle through an aroused public sentiment rather than through strikes, lock-outs, and bloodshed. Andrew Carnegie says that to accomplish this result the waste of blood and treasure in war must cease. It looks as if he were right. At all events, the Hague Tribunal has settled disputes between nations that might otherwise have caused disastrous wars. The Russo-jap- anese struggle was terminated under the treaty of Portsmouth by the force of character of an American statesman, one of the greatest since Lincoln. From an economic standpoint, that was probably the greatest single achieve- ment in two decades, and the Nobel Peace Prize was well awarded in recognition of the work. Tn our own country, during the last fifty years, a great power has been growing and thriving on men's necessities, until the ,public conscience has led us almost to the point of peaceful revolution. This upheaval is typical of all the revolutions of the past that have been waged in the name of human rights. Like all such movements whose aim is for the gen- eral good, this one will be of slow growth, will have its victories and defeats, but, in the end, it will triumph as like movements in the past have triumphed. , Thus, t intellectuz come to li ance to ir wars may and dethi still mart the vas may lor far as t One hc the bus a certaf a vital, city as lt requ of us l mencec but be its fou the ris Tn t was a town 1 short 1 was a beginn Rocki' Gulf 2 Cities have 5 have great histor tells early memc

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nvernment as and in- Jhich was l be inef- lness cor- educated iis power o see and ons. He ower the But most stand his es of the ert his in- of right, that this the Fish- '. When anger the it will be d for the :R, '11, THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD I7 The Force That Changes The natural state of man in his social and political relationship to his fellow-man, has al- ways been revolutionary in its essential char- acteristics. It is this tendency of human na- ture that has led to the great progress made in bettering the conditions of humanity, for, as society changed and advanced from its primi- tive state, so nations began to feel the need of changes in their laws, religions, and learning. Hope tithe hope that springs eternal in the human breast -hope for freedom, hope for equality, hope for the uplift of mankind, has been the fundamental motive for every step in the world's advancement. , But these changes have not been brought about by the struggles of an hour or of a clay. On the contrary, all great revolutions -those that have contributed most to civil and religious liberty and to the enlightenment of mankind-have been of obscure origin and slow growth. Providence, upon all occa- sions, in order to accomplish its designs, is prodigal, of courage, virtues, sacrifices-linab ly, of man: and it is only after a vast number of attempts apparently lost, after a host of noble hearts have fallen into despair-that the cause triumphs. Christ was a revolutionist-the greatest revolutionist of all. His was a revolution that has surpassed all others in its marvelous re- sults. It was a revolution that has endured for twenty centuries and will endure for all time, because its doctrines taught men love-that love which 'has moulded people into nations whose greatest aim is the welfare of all hu- manity. In the teaching of philosophy, men have arisen whose keen observations have revolu- tionized the world, bringing enlightenment to all. Diogenes, with his lantern, seeking for an honest man, was groping for a foot-hold to quell the powers of vice and superstitution. He is typical of the multitude of great minds, that in the centuries since have tried to lead men nearer the absolute truth. Then, there have been orators who have striven to raise the tide of patriotism among their fellow-men. Demosthenes, by his ora- tory, learned upon the shores of the Mediter- ranean, swayed the Greeks to higher and nobler ideals. Cicero, in his famous oration against Catiline, stirred up the waning patriot- ism of the Romans. Nations at the times of their crises have always produced such men. Some of the greatest revolutions of the world have been waged for religious freedom. With the posting of Martin Luther's theses in 1517, there began that great religious up- heaval, known as the Reformation. It was a struggle for the emancipation of the human mind, and for the suppression of the tyran- nical powers which were controlling it. It was a revolution that still sways the world, one that was the forerunner of the world- wide movement for religious freedom, typi- fied in the American Constitution. just as men have sacrificed their lives in order to create newer and better ideas in re- ligion and- philosophy, so they have willingly given up life warring for the cause of liberty and equality. T For love of country a handful of Greeks hurled back the vast hordes of Xerxes at Thermopylae. Hannibal crossed the Alps and overthrew the Romans to preserve the auton- omy of Carthage. The Cantons of Switzerland struggled for years for love of home. For the seven centuries, since the Barons forced Magna Charta from King john at Runnymede, the English Constitution has been growing and broadening under the iniquence of civil and religious liberty. But free govern- ment in England did not come without fierce conflicts on many fields. It is only through

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the dark- Ll resented l, by driv- precedent he lowest s monarch their part the stage estions of the atten- zm one of ng of the ital. The e problem 7 men to a eased cost ' the pres- n aroused gh strikes, Lccomplish reasure in fere right. 1as settled otherwise lusso-Jap- inder the ' character ie greatest itandpoint, e achieve- ibel Peace ion of the last fifty Jwing and the -public 2 point of is typical that have ights. Like fr the gen- 'owth, will n the end, n the past THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. I9 Thus. through all the ages, along with the intellectual development of man, there has come to his soul that spirit of righteous resist- ance to injustice and wrong. Revolutions and wars may come and gog kings may be created and dethroned, but the invincible soul of man still marches on in progress toward the light, toward the right, toward liberty in conformity to law. May it be that the day will come when the cause of righteous revolution will lead us where the war drums throb no longer and the battle flags are furled in the parliament of man, the federation of the worldf' GENEVIEVE M. HERRICK, 'l1. Old Qtlindaro OUBTLESS you have at some time stood upon the roof of one of Kan- sas City's skyscrapers and viewed the vast city spread out below you. One may look in almost any direction, and as far as the eye can see, the city stretches on. One hears the hum of business life, sees the bustling activity of a vast city, and feels a certain sense of pride that they belong to a vital, throbbing community. But such a city as this does not spring up in a night. lt requires growth and development. Many of us little realize that this city was com- menced three miles above the present site, but because of the misplaced judgment of its founders, soon became overshadowed by the rising city further down the river. ln the early part of the last century it was a common everyday occurrence for a town to spring up and gain prominence in a short time, Ours was a building nation. lt was a time of expansion. The country was beginning to grasp hold of the mighty Rockies, reaching out on the one hand to the Gulf and on the other to the Great Lakes. . Cities were being built numerously. Some have gone down to utter ruin, while others have become the pulsating centers of the great XYest. There is no chapter in Kansas history that is more pathetic than that which tells of the rise and fall of some of the early towns. Today they exist only in the memory, or perhaps ruins bear a silent tes- timony to the misplaced judgment of brave and loyal men. Such was Quindaro, founded in 1856, by men eager for the building of a nation. Kan- sas at this time was a state much embroiled in political issues, but the greatest question was whether Kansas should be a free or a slave state. This was left to her own dis- cretion, and as a result both free and slave- holding men poured into her territory. Those were the blackest days in all the an- nals of Kansas' history. 'Men of both sides ravaged, burned and even slew for their cause, such was their advocacy. The men who first came and settled Quin- daro were Free State men from New Eng- land, men who were brawny and fearless, men who held a religion and a faith grounded in firm and deep principles. These men knew what it meant to leave their comfortable New England abodes for homes on the Kansas frontier. They realized what it meant to leave a peaceful community to enter into a border warfare. But they were men of principle, of religion, who, if neces- sary, would lay down their lives that their principles might be sustained. The Free State men wanted a t'Port of Entryn of their own on the Missouri River. Leavenworth and Wlestport Landing were either neutral or dominated by Southern sympathizers. The town was called Quin- daro after the name of 'one of the settlers. The river at this point makes a big bend,