Yeshiva University High School For Boys - Elchanite Yearbook (New York, NY)

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John Marshall bv DANIEL CHILL No more fitting subject for an oratorical contest could be chosen in 1953 than lohn Marshall. For. in this day when the United States stands as the strongest bulwark against the forces that would destroy the rights and liberties of individuals. we pay homage to a man eminent in making his country the outstanding protector of the individuals rights. The principles we inherit as a result of Iohn Marshalls decisions are tributes to his sagacity. patriotism. wisdom. and far-sightedness. Imagine the depth of Marshalls foresight. when he established the fact that even elected officials must not be permitted to set aside the basic rights of the individual. Even in that remote day. Marshall instinctively felt that a government unchecked would invariably become oppressive of the individuals who put their faith in it. In the many and complex cases over which Marshall presided and about which he wrote decisions, the integrity of the individual was always upheld. Marshalls genius was such that one hundred and iifty years ago, he prepared us for our world of today-a world in which, as never before. we must guard our precious heritage against ruthless tendencies toward interference with the rights of the individual. His achievements support us in our battle today to resist the unscrupulous forces of Communism. ln his own time and in a prophetic way. Marshall reviled the venomous doctrines which subjugate the individuals to the mastery of the state. More than any other person in American history. Marshall deserves our grati- tude for arming the American people politically for their present battle with the ten- tacles of Communism. He was the patron saint of each individuals privilege to follow his own enterprise in the protective shadow of his constitutional rights. This eternal freedom was established in the case of Marbury vs. Madison. in which it was decided that the Supreme Court has the power of judicial review, which pro- vides a shelter from totalitarianism and scapegoatism. Tyranny cannot, with impugnity. be imposed in a state which recognizes the sovereignty of the individual. Totalitarianism cannot smother a country which is obliged to adhere to contracts. And. in lSl9. in his stirring decision in the case of the state of New Hampshire vs. Dartmouth College, Iohn Marshall ruled that the impairment of an existing contract by a state is forbidden by the Constitution. The spirit of lohn Marshall has guided our Supreme Court since his time. like the pillar of lire that led the Israelites to the Promised Land. The intense nation- alism which he sought to enliven-this inevitably is strengthened by the nurture of a sound individualism. He espoused the glory of our country, but never at the expense of the rights of the individuals who make it up. This is the heritage of Iohn Marshall. that he made our nation great in the salvation and welfare of its individual citizens. Editors Note-This orcztorical essay carried Alf. Chill into the semi-finals of the Iournal-American Tournament of Orators. 18

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'l'hc old woman stops her rocking and strains her ears. Sounds like a horse and wagon. lereiniahf' I think so. Sarah. They both listen attentiyely at the sound of the elopping hooyes. 'I'he turnf ing of rickety wheels becomes louder. 'ASCC it, Sarah? the old man exelaims. An old horse and wagon eomes up the narrow winding road. 'l'he man and woman eagerly watch the wagon. It stops in front of the shanty. 'l'wo men step down and go to the back of the wagon. They lift a rectangular wooden box and carry it into the shanty. The old INLIUVS faee becomes more creased as he smiles to his wife. The two INCH remount the wagon and begin to ride slowly back down the narrow, winding road. The horses beating hooyes and the sound of the wagon wheels beeome softer and softer as the wagon disappears oyer the horizon. The sky is now dark. Lightning flashes through the heavens, making the entire countryside momentarily visible. The barren trees, the demolished houses and the war-torn fields all seem suddenly to flash up. Inside the old shanty, the old man sits by the window with his pipe: the old woman roeks in her ehair. Our Wlilliam has finally come home. Sarah. lIe's home to stay., WRITER'S CHAMP by BARRY ORINC-ER Sitting in a danlzy cellar, Seeluded like a mountain dwellerg To my profession I am loyal. Pounding on an ancient Royal. Poems, stories, Allegories- N ovels, fables, Bottle labels. Irlammering. yainmering all day long: Imbibing coffee, weak and strong. Sweating, panting. Cold and Clannny. Planning outa TY. draniy. Hurrying. scuriying. till I drop. Eating meals of beans and slopg Starving till I get a break. Thinl: of all the things at stake. At last I give up in despair, For this is more than I can bear: Again from Sewell, Deane and Flip: Another clarnnecl rejection slip! 1-

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