Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1910-12-31
GRAFTON WON
GOLD MEDAL
Delivered by Miss Nellie Har-
rison of Santa Fe High
School
At CONTEST IN LAS VEGAS
Loyalty, Measure of Citizenship
and Spirit That Should
Animate,

/ Miss Nellie Harrison in the ora
torical contest at Las Vegas on We'd
nesday evening won the Interschol-
astic gold medal with the following
oration
Loyalty is a virtue, so absolutely
necessary in religion, in the home,
and in the state, that we take the
| possession of it to be a matter OF
! course. While there are stories of
exceptional loyalty that have come TO
us in history and story, yet the COM
mon practice of this virtue is taken
J so much as a matter OF fact, that we
hardly note it when We sum up the
signal characteristics of men and ma
tions who have made history; yet,
there is one thing that shows that
vital regard for loyalty, which we so
absolutely demand, and that is, our
utter horror of the word traitor"
| The names OF Judas Iscariot and
Benedict Arnold ring down the years
| to us as words of horrid opprobriun
because those persons were not loyal.
Loyalty is the soul of character,
ii is the spirit which must animate
all men who wish to be Cody, up
right and patriots Loyalty is being
true, and truth is the corner stone of
character With truth firmly imbed-
ded in the structure. life will be no.
bic and useful, however, lacking in
show and ornamentation; without it,
the most ornate and imposing super
structure is but veneer and gloss, to
crumble into dust before the tempest
of life.
Truth is immutable, eternal, the
one immortal thing that pertains to
mortality, all else is transitory, ephe-
neral
After a life ill-spent in the devious
paths of ambition and self gratifica-
tion, Shakespeare has characterized
Cardinal Woolsey in his exhortation
to his servants, as saying, Let all
the ends thou aimest at be thy
country's, the Gods, and truths,
then if thou fallest, oh Cromwell,
thou fallest a blessed martyr"
Here then, on high authority. is the
spirit that should animate, the spirit
of patriotism, the spirit of piety, and
the spirit of truth, these. three, but
the greatest of these is truth.
Truth is the great sun in the con-
stellation of character, and all other
virtues are lesser stars. Truth is an
attribute of God Himself, and the
Man of Gallilee, who spake as never
man spake,, said of himself, Il am
the Truth"
If we would be true and loyal to
our country, we must see that it is
established in truth and honor. We
must be willing to defend it from in.
vasion, protect its rights and main
tain its laws and institutions. Obed-
ience to law, lies at the very founda-
tion to our Republic; disobedience
leads to disorder and anarchy. The
tendency of some people, many times,
is to disregard those laws which do
not meet with their approval. or to
take them into their own hands en-
trely, instead of allowing some duly
constituted agency TO protect them in
their rights. Let us not be unworthy
of the rich heritage, willed US by our
forefathers, who wrested our rights
from an unwilling and corrupt king,
consecrating the very soil to liberty
and justice. The destiny of our Re-
public is in our hands; respect for
constituted authority, love of truth
and justice are the key notes of our
security; the continued greatness of
our country is assured
The study of ancient empires
teaches us, that a nation may arise,
achieve greatness in war, erect mag.
nificent buildings, improvements and
defenses, and acquire a high degree
of civilization, and in a few centuries
nothing be left to show its existence
except the ruins of its GREAT cities or
meager historical accounts.
History tells us that pahvlonia ex.
listed four thousand years before the
Christian era. Babylon, it's capitol,
was the seat of a populous and
mighty empire, and one of the won.
ders of the world. Within its I'M
mense walls and Notifications, Ne
buchadnezzar ruled in all his splen-
dor From a military standpoint Ba.
oyion was impregnable, yet, this
great and splendid city fell an easy
prey to Cyrus, the Persian king.
The most masterful people the
world has ever known, were the Ro.
mans, not on account of their great
but by reason of their
tenacity and splendid
will power, From peaceful, agri-
cultural people, lovers of virtue and
honor, they gradually learned the sci
ence of warfare. overcoming the
tribes and peoples. and
finally, by their inSomltable courage.
they conquer d the then known
world.
Through their wonderful success
they became a nation of enslayers
and despoilers sacriligious and i'm
moral. and finally they paid the PEN
atty of their injustice and greed.
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