Central High School - Red and Black Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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Twentyfsix From the Dust of the Graves KA soldier speaks from his gravej ARS are great tragedies to men, Yet they appear again and again. Graves are not sought for hy the livingg Life should not take, it should he giving. So then why have these Wars and Graves? Why not have peace and hope that saves? Listen! Hear the tramp of soldiers' feet, They are going to warg hear their drums beat! Soon they shall rest under the rain of shells And hear the deep tone of funeral knells. Under the rain of shells that kill, Shot from guns hy men of skill. Hark! Hip! Hip! Hurray! sing those that have wong How little they care what they have done To you and to me here under the ground, Who once lived, too, and walked around. After another lapse of years, See the mothers, all in tears For their young Tom, Tim, or Lee! Many tragedies we've yet to see. See, comrades mine, the new faces That are rapidly taking our old places. Now they tread in the dust of our graves- Our graves, that soon may be their graves. We dead have an unselfish plea For the youth and the future that will be. We are dead, forgotten, and lostg Now here we lie under flowers and frost. But we want life and love for those aheadg We do not wish to see them dead. Let them not walk in our stupid way, Let them not die as we did in our day. Do you want to see your sons dead? No future? Give them life and freedom instead. Give them flowers and birds and song, And life! Let them live well and long! -VIRGINIA MCKENNEY, '40

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sturdy boy in drab olive American uniform. Chalky lines in his face already presaged death, unless instant and expert care could be obtained. The stranger's eyes were unforgettably magnetic. They had the indescribably patient look of those of a dog waiting to be let in out of the biting cold. Albert could not believe that the Hrst man he had engaged in single combat could look so gentle and peacefloving. The young man's face was a soothing poem. Mueller's former dread and terror metamorphosed itself into a nobler passion, more fitting to his for anyj age and training: that of brotherhood. Calmly, but with unsvverving deter' mination, he made up his mind that he was going to help this man. He knew not which were his own trenches, but he would go for the nearest one. As he bent over to pick up his newlyfadopted brother, he noted that his presence did not bring hate or distrust to the other's eyes-just a wistful but proud pleading for pity. Albert saw his face clearly. A comely face it was, with as much meanness as that of a guileless child, as honestflooking as that of the most conscientious German burgomaster. It could easily be the face of Albert's cousin, and it was not the face of a heartless monster, as he had been led to expect by patriotic propaganda. Gently he picked up his former adversary and started out. His very purpose lent him all the strength and courage he needed. He trudged on forcefully, disregarding all the shells, the pounding rain, the slippery mud. Not a word passed between the two, they instinctively trusted each other. Brotherhood was the motive power pushing him on. Again Fate took a hand. A flare shot up from his own lines, supposedly to aid him. In its glare, he stood revealed. An American sentry, twenty yards ahead of him, galvanized into actiong he raised his rifle and shot. Albert first put down his precious burden carefully and calmly, then he wheeled and ran, but to no avail. A wellfplaced shot sent Albert sprawling. Mercifully, he died instantly, his last resting place an everfreddening puddle. Who knows? He might have become the future winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. But he was satisfied to die. It was raining, death was everywhere, men were killing. It was raining ceaselessly, and Albert Mueller was not afraid. There he lay, peacefully, unknown and unseeing, perhaps, but what did it matter? The sun timidly dawning on this frenzy of nations, put its rose to one good use. It formed a glorious halo around him. There he lay in the everlasting quiet, enthronedg enthroned on the throne of love. For greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. -Louis Buoiuswicz, '37, llwe Men Are Slavesll HEN Edwin Markham said, L'Without Brotherhood we men are slaves, how truly he struck the keynote of life. Slaves? Of course we're slaves. We are slaves to customs, be they good or bad. We are slaves hampered by the chains that a few force upon us. We are shackled by the careless, who give neither care nor thought to the welfare of their fellowmen. The great nations are slaves to the petty politicians and dictators who force their way into power. The poor are slaves to the rich, who suppress them at every turn. We are slaves to our petty hatreds that we allow to seize our souls and squeeze out every bit of life blood that is in us. We are slaves to racial prejudices and religious fantacisms. Oh yes, we are slaves all rightg and we poor mortals have the solution well within our grasp and yet do not know enough to seize it. The solution is Brotherhood, and if we are to throw off our masques and breathe the air of true freedom, we must accept the challenge it makes with fortitude. -NORMA PFISTER, '38. Twentyaflve

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The Balance Wheel fOmtion for American Legion Contest, shortened for puhlicationj OUR years ago a new president appeared upon the scene of American history. The depression confronted him immediately upon his accession to oflice. But the nation soon saw that President Roosevelt was ready to cope with this obstacle. Indeed, a true man of the hour had become chief executive, a leader had stepped forth to lead these fortyfeight states and one hundred and thirty million people out of the depres- sion. A Democratic Congress soon passed his measures, and within a short time they were put into effect. Then, one by one, many of these acts found their way into the New Deal cemetery. They were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. On the one hand was the president, attempting to bring about recovery. On the other, there were nine old men, who had authority to cancel the president's policies-whose powers were perhaps able to hinder a quick recovery. President Roosevelt has, therefore, chosen an ingenious method of gaining his objectives, that is, he has devised a plan for making a Federal Judiciary of the Nine' teenth Century into a Federal judiciary of the Twentieth Century. On the surface this proposal may appear to be one which will promote eiiiciency in the administration of justice. In reality, however, the president's radical plan would provide a means of making his acts, his party, yes, even himself, supreme. I am not here to discuss the desirability of the acts of the New Deal, but I am here to defend the blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, guaranteed by our Constitution. If the president felt that his policies were so necessary, he had recourse to amendment, the right which makes our Constitution capable of meeting the needs of changing times. Instead, he has formulated a radical plan by which New Deal legislation can be declared constitutional, whether it should be or not. If this bill to reorganize the Federal Courts is passed, it will give our present executive the power to appoint six new members of his own views to the Supreme Tribunal-enough to make the technical constitutionality of almost any law quite certain. Fellow Americans, your interest and my interest lie in the preservation of the Constitution. Shall the system of checks and balances provided by our farsighted forefathers be destroyed? Shall we make our Constitution just another scrap of paper? Last November the people of the United States refelected the president by an overwhelming vote, but not, in my opinion, to take upon himself the power of packing the Supreme Court with inexperienced men. The citizens voted their confif dence in President Roosevelt, but not to fill one of the country's main Nbalancef wheels, the Supreme Court, with men who would pass favorably on his issues, consti- tutional or unconstitutional. They did not vote to set up autocracy nor to destroy our chief safeguard, the Constitution. I do not contend that President Roosevelt means to usurp this power. But sometime in the future some other president might use the authority that this new judicial bill would give him to set up an American despotism. Let the president put recovery into practice, let us have prosperity, but let us keep within the bounds of the Constitution. As patriotic American citizens, we must do everything in our power to urge the president to adopt the democratic method of amendment, thereby assuring the preservation of our Constitution and the future happiness of these United States. -VERNON Por-ILMANN, '37, Twentyfseven