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

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between countries. Greece, because of its posi- tion in the Mediterranean, is of strategic im- portance to Britain. Riots and demonstra- tions have recently broken out in this coun- try in protest against Britain's actions. The case of Russia's influence in Iran and Britain's control in Greece is just another phase of the old story of imperial power politics. In China, where war has raged for more than eight years, peace seems to have been at last restored. After the end of lighting with the Japanese, civil war took hold in China between Chiang Kai Shek's nationalist party and the Communists of the northwest. With the aid of General George Marshall, our am- bassador to China, a truce has been made between the various political groups. Yet, China still faces a serious domestic problem. China and. her people are extremely poor, both politically and economically. Seventy per cent of her people live barely above star- vation, and famines are a common occurrence in the country. China's reconversation will be a very diflicult task, and it probably can- not be accomplished without the aid of the United States. Thus, in every corner of the world, the tired and war-worn masses look to American for hope, guidance, assistance. and leadership. Tomorrow's world is in our hands. The idea of One World, unified and strong, so aptly suggested by the late Wendell Willkie, will become an actuality only when nations replace petty bickering and power politics with close cooperation and true respect for fellow nations. Can we ever forget the many American G. I.'s who gave their lives on dis- tant battlefields that we might live in a peace- ful world? 1946 will be a year of many important decisions. We have endured the agony of two great wars in one generation! This time we dare not fail those who have put their faith in us. -MARTIN GRossMAN. This ls My Year To Die lWritten the day before he was killed. crossing the English Channel: picked up in a London pub : posted there and a copy sent to relativesj This is my year to die, I know, I know By sudden second looks at earth and sky As if, as if I must see all things twice For an Eternity or two. And in that last glance I see Each flower that ever I've seen bloom: Hear again the noisy prairie winds I chased mourning their busy doom: See the rivers that I've loved. The Cuivre and the Gasconade. What haven't I loved of the green earth? Only where I have not been or seen- And that, too, by the copy of my dreams. This is my year to die: So love, my Love, much more than I: Love all life well, Much more than I: Breathe deeply, see clearly, too-- Laughter full- And love all of life for two: For this is my year to die. -LARRY WEIR, Central, '34.

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Keep Faith with Them By Promoting Peace in One World The war is over-the guns, the cannons, and the tanks are once again silent. But the light for the peace has yet to be won. Today our world, though war-torn and weary, is full of many international conflicts. Making world peace a reality is a difficult task, and involves a genuine understanding and close cooperation between all countries and peoples. It was only a short time ago-slightly more than a quarter of a century-that the allied nations gained an outstanding victory over the forces of conquest and aggression. But the peace that followed that war miserably failed. Are we going to repeat that mistake? To aid us in securing peace on a global basis we have established the United Nations Organization-an international organization composed of all the allied nations that have pledged to promote peace in our world. The recent meeting of the U. N. O. has displayed its possibilities, and promises to be an im- portant instrument in making and securing lasting peace. World peace at the moment seems to depend largely on a single issue-the control and use of the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb is hailed by many scientists as the most powerful and destructive weapon ever created. It is the result of a planned program of research which made use of known facts, and it is the offspring of twen- tieth-century physics in combination with twentieth-century technology. In discussing the atomic bomb and its possibilities, we must keep in mind that it is bigger than the Big Five. Its power is greater than the combined armed forces of the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, and China. This weapon is destined to play an influential role in the future. If we fail this time to establish a lasting peace, war will inevitably return, and with such devastating and terrifying re- sults that almost everything will be utterly destroyed. Scientists have already suggested a name for the next warg they have called it the Last War. One of our biggest problems in the world today is American cooperation with Russia. Many people still see a big question mark on the U. S. S. R. We strongly believe that the Soviet Union wants peace, but we differ on the ways of arriving at it: and there are undoubtedly two sides to this issue. We find it diflicult to understand why Rus- sia should have complete control of Balkan State elections and extensive political influence in Iran. At the Ilrst London conference, the council had no sooner got under way than the misunderstanding between the two parties became clear. Two facts stood out plainly- Russia was renewing her age-old drive to the south toward the Mediterranean and the Per- sian Gulf, while Great Britain was as stub- bornly marshalling against it. However, we must remember that Russia has fought long and courageously to make possible the common victory over Germany and Japan. And we must remember, too, that war, such as swept the Soviet land, not only wiped out millions of human lives and the precious fruits of years of labor, but shat- tered homes and families from one end of the country to the other. The mass murders, the torture, the millions driven into slavery, the countless children orphaned and plunged into a nightmare world+all this has left complex human and social problems for the Soviet government and people to solve-problems that we, who did not feel the withering breath of war on our own country, cannot even imagine. In finding a solution to this problem, we must realize that Russia has evolved from the war as one of the wor1d's leading powers. A country that is destined to raise a large and troublesome problem in the future is India, judging from the perplexities she has presented in the past. India wants independ- ence and has been wanting it for many years. The leader of India's Congress Party, the largest and best organized political group, is Mohandas K. Ghandi, whose policy of non- violent resistence and non-cooperation has long been the Congress Party's weapon in its iight for independence. In 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps, a Socialist, was authorized by the Churchill government to negotiate self-government with Indian leaders. Cripps proposed, briefly, that as soon as the war was over, the Indians were to draft their own constitution which Britain pledged to accept. Since the war has ended, compli- cations have set in which have delayed India's independence. However, India's biggest prob- lem is maintaining cooperation between her 365 native states, since there are many con- flicting internal factions within her borders. The maintenance of British troops in Greece has been another cause of agitation

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Keep Faith with Them By Establishing Security in Their Homeland Peace! The word rang out like a joyful bell tolling in the black of night. In every city, on every street, and in every home all over the world people were- rejoicing. For, on September 2, 1945, aboard the battleship Missouri, was signed a document, the docu- ment that ended the most tragic war in the history of the earth. But all is not so easy. Lasting peace must be planned and worked for until everyone in the world can come to an agreement. Reconversion is a difficult task with many impediments. Today the United States is confronted with many problems. She must not only face the difiiculties of bringing all the coun- tries of the world into a satisfactory union: she must also face the difficulties arising with- in her own country. ' When World II started, millions of young Americans changed their plans for a profes- sional or business career to take up arms in the service of their country. Before the War ended, the strength of our Armed Forces was increased to over eleven million. Today these men and women are being discharged as rap- idly as possible. They have done the' job we expected of them, and now they are returning to see how we handle the job they expect of us. Our returning service men and women rightfully expect to find jobs whereby they may earn a living and be able to raise a fam- ily. The Service Men's Readjustment Act of l944 , better known as the G. I. Bill of Rights, has a provision for helping them find a job. But it is our duty also to aid in pro- viding for these veterans, because we are all in a sense the owners arid directors of indus- tries of the United States. Another expectation of returning veterans is that they will be able to find homes to live in. The housing problem has become acute, not only to the returning service men and women, but also to the civilians. Homes have become a scarcity. Many agencies have been considering projects for home construction. But strikes have prevented the shipping of supplies needed in building, and the result is that we still have too few homes for the people. Because of these strikes labor today has reached the front page of every newspaper in every city, town, and hamlet in the United States. Strikes have broken out at an un- precedented rate. These strikes have succeeded in tangling up the commercial, professional, and business interests in the United States. Labor is demanding an increase in wages, while capital says it is not capable of meet- ing this demand. The increase in the price of living and the termination of overtime on war jobs are the two main causes of the desire for higher wages. Since January, 1941, the cost of living has risen thirty-three per cent. Some say that a large increase in wages now will result in higher prices and inflation. President Truman, in trying to prevent a catastrophe, has submitted a plan providing for fact-find- ing boards to weigh both sides of a disputed issue and propose a settlement. Several objec- tions have been made to the President's plan. Management claims that the independence of industries of the United States will be im- paired by their having to open their books to the board. Labor objects that the thirty-day waiting period before a decision can be pro- claimed takes away the surprise element of strikes. Other plans are being sought to settle the disagreement. Whether any of these plans will work is yet to be seen. Something must be figured out, because the country cannot continue in this precarious position. Strikes and labor difficulties are not- the only, aftermath of war we must consider. Today we are faced with a crime wave. J. Edgar Hoover states that today juvenile delinquency is at its highest point. Boys and girls of the ages between thirteen to eighteen have formed gangs in which thievery and vice are among the qualifications to join. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is facing a grave problem when the youth of this coun- try have become corrupt. In almost every city special juvenile 'courts have been insti- tuted to aid in directing the lives of these young people. Some returning service men have also been shown as having an inclina- tion toward crime. This makes it all the harder for other veterans to re-establish them- selves at home. . These are not the only crimes we are faced with. Intolerance has become a crime in the United States because it is carried often to unlimited lengths. The United States is made up of many different races and creeds. It is a country where everyone is supposedly free to pursue his or her own way of life. And yet today we still have racial problems. The Negroes, Jews, and Japanese-Americans still