Classical High School - Classic Myths Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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America: eutral ation aRLcPLaftdbP,tea1m4 It is strange to think that the theme of a graduation twenty-five years ago might well have been the same as ours today, America in a World at Warf' It almost makes one wonder if war is, after all, the natural state of the world, since, in spite of all that has been said or done against war in the last quarter of a century, here we are in the middle of another one, and one which promises to be even more cataclysmic than any that has come before. Yet to say that War is the natural state of the World is tantamount to admitting that man is still at the level of the brute beast, and this I cannot believe. That the world will eventually emerge from the present catastrophe, strengthened and bettered in many ways, I do believeg and I think that America will play a dominant role in this world reconstruction. To do this, however, America must preserve her traditions and institutions, and to preserve them she must remain neutral, maintain her defenses, be ready to extend a helping hand wherever one is needed, foster her humanitarian ideals, and always be guided by the spirit of her Constitution. Neutrality, that phase of America's policy which I shall take up, is divided by many into two parts, neutrality of thought and neutrality of deed. The iirst cannot be controlled by anyone. All we can do is to try to make people be reasonable, to try the best we know how to prevent them from being swayed by their emotions. The second is subject to control. Through its Neutrality Act, our government can and does see that we do nothing to provoke any belligerent, so far as is consistent with national honor. It is this. neutrality that we must bend our efforts to maintaining, that we may in the end be in a position to play our rightful part in reconstruction. The war is both helping and hindering the United States in many ways. It has shut oii a great deal of the world to American ships and American citizens. It has given us an ever-present fear that our blood may again be shed in the senseless quar- rels of other nations. It has made almost certain a great depression after the end of the fighting. But the war is accompanied by a few advantages, of which we should try to make the most. There has been a slight boom in certain businesses, a boom Twenty-two

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Q assic Cmyfhs, Bequeath, to future athletes, all Their marked ability ln baseball, track, and basketball, In football and hockey. Classical students with nothing to shave Are left a Clark Cable moustache, By one Sidney Blyden, he must have been hraveg It'll add to their glamor and dash. When Billy Howard runs out of gas, Here's something he'll really like. Franny Palmer's the benefactress, She leaves a racing bike. They're stuffing Sofas with real hair now, The latest crop, it is. The upholsterers rub their hands, and howl ,Cause ,lankelson left them his. All of the fellows, who really believed They'd always be thin, feel great. From Jim Melekian they've received A bequest of half his weight. To two deserving glamor boys, I mean two men-'bout-town-ey, Two flashy Packards, quite some toys, From Bonibicino and Downey. Tom Cawley leaves a box of weeds, They're evil smelling smokes, And just what Walt McCarthy needs To fumigate his jokes! To the fellows who want to 'chit the beatf, Who as dancers wish to rank, Co the stepping, twinkling, prancing feet Of 'flitterbug ,loew LeBlanc. McCann, the fellow without the hair, Leaves his come-hither glance, His careless, gay, romantic air, To dubs in sweet romance. Walt Rocejwicz never took a test, Many have heard him say, He'd leave to fellows who needed the rest, His weekly holiday. Now individual gifts are done, VVe've reached another part, And the whole class joins as one To leave with all its heart, To underclassmen, live full hours Of torture every day. Only a superman has the powers To last until Saturday. Let's not forget our friends, the books We've studied during our lives, WC,1'6 leaving them to dusty nooks ln Smithsonianis old archives. And now we write more seriously, Our next gifts are sincere, They go to all the faculty, Our teachers without peer. To Mr. Fenner our many thanks For counsel he gave as a rule. We didnlt know then how each of us banks On a friend for help in school. We leave to instructors our gratitude too, For knowledge and facts we shall use. We have gained so much that we never knew, Erudition Weill never lose. To Classical high, our school, we leave- But that word will never do! Not one of us can help but cleave To our Alma Mater truel Though the building is but an inani- mate thing, There's a spirit within its halls. Throughout its familiar corridors ring Echoes of friendly footfalls- We give, let us say, our undying love. Our loyalty and our devotion, To Classical High-deserving of Our genuine emotion. The will is done, sealed is our doom, We name as executors, Those lawyers of the boiler room, Charles and Andrew, our janitors. Signed, DONALD W. BAKER, Testalor.

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Q assi c Cynyfhs which in time will probably increase, thus benefiting, either directly or indirectly, the whole nation, although the benefits will probably not be lasting. lVlost important, perhaps, it has given the United States an opportunity to consolidate her relations with South America and to prove to the other American republics that the United States is no giant of the North, out to Fill her purse at the expense of others, but rather a big sister, ready to help as a big sister should. These advantages and disadvantages carry with them certain duties, duties which America must perform if she is to be accorded her rightful recognition after the war. First, we have a duty to ourselves. We must not allow ourselves to be dragged into this War without making sure that our intervention, if it comes, will not turn out to be as meaningless as it was in 1917. We must also strive to oust all bitterness from our minds, that we may not give way to that rancor which has done its share in pre- cipitating this crisis. Second, we have a duty to the belligerents, both those we favor and those we do not. lt is up to us to treat both alike, having due regard, however, to the manner in which they treat us. Third, we have a duty to the other neutrals. Since we are the largest and most powerful neutral nation in the world, the smaller coun- tries will look to us for an example and for protection, in so far as is possible, of the few rights of neutrals. Most especially we shall have the Western Hemisphere to look after, coming, as it does, under the Monroe Doctrine. Finally, we have a duty to the world at large. The United States will have to act as the repository of all culture and as the guardian of all those liberties which have been lost in Europe and in Asia, so that after the war is over civilization will have a tangible foundation upon which to rebuild. Twenty-thief