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

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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

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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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America: Her lletenses ffffzbziey, Claim The innumerable horrors of warfare as we see it today make us think seriously about the defenses of our United States. It is true that our material defenses are good as far as they go, but we need more in both the army and the navy. The President, in a recent speech, pointed out that our army and navy and their respective air corps do not compare in size or quality with the corresponding defenses of the principal belligerents, and that, even though they are sufficient for use as a police patrol, they are not adequate for defense in war. Responsible men in the army and navy have realized this need for a long time, and now the American people also see its im- portance. A stepping stone between material defenses and those less tangible is our Federal Bureau of Investigation. Clever agents uncover and thwart plans against our im- portant plants and our government by discovering foreign spies and investigating their plans. During the last World War United States munitions plants were blown up by spies, but we know that more serious dangers would have developed if we had had no Secret Service agents. How little the general public knows of the activities of this department is revealed in a series of articles appearing in May in the Saturday Evening Post, but the need for secrecy means that often the most important work never is known outside a small group. The exposing of such plots as it is wise to have made known helps to mold public opinion, always a powerful inHuence, against enemies. But a nation needs defenses less obvious, though perhaps not less powerful, than its army and navy, or even its Secret Service. Public opinion, which can be molded by able leadership, by radio, by newspapers, by books, and by magazines, is only one of these. Europe recognizes and, to a degree, respects American public opinion. An excellent foundation for the sound thinking which should govern public opinion is laid by education in our public schools. We are taught that the individual is important, that if each person does the right thing, the nation will. We are shown that a country's interests are furthered more by peace than by war. Repeated ex- amples in history demonstrate that war is expensive and destructive and never leads to security. Future generations have to pay the debts which are incurred by war, re- build the morale which is destroyed by war, and regain the national security which is undermined by war. But they can never restore the lives which are sacrificed in Twenty-four