Cleveland High School - Beacon Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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strolled up to join the group and they began, all talking at once, to in- form each other of their plans for the forthcoming dances, shows, and balls. Our heroine was soon engrossed in these marvelous contemplations after resolving that 'ttomorrow she would see how things stood. During the rest of the evening Helen could be seen flitting here and there among the guests. But all things must end, and soon the last guest had departed leaving her tired but happy, to slip into bed to pleasant dreams. Tomorrow was almost over when Helen awoke to hear her telephone insistently ringing. Upon answering it she found it was an invitation to a theater party and accepted it without hesitating and with the realization that she was one of the season's most popular debutantes. But one thing puzzled her. She just couldn't recall what it was that had so disturbed her last night. Page Twenty-five

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ionable the gowns of the girls, they would never hide the insincerity and lack of strength in their characters. Still, Helen reflected, that was a grand dance Ruth gave last Sat- urday evening. You fool, said a little voice, can't you see that there isn't anything to this kind of living. Can't you see yourself in a couple of years-lines on your face from sheer bore-dom, dull eyes caused by monotony, nothing to do except be nice to people whom you'd rather slap. Think of all the people who can't go to dances and parties continually-they manage to live without them. Think of those who can't see every latest show. And besides, of what good will shows be in ten or twenty years from now when you will be expected to show a gleam of intelligence concerning something other than the movie idol of years ago. Still, ten or twenty years were a long way of and there would be plenty of time to learn all that was necessary and one might as well have a good time while it was to be had. Too, Helen wondered if she could give up her supremacy in this fashionable world. And still undecided, Helen turned away from her window and the sky that had grown dark to dress for the evening. The guests were now arriving,-all extremely self-confident, seeming to enjoy hearing themselves talk. Most of the girls were of a bony type, burned red or brown by a summer of intense activity in the sun. Most of the young men were debonair and sophisticated, all flattery and flowery speeches. There was Louise, a very athletic and intelligent girl whom Helen ad- mired, but then even she did not hesitate to change her friends if it were to her advantage. There was Bill-quite a decent fellow, good sports- man, witty, jolly, but he was literally clothed in conceit. Here, Helen stopped to denounce herself for living Where Wealth accumulates and men decay. But when one handsome fellow jokingly begged, Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss, her thoughts became rather blurred. She caught herself up and silently berated the insolent fool for interrupting her thoughts. She could find no other fault in his conduct. Helen stepped out into the garden for a breath of air. Silver trees flickered silver leaves back and forth silently and ceaselessly. She, her- self, was turned into a silver goddess and familiar objects took a strange unearthly loveliness. In the presence of this rhapsody in silver all troubles diminished or seemed insignificant. Shrill laughter and a mo- notonous hum came to her from a room filled with people just like her. They talked like her, they acted like her, they thought like her. All had the same hope of marrying a good catch. Stepping back into the room, Helen was immediately surrounded by gay, chattering young people, but she would remain aloof. Several more Page Tweozty-foam'

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Q l ASV Machine: Master or Slafve By Gilbert Fischer QQ . . . T HERE IS no need to point out the great increase in the power gl' E of man wh1ch machinery has effected. Every normal Ameri can realizes that in everything we do we are aided by ma- W chines. They furnish our transportation and communication, our homes, our clothing. Almost every convenience we have is either a machine or made possible by a machine. A vast transformation has taken place in man himself. His wants of yesterday are his necessities of today. And with his advances have sprung up prob- lems-problems which often seem to be the direct results of the use of machinery. On every hand we see the evils of the sweat shop and the tragedy of waste. Under these circumstances we are prone to believe those who blame labor-saving machinery for our dilemma. And we are liable to join the ranks of those who wish to curb the use of machinery. Before we jump to conclusions, however, let us study the situation fairly and squarely. Uncontrolled, the machine can do great damage. In almost all cases the invention of a machine heralds the unemployment of men. Since a labor- saving device causes unemployment, one of two things must take place. Either consumption must be increased to the extent that production is in- creased or part time employment must be brought about. It would be an ideal situation if both of these conditions were brought about. But if ma- chinery is used haphazardly in the future as it has been in the past, the result will be unemployment in the future, just as it has been in the past. The problem, therefore, which we face today can well be illustrated by the following example: A factory, let us say, employs fifty men Working forty-eight hours a week. There is used, then, in this factory, 2,400 man-hours of work per week. A labor-saving device is installed which cuts the necessary man-- hours to 1,200. One of two things can be done. The number of workers can be cut to twenty-five, or the number of hours of work per week can be cut to twenty-four. Twenty-four hours of work seem an absurdly short time for a man to work, but, in our illustration, unless the cut is made, it is obvious that one half the workers in the factory must be laid off. There is a further requirement. If the working time is cut to twenty-four hours, the wages of the workers must nevertheless remain the same or the de- mand for the product will be reduced due to a falling off of buying power. If the demand for the product is reduced, this will cause a need for either a further lay-off, or a further reduction of working hours. Therefore, generally speaking, we are forced to the conclusion that, since a labor-saving device reduces the necessary man-hours of work, hours Page Twenty-six