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

Page 21 text:

.!4lfL6! IfA6 M1810 lfl,l l'L86! fo Through seven years of the bloodiest warfare in the history of humanity, China has been withstanding the Japanese war-machine. The casual citizen has little or no conception of the humiliation, and disgrace, the sacrifices, and suffering, which China has faced during those years. The initial battles fought in China, regardless of how heart-rending they have been, reveal the lack of unity, which has proved fatal to the Chinese in many instances, China had no encouragement towards the defense of her country. The mere capture of Nankow, Peiping, Tientsin, Tsinan, and Tsingtao was only a prelude to the atrocities which were to follow. At 10:35 a.m. on October 2, 1937, the bombs began raining down on a helpless city, Nanking, Chiang Kai-shek's southern capital. The first wave did little damage, for it was driven off by American-made Curtiss Hawk pursuit planes, manned by the Chinese pilots. At 11:15 a.m. the second wave appeared. On, and on, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, the raids continued. The Japanese were determined to wipe Nanking off the face of the earth, nothing was spared. At the railway station, and its Hsiakwan slums, the too young, too old, too poor, too sick, or too ignorant to have left Nanking, were blown to Kingdom Come. For those that died there, and their blood still stains the streets, the war was short-lived. The bombs had fallen. Their miserable huts were ignited, the people were blown to bits, the living were seared, the dead cremated. Yes, for these the war was over, their suffering was no more. The Chinese did not ask for this war. Nevertheless, it was infiicted upon them. They have fought, they have cried, they have suffered, they have died. On and on, the battle of China continued: people died, cities were destroyed, the burden of war became heavier. In her humility, in her sacrifices, in her glory, China has stood. She is determined to fight. Her cities have been gutted, and her people killed. But China stands. To China, a country of four hundred million people, no one sacrifice is too great. ROBERT OETTING- Term Four. N , 514 I fic .5 JV iS'.3gt,: SM e-1 was E. F. 17

Page 20 text:

grzfcoagfure China is a land that has been successfully farmed for forty centuries, and has a population over three times that of the United States. In com- parison, the United States is a nation in its infancy. Agriculture is the most important industry in China and the one most highly venerated, as well. With the exception of the extremely mountainous regions, all of China is covered with a fertile soil. Though the most primitive methods and implements are used, the exceeding care and patience of the Chinese in fertilizing and tilling the soil assures good crops. Every bit of refuse on a Chinese farm is put back in the ground for fertilizer. The land along the hills and on the upper levels is often irrigated by Water from the streams. Since these hills are graded into terraces, the entire country, in many of the river valleys, has the appearance of a vast garden. Wheels containing buckets, operated either by animal power or by men, raise the Water to the first level, a second wheel takes it from this to the next, and so on until it has been transported to the highest point in the district to be irrigated. Then it is distributed through small chan- nels, so that each section of land receives its share. Rice, the principal food of the people, is by far the most important crop. The teaplant furnishes an important crop, as tea is the universal beverage and is drunk in large quantities. The raising of the opium poppy has long been a curse to the Chinese people. Mulberry trees are exten- sively cultivated, as the leaves furnish food for the silkworms. From this silk the Chinese make rugs, tapestries, and many articles of clothing. We have much to expect from the friendship and intelligent coopera- tion between the United States of America and her great ally, China. China has much to lear fr mode ethods of agriculture, while the United States of Arner s ch o learn from Chinals centuries of experience. ' ILLIAM KOEDERITZ - Term Four. W 4 W4 16 l

Page 22 text:

The The The cilzghlf Oh, China . son speaks: Oh, my father, why fight we on When iight we now so many years? So many men have I killed thus With knife, with gun, with strength of hand. Is there some reason? None I know. What be there gained, save death and death And still retreat to deeper lines? Once and twice and thrice thus we Have fought and turned and run as hard. Or is there now a joy in death When heroes fall, for honor saved? They fear not death by knife nor gun, But face the foe with dauntless eyes. This cannot be, this hollow fame. Not so we fight in this my world, But fight for things, for food, for life, But fight we on despite lost hope. father speaks .' I know this too this dark despairg It twangs and burns the heart of me. For seven years I too have fought To fall, go back, and back again. At first I thought adventure nigh To raise and hold a gun on high. But once was mine the bitter taste Of enemy, of war, of death, There was no longer zeal for praise, But greater love for country now. When once I saw the foe's dread deeds, Revenge burned high and higher still Till not tenfold their number dead Would satisfy my bloody soul! son speaks : Raise not again the bloody past 'Tis bitterness enough for me To know that dead are friend and foe, To see again a mad man's dreams. Can we endure this hellish rain: For still we are but mortals now Condemned for time to earthly lot. 18