Lyman Hall High school - Singer Chronicle Yearbook (Wallingford, CT)

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THE CHRONICLE V. not only be a remembrance of the mind, but a remembrance of our purses. The help should not only be sentimental, but also practical. We may help our soldiers by education, by monetary assistance, by a helping hand, by public appreciation, and by discrimination in favor of the returned soldiers in the hiring of men. In this connection, the government has already accomplished a great deal, more than many thought possible, but our legislators need to feel the weight of public opinion to urge them on to greater efforts. Will our course be that of appreciation or apathy? Are we to be considered slackers? When. John Kendrick Bangs spoke in Wallingford, a few years ago, he stated that the saddest thing he had observed in his travels was the forgetting, not only of the war, but of tin1 soldiers who brought it to a successful conclusion. You may ask, “I)o not our taxes take care of this situation?” That is what they are designed for, but have the American people, have you, seen that our funds have been rightly administered? You may say, “We are sick of, and fed up on, this subject.” So are the soldiers, but they cannot so lightly dismiss the after effects of the war, on body and soul. Their wounds were not healed by the signing of peace, nor did their troubles end when the armistice was announced. You may ask, “Why should you bother about the matter?” When we go out into life, we shall have to assume the financial and moral burdens of the war. We feel that we are alive and well because of the heroic struggles of our soldiers. Our posterity will bear the burden of the world’s greatest conflict, for many years to come, and they will revere or belittle our memory according to the manner in which we treat those who have sacrificed so much for us. They have, in many cases, given up their life prospects to go to fight the enemies of our country. Should we not give our interest and assistance in a whole-hearted manner, morally and financially, to our ex-soldiers? No nation is greater than the service and aid given to those who saved her, in their time of need. The immortal words of Kipling, written in memory of the English soldiers are equally appliable to our own soldiers—. “Lord (iod of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget!” Paul Solandt ’22 THE POTTER AND THE CLAY What is life? Down through all the ages, since the very dawn of creation to the present day, when civilization, through the highly trained intellect and inventive genius of men, seemingly has reached its highest cumulative point, man has been groping in the twilight of wonder of things immortal for the answer to the great question. In primitive times, he believed that his existence on earth was ruled by fierce gods, impersonated by the sun, the wind, and the sea, whose anger must be appeased by living sacrifice; later, that men’s lives were predestinated by Fate; but, little by little, these beliefs have given way to another, greater truth—.Man is not the slave of Destiny, but the moulder and shaper of Ins own life, placed in his hands as a sacred trust by his Maker—poets have sung it, philosophers and sages have voiced it. We are like Potters, every one, and Life is but Clay. At first the Potter works blindly, for he is gathering together his tools, and they are yet crude and unweildy. There are a great many of these tools, of all sizes and shapes, but each one has its own task to perform upon the work of the Potter. Some are of his own making; his own conception of the

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IV. THE CHRONICLE “And ever against eating cares Lap me in soft Lydian airs, Married to immortal verse, Such as the meeting soul may pierce, In notes with many a winding bout Of linked sweetness long drawn out, With wanton heed and giddy cunning, The melting voice thru mazes running Untwisting all the chains that tie The hidden soul of harmony.” Margareta Erikson ’22 LEST WE FORGET In the last two or three years, a certain feeling or sentiment seems to have arisen, which deserves our careful consideration. We should ask ourselves whether it is in complete harmony with the highest American ideals. Are our returned soldiers receiving proper care and appreciation? It is 0|f this attitude that 1 would have you think. In the first place, we should discriminate between the necessary and the unnecessary. We should consider this question not in the light of a task to be accomplished and lightly forgotten, but as a duty and pledge Avhich cannot ever be totally fulfilled. We should first investigate with an unbiased mind, what the actual need may be. We should consider the scope of the work and the best course to be adopted. When we have determined to our satisfaction the great, crying need, we should carry our righteous cause and purpose to a successful end. Human decency demands this from us. A sense of fair dealing requires it. The highest American ideals call for it. The honor and integrity of the people of the United States are now being judged by a silent tribunal of waiting men—our returned soldiers. This task is vitally important, for we have no life-long pension system as that which has gone far to support the Civil War Veterans. The undertaking is of vast difficulty, for public opinion must be aroused indifference and apathy must be overcome, legislators must be elected who fully understand and appreciate the situation. Let us consider how similar situtions and circumstances have been handled in the past. From time immemorial, the ancient, medieval and modern peoples have given vent to their gratitude, for the saving of home and country, in triumphant songs of victory. The great deeds of their national heroes were extolled in song and story. Many, nay most, of the epic poems of the world’s literature have been composed in honor of the exploits of some ancient warrior. Consider the sages of Norway and Sweden, the epic poems of Greece, the panegyrics of the Romans, the songs of the hosts of Israel, the primitive poems of the Anglo-Saxons—all these are but outpourings of the praise and gratitude of a thankful people. These sentiments did not die away in a few years, but have remained as the foundations of our literature. They are barbaric to a degree, yet some of the same enthusiasm might well become the American nation. If the ancients remembered their heroes forever afterward, should our people forget theirs in a paltry four years? The ancient heroes were feted and revered for the remainder of their lives. Should not a Christian nation remember her saviors for at least a generation? It should

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