North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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THE GOBBLER 1942 other nation is in a position to play now. The purpose of this war cannot be anything else but to make democ¬ racy work, for the simple reason that in the world democracy is contained the best of two thousand years of human effort toward a better world. The road we must follow is not new. It is the road of reason. This civilization of ours is infinitely rich and generous. It contains all the inspiration w ' e need for a thousand years to come. Our aims for the future world seem very distant and sometimes dim, but we know that there is no hope of reaching them except through victory. Although we see a high rugged road looming ahead of us, we must climb if we want our great democracy to function now and forever, and if we want future genera¬ tions to enjoy peace and the God-given rights of man. CONSTANCE M. FITZGERALD On.ati.on HE CONQUERS WHO CONQUERS HIMSELF Man should be proud of having the task, the privilege, the heritage, not of outdoing the giants in their fields -- men like Rembrandt, Dickens, Pasteur, and Edison — but rather of satisfying his own scrupulous con¬ science that he has done his best in conquering- himself. The goal towards which one strives should be the fulfillment of one’s self-s ' atisiaction. This may seem easy to do. Yet just how easily are we going to be detoured by tfje obstacles that loom before us? Let Beetho¬ ven, the deaf musician, and Lincoln, the frontiersman, serve as examples of men who overcame their difficulties despite their obstacles. Then let someone speak of his own handicaps that are too great to surmount. Regardless of physical or financial handicaps, whether you end up rich or poor, it will not matter so long as you make the most of what you have, and always strive in the direction of self-satisfaction, but not with¬ out consideration of others. Be willing to give credit where credit is due. There is a story about a young interne, James, who was elated -- because of his brief know¬ ledge concerning the matter — that he did so well in saving the life of a premature baby. Later on he learned the success was due to the head nurse’s fifteen years of experience with premature babies. I propose that each one strive first to develop his standards of judg¬ ment. For instance, everyone should read widely, and think over and discuss what he has read. He should cultivate friendships among the old¬ er, more experienced people. In this way he may learn to profit from their mature judgment. Instead of falling into the common errors of impulsive youth, he will temper his own ardent spirit and learn from the silvery hairs of experience. Yet, he must not become completely dependent on others. He must make his own decisions. He can not lean everlastingly on the shoulders of others. When his own native common sense, his judgment, and his conscience tell him that he must stand alone for the right, he must have the independence and stamina to stand on his own two feet. Despite all the help older heads may give him, he must dare to face responsibility and risk making his own mistakes. As Theodore Roosevelt said, “The man who never made a mistake is the man who never dared.” 26

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1942 THE GOBBLER G!a THE ROAD BEFORE US War is a great stultifier and now that America is at war, it will be hard to avoid the dishonesty, the prejudices, the lies, and the blind pas¬ sions that hide so naturally under the cloak of patriotism. The tendency will be toward a lowering of the moral and intellectual level in a move¬ ment downward that will be unanimous, a by-product of national unity. Restrictions are already in force and many more will follow. The ordinary citizen will have to g ' ive up many things, which, although not essential, have become symbolic of America’s better way of life ; however this will not cause real suffering. Hanson W. Baldwin wrote, “We can lose the war ; but we won’t if the nation works and sweats and bleeds for victory— and the elements making for a survival in a predatory world are concen¬ trated singlemindedness upon one aim, victory, a complete national will¬ ingness to subordinate all else to this end, and a vigor and energ-y of purpose that no pain or toil or trouble, no reserve or defeat can dampen.” American opinion may have to accept most difficult and profound changes if this war is not to end in some sort of unpredictable chaos. These changes affect certain fundamental problems of America as a na¬ tion and its relation to the rest of the world. For instance, should America renounce forever the policy of isolation? If this is answered in the affirm¬ ative, should America accept boldly the responsibility of asserting its leadership in the reconstruction of the world which will follow the war if it is won by the United Nations? The isolationist’s Utopia has broken down time and time again. America has taken part in all the major wars since the end of the eighteenth century. But after each war, there has been a return to the dream of aloofness and escapism. While the isola¬ tionists conclude that it is America’s duty to insulate itself, the reformers feel that it is America’s mission to set an example for the whole world and have the whole world benefit by it. It is President Roosevelt’s conviction that winning this war would be hardly worth while, if, after it is won, America withdrew from the peace, as it did in 1919. The fact that there is such wide interest particularly in America in the future peace and in the world of tomorrow springs from a variety of motives. The first one is the real and deep abhorrence for war which exists in this democracy. The thought of peace is an incentive to carry on the war. The second is the indestructible American faith in human pro¬ gress, according to which it is impossible to accept a war—even if it is one in which one’s very existence is at stake—without the ulterior inten¬ tion of making war serve to create a better world. The rehabilitation of Europe can hardly be achieved without the help of America. This help can manifest itself in two essential ways : as an inspiration and as a mod¬ erating factor. It can be expected that America will see the war through by a process of internal adaptation which will not involve a radical break with the past. This adaptation to war will have drastic results and each citizen will feel it, but there are no signs as yet that this will mean structual changes in the political system or a different orientation of American point of view on fundamental principles. For this reason America will serve as a sort of bridge between the past and the future which is now in the making. It will assure the continuity of civilization, a role which no 25

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1942 THE GOBBLER Try to see ourselves as others see us. Projection often helps us to see our faults more readily and makes us better able to remedy them. This will improve our efficiency by getting- rid of our faults. It may seem a little hard at first to do this, for bad habits are not easily broken, espe¬ cially if they have already made a deep impression. Never say, “I cannot break that habit; I tried before and I cannot.” It takes time and will-power and also a little backbone. Have perserver- ance, for perserverance generates success. Lastly, satisfy yourself that you have done your best in making your¬ self a better man to talk with, to live with, and to work with. Only then can one honestly say, “He conquers, who conquers himself.” JULIUS CEPLIKAS TAILOR-MADE TEXTILES For untold thousands of years man used vegetable and animal fibers to satisfy his needs for fabrics. Cotton, wool, silk, and flax, each with its peculiar characteristics which limit its utility, are the most important of these. To be sure, he improved them--lengthening, strength¬ ening the fibers, lowering the cost of the finished product. And that they still hold the leading role in our textile world is indisputable. But in the short space of fifty years synthetic fibers have invaded the field to such an extent that their domination of it in the not-too-distant future is not improbable. Silk, product of a lowly worm, has always been considered the Queen of the fabrics, but in Count Hilaire de Chardonnet the silkworm foun d a rival. The Count was well equipped with knowledge of the worm, having- studied under Pasteur and assisted him in his study of the silkworm disease which threatened the great industry of Lyon with ruin. In 1884 he began manufacturing his artificial silk, spun of nitrocellulose. Highly inflammable, it had to be put through a denitrating process developed by Sir Joseph Swan. Chardonnet’s process, now obsolete, was important principally in that it was the first to produce a multiple-filament yarn by squirting a cellulose solution through tiny holes. In 1892 Charles F. Cross and Ernest J. Bevan, an English research team, discovered viscose rayon, made by a tricky process in which tem¬ perature, time, and humidity must be strictly controlled in order that there may be no variation in the finished fiber--a process which produces two-thirds of our rayon. The Bemberg cuprammonium process, as well as the viscose and nitrocellulose, merely regenerate cellulose. Cellulose acetate, put on the market in 1910 by the Dreyfus brothers, is a distinctly different fiber. The search for a synthetic silk had brought about the development of these fibers. Since they were in no wise synthetic silks, and since to the public the term had unpleasant connotations, the filament-makers agreed in 1924 upon the generic name rayon. Camille Dreyfus, following their lead and scorning the name rayon for his acetate fiber, coined the name Celanese. To this day the manufacturer urges the public to dis¬ tinguish between them by including in his advertising matter a test for determining the difference between Celanese and rayon. 27