Presque Isle High School - Ship Yearbook (Presque Isle, ME)

Page 12 text:

10 mn, as -171 Ui- S' compared with the ransom asked by present dfay kidnappers. The leaders saw that it was a money making rac- ket and due to police interierence, the practice grew. Rings ot kidnappers in various cities turned their attention from unelerworld characters to res- pectable men and women. Today the whole country is shaken by the kidnapping of a youngster with fhlue eyes and fair curly hair. War between China and Japan as- sumes unimportance in the rface of this peril so immediately threatening the peace and safety of our own Am- erica. Perhaps because Charles Aug- ustus Lindbergh, Junior, is the son -of the beloved Flying Colonel that particular case of kidnapping has come to our view. But to the great majority' probably the human side of the story appeals. Everyone is -sorry for the Colonel and 'Mrs. Lindibergh, but every parent all over the land sympathizes with them. The whole country rises up in arms against such proceedings. If the kidnappers are discovered they will be branded for life. At about the same time as the Lind- bergh kidnapping came news of an- other kidnapping. This time it was young Jimmy de Jute in Niles, Ohio. But the kidnappers didn't keep that boy long. Think, however, of the life- long effect that those three days would naturally have on any normal twelve-year old boy and the parents. Think of the pangs they must have suffered in those three hectic days. Not only for those three days, but for the rest of his life the parents will always be afraid for their boy. Laws are being made or proposed every day. Whether or not they will be effective remains to be seen. As the situation stands now, one would ibe inclined to believe that the laws Sill? - - -.-inn -. sn-. . -W are rather inadequate, to say the least. At any rate, something must be done s:-on about this kidnapping racket, if the country, the greatest nation to all Americans, is going to be safe for democracy in the generations to come. Barbara E. Hutcheon '33 SCHOLARSHIP 'One of the important assets of a high school pupil is his scholarship, which means the achievement of a person in the field of education. I think that scholarship is something that is worth working for. In most of our schools today we have the Honor Roll, the first one be- ing known as the A Honor Roll and the second as the A and B Honor Roll. In iP. I. H. S. this system is com- paratively new, having been in prac- tice for two years only, but so far it has been very successful. Havinrg an Honor Roll spurs pupils on to do bet- ter work. Il, for instance, a pupil makes the A and B Honor Roll he has something to work for, from then until the next ranks come out. Scholarship is a good thing to have, it isn't only getting on the Honor Roll that counts, 'but perhaps sometime later on in life a person may be try- ing for a good position. His record may be looked up even as -far back as his high school days. Then too, if a person is intelligent and works hard in his high school years, he has a good chance of earning a scholarship at some college. In some schools they have a Na- tional Honor Society. To be a mem- ber of this one has to have a certain average. When one belongs to this, he or she may enter a college without examinations which is in itself an hon- or.

Page 11 text:

WV U .V fm E Y I. H .S. SHIP 9 keep a level head, if we but practice long enough. For many players in the game of life it is easier to win by disregarding the rules. To win one must observe the rules of the game. The rules of life are the laws suglgested and rati- fied Pby the people. At times those who disobey the rules are caught and a foul, or 'black mark is placed op- posite their name. Serious fouls are punished by life imprisonment with hard labor, solitary confinement, hang- ing, and electrocution. Less serious fouls, such as, traffic laws and intoxi- cation are punished by a fine. In ath- letics after so many fouls are made the player is compelled to leavethe game. We do not wish to' be disquali- fied in the game of life, so keep the pages of the book of life free from these fouls by strict observance of the rules. In sports the player who is alert profits by the mistakes of his oppon- ent. If we are always. alert' we will find that many opportunities present themselves for the bettering of our positions. When opportunity knocks fbe ready to open the door and let it in. Be alert to take advantages! In the game of life we should never play the part of the spectator as some of us have done in school athletics. If we pretend to participate in this most intriguing of games we should put all that we have into it. When you start to do a thing do not just half do it. Do it just a little bit better than the others. Play the game fair! If you have any failures chalked upon your score-lboard do not despair or pnotest, be a Lgood sport and return to the jgame with the determination to play fair, and with the belief that you will be victorious in the end. We should all attempt to attain and hold the position in life entitled: A GOOD SPORTSMAN ! A. Wilder '32 GRENDEL WALKS AGAIN When Beowulf killed the huge mon- ster from under the sea, he destroyed the original Grendel. But did he wipe out entirely the possibility of another such monster's stalking the earth? Or the possibility of that first Grendel's return? No, he did not. Grendel has come back in various forms down through the ages. The monster has cropped out in th-ousandfs of ways. Soldiers through all the years must have seen his shadow -on the bloody battle-field at nightg doctors must have seen the self-same shadow hov- ering over the victims of such dis- eases as yellow fever and diptheriag and now today we see Grendel in still another form. By what name does the modern Grendel go? He goes buy a new name now- the kidnapping racket. Al- though the practice has been known for some hundreds of years, it is com- paratively new in its present form. Younsg as it is, however, the kidnapp- ing! question has gained major im- portance in America. The menace hangs over every family in the coun- try. 1People live in fear and trembling every day. If this kidnappingrack-et continues to flourish, the nation, as a nation, will come to ruin, for kidnapp- ing threatens the family life, and is not the family the unit an d th e strength of any nation? Kidnapping in its present form ori- ginated some years ago among gambl- ing circles. Gamblers were carried off and held for ransom. These affairs were not usually re-ported to the po- lice, and the kidnappers began to raise the ransom, at first small when

Page 13 text:

if-K in P. I. H. 'Of course, scholarship isn't the on- ly thing that counts! Character, per- sonality and ambition are always es- sential. Nevertheless scholarship is a worthwhile thing to add to these other splendid characteristics. A little learning is a dangerous thingy Drink deep or touch not the Pier- ian spring.-Pope. V. Powers '32 NOT IN TEXT BOOKS Boys and girls who are planning to enter highschool usually think only of the benefits they will derive from study of numer-ous text brooks. In reality they learn more in many wa-ys from their new associations, than from the lbooks. There are several im- portant things to lbe learned in high school that are not printed in bo-Olks. C oaperatiorz is one of the important lessons to be learned. The townspeo- ple give a goioid example .They are backing up the school in whatever we undertake. Cooperation with the teach- ers is essential for advancement. Pu- pils whc' are ready to get help from their teachers receive the highest marks. SHIP 11 Manners are not far ffrom being the most important. If a person would a- dapt himself to school life, I should pay that manners were a very present help in trouble. It is no difficulty at all to keep from the Whispering Squad, if you act courteously. Sportsmanship is constantly in prac- tice in high -school. You are a good spontsman if you can accept defeat at any time. The boys that will get ahead are those who, after working hard and long, do not make the squad 5 but keep working in the hope that next year they will have improved their game enough to be eligible to a place on the team. The person who is ready to take the hard knocks smil- ing, is the one who will come out on top! Fair Play runs hand in hand with spertsmanship. It .is not doing you any good to win honors if you have not used fair play. A good exam- ple of clean athletics is the State Championship won by our boys. The high school has many exam- ples to show us what Cooperation, Manners, Sportsmanship and Fair 'Play have done. Other things than text books have lessonsg try to be a lesson to associates. I. Guiou '33