West Paris High School - Nautilus Yearbook (West Paris, ME)

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3 ..,.,5?li. . A r f' P Ni i'l.I I S W If ' kk Wh V I f'1AE ' f 'A X' fX?VLLlii4-fl ViyJI?V lX -H Iliff: iff Lw,!fJli.3 f . one day in Sepiemher in 1776, a crowd was surrounding a sol- itary figure, one of America s foremost patriots. This patriot had been accused of spying for the United States, and was ihout to be hanged by the E1itieh.lWhen asked if he had anything to say for or against his punishment he said, UI only regret that I have but one life to lose for my eountry.H These were the last words of Nathan Hale, for he was that famous American patriots Nathan Hale died for a cause, HAmericanism,N and he sincerebr loved his country. He lived and worked for it and finally sealed his loyalty by giving his life that others might have the priv- ilege of knowing the freedom that an American has rather than suffering under the British tyranny at that time, He could have said that he didnft want to die and pleaded for his life, but perhaps he hoped that a few would remember his speech and profit by it in the years yet to come. Hale kindled a fire in the hearts of all true Americans, and other leading Americans--Lincoln, HTeddyU Roosevelt, and the late president Franklin Roosevelt--have added their part to that 'fire until it has spread over a broader area than any other known doc- trine of faith. Lately however, it has met opposition in the form fast-growing of nCommunismU that is becoming a wide-spreading, terror largely in Russia, Poland, Finland, parts of China, Czecho- slovakia, and has even penetrated the United States. ' Which doctrine should be the leading one, uCommunismn or nAmericanismn? This should be of paramount interest to all'of us For example, under Communistic rule all but a select few are forced to turn over all that they earn to the government, to Sta- lin, and the other dominating figures in Russia and its satel- lites. They have a very meager existence with no privileges or freedoms whatsoever. If the people in the United States continue to act as they have been, and take no interest in world affairs we shall soon be overcome by the communistic doctrine, and that will be a dan- gerous situation in which to bo, We should then lose our capitalh istic form of government in which we are allowed, as individuals, to keep or use as we see fit what we earn. We now have many rights and freedoms that we can enjoy if we abide by the laws un- der which we are governed. Every individual in the United States, regardless of race, position, can show his loyalty to tho color, creed, or social United States by- acting as a real citizen and protecting the rights which we have had preserved for us by our forefathers in the past generations and we should feel it our duty to do so. If each citizen accepted this responsibility he would be prooving his loyalty to the greatest cause of all--UAmericanism.N If Mary Brett '52

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'r fe '. - Eg m.- Tk FEDERAL AID TO EDUC ATS-L DH Our present day educational system presents a problem abguti which not meny peocle are aware. On the surface, it apoeers to be functioning smoothly and efficiently, but if one studies the sit- uation carefully, he will detect many irregularities that should not present themselves in a system of education so vast as thatof the United States. It has advantages, naturally, the mejor one being thatpublic education is the last vestige of States-rights that exists on any large scale. The conservative faction of our country demand that the Federal government play Uhands-offn with the education of our children. They believe, and rightly so, that if the government aids our education financially then it will soon start dictating policies. AD undesirable feature of this system might -be that 'there would be considerable consolidation of schools in order to: ll? reduce areas reouiring insoectors or commissioners: C25 lower the cost of mrintnining hundreds of unneccessary buildingsg fl? eliminate future construction of many small buildings to provide for the raoidly expanding school enrollment. However, let us look over the good side of this measure and attemot to devise a system to smooth out the difficulties, First, the state handling of public education on the surface seems to orovide adequate facilities for the schools. The towns supoort and direct the schools in their own respective ways, meanwhile maintaining certain standards which the states set up in order to receive from the state, financial reimbursement for a oortion of the funds that are exoended. Thus, schools are able to exist, but only on the barest minimum of necessary eouinment and teachers. If, on the other hand, this some situation existed with the states in turn being reimbursed by the federelgovernment for a oortion of their exoenditures in education, the steteswould not be afraid of soending their money in order to build end main- tain well-eouicoed and well-directed schools that any child would be glad to attend. You will hear the conservatives screaming about the national debt, but they may scream in vain. Certainly we have a huge debt, but on whose shoulders does it rest! Natu- rally on the caoitclists, but are they kicking! Cf course they're not, their money is drawing interest and if the government should fail because of its debt or for any reason whatsoever, theirmoney would be no good anyway. Therefore, I still contend that federal aid to educationwill be the ultimate achievement of those who are not afraid ofchange. Francis Slattery '50

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X K lp' - 1-'q -- ' e1r' q Xl ,e. r H' -nfs 9 xl - IOUTM his LJ 1 --..sl ,Jr funn.,-xl -Mg'-,-gf-,xxu fo-'fs xrr .IJi.F.LJ lj..fXf.fQJ,?1 xjf IQJWIQJJQJQCJXIX! 3 In these times of moral, sepverational, and national chaos there arises e freouently asked Gh9StlJH based on wanton pessi- mism, Wwhat is the world coming t.PY I am perhaps biased, but nevertheless I say, ULook to your children, who represent a new, growing nation, for your answer. Yes, the youth is the citizen of tadey as well as their fathers and their prandfethers. The age of 21 years is merely an average, chosen by some one of our past law makers, as the ape a person is most ready to undertake the responsibilities of family and state. I claim that e man is either made or broken before he is 21 years of age. For example, look to your sports world and note the apes of greet athletes. The physical strensth, keen senses and natural leadership make the youthful player more proficient then those who are older. Then look to your prisons: It is there you see the harsh capabilities of youth. Some of the most hardened and dangerous criminals are under 21 years of ape! Therefore, citizenship must begin at 0 much earlier date. les, true democratic citizenship goesall.the way back to the cradle whenthe child first breathes the fresh, free slr that will someday be his to protect. No one is born prepared to live in a democracy such as ours, He must first be modeled by the master hand of experience, from wild, thoughtless childhood, to re- sponsible citizenship. Tt is at this point, birth, that you, who are given the title of citizens, must step in and see that this Nsrowlns cltlzenn is brousht up the right way. In the home, which may be the deciding factor in his life, present to the youth a form of home or local government. If the home and family has its own laws, freedoms, and duties, which contribute to the commongood.of its members, the chances are that a ch1ld'will have leerned early the moral and social obligations of e good citizen. From the church he learns to love God end his fellow man. Through the youth's constructive school years he finds many things which tie directly into the blueprint of the true citizen. There he finds a cross section of life as it is. By separating the good from the bad, rnd keeoins an open mind to all problems, he leerns eerly that elonp with the sweet comes the bitter, and for each privilege there must be a responsibility. Athletics build for mental and physical prowess and develop an incentive toward team work and fair play. Speech training and public sperklng teach the youth self-expression and constructive argu- mentlveness along with developinp power end depth of the voice. A good speaker is repfrded by meny es the some of leadership.