Brockton High School - Brocktonia Yearbook (Brockton, MA)

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forgotten the examples of Germany and Russia. Let us not heed the cries of these American fuhrers and commissars, let us not expend our energy in persecuting these minority organizations which declare that America is decadent, but let us instead wipe out the causes of their cries, let us strive for the good of the working man, the ordinary citizen, for therein lies our hope. Let us exalt our country, but let us not exalt it blindly, for though it be the world's stronghold of Light and Truth, yet there are many dangerous injustices, insidious things, of which we must be aware. Fifty years ago, James Bryce said that the only conspicuous failure of American democracy was its municipal government. l-lad Bryce expanded his statement, he would, no doubt, have laid the blame for this corruption on the inertia of the individual citizen. According to Lincoln, ours is a government by, of, and for the People, yet it is these same people who will relinquish their sovereign rights at a word from the ward boss or a glittering generality made by some rabble-rouser, Although four years lie between most of the graduating class and the ballot-box, during that period we must be strengthening our- selves for the day when, as full enfranchised citizens, we mark our first ballot. ln order to vote the more wisely, to benefit ourselves and our community, we must sense two most important points: the importance of the vote, and the acceptance of its responsibilities. The least citizen of this land has within his grasp the vote-a power that raises him to the level of the greatest captain of industry or the most brilliant statesman. No man can take it from him unless he so wills it, with it he is able to benefit himself and his fellow-man, without it he is nothing. Therefore, in this intervening time, we must realize that we whose destiny is to be shaped by the fate of this nation are ourselves responsible for its course. Periodically critical articles on the state of youth today appear, are widely discussed, and disappear, to be followed closely by others of the same nature. They are divided roughly into two groups: those deploring the ethical state of youth and those deploring youthful shiftlessness and irresponsibility. The first, l believe, we can dismiss, the same thing has been said ever since the days of imperial Rome, it is the second we must not fail to consider. Few of us today have even the remotest conscious sense of actual civic responsibility or duty, true, we have been taught that on the shoulders of its youth will rest the fate of the nation, the fate of an ideal, democracy, but we have discarded these admoni- tions as the speech of a generation who have failed to make a better world themselves, and expect us to correct their mistakes. When anyone asks how we shall ever be able to manage the affairs of a nation when we refuse the onus of daily life, we answer, lt will all come with time. But we are mistaken, today we must steel ourselves for tomorrow's struggles, we must realize our responsi- bilities today in order to fulfill our duties tomorrow. We must not procrastinate, we must act, for today we lay the foundation of our lives. Let us remember that our city, our state, our nation are what we make them. We, as civic-minded citizens, must find what problems confront our government, and then be pre- pared to take an active part in finding an effective remedy for them. Archibald MacLeish, in his America Was Promises asks the question America is promises for whom? The answer, so simple that it is a revelation, is America is promises for those who take them. lf we remember that, we cannot fail. I2

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CLASS ORATION A cHALLENaE-By Joseph riohefty ln considering the various aspects of the present European war, one may naturally ask, Well, what has it all to do with me? l-low is it likely to affect the U. S? The average American does not see in the present struggle an imminent threat to democracy, When our country entered the First World War, we thought that our soldiers were fighting to make the world safe for democracy, the events of the past few years have proved how wrong we were, The result in Europe has been the destruction of democratic governments like our own in countries where the people had an ideal, a desire for a better life, for self-gov- ernment, but, worn out by years of poverty and distress, they welcomed any change, even dictatorship. Despite this fact, it remains that whatever the out- come of the conflict, there is sure to be a resulting chaos which will affect our nation, to the point where the freedom of the individual will be imperilled. Its defense rests on us. Time passes quickly and brings with each age many new conceptions of human betterment, some good, others necessarily evil. lt is difficult to dis- tinguish between the two, for oftentimes they resemble each other so closely that to separate one from the other requires discriminating thought, but it is easier not to think, The present period leads one to the belief that today, more than ever before, we live in a complex world, The necessity of evaluation of ideas is paramount, its place in modern life must never be minimized. The tendency toward the unreasoning acceptance of statements is our deepest pitfall, we are all too prone to nod yes to every statement made authoritatively on the radio, or to accept the policy of a political party, without thought or consideration, in time this inertia may sound the death-knell of democracy. ln achieving the present high standard of living, Americans have sacrificed many things, among them the habit of individual thinking, ln focusing our attention on our immediate concerns, we fail to recognize the significance of seemingly unimportant events, which, given time to mature, may strangle our culture and destroy our very livelihood. There has sprung up in our country a group of self-appointed reformers, pro- fessional patriots, who consider it their sacred duty to save America from itself. That they may accomplish this noble end, they gird up their loins in the stars and stripes, conceal their bigotry and ignorance in a flow of patriotic verbiage, and parade the land with shouts of America for Americans. Their weapons are name-calling and the glittering generality, their targets those who realize and assert that America is not perfect. These misguided zealots jump to the conclusion that anyone seen in conversation with a believer in these sinister panaceas is himself connected with them, Decatur's sentiment, Our country, right or wrong, is their Bible. Moreover, they think that the freedom of the Constitution is being used as a shield for subversive activity. To be sure, eternal vigilance is the price of democracy, but let us not confuse vigilance with blind- ness to our own shortcomings. Yet these organizations, in many cases where they considered themselves most patriotic indenying the rights of free speech and free press to certain alien groups or in disenfranchising the Negro, were surely as un-American as the very groups they persecuted. In their zeal, they have forgotten what follows the abrogation of the Bill of Rights, they have ll

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CLASS HISTORY These four yeors through which we hove just possed were filled not only with much hord work ond grove disoppointments, but olso with mony well-eorned ochievements ond o greot deol of hoppiness, This is o groduoting closs of which we con rightfully be proud. Brockton High hos been compored with other schools in scholorship, music, ond othletics, ond hos never been found wonting. The foculty of Brockton High hos been oltered considerobly. The promotion of Mr, John L, Miller to superintendent of schools left the heodmoster's position vocont. This wos obly filled by Mr, Ruel E Tucker. Upon the morrioge of Miss Kotherine French, of the domestic science deportment, Miss Doris M. l-lothowoy wos oppointed. Miss Rochel S. Pope, Miss Morito Cooley, ond Miss Morgoret Robertson olso resigned to be morried. Mr, Wesley I., Merritt wos nomed in the music deportment, Mr. Doniel Creedon wos odded to the commerciol deport- ment, ond Mr. Joseph Spong wos elected heod of the science deportment, Lost June, becouse of the resignotion of Dr, MocGregory, o mon respected by every- one with whom he come in contoct, Mr. Williom J, Montgomery ond Mr. Rolph S. Frellick were given the positions of mosters. At this point we should pouse to poy tribute to Mr. Edword Boiley, former heod of science deportment for mony yeors, who possed owoy shortly ofter his resignotion in l938. The closs enrollment in September, l936, wos 982 pupils, The totol number of pupils enrolled on Moy l, l94O, wos 698. This shows o decreose of 284. Although this moy seem to be o lorge percentoge, it is no more thon con be expected from such o lorge closs in four yeors. There hove been importont chonges in the curriculum offered by the school. The most populor oddition, perhops, is the driver troining course with Mr. George F. Loing in chorge. Next is the greotly increosed interest in the music progrom of the school. Since the election of Mr. Wesley L. Merritt to the teoch- ing stoff, the bond hos shown greot improvement, Both the boys' ond girls' glee clubs, which were presented with moroon choir robes this yeor, hove members who ore tolented, The orchestro, under the direction of Mr. George Sowyer Dunhom, hos delightfully entertoined the student body ot mony on ossembly. There is olso on increose in the music courses offered. Lostly, is the recently inouguroted port-time system in the commerciol course. In this plon, the better pupils, with the Consent of their porents, ore ploced in the offices throughout the school system, ond thus get experience which should better quolify them for jobs ofter groduotion. Our othletes hove brought mony honors both to the school ond to themselves. In our sophomore ond senior yeors the footboll teoms coptured not only the Closs A championship, but olso the stote title. Agoin in our junior yeor the footboll teom wos presented with the Closs A title. The boseboll teom wos put in the spotlight by winning the stote chompionship in I938. The hockey teom, leogue chompion in our sophomore yeor, hos been greotly oided by the construc- tion of o hockey rink on Eldon B, Keith Field, The cross-country teom reoped its shore of glory by hurdling to the New Englond chompionship in l94O. The golf teom putted its woy to the Southeostern Mossochusetts chompionship lost I3