Coplay High School - Coplayite Yearbook (Coplay, PA)

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At the close of the war, Hindenburg went into retirement from which he emerged reluctantly to enter ihe presidential race, and declared in resisting the attempts to make him a candidate that he was too d, that he could not understand the new generation. However, after refusing three times, he finally yielded on the representation that it was for the cause of his Fatherland. Hindenburg we find is now fast reaching his seventy-eighth year. He is non-political, recognizing no boss but God, having no personal ambitions, and desiring only to serve his country and people. He is to-day, the steadiest old man in Europe. He fears no one. He will favor no person or political party against the interests of his country, and the German people as he sees it. Hindenburg is conservative, deliberative, steady and firm, and has never been stampeded. In the worst disasters of the war, in the calamitous days of November. 1!)18, when everybody lost their heads and the Kaiser deserted the army and stampeded panic-stricken into Holland, the old Field Marshall did not lose his nerve and kept his head. In his extreme age, retaining the alertness of his senses, the keeness of his judgment and balance, Hindenburg is sound for Germany and safe for the world. With these qualifications one is almost forced to believe that peace and Germany are safe in his hands. It seems somewhat out of the ordinary to doubt his honesty, due to the fact that he has already secured release from an oath of allegiance to the Kaiser before lie accepted the nomination, and he can not become President until lie has taken an oath to be loyal to the Weimar Constitution. There is no reason to suppose that he will personally violate his oath, for the statement in his political manifesto that—“It is not the form of the State, but the spirit inspiring it which is decisive,” was doubtless an honest expression of conviction. Those who have been alarmed by his election, fearing that peace will be disturbed, should ask themselves lliis question: Which is the greater danger to the peace of Europe, a strong, steady industrious Germany, with internal authority, capable of maintaining law, order and discipline; or a Germany disrupted, internally weak, a playground of Bolshevik propoganda? Which of these two Ger-manys is most likely to fulfill its treaty obligations and repay its loans and credits? There certainly can be but one honest answer. Tn spite of the fact that there are many unpleasant rumors around about Hindenburg, he states that lie will do all he can to help establish World Peace, but he can not do this without the cooperation of the Allies. —Helen Fisher.

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But, perhaps, the best illustration of what great hope our banner can really arouse, is to turn back to the War of 1812, to Fort McHenry, and Francis Scott Key, and see how the presence of the flag, proudly floating o’er the ramparts gave inspiration to write that remarkable tribute to the flag, THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER. It contains something in those words—Our Flag was still there—which touches the hearts of all true patriots. Knowing the flag to be the spirit of our forefathers, the emblem of our country, as well as our country itself, that kept vigilance and hovered over us in peace or in war, in loss or in triumph, what attitude should we assume toward the flag? Let it be reverent, subdued, and LOYAL. Think of the flag as your nation itself. Let each thread from which it is woven twine about your heart-strings. Respect, uphold and defend it. Be your one prayer, that since it has floated over your cradle, so also shall it float over your grave. If every citizen do this, if every patriot do this—then indeed will there be a greater future for our nation. —Margaret Stefany. (jeurnany’s New ‘President The election of the aged Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg as President of Germany, was won by a plurality of almost 900,000 votes, and according to the earliest reports, was due mostly to the support given by the stay-at-homes and the women voters. In this race for presidency we find that there were three candidates in the field. Paul von Hindenburg, nominated by the Nationalist-Conservative (Monarchist) coalition; Wilhelm Marx exchancellor, nominated by the combined Centrist-Socialist-Democrat (Republican) parties; and Ernst Thalefman, champion of the Communists, who held the balance of power during the election and brought success to Hindenburg, who was the first President of Germany elected by a popular vote. Paul von Hindenburg, the new President, was born at Posen, Germany, in 1847. He was given a military education and first saw service as a subaltern in the Austrian-Prussian War of 1866. Serving in the Franco-Prussian and World War as well, he was very efficient, but little known to the world before his victory at Tannenburg, during the World war, when he drew the Russian armies into the morasses of the Mazurian lakes and took in one battle more than 40,000 prisoners. He had, however, retired from military life at the age of sixty in 1907, but was recalled to active service when the advance of the Russians made imperative the selection of a commander who knew every foot of East Prussia. Entering into the service once more, Hindenburg after his victory at Tannenburg, became a national hero, and on August 29, 1916, he was made chief of the general staff.

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Modern Fiction Fiction from the earliest dawn of literature, has been the favorite form of composition. It is a production that depicts .lie lives of imaginary persons, although il speaks of them as if they were real. It aims to portray character and seeks to give a just insight into human nature. It teaches us much concerning history, the customs, habits and manners of the domestic and social life of the people during the age in which the scenes are laid. The record of the best of what the millions of friends of the billions of people of past ages had said, thought and done have been put into the permanent form of books. The pages of our best works of fiction are strewn with wise thoughts and have all the wealth of style lavished upon them. The fiction of today, compared with that of yesterday appeals only to the lowest sentiments of human nature, and is positively not fit to be placed into the hands of young people to read. On the other hand, we have men and women who have written books on fiction which appeal to the noblest sentiments of the human heart, that teach a lesson in history, mechanical arts, and in the world of nature, which are written in exquisite language, in elegant style and in a healthy moral tone. Let us cultivate a taste for the master-minds of all fine arts and ages, and we will profit largely by it. What then, shall be said of the exclusive reading of poor fiction; that fiction of today. The circulation of popular novels has advanced by leaps and bounds of late year.;. Sensational methods of advertising have had some share in this, no doubt, but along with the large sales of novels has come the falling-off in the sales of other books. Any book-seller will admit that people buy fewer books of solid merit than they bought twenty years ago. This is surprising, especially considering the assertions constantly made as to the increasing avidity of the public for instruction. Certain classics, of course, have a steady sale, though even in their case it is diminishing. There is at present a dwindling of our great literary productions, although the inspiration of our country and its history is great, our work in the field of letters is a promise rather than an achievement. It has been well said that the characters of people may be judged by the manner in which they spend their leisure moments, and since fiction is read primarily for the sake of amusement we should read only the very best, for in so doing we will remain young in spirit, no matter how old we may be in years. Familiarity with the best literature is today almost a necessity in any training, even the most technical which aims at the highest success. Character and breadth of mental reach become steadily of greater practical importance; and for enlarging the mental view, for nourishing that imagination which is the creative force in practical affairs as in all other human work, no other training can rival the wonderful study of literature. This mental flexibility can only