Eastern High School - Echo Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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INTERNATIONAL PEACE HOW WE CAN PROMOTE IT Adele Ballman, ,22. tFirst Prizel MACINE yourself living in the I year 2022. The world is in- deed in an era of prosperity, unemployment is practically un- known, the cost of living is moderate and reasonable, mane ufacturers End an unlimited market for their goods, higher education is general, crime is very rare. The reason for all this? The na- tions have settled their disputes by arbitra- tion rather than arms. All this is the result of international peace. However, it is 1922. The world is just emerging from all the horror and bitterness of war. To it nothing could be more desirable than some practical suggestions, some definite plans for the prevention of future war, for the preservation of future peace. World peace must be a world movement backed by world sentiment. These conditions are nearer fulfillment now than at any other time in the world's history. The significance of this great popular participation of the people in the establishment of permanent peace can scarce be overestimated for it is nothing more or less than the beginning of a new and saner control of vital world relationships. The late Viscount Bryce expressed a great truth when he declared that' iithere arise certain broad and simple issues on which the judgment of the people is more likely to be right than that of the ministers who are conducting the negotia- tions.n Out of this great desire on the part of the people for lasting peace, three big ideas for the furthering of this great ideal have come. They have been proposed before but now they bear greater meaning, for the world's people are try- ing to see beyond their narrow national boun- daries and pave the way, by trust and confi4 dence in each other, to greater and more sub- stantial things. The first two of these sugges- tions can be accomplished by the governments of the various nations. The last must be done in the school, the church, and the home. In the first place, if there is to be interna- tional peace, the world must disarm. With the limitation of armaments comes limitation of the thoughts of war, limitation of greed and national hate. When a nation is armed to its limit, it is eager to try out its strength and ability. They reason thus: iiWe have put a great per cent. of our revenue into armaments. In a few years they will be useless, out of date, and new ones will have to be bought. The neighboring nation defeated us in a war some fifty years ago. We have the material now, both in men and munitions. Why not vindi- cate the victory of half a century ago. So the petty quarrel goes on. Other nations, afraid of being invaded as a result of the rage of the combatants, arm themselves for protection. Large standing armies are simply a threat against the peace and prosperity of the world. Nations that maintain them will be under sus- picion. Moreover, a standing army does great injustice to the people who live in the country which supports it. The money that the people pay out in taxes, instead of being spent for their own interests, such as more beautiful cities, better roads, improvement of the educa- tional system, and so on, is spent to rthe up- keep of a large army; for experimenting in the discovery of poison gas; for new types of guns; for battleships; and for salaries of countless workmen who are needed to carry on this cle- structive work of warfare. ' Going still further, nations often spend more on armaments than their revenue justifies. To make up the deficit, they unscrupulously issue inconvertible paper notes. It must be clearfly understood that the reduction of prices and the restoration of prosperity is dependent upon increase of production; and that continual ex- cess of governmental expenditnre over revenue is the most serious obstacle to such a produc- tion, as it must sooner or later involve further inflation of currency, further depreciation of the purchasing power of domestic currency,

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BACKGROUN D AND FOREGROUN D Ruth Henss, '2 2. VERY picture must have a back- ground as well as a foreground. The background serves to bring out the objects in the foreground more prominently. Let us con- sider Milletis picture of the An- gelus. This painting represents a peasant scene, in which the peasants stop to pray at the sound of the bell. The bell in the background of the picture helps to bring out the reason for the toiIers in the foreground stopping their work and bending their heads in devotion. So every life also has a background and a foreground. Take as an illustration the life of Abraham Lincoln. When Abraham was a boy, he did not have the many advantages and priv- ileges which we have today. He had hardships and strenuous tasks, and was unable to attend school regularly or long. What IittIe educa- tion he received cost him tremendous effort and perseverance. In the evenings he would try to write with charcoal on the shovel, and it is said he would walk for miles in order to get a book to read from the nearest neighbor. But his love for reading and his desire to prepare for the future did not cause him to neglect the simple duties of each day. As he grew older he was a trustworthy and energetic young man, doing his best for his neighbors, his state, and his country. Through the love and prayers of his parents, his own willingness to work and his honesty and uprightness, he became a man of fame, a President of the United States, and one long to be remembered. The sacrifice made by his parents and himself helped to bring out into the foreground of our natural life his worth and his character. We, the students of today, are still in our early years, determining the thoughts and hab- its Which will be the background of our future life. Let us, too, put our shoulders to the wheel, and work to be more useful in our sphere, even though it be but a limited one. Let us strength- en our sense of duty and' our character and thus form a good background for our future 1ves. H GQSQDDE-m MT. VERNON Irene Habnicht, ,22. I O mansion on the fertile banks of the Potomac, You stand majEStic, calm, As in days that have long since passed. Now, as I traverse your shady walks, And smell the fragrance of your blooming Howers, And gaze on the thought-inspiring stream, A cloud passes over the sun's knowing face. I stand alone in your beautiful garden; I see still your columns gleaming white; I see still the river, reHecting, glowing; But standing in your stately doorways, Fair dames, courteous men of old, I see. Out on your lawns of shining green To me they come laughing and dancing. Bright fans are waving in measured time; Brown eyes, blue eyes, under sweet tresses, Roguishly gaze into manly faces. Night comes creeping over the earth; There,s a path of gold upon the waves; Indoors some dance the stately minuet; Into the garden two lovers steal. I see your windows sparkle with light; 11 I watch with eager eyes the fair sights. I see you in your old time glory; When, after darkness comes the dawn, Alone, I stand in your sweet bowers, The fairy vision has faded from me; I am in the light of my own bright day. Still you remain majestic and calm, O mansion, on the fertile banks Of the ever peaceful Potomac! But where are your friends of yesterday? These now have passed silently beyond. I tenderly tread on the ground they hallowed; I see the same sky they often beheld; Stiil Hows the same river, on and on. But 0! stately walls, come whisper to me! The romance which you saw, let me see!

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THE EASTERN and still greater instability of the foreign ex- change, and further rise in prices and the cost of living. it there is to be future peace, armies and navies must be reduced, as a continuance of the atmosphere of war and of preparations for war is fatal to the development of the mutual trust which is essential to international peace. The second step in the promotion of inter- national peace is the establishment of a world league. For this league to be a success all na- tions must be in it, for if some are left out, en- mity will naturally arise. The whole plan must be based on concession and sacrifice. Nations must give up some of their individual rights for the betterment of the worl clin general. There must be a judicial, a legislative and an executive department to this league, just as to any other governmental body. The Hague Court could be accepted as the judicial body and used as the basis of such a world organi- zation. This court should have great power and its interpretations of international law would have to be universally accepted, if the league would succeed. It would be the basis of all peace, as it would decide boundary dis- putes, settle arguments arising from overlap- ping trade interests, and so on, and thus by removing the causes of war, it could prevent war itself. This court would stand for justice and simplicity, and this is the foundation on which the future peace of the world alone can stand. The executive department should consist of a commission of three or four persons from the strongest nations whose duty would be to in- augurate and enforce the international policies agreed upon. The legislative department should be made up on representatives from the nations, based upon the strength of the nations. The election of these representatives would be a great re- sponsibility. They should be selected by the people. They should be men who want peace and are willing to give up old policies for a new and greater aim. The legislative depart- ment should have the power to make clear, in- ternational laws; to establish freedom of the seas; to compel nations having seaports to allow other nations not so fortunate the right to ship their goods through the neighboring ECHO I 1 country; to disregard the terms of secret trea- ties. There seems to be no reason why this plan should not succeed. At the end of the Ameri- can Revolution there were along the Atlantic Coast thirteen quarreling little states, each jealously guarding its own rights. They were given a central government, a common inter- est, something to guard and cherish, some- thing to look to for protection of their own rights. Thus these states were united to form the greatest nation of the world. If this is true on a smaller scale, why can it not be true on a larger scale? The third point in the promotion of inter- national peace is the one which can work the greatest good and is in the end the point upon which everything else is based. It is education against war. Race antagonisms, generally the result of bad education, can be overcome by good training. HOpe for peace and progress must rest largely upon the general cultivation of a spirit of tolerance and sympathy for groups other than our own. The future generations must be taught that all military triumphs are hollow. The famous lines of Dr. Johnson are now applicable enough to victors: HYet reason frowns on Waris unequal game, When wasted nations raise a single name, And mortgaged states their grandsires' wreaths regret From age to age in everlasting debt.n They must be taught that there is no glory in war any more and that previous war lords are only amateurs compared to the future ones and what they might accomplish in the way of de- struction. Furthermore, it is necessary to ac- cept the fact that Christianity and war cannot be reconciled. One ycannot profess to love his neighbor as himself and at the same time lay plans for his neighbor's destruction. People must also be made to realize the cost of war, they must be made to realize that no state can exits on issues of depreciating pa- per money. It must be clearly understood that only by a frank policy of mutual co-operation can nations hope to regain their old prosperity, and in order to secure that result the whole resources of a country must be devoted to strictly productive purposes.