Eastern High School - Echo Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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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.

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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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l 2 THE EASTERN Another way to educate people against war is to hold international conferences such as the one held last summer by the institute of Politics at Williamstown, Mass. Several of the leading statesmen of Europe were present at this gathering. They talked authoritatively on conditions in their respective countries. If similar gatherings were held in every country for public airing of international affairs by statesmen of note, the cause of world peace would be mightily strengthened. We must also explode the old fallacy that ECHO man was created a fighting creature, for .it is the fundamental instinct of men to live har- moniously together. In the United States peo- ple of the most distinct races have the same ideas and co-operate in mutual helpfulness to to realize those ideals. Progress is often slow, but the long View of social evolution justifies the hope that there will come a time when altruism Will be stronger than selfishness, democratic fraternity stronger than national and class hostility. a-H om'r-Av A GERM FAMILYaS ADVENTURES NCE, while an old Mister Germ was floating quietly around in the air, he felt Mr. Wind give him a great push and then carry him quickly through the air, and finally he was thrust down into y dark. When Mr. Germ opened his eyes Gor he had closed them when he bea came frightenedl he forgot to be sorry any more, for Mr. Wind had blown him straight into an open garbage can, and this was the best home that any germ could have. Now, lVlr. Germ settled down to spend a peaceful life, for he hacl plenty to eat and a most com- fortable home. He became big and fat, and as you would say, ngew and multiplied. Soon he was a grandfather and a very little while later a great-grandfather. Mr. Germ's grand- children and great-grandchildren were not just a few; they were hundreds and thousands. Now, like all children, when they grew big enough, the little Germs wanted to go out to see the world. 50 old Mr. Germ consented. The garbage can in which this Germ family lived was never covered, so that when a Hy came by it could pick up anything from the top of the can and carry it along. 50 these little Germs moved up to the top edge of the can and waited for Mr. Fly to pick them up and carry them all about the world. One little Germ was dropped by Mr. Fly on the top of something which he found to be a garbage can, but this one was tightly cov- ered so that he could not get in anywhere. When he found out this, little Germ sat down on the top of the can, and cried and cried until Mr. Sun burned him up. Another little Germ was carried in through a window, where there were no screens, and was dropped on the bed of a little girl. He moved up closer to the little girl and she breathed him in. Little Germ had a great time inside that little girl. But one day he heard somebody say that the little girl was dead, so he thought he would go out into the world again. He had no idea that he had killed the little girl. Other Germs had similar adventures. Some had the same fate as their great-granclfather and lived the same life. All of them, unknow- ingly, were doing some harm. pr, I wonder how many of us want to help their relations to lead the same kind of life? Why can we not take precautions to prevent this? . IGEND . ECHO TYPISTS Hilda Erikson, ,22 Iona Burns, ,22 Elsie Beale, '22 Irene Krongarcl, ,22 Gladys Crowley, '22 Blanche Edwards, ,23 Rosie Polonsky, ,23 Moss Wells, ,23 Gladys White, ,23 Mary Wustlancl, '23