Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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SAMARA 25 United Nations ' Day October 24, 1961 Proud and breeze-whipped, a hundred and two banners tug at their ropes, as though im- patient to get on with the world ' s most impor- tant business— peace. They paint a rippling band of colour across the main building of the headquarters of the United Nations. One hundred and one of them fiV ' at equal height. The alphabet alone deter- mines their position in the graceful arch. But hioher still we find the flasT of the United Nations itself, supreme above them all. In the middle of this pale blue flag is the globe seen from the north pole. The blue stands for human dignity and the olive branch which encircles the globe stands for peace. The Unite d Nations is a strongly organized group of countries try- ing to solve the world ' s problems. The people of the United Nations are determined to try to save the future generations from the fate of war. To achieve this end the United Nations ' purposes and principles are 1) to maintain peace and security; 2) to develop friendly re- lations between nations; 3) to co-operate in- ternally, and 4) to be the centre for the actions of all nations. The United Nations officially came into existence on October 24th, 1945 when mem- bers from 50 countries pledged their govern- ments to form an assembly and to work to- gether in all difficulties. October 24th is now a universal celebration called United Nations ' Day. Ann Thurn. The United Nations — Battlefield of Peace On June 26, 1945, representatives from 50 countries met in San Francisco, to sign the charter of the United Nations. The actual date on which the charter came into effect was October 24, of that same year. ' Its predecessor was the League of Nations, begun in 1919. However, because of the League ' s failure to keep the peace, it was dis- solved and this new organization was formed to take its place, in the hope that it would be able to attain that goal. There have been other world organizations with the same objective— Augustus sought security for his Roman world through ' Justice ' , Gregory sought it through ' Christian Brother- hood ' , Napoleon through ' Law ' and the Grand Army, A ' letternick through ' Legitimacy ' and Woodrow Wilson through ' Democracy ' . But, the San Francisco conference sought security through security. It stressed the ultimate goal rather than the means. The ideals of the U.N. are not new, they stretch into the very depths of history. They echo and amplify the liberties of the Magna Carta. They strive to give a frame to the pic- tures drawn by the prophets and sages of yesteryear. There are six principal organs of the U.N. The first is the General Assembly. This is the main parliament in which each member has a single vote without a veto or other special privileges. This assembly forms resolutions, not orders. The second is the security council which has five permanent members: the U.K., the U.S., the U.S.S.R., Nationalist China and France. There are six other members which are elected every two years. Here, in the security council the veto principle applies, but may be exercised only by the five great powers. The third is the economic and social council which is made up of 18 members concerned with economic and social problems and their solu- tions. The fourth is the international court of justice located at The Hague and comprised of distinguished judges from member countries of the U.N. It is primarily set up to settle disputes between nations and to give advisory opinion to the other bodies of the organization. The fifth is the trusteeship which regulates the trust territories, which were taken from the

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24 SAMARA Fran Greenfield: To spend too much time in studies is sloth — Fra ncis Bacon Roberta Hayes: Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery — John Ruskin Shiela MacTavish: I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours — Jerome K. Jerome Brigid Martland: Silence is the virtue of fools — Francis Bacon Cathy McIlraith: I have been five minutes too late all my life — Hannah Cowley Lois MuLKiNS: Multiplication is vexation, Division is as bad; The Rule of three doth puzzle me, And Practice drives me mad — Anonymous Katy Partridge: That all-softening, over- powering knell. That tocsin of the soul— the dinner-bell — Lord Byron Debbie Simmons: Experience is the name everyone gives to his mistakes — Oscar Wilde Margot Toller: The more I see of men, the more I admire dogs — Madame de Sevigne Barbara Townend: For thee. Tobacco, I would do anything but die — Charles Lamb Martha White: ' Tis a mad world, my mas- ters — John Taylor 6 MATRIC BACK: Sarah Garvock, Arlene Gluzman, Cathy McIlraith, Sue Arnold, Katy Partridge, Rita Browning, Lois Mulkins, Fran Greenfield, Barb Townend, Martha White, Judy Gordon. FRONT: Phil Burk, Margot Toller, Sheila MacTavish Brigid Martland, Debbie Simmons, Roberta Hayes, Georgia Gale. Sonnet to 6M How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee in the murders of iVIacbeth, In all those scenes of blood and night and death. I love thee in the Queen-A4oon ' s starry fays I love thee in the ballads of old days And in the last of Maggie ' s drowning breath. I love thee in the beauty and the faith Of Autumn ' s mellow, misty, moisty haze. I love thee in the ode and epigram And in the essay, cliche and the pun. I love thee in that dreadful word exam. That was not done when it was madly done. I love thee very dearly and I am Saddened to see the end of all our fun.

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26 S A AI A R A defeated nations in tlie two world wars. Some of these were known as mandates under the now defunct League of Nations. Finally, the sixth main body is the secretariat which has a working staff of from 3-4000 persons adminis- tered bv the secretary-general and eight prin- cipal assistants. Most of the secretariat works at the U.N. headquarters in New York but many others are employed at the European headquarters in Geneva, regional commands and information centres of the world. In addition to the six main organs there are twelve lesser branches followed by various commissions. These other bodies are designed to carry out the policies of the six main organs. Some of them that are better known to us are: the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, the International Bank and the International A4onetary Fund. These organizations bring food, medical sup- plies, machinery, teachers, new methods of agriculture and training to all sorts of under- developed countries. There have been many problems that have plagued the U.N. in the years since its be- ginning. Canada has played a fairly large part in the solving of these problems. She has sent troops to Iraq and Jordan (as part of the U.N. emergency force), Suez and the Congo. The gravest of these problems at the present time are Berlin, Laos and the Congo situation. The person on whom the weight of all these prob- lems falls is the secretary-general. When Triegve Lie was the holder of that office from 1946-53, the post was not as impor- tant as it subsequently became when the late Dag Hammarskjold was in office. When Mr. Hammarskjold was elected to that post in ' 53 he was little known in world politics. But in the eight years since then he has raised its prestige and significance. He himself, smoothed over many explosive disputes between the eastern and western powers. When the U.N. decided to send an emergency force into the Congo last year to preserve law and order, as was requested by the Republic of the Congo, the Soviet bloc demanded his resignation. He said that he would resign only if the other member countries wished it. They didn ' t, and A-Ir. Hammarskjold remained in the post. After that the Russians tried various methods to have him ousted but failed. Their last effort was to introduce the troika to replace the one-man secretariat. This troika would give the leader- ship of the U.N. to a three-man committee. One man would represent the Soviet bloc, another the Western nations, and a third the neutralist countries. As each man would have a separate veto, this would defeat the whole purpose of the U.N. In September of this year, while Mr. Hammarskjold was on his way to Ndola to negotiate the settlement of the Congo crisis, his plane crashed, killing all aboard. When the news of his death was announced on the front pages of the newspapers of the world, nations were stunned by the shock. People wept openly. The man who was the best known symbol of peace was dead. At first the U.N. was in chaos and it was doubtful for a time if the organization would survive without this great man to lead it through its trials and tribulations. It was thought that the U.N. would never again regain its former status. However, now the U.S. and Russia have agreed on a candidate from Burma for the position of secretary-general, and it is slowly getting back on its feet. United Nations Day is both a symbol and a challenge. It symbolizes the partnership of peoples working together for the common good. The U.N. is the world ' s only hope for a lasting peace, and its challenge is to make the partnership so effective that peace and pros- perity shall prevail. Susan Arnold. Otle from a Frustrated Poet Oh! for a muse of thought that I may write This poem that was assigned to me tonight. My weary thoughts have wandered far and wide From morning light to evening shade I think- To find a topic I could view with pride.