Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE LAUREL 29 conquer. We realize that without your pinning on of handkerchiefs, scrubbing of faces, washing of ears, combing of hair, and doling of money, we would not be here. It is you, after all, who have been wor- ried by our low marks, our lack of inter- est in our school life, and the blindness of our inability to see things your way. For the gray hairs and added wrinkles of which we have been the cause, we are truly sorry. Now we are anxious to show you what we have prepared for your entertainment this afternoon. The curtain has rolled down on the past, and we are now in the present: so Welcome to Our Class Day. La-urcncc Luce '37. -rr ORATION Cutting the Cables of Crime S we pause to compare our United States with foreign countries, we see that we are progressing educationally, socially, and economically at a much more rapid rate than any of the European coun- tries. Yet, when we make our comparison with crime as our yardstick, the United States, the most progressive country in the world, boasts a homicide rate twenty times that of Great Britain, and more than twice that of Greece, Austria, Germany, Switzer- land, France, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands. The number of murders in this country is prodigious. On an average there are thirty-seven murders committed every twenty-four hours. We may more fully comprehend this situation when we take the words of a well-known authority who says, Unless there is a drastic change in our present system of dealing with crime, three out of every four of our present popu- lation, unless they die young, will be per- sonally victimized by crime. A We may divide the various forms of crime as found in the United States into two classifications: respectable crime, and unrespectable crime. A bank robber is rep- resented by a lawyer of questionable repu- tationg while a bank oliicial, guilty of em- bezzling more than the robber could have taken in a dozen loots, can command the cream of the legal talent in the country. This situation does much to promote crime, especially among the richer classes. One explanation for our crime record is that many police forces in the United States have low standards. In certain cities these forces are composed of highly-trained men, but in the majority of cases they have received little or no training. They are sadly inefficient, and hence are no match for the criminals. Moreover, they work under handicaps. The police of one city or county can not always cooperate with the law-enforcing body of another district. Criminals fleeing from justice heed no city, county, or state lines. But the oliicers in pursuit must stop at the borderlines, because their authority ceases when they step out of their jurisdic- tion. There are a few state police forces which ignore county lines, but most states do not maintain such forces. In cases of kidnapping and certain other types of crime, the federal agents may take action and totally disregard local jurisdictions. However, most law-enforcement work is done by local agencies and under the handi- caps just mentioned. It is an unfortunate fact that many local governments are 1'un by political bosses who give the criminals protection in return for contributions to campaign funds. Accord- ing to Courtney Riley Cooper, who has made studies of crime in towns and cities in all sections of the country, There are not twenty first-class cities in the United States which could come through a search- ing inquiry, free of political interference, without at least a dozen persons of so- called prominence in each community being headed for the penitentiaryf' Take this for what you may, but I. Edgar Hoover, the noted chief of the G-men, also expresses the opinion that corruption in local politics is Public Enemy No. 1.

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es THE LAUREHL Mooar, and others of the lads on my left. On entering high school they found the change too much for them. There was no watchful teacher at their elbow every mo- ment to see that they kept their eyes on their work. As a result they spend one hundred and five per cent of their time gazing listlessly about the room. Oh me! If only they would be indus- trious like Arlene Crosby and Margaret Hamilton who work busily every day writ- ing note after note. Now many of you know from experience that you can't act that way all through high school and get good rank. Remember, you're setting your study habits now. If you habitually do the things I have described, you'll probably al- ways do themg but it isn't too late to mend. just say to yourself, Do I want to be a second Joe Colburn and spend the best part of my life here? That's a good thing for all of you to think about. You freshmen have completed your iirst year. For most of you this year seemed fairly easy. Everything ahead looks like clear sailingg but let me tell you. if you sit hack and relax, you won't be sitting on this platform three years from now. As for you sophomores, many of you are already slipping down the well-greased slide that leads to failure. Next year start digging in your toes, and maybe you can climb to a perch nearer the top. You juniors have come to your last year. When you come back next fall, you're going to realize you've wasted a lot of time in the last three years. For the first time many of you are going to work to make a record of which you may be proud in school activities and in lessons. Well, I've said my say, and my finale is I'm just an old codger with gems of adviceg I've given them right from my heart. And thus, in the future, I know you'll think twice, , - So now, with your leave, I'1l depart. ' PVilliam Starbird '3'7. ADDRESS OF WELCOME-CLASS DAY SING the words of Robert Browning in the Pied Piper of I-Ian1e1in I say, Welcome- Fathers, mothers, uncles, cousins, Families by tens and dozens, Brothers, sisters, husbands, wives. There, that should complete the welcom- ing job. I am going to roll back the curtain of time for you to 1923 or '24, the year when your George and your Helen loosened their clutch of your apron strings and stepped hesitatingly into a new world. VVe can see Sonny Austin's mother care- fully pinning on her chubby son a huge handkerchief, the presence of which he oc- casionally forgets, for we see him briskly rubbing his troublesome nose on his coat sleeve. Sitting mournfully on a bench is Leon Odell tearfully watching his mother's re- treating figure. Standing beside the gold-fish aquarium is Miss Iola Perkins, our primary teacher, laying down the rule to Alden Littlefield who obstinately persists in grabbing the gold-fish out of the bowl. Our last mental picture is of Alzaleen patiently submitting to the ordeal of hav- ing her long white tresses combed for oh -well-the umptieth time that day. A number of years rolls by and we see a crowd of gaping freshmen entering the portals of the high school. There's Wal- ter Ranger plodding awkwardly up the steps and bumping into Clymena who has nonchalantly loped through the wrong door. Coming in the other doorway are the in- separable twins, Nettie and Ada, Nettie with her distinctive laugh and Ada with her air of I'm cute and I know it. In Mrs. Bryant's home room George Chapman is in the front seat darting his roguish, alert eyes about the room. In an- other front seat is our shy, unassuming Miss Smith. Four years have rolled by, and here we are on the threshold of a new world to

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30 THE LAUREL In addition to these defects in our system of law enforcement, it is generally agreed that our courts are decidedly faulty. New trials are frequently granted because of some trivial error in the case-hearing-an error which could not conceivably have affected the outcome of the decision. Thus it is possible to prolong the case for a sulfi- cient time to allow national interest to die out. The judges, no longer checked by public sentiment, may impose less severe sentences on the criminal. From these facts we can readily see that our methods of combating crime have not kept pace with our improvements along certain other phases of our government. In view of these circumstances we must take some remedial measures, we must cut the cables of cnime. Our first step should be to attempt to clean up the slums, the breeding place for a large part of the crime which is committed in this country. This is already being done in many places with amazing results. Duchess County, New York, has been spending huge sums for parks, playgrounds, and Y. M. C. A.'s, with the result that there has been a marked falling off in juvenile crime. The county has not spent more money than many other counties, but has simply found that the more it spends on recreation, the less it needs to spend for law enforcement. People should be made to realize that money spent on crime prevention is good economy. America's annual crime bill, ac- cording to recent estimates, amounts to about 15 billion dollars. This cost includes the upkeep of federal, state, and local police agencies, criminal courts and penal insti- tutions. It also includes the losses due to criminal actsg such as, murder, arson, theft, racketeering, fraudulent use of mails, and embezzlement. Added to the financial loss, crime takes 13,000 lives a year. These figures emphasize the size of the problem and the need for its being attacked. Each individual is also under obligation to respect the law himself. If each person in every community were to respect the law, observe all traffic rules, and cooperate with local groups, which are attempting to improve the administration of justice, we could wipe out a large part of our crime in a very short time. In closing I would like to leave with you six measures which, I believe if followed, would result in a general uplift in our social circles. flj Clean, invigorating work for every- one in order to remove the criminal motive, bred of desperation. This work should be provided normally by the industrial and economic structure, but work relief is needed in times of industrial unemploy- ment. QZJ Elimination of sweatshops and child labor. C31 Community meetings to discuss problems pertaining to crime at- tended by those holding public offices and also representatives of boys' and girls' clubs. C41 Intensive educational work in the press, motion pictures, schools, and other activities, which would be instru- mental in bringing about the right public attitude toward crime and its causes. Q53 Attractive neighborhood playgrounds with amusement halls for dances, entertainments. C61 An extended parole system as a re- form measure which would be in charge of a board of conscientious men who would carefully watch the activities of their charges. These measures, however, will be of lit- tle avail, unless you and I, as citizens of our great nation, hack such a project in vigorous determination, and not at spas- modic intervals. R. Nickerson J37. 'ar-r CLASS HISTORY - 1931 OSH, am I hungry! Boy, I could eat a raw horse and like it. Hmmmm, what 's this? CPicks up note and reads.D Gone with the girls to play bridge. Find supper on table. Will be late -don't wait up. Don't forget to set the alarm. Sue.