High-resolution, full color images available online
Search, browse, read, and print yearbook pages
View college, high school, and military yearbooks
Browse our digital annual library spanning centuries
Support the schools in our program by subscribing
Privacy, as we do not track users or sell information
Page 15 text:
“
TEN YEARS LATER “All the arguments that justice, decency, intelligence, civilization can muster are against war: war is the fruit of passion, greed, stupid- ity, unfairness.” There is not a pa- triotic American in this United States of ours who can debate v ith steadfast arguments against this statement recently made by Kath- leen Norris, prominent woman novelist. It was ten years ago that we fought the great war to end war. Have we succeeded ? It is yet to be seen and is a question in the mind of every man or woman who is thinking of the tomorrow when, if there is war, his or her children must suffer, bear wounds, and in the majority of cases die a horrible death. It was ten years ago that to the noise of drums and shrill bugles our boys marched to great docks where huge liners waited to transport them to France. With a fierce blaze of patriotism they were ready to face the guns which were already booming in No Man’s Land. There was never a more varied group — the college stu- dent, the street loafer, the earnest man, those who wanted to go, and others who dreaded the time when the order to advance to the front would come. But they went from all walks of life — some because duty demanded, others for the sheer adventure of fighting — and helped to win the war. The World War was a premedi- tated conflict. Ever since 1870 Ger- many had been waiting for “Der Tag” upon which day she would conquer the world so that her “Kul- tur” might be spread to the farthest points of the compass. The war with France in the nineteenth cen- tury had shown Germany the way. It had been easy to take away Al- sace-Lorraine. With proper prepa- ration, should she not be able to conquer more provinces? No soon- er said than done. It was then in 1871, that the race of armaments began. Taxes were raised, men were trained in arms and called to ranks by the conscription list. After two years of voluntary service, so called, they were free to return to their villages and practice drill. Men to fight must bear arms; so France has a new repeating rifle, and Germany’s guns, being old- fashioned, are cast into the scrap heap or placed in museums; Great Britain launches a huge ne v battle- ship ; a dreadnought floats proudly in a German harbor. Affairs are coming to a climax, — the highest point in the great drama of the na- tions. Arms and munitions are ex- pensive and a nation’s method to obtain her expenditure money is by taxing the people. In 1910 a great part of the average man’s salary went to the tax collector. Two years of voluntary service took away from the business man the in- come received from his shops, and left the farmer with poorly tilled lands, whose only crop was weeds and stringy hay. The people were beginning to protest. But Germany was only waiting for the spark which would ignite her rivals. She was prepared to the “last buckle.” With conscription her soldiers had been taught to obey even to the ut- most brutality. Her railroads had on every one of her trains a military official. At the snap of a button, the army could be mobilized and ready to fight. The murder of a Serbian prince set the fire. Bel- gium, weak and unable to protect herself, was the victim. The Ger- man troops marched through fertile lands, leaving them a mass of de- struction, with Paris as the goal. Seeing in the future glory and pros- perity for the fatherland, German Fritz rushed to arms shouting eagerly; those attacked, seeing no future, went to war bravely with sad countenances. For four years they fought, the battle lines fluctu- ating back and forth like a stock 13
”
Page 14 text:
“
feature stories range in subject matter from cooking recipes to es- says on philosophy. These stories are not often of much value to the expert, but the general reader likes them, because they present interest- ing facts in an easily understand- able way. Many men, now promi- nent in their fields, began by read- ing articles on their special hobby in the newspaper. For example, many radio engineers, a few years ago, were trying to construct their first crystal sets from the directions in the daily radio column. In enumerating the benefits de- rived from journalism, advertising should be given a great deal of credit. Everyone who has had oc- casion to place a small ad in a paner is able to realize hov effective newspaper advertising is. It seems significant that the United States, having two fifths of the world’s newspapers, and consequently doing an enormous amount of newspaper advertising, is the most prosperous nation on earth. It is easy to underestimate the importance of journalism to morals and religion. The press stands for tolerance and its influence is very largely responsible for the fact that the attitude of the church has changed from the narrow, bigoted one of the Middle Ages, when peo- ple were persecuted for religious opinions, to the broad-minded atti- tude of today. For all these reasons, journalism has been of invaluable service in the past and in the present. In the future, it will be the mission of the press to prevent our civilization from going the way of those that have preceded it. History furnishes several exam- ples of nations which obtained a considerable degree of culture and then fell back into obscurity. The Orient, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, in turn, dominated the world, and, in turn, became lost in the mists of antiquity. Is the civilization of modern times soon to reach its zenith and history to repeat itself? No, for it is built upon a different foundation. The older civilizations benefited a small aristocracy, which enjoyed wealth, luxury, and freedom, while the greater part of humanity was oppressed and ignorant. Inevit- ably, this exclusive class, because of luxury and inbreeding, lost the vig- or by which it had risen to its high position, and was overthrown by the lov er classes, which destroyed art and science, as well as the ty- rannical rule of the rich or noble. Then there would follow long cen- turies, during which humanity struggled to regain what it had lost. In the twentieth century, particu- larly in America, the benefits of cul- ture are widespread. Illiteracy is fast disappearing. All men are considered equal, before the la v. The standard of living for the ordi- nary man is as high, in many re- spects, as that of an emperor of ancient times. Aristocracy is a matter more of mental culture and ability than of birth or v ealth. It is inconceivable that our learning can ever be lost, since books are so cheap and numerous and so many people are highly educated. It is the newspapers that are re- sponisble for this popular culture and general welfare by reason of their efforts for education, for bet- ter government, for business pros- perity through advertising- and for countless other reasons. The press keeps civilization in a constant state of flux, furnishing a medium for the expression of new ideas. Journalism, therefore, is one of the biggest factors in the rise of our civilization, and in its present pros- perity and enlightenment, and it furnishes perhaps the chief reason why we may feel confident that hu- manity will never again fall back into a semi-savage state, but will continue to advance till the end of time. — Richard Durham. 12
”
Page 16 text:
“
market report. Then America en- tered the war for the following rea- sons : first, she wished to fight a war to end war and to make the world safe for democracy; second- ly, the War Aims of the Allies as presented to President Wilson seemed to correspond with this idea; thirdly, Germany’s breaking of the Sussex Pledge and our inter- ception of the Zimmerman Note seemed to pledge her as an enemy of democracy; and last, stories of German cruelty, the sinking of the Lusitania, and newspaper atrocities had incited in American citizens a bitter hate against Germany. And so in the year 1917 we found Amer- ican forces helping to push back steadily the lines of the enemy. The rest of the v ar is an old story to us, for there are many who have seen its cruelty, avarice, and selfish- ness, its comradeship, feeling of equality, military courage, and daring. The World War is one not to be compared with any other war in history. First of all, let us review briefly the munitions, gases, and armaments used. In the race of armaments each nation, eager to out do its rival, had perfected its arms. So the soldiers carried “soi- xante-quinze” field guns and gleam- ing bayonets. “Big Berthas” con- tained an explosive charge of one ton, enough to blow up a good sized city at a shooting distance of seventy-five miles. Sailors drilled on dreadnoughts costing from forty to fifty millions of dollars. There were many varieties of explosives, from the hand grenade to 380 milli- metre shells. April 22, 1915 is an important date in the history of warfare, for it was then we had the first gas at- tack employed. It was at the Second Battle of Ypres that the al- lies were taken by surprise and struggled for. the breath of life, strangled by that invi ible murder- er, gas. If the Germans had only kiiov n the force of this attack and used more of it, they v ould have won the war then and there.. But the allies were not inactive, for they v eie experimenting with gas also. For many years scientists had labored to save life by chemicals ; now they were being used to de- stroy, not to preserve. As the v ar went on, the gas became more and more poisonous. A soldier was compelled to wear a gas mask al- ways while at the front. Then came the dread mustard ras v hich eats the flesh av ay. Today we have more gas victims than any other sufferers in our military hos- pitals. It v as th e v crst form of v arfare. Yet when the ArmisPce was signed, we were perfecting the Lewisite gas, the most deadly of all gases, since it was invisible and had such great sinking pov er that it could penetrate the deepest cellars and dugouts and v hen breathed would kill at once not only through the lungs but through the entire system. TIasks were no pro- tection against it. It has been said that a dozen Lewisite bombs might have destroyed with a favorable wind the whole population of Ber- lin. Recently Hamburg, Germany was terrified by an attack of phos- gene gas, which had escaped from the storehouse of a dye factory. Two hundred thousand citizens were driven from their homes, sev- eral were killed, and many died in hospitals. If gas should carry such power in peace times, v hat tremen- dous strength may it not exert in the next war, if we do not gain peace ? Liquid flame, which burned men alive proved of only limited utility. Caterpillar tanks, intro- duced by the British, did not de- stroy life but plowed down wires, trees, and other obstacles, making a path to the front so mat the slaughter might continue. So ten years after we still bear the World War in mind. How can we help it? It is a moving factor 14
Are you trying to find old school friends, old classmates, fellow servicemen or shipmates? Do you want to see past girlfriends or boyfriends? Relive homecoming, prom, graduation, and other moments on campus captured in yearbook pictures. Revisit your fraternity or sorority and see familiar places. See members of old school clubs and relive old times. Start your search today!
Looking for old family members and relatives? Do you want to find pictures of parents or grandparents when they were in school? Want to find out what hairstyle was popular in the 1920s? E-Yearbook.com has a wealth of genealogy information spanning over a century for many schools with full text search. Use our online Genealogy Resource to uncover history quickly!
Are you planning a reunion and need assistance? E-Yearbook.com can help you with scanning and providing access to yearbook images for promotional materials and activities. We can provide you with an electronic version of your yearbook that can assist you with reunion planning. E-Yearbook.com will also publish the yearbook images online for people to share and enjoy.