Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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had been paying to the United States on account of her own American war debt and was therefore willing. But France had been collecting from Germany $100,000,000 more than she had been paying out on account of her war debt and she was unwilling. France is trying to make us believe that what we did for her during the war was to be expected as a duty to an ally, and for this reason she is witholding her payments. Thus the problem is no nearer settlement than before. After the war a League of Nations was proposed by Woodrow Wilson, vetoed by the American people but accepted by the European Nations. This league was formed and most of the nations of the world are now represented. Although America proposed the League, she is one nation which is not a member. There are many good reasons for and against the United States’ joining the League and whether or not we shall join remains to be seen. Since we are not members of the League of Nations, it is impossible for us to be represented in the World Court. During the past five months, trouble arose between China and Japan, and in the midst of it, the United States sent battleships into Pacific waters to protect her rights It was feared that the United States would be involved in the affair, but we have succeeded thus far in keeping out of trouble. This controversy between China and Japan created the most serious problem the League of Nations has had to solve and although the United States is not a member, the member nations listened intently to all advice offered by the United States’ delegates sent to “listen in” at the conferences. Disarmament is another topic of interest which arose after the war, as it was felt by many that such a step would tend to lessen the possibilities of war. A naval conference aiming at disarmament was held at Geneva but was a failure because the great naval powers could not come to terms. Many other conferences were held but nothing definite could be agreed upon by the nations. Apparently they want the United States to be the first nation to disarm. Thus we come to the present day. We see that in the earlier part of the twentieth century America clung to her isolation policy, keeping out of foreign affairs as much as possible. Having established herself as a nation, with Europe looking towards her for support, she changed her original policy and adopted the policy, “I am my brother’s keeper,” but in doing so was forced into foreign affairs. Had she remembered the full import of the doctrine, she might have gone far in advancing the cause of world brother- hood, but in consideration of the ease with which vast sums of money could be made at the expense of others, the capitalistic interests seem to have pre- vailed and the world as a whole is faced with the problem of how to restore the confidence of the people. The United States is faced with tremendous responsibilities and is receiving the censure of Europe because of present economic conditions. What will come of all these problems? Will the United States be further involved in foreign affairs and their resulting problems? Whatever the foreign events in which we may find ourselves implicated in the future, we must lend our influence to a policy which will secure for the world universal prosperity and international peace and good-will. 20

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Graduation Essays America’s Foreign Policy By Henry Prisby V THEN the United States gained its independence from England through VV the Revolutionary War, she adopted what was called an isolation policy which meant that she considered it unwise to interfere with European affairs. The policy was proposed by Washington when he issued his famous Proclamation of Neutrality and was later strengthened by the Monroe Doctrine. And so it was that the United States avoided foreign relations and kept out of foreign affairs as much as possible. It was not until after the United States emerged from the World War, a creditor nation, with Europe looking towards her for support that she changed her ideas toward entangling herself with foreign nations. This was so perhaps because of the fact that the United States, because of the capital involved, felt that she was obliged to do so. For a period after the war international trade increased tremendously. At the same time Germany asserted that she could not build herself up economically if she were forced to pay her war debts. An international corm mittee investigated and reported that Germany could bear a reparation debt burden of $625,000,000 a year. That was the Dawes Plan, and upon undertaking to put the plan into effect, the German Government borrowed $200,000,000 in gold from Great Britain, France, and the United States, to begin a policy of fulfillment. The Dawes Plan, however, did not state how many years this burden should be carried. It had not fixed the total amount of reparations to be paid, and for this reason a second body of experts tried to decide on a new plan. This committee made an analysis of Germany’s resources and declared that she could afford to pay only $400,000,000 a year. That was the Young Plan, and upon undertaking to make this plan work, the German Govern ' ment borrowed $300,000,000 from Great Britain, France, and the United States to launch itself upon a second policy of fulfillment. Thus we see that measures were taken to aid Germany. Even then she claimed that she was unable to build herself up. Accordingly, German bonds were floated in the United States, paying high rates of interest and on which Germany borrowed millions of dollars. Then last summer in her political and economic crisis, she stated that she could not pay her reparations unless she could borrow more money for a period of six months. President Hoover, thinking to relieve the situation, declared a moratorium of one year on war debts. Other European countries enter into this question of war debts also. France, Great Britain, Belgium, and others had been collecting as reparations from Germany somewhat more than $400,000,000 a year and had been pay- ing on account of their war debts to the American treasury less than $50,000y 000 a year. Thus a general international war debt holiday to save Germany would cost them the difference or more than $150,000,000. Great Britain had been collecting from her war debtors only $50,000,000 more than she 19

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Sires of the Big Bridge By Richard Mansfield X N THE passing of the years during the history of the United States many geniuses in their various environments have been passed by unmerited. For many months people in New York have gased at electric signs flashing “Roebling’s Cables” on the top of two massive towers. Those two words meant nothing to millions but unveiled to a few the history of the modern suspension bridge. John Roebling came to America over one hundred years ago at the age of twenty-five. He had a fine education and was possessor of numerous talents. On his arr ival to pioneering America he decided to be a farmer. Knowing nothing whatsoever of farming, he managed to earn a meagre living from the soil he worked in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. Failing at farming, he turned to breeding canary birds. However, most of his birds turned out to be the unmusical females. To patch out his income he obtained employment as assistant engineer in making surveys and constructing waterways. In a short time he was devoting all his energy to that field and left his farm to be run by others. On the New York canals cumbrous ropes of Kentucky hemp were used to drag the canal boats over the mountains. These ropes always broke at the most inconvenient times, and serious accidents resulted. Roebling was present one day when an accident occurred. He started thinking of the possibility of a wire rope, flexible enough to be wound on a windlass and which would also be smaller, stronger, and more lasting than a hempen cable. He built a rope walk on his farm and instructed his friends and neighbors in the art of rope twisting. They succeeded in making a wire rope far exceeding anything he had expected. Soon after, his wire cables began replacing the hempen ropes on the canals. Roebling submitted figures to engineers for building an aqueduct over the Allegheny River at Pittsburg. There was considerable risk to the project, for no one before had attempted to suspend an aqueduct across a river by cables. He insisted that his figures were correct and was awarded the task. He set to work, knowing the result would be success or complete ruin for his future. The undertaking was, however, a definite success and he established a reputation. Roebling built three aqueducts while developing his ideas of suspending bridges by wire cables. His works are still in use today, unim- paired and still good for many years’ service. As his farm now was not extensive enough for his workshops and wire mills, he moved to Trenton, New Jersey. He invented and designed practically every piece of machinery that went into his workshops. Roebling wasn’t the first man to build a suspension bridge. One was built across the Merrimac River at Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1810, and sixteen years later one across the Menai Straits, in Wales. Both were very small and supported by chains. Roebling, however, was the first man to use wire cables on a bridge. 21