Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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and “Thou shalt not not kill” apply only to individuals? From this we see that the churches should play a more active part in the movement for peace, confidence, and friendli- ness among nations. Our fondest hopes rest in the gen- eration of young people who will soon assume the responsibility of governing and of carrying on the • finer traditions. Certain ones from among this group, young people who are having the advantages of a college education and those who have had the opportunity of study- ing the causes and effects of the last war, boldly face this Question of world peace. They realize that if they do not conouer war, war will conquer them. They know that the next war, made more dangerous and horrifying by new inventions will in a much shorter time take a far- greater toll of human life than ever before. They see beyond the glory of fighting for ones’ country to the evils that it brings, death, mutila- tion, hate, hunger, rape, disease, bonded generations, and national I debt. Having studied this question, students are declaring their affilia- tions with world peace movements. In England at Oxford, a meeting was held to debate and vote on the proposition : Resolved : That this house under no circumstance will fight for its king and country. It was carried by a vote of 275-153. To shame and ridicule the pacifists, 275 white feathers were left at the next meeting. But these feathers were distributed among the boys and are now worn as badges of hon- or. Other colleges throughout Eng- land, Wales, and Canada have fol- lowed Oxford’s lead. We even find it in our own staid Boston. Students from two of our Boston colleges have formed organizations which declare they will not fight for their country under any circumstan- ces. Others less radical declare that they will only fight in case of inva- sion. Modern youth desires to live for mankind and the decision as to whether they shall die in more hor- rible warfare than has ever been known or whether they shall live in peace, improving and refining the culture of the world, rests in their hands. Let us hope they choose the path of happiness and peace and that somehow, out of all the chaos and confusion of the present time there will dawn a new and better era — that of world peace. Then and Now By Ervin Langmaid W ITH the coming of 1933, we welcome another World’s Fair which promises to reveal marvels untold. Since we are upon the brink of this new exposition, let us wan- der back to the fair of 1893. On February 25, 1890 Congress had passed a bill awarding the Ex- position to Chicago over the claims of many rivals for the honor and providing liberal financial aid. An ideal site was found in spacious Jackson Park on the shores of Lake Michigan in the southern part of the citv. To this were joined an ad- ditional stretch of beach, giving a water line of fully two miles, and a 19

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of far greater importance than the sum total of all man’s efforts since the beginning of time. It is up to us of the coming generation to bring to a glorious fulfillment the endeavors of those who have bravely taken the first steps toward the goal of world peace. The question which comes to mind is “Shall we be able to avoid war?” Elihu Root declares, “There never is a difference so great that it cannot be peaceably settled if ap- proached in the right spirit and there never can be a difference so trifling that it may not be made the occasion for war if approached in the wrong spirit.” War results from a state of mind and these institu- tions, the League of Nations and World Court, have been teaching people to think in terms of peace rather than in terms of war. As a means of achieving peace, it is necessary to understand the the causes of war in order to be able to prevent their development. The greatest cause of war in modern times, in the last analysis, is compe- tition for economic supremacy which is now finding expression through “three main channels — (1) the securing of new territory and concessions; (2) the maintenance and enlargement of markets ; and ( 3) the investment of capital in for- eign countries.” This desire of all nations to gain the “top of the heap” has caused them, throughout their existence to be prepared for war. Being prepared for modern war, however, means the acquisition of large supplies of machine guns, cannon, airplanes, submarines, and chemical laboratories for research work in new poisonous gases. “Ar- maments are the chief cause of fear between nations. Fear in turn pro- duces larger armaments. This is the vicious circle in which nations have been traveling during the past cen- tury, with armaments piling higher and higher and fear steadily in- creasing.” Disarmament has been proposed but it can never be accom- plished until the jealousy and sus- picion among nations is wiped out through confidence in and co-oper- ation with the efforts of the League of Nations and the World Court. What are the advantages of war that we should cling so steadfastly to such a survival of barbarism ? There appear to be no advantages. An immense toll of human life, an increased burden of taxes for the public and usually after a great war a period of depression like that which we are now experiencing. A certain pacifist declares, “It is war that wastes a nation’s wealth, chokes its industries, kills its flow- ers, narrows its sympathies, and leaves the puny, deformed, and un- manlv to breed the next genera- tion.” In our thoughts on this subject of peace we find ourselves confronted by the question of Christianity and war. Is it Christion to make war on your fellow man ? Man’s first alle- giance is to Cod and mankind. Pa- triotism comes second, to be gov- erned and controlled by the first. Loyd George said of the last war, “Had all the churches cried halt, that dreadful murder could not have gone on.” Can warriors be- lieve with Christ that the meek will inherit the earth ? Do the two com- mandments “Thou shalt not steal” 18

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broad boulevard connecting Jack- son Park with the neighboring Washington Park. Altogether the Exposition occupied 666 acres and was two years in the making, not including the time required for planning and advertising. On October 23, 1892 the magnifi- cent World’s Fair of Chicago was formally dedicated. It was not com- pleted, however, until May 1, 1893 when President Cleveland touched the button that unfurled the official flags and set the machinery in mo- tion. For six months people from all over the world streamed through the gates of this City Beautiful, drinking in its glories and absorb- ing the rich educational benefits it bestowed. As one entered the grounds, the main buildings appeared like fairy palaces. They were built of a com- position called staff which made them gleam like marble so that peo- ple came to speak of this wonder- land as the “White City.” It was a liberal education in architecture to study those buildings for they rep- resented many different types — classic. Renaissance. Spanish, rus- tic. and modern. The largest of them all. in fact, the biggest expo- sition building ever constructed up to that time was the Manuafcturing and Liberal Arts Building, covering nearly forty acres. Other interesting structures were Machinery Hall and Administration, Agricultural, Electrical, Horticultu- ral, and Fisheries buildings. The exposition had numerous special features. The Midway Plais- ance was one of these, a fascinat- ing avenue of adventure, the home of all the strange sights and sounds of all the world. Here were grouped hundreds of popular amusement features, above them towering the great Ferris Wheel, with its swing- ing couches in which one could be carried 264 feet into the air. One could circle the globe in the space of an afternoon, for here were the streets of Cairo, the Moorish Palace, the Japanese Bazaar, the Irish, Javanese, Eskimo, Samoan villages, and duplicates of many other sights. The Transportation Building with its imposing Golden Doorway furn- ished in its exhibits an inspiring ob- ject lesson on how the world goes a-traveling, beginning with the most primitive vehicles and bringing the lesson by degrees through models of the Viking ship, the Pinta, Nina, and Santa Maria of Columbus’ fleet, the George Washington coach, and so on, down to the marvelous steamers, battleships, locomotives, and other conveyances of the then modern day. The Forestry Building needed no name over its entrance, for its columns, the unfinished trunks brought from different states and countries, told its story. So attractive was this glamorous exposition that the average daily attendance was 172,712 and it is a fact that on “Chicago Day,” Octo- ber 9th, the anniversary of the burn- ing of the city, the attendance ex- ceeded 00,000. At the close of the Exposition there was a profit of $1,850,000 a practical tribute to the enterprise and splendid manage- ment of those who had its affairs in charge. Forty years have elapsed since the gala opening of the Fair of 20