Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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sistance during a game. The lead- ership which it inspires produces good men and good citizens. Al- most every great American pi-esi- dent since Lincoln has been a true lover of the game. There is a leg- end that when Lincoln was nomi- nated for President over William Seward, he received the news while playing ball on a Springfield diamond, and wouldn’t go home until he had had his innings. America and baseball teach Americans to live for their country, but in Europe the children are taught to die for their country. In European countries when a child reaches the age of seven or eight lie is handed a gun and a uniform and is taught to march, while in America a child is handed a ball and bat and told to amuse himself. The European dictators inspire hatred of their enemies in their children. Baseball on the other hand, inspires companionship with the adversary. Baseball is a potent weapon with which to combat sub- versive elements in America. And as long as Americans can show their character and spirit in the game of baseball, there is little need to fear the growth of these foreign elements in America. Baseball is a truly American sport in origin and purpose. It re- flects the true American character. Therefore, 1 believe that baseball is an American institution which has proved its value and is there- fore worthy of our support. Thomas Masaryk, a Pillar of Democracy by Jane Wilson “TT is not enough to proclaim yourself a Czech ; you must know what you have to do about it. First be the best possible kind of man yourself, then know the kind of truth the Czech tradition stands for.” “Truth will conquer.” The author of these quotations is dead — Thomas Garrigue Masaryk, the founder of the Cze- cho-Slovak Republic, a pillar of democracy. His ideals appear to have perished with him, for Octo- ber, 1938, and March, 1939, be- held great changes in his beloved Czechoslovakia. First, Masaryk’s able successor, Eduard Benes, resigned his office as Chief Executive at the time of the Munich crisis, and sought ref- uge in America. His last act be- fore leaving his country was to kneel before the simple gravestone of his predecessor. Now Benes is a visiting professor at the Univer- sity of Chicago. Since that time Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist as a nation. Po- land adopted the small Toschen 25

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game of baseball exemplifies. Out- side of America, Japan is undoubt- edly the keenest baseball country. Sixty years ago two American pro- fessors introduced the game to Jap- an. Touring American college and professional teams eventually aroused Japanese interest in base- ball. Intercollegiate games are Japan’s World Series. Nearly every country in the world has experi- mented with baseball during re- cent years. Almost every country makes its own changes, but the basis of the game remains the same. You may ask, “What is base- ball, as a national sport, doing for America?” “What deeds can it point to with unwavering finger in this, its centennial year?” To that question, the answer is that any- thing that attacks idleness in youth is a fine thing. For that reason in- stitutions of learning in every pari of the United States encourage ath- letics. Idle hands often become problems. Baseball, more than any other branch of endeavor, keeps young America busy. Experts re- port that juvenile delinqnejicy has decreased markedly as a direct re- sult of the spread of interest in the national game. It must have been a desire for further exercise out of doors that inspired Abner Doubledav one hun- dred years ago. His teachings spread like a great wave. Today, also, baseball is a sport which makes American youths strong in body and mind. An example of the results of baseball training was given during the World War when American soldiers excelled in the art of throwing hand grenades at the enemy. Baseball encourages good sports- manship among the young people of the country. It teaches them to respect the laws of the country an.d to obey them implicitlv. It does not breed hatred or contempt fo ’ the adversary but rather teache the loser to respect and congratu- late the winner. There are very few men who are not soorfsman- like who ever reach the ma ' Or leagues. And therefore these mamr league players are all excellent ex- amples of the success v hich good sportsmanship sometimes brino ' s. The companionship which the game affords is one of its greatest assets. The companionship of the players and coaches produces friendships which are of great val- ue in later life. Another quality developed by file game is that of leadership an d individual thinking. The game un doubted Iv requires more individual skill and thought than any similar form of endeavor. Each man on the team must knov liow lo play his own position almost to perfec- tion. He can very seldom depend on his manager or coach for as- 24

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area, Hungary seized Carpatho- Ukraine, and Germany first split up the small nation, then gained complete control of the remaining districts, Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia. As a result of the shake- up at Munich, Czechoslovakia had no barriers to defend when a sec- ond crisis came. She seemed left in the lurch by other democratic nations, which had promised aid. She became a prey to Naziism, and now with her people and her gov- ernment in a state of terror, the beliefs and strivings of Masaryk seem to have been of no avail. We may ask what the ideals of Masaryk were. He was, without question, a towering pillar of de- mocracy — not in stature, not in appearance, but in sincerity and in singleness of purpose to strive for the protection of the rights of the Czech people. Throughout his life, the degradation of his Czech race and other downtrodden na- tionalities was imprinted in his mind. He had been taught while very young how his Czech race and the Slovac peoples had been inde- pendent for many years after the start of the twelfth century, and how, in the sixteenth century, Aus- tria-Hungary had first dominated them and, as the result of a reli- gious revolt, later completely sub- jected them. The tyranny of the lordly House of Hapsburg was plain to him in his earliest days. His own father was a bonded team- ster who was forced to move fre- quently from village to village on an imperial Estate near Chayko- vitz. The overbearing mien of the titled landowners irked him as much as it troubled his parents. Masaryk showed his eagerness to learn by memorizing a Latin dic- tionary from cover to cover in sev- eral weeks. He attempted always to understand other people’s points of view. When he had made up his mind on a subject, he was not afraid to state his opinions. He caused a great wave of indigna- tion in a village school v hen he expressed his belief that the earth revolved around the sun. He was rebellious at some of the restric- tions imposed upon students in the “gymnasium” or high school at Brunn. Through acquaintance with boys at the “gymnasium,” Masaryk felt a growing symnathv with the Slavic, Polish, Jevfish, and Russian races as he saw them among his comrades. While attending a Universitv in Vienna, he thought seriouslv o ' f’ en- tering the diplomatic service, but ’hen he found that occupation re- served for wealthy boys, he be- came deeply interested in philoso- phy. At this time he joined the Czech Academic Society in Vienna, of which, after two years of mem- bership, he became the President. He stimulated workers and stu- 26