Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

Page 21 text:

HOT-WATER BOTTLE I lie with him in cozy ecstacy While blusterous blasts in through my window blow; The very king of sleep-producers, he, Who cheers my toes when temperatures are low. Sad mem’ries come, of ills and maladies Which he has comforted: but now I’m well. Safe in convictions that I will not freeze, I let myself drowse in his warming spell — The east is brightening with a rosy pink, The coming of a new day is foretold: But I, ’twist chilly sheets and bed- clothes, shrink From something in one corner, clammy, cold — A. Nonnie Mouse GRADUATION ESSAYS PROPAGANDA AT WORK by Edward Michon T HE world of today in its news- papers, over its radios, and in the cinema is teeming with propaganda. In its broadest sense, propaganda as defined in the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences is the “technique of manipulat- ing representations to influence human actions.’’ The word was first given general currency in 1622 by the Roman Catholic Church referring to the “con- gregatio de propaganda fide,’’ a body of cardinals and many missionaries charged with supervising missionary operations in all parts of the world. Originally, the word had no evil mean- ing. But most of us today associate the very word “propaganda” with in- sidious plots. This is only a half truth, for it is necessary to distinguish between two kinds of propaganda, the one harmless; the other extremely dangerous. Advertisements, political speeches, and the like belong to one class, innocuous enough for the most part. But literature circulated by men who are interested primarily in getting an idea accepted constitute the evil class against which we must constantly be on our guard. It is this last type that I shall now proceed to discuss. Propaganda has been known and employed since the earliest times; hence it is no new thing. Excavations of Roman cities give proof of this. Fred- erick the Great used propaganda to in- fluence the European public. The North in our Civil War sent one hundred agents to England to spread its views. Propaganda by Serbia against the Austro-Hungarian Empire struck the 19

Page 20 text:

WALKING FOR PLEASURE (a monologue) Ruth Wilson ’42 P UT on your low-heeled shoe; , Alison; we are going for a walk. I know you’d rather bicycle somewhere, but we’re going for a walk to prove that ambulation is not entirely over- shadowed by the bicycle fad. Do you remember that I told you once, while we were biking, that the only way to get acquainted with roads was on a bicycle, because an auto travels so quickly? I take that statement back. Now I know that one can’t really know a place until he has traversed it by foot. Where shall we go? Anywhere. The back road to Hamilton, the Beach Road, the footpath by the swamp; we don’t have to drive to a mountain trail bordered with hot-dog stands to enjoy a walk. I can take you where the forget-me-nots bloom in a secluded spot by an old mill. Walking is more than a pastime, Alison. There are joy and health to be gained from putting one foot before the other in a rhythmic way until you do not even feel the effort of moving at all; there is strength to be found in stretching your body up toward the clouds, in breathing aid that is enliven- ing in its purity. Leave your favorite copy of “Oliver Twist’’ and try a new occupation that was a favorite of Dickens himself. What if it rains? You say there are already dark clouds in the sky? Then you will experience the fulfillment of a deep inexpressible longing, for there is infinite satisfaction in feeling the soft splashes of water against your face while you keep time with your feet to the beats of the rain. When you come to love walking as I do, I will take you wi h me during every season of the year. The same walks appear very different beneath snow, wind, and sun. We’ll even go by night to feel the cold intens- ity of the stars in winter and the misty velvet of a summer evening that is not at all terrifying but only deep and mys- terious. You say that you cannot leave your studying, that you must stay to solve a difficult problem in Algebra? Bring the problem along, in your mind, Alison. It is so much easier to think when your body is occupied. What if we are late for my engage- ment tonight? We won’t be late; we will consult our watches now and then. If we become pressed for time, we can sing a lively tune, such as “The Toreador Song’’ from “Carmen’’ and march home to it. Keeping a reg- ular pace is just as necessary for speed in walking as in typing. And if the pain in your side returns? Then we will slow down for a while. When you have walked on many hikes, the pain will have disappeared forever. Put on your low-heeled shoes, Alison. We are going for a walk. 18

Page 22 text:

spark that kindled the World War. And throughout this war the respective gov- ernments were constantly engaged in hurling propaganda against one another and at the neutrals. Furthermore, in our own day Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and as a matter of fact all the important countries conduct tremen- dous propaganda campaigns. Now, propaganda can exercise tre- mendous effects. It does not explode shells, wreck buildings, or directly maim our citizens; nevertheless it poison minds, dynamites peace, and transforms the entire populace into vengeful, unthinking animals. With the magic tool of words leaders color the truth until it is unrecognizable. They depend upon our gullibility; they bank on our lack of intelligence; and they work upon our emotions! One of the most striking examples of the nefarious effect of propaganda may be found in the case of the United States and the World War. According to historians, allied propaganda was the more im- portant of the two causes which drew us into the conflict, the other being German submarine warfare. Indeed, responsible Englishmen have since dis- closed to us the nature and extent of the propaganda employed to lure us into that war. The methods employed by the pro- fessional propagandists, for govern- ments hire trained propaganda directors, are ingenious. The terms by which these methods are known, as compiled by the Propaganda Survey of the “Scholastic” are as follows; The first is known as “name-calling.” In the World War the Germans were called “Huns,” “thugs,” “gangsters,” and other names equally to their disadvan- tage. Secondly there is what propa- gandists term “Glittering Generalities.” We find examples of this in the World War also. Those who prated of dem- ocracy and the “war to end wars” were using this method. Thirdly, there is the method known as “Testimonial” by which statements are endorsed by prominent people. During the last war Kipling, Bryce, Shaw, Galsworthy, and Wells came to America to put the British view across the American dinner table. Moreover, a device known as “Plain Folk” is employed. One side points out that the enemy has an army of professional killers trained to fight, whereas they themselves are struggling to preserve the world with an army of farmers who have abandoned their plows, and young men — “plain folks.” The enemy may be represented in pos- ters as a huge armed giant astride a heap of carnage, gloating over his spoils. Another device frequently employed is “card-stacking.” Stories are taken and twisted around until they are fantas ' ic and almost unbelievable. Illustrations of this may be found in the atrocity stories of the World War, since proved so thoroughly untrue, of the dismem- berment of women and children, and of o ' her horrible inflictions visited upon helpless people. While speaking of the methods em- 20