Ishpeming High School - Hematite Yearbook (Ishpeming, MI)

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war accelerates the trend towards sex equality: after the war this .tide recedes, but there is al- ways a gain. After the last war many women continued to work, and this economic independ- ence brought them other types of freedom. It has be-en said by leading Americans, that after peace has been declared and nations are once more free, women will again take their places in the home and give up the power and independ- ence they now possess, But women must con- tinue to strive now and after to keep our nation as powerful and righteous as it has been for many centuries. I have presented to you a picture of what some of the American women of today are 1ike-no- ble, courageous, and willing to sacrifice them- selves for the nation to which they belong. This, however, is not a true portrayal of what all the women in our vast metropolises actually are. How we have all shuddered at the stories that appear in our newspapers altogether too of.ten about the number of women who are delinquent ln their most sacred privileges. Of our large population of women only a small proportion have gone to work in war plants day after day, or to serve in the women's service corps, so that their fellow- men could be free to fight the deadly enemy across the oceans. We still have in our midst, the lazy, parasitic, dissatisfied, and neurotic female, who feels that the way she lives her life is no longer important, therefore no longer meaning- ful. It is difficult for us to realize the large num- ber of women not willing to face problems realis- tically but numbing their minds by listf 1 assid- uously to the ridiculous romances of the morning radio soap operas. These disgraceful facts can be proven by noting the vast shortage of nurses in our civilian hospitals, which need 25,000 more volunteer nurses aides, the shortage of factory workers, and the shortage of women in our ser- vice corps, A comparison of war-bond sales with the overtowering department-store sales would be a severe shock to many of us. Yet in the cities all day long the movies are full of housewives, some who are college graduates. There is scarce- ly a woman's club where the war is not discussed solely in the terms of the servant problem-over the bridge table. No excuse can be made for these unpatriotic women. They have forgotten that the debt each generation owes to the past it must pay to the future. No fair comparison can be made of the women of today with those of yesterday, the women who fought and even died for the right to vote and speak in public. The work of our famous reformers-Susan Anthony, Jessie Howe, Eliza- beth Stanton, Abigail Scott, all who gave their lives so that their descendants could have the freedoms rightfully endowed upon them-is no longer remembered. These women served in many long wars, wars to civilize people of a new nation, wars with hostile Indians, and wars against greedy white men searching only for power and wealth. These women accepted their hardships with faith and courage, even though there were only a small number of them to per- form the required duties. Their scarcity brought them respect, the frontier made them work, The exploits of these pioneer wives helped to civilize the savage American continent, I need not men- tion the virtues of Abigail Adams, Margaret Fuller, Jessie Fremont, or Clara Barton. They are well known for their record of courage, serv- ice, and splendid achievement. By self-reliance and moral force they helped to create America and brought their sex world-wide prestige. Are American women still earning the world's re- spect? It is the responsibility of all American women to help bring victory to our war-torn land, but before they can do so, they must realize and fulfill their duty to the nation, to give whatever assistance th-ey can. They must help ,onward the reforms brought about by famous women of the past and spread the light of freedom and truth. To teach the ideals of living together harmoniously in society and the principles of purposeful living is their duty. They must rea- lize that marriage is a sacred duty of every woman in the American home, Each woman must learn the responsibilities of all-around citizenship and her role in the modern world. The words of Abigail Scott should be inscribed in all of our minds: The young women of today, free to study, to speak, to write, to choose their occupation, should remember that every inch of this freedom was bought for them at a great price. It is for them to show their gratitude by helping onward the reforms of their own times, by spreading the light of freedom and of truth still wider. We wish to thank our parents and friends for having mad-e these years of public school tram- ing possible, which have 'instilled in all of us great American ideals. With the hope of a ful- fillment of these ideals, we, the Class of 1945, bid you farewell, -BERTHA JOHNSON Page Twenty-Nine

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Too many of us seem to be immersed in a ruth- less pagan philosophy, a philosophy which justi- fies us in riding rough-shod over all those who are weaker or less fortunately situated than we are, VVe have no qualms about taking advantage of othtrs, What if we deprive them of their her- itage? What if we mutilate or murder a few of them? In our grasping for power, wealth, and glory we trample on the weaker members of society. Clcverncss without conscience, strength without mercy-that seems to be the accept-ed philosophy. In business law there is a rule expressed in Latin: Caveat emptor --rs if the lawmakers were ashamed to say it invplain English. Let the buyer beware! That's the rule, Let the buyer beware. Our law permits sharp dealings in which the clever salesman is justified in cheat- ing the honest but ignorant customer, Swindle him, rob him, as long as you can remain secure. Man is sick-revoltingly sick. He is sick be- cause all his actions are for himself alone. He is unhappy, dangerous, because he can never be satisfied. More and more he demands in order to glut his greedy appetites. He wants to be richer, more glamorous, more irresistible. The venom of greed and lust has infected his entire soul. The sickness of the human race is revealed in economic depressions and unemployment, in man's frequent hopeless struggles for a living. The conflicts of man against man are often worse than the laws of the jungle. As a result of these conflicts we have chaotic war with its screaming death, gutted cities, ruined art treas- ures, twisted bodies and despairing minds, Other symptons of man's sickness are revealed in the rampant immorality, delinquency, divorce, crime, and bestiality. Men and women, and even chil- dren, are flocking to cheap shows, dance halls, night clubs, where drunkenness, profanity, rowd- iness and riot prevail. The results are broken homes, broken spirits, minds, and bodies. Man is frustrated. He is stuck In the mire of greed. His life is confusion, anxiety, restless- ness, aimlessness, and weariness. He has cast off the bonds of .tradition and has chained him- self to his animal desires. He has no solace but a flight from reality, He does not experience the sweet dream of peace that Abou Ben Ad- hein knew because he loved his fellow men, Civ- ilization, being infested with barbarism and sav- agery, has begun to decay. How evident that is in the world-wide attempt to destroy all that is good and beautiful! Civilization can be kept alive only through a rebirth of the good and the beautiful, through a spark of idealism that inspires and consoles us. We must not let that spark go out in our lives. We need new ideals and new philosophies, but these must be based on the firm foundation of love for fellow men. Society should not and must not permit its members to starve. By cooperation we can bind the wounds of the wretched. pay for their lodg- ings, as the Good Samaritan, the lover of man, did. There are many who lie by the wayside and whom society continues to ignore, This is not only the problem of the individual or the na- tion, but of the world. The principles of love for human beings should be the guiding rule at the conferences of nations. Not only individuals, but nations also, must lay aside their greed for pow- er. Unless the powers of .the world come armed with good will, they will never design a lasting peace. When man respects his fellow men, follows the Golden Rule, makes his laws in accordance with the laws of God: when in man's mind truth and reason prevailg when the human race is truly one, and the spirit of Christ is accepted by the world, then peace will come. The bells that ring for that peace will, in the words of Tennyson, Ring in the nobler modes of life, , . . Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand: Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. -JOHN CHILLMAN VALEDICTORY A CHALLENGE TO AMERICAN WOMEN During our years of war the men of our na- tion have been exhorted constantly about their duties to their ocuntry, So great have their responsibilities been to their motherland that they have had to be willing to give up their dearest possessions, even to yielding up their last breath. It is time, however, that we stop to con- sider that it is not men alone that fashion a country, but that the women of the land play a large factor in determining what kind of place that country shall be. The women can assist in the preservation of those ideals and principles that have been bestowed upon the land by her first martyrs and pioneers. It is the woman who must today recognize that she too has cer- tain pledges to carry out for her own sake, for the sake of the men who are spilling out their life blood, and for the sake of her country. We women must shop to take an inventory of what we are today, of what we are doing, and what we should hope and plan to accomplish in the future, It is true that many women have already taken over the tasks of our fighting men and have been Page Twenty-Eight accepted as an equal to men, instead of as the lesser man. At present, they are doing their fighting on the home front, holding important positions as Congresswomen in our governing bodies and working in war plants which produce guns, tanks, and planes for our battle-weary comrades. American women make up 51W of our voting population, casting from 52 to 657' of our total vote. The war has put to work about four million women who otherwise would have remained idle at home. They do the very same type of work as their fellowmen: building, repairing, and every other type of common labor, Moreover the women are entitled to these gains. Forty-five women in uniform have been killed or wounded on duty, more than two hundred fifty have been decorated for courageous acts. Women are vet- erans of Bataan, Anzio, and Normandy, Now is the time for women to take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered them. They must begin to work harder to preserve the cause for which we are fighting and to enable the Al- lied Nations to be victorious. As we all know, l

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Page Thirty .xfifi f ' U f N SENIOR CLASS SONG Tune: 'TM coNF.assIN' THAT 1 LOVE YOU Verse: Now that we must leave you Blue and White, We pause and sighg How time does fly, We are looking toward a future bright. We have no fears For coming years, Chorus: As we pass out through your portals Thinking of years gone by, We are carrying mem'ries with us. They'11 never die, You have given inspirationg In you we have found true friends. For you we've an admiration That never ends. In our future occupations, You will be our steadfast guide. Having you as our foundation, We'1l succeed what e'er betide. With our aims and hopes we leave you Ready now for life's new phase, Promising always to cherish Our school days. ' -MARJORIE soma 1