Jamestown High School - Red and Green Yearbook (Jamestown, NY)

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8 I. H. S. SENIOR ANNUAL 1931 Science as a Career fEloyd L. Darrow, Ph.D.J The American Telephone and Telegraph Company employs more than 54400 scientists, engineers and assistants in its development laboratories and spends upon this branch of the service approximately 319,000,000 a year. The du Ponts, General Elec- tric, Westinghouse, Gen- eral Motors, Standard Oil and upwards of 600 other industrial organi- zations have similar re- search groups. Such work is the basis of the mass production of to- day. lndustry has learned that research pays. ln addition to these key groups, there are also thousands of trained men in our hosts of industrial plants. These plants could not operate a day without this technical guidance. And the field that invites the young man or woman who will make the preparation is as wide as science itself. Every phase of scien- tific endeavor finds its place. No more striking example of this twentieth century need could be found than exists in Russia today. The Soviets are discovering that it is impossible to put over their gigantic industrial program without making big de- mands upon the technical staffs of other coun- tries, chiefly our own. The requirements for one who would pursue a life devoted to science are somewhat exact- ing. An inquiring mind, infinite patience, keenness to recognize the significance of apparently trifling developments, usually sound mathematical ability, always the capac- ity to think clearly and logically and a genu- ine love for hard work-these are some of the demands upon the aspirant to such a career. Probably they find no better illustration than in the life of that Grand Old Man of Science, Thomas A. Edison. The cost of such training is that of four years in one of our best technical institutions, followed if possible by graduate work, partic- ularly so if research is contemplated. The financial rewards may be large or small. They depend upon the individual and how far he can go with his native ability and spe- cial training. At the start, they are not usual- ly large, but opportunities in abundance are waiting for the right men, and industry is willing to pay substantially, often royally, for scientific leadership. When one considers service to his fellowmen, nowhere else are the possibilities larger. Even in the ranks, one may be conscious of a worthy calling. As to drawbacks, one who loves the thing he is doing will find few, and no one should enter upon this highway unless he feels the urge. There are now so many good technical schools that it is diflicult to make a list. Fol- lowing are some of the best: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell, Sheffield Scientific School of Yale, University of Cin- cinnati, Union, Case School of Aplied Science, University of Michigan, Rensselaer, Chicago University, Harvard, Princeton, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania State. The Bell Labora- tories maintains its own school of practical work and instruction, with pay, for a limited number of accepted high school graduates. Medicine QH. A. Biaisdell, M.D.J No special talents are required for the successful practice of medicine. Any normal young man with an average intelligence and a sincere desire to serve humanity along this line, will be successful in his endeavor. A real desire for the work should prompt the choice. All medical schools require a high school graduate, with at least two years of Arts and Science as preparation, some require three years and some even four years. The average cost per year is about 31200 ftuition varying from 55350 to 35500 per yearl. No man ever became wealthy from the prac- tice of medicine, although the majority of physicians make a fairly good living. Any fortune made by a physician has been due to wise investments in other lines. The real compensation to a doctor comes from the satisfaction of having been able to help someone when he needed it. The grati- tude of an appreciative patient passes all pecuniary value and more than neutralizes the many unpleasant features.

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I. H. S. SENIOR ANNUAL 1931 7 You readers, who turned out en masse to buy the book. The advertisers who contributed gen- erously to the financial success of the Annual. The faithful staff who in a most satis- factory way, met the obligations necessar- ily incurred upon them by the publica- tion of the book. Miss Laura F. Freck, faculty advisor, whose wise supervision was indispensible. We of the staff believe that, along with all the other departments which each year grace the pages of this book, in one form or another, we have incorporated this year a feature which never before has been in a J. H. S. Annual, or, as far as we know, in any other school year book. We hope that this new department will prove as useful to the students as we intended it should be. This new department is the eight arti- cles following this editorial, which deal with eight vocations of the world today. Realizing, of course, that our space was limited, we had to cut down on the num- ber of vocational articles as well as the size of each article itself. We tried to pick the ones in which the majority of students would be interested. A word should be said about the authors of the articles. Six of them are prominent men of Jamestown: Robert Jackson is Well known in the law firm of Jackson, Durkin, and Leet. Leonard A. Bergman is city engineer. Walter H. Edson is trust officer of the National Chautauqua County Bank and Dr. Har- old A. Blaisdell is one of the most suc- cessful practitioners of medicine in Jamestown. Ellis W. Beck is the senior partner in the firm of Beck and Tinkham, architects and Merton P, Corwin, as prin- cipal of our school, needs no introduc- tion. The other two writers, although having a local residence, are nationally known figures. I refer, in the first place, to Bev. Dr. Lucius H. Bugbee, who, after serving as pastor for many of the largest Methodist Churches in the country, re- cently was made editor-in-chief of the Methodist Sunday School Publications: Dr. Floyd L. Darrow, the other nation- ally known figure, is famous for his scien- tific experiments and research, especially those for juniors. His books on science are rated among the great works of America today.

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1. H. S. SENIOR ANNUAL 1931 9 A doctor is a public servant and therefore subject to the beck and call of the public at all hours, and in all weather, Many demands made upon him are unreasonable and severely trying to his patience. Often, after a doctor has given his very best to a patient and the desired result has not been accomplished, the patient will severely criticise him. A busy physician is deprived of practically all home life and its happiness. The short hours of sleep, strenuous labor and great responsibility are sufhciently wearing that the doctor7s life is shorter than the average. lf a boy can know all these things and still wish to study medicine, 1 believe he will have the courage and ambition to succeed. ln this area such schools as Cornell, Syra- cuse, Buffalo, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, John Hopkins, Michigan and many others are given high rating and are acceptable as a choice for graduate education. The Law f Robert ,lacksonl No profession calls for a wider range and variety of talents than the law. The lawyer counsels in the most petty domestic contro- versy and in extended financial plans. He con- ducts litigation involv- ing the accuracy of land surveys, the correctness of a physician's diagno- sis, the workmanship of all kinds of mechanics, the plans of engineers and the calculations of accountants. Law is an inclusive profession de- manding an ability to absorb accurately and to present clearly, and upon short notice, the disputed aspects of any- body7s problem. Therefore, success will sel- dom come at the bar to one who has not a wide and varied reading, a broad experience and resourcefulness, to which must be added a command of simple, forceful and accurate speech for which the English Bible is the best example. The income of lawyers is often exaggerated. Distinguished success in the legal profession probably pays as high a return as equal suc- cess in most professions, but the law clerk gets less than the grocery clerk, the lawyer of mod- erate talent will make a bare living and the ustarvation period through which all profes- sional men must pass, brings down the aver- age return. lVfany lawyers of considerable ability lack the art of attracting business and it does not always follow that financial return will be proportioned to learning in the law. The profession attracts many because it is an open door to public life. lt offers a variety of contacts with all classes and conditions of men and the intellectual stimulus of many kinds of problems. The legal profession is so overcrowded that it is not attractive unless one has out- standing qualifications. The State of New York in 1920 supported one lawyer for each 562 persons, the United States as a whole, one for 862, Canada had one for 1319, England one for 2211, Germany one for 4134, France one to 4-585, and Italy one to 2310. ln 1918, New York had 850 new applicants while in 1928 there were over 3,000, an increase of 300 per cent in ten years or 30 per cent a year. The increase in application continued but examinations have become more severe so that while in 1928, 54 per cent passed, in 1929 only 45 per cent passed and in 1930 the percentage of successful was reduced to 39 per cent. Even at that rate, 2290 passed. Excessive numbers intensify competition, re- duce the financial returns, lead to a decline in ethical standards. An applicant must complete two full years attendance at a college or university approved by the State Department of Education and 3 years study of law in an approved law school. Qualifying wholly by law office study is possible but is an obsolete method and is not recommended. Six months clerkship in a law office after examination is required. Many law schools are operated as profit making institutions whose standards are low and in some instances students have found their time spent in such institutions lost. The American Bar Association Council on Legal Education publishes a list of approved schools which is available in the office of any member. Schools located in New York State approved are Albany Law School, Columbia, Cornell and Syracuse. While the study of most sciences is wholly independent of loca- tion, the place where one receives legal edu- cation depends somewhat on where he intends to practice and one considering the profession should consult with officers of the Bar Asso- ciation in reference thereto.