Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

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10 The Lawrencian penses for the United States army in 1935-1936, $348,000,000 was ap- propriated, and over $400,000,000 was appropriated for the United States navy. Even these enormous amounts are but a part of the annual ex- pense for the cost of war in times of peace. $2,500,000,000, or two- thirds of the total annual revenue of the United States pays for the army and navy, for pensions and hospitals for veterans, and for payments and interest on war debts. Not only is war expensive mater- ially, but it wastes the time, the energy, and the ideals of the peo- ple. Time that could be spent in improving human minds by educa- tion and culture is used for destroy- ing human lives. As our great Amer- ican poet, Longfellow, says in his poem, The Arsenal at Springfield: “Were half the power that fills the world with terror, Were half the wealth, be- stowed on camps and courts, Given to redeem the human mind from error, There were no need of arsen- als nor forts.” Energy that could be made to pro- duce results, to build a stronger people physically, is used for killing off these people and tearing down their nations. Ideals that bring out the best in humanity, that promote the spirit of democracy, brother- hood, and love, are completely shat- tered by war. A person broken by war, bereft of ideals, has nothing before him, nothing for which to hope, to strive, to live, or to die. He has lived in the pits of the world; he has been through dark caverns of agony — he has been through war. How can he ever again look at life as an adventure, as a challenge? Idealistically he is broken. And if the world is to progress, it must have idealists, people of vision, who trust, who see ahead. Of course, disarmament of the nations cannot take place overnight. It. must be thoroughly studied and prepared for in advance, or utter confusion and chaos will result. The possibility of revolutions and an- archy will have to be avoided by all means if such disarmament is to be successful. There are two ways in which the world can prepare for disarmament: The first method is self-govern- ment for each nation, either by a republic or by a democracy. Such a government the United States has today, and the few uprisings and riots that we do have are only trivial. The people run the govern- ment, electing their representatives and leaders; and they may put any of them out of office by the popu- lar voting power. By this means, dishonest politicians do not last long enough to cause much harm, and there is little chance for dictator- ship. There is no room for dicta- torial policies in a peace-loving world! We must outgrow them! The false patriots who submit to such extremes will discover their folly when the glamor wears off and the cold, dull reality of another war eats its way into their lives. Then will they realize the stark necessity of a sensible government by the peo- ple and for the people. The world needs republics and democracies to squelch dictators, to check present wars, and to prevent future wars. If the world as a whole should become educated to this system of self- government, there would be little necessity for the strong army or the large navy; there would be no urge for war. An educated people would not be led blindly on to war by a