Lyman Hall High school - Singer Chronicle Yearbook (Wallingford, CT)

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THE CHRONICLE. VII. omit to mention their origin. The basis for the social cohesion of the American people is laid in the following passage taken from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” These are the ideals of our forefathers; their sacred and priceless gift to posterity ; the mold from which our own United States was cast. The enumeration of our social ideals can be found in the first amendment of the Constitution, which states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble; and to petition the government for redress of grievances.” Almost directly, therefore, our social impulses receive their color and their initiative from our religious ideals. In America, freedom of worship, freedom of speech and freedom of the press tend to broaden and purify these ideals so as to include, according to Jefferson, “honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and love of man.” These religious ideals, acting upon our social intercourse, cause it to assume a friendly and brotherly aspect. One can easily see that no special God has been invoked by the framers of our Declaration of Independence, of our Constitution, and of our Courts. Unlike Germany, we lay no claim to a tribal God, but believe in God, the Father of all mankind. In taking up political ideals we will consider first, American international relations; second, American government and education; and lastly, but by no means the least important, the American war aims. Our international ideals are embodied in the Monroe Doctrine, in the doctrine of freedom of the seas, and in the doctrine of arbitration. In the Monroe Doctrine, the United States pledges to defend the western hemisphere from invasion and settlement by any European power. This principle was established not only for our own defense but that of our southern neighbors, the South American republics. The doctrine of freedom of the seas is one of the most cherished ideals ,of the American people. President Wilson states in an address to the Senate: “The paths of the sea must alike in law and, in fact, be free. The free, constant, unthreatened intercourse of the nations is an essential part of the process of peace and development.” A true, much desired ideal of the United States has been that of a World Court, where arbitration between nations can take place quietly, diplomatically and openly. The name, “Melting Pot,” has been given to the United States because of its governmental and educational ideals. The oppressed people of other nations come to the United States and are merged into one nation. The torch which brings about the refining process in the American “Melting Pot” is American education. Aliens, peasants, and all immigrants coming to our shores are refined, as metal is with heat, through American education. Henry Van Dyke gives us a very vivid and comprehensive idea of this principle. He writes: “I can take you into quarters of New York where you might think yourself in a Russian Ghetto, or into regions of Pennsylvania which would seem to you like Hungarian mining towns. But if you will come with me into the public schools, where the children of these people of the Old World are gathered for education, you will find yourself in the

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VI. THE CHRONICLE. the sympathy of a just man and Lufbery, always athirst for adventure, and wishing to aid France, offered that country his services as an air fighter. There is a certain chivalry in this warfare, for in the air, foe meets foe on equal terms, and the conqueror overthrows his antagonist because of superior skill and courage. Lufbery’s was the nature that could appreciate chivalry. Lufbery was loved and respected by his comrades and all who knew him, and soon acquired fame because of repeated victories, winning for himself several medals for bravery. His undaunted spirit as he fearlessly brought down so many enemy planes was admirable. But with all these victories and the honor which so justly came to him, Lufbery remained modest and unspoiled. He cared nothing for display, and would rather face twenty Boche planes than attend a banquet given in his own honor. When the United States entered the war, Lufbery offered his services to his own country and was given the rank of Major. A few weeks ago, Raoul Lufbery died, as he had lived, fighting heroically. His death was mourned not only by his own country, but by all the allied nations. He was deservedly regarded as our greatest air fighter and a brave hero. No American has distinguished himself wtih more valiant deeds in this war. Having served with the French for so long, France recognizes what this man has done, for he was one of the Americans who served from the beginning of the war. As the body of Lufbery, after years of wandering over land and sea, was laid in its final resting place, while the planes of his comrades swooped down from above and dropped flowers on the grave, a French general paid this tribute of words to the fallen hero, showing not only how the French regarded Lufbery, but their esteem for the United States. What he said is this: On behalf of my comrades of the French army, I wish to pay respectful tribute to one of the heroes of the air, who was victorious eighteen times; a son of the noble and generous republic which came to our assistance to save the liberties of the world. “Rest peacefully, Major Lufbery, close by the martyrs to our great cause. Your glorious example will inspire in us the spirit of sacrifice, till the day when humanity’s enemies shall be finally vanquished. “Good-by.” Mary Loomis i8 AMERICAN IDEALS From the time of the Revolution there has always been a tendency in America for the fusion of the interests of North, East, South and West. With this Great World War, came the hour of ultimate fusion. When the United States declared war against Germany on April 6, 1917, the American people rose as one man with one heart and one mind to assert and protect their common ideals—the ideals of all America. The underlying principle of all American ideals is liberty. By that we do not mean license or lawlessness, but liberty according to the definition given by Stuart P. Sherman: “The ideal of the American is external freedom and inner control; the individual looks after his conduct, and the government looks after his liberty.” Upon this principle the life and vitality of our democracy depends, and in turn, the strength of this principle depends upon the spirit and integrity of American ideals. A great factor in American life to-day is the morale, the social and religious ideals of our nation. In enumerating our social ideals, we must not

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VIII. THE CHRONICLE. midst of fairly intelligent and genuinely patriotic young Americans. They will salute the flag for you with enthusiasm. They will sing ‘Columbia’ and ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ with more vigor than harmony. They will declaim Webster’s apostrophe to the Union, or cry with Patrick Henry, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ ” Thus, through the American public school system, the youthful foreigners are educated and started on the right road to good citizenship. It is common knowledge that intellectual development is necessary for good government. Since all citizens will sooner or later become interested in civic affairs, it is a matter of common welfare to have intelligent men administer government. We can easily feel then, that American educational ideals merge with our ideals of democratic government. Are we sending our young men across the seas only for the purpose of upholding the power of our states? No! They are fighting for the defense and extension of justice; for the recognition of the rights and liberties of small nations; for the recognition of the principle that government derives its just power from the consent of the governed; for the reparation of wrongs done and the erection of adequate safeguards to prevent their being committed again. Who will avenge the Lusitania? Who will vindicate the wrongs of Belgium? Who will face the Huns? Who will dare death to help the wounded? Our young men, the jewels of our nation, are to be sacrificed and given up for the preservation of our political, military and educational ideals, for, our war aims are after all but a union of all the others. They are the citadel of our liberty, of our democracy and the source from which that mighty, everlasting flow of American patriotism comes. In the words of Lincoln: “With malice towards none; with charity for all; with firmness for the right, as God gives us to see right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan— to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.” LONG LIVE AMERICAN IDEALS! May they ever be the supreme aim, the hope and inspiration of all freedom-loving people. Ruth Heilmann ’18 JOAN OF ARC (Valedictory Essay) When in 1914 the Cathedral at Rheims, that wonderful structure which it took hundreds of years to complete, was ruined by the German guns, the minds of the people turned back to the year 1429 when King Charles VII. was crowned in that stately church. The sight of those shattered arches and those gargoyles, in fragments, strengthened in their hearts the love for Joan of Arc, the maiden who long ago had saved France and who had brought her king triumphantly to his coronation. That had been the proudest day that the old cathedral had ever witnessed. Now four hundred years later, amidst the blackened ruins, the French people might well feel discouragement. Yet when the news of the destruction of the cathedral came to the dying soldiers on the battle line, they cried out, “Jeanne D’Arc! Jeanne D’Arc!” “I see her horse!” “Her silver armour flashes!” A soldier who was on the point of death raised himself painfully and said, “Mes camerades, elle est venue!” (My comrades, she has come!)