Madison High School - Madisonian Yearbook (Madison Heights, MI)

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In the midst of the worlds darkest hours, when the blight of war has once again descended upon mankind there arises in the hearts of the subjugated people of the world an overwhelming desire for freedom7 and secondly, there is a universal desire among all peoples for a lasting peace. This war, as in all wars, is an outgrowth of the greed among men, who place wealth before the welfare of humanity, and regard war as a profit making enterprize. It is an outgrowth of the lust for power by men who cloak their evil intentions beneath the pre- sumption that they are earrying out the will of their people, and it is the result of econ- omic barriers created by differences of mak- ing a living. Hatreds handed down among nations for generations until their differ- ences are more traditional than realities have been so cleverly handled by frustrated, power loving leaders that they have served to bring to the boiling point any number of differences among peoples of the world. Wars do not breed in twenty or even a hundred years - the roots of this war start- ed when time first be- gan. The inability of a country to provide the necessities of life for its people is the re- sult of a lack of land, minerals, and natural wealth. Surely, this dates back to prehistoric times, as the wealth of a nation could not increase proportion- ately to its population. To a certain point the aggression of Japan is justifiable for Japants 80 million people are crowded on an island equal to lower California. This is true also of both Germany and Italy. Boake Carter aptly notes that when a man wants for food, clothing, or shelter he immediately becomes the plaything of fear. Under the impulse of fear, he will do almost anything. He will listen to the glirn promises of a Hit- ler. He may go over to Fascism. He will turn to anything or anyone who offers to res- cue him from want. The rise of Adolph Hitler, Benito Mus- solini, Franco, and Napoleon can not be blamed soley upon the citizens of those na- tions. It was a broken Germany that accept- ed Adolph Hitleris doctrines. The Weimar Republic failed because of starvation and inflation, and allied nations still mistrusted and refused to help Germany. Italy, disil- lusioned after World War I, and lacking wealth to build the nation that it might hold a basis for a world peace a respected position in the world turned to Benito Mussolini in his dream of the new Roman Empire. Dissastified and weakend Spain drove out the royal family and install- ed Franco after a bloody revolution. France. allowed Napoleon to take over the ruins after internal strife had split France for years. In all history there has been one major, just treaty; that drawn up between the United States and Great Britain, in 1783 and today we are united by unbreakable bonds of friendship. Another just treaty would produce the same effect. Peaces have been based on the thoughts of revenge and greed, and peaces based upon these factors inevitably lead to future wars. At the pres- ent time, it would be advisabled for Amer- ica to scorn the type of peace makers of Ver- sailles of 1919 and 1940, and follow the sage advice of Lincoln, who at Gettysburg urged the North and South to found a sounder union based on brotherly love. Twenty years ago at Versailles the lead- ers of the victorious nations ignored a gold- en opportunity to cre- ate a permanent peace. Revenge was fore- most in their mindse revenge they got - and. today the world is paying for their blundering. However, at the end of this war, there is a promise of a brighter future; for the peo- ple of today are becoming more thoroughly united than ever before to end war. The residents of Warsaw, Rotterdam, and Lon- don have been subjected to fierce bombings and now in retalliation United Nations bombers are paying visits to Naples, Ham- burg, and Berlin. The United Nations and now the Axis people have seen their cities callously and deliberately ruined, and they realize the utter futility of war and know that it settles nothing. We of today are thinking more in terms of internationality than nationality. Nationalism from this time on is but a limited point of View. The United Nations, potentially the greatest force the world has ever known, is pledged by their leaders to remain united for all time. Thirty independent nations are being welded into a unified agency for making and preserving peace. To this end the United Nations are endeavoring to profit by the mistakes of the past. They learned that hastily created councils, boards, and programs working half

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A junior A.W.V.S. was organized at Madison, October 13, 1942 under the guid- ance of Miss Gloria Gloor, whom we are proud to claim as our senior adviser. At our first meeting Grace Mills was chosen as junior chairman; Grace Millsap was selected vice-chairman; Jacqueline Clanton, secre- tary; and Dolores Dzendzal, treasurer. We are a new organization in Madison but from our many duties and experiences we feel we are veterans. Our duties are strictly voluntary and nothing is accepted for our services. The girls have been collecting used stamps, rec- ords, grease, silk hose, and clothes hangers. These activities will be continued for the duration. So far all our projects have proved a success, which is due largely to the girls hard work and to Jacqueline Clanton, Shir- ley Brown, and Lois Ziegler, who do such a good job on the advertising committee. We held a bake sale in January which netted the grand total of $9.00. Our match box first aid kits which we sold during April at the outrageous price of 25c brought us approxi- mately $12. The girls, feeling they now have the money to back their projects, are plan- ning bigger things. a. W. V. S. Back row: left to right: D. Illich,wG. Kettner, M. Hopper, D. Carnes, M. Miner, L. Ziegler. Second row: A. Johnson, M. Miner, P. Stuthers, D. Brazee, E. Barber, B. Olson, Miss Gloor. Front row: L. Clare, D. Dzen-dzel. J. Clanton, G. Mills, G. Mill- sap, S. Brown. J. Belger

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heartedly and with a too noticeable under- current of selfishness could not stand the test of real issues. For instance when the French proposed that joint planning of ship- ping, raw materials, and trade policies be continued after 1918 the British were not too keen about this, thinking it was simply a de- vice for getting revenge on Germany. Next the United States declared it could not, Hagree to any program that even looked like inter-Allied control of our economic re- sources after peace? A Supreme Economic Council born in 1919 died early in 1920 for want of real authority to carry out its duties. By 1920 almost every inter-Allied organiza- tion had withered away. From then m; it was every nation for itself in economic and financial matters. Two years after the war had ended each country was suspicious of the others, and thought only of its own in- terests. These countries had not prepared to work together for peace; their cooperative machinery had been set up purely for war. Today these thirty nations have laid the foundation for unity in the Joint Declara- tion by United Nations, agreed to January 1, 1942. In this they have pledged cooperation in making peace, as well as unity in war. Such an agreement is something new in his- tory. No such accord was ever reached by warring nations prior to 1942! The accept- ance by all these nations of the principles of the Atlantic Charter is the most encour- aging sign of all. It indicates that everyone is conscious of the need for United Nations unity, and that they are thinking and plan- ning for peace. There is no limit to what we can do if we resolutely set our minds on first principles and resolve to get things done. If the Nazis can create a revolution of world proportions in a few years; we should be able to instigatea great creative movementmin a comparatively short time, if intelligence counts for anything. Intelligence is on our side in all countries. This time it will not be a case of too little planvning,'1efttoo late, for already Un- der secretary of State Sumner welles has announced that our government would at once call a conference to study the problem of post-war relief for the suffering peoples not the world, It 'has been announced by the State Department that full agreement might be expected within a few months. Plans for thestabilizing of currencies, have already 'been't'yarafted by Great Britain and the United States and talks concerned with pro- viding food for millions of people in occu- pied nations are also in progress. These are of course, but a few of the post-war diffi- culties which must be given extremely careful attention now. Without doubt there will be bitter and difficult disputes over boundaries; over American attitude toward post-war cooperation, as nations recall our policy of isolation adopted in the face of Woodrow Wilsonls League of Nations. It is too soon to predict what may come as a re- sult of Mr. Edents recent trip to the United States, yet it is generally agreed that it has brought better understanding between the two governments. Mr. Eden remarked that he was surprised to find so little talk of isolationism and so much enthusiasm for internationalism. With the full realization of the immensity of the task before us, but with the knowledge of the machinery at work to accomplish this task people every: where may justly hope to realize their de- sire for freedom and peace. Madame Chiang Kai-Shek is urging the United Nations to adopt a liberal viewpoint toward Japan when we are victorious. If China, the nation that has suffered the most does not seek revenge, surely all the other United Nations should be able to take a more liberal Viewpoint and strive for a peaceful world. In the book uMein Kamptt by Adolph Hitler, he wrote of a ttnew ordert, based upon the belief of racial supremacy. Yes, Adolph Hitler is right, there will be a new order, not based upon his beliefs, but based upon the farsighted ideals of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, and agreed to by 30 nations of the world, known as the four freedoms; freedom of want, fear, religion, and expression as set down in the. Atlantic Charter. - Walter Leaf Regional Prize Winning Oration of 1943