Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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18 SOMANHIS EVENTS those whose dear ones go to meet an unknown fate, need to be comforted and cheered by the thought, that, in war there are fine companionships; there are hours to think of home, there is time for music and laughter, and there is time for recreation and reaction. We hear all too much, perhaps, of the horrors of war. Let us gladly turn our mind to wit and humor. The humor is to be found where one would least expect to find it. Man is a peculiar animal; he laughs so that he will n ot weep with exasperation. Look over the pictures of Bairnsfather and see how the Tommies make the best of all sorts of inconveniences and afford unconscious amusement to thousands of unknown comrades. Then there are the cartoons that show the attitude our enemy took at various times throughout those momentus days of the great struggle. Thousands of cartoonists did their best in this work. The foremost of these was Louis Raemaekers, the famous Dutch cartoonist, whose works are probably familiar to most Americans. Although half German himself, he makes Kaiserdom and Prussianism the chief enemies of his pen. But in his illustrations he brings out more vividly than any other artist the horror and cruelty, the thirst and hunger of war itself. At this point I wish to discuss the art of camouflaging. The men engaged in this fascinating pursuit are the camoufleurs or artists who fight the enemy with their brushes. Deceptive coloration is the principle at the basis of this war art. Camouflage has been applied to conceal guns, roads, trains, outposts, spies, ete. Among many instances showing the extent to which deceptive coloration may be used, the hiding of a village street was very striking. It was desired to pass sol- diers from one part of the front to another, past the end of a viliage street which was within sight of the German glasses and also within easy range of their guns. To do this the artists painted a picture of that street on a very large piece of muslin and hung it up at the end of the street under cover of darkness. The next morning the Germans saw an empty street but behind that sheet, thousands of soldiers marched to safety. Probably as important as any other branch of art in the world war was the part that posters played. The American artists have produced a new type of pictures. All over our great nation our artists have spoken the thing for which there are no words to men, women, and children, who see with the eye better than they hear with the ear. When we look back at the posters that have been made how simple they are! How true in what they say! No in- telligent man will question the vital power of inspiring pictures. Call them cartoons, posters, or what you will; they have stirred the souls of men, and mobilized the forces of justice and patriotism against the world’s greatest enemy, “Kultur.” The orator no matter how gifted, knows that the real thrill of his words is limited to the range of his voice. But the picture that catches your eye and points out a truth, or sounds a call to patriotic service knows no limitations. The posters which you and I have seen during the last two years have conveyed a meaning to us and to everyone in our nation. They did more than that; those pictures that called to us for steadfast loyalty and heroic sacrifice also carried courage to our boys at the front. Those pictures put fresh life and courage into every man who fought for that flag, whether he was fighting with good

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SOMANHIS EVENTS | LY. ART IN WARFARE HERE is in the civilized world one language which can be understood by @ all people regardless of race and mother tongue. I refer to art as a universal language in which has been written the most authentic history of wars since the world began. Art is always influenced by warfare to a greater or lesser degree, because war- fare is continually changing and bringing about new ideas and customs. Languages slowly but continually go through changes, but art remains con- stant. It is for this reason that the vase paintings and mural decorations that illustrate battles as far back as the Trojan War in 1194 B. C. still mean the same to us as they did to those people who lived so many hundred years ago. And so up through the history of the world, art has played a prominent part in giving us the real truth of the great conflicts that occurred before the ability of man to write. Art has probably played a greater part in this great world war than in any war preceding it. Our nation, from the very beginning of its physical participa- tion on the battle fields of the war, had artists at the front who actually lived the life of a common soldier, who shared their hardships and dangers, and saw the horrors and outrages of the war. From the inspirations thus gained they have painted pictures which make our blood run cold. The artists did a great deal in convincing the civilized world that it was being imperiled by a barbarism strangely scientific, and by a brute force devoid of soul. The various artists reacted to the war, of course, in their various ways. Farre saw it in the thrilling and perilous combats of the air; he not only pre- sented the wonderful deeds of heroism and bravery which constantly occurred in that branch of the service, but he opened an entirely new world of pictures of scenes above the clouds, wonderfully beautifully, and marvelously dramatic. Steinlen saw it in the depression and woe of the old, the ill, the homeless; he saw it in the agony of tormented hearts, brothers and sisters; mothers and fathers, parents and children torn from one another and driven from their homes, innocent as they were, to trudge along the streets and die from hunger, exposure, and the intense horror of it all. Dougherty, the marine painter, saw it in the sinking of hospital ships and the resulting hideous murder of thousands of helpless people, sunk without a trace, by blood-thirsty wolves of the sea. Jonas saw it in the heroic glory in the souls of men, proud to suffer and sacri- fice their lives for an ideal. It is thus that the artists have conveyed to us the horrors of war. There is one more striking picture, namely, “The Murder of Edith Cavell.” It was painted by George Bellows, one of our American artists. He seems to have been stirred to his innermost depths by his subject, and he has created the greatest composition of his career. Miss Cavell, the dignified English nurse, is portrayed at the moment when she was taken from her cell to be executed under the cover of night. This picture conveys immediately the methods of that monstrous thing called “Kultur.” It is well for us that we should see these sights so that we, who have been secure and comfortable at home, may reverently remember those who suffered ‘and died for our sake. Yet too much emphasis may be placed upon the horrors of war. The sweethearts and wives, the mothers and daughters, yes, and all

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«4 SOMANHIDIS EVENTS 19 American steel in the form of bullets and bayonet, or shaping that same steel into ships for the great navy that made it possible for us to win our victory. Art has in these various ways helped to make the world a safe place to live in. It has helped to destroy the most contemptible and stupendous dream that ever stalked forth from the nethermost caverns of human imagination. We have wrestled with that dream and overcome it. We have our own vision of human rights with justice as a master, and everywhere room for the free flower- ing of all that makes life worth living. For this high ideal many have sacrificed their lives, and art, I think, has done her best. Leonard H. Johnson, °19. K X £HAG SPIRE OF FRANCE INCE the invasion of France by the Hun in that memorable August of 1914, ) the unconquerable spirit of France has won the admiration of the world. Although France has made bitter sacrifices during the recent war, never- theless her spirit has been indomitable. And what is the French spirit? It is an inborn love of liberty, an unyielding courage to bear suffering without com- plaint and, under all vicissitudes, a manifestation of cheerfulness. They have proven themselves a people with a soul above suffering, and i t is with this quality and their veneration for their own glory in arms that France was resolved upon the defeat of Germany. Though unprepared, she thoroughly understood the task set before her and did not rest until it was accomplished. Frivolity gave place to seriousness of thought and action. She became a bigger France, a more powerful France, a France ready to make sacrifice but resolved upon Victory. At the outset of the war the armies of invasion overran France spreading ruin and desolation over that fertile and peaceful country. Although gallantly defended by every ounce of strength that she then possessed, the loss of life, and the destruction of homes were appalling. Was the spirit of France broken then’ No, girding together the remnants of their battered forces, the French made one supreme effort at the battle of the Marne, and hurled back the in- vaders now broken and dispirited. Thus Paris, the heart of the nation, was saved, and new life and hope was given to the French army, and, above all, the world-wide cause of Democracy was saved. The spirit of France was again displayed at Verdun when for six months the flower of the German army with forty years of preparation, backed up with all the genius of German science and deviltry was successfully withstood. It was the spirit of France which turned the tide and gave birth to that immortal epigram, “Thou shalt not pass.’ This spirit was not confined to the noble defenders of France alone, but extended through all grades of social life. Every French patriot was inspired with the desire to do or die. The sacrifices of the French women are symbolic of this quality. They have proven themselves a thousand Joan of Arcs. They offered themselves as laborers in the factories and on the farms. It was largely due to the efforts of