Medina High School - Medinian Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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20 Cf)e annual Real Patriotism By E. Wynne Boyden, Valedictorian Our Country is now engaged in the greatest war ever fought. No nation ever took up arms for better reasons. A distinguishd college president has called this a Holy War. The United States is the champion of democracy, and will be the Savior of humanity. But it is no slight task at which we have set our hand. The 1917 food crisis is the gravest in the history of the world — famines of other periods are trivial by comparison. People express indignation over rising prices, but most of them refuse to realize that the situation is really serious. They cannot believe that the world is facing a food famine. This war will be decided by bread bullets. Germany’s submarine campaign is no failure ; it is a startling success. The Allies are dangerously near to starvation ; it is up to the United States to feed them. If we do not quickly awake to this fact it is altogether likely that we shall have to face a victorious Germany. But, says someone, it is not as serious as that. Germany cannot last much longer — don’t worry; the storm will soon be over. NONSENSE! There can be no greater danger than to take it for granted that peace is near. There can be no peace until Prussianism is forever abolished. Do you think that our government would make such elaborate preparations for war if there were any possibility of an early peace? The Allied Nations have been fighting nearly three years. In these years they have leraned many things by hard experience. And what do they tell us? — that we must prepare for three years of war at the very least. This is no idle prophecy ; it is the statment of those who, better than all others, must know the real condition of things. I repeat: unless we quickly undertake our manifest duty, it is quite probable that we shall at some time have to face a triumphant Germany. This is a time when every citizen should consider himself enlisted in his country’s service. One of the chief mistakes of Great Britain was her adherence to the slogan “Business as usual.” The nation is at war. Every citizen is at war no one is exempt. Personal interests must be subordinated, or, if neces- sary, sacrificed to national interests. We are not fighting to gratify the selfish desire of a greedy tyrant; we are fighting that “government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” It is a mistaken idea to think that our army and navy can win the war. Statistics show that for every soldier at the front at least five men must be actively engaged at home to keep him there. But in this war especially, women will do a large part of this home work. I think we all agree with President Wilson that it is not alone the army and navy that we must shape for war, but the whole nation. Each person must so conduct his daily life as to make every thought, word, and action, carry the nation nearer to victory. This, it seems to me, is real patriotism. But to be really patriotic is not easy. It is not enough to fly the national flag, encourage recruiting, bear our heavy taxes uncorn-

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Senior Department 19 Glass President s Address By Wilbur Arick Ladies and Gentlemen : At this time, when the war crisis is the one subject which claims the atten- tion of all, we think that it is appropriate to let the public know the patriotic ideals and ambitions which are entertained by this graduating class. One of our boys has already enlisted and tonight is thinking of the pleasant times that he is missing; he has given the most convincing proof of his patriotism — all honor to him. Undoubtedly, some of the others will follow his example, but it is only to be expected that the larger portion of the class will remain at home. Upon the boys is thrown the duty of increasing the acreage under plow, of adding to the productiveness of the soil, of cutting off every possible source of waste in the distribution of food stuffs and of devising means for keeping the prices within the reach of everyone. So far I have explained merely what the boys can do, but when war depends not only upon the number but upon the condition of those fighting, I think that the girls have an even end to uphold. Many of them will learn to be Red Cross Nurses and all will assist in the Red Cross work. If the need comes they will be ready to take up a man’s position and do a man’s work. We have reached a stage in the war where it is seen that agriculture is just as essential to victory as men and guns. Not only the belligerents but the whole world is threatened with a severe shortage of all the principal crops and the United States, while not the only, is by far the most productive and avail- able nation for meeting this great deficiency. Everybody knows that England and France are rigidly economizing and that Germany and Austria are facing are facing a famine, but everybody does not know that right here in the United States we shall in all probability have to face for the coming year and maybe for years after, a condition the like of which has not been seen on the North American Continent since its earliest colonization by the white race, except perhaps during the first winter of our Pilgrim Fathers. Therefore, the class of ’17 think that if we are not called upon to aid our country by fighting we can be just as helpful by remaining and helping solve the food problem beside aiding in constructive work. I have a vision of some of our members systematically rebuilding the damaged roads and the wasted countryside, or, as American surgeons and nurses, taking the Hospitals of the Allies into their hands and supplying them with all the necessary articles. Never has there been such a chance for a graduating class to stand by the United States, not only upon the battle field but at home. As President of the class, I wish to thank the Superintendent, the Board of Education and the teachers for preparing us for the part we must play in these times that try men’s souls. They have done their work. It is up to us to do ours.

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Mentor Department 21 plainingly and support the government. True patriotism carries with it some real sacrifice. And it would be well to remember, in this connection, that nothing worth while is ever gained without sacrifice. Our ideals of liberty may be infringed upon, but let us remember that it is those very ideals for which we are fighting. If at any time we feel that our hardships are many and unbearable, let us consider the lot of the soldier. I know of a young Canadian, a university graduate who specialized in forestry. This young man had brilliant prospects. Where is he now? “Somewhere in France” digging trenches — work that an unskilled laborer could probably do better than he. When last heard from he was suffering dreadfully from rheumatism, brought on by standing in the mud and icy water of the trenches. He is a man fitted to be of great service to his country in his chosen profession, but all his prospects have had to be sacri- ficed for the time being. And in the end he may stop a German bullet. Again, if we think that our lot is hard, let us remember the sufferings of the brave ones at the front. There is another qualification of patriotism which should b e mentioned. It is every one’s duty to keep himself or herself well informed on matters of im- portance. It would seem that every person would do this as a matter of course. So I thought until I happened, not long ago, to hear a conversation between a couple of our citizens. They were speaking of the food situation. “Well,” said one, “if food is so scarce, I think that we had better keep it at home and let the Allies take care of themselves. Evidently that person did not realize that if the Allies should be beaten by starvation, as is probable if we withhold our food supply, it would devolve upon us to fight the common enemy alone. What is there between us and a German invasion of our shores but the British fleet? From a purely selfish standpoint, to say nothing of the humanitarian side, it is our duty to feed our allies. Prussianism must be crushed ; now is the time. The day is past when the whim of a selfish monarch will be allowed to precipitate a world war. If we wait until our European friends are beaten we shall have to fight alone, and the suffering and horror of war will be pro- longed. So it is clear then, that our present imperative duty is to increase the food supply. No one is patriotic unless he is doing his bit. If peace were to be declared right now, the food situation would still be more serious than it has ever been before. And we are preparing for at least three years of war ! How we are to do this has been clearly pointed out by the President. The farmers will, of course, be first in this battle against famine — and they will need help. Now we can all help by raising everything possible for our own needs and more. Do you realize that if every family does this it will release, in the aggregate, many shiploads for export? And except in the large cities, this is entirely possible for most families. The plot of ground need not be large. Do what you can ; every bit will help. We must all become truck farmers. Uncle Sam will for- give garden plotters. But perhaps some of us have more taste for fighting than for gardening. In that case we can fight weeds and bugs and blight. And we