Medina High School - Medinian Yearbook (Medina, OH)

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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

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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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22 Cl )c Annual can teach even our potatoes to shoot. Since this war is to be fought with bread bullets we can all, even the girls, become muntion makers. It is said that an army travels on its stomach ; let us furnish transportation. And let us remem- ber always that in fighting famine we are fighting the enemy just as surely as if we were in the trenches. There will be heroes in overalls as well as in khaki. But to increase the food supply is only one phase of the food problem. We must not waste it after we have produced it. It is said that the United States throws away enough to feed France. Without doubt we have been more waste- ful than any other country. (It is a downright disgrace; something must be done). Here is where all patriotic women and girls will come to the aid of their country. While speaking of waste there is another matter to be con- sidered. What do you think of a country which, in the face of a famine, uses hundreds of millions of bushels of perfectly good grain for making beer and other alcoholic liquors? Public opinion should rise to the occasion. Although, the food question is of such immense importance, it is by no means the only thing to be considered. The industries must be speeded up ; the railroads must be prepared to handle excess freight ; the shipyards should work double time. There will be no room in this country for a slacker. This is time for united effort ; not a time for strikes and labor troubles. Moreover, it is foolish to speculate on a possible superfluity of harvest when a famine is star- ing us in the face. In short, the first consideration of every patriotic citizen will be his country. So shall we win the war, and win in the shortest time and with the least suffering. We, the class of 1917, have completed our work at Medina High School. It is hard for us to realize this. Now that the time has come it is not easy for us to leave. We are about to enter a chaotic world; we are facing a life that makes no promises. In sharp contrast to the uncertainty of our future plans we see the happy life of the past years. When we consider that from now on, our welfare depends wholly on ourselves, we appreciate, as never before, the efforts which have been made in our behalf. At this time it is impossible for us to fully express our gratitude to Mr. Edmund, the teachers, the School Board, and our parents ; in the years to come we will each of us do our best to deserve the interest which they have shown in us. What may come in these years no man can know. It is a period of transition, of uncertainty. Our Country is engaged in war — but she is fighting that wars may cease to be. We, the class of 1917, are about to enter that fight. We do not clearly see our way — it is certain that our work will not be easy; but now, more than at any other time in our history, the closing lines of our national air are a solace and an inspiration : “Then conquer we must, For our cause it is just And this be our motto : In God is our trust.’’