Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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16 THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. Bolshevism. The reaction from the war has to take shape in some people, and so the result is Bolshevism, which like Spring Fever will pass when conditions are normal. But not relying on hope alone, the French government has take n steps to put down this ever-increasing menace. Every country today has the problem to meet and settle, and each country will use its own method. But whatever differences there might be in French public opinion on dif¬ ferent home matters, they are all unanimous on the question of Germany. Germany must be held to the terms of the treaty, watched closely, and kept within bounds. Three times has she asked for leniency and three times has it been granted. But the time has come when leniency can not and must no longer be extended to Ger¬ many, for that country, instead of being thankful, becomes more arrogant with every new concession. Though the government may have changed, though the imperialistic Kaiser has been deposed, and democracy appears to rule, the char¬ acter of the German people has not changed nor will it change. The same corrupt policies used before and during the war are employed now to gain their ends. The Germans with their propaganda tried to disrupt the Allies so as to make their burden easier, unmindful of the fact that the burden they would have imposed on the warring nations would have been inestimably greater. This attempt has been doomed to failure. That Germany could not be trusted was clearly shown by the Ruhr district incident in which she broke the Articles 42 and 43 in the Versailles treaty, for under pretext of police duty against the Communistic menace, Germany main¬ tained there many more troops than the Treaty permitted. France was quick to see the menace to her in this action and appreciated the fact that upon her next step hinged the decisions as to whether or not the Versailles treaty was a treaty with power behind it or a mere scrap of paper. The result you all know. France established troops in the cities of Fran kfurt and Darmstadt, then proclaimed to Germany and the world that there they would remain until Germany withdrew her troops and established herself under the juris¬ diction of the Versailles Treaty. As a result of all this surveillance over the Germans will be greater for too much leniency has been granted them, and has made them over confident. At the Peace table, France was promised American and British aid in case of German trouble on the Rhine, but the Ruhr district incident showed France clearly that if she wished immediate action she must rely upon herself. America has retired again into her shell at the refusal to ratify the peace treaty while Eng¬ land is occupied by homey problems. Relations with Italy are severely strained so that help from that section is impossible. So, as in 1914 France stands with her eternal foe facing her on the left bank of the Rhine, and her own resources her principal aid. Now we come to the greatest question of all: Is “Ireland to be free or not?” For much lesser reasons than those long actuating Ireland we took up arms in 1 775, fought for eight long years and so freed ourselves from the English yoke. Ireland has for hundreds of years remained under the rule of a people which can¬ not and will not try to understand the Irish race. They have suffered many worse grievances than we in 1775 but still today in 1920, when so many other smaller countries such as Ukrania, Czecho-Slovaki, Jugo-Slavia, Poland, etc., have ob¬ tained their independence, Ireland, in spite of all attempts to free herself, remains under the misguided jurisdiction of the British. The ballot and armed forces have battled against the barred gate-way of freedom. The world which has so readily helped the small nations to rise from the gr ound where our enemies fell, dodges the question of Ireland. They have put off too long this issue which should have been decided first of all. But public opinion when once aroused can not long be held back; it will sooner or later overwhelm all its power.

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THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. 15 with their gallant King Albert to encourage them by splendid example. The Armenians, however, merely because of their Christian faith, have been massacred, men, women and children in tens of thousands, put to death in ways the cruelty of which imagination can scarcely conceive. American sympathy and help has gone out to Armenia and our soldiers now guard several hundred miles of Armenian railroads, and a few of our war-ships are stationed at Baku. But as one Armenian newspaper remarks: “Of what use is it to take care of the orphans, feed the starving and clothe the naked if tomor¬ row all these unfortunates are to fall once more under the whip of the barbarians?” Armenian independence is demanded with an American mandate. But while our help at present means only temporary responsibility, a mandate will mean a lengthy supervision and will involve us in many delicate intricacies of internation¬ al politics with grave responsibility. President Wilson himself is in favor of an American mandate over Armenia, but whether or not Congress will follow him re¬ mains to be seen. Passing westward we come to the matter of the city of Fiume, which, as more than one editor has said, might later prove to be another Bosnia. Italy fought in this war, took her chances with the others, and received her suffering without complaint. As her highest reward she demanded Fiume which was refused her, for President Wilson firmly believes that the Slav race needs that port as an out¬ let for its commerce. So the port was nationalized. Then D’Annunzio, the soldier- poet, took matters in his own hands and seized the city for Italy. The apprehension caused by this action was great. Opinion was divided on the matter, some believing that the United States should have kept out of the matter entirely, while others heartily agree with Mr. Wilson’s firmness, believing that the terms of treaty should be settled on the same principles with which the United States entered the war. Our aim is to help the small peoples of the earth. The sincerity of the Slav race has been shown by their agreement to all the terms of the peace treaty. They must be given a chance to develop for they are a new nation, not centuries old as Italy or France or England. Commerce and industry mean growth and access to the sea is one of the ways to obtain such development. The Czecho-Slavs have only Fiume as an outlet. But France has gained much by the war. So has England, for she and France receive mandates in Arabia and Africa whereas Italy is given only what she would have received if she had preserved her neutrality. Have her fighting and suffering been in vain? As matters now stand, the result will only make Italy discontented, and a discontented Italy will mean a crippled League of Nations. The League must work as a machine with every cog well oiled and smoothly run¬ ning. One cog out of gear may be disastrous. France has a more difficult problem to solve. For, in spite of all she has received from Germany and will receive, she can never be recompensed for the ruin of her beautiful cities, towns, hamlets, and fields. Shelled and stormed for four long years, they must now be rebuilt to their former splendor. Thousands of dollars will be needed for all this work, and the thousands are few in the French treasury where the money is rapidly depreciating in value. While it took a very short time for the ruthless Huns to destroy the lovely cities of France, it will take a long while to rebuild them. It has been estimated that in France there have been destroyed over 350,000 homes which will require the labor of 2,000,000 men two years to rebuild. Add to this the destruction in Belgium and neighboring countries and you will see the tremendous task before the European nations in the war zone. But the dauntless courage of the people who exclaimed “Ils ne passer- ont pas” and who kept their word will not flinch at the greater sacrifice, and laborious task before them. France, of course, like all other countries is affected by so-called Spring

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THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. 17 S u Sg est i° n after suggestion has been offered to solve the Irish problem but all in vain. Absolute freedom is the only settlement to which the Irish people, out¬ raged by the dillydallying of the English, will listen. Irish appeals in America have not gone unanswered, for the resolution recently suggested in the House to recognize Irish independence most clearly shows a disposition to acknowledge the justice of the Irish claims. The United States went to war in 1898 to free Cuba from Spanish oppression. Therefore it is but fitting that if it is a question of choosing between England and Ireland, it is to Ireland to whom America would give her unstinted support. She owes this) to her Irish-Americans and to those ideals for which she entered this war in 1917. Survey American History and you will find that to the weaker has America given her aid; to the weaker has she lent her torch to light the path to democracy. In the question of Ireland there can be no hesitation if American ideals are what they should be. It is our fervent hope that before many months have passed there shall be a new flag beside the many varied ones of this universe,—the Irish flag, proudly representing a race so deserving of its long wished for freedom. In all these decisions the United States has played her part but not so great a one as was expected. The prejudices and habits of years are hard to break and, although, America, at a time when the entire world was threatened, forgot her policy of aloofness, in peace she has remembered and sought to settle back again in her isolation. But the world will not permit her to sever all European ties. Let us hope that the future student of history, looking back upon the vista of years, can ex¬ claim : “As in War, so in Peace, has America made the world safe for Democracy.” Mary Santosuosso, ’20. THE FUTURE OF THE CLASS OF 1920. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them,” but in the year 1930 it was my great misfortune to be living quite humbly in an abode which had no atmosphere of wealth or loveliness and whose doors had never trembled with the knock of golden opportunity. For five successive years my life had been devoted to miracles, mysteries, and occult powers, with no special reward from Fame. And so it was that on one bright midsummer’s day in 1930 I directed my course toward the woodlands sur¬ rounding Milford where I would be apart from the rest of the busy world and free to think upon my favorite subject—Utopia. Central street was dim in the shade of the ten-story buildings which lined its diverging course, and it was with difficulty that I picked my way among the pedestrians who thronged the street. I was endeavoring to distinguish the nu¬ merous signs of business which were posted over every doorway, for most of my research had been carried on in my own little studio, and it was a long time since I had breathed the dusty air of the business world in the city of Milford. Finally my eye rested on some gilded names which seemed strikingly familiar: “Metcalf and Kurlansky Pie-Alley Bakery Best of food served to skippers And then I remembered two of my former classmates who used to furnish bakery fodder to the students of the Old High School. They were good skippers