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

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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

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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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18 THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. themselves once. I started in the direction of the sign only to find the place boarded up and an additional sign: “Moved to Pine Street.” Directly in front of the building a troupe of street musicians were preparing to play. An Italian with flowing dark hair announced the name of the selection: Burke’s Speech in Harmony.” A peculiar subject it was and a terrible tune without a doubt. Fingers were placed in ears and the shuffling of feet signified the universal displeasure which was offered by this apparently new form of harmony. When the last note of the selection blended with the hum of business, I approached the leader and I asked him the idea of the peculiar title and tune. He replied that he was endeavoring to show r the citizens of Milford the ab¬ surdity of teaching Burke’s Speech in High School. He said to me, “I can re¬ member how the class of 1920 despised that piece of literature.” “The Class of 1920,” I gasped. “Pray who are you?” “My name is Introini and here are my partners in crime—Signor Calabrese, on my left and Mademoiselle Bourcier at the extreme right,” and he bowed low with pardonable pride. So great had been my surprise that a nearby telephone pole offered my only means of support, and when power was once more returned to me, I extended a trembling hand and introduced myself. During the animated conversation which followed, they informed me that Anna Provost and Henry Volk were in Grand Opera, the latter as director of the orchestra of the Chicago Opera Co.; and I also learned that Hattie Lundgren was on the stage. We had often prophesied an excellent future for Hattie; she had such a charming speaking voice, and all the qualities of a successful actress were hers. Then after wishing them good fortune I was once more on my way, keeping step with the rhythm of their next selection. It was not long before I was half-way up Bear Hill. Suddenly I espied a form rushing from the top of the hill and waving his arms ' frantically about in the air. As he came nearer I heard his excited shouts: “I’ve got it, Ah, at last I’ve got it!” His eyes were red rimmed from anxious study and the bones protruded sharply out above the hollow of his cheeks. He grasped me by the arm and pulled me farther up the steep slope. “Mars!” he bellowed, “Mars!” “What do I care about your mother?” I panted, but gradually it dawned upon me that he might have established communication with the planet Mars. A large observatory loomed up before me with huge instruments seeming to pierce the Heavens and I began to believe that my surmise was a correct one. As he dragged me through the open door, I saw the name—“Hartwell Observatory,” but there was no time to think, and no time to be either surprised or pleased, for he thrust me into a chair and bade me place my eye at the end of a gigantic tele¬ scope. “Look!” he exclaimed. My eye glanced anxiously up the length of the instrument and rested on a large but dim sphere. Mars, sure enough! Suddenly a large white area! ap¬ peared on the darker surface of the planet and dark objects smaller than an ant in size moved restlessly about seeming to describe queer figures on the lighter surface. “It looks like Chinese script,” I said. But his only answer was an excited, “Record them!” '