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

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18 THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. predicts a rain storm, a drouth, a slump in business, a terrible war or some other calamity. In fact, he often predicts them all at once. Such a person is instinct¬ ively avoided and disliked, for who cares for the companionship or the society of a confirmed pessimist? No one but another pessimist, perhaps. Misery loves company, and they share each other’s views and then attempt to outshine each other with unhappy predictions. It is not at all remarkable that they are left entirely to themselves on every occasion. Now let us analyze Mr. B’s views on life. Everything is for the better. Misfortune and hardships are borne with a smile. His cheerfulness and hope¬ fulness brighten any corner where he might be. He is welcomed by society and blessed with a host of honest friends. A person in sorrow, a ruined business man or one who is ill, experiences a new spark of hope after an interview with an un¬ assuming and unaffected optimist. Such a person gifted with true optimism lives a much happier and more useful life than a miserable pessimist. It is difficult to tell which of the two classes is more numerous, but if there were more true optimists, the world would improve twice as quickly as it is now doing. A true optimist firmly believes that if anything be so, it is God’s will. He alone knows what is best and all His people can do is to submit to His divine will. Agnes Siipola, 1925. PATRICK PEACE ESSAYS. The following essays are tivo selected from those submitted by students of the Milford High School in competition for prizes offered by the late Delano Patrick of Hopedale. The subject of this year ' s essay was : WILL EXCLUSION LEAD TO WAR—A DISCUSSION OF THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION. WILL EXCLUSION LEAD TO WAR? Any public question that carries with it the possibility of causing war is a serious one. It is only during the last few years that immigration has proved to be a question of this sort and to be a problem that has taxed the wisdom and tact of our government. We did not always have as we have to-day our great industries and immense population of over one hundred million. At one time we had the great West to populate and build up. This could be done only by immigrants and we readily and willingly welcomed all who might wish to come and by liberal legislation made it easy for those who did come. The Irish, forced to abandon their homes because of the potato famine of 1846, were among the first comers, as were the Germans. It is to these immigrants that we owe much of our prosperity and bright future, for without them we ourselves could not have attempted to open up with such rapidity the huge western lands. Of late years the Italians, Hun¬ garians, Czechs, Russians, and Scandinavians have been the most num¬ erous and can be found in our factories and mines, in fact in most all kinds of the manual labor of the country. Of late years they have been harder to assimi-

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THE OflK IiILiY ApD IVY Vol. XLI MILFORD, MASS., JUNE, 1925. No. 1. Published by the Pupils of the Milford High School. Under the Supervision of Miss Marion A. Ryan of the English Department. BOARD OF EDITORS. Editor-in-Chief—Agnes A. Siipola, ’25. Business Manager—Arthur E. Vesperi, ’25(. Associate Business Managers— Thomas F. Davoren, ’25. Ida R. Kurlansky, ’25. ASSOCIATE EDITORS. Henry J. Frascotti, ’25. Albert J. Shaw, ’25. Charles W. Gilmore, ’25. Allan A. Eastman, ’25. Business Management of this Magazine under the Supervision of Miss Mae E. Birmingham of the Commercial Department. Single Copies, 15 cents. Address all communications to Oak, Lily and Ivy, Milford, Mass. editorial. optimism and pessimism. “Tivo men look out From prison bars; One sees the mud, The other, the stars.” How truly the above words express the viewpoints of two ordinary mortals, each of whom is a typical representative of a particular class of people in this world! The preceding quotation applies with equal truth to individuals in every walk of life. The humblest servant and the wealthy manufacturer may both be included in the same class in regard to their manner of looking out upon the world. The two classes into which all human beings are divided are pessimists and optimists. Let us take for instance, two men of the moderately well-to-do type. Both have comfortable homes, sufficiently large salaries and both names are entered upon the social register. But here the similarity ends. Mr. A looks out upon the world and “sees the mud,” that is, he sees all its bad points. He believes it is constantly growing worse. To his mind there is no hope for the future, for he sees no light in it. These depressing opinions continually fall from his cyni¬ cal lips. When he is greeted with a smiling “Good-morning,” bright comments on the weather or cheerful remarks of coming prosperity, he only grunts, and

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THE OAK, LILY AND IVY. 19 late, for because of the great numbers already here the new-comers naturally flock to them and small colonies are the result. This difficulty, however, is not so great, for we have to-day greater means to help and aid the foreigner and to instil in him our ideals and ways of living. A greater factor in the increase of immigration was the World War. We, the most fortunate of the belligerents, offered to the homeless and destitute families of Europe new homes where with renewed hope they might prosper. It is not strange that they should flock to our shores, for we as an independent nation could give to them the best promise of living conditions and advancement. Here one man could find the same chances as another, providing, of course, he had the same ability and integrity to raise himself. Although many have not found fortunes awaiting them here, according to the foreigners’ conception of America, they have for the most part found contentment and happiness. In so great an influx there is always danger of taking in undesirables who would harm rather than better the country. Accordingly restrictions were made. By the Acts of 1882 and 1893 criminals, paupers , persons diseased in mind or body, and persons unable to support themselves were forbidden entrance to the country. The immigration laws have become more severe until now it provides that two per cent of those from any country who were here in 1890 are to be ad¬ mitted, although Japanese and Chinese, and even Japanese even from Hawaii are excluded. According to the Loose Leaf Current Topics there are three peace-time causes of war, namely: economic, which have to do with our livings and our profit mak¬ ing; second, psychological, which have to do with our feelings and thinkings and third, political, which have to do with our governing. If we were to have war with Japan over our present immigration law, it would come under the first two causes, economic and psychological. President Coolidge says, “One of the greatest dangers to peace lies in economic pressure.” Japan must send its excessive population somewhere. Only one other important, country besides our own is in a condition to receive immigrants. This is the continent of Australia which is in the first stages of development and would naturally attract immigrants. Yet it has closed its doors to them. Besides this Japan has a high birth rate, so that its already large population is not decreasing but increasing. These people must go somewhere and what is not strange, they look toward us for relief from their difficulties, because we are nearer than other countries and besides offering bet¬ ter living conditions, we have always been a friend to the Japanese Empire. The frequent earthquake disasters have not bettered the economic life of Japan. Other countries under such difficulties can be relieved by immigration to other nations. Japan is deprived of this privilege. Their prosperity is hampered. These con¬ ditions in a country do not for long maintain peace. Then there is the psychological cause of war. Our present immigration law certainly does not strengthen our friendship with Japan. The aim of every country, no matter how great or how small, should be to further the civilization of the world. We need to aid and help the Asiatic nations, and if we look on them as not having the high degree of civilization that we have reached, it is our duty to help them gain that degree of enlightenment and advancement. It was we who gave to the world its first successful democracy, which has not only en¬ dured and prospered but has been mirrored in so many of the republics of to-day. ■ Therefore it is only natural that these countries should look toward us and that Japan as a growing nation should do the same. But when such a law is passed we inevitably lose some of their good will and dependence on us. Another reason