Mondovi High School - Mirror Yearbook (Mondovi, WI)

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its only real solution? The world is cursed with a universal discontent, which threatens to convert civilization into chaos. This discontent finds its exp.ession not only in international jealousies and ilvalries, but also in intranational strifes which threaten the whole structure of society. In this country, propagandists are at work, one ■ et of them seeking to inflame us against one country, another set seeking to alienate us from another country, a third set urging us utterly to disregard the point of view of any other country but our own. In this country, too, the strife between capital and labor has reached such proport’ons as to be almost as bad as civil war. Every class in the community is apparently seeking only the interest of its own class and is selfishly disregardful of the existence of any other class. In fact, world-conditions today challenge the optimism of those who hold steadily to their faith in human progress. In one of his lines, the poet Tennyson says, “Certain if knowledge brings the sword, ’Tis knowledge takes the sword away.” Paradoxical as it may seem, it is the spread of knowledge that has produced the discontent which characterizes the whole of human kind and the only remedy is to continue to spread knowledge. In-ternat onal friendship will be the direct result of international understanding. It seems to have been the deliberate policy of the past to promote misunderstanding between the peoples of the earth in order that the governing classes might reap the advantage in military glory and in naval renown. Once let the common people of every country get to know the common people of every other country and there will be no war; because Americans. Englishmen, Germans. Frenchmen, Russians, and the rest will realize that they are “just folk ’ and not cannon fodder, and will swreep away all the artificial conditions wh ch at present keep them barking at each other’s heeb=. at the behest cf interested propagandists. The differences between Capital and Labor and between class and class will disappear if a pol cy of getting to know the exact facts be pursued. For then it will be realized that usually in every controversy bot i sides are wrong, wrhe eas both sides think they are right, simply because they do not know all the facts. I think I hear some one saying that these are high-sounding generalizations, but listen! I et us approach this subject from another avenue. The average American home today is happy not because every member of it thinks alike or feels alike or is constituted alike, but because every member of it realizes the differences end accommodates himself or herself to them »n a spirit of unselfish compromise. A commun’ty like onrs is hapny. because we do not go up and down it trying to pick flaws in each o her. but endeavor, bv balancing ou” own thoughts against those of others, to realize that we are all “pretty” good people. In every community there are busybodies and backbiters, but

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gret that we look back over the history of our class—pride for its achievements, regret for its failures. For four long years we ha e toiled and endured. We have accomplished much and failed often. We have added some to our members and lost others through withdrawals, but inspired by the spirit of our motto, we have steadily pressed forward to the goal of our ambition; to make the Class .jl 20 the most illustrious that has ever graduated from our High School. i To our teachers and professors we owe much for the skillful and conscientious manner in which they have guided our efforts. Especially are we indebted to Prof. Dodge for. during the entire four years of our High School life he has been with us, molding and directing the course of our history until at last we have reached our goal. And finally, to the public we owe a debt of gratitude for it is only through their generosity and kindness that we were enabled to obtain eur education. New we have come to the parting of the ways. Behind us are our school days, before us is the future. Though we may never as semble again in a body, let us still be one in spirit, in a high hesolve that wherever we may be, and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, we will always make the best citizens that in us lies. With this as our last hope and desire, to teachers, friends and classmates, we bid farewell. THE SALUTATORY By Samuel Blum Citizens of our community, members of the faculty, students of the Mondovi High School, to me has fallen the honor in behalr of the class of 1920 to welcome you this evening to our Commencement Exercises. We wish to give public expression of our gratitude to our parents, whose realization of the value of education has enabled us to devote twelve long years to school. We wish to thank the teachers who have labored to transform dullness into intellect, and inattention into interest, and the value of whose work we know we shall realize more fully as the years go by. Wc wish to thank the members of the School Board who have so freely devoted their time to the cause of education; and, finally, to thank the taxpayers, who have never failed to respond to the ever-increasing calls made upon them and but for whom we would not be able to celebrate this great occasion in our lives. It has always been the custom at these commencement exercises to permit youth to assume the wisdom of age. May I. with as much humility as it is possible for a newly-fledged high school graduate to exercise, ask you to consider the outstanding problem of today vnl

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we know that the less attention that we pay to them, the less active they become and the less mischief they do. ‘ If it be possible for a family to live happily together, if it be possible for a community to be at peace, there is no kind t reason why the sum of the communities that make up the nations that make up the world should not live happily together and be at peace. By what means can international peace and amity be secured? The only way is for the nations to get together. Th i old bad dictum of imperial Rome. “Si vis pacem. para bellum,” If you wish for peace, prepare for war. must be disregarded for the new and true dictum. “If you wish for peace, you must prepare for peace.’ It is not beyond the resources of civilization to devise a plan by which duly accredited representatives of the different nations of the world can be brought together for the friendly settlement of common differences and the establishment of common interests. Modern invention has made the peoples of the world mo-e than ever interdependent. and modern invention has made it more than ever necessary that the whole world should be kin. One- let the representatives of different nations get the hab’t of meetin- together, talking together. eating together, the spirit of mutu 1 standing will be created and misunderstandings will cease. If i were left to the rank and file of the peoples of the world, such a solution of the problem would soon be brought about. It is only held back by the actions of petty politicians who in every country are cursed with an exaggerated belief in the importance of thei- own existence. The same plan is feasible with regard to intranational disputes which are ma’nly industrial. Capitalists and labo-ers alike make the mistake that disputes between them concern only tlmmaelves. whereas then concern, even more, the public. Let this fact only be propei lv realized and. whenever industrial diffe ences aris°. representative of the three parUes affected will meet together, knowing that a reasonable settlement is imperative in the interests of all. It will not be lone before thp sharp divisions of capital and labor will disappear and industry will be placed on a cooperat’ e b sis. We dare not despair of the world. All statements to the contrary notwithstanding, despite the blackn -s of tb o-esent outlook, men are matching on. Unless historv is a lie. t 0 law of life is th law of progress. With the poet we believe that “through the ages one unceasing purpose runs’’ and that “the thoughts of m°n are broad ened with the nroeess of the suns.” Tt esnemalW behooves us who are now leaving the little world which is called schoo1. for he 'argei world which lies before us. to catch the vision of the brighter da' that is com’ng and to labor hard to hasten Rs advent: that da “when the war drums will throb no longer «nd the battle flags will be furled in the narliament of man. the confederation of the world. ’ and when the ideals of human brotherhood will become accomplished facts.