North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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1938 YEAR BOOK science was slight. Yet Edison did more for humanity than any other man in the modern world. W hen asked for a definition of genius Edison gave a reply that would be well for all of us to remember. He declared that “Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.” Although Edison gave much to the development of electricity and was tru¬ ly “the Electrical Wizard” he made one big mistake in this field. He main¬ tained that in practical use, direct current was more valuable than alternating current. It remained for another American, George Westinghouse, to prove that Edison was wrong. Westinghouse, after a great struggle against most of the leading scientists of the day, finally proved that it is better to use al¬ ternating current for the manufacture and distribution of electrical power. Electrical progress in the last decade has been toward bigness and improve¬ ment. Hydro-electric plants of tremendous capacity are being, or have been built. And in this period of expansion that we are passing through now, there is ample room for those who will work, not only for themselves, but for the good of humanity. ALLEN TOWNE CLASS ORATION EOPLE gain honor in many ways. There are those who, by a stroke of genius or fortune, mount the ladder of fame or riches in one bound. It is by no means certain that they will stay at their glittering elevation. Those who do stay, climb step by step. Many men, lured on by the bait of sudden riches, gamble and lose all for the lack of patience. The youth of today must especially learn this lesson. How many have failed because they weren’t willing to toil along slowly but surely, awaiting the de¬ sired results? It is right to want results. We must do so if we want to suc¬ ceed, but we must be patient. In whatever work is chosen, this principle holds true. Patient, earnest, steady toil wins in the end. Mirabeau says, “The will is a mighty factor in determining a young man’s future.” There are three kinds of people, the “wills,” the “won’ts,” and the “can’ts.” The first accomplish everything, the second oppose everything, and the third fail in everything. All men of note have been men of will. Grant, Washington, Napoleon, Disraeli, Pitt, Thurlow, Weed, Cooper, Girard are all names that suggest an extraordinary command of will power. A resolute determination is one half the battle of life; the other half is labor. Horace Mann is the most interesting character in American education. The life work and the eternal influence of this great man gained a power whose momentum has not yet died. He came into this world divinely commissioned to a work, and to his marvelous energy and patience in accomplishing it, this century owes incalculable illumination and aid. Six months after he first saw a Latin book, he enrolled in Brown College and later graduated with honors. He spent ten years in the Massachusetts ' Senate where he did his greatest work in establishing public education. The remaining six years of his life were devoted to labor and sacrifice for the cause of higher education in the West. He expressed tersely, in his last baccalaureate sermon at Antioch College, the creed that every man should have: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” The life of Edison is a great example of labor and its reward. Generally recognized as the greatest of all the world’s inventors, Edison was one of the 17

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL SALUTATORY | T is my pleasure in behalf of the graduating elass of 1938 to extend to rrwBj you all our most cordial and sincere welcome. Any success which we may have in the future is due in a great part to you. our parents, friends, and teachers, who, during the past four years, have so well trained us for our part in the world. The Development of Electricity Tonight I am going to trace the development of electricity. In doing so, I shall attempt to reveal an ideal that to me is brought out vividly in the his¬ tory of electricity, an ideal that seems to be fading from the world today. This is, “the doing of things for others without expecting any material re¬ ward.” While we do hear examples of this today, they are few and are be¬ coming fewer. Possibly the depression is the cause of this, or maybe the na¬ ture of the people has changed. But whatever the cause may be, let’s hope that this ideal is practiced more and more. Few sciences can claim as great an antiquity as that of electricity. It is believed that Thales of Miletus (640-546 B.C.) knew that amber after being rubbed acquired the property of attracting light bodies. No definite scientific information was acquired however, until the close of the sixteenth century, when William Gilbert, often called “the Father of Modern Electricity,” made extensive experimnts in magnetism and electrostatics. He coined the word pole and was the first to use the term “electric.” During the eighteenth century, electric phenomena were studied more extensively. Galvani, an Italian physician who was interested in the application of electricity to the human body, accidentally discovered the ex¬ istence of the electrical current. He performed many experiments which led Volta, an Italian physicist, to the invention of the electric cell. Among these early electrical experimenters the United States can boast of two, Benjamin Franklin and Joseph Henry. Franklin is best known for his experiments with lightning and the invention of the lightning rod. Joseph Henry is famous for his discoveries and laborious experiments on the electro-magnet. All these discoveries lead up to 1831 when in a series of memorable exper¬ iments Michael Faraday, an English physicist, discovered the laws of induced currents, and in doing so laid the foundations for the unparalleled triumph of modern electricity. On Faraday’s discovery lay the basic principles of the dynamo, electric motor, induction coil, transformer and a host of other start¬ ling inventions. While these discoveries were a blessing to the world Faraday suffered a physical breakdown from which he never fully recovered. After Faraday’s day, the development of electricity ceased for a time in most fields except the telegraph. During the Civil War the use of the tele¬ graph increased with leaps and bounds and this instrument became more and more perfected. Finally in 1876, Bell after many experiments and disappoint¬ ment? brought forth the telephone, and another step was taken in he progress of electricity. About this time we start to hear about the man who has done more for the development of electricity than any other single being. This is Thomas Edison. While William Gilbert may be called “the Father of Mod¬ ern Electricity,” Edison is the man who pampered and nursed this budding science until it became the great giant that it is today. Edison was not a scientist in the true sense of the word. Fie knew little of the actual theory of electricity. His acquaintance with the mathematics of 16

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL very few who devoted his entire life to invention as a profession. His inven¬ tions are the result of almost ceaseless labor and an active imagination. To a flatterer who tried to compliment him on his achievements he replied, “Gen¬ ius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. When he worked he became unconscious of time and place and needed to be told when to eat and sleep. Until 1902. he worked an average of nineteen and a half hours daily. Later he maintained an eighteen hour day. The work of no other man in the field of electrical science has approached the extent and range of his activities which were solely in the direction of devices which stimulated industry more than any other influence in like time. Lincoln, in spite of his poverty and many discouraging factors, placed him¬ self at the head of the greatest nation of the world, through his unceasing toil. He struggled for an education, borrowing books and working long hours to earn money with which to buy them. He struggled for a living, working as a riverman and rail-splitter; and through all these labors came the presidency. His labors did not end here. He toiled for the emancipation of the slaves, struggled against a hostile cabinet for the right to practice his principles of administration, fought against his own conflicting emotions and those of a country in a civil war. In the end he gained honor and glory and what great¬ er honor could there be than to command the respect and reverence of the whole world and have them say, “He was the one who preserved a nation.” In Lincoln’s own words, “No men living are more to be trusted than those who toil against odds—none less inclined to touch aught which they have not earnestly earned.” No man as yet has found a royal road to victory that is worth having. If victory is indeed achieved, it is at the expense of persistent toil—of repeated encounters with opposing forces. Hence I say, let us, the Class of 38, keep ever present in our minds, the motto we have chosen,— “Honor waits at Labor’s gate.” MILTON HOWARD CLASS ESSAY Peace or War? T was one of Washington’s greatest hopes that we should adopt a pol¬ icy of isolation and non-participation in foreign afifairs. Until the gsgSR nineteenth century the United States seemed to have made no striking alterations in its foreign policy. It still preserved the policy of isola- iton, clinging in the main to Washington’s principle that we should not “en¬ tangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest or caprice.” Even the preliminary steps taken to extend American influence into the Pacific failed to excite any degree of public enthusiasm. On the contrary, our interest in Samoa aroused grave concern in the mind of President Cleveland and others. Moreover, even as late as 1897, it was im¬ possible to secure a two-thirds vote of the Senate necessary for the ratification of the treaty to annex Hawaii. In the scramble for empires characteristic of the leading European countries, the United States had not yet displayed in¬ terest. It had always been hard for us to understand the quarreling nations of Europe and their complicated political alliances. Our attitude had always been not to try to understand but to remain aloof. “Let them fight among themselves if they want to,” we said. “Their quarrels do not concern us.” Besides, we were busy cutting down our forests, farming our land and organ¬ izing- a great industrial machine. Until .the Spanish-American War we O O 1 18