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

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL Last and most important factor of militarism is national honor. One of the most recent examples of the evils of national honor was shown in the sinking of the submarine off the coast of Maine. Regardless of the cause of the wreck, it cannot be denied that if we were not in a military race, a race to show our strength, to prove that we can uphold our honor, there would have been no submarine and no deaths. People are killed in war and we say it is hor¬ rible and wrong. What about those who are killed before war; killed because it is their duty to test machines in time of peace to be used in time of war? No militarism ; no war. If a nation is not prepared to fight it will think twice before venturing into a war. National prestige carries nations into war or threats of war. The United States went to war with Germany in 1917, not to protect American lives and possessions, but to assure national prestige and to avenge national honor. National interest can often be submitted to inter¬ national arbitration; national rights can occasionally be compromised by international agreement, but national honor, never! We lost twenty-six ships in the years between 1914 and 1917. Norway lost 291 but she did not go to war to avenge her national honor. She had to grin and bear it, but just think what she saved in lives, money, and peace of mind. Today she has no depression. In summary I quote Professor Carlton J. Hayes: “In diplomacy and in international intercourse of all sorts, a world that is nationalist must be governed ultimately by militarism and by militarism which is compet¬ itive. This is why nationalities after achieving political unity and independ¬ ence do not always become exemplars of justice and charity to all other nationalities, and pillars of world-peace. It is why, on the contrary, they continue to nourish and cherish militarism, why they seek by war or by threats of war to satisfy their immediate ambitions, sometimes at the expense of the health and happiness of the world.” In conclusion, I ask, what can be done to stop nationalism and all its threats of danger and of destruction? It is my suggestion that each nation should practice peace through justice. Justice would place national interests, rights, and honor in their true light. Nationalism in itself is not a bad thing, but in its present state it is like a forest fire leaving death and destruction in its wake. “Unless a man lose his life, he shall not find it,” we read in Sacred Scripture. A nation, which is but a collection of men, must follow the same high spiritual principle if it hopes to reach the clear exalted heights of true peace and prosperity. Only when nations are more intent on justice can peace come. The words “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added thereunto,” have a far more practical value than the world has dreamed of in its philosophy. Only when we dare to follow what the world calls “the Folly of Christ” can we hope to have that peace which surpasses understanding, that peace which the world cannot give, and the world can¬ not take away. RUBY W. COCHRANE 16

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1939 YEAR BOOK SALUTATORY ra T is my pleasure, this evening, in behalf of the graduating class of 1939, to extend to you a most hearty and sincere welcome. You parents, who have sacrificed much in order that you might see us graduate here tonight; you teachers, who have urged us on to greater and you our friends and classmates who have made our school life so memory ; one and all we welcome you. effort vivid that it will live long in our On all sides the world is an armed camp. We see conscription in England; increased armaments in America; war in China; and the Hitler Youth Move¬ ment (to mention only a few examples.) We’re not sitting on top of the world, but the world is sitting on top of a sputtering firecracker. Where is this all going to end? What it driving us on? The first question stumps more learned minds than mine, but it is my purpose to show that nationalism is the power which is driving us on. Militarism is the result of extreme nationa lism. Militarism exists prima¬ rily for the sake of national honor, national rights, and national interests. As soon as a group develops a spirit of nationalism, it achieves political unity and independence; then it begins to prosecute its national interests. For example: German manufacturers, immediately after the establishment of the German Empire, demanded protection for their industries against com¬ peting foreign industries. Their grounds were that it would make Germany stronger and more self-sufficient. Simultaneously the German farmers and landlords demanded protection against the importation of cheap foodstuffs. They received protection, too. We Americans also demanded tariff-protection ; and got it. This public policy of tariff-protection originates with a relatively small group and serves only group interests. However, under national in¬ fluence they become identified with national interests and they soon take on the almost sacred character of national tradition. Henceforth, any citizen who criticizes this or that “National policy” is considered by his fellow cit¬ izens as lacking in patriotism, if not in sense. National rights are needful and highly desirable, but they are connected with certain dangers which threaten the peace of the world. One such danger arises from the fact that domestic legislation may satisfy national opinion at home but will create ill-feeling abroad. The Untied States acted within its national rights when it levied a protective tariff, or restricted immigration, or adopted the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The refusal to buy liquor injured the national rights of France; refusal to admit immigrants from the Far East ran counter to the national interests of Japan ; discrimina¬ tion against imports helped American producers, but was very costly to many foreign countries. Another danger arises from the presence of aliens in the national state. Due to this we have conflicts over national rights of citizenship. Great Britain believes, “Once an Englishman always an Englishman.” Her refusal to recognize American naturalization justified, to her citizens, her imprison¬ ment of sailors who were of English nativity but of American residence. She asserted her national rights but assailed the national rights of Americans. 15

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1 9 3 9 YEAR BOOK CLASS ORATION Nothing Great is Lightly Won © O m; ny of us tliis expression might seem barren of any great philosoph- mw t ical truth or proverbial saying, and to be just another motto chosen carelessly by a graduating class. But upon a little closer observation and meditation a great deal of truth and common sense can be gathered from this, our motto. For, as we review the truly great things of our world, we find that they have resulted only from great effort and continued struggle. Take for ex¬ ample any democratic government that exists in the world today, for such a government, upholding freedom of speech, religion, and representation of the people, is truly a great thing in this era of “isms” and dictatorships. How has such a great thing become possible? How many of us know of the hard¬ ships and struggles to break away from serfdom, to overthrow the dominating power of rulers? How many of us know the centuries necessary for changes to bring about the growth of leaders, and for education to enlighten and in¬ flame the passive, ignorant minds of the common people, so that finally they were able to take up the burden of self government? Think of the orgies of blood-letting in our own and the French and Russian Revolutions. Think of all the lives lost, the genius sacrificed to the cause, the effort required before the goal of representative government was reached. How can we say that democracy was easily won For another example take Christianity, the greatest institution that the world has ever embraced. We all know of the sacrifices that were made be¬ fore Christianity was accepted universally. We all know of Him who died upon the cross to prove to us that this is the one supreme faith. His was not the only sacrifice. The followers who were left after Christ s death were few in number, and little do we realize the difficulties they encountered in spread¬ ing the faith, in convincing and persuading the rulers and the people, and in converting them. Whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer, or sit in our places of worship upon the Sabbath, nothing can be more fitting than for us to remem¬ ber our class motto, “Nothing Great is Lightly Won”, and to observe how aptly it can be applied to our religion. Who indeed can say that it was easily attained ? Mere fame (whether you regard it as a worthy end or not, and I do not) demands its sacrifice. Think of Napoleon, greatest soldiei and leader of the modern world ! Look at the price he paid for his fame and glory. Throughout his life he was a lonely man, solitary in his ambitious quest for power and glory. The cold hand of ambition kept him a stranger, and pushed from his heart the only woman who ever loved him. We cannot but pity him as we sec him at St. Helena, disheartened, restless, exiled, with an accusing conscience reminding him of lives he had needlessly wasted in his numeious and b oo v campaigns. Napoleon’s glory was dearly won indeed. We find our motto applying even more to men great in the sense of being just kind, considerate, and charitable. All owe their success to continued study diligent activity and effort, more often than not in the face of extreme adversity and misfortune. They never got “something for nothing as many of us try to do. Washington, Bell, the Wright Brothers, Benjamin Franklin, 17