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

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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

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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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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt— great names certainly. Lincoln studied by the open lire in a log hut; raised himself by sheer force of character, energy, and will-power to his position of high honor. All are examples that show our motto is indeed true. Most of us shall never have our names engraved in the Hall of Fame, nor have our deeds expounded in the annals of time, but all of us in our own way are capable of truly great things. And do you know, a person does not have to be famous to be just and generous and to be blessed with the virtues of Christian charity and kindness? It is not necessary to be rich to be great. I like to think of it in that way. I like to think that greatness is a quality of every common person which only needs to be cultivated in order to manifest itself. But if we of the graduating class are to do the great things of life, if we can be good neighbors, if we can be fair in our relations with other people, happy in our work, considerate of others, we must remember that these things will not be easy to do. Some of us will succeed. Others will fall or stop to rest by the dusty roadside, because it is hard to be just in the midst of preju¬ dice, to be generous when we have little ourselves; it is difficult to be cheerful and friendly when we are worried or weary. But if we do succeed, if we can look back up the hill of life and be happy and satisfied in work well done, if we can say, “I have done my best,” and say it with a clear conscience, we have accomplished one of the greatest things possible in life. And since it will not be at all easy, remember— “Nothing Great is Lightly Won.” CHARLES H. FOSTER, Jr. CLASS ESSAY Propaganda HAT is propaganda? Although this word is uttered frequently in these times, many people do not know the real meaning of it. Some always connect “propaganda” with war and anything bad. But this is not always true, for propaganda can be good as well as evil. Originally it meant spreading the faith, and was then used only by the church. In recent years, however, since the World War, it has acquired another meaning. It is now defined as the mere advocation of special interests, or as an attempt to gain credence for statements partially or wholly untrue, and thus to influence opinion and conduct. Propaganda is of the greatest interest to us especially in these times when we are besieged by it on all sides. There are several types of propaganda by which we are influenced. We find commercial propaganda on practically every billboard, in magazines and in newspapers. We are all familiar with the method used by Hollywood in drawing crowds to the theatres. “Screen Gossip” columns appear daily in the newspapers, describing the lives and personal traits of the favorite movie stars. Marriages and divorces of the actors and actresses are probably men¬ tioned most frequently. The public then is attracted to the films, influenced by such articles, which are not related at all to the stars’ acting, but empha¬ size the interesting trivialities of his or her daily life. Obviously, the fact that an actress is divorced, and feeds her pet canary six times a day has no relation whatever to her acting in the films; yet that is the method of adver¬ tising their products. 18