Plymouth High School - Pilgrim Yearbook (Plymouth, MA)

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2 THE PILGRIM no difference to us how we suc- ceed so long as we do succeed? Is this to be considered the legiti- mate conduct of commerce from a commercial viewpoint? If so- alas for us! Why do we make hundreds of laws to prevent practices which we are employing thousands of lawyers to permit us to follow with impunity? Why do we try to justify shady dealings under the name of clever financeering? Almost anybody can make money if he doesn't care how he does it, but it must be pretty poor fun. There is true adventure and drama and sport in the right kind of businessg in putting in one's best and watching its effect. We are a world power. We are known as a great business people. Let us also be known for our in- tegrity and uprightness in the smallest particulars of our busi- ness dealings. ' M. RICHARD '25 VERSATILITY The old saying Jack of all trades, master of none is not in- fallible. There are, certain sub- jects upon which everyone should be fairly well-informed, and some of us have absolutely no knowledge of them, or at best a hazy con- ception of their principles. The call of ten years ago was for specialization. To do one little thing and do it well became an ideal. It is a fine idea, but un- fortunately for the world today it was much overdone, and its effect is still painfully evident in some lives. In the commercial world the principle has been carried to an extreme, and we see daily laborers doing over and over again the same tedious tasks-tasks which come to be performed mechanically and bring no pleasure to the doer. It is a regrettable state of affairs, and we are glad that it is being somewhat checked. In the world of education, how- ever, the need for the spreading of general knowledge is acute. It is a big subject and it will be long before the situation is greatly remedied. All pupils should' be given some knowledge of for- eign languages and history, as well as the politics of the day. Also, music hath charms which many persons go through life without realizing. When will peo- ple in general begin to put a little time and thought on the matter of better informing themselves on the wonders of this world of ours? It is possible for the average mind to study and appreciate the subjects already mentioned. A knowledge of the different re- ligions, astronomy, botany, and the arts can be gained by all, and life will thereby become more in- teresting. EVA MANTER '26 l.-L-l-. PREJUDICE Prejudice is an old tree whose roots lie fixed in the minds of the masses of people, and whose branches, extending far and wide, are superstition, perverseness, ob- stinacy, headstrong will and opin- ionativeness. The obstinate, that is, prejudiced man, always be- lieves himself to be right in the matter at hand. His weakness is his refusal to consider and failure to understand the need for further investigation. The case with him is quite settledg he alone is right: all others are obstinate in their difference of opinion. George the Third and Philip the Second were men of this type. One characteristic of prejudice can be seen in the expression I don't care. With neither patience nor reason it forces us on to sense- less acts for which we later suffer. It is not only a case of obstinacy,

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I THE PILGRI Volume IV Plymouth, Mass., June, 1925. No. IV Published four times during the school year- 25 Cents Single Copy OZYMANDIAS OF ENG- LAND - The National Press Association in London recently- gave a dinner at the Trocadero Restaurant in honor of the centenaryof the birth of Thomas Huxley, the no- torius attacker of Christianity. The purpose of the dinner was to encourage a Campaign against Christian Churches. George Whale, the noted writer, presided at the dinner. In the course of his speech Whale brut- ally attacked Christianity. He made ruthless jibes at its dogma, moral, and worship and ridiculed mercilessly its priests' and minis- ters. The guests laughed appre- ciatively when he mocked the statement, that the light of the Spirit of the Holy Ghost has guided the church for centuries. Whale said, When the light does come I predict it won't have the dazzling effect of the light which fell upon the apostle en route for Damascus, a light which left him dazzled for the rest of his life. At the conclusion of the speech. Major Putnam arose and proposed a toast to Whale's health. The guests were applauding the first few sentences of the toast when suddenly Whale collapsed. Hushed whispers and awed, stricken faces 50 Cents a Year replaced laughter and smiles. Then followed intense silence, in which Whale drew a last labored breath and died, in the presence of the two hundred guests. Is George Whale an Ozyman- dias to all those who would fol- low in his steps? Should it like- wise be written on his tomb,--- Look on my works, Ye Mighty, and despair? M. RICHARD '25 BUSINESS IDEALS Have our business ideals been blown a little askew by the trade winds of commerce? Out of almost every group of ordinary business people assem- bled in conclave, some would ap- plaud the story of a clever bit of unethical trading. In view of the standard qualities we Americans inherited from our Puritan, Eng- lish, and Dutch forefathers, it seems strange that we should now be setting such store by and mak- ing such use of that contemptible attribute - shrewdness. And why is it so much acclaimed? Any low intelligence can be shrewd, and most areg - surely the business of cheating one's neighbor isn't really a wise or worthy one. To have the average citizen saluting cunning as a part of real business ability is shocking. How did we lose our sense of integrity? Is it to make

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THE PILGRIM 3 but also of heedlessness. When we are prejudiced or opionated we see ourselves only. Our minds are diseased because we have no fair outlook upon life. We suppose we understand things, events, and persons, but our understanding is vague. If we knew more we would arrive at different conclusionsg it is as if we looked on the silver side of a shield without seeing what is on the other side of it. Indeed we can all recall at least one trifling mistake which has been worked through prejudice on our part, and now we wonder how we could make such a mistake. But are there not now some things in which we are still prejudiced? If once we were in error, it is possible that we are many times. We should try to understand the opinions opposite to our own, for it is probable that when we have discovered the reasons for another man's opinions, our own reasons are likely to change. More- over, we can not thrust others' rea- sons aside as wrong unless we know what they really are. Prejudice has never been up- rooted, and no great attempt has been made to kill it. It is the pur- pose of some classes of peoplehto prejudice their comrades in order to obtain what they would seek from them. Our courts .furnish such an example where both the defense and prosecuting attorneys try to prejudice the jurors for or against the defendant. In this Way many a guilty man has been acquitted and innocent man con- victed. Truth is but exactness, and only when we are free from prejudice can we honestly find it. B. BRINI '25 'DO THE STRONG To the strong hand and strong head, the capacious lungs and Vig- orous frame, fall, and will always fall, the heavy burdensg and where the heavy burdens fall, the great prizes fall, too. -Laws of Life. The first element of success needed by the boy or girl to achieve the ideal set before him is bodily strength, a stout physical constitution. Until within a re- cent period, possibly this last year in our school, little or no attention has been paid to physical culture except by those few interested in the school sports and those we know are very few in comparison to the number of pupils. Now that we have a real op- portunity to participate in real physical culture, though it takes the form of the dreaded calisthen- ics, let us accept this opportunity and do these things to the best of our ability. The slovenly habit formed by some of the pupils in doing their calisthenics is indica- tive of the way they will perform their future duties. We all know that it is at this period of our lives that our great- est development comes, both men- tally and physically, and we can- not do ourselves justice mentally if we neglect our bodies. Time was when the youth was urged to burn the midnight oil in poring over his books, but the foremost educators of the day realize the faulty procedure of the past and much more stress is laid on physi- cal well-being than heretofore. At one time muscle was associated with rowdies, long-windedness with chatter and swearing, and tallness was the only sign of virtue, the model young man being lanky, pale, and preferably clerical in appearance. But a revolution has taken place and we find in the schools and colleges the young man who excels not only in the athletic field but in his studies as well, as for example, the last two years have seen Charles Hubbard, a Harvard football captain, who also led his class in his studies, and Keith Kane, captain of the