Rangeley High School - Tattler Yearbook (Rangeley, ME)

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22 THE TATTLER ing so fast that the detention camps are filled to overflowing, and the omcials have time to give the aliens only a hasty exam- ination. Something must be done to provide a place for these newcomers, or else they must be kept from coming so fast. If too many are allowed to come, the result in labor conditions may be serious, for every- one knows how much cheaper foreign labor is than native help. Foreigners will work very cheaply, and this throws many Amer- icans out of employment. Most aliens do not know our language, yet they are not made to learn it, as they should be. They form a little colony on some of the obscure streets of a city, have their own stores, speak their own language, they are not Americanized the least bit. They should be taught the American lan- guage and customs. The settlement schools in some cities are doing a great deal toward this, but they are not adequate, nor plentiful enough. We should not allow these strangers to drift away into oblivion, we should teach them and make good, sound American citi- zens out of them. E. P., JZI. JAPANESE WAYS HE habits and customs of japan are quite different from those of our country, and some of them seem to us very queer, but our habits and customs probably seem just as peculiar to them. Five men, upo11 reaching the landing-pier at Yokohama, were delayed by a polite ofhcer for a slight examination of their trunks. There is a duty in japan on photo- graph cameras. One of the men was, therefore, called upon to pay the required sum. I have no japanese money, he fal- teredg if I must leave my camera here and call againf' Not at all, replied the olhcial courte- ously. I will lend you the money, here it is. The man was durnfounded and asked, But what security have you that I will repay you? Ah ! replied the officer. You are an American. It is pleasant to know what other people think of us, that is, if it is to our credit, and this little incident shows us what the people of japan think of the Americans. A traveler leaving the Custom-house to go sight-seeing, cried: Shades of my childhood! What are these? There be- fore him was a big two-wheeled carriage drawn by a strong, naked Japanese man. These rigs are called in japan jinrik- shas . lt may seem impossible at first, but a traveler soon comes to like these little vehicles and a breakdown in them is prac- tically unknown. The usual price per hour is ten cents or seventy-five cents for an entire day. Onels packages and valises follow in another jinriksha. The speed is almost that of a Ford fat least five miles per hourjg On good roads, with two men, one pulling and the other pushing, one can make ten miles an hour. In stormy weather these human horses wear blankets as a dress. They are a kind of Japanese mackintosh, composed of grass and straw, which gives the appearance of a fretted porcupine. Yokohama, the divided into three sections. The first is the settlement, where the hotels are locatedg the second is the strictly Japanese quarter, the third lies on a hill called The Bluff . The hill is reached by a stairway called the Hundred Steps . Most of the 'foreigners reside on this hill. Some of the houses on the Bluff are quite chief city of japan, is original business attractive. Two travelers once visited the hill and met there two Americans who had taken a furnished home for several months and who were actually keeping house in Japan. They reported that they had never had such an experience before and that the markets of Yokohama abounded in meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, all at reasonable prices. The summer, they confessed, had been hot, but on the Bluff the air was fine and cool, with no thunder storms. Yet Y okohama's climate is not always tropical and mild, for

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THE TA A BOY'S NATURE N a little schoolhouse in the little town of XNoodville, New Hampshire, as the session was about to close, the teacher said to a boy, VVilliam, you may stay a little while with me, after school, and do that arithmetic, not do this morningf' Yes, ma'am, replied VVilliam, with a that you pretended you could grin on his freckled face. The bell sounded and all the boys marched out except William. The teacher looked at him with a gleam of malice in her eye. Now, William, she said, take that and do those examples. If you book out, do not, l'll tell your father and mother, and .Lord knows who else, and then I guess you'll set up and take notice. VVilliam still sat there with a grin on his face. Suddenly the teiacher said, Xkfilliam, take your book and we will go up to your father's house and sec him. All right, replied VVilliam, and taking his arithmetic, they started. V VVhen she had stated the facts of the case to his father, Mr. Brown turned to W'illiam and said. 'flt seems to me that you are awful lazy. Lazy. snapped the teacher, why, land sakes, there is no name for it. - Well, lf cannot do those old things, anyway, whined NVillian1. His father thought for a moment and then he said smilingly. Well, I am going to put up a prize of a five-pound box of chocolates for the best set of arithmetic examples done for hve days, and the smart- est -boy will get that box. And at the end of the term, I shall give a live-dollar gold piece to the boy who has done the best work for the term. VVilliam said nothing but the next day the teacher had no trouble in getting him to do the work in mathematics. At the end of the term no one could call William lazy, for he had won a live-dollar gold piece. R. G., 24. TTLER M TI-IE MAINE WOODS AVE you ever considered what treas- ures lie in an uncut forest? The different kinds of trees may be compared to various kinds of jewels. There are the different species of maple, with pretty grainsg bird's-eye maple is a beautiful wood. There are birches, spruce, fir, cedar, ash, and oak trees-all different, but all valuable. And what is being done with those grand, tall trees which grow in the Maine woods? The maple is cut a11d used to make veneer wood for expensive cabinets and other fur- niture. The birch is also used for veneer. The fir and spruce are cut in large quanti- ties to supply the paper mills. All kinds and varieties of trees are being taken from the Maine forests every year, and prac- tically nmze are being replaced. Many bare cleariligs are appearing on the mountains, which, a few years ago, were wooded to the top! The lumbermen are pushing farther and farther in search of timber-and what will be the outcome? There is only one outcome to follow: If something is not done to stop the inroads or to restock the land with trees, Maine will be devastated of her forests, and be- fore many years have passed! PROTECT THE FORESTS ! E. P., 2I. THE IMMIGRATION PROBLEM N interesting problem in this country is that of accommodating the thou- sands of aliens who wish to enter our ter- ritory. Ships are arriving every day, with passenger lists ranging from tive hundred to two thousand. These are practically all aliens or people who have gone from this country to visit their native land, and who are now returning. . Many of the foreigners who are entering our ports are infested with vermin and disease. This is, of course, because of the poor conditions in Europe-sanitary con- ditions especially. Great care must be take11 in admitting unhealthy immigrants, but they aI'e arriv- o

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T H E T in winterimuch snow is seen. This is some change for the foreigners and one would think the japanese would perish, since the vast majority of the nation have no tire in their houses except cha1'coal braziersg the partitions in their dwellings are mere paper screens, and they themselves rarely wear woolen garments. They do not seem to mind this-they are very hardy. It may seem strange -to us, but the peasants of the rural districts wear very little clothing as a rule. Even in the streets of Tokio one sees, on rainy days, thousands of men wearing neither trousers nor stock- ings. The japanese lady is short with a dark complexion and very abundant hair, which is usually oiled and glistens like a raven's wing. One would when he saw a japanese lady sitting on the lloor tas is their cus- tomj that she had a pillow at her back: but if he should see her again walking down the street, he would see that what appeared to he her pillow, was a regular part of her costume. lt is a heavy, silken sash, long and very elegant. This is called the orbi and is the most precious article of a japanese lady's wardrobe. The bow, although arranged in dilterent stlyes, is always worn behind. A japanese lady never changes the position of her orbi unless she wishes to announce publicly that she will never marry again. In that case, she ties the bow in front. The japanese are gradually giving up their tasteful costumes of the past for the European dress. Until quite recently, the rule for japanese women, when they mar- ried, was to shave their eyebrows, pull out their eyelashes and stain their teeth jet black. The point was to make them look as hideous as possible so as to attract no more admirers. The japanese are naturally of a happy disposition. A. smile illumines every face. Apparently their past has no regret, their present no annoyances, their future no A T T L E R 23 alarms. Their wants are few. The houses of the rich and poor are alike. If they are sad, they seldom show their sadness in public. M. H., 121. R. H. S. PICNIC NE beautiful May day the R. H. S. Club went for a hike and picnic. The first pleasant spot that we reached we would stop and eat our dinner. The first place of interest we passed were two beautiful Parks , a short distance apart. From these we entered a Woody section which contained a great many Knowles and where the Robbins were singing, as they do just preceding a rain. Through this wilderness a stream ripplecl and in all its appearances it re- sembled the Nile 'i river. Not far from this pasture, in a g1'OVC, a new house was being built. 'We inquired of the carpenters, who it was for, and they told us it was for a' Taylor who wished to live in a secluded spot. After we had gained all the information we wished re- garding houses and Taylors U, we traveled on for a mile or so until we found we were in a beautiful orchard. Nearby we could hear Brooks running swiftly on their way to the sea. The instant we heard the Brooks we discovered that we were very thirsty, so we hunted until we found a clear rivulet rippling down between two huge apple trees. Thinking that there must he a house not :tar off, we satisfied our thirst, and went in search of a house. We 'found a huge, old-fashioned farm- house nestled in a large fir grove. We sent the president of the club to ask if we might eat our lunch in the orchard nearby, but as he stepped onto the porch, the door opened suddenly and a large, red-faced, Way, How the orchard. were going all want to smiling lady greeted us in this do you dog yes, you may eat in I know that's just what you to ask 'cause that 's what they do, who come here. I've been watching you all the way through the orchard. I