Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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26 Griffith ' s plane which flew quite well several times and attained a speed of about 60 mph on one occasion. He had some difficulty landing the plane, however, and was forced into some lengthy repairs. The design had considerable influence on the flight quali- ties. Most of the accidents seemed to have been caused by too heavy wing loading and high speed. If the boys in the club learned nothing else, they had some practice in doing things with their hands and considerable patience was required just to get the engine started. E. W. ALLEN. Mr C L Newcomb Talks to Saltus Boys On Thursday afternoon the boys of Saltus Grammar School listened to an interesting and informative talk about the crusade against tuberculosis given by Mr. C. L. Newcomb, Director of the Christmas Seals Association of the United States of America. Mr. Newcomb traced the history of the national movement from its inception in the United States in 1904, and of its later ex- pansion into an international crusade under the Cross of Lorraine. The idea of the selling of Christmas seals to raise funds for the campaign was originated by an American postmaster in 1907, he said, and had become international in its scope. Boys could help the movement while following the fascinating hobby of col- lecting the seals issued by the forty-two countries composing the In- ternational Union Against Tuberculosis. Mr. Newcomb went on to give a general idea of the incidence of the tuberculosis scourge, and of modern methods of diagnosis by means of X-ray films and photographs. The lecturer was introduced by Mr. Ernest Astwood, President of the Bermuda Tuberculosis Association. The Library There is little change to report regarding the Library this year. We have had several gifts of books, in particular from Major Welch, when he left us to return to his home in Scotland. David Lawrey, an old boy and former Librarian, upon leaving us to make his home in the U.S.A., presented the Library with a number of school books for the School Reference section, also some fiction suitable for most of the classes. The remainder was iven by the boys of the school and the Old Boys ' Association, to whom we extend our thanks for these much appreciated donations. For we are always glad to obtain more books in order to please the varied tastes of the members of the school.

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25 their possession an untagged deer, and the game warden may ap- pear at any moment. There are many tales, too, of other hurtters claiming to have shot your deer; feelings can run high about such a situation deep in the woods. The deer tagged, the next step is to approach the fallen buck or doe, always from behind, because a spasmodic movement of hoofs with razor-sharp edges can lay you open. The hunting knife cuts the throat in a soft spot and, after the animal has bled, it has to be woods-dressed which means cutting open the abdomen and removing the entrails leaving liver, lungs and heart. A moun- tain brook may be h ndy but meat wiped with a dry cloth, untouched by water, tastes better. Finally the ignominious end to one of the weeds most attractive animals begins — a drag to a car and, when the fast stiffening carcase is fastened to a running board open to view and accompanied by owner as required by the law, it soon loses any semblance, to the lively beauty of a few hours previous. Ultimately venison cut three and a half inches thick, grilled over charcoal, then finished off in an oven is all that remains to remind one of the expedition which began by drinking coffee in someone ' s kitchen before dawn, a chase of from seven to fifteen miles through almost impenetrable woods, rotting leaves punched with deer tracks, deer tracks in swamps, in moss, in mud, scrambles up and down and over ledges, through hemlock thickets, numb fingers and cold feet alternating with sweating from the excessive exercise. One never forgets either the glow at the end of the day, the hot bath or the drink before an open fire surrounded by ready listeners to the tale of the hunt. The Aeroplane Club The Aeroplane Club was begun just before Christmas by Bill Griffith and shortly thereafter I was chosen as the Master-in-Charge. After several meetings of a very unaeronautical nature, the equip- ment ordered by Griffith from the States arrived and the actual business of the club began. The models were of a very unusual design, being made from solid balsa wood hollowed out to make room for the controls and engine. These craft were flown with ground controls attached to the plane by wires. With these wires, the aeroplane could be put through various up and down man- oeuvres, but were restricted to a purely circular flight. It was not until about the middle of the Easter term that any of these craft finally took to the air. For the most part they did not get much higher than the average ostrich, with the exception of

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27 The Debating Society The Society can look back on a successful and interesting year, marked by several enjoyable debates and one experiment in the form of a Mock Trial. Rex vs. Horatio Doggono , or the Case of the Minced Cat , provided several flowers of legal oratory, a judg- ment worthy of Solomon, and considerable amusement, with D. M. G. Lawrey as Chief Justice Sir Henry Wiseacre, N. H. Rich- ardson as Sir Archibald Claptrap, A. A. Michielson as Sir John Play- fair, Counsel for the Crown and the Defence, respectively, and W. S. Lombardo as the accused, H. C. Doggono. We were also privileged to hear several guest speakers, including Mrs. Terry Tucker, Mr. John R. Plowman, Mr. Frederic Wakeman, Mr. Ford Baxter, and Mr. H. A. Leseur, an Old Boy of the School and a former member of the Society. The orators of Tomorrow took the opportunity to learn from the experts of Today, and the Society was benefited as well as entertained. Much to our disappointment it proved impossible to arrange a debate with any other school, but we still hope that this may be done again in the future as it was in past years. Our programme for 1946 47 commenced with a Debate on the Motion that The Modern Schoolboy is an Inferior Product , pro- posed by D. M. G. Lawrey and opposed by A. A. Michielson, with D. H. Harrison and W. S. Lombardo as third and fourth speakers, respectively. The proposers mourned the lax discipline and irres- ponsibility of the schoolboy of today, and compared him to his dis- credit with his father, while the opposition, drawing a lurid and undeniably forbidding picture of school life in stricter times, staunchly supported the methods and results of modern education. Most members refused to acknowledge themselves inferior to their forebears and the motion was defeated. The Mock Trial was held at the second meeting, and for the last meeting of the Christmas Term, Mr. Baxter and Mr. Leseur, both of the Bermuda Press visited the school to oppose the Motion that In the Interests of Public Morals and Freedom of Thought the Press should be Muzzled by an Enlightened Censorship , pro- posed by N. H. Richardson and A. A. Michielson, who feared the influence of the popular press of Today; It had a great responsibil- ity, they said, but was unconscious or careless of it, and too often used its great powers to lead the public— in the wrong direction. This was denied by the visitors, who claimed that the Freedom of the Press and Democracy were so closely bound up with each other that they could not exist apart. The Press triumphed as usual, and the motion was defeated.