Scarborough High School - Four Corners Yearbook (Scarborough, ME)

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FOUR CORNERS 3 time fraught with sacrifice and suffering. Now, if ever, we must attain our utmost efficiency. furnished by the fac.t that the source of that terrible force which has made the whole world tremble on its very foundation can be traced to the German school system. This should serve as a wam- Therefore it is especially incumbent on the young people of America that they shall not neglect their education, and that those who have keep, and that those who have not, strive to attain a high standard of culture and scholarship. The spirit of loyalty and patriotism fostered in the schools will remain with them thru life, helping to build up a strong, virile and efficient race. Editor. HITCHING OUR WAGON TO A STAR. In a few days we shall end our school work for this year and shall be looking for a summer’s job. Perhaps some of us have secured a position, with a salary that looks big to us boys, especially big at this time, because now we can get as much as men have been paid in the past few years. It is big money for us who are now in high school. Or perhaps we are wondering where we can best work this summer to help our government win the war and end militarism and selfish autocratic ambition. What can we do in these few vaca¬ tion months? This is a relatively easy question for us in the Scarboro High School to answer, because most of us live on farms or near farms. With the crying need from our allies for food, with the urgent appeals from Washington for us to raise more and more crops than last year, and with the shortage of farm help here in Scarboro, re¬ sulting from the fact that so many of our brothers and friends have nobly answered the call to arms, it is plainly our duty to stay on the farm and to work hard on the farm all summer long. We must have as large gardens as possible, larger than ever before, to raise enough table vegetables for ourselves and others. We must have more potatoes, in spite of the fact that they are plentiful this spring. We must raise enough wheat, oats and corn for ourselves and more for others in Maine who have not our advantages here in Scarboro. Thus we can help solve the food problem, the labor shortage and

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2 FOUR CORNERS our advertisers, without whose assistance this publication would not have been- possible. CITIZENSHIP AND THE SCHOOL. The attempt to realize, to its fullest extent, a government of, by, and for the people, represents probably the greatest of all social ex¬ periments, one in which great possibilities for advancement or detri¬ ment are alike included. The success of such a government depends almost entirely upon the quality of its citizens, and the efficiency of such a government cannot exceed the efficiency of its citizens. Therefore in order to have a good and efficient government we must have good and effi¬ cient citizens. Under the more autocratic forms of government the one man or group of men in power is the supreme factor, on them rests the whole responsibility for the success or failure of the nation which they represent. But in a great democratic republic such as ours, the people are the government; the power necessary to the existence of our nation resides in the people, in you and me. Every one of us is a unit and an important unit in the government of our United States. It behooves us, then, to maintain the highest ideals pos- ible, and to fit ourselves to be worthy citizens of this wonderful nation, to make ourselves worthy to uphold those noble principles embodied in our constitution. The first and most necessary re¬ quirement of the average citizen is a good education. The schools are becoming more and more essential to our life and well being. Our national power and national greatness has its birth in the schools. An unusual illustration of the power wielded by the schools is furnished by the fact that the source of that terrible force—Kultur— which has made the whole world tremble on its very foundation can be traced to the German school system. This should serve as a warn¬ ing not to underestimate the value of our good schools and their influence in opposition to that evil bred in those of Germany. Today our country is facing perhaps its gravest crisis; the time has come when it must utilize every one of its vast resources, a

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4 FOUR CORNERS transportation difficulty, because the more food vve raise, the less will have to be shipped to Maine from the West, thereby saving cars, coal and labor for our war work. If we work for our parents we will save them large sums of money which would have to be paid out for hired help at wages hitherto unheard of. Perhaps in dull times on the farm we can get out and earn a few dollars for ourselves. Or perhaps we can work for others on their farms or at the shore, and thus earn large sums for boys and girls of our strength and ability. After we get this money, what are we going to do with it? Some of us will unwisely and guiltily say, “Have a good time at Old Orchard; go to the movies in Portland, or to the dances in Saco and Biddeford. Why not?” “Why not?” is a big question, a selfish question, when there are so many worthy causes around us,—the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., the Salvation Army,—crying for money : when the prices of food and clothing are gradually climbing higher and higher; a Narrow- Minded, Short-Sighted question with the ranks of our leaders in business, industry, commerce, labor, the professions, and the engi¬ neering branches being rapidly depleted. Never before in the whole history of the world have there been such times to live in or to prepare for. This country is demanding Leaders during the rush¬ ing, back-breaking war. The world will demand thousands of Lead¬ ers, picked men, in the arduous days of reorganization after the war. Scarboro High has done well so far in the war in sending so many of its former students to the training camps and “over there.” We, its present students, will not be lagging in our duties. Scarboro, with its wholesome homes, its country spirit, its hard work, good food and pure air, should be the training ground for leaders. We are going to be those leaders—if we keep our eyes on the goal of leadership—the professions or industry. So it behooves each one of us to think of the future, to think of the college or technical school that will best fit us for our leadership; and to save our money, that we may have the required means to go to the best school for our instructions, training and discipline in the line of endeavor in which we are to lead. More than farming, more than working in the shipyards or the ammunition factories, more than going to work for the fabulous wages now being paid, it is our Patriotic Duty to stick to our schooling, to “plug hard” at our daily