Southwest High School - Roundup Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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PEACE THROUGH UNDERSTANDING By NANCY FROBASE As most of us realize, the war which has just ended has been a costly one. We have lavishly poured our men and material resources into the maw of Mars in order to gain the victory. Our long-sought peace is at hand. How are we to win it? One of our statesmen has declared that peace is God's greatest gift to the world! Certainly, if this is true, man has spurned God's offering, for twice in one generation the world has re- sounded with the harsh sounds of a global war. It is our duty to see that a third war never comes, not only for ourselves but for those who come afterus. How may we obtain God's great gift of peace? The keynote in main- taining this is world understanding. This must be the foundation of any workable plan. Hence, there is a great need for organization of all peace- desiring nations. The basic structure for such an organization was created at the Dumbarton Oaks conference in the summer and fall of 1944. Dele- gates from England, Russia, China, and the United States attended this conference. Here the nucleus for the plan was formulated. Principle number one of the Dumbarton Oaks proposals enshrines the phrase sovereign equality . This provides for a General Assembly in which all member nations, regardless of their size, population, or wealth, would be on an equal basis. All of the United Nations are invited to send representatives. Each one continues to have supreme authority over its own country. Each, therefore, has both a right to a voice in the affairs of the family of nations and a responsibility to share in the task of creat- ing a peaceful world order. The second point and the most important of the proposals is the pro- vision for a Security Council of eleven members. The five most powerful nations-England, United States, Russia, China, and, in due time, France- are permanent members. The other six nations are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly. Each nation on the Security Council has one representative. In the early conferences voting power was a contro- versial subject, but the dispute was settled at the United Nations Confer- ence on International Organization last June. In the early part of the con- ferences Russia desired absolute veto power for the permanent members of the Council. England, China, and United States agreed, except in the case that one of the Big Five was the aggressor. In which instance the veto power should be suspended, in order that the nation would not pass judgment on itself. Finally a settlement was reached when Russia con- sented to the above arrangement. The purpose of the Security Council is to settle disputes peaceably by negotiation, conciliation, mediation, arbi- tration. Then if a settlement is not reached, the Council refers the trouble to the International Court of Justice. If the dispute still remains unsettled, the Council employs economic measures or armed force, which is supplied by the various nations, each having agreed in advance to supply certain forces. In such a large organization many specialized offices are deemed neces- sary, but we need mention only one of them. As would be necessary in an organization of this size, the Secretariat is the co-ordinator of all. It is headed by a Secretary General, who is nominated by the Security Council and elected by the Assembly. The Dumbarton Oaks plan, the San Francisco organizational meeting, and the London conference have started the nations along the road to world understanding, but it is the people who must see that the plan suc- ceeds. They must have faith in this new organization, they must keep themselves well informed upon world afairsg they must become interna- tionalists in their viewpoints, they must show a willingness to compro- mise, they must insist that men and women of high integrity act as dele- gates to the conferences. Only the vigilance of the world's people, their active interest and loyalty to it, can bring success to this undertaking. Thus may this war-torn world enter upon a new and better tomorrow. Twenty-s1'x

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THE WHITE JADE CPrize Winning Short Storyj By NANCY PRICE As we emerged from the mysterious depths of the Oriental Curio Shop, we felt keenly the intense heat and humidity of the air, mingled with the many odors of the East that were foreign to our nostrils. Suddenly we became aware of a strange amount of noise and activity among the usually placid Oriental peoples. As did the rest of our tourist group, I peered about me in order to see the cause of such confusion among the villagers and the shopkeepers who had also appeared in the street as if by some secret power. Several yards away I perceived the cause of the disturbance-a bronze- skinned young American whose bright blond hair appeared as gold among the dark heads of the natives. He was being pushed unceremoniously by several officials into a crude wagon that I recognized as the main and only means of law enforcement in this town. Our interpreter graciously in- formed us that the angry-looking shopkeeper had accused the fair-haired one of taking an extremely valuable white jade bracelet, this accusation, however, our fellow countryman had vigorously denied. I thought no more about this incident until several days later, when, reading a newspaper that was published in the English language, I saw an article concerning the forthcoming trial of a. certain David Garrett, who was, of course, none other than the man I had seen that hot afternoon. Although my curiosity was so much aroused that I decided to attend the trial, I hardly realized that I was to become involved in the matter. The day of the trial was darkened by a continuous driving raing the courtroom, which was nothing more than a poorly constructed one-room wooden building, was warm and stuffy despite the rain that beat with all its fury upon the leaking roof. As I sat there and listened, it seemed to me that I had known Mr. Garrett for many years, and somehow I knew that he was innocent, although this last feeling may have been induced by the fact that we were both foreigners in this strange land. VVhen at last the proceedings were concluded, I decided, for a reason still unknown to me, to pay the sum necessary to get Mr. Garrett out of the dingy hole that served as a cell. My name is John Winters, I informed him on the way to my hotel, and you are now in my custody unless .... He interrupted me by saying, I can't begin to express my gratitude, but it is only natural-don't you agree-that I should wonder why you did this for me a stranger. I really couldn't explain, but I tried to convey to him my feelings as best I could. During the course of our conversation we both decided that the only way to solve this mysterious affair was to find the evidence-the bracelet. We had no particular plan in our minds until I suggested that we search the Curio Shop that very night, and Garrett willingly agreed. The long, weary hours until midnight dragged by, even though I learned important facts of his life history. But when at last the clock chimed the hour of twelve and we stepped into the dark, eerie street, we found to our relief that the merciless rain had stopped completely. I hailed one of the two existing cabs , which took us, upon request, within one block of our destination. As we crept alongthe darkened alley, the silence of the hour seemed deafeningg and suddenly, without warning, an icy fear began to run up and down my spine. I didn't know why or how this feeling came over meg as far as I knew, nothing was going to happen, but I found myself wishing that our task were completed. ' The lock on the rear door of the shop was quite easy to pickg and since burglar alarms were unknown in the East, we had no trouble getting Twenty-eight