St Johns College - Ozanam Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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40 THE OZANAM The first blow will be so brutally effective it will render the country practically helpless. The only efficacious means of combatting an aerial attack is by air-plane. Surface guns are inefficient. A nation's war strength is no longer measured by man-power, but by air-power. Recently in Washington Brigadier Gen- eral Mitchell strongly advocated that our Air Force be improved and increased. He was at once deprived of his rank and shorn of his powers as head of the Air Service. Higher officials claimed he was too out- spoken. Startling example this, of petty jealousies existing between our Army, Navy and Air Service. Our jeopardy lies in just such disunion. It is important that this state of affairs be rectified at once. Unity in our departments of defense is paramount. Amer- ica, if we would remain supreme among the nations-we must look to the air. J. T. R. When we speak of the moral effect of the drama we must take for granted that man is naturally imi- tative. It follows that he will imitate what he sees in the drama, or at least in that part of it which appeals to him and lingers in his mind. If this is so then the movie, since it is nothing but silent drama, has had no small share in shaping the morals of the present generation, and has been in a large measure responsible for the 'crimes of this generation. The Moral Effect of The Drama Unquestionably we must also attribute a part of this evil to the fact that children are no longer kept close to their mother's apron stringsg and that, in consequence, the child is to a great extent left to its own resources in the matter of amusements. Naturally the young person does not turn to the Art Mu- seum, the Zoo, or the Aquarium, for all these soon lose their noveltyg but, craving for thrills and excitement, the child ordinarily turns to fields anew, -that is, to the movie. But 'why the movie? Primarily because this source of either innocent enjoyment or moral delinquency is found in every neigh- borhood. Now in the desire for the movie we hnd the first incentive to evil. The child must have money for the show. If the par- ents are strict they will often refuse the child the fee of admission: yet, if the child is very intent on, or wrapped up in, the show it will not hesitate to obtain the money by some means or other. Then there is the bad example of the mod- ern movie, which is especially dangerous be- cause children are more apt to imitate than are their elders. This is no pessimistic view-point: we must take things as we see them, and draw our own conclusions. I do not say that every movie is bad for the child nor that children should be kept away from them, but in this matter a modicum of discretion should be used. So much for the child. When a man goes to a play, movie, vaude- ville, or other, he may have one of many pur- poses in his mind. He may simply be after amusement, as is the general case. Possibly he has read the book from which the play is produced, and desires to see how the thing would look when enacted on the stage. Or, if he be a man who cares little for the wel- fare of his soul, he may be on his way to the theatre for the reason that the play showing at that place has been derided as immoral and unfit to be seen by a decent man. Be that as it may, he is on his way to the show. Arrived there, he takes his place. The curtain risesg the play has begun. After a time there comes a part of the play wherein the villain is in a tight corner. He is sur- rounded and has either to kill or be killed. The audience hopes for him to be killed, yet at the same time in their subconscious selves they are considering ways of escape, if they were in the villain's place. The trait is al- most universal. How many times have we not heard people of the most varying temper-

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THE OZANAM 39 better next time. If you have been deceived and hurt by one whom you have looked upon as a true friend, if you have been slandered and abused. do not dwell upon it, do not brood over it: don't harbor it in your thoughts. Forget itl Do not make yourself unhappy by keeping in your mind memories of past failures and dead hopes. When gloom assails you count the blessings that God has bestowed upon you. We must be tolerant. It is necessary for others, and all the more for ourselves. For- get the little troubles others may cause you: cherish no resentment for the inconsiderate words that may have been said about you: excuse the mistakes and awkward blunders of which you are the victim: in a word smile at everything: show a pleasant face on all occasions. A weary heart goes all the day, A sad tires in a mile. E. B. Are Wg Not so very long ago two Awake? brothers began working on a so-called impossibility. Un- doubtedly they knew that if perfected it would revolutionize transportation. They may have even foreseen its effects on methods of warfare. But had they known the extreme deadliness of this latter effect, they might have desisted from their efforts. This, though, is hardly plausible, for they were more in- terested in the success of their invention than in its drastic results. So the Wright brothers brought out their air-plane. A public gave this invention its keen in- terest, but withheld its faith. This lack of faith did not discourage the inventors, how- ever, who well knew that public opinion had ever received great achievement with mis- giving. Aviation has since gone forward in leaps and bounds, until at present we find it com- paratively perfect. Proofs of this are pat- ent: our government transports mail by plane: regular passenger service has been established in many parts of the world: a round-the- world flight has been accomplished, under the most trying conditions, by our government. Aviation is stable: the airplane has come to stay: its achievement is fact, its place in modern civilization undisputed. And yet our officials at Washington fail to see its import- ance. France, Great'Britain, Japan, and even Red Russia, with all its misgovernment -each of these has carefully and amply pro- vided for an efficient air force. All realize that air force alone will protect the nation of the future. Not one of the nations just mentioned is as able Enancially to maintain an air fleet as the United States. Armies have become second- ary, and millions are wasted annually on navies that are obsolete before they are launched. In respect for human intelligence I hesitate to think that our officials at Wash- ington can not realize that a superior air force could destroy our whole fleet in a few hours. Are they unaware that any of the larger European powers could send ships across the sea equipped with air-planes, an- chor them within a few hundred miles of our shores, dot our skies with their planes and raze or snuff our principal cities out of exist- ence, their air-guarded base-ships standing by, ready with reenforcement. Consider a relay of these ships keeping up a constant bombardment of our principal cities, from coast to coast and from Canada to the Gulf. That this should take place may seem, at present, impossible to some, but it is not only not impossible, it is quite possible, and more probable than our smug pacifist concedes. Great Britain now has air-plane carriers as regular naval equipment. Our navy boasts but a few of these. America was caught unprepared in the late war. Gigantic tardy preparations were made after hostilities had gotten under way. Such tardy preparations will be difficult in the next conflict. The nation that is caught unprepared in the next war will be lost.

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THE OZANAM 41 aments exclaim, after seeing a villain take a desperate chance and fail, Do you know what I would have done in his place? Again, consider the matter from another view-point. Suppose that instead of follow- ing the villain, the path of the hero is most carefully watched. Wliy, even here there is danger. All of us know that in the modern story, the hero, to use an old expression, is more sinned against, than sinningf' What I mean to say is that, although he will unhesi- tatingly retaliate injury done to himself, he will never start the unjust action. No, the villain will perform the first injustice. As soon as the action is under way, we try to imagine what particular form of deviltry the villain may attempt. Having set out to find one, our imagination runs riot until a feasi- ble-loolcing piece of mischief is found. Sup- pose the villain chooses another manner of evil doing. Then immediately and whole- heartedly we begin to compare the respective qualities and points of success of the two plans. Without mentioning baser results, I have shown how evil effects may arise from even fairly-good drama. Do not, for this reason, think that the only result of the drama upon morals must be evil. Far from it. The ef- fects of the drama are not of themselves ex- clusively either good or bad for morality. As with most things else upon this earth the effects of the drama are just what we make them. C- Retrgspegt Recollections are as a gen- eral rule interesting, but es- pecially so this year which represents the ful- fillment of the long cherished dream--a Col- lege building exclusively reserved for Col- lege students. A resume, then, of the activi- ties of the past year serves to perpetuate to a small degree the events which made our life in the new building most enjoyable. An appropriate exercise upon beginning a year of study was the annual retreat held in October. Rev. Father Francis P. Kemper, S. J., former Prefect of Studies here, pre- sented very thoughtful instructions which made a lasting impression upon all his hearers. We were all better students for having taken part in this all-important spiritual retreat. The University had the honor of having in its midst the Rev. Father John I. Zahm, S. J., its first Prefect of Studies, upon the fif- tieth anniversary of his entrance into the So- ciety of Jesus, celebrated October 7. The students of both the High School and Col- lege departments joined in a program of congratulation in Westminster Auditorium. The next few weeks of school were spent in organizing the various societies. The Stu- dent Council elected Julius Pilliod as its president and began its activities early in October. The Philharmonic Society held some important meetings. The Sodality of the Blessed Virgin and the Ozanam Literary Society were part of the regular schedule. In athletics we may pass over in silence the triumphs of the basketball team: these have been recounted in a former issue. We are glad to mention the development of real school spirit which they accomplished. Certainly this year was one of firsts. It was the first time in the history of the school that a dance was held in the name of the University. A student mixer was conducted under the auspices of the Student Council on November 7. Socially, it was a grand success. Financially, it was a triumph, as was evidenced by the appearance of new fur- niture in the college lounging room. The Council presented a Student Shuffle on Feb- ruary 23 as a sequel to its first success. While we are reviewing the social annals we cannot neglect to mention another first Thanks to the initiative of Mary Manse stu- dents a new chapter was written in the his- tory of St. John's University when the young ladies of the women's college invited the young men of our own college to a get-to- gether party in Brescia Hall on February 20.