St Thomas More High School - Utopian Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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' -f...-12 ,. -- ,...., ,....- -x ' . I:-In D ft-.4 ., -.2 vfrfrfvfvvwvm ., , P! '?.- I W A D117 J f'C2'T-i.-gf!!!- Fi 7Z':'s'c I ET H: 5 gag 1' f-. f Ii,-5' iiiw, 5 5 E 5 1 E . I5 52 A SOPHOMORE REPORTS ON THE v 2, :Z I. 11 - N2 7 -.2 PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION -..-5 3' 3 2 -3 Q g rg 5 :Z 1 ' : K, Y' 'lg' '.,,! .J ,E 1. ' al iz' tv ef. - ,ef T1 BY THOMAS MANNING, '55 ,143 5, 25--jfli' ' fi ' nl' I-gif. Q - .5 f.A. :I fiif ' , IE- Ill tr 1' b ALFRED PEPINO '54 A ' I : E Liz:-Tk 3 32' lil U5 H1011 Y 9 f 'Q fi 1 . -' ': 1 l ' v gf 2 '-L--tx, 1- f Je...-l . mg - . 'El 1 2 45' 'Ea' 'Q-1- -?1 -7 5 FW ? N THE company of eight hundred ' i 6 5,155 - . gp g : Z newsboys from Philadelphia and its U G 29,6 E ' gift V 57,1 I vicinity, I was privileged to attend 559 gil ig ' the inau ' f D ' h D 'd - I 9455 5 f if-.4f4 J V 9 Wil' 5 ' 1 guration o wig t avi .f 1 5655? Z, , .J . Eisenhower as our thirty-fourth Presi- 4 Z '15 g g.A1ig?LfQg r Zvi?-' ., dent. I felt very honored to be present ,-1 ' ' A he in Washington on this auspicious day f' Q. Q 14 5 ' N ' - ' in our ations history. This was an f ,Lg if Vg 1, Q. 3 ., f 5, 6 ,E Z 1, L Fri L 3 opportunity that millions of other I' '5 :E1 'E'E 'lima if ' I Americans would like to have had, but --, ? 5 ' 5 could not. I am, therefore, grateful be- ' ' ' -f I. 1 3 1 youd words to the Philadelphia Evening E I E QE' I .X V f x v Bulletin for having provided me with X, 3 l r such an opportunity, the memory of 3 ' 3' 3 5 7 ', if s which I shall cherish as long as I shall E 5-' t K4 I A live. X 1 5 4 1 T Needless to say, I was thrilled by ' Q pfpmg the spectacle of the inauguration itself. However, I was even more deeply im- pressed by what this should mean to me as an American citizen. It was with a heartfelt sense of national pride that I stood watching the vast assembled throng, realizing that I was standing, almost shoulder to shoulder, as it were, with great dignitaries of our own Country as well as with the representatives of every other nation under the sun. All these outstanding men and women had gathered together for one purpose to pay tribute to a soldier-patriot turned states- mang the man, who in those trying days of World War II, could still flash that famous grin of his. He proved beyond question then that he was the kind of leader who could inspire confidence in both himself and the Colmtry he 76. . represented so ably. Statesmen know, perhaps better than anyone else, the kind of man it takes to grin, and at the same time to fulfill a difficult assignment eiliciently and eifectively. President Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas. His family moved to Abilene, Kansas, where as a boy, he mowed lawns, delivered newspapers, and worked in a creamery to aug- ment his father's modest income. Like any other sturdy and alert American boy, he found the key to physical and mental fitness in a rugged outdoor life that was to prepare him for the military leadership he was destined to assume in mature life. He graduated from Abilene High School in 1909 with an excellent scholastic record. Since his parents could not aiord to . THE CHELSEA REVIEW

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'5Another interesting character that appealed to me, Skip, was the old Lord Chamberlain, Polonius. That crafty, scheming, old guy was partly responsible for his daughter's and his son's death! He was really a 'characterf '6But, Lump, when you think it over and come down to fine points, Hamlet's father was the one responsible for the whole mess, his unjustifi- able desire for revenge drove Hamlet to murderg Hamlet's screwiness makes Polonius's nose grow longer, Ophelia sees herself an old maid and takes to the water, Laertes sharpens l1is sword for business of blood, and pretty soon everybody is ready to settle down-but six feet under. '4True, Skip, but the plot was so involved that almost everybody had a hand in it. Even the F.B.I. would have to get the bloodhounds out for that one. 'SI think the one who suffered most, and didn't deserve it, was poor Ophelia. There she was, tormented by Hamlet's indilferenceg then she was thrown for another loss by the death of her father. Guess it was too much for her. Aw, you're just saying that because she was blonde and cute, but what about her brother? Do you think that Laertes was justified when he planned to kill Hamlet for the death of his father and his sister? Why, yes and no! I found myself almost sympathizing with him for wanting to kill Hamlet. But then my conscience told me that he had no right to, because, after all, the old man was responsible for his own death, and his sister's death indirectly led from her father's. You know, Skip, it's amazing how much enjoyment you get out of just sitting here and talking about the characters of the play. There are so many different traits about them. That boy Shakespeare certainly knew how to keep his audience on the edge of their seats. What a brain he must have had! How right you areg but what did you think about Hamlet's uncle, the King? Wasn't he a pleasant relative to have around! My reaction about him was really mixed up. Remember, during that scene when he knelt in prayer? I felt sorry for him then because, I thought to myself, here is a man who had com- mitted a very grave sin, and now the burden of it on his conscience had become too heavy for him. So, seeking the only outlet human beings THE CHELSEA REVIEW . have for their sins, he begged forgiveness. Yet Hamlet planned to kill him later on because of that. I thought that was rough, didn't you, Skip? You can say that again. That was a rough deal anyway you look at it. I suppose I should have disliked Claudius too, but, for some reason or other, like you, I didn't. Not the way I should have. Yet there were two other charac- ters whom I really disliked. They were Rosen- crantz and Guildenstern. They posed as two loyal friends whereas they were nothing more than spies, fully aware of the act of dishonor they were carrying out. Real pals, they were. To my mind, Skip, Shakespeare's greatest plays were 'Hamlet' and 'Macbethf I'll bet a very interesting comparison can be made be- tween those two. In what way? '4Well, by taking the similarities and dissim- ilaritics of tl1e two plays. The only similarity that comes to my mind right now, Lump, is that both were honorable men before circumstances in their lives caused them to become corrupt. I can think of one striking dissimilarity, Skip, and it's this: Hamlet did not want the crown, he wanted only to kill the king to avenge his father's death, on the other hand, Macbeth wanted the crown, and killed the king, his friend and patron, to get it. True, Lumpy. Macbeth, spurred on by his wife, was ambitious and greedy. And Hamlet spurred on by his father's apparitions was revengefulf' '4Another thing that comes to my mind, Skip, is that Macbeth at first did not want to kill the kingg yet Hamlet yearned for his revenge from the very beginning. That's rightg and if you recall, Hamlet was loyal to his one friend, Horatio, but Macbeth sought to kill all his friends when they stood in his way for power. Makes you stop and wonder how, or why, people let themselves get all involved by ignoring the fact of sin and its punishment. You know, all this boils itself down to the seven capital sins and the seven capital punishments that go with them. Say! Look what time it is, pal. Well, let's finish these 'shakes' and get f Continued on page 851 99 .15

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send him to college at the time, he went to work. Two years later, he was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. In 1915, he graduated from the upper third of his class as Second Lieutenant of the Infantry. Kings, Queens, Presidents, and Princes have decorated General Eisenhower for his unselfish service to humanity. As Ike achieved great- ness both as a soldier and as a diplomat, his stature as a leader in world affairs increased proportionately. His enormous responsibilities as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expedi- tionary Forces in World War II, and later as NATO Commander, brought him into constant association with the greatest world-statesmen of today. From then on, it would seem, Destiny pointed her finger at him, singling him out to the world as a man to be noted. He proved himself to be an administrator of exceptional ability by planning and coordin- ating the great Crusade in Europe, which be- gan early in June, 1944. Historians doubtless will regard the Normandy Invasion as the high point of General Eisenhower's military career, because it marked the turning point of the war. The Supreme Commander toured the beach- heads of Europe and planned the successive steps of the never-to-be-forgotten Crusade which freed the world from the threat of the social- istic totalitarianism of Facism and Nazism. The fact that the Allies lost the peace, it is generally believed, to the most vicious of all isms -Communism-after the war was a fault that could not be attributed to General Eisen- hower. Nevertheless, his success then and his subsequent successes later on made him a marked man in the minds of his fellow-citizens at home. Dwight Eisenhower was called home in 1952 to head another crusade, but this time, it was a crusade of a political nature. At the Republican Convention, held in Chicago, he won the presidential nomination of his party on the first ballot. He carried the message of his crusade throughout the Coun- try, by automobile, rail, and air. He went even into the deep South, the stronghold of the Demo- cratic Party. His words found attentive ears there, too, as the voting returns indicated on election night. Americans in all walks of life found hope in his sincerity, his humane quali- ties, his deep religious faith. The slogan We THE CHELSEA REVIEW . Like Ike swept the Country, and swept the Republican Candidate into the White House. Candidate Eisenhower made a promise to the American people during the Campaign. Sensing their innermost concern at the time, he promised to go to Korea in order to study the situation there, to see what might be done to lessen the stress of the military potential there. He kept that promise faithfully. While in Korea, he visited many fighting units. He spoke with, listened to, and ate with the sons of Americans who had voted for him to be their next President. How worthwhile his trip to Korea actually was, only History will be able to tell. I was proud to witness the transfer of power from one party to another, a transfer that may well be the most momentous in our history. That we are the strongest nation in the world is an indisputable fact. But strength in itself is not enough. A really strong government must be a well-ordered government. The strength of our democratic form of government was suc- cessfully tested. It changed parties, but it re- mained intact. The extent of the authority of the Executive Branch of the Federal Govern- ment is much greater than it has been in many decades. Circumstances of our war-torn gener- ation have increased notably its prestige and im- portance. A f At the same time, no transfer of power in our history has been so carefully prepared. The credit for this belongs mainly to former Presi- dent Truman, who did all in his power to lessen the jolt of the governmental change of hands. The President-elect helped considerably by appointing his Cabinet as quickly as possible and by facilitating the association between the outgoing and incoming Cabinets. The American people were assured that those at the head of the new Government were well informed. But there is a further and more fundamental reason why this transition was so easily effected. That the incoming administration was in agreement, in principle at least, with the outgoing one was pertinently clear during the campaigning period before the election. This unity of purpose should strengthen the fundamental purposes of both parties and lessen, as a matter of course, the urgency of their minor political differences. fContinued on page 801 . 77