Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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JUNE 1934 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC 7 of Congress, is a great step forward. In making the Constitution meet modern American require- ments. The Twenty-first Amendment repealed the 18th which did not seem to accomplish its desired ends. Another amendment which would give Con- gress power to regulate child labor has been ratified by 15 states. The complexity of supervising the welfare of over 120,000,000 people is far beyond the capacity of the President and Congress to accomplish. New de- velopments, bringing new problems, present them- selves almost daily in the nation’s business. The only agencies that can efficiently cope with such needs are duly authorized Federal Boards and Com- missions. The Interstate Commerce Commission has very broad powers in regulating railroads, interstate bus lines, etc. Before its advent, a few large railroads monopolized the interstate transportation of the country. The Federal Reserve Act, called the most important piece of legislation since the Civil War, helps to keep more money in circulation and thus prevents hard times” caused by a lack of currency. In the infant days of our nation, States Rights was a strongly supported doctrine. Advocates de- manded a weak central government with strong separate state governments. The present trend is rapidly growing away from this. Of late, we have granted our presidents powers which would have seemed dictatorial to Washington and Jefferson. A powerful institution like our present National In- dustrial Recovery Administration would have been deemed tyrannical in those days. Today our great president has gathered about him a group of expert technical advisers. This group of economic experts, many of them college professors, is popularly known as the “Brain Trust.” This “Brain Trust” embodies the spirit of the new age which seeks to extract itself from economic disor- der by the planning and advising of technical ex- perts. In former days the tariff was the great football of politics. As this was the principal government concern with business, much stress was laid upon its provisions. High tariff men appealed to the manu- facturing districts to support high protective rates. Low-tariff men, in turn, appealed to the buying classes with arguments of cheaper costs under a larger free list. The advent of taxes on inheritance, income, and corporations as sources of revenue sup- planted the tariff as an issue. Then, too, the Tariff Commission, established in 1930, with its limited power to change rates, takes the tariff out of the hands of the vote-seeking politician. Party lines are no longer adhered to as strictly as in the past. Congressmen line up on important bills with amazing disregard for party rule. The forma- tion within the party of powerful minorities (such as silver blocs, insurgent groups, etc.) tends to take the government out of the grip of the party and to place it in its rightful place — the hands of the peo- ple. The farmer has ever been a neglected figure in our national life. The Farm Board with its artifi- cial stabilization of commodity prices was not the success it expected to be. No scheme, however, has been left untried to bring the farmer back to his feet. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration is trying to solve the problem of want in a land of plenty. By paying the farmer for the portion of his crop which he plows under or does not cultivate the committee hopes to end the paradox of lack of food for some in the midst of a great surplus. Having gained such headway in national affairs it was only natural that the average American turn his attention to State affairs. The disregard for the wishes of the people in the choice of candidates and the unscrupulous manipulations of politicians in party conventions, brought a revolt against the con- vention system. In 1903 Wisconsin passed the first state-wide primary law. This was soon followed by similar laws in other states. After this came laws safeguarding and supervising the elections more thoroughly. Having won the right to choose their candidates, it was but a logical step for the voters to demand the right to propose legislation to reject laws passed by legislatures. The initiative is a legal provision by which a group of citizens is allowed to propose a new law. The proposed law is voted upon by the entire electorate. If it receives a majority vote it becomes a law. The referendum enables the voter to express his approval or disapproval of a proposed law. In our own state the questions of daylight saving, liquor, and steel traps have come up for the voters to decide. Not only have great changes oc- curred in National and State affairs, but in local government also we have many reforms. Among the most important is the plan of city management. Under this plan, the voters of each ward elect a councillor. The councillors comprise a committee which elects the city manager. It is his task to run the city concerns just as a business man would manage the affairs of a commercial house. He is the nominal head of each department and he may hire or discharge any employee subject to Civil Ser- vice regulations. Because he is appointed by a group and not sub- ject to party, the city manager can devote his en- ergy to the betterment of his city. This plan is finding remarkable success and appears to be the only logical solution of the problem of corruption in large cities. These are a few of the most important tenden-

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6 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC JUNE 1934 PRESIDENT’S WELCOME Donald Blanchard We have been looking forward with anticipation to this day when we shall have finished one step to- ward an education and shall have passed into the ranks of alumni. Your presence here as we com- plete that step is an encouragement to us. We wel- come you, parents, teachers, and friends, to our Graduation Exercises. From year to year, from class to class, you have witnessed us develop. We hope you have seen in us, as the days passed into years, a growth in power and self-reliance, and a drawing forth of our facul- ties that will aid us in becoming better men and women. Your efforts and sacrifices will be repaid by the use of our opportunities to make the world a better place in which to live. We, who are for the first time entering into life’s arena, realize that it is a place of larger opportunity and greater responsibility. Here we have a battle to win. There will be times when we shall look to the achievements and the victories of those gone be- fore us for courage to overcome the obstacles that confront us. We inherit a civilization of more comforts than did our fathers and forefathers. But facing us are greater problems — social, economic and political. There are full years ahead of us, affording oppor- tunity for constructive aid. And so to you — our parents, teachers, and friends, we give assurance that your unrequited toil has not been wasted. The years that are still to dawn will witness our efforts to bring to fruition your fondest hopes for our welfare and success. GRADUATION ADDRESS — MODERN TRENDS OF GOVERNMENT Bernard M. Scully, Jr. We are passing through a period of unprecedent- ed change. We are the living witnesses of one of the most critical periods in our nation’s history. Such a vital period must bring inevitable changes in national affairs. Let us examine the trends of modern thought as they are influencing political, economic, and social reforms in our government. S ' With Woodrow Wilson’s “New Freedom” a new era was ushered into the annals of American gov- ernment. From that time the government has ceased to interest itself solely in political aspects. This new period is one in which the government concerns itself with the regulation of business. The common class of wage-earners is benefited by this change in economic and social policy. The fact that we are truly in a new epoch is borne out by the number of recent changes in our Constitution. From 1913-1933, six amendments to the Constitution have been ratified. Since 1791 when the first ten amendments were ratified as the Bill of Rights, no period has seen such rapid change in our Constitution. These amendments were the natural result of new developments of national life. The original Consti- tution provided for a direct tax proportional to pop- ulation. The Sixteenth Amendment has changed this. The Congress now lays taxes on income ac- cording to amount earned. The reason for this amendment was the fact that the concentration of capital no longer coincided with the concentration of population. The Seventeenth Amendment, pro- viding for direct popular election of United States Senators, superseded the original provision that the state legislatures should choose the Senators. The Eighteenth Amendment, establishing National Pro- hibition, was the result of the entrance of liquor into politics. Because the liquor interests had such a powerful grip on politics, it was thought necessary to abolish alcoholic beverages entirely. The Nine- teenth Amendment, granting women suffrage, was the consequence of their new found freedom follow- ing the World War. The Twentieth Amendment, providing for the inauguration of the president in January and eliminating the Lame Duck” session

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8 THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC JUNE 1934 cies of governmental policy. The great undei ' lying ideals and motivating factors of this new age can be better felt than described. It is with a feeling of pride that we point to re- cent remedial policies and with a great feeling of anticipation that we are looking forward to the great future which lies before us. Let us carry on as nobly the great work of the betterment of our great country as have our fathers. Bernard M. Scully, Jr. TOAST TO THE GIRLS I’ve been asked to give a toast to the girls of the class: to the girls who lent us their homework and borrowed ours, getting A’s while we got D’s and E’s; to the girls who whispered the wrong answer behind our backs and got mad when we did the same; to the girls who made a dull evening duller; to the girls who enjoyed many dances on our feet; to the girls who will be sorry when we separate on June 15th. Here’s to your future health and happiness, may you have as many dates in the future as you had while in High School; may every hour be as full of joy as those spent in the company of the boys; may your boy friend bring you candy every time he comes and may he leave at a respectable hour in a respectable way; may you all succeed in your future profession, opera star, radio star, actress, waitress, bar maid, gigolette, wife, or whatever it may be; may you be as popular with your employers as you have been with your teachers; may you live to a ripe old age and may all your children be prize- fighters. Edward McCarthy. TOAST TO THE BOYS Here’s to the little, and the big and the robust boys of the Class of ’34, Who have spent in Stoneham High School happy- go-lucky days galore; Who have teased us, annoyed us, and pestered And even cheated when they’ve been tested. To tell you the truth — many a book, pay, and teach- er they’ve molested. Of course, in sports they’ve proven their ability — And — believe it or not — some of them even dance with agility, But like an old kerosene lamp, they’re not over- bright. And, frequently they even go out at night! Despite that boys, you’re a peppy gang and true So my toast is — may God speed success and all Good Luck to you! Eleanor Brown. CLASS HISTORY Claire Wells Lives of all great men remind us, We can make our lives sublime And departing leave behind us Foot prints on the sands of time.” What a true reflection for our consideration as we, the class of 1934, pause to reveal our High School history before we answer the call of the greater world. This cosmos has been a human problem for ages past but we, as the younger generation, have been gaining confidence through a steady climb up a rugged mountain whose pinnacle was this gradua- tion which we have just accomplished. We may call our Freshman year the base of this mountain. We started climbing through the dense thicket and beneath tall, dark trees under the appreciated guidance of the Freshman home-room teachers, Mrs. Barnes, Miss Eastman, and Miss Bullukian. The first executive group which actually served as student guides during the days of faltering steps were: Douglas Connor, President; Eleanor Brown, Vice President; Claire Wells, Secretary; and Robert Holden, Treasurer. Betty Boos was the chairman of the social com- mittee, who successfully initiated us into the man- ner of conducting social affairs. We were represented on the Authentic” staff by Claire Wells serving as class editor. At the conclusion of this year we felt a little more accustomed to high school life, with the woods at the base of the mountain less dense and the summit more evident. Possibly our meager beginning would provide a more definite elevation of thought at least. When in September we resumed our climb, we found many new heights to scale. The home-room teachers who aided us were, Miss Garland, Miss Fitzgerald, Miss jJohnson and Miss Bullukian. Election of class officers for this term placed the following in office: President, Donald Blanchard; Vice President, Jane Strobel; Secretary, Thelma Ol- sen; and Treasurer, Douglas Connor. The class ed- itor was Claire Wells and Kathleen Kelly was the chairman of the social committee. This Sophomore year was our first in varsity sports. Several of our boys acquired ability in foot- ball, hockey and baseball, giving fine promise for future years. The Winter Carnival was another event in which we could at least take an active participation. The Sophomores certainly did their utmost to promote this gay but profitable enterprise.