Trine University - Modulus Yearbook (Angola, IN)

Page 21 text:

The Life According to You It is quite a common thing for young people to have an easy going idea that their actions do not count; that they are not more than the ripple upon the surface of the water. The fact is every action is a cause which starts a new line of causation. There are no loose links in the moral world. Every deed becomes a link in an endless chain. Doesn’t that place the life which is all before you in a more serious light? If it be true that each one of us is writing a book to be read by others, shall we not strive to make that book true? Let us find the truth and live it. A person may be sincere and yet not be living the truth. There have been persons who have ruined many lives not because they were not sin¬ cere in what they were doing, but because they were mistaken about the truth. It seems a mere truism to say that pub¬ lic service starts with the individual. Com¬ monplace, certainly, but when the world is rocking and human society is shaken to its foundation it is only the commonplace things that count. There are a great many things to do in this world, but the really great thing is to be. The things men do in whatever field they labor are great because of the great¬ ness of soul of their doers. Now if we have met and used our op¬ portunities, the need of our contribution to the issues of real life, be it our own city or elsewhere, have been revealed to us. We are a part of that life just now, and you as students should function as a vital part of it in the future that future which even now calls from the college. And what is that call? Is it something for which we must wait? Is it a deep toned sound to which we must bend a listening ear? Are we standing at the threshold of a half discov¬ ered country which is lifting before us new altitudes of life, liberty and the pursuit of ha ppiness? By no means. The call lies close to hu¬ man need, and our service to that human need we find a worthwhile life. According to you, this life you are living should be right, and ever be true. GEORGE NIEHOUS Seventeen

Page 20 text:

Facts and Gossip This country has undergone many changes during the last few years. Many folks contend that the changes have all been for the worse while the folks who really come close to understanding things in general know that history is in the mak¬ ing. Practically any person who is doing a good job of anything these days will make some mistakes as do a group of associates and the same thing may be said of nations. After a mistake has been committed it usu¬ ally is pretty difficult to do much about it but if one has made a mistake he should en¬ deavor not to make the same mistake in the f uture and, thus, become stronger and bet¬ ter qualified in his undertakings from day to day. Herein comes about the subject of this article, Facts and Gossip. Suppose an individual wishes to become so acquainted with some subject so that he can really talk about the subject intelligently. The best plan would be to make a close study of the situation, studying what the best books or minds have to say and from this study begin to form conclusions. The next procedure would be to find out what the populace thinks about the subject. At once it will become apparent that there will be one or two, maybe several general ideas prevalent. Most of these latter mentioned ideas will be gossip which is entirely worthless to the student, while the remainder of the ideas will most likely be facts. It is a system of facts which constitute real knowledge. Facts are usually recorded in textbooks, re¬ search laboratories and in the worthwhile things of everyday life. Gossip runs ram¬ pant in many newspapers, cheap advertis¬ ing and in common everyday conversation. If you are really endeavoring to educate yourself, learn to sift Facts from Gossip. WILLIAM A. PFEIFER, Dean of Engineering Sixteen

Page 22 text:

Opportunity Awaits Those Qualified It is important that the individual should have some conception of the size of the country in which he lives as well as a knowledge of its resources and the activity of those people who populate the country. The continental area of our country is 3,026,789 square miles. The last census re¬ port gives the population as 130,08 5,000. We are usually presumed to be wealthier in natural resources than any other nation in the world. However, it is possible that we may be exceeded by both the British Em¬ pire and the Russian Soviet Union. We should never forget that we do lack several important metals and minerals among which are tin, platinum, chromite, anti¬ mony, and that we have a meager supply only of manganese, quicksilver, tungsten and nickel. Included in our population are 32,000,- 000 farmers, which represents only two per cent of the world’s farm population, yet we are the world’s greatest agricultural producer. Our industrial workers exceed 31,000,000, which represents about forty- one percent of our adult population. Dur¬ ing 193 8 this group earned $40,000,000,- 000 in wages and salaries, making their av¬ erage annual income about $12 50. Among those in control of this group are over 30,000 managers who earn between $15,000 and $200,000. There were in 1937 reported to be 477,83 8 corporations of which only 5,650 had assets in excess of $5,000,000. Politically we have a strong central gov- enment yet there are 175,000 local govern¬ ing units which are the guarantors of our democracy. As long as these local units continue to flourish, there will be little op¬ portunity for a dictatorship to become es¬ tablished. Among our most valuable resources is the ability for a capable person to acquire a position and to gain prosperity. With this great storehouse of resources, Napoleon would have conquered the world. Gradu¬ ates of 1940, what are you going to do? RAYMON T. ROUSH, Secretary-Treasurer Eighteen