Wells High School - Crimson and Gray Yearbook (Southbridge, MA)

Page 20 text:

JOHN BROWN ' S BODY John Brown ' s Body by Stephen Vincent Benet, is a most interesting account of the Civil War. Although it is not a history, it gives the events of that terrible crisis in the history of our nation. Benet gives us more than pure facts; he gives us the feelings of the North, the South and the West, and the actions of men going to battle. The slave trader could not console him- self with the Bible ' s words that the sons of Ham should be bond-servants. He was haunted by the mass of praying, moaning blacks, who were crowded into the cabin of his ship, which was bound for America. The first step to enlighten these negroes was made by John Brown and his followers. It did not take long for this little band to be defeated and the men put to death, but John Brown, in his little escapade, had aroused the spirit in the heart of every northerner to fight against slavery. In the South, the negroes, lolling, at even- tide around the fire, tried to vision freedom — some, however, were too much afraid to even think of it. The men of the South left their planta- tions, wives and sweethearts to meet the men of the North, who had left their farms, factories and their wives at the hearth of their homes. The West sent pioneers, who, having killed animals, could not fathom the thought of shooting men. So the war raged on, the South continually gaining victories, but the spirit of John Brown drove the Nor- therners on, until they were victorious. What was the good of the Civil War? Among other things, its purpose was to free the slaves, but the question has often arisen and probably always will, whether or not the negroes ' position was bettered. In Spade, ' we have an example of the negro slave. He fled from the South of bond- age, in search of the land of liberty, told of in wonderous tales of the beautiful North. He crossed the river and in a little town so near his south, that he could hardly find food or shelter. When he gained his strength, he was put to work to build roads. Truly, he was paid, but half his pay went to buy his tools, for which he was made to pay twice their worth. To attempt to escape meant beatings more cruel than any southern slave owner ever dared to give. When the war was over. Spade reached the North a broken, tired, hungry old man, who had to plead with his deliverers to get work to pay for his living — a necessity entirely new in his life. The war went on until both sides grew tired of it and the eventf ul day of Lee ' s sur- render came. The negroes had been freed to a life, harder than they had ever known ; the South had gone from wealth to poverty and the

Page 19 text:

THE CRIMSON AND GRAY 13 was watch ' ng Bruce a few yards away. With a very decided shalce of his head, Bruce started on, not looking back. He wasn ' t going to fool with cubs whose mother might be near. He had had experience enough not to. He arrived at the cabin and went to his step again, wishing he had never gotten up In Ihe first place. Well.of all things ! That bear had follow- ed him all the way ! Yes, there he sat, looking at Bruce with the saddest expression, as if to say, Can ' t I stay with you? Bruce was be- ginning to get worried for fear Master Jackie would come out and see him having anything to do with a bear, so he gave a sharp bark of warning to the cub. The cub just looked at Bruce, and then started right for him! Another look came into Bruce ' s face as the cub came on. He cocked his head on one side and wagged his tail ! He got up and went to meet the cub. He lapped its head and lay down beside it. The cub snuggled down beside Bruce and went to sleep with a contented little sigh. Jackie came out and was met by a growl of warning from Bruce. Jackie looked dum- founded at the queer spectacle, and then said, All right, old man. I won ' t disturb you. After that, Bruce and the cub were insep- arable. When the cub grew up, he saved Bruce ' s life many times in the forest, as Bruce had saved his when he was a cub. Margaret Walker.

Page 21 text:

THE CRIMSON AND GRAY 15 Norlhcni industries had been crippled for the lime being. Again the question is asked, Did the Civil War better America? The spirit of John Brown still hovers over our nation and we feel that Liberty for all was Avorth these sacrifices. Mary E. Gable, ' 30 THE CONVENTION OF GOING TO COLLEGE By WILLIAM I. NICHOLS (Atlantic Monthly— October, 1929) Our modern idea is to have a well- rounded education. Any college supposedly accomplishes this. One is expected to major in one subject and take several minor studies to broaden his knowledge. It seems neces- sary also, that one ' s body be trained, and physical t raining requirements completed as well as the courses of Latin or Mathematics. The result of this training is the Greek ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body and the .student is A ell-rounded and ready for a com- fortable life. Some students, however, should not and cannot be rounded, but ought to be left with their own outstanding, irregular points of intei-e.st. Four classes seem to suffer most from the present mass methods — the schol- ars, the artisans, the adventurers and the artists. They arc often persuaded to attend college, and then find themselves in an unna- tural, unsympathetic environment. All college systems cannot fit individuals; even the best plan may be fatal to those not adapted to it. The interests and abilities of these four classes are not academic, and it ceems a wise plan to experiment a year be- fore actually deciding on a college. In this way one discovers his own interests and am- bitions and often useless college years may be avoided. Many have the idea that a college diploma is the only key to success and prosperity. College, if it is the proper one for an indivi- dual, is an opportunity for success, for many it is not. Some enter college to gain technical training for good positions ; others to make contacts which are believed helpful and nec- essary ; others to postpone for four years the proposition of work ; others to engage in ath letics and fraternities and other social ac- tivities; others because everyone is doing it and it is the proper thing; and still others who do it to please the family. The artisan, slow, apparently stupid in History or English, perhaps has secret am- bitions for machinery or forestry in which, if given the opportunity, he woul be success- ful. By attending college, his enthusiasm de- creases and the final result is a failure in col- lege and in his own interests. The activities and interests of the adven- turer call for courage and a brave heart, not an intellectual mind. He is naturally in- terested in a subject which arouses his im- agination and can see no connection between French verbs and flying a plane, or between the treaty of Utrecht and exploring the Vv ildernesses of Africa. College has no courses for creative art, and trains few artists, but often ruins them. One either has to give up his interests to comply with college rules or else he spends his time on artistic interests and finds him- self left out of social activities and fallen back in his studies. Boys are often sent to a college because a relative attended that school. Loyalty to col- lege may be a fine thing, but it seems unfair to send to college a boy who revels in ad- venture and travel, one who delights in sculp- ture and painting, or one who yearns to tin- ker with the mechanism of an aeroplane — merely because his father and grandfather were graduates of that college. Why do not more people consider their personal tastes and desires, instead of has- tily choosing or relying upon others ' deci- sions before spending four wasted years at a college which means nothing to their hopes and interests? This firticle expresses one ' s own case per- haps better than he himself could state it. It brings into consideration the advantages of other schools such as agricultural col- leges, conservatories of music, art schools, aviation schools arnd naval academies, com- pared to those of the regular standardized college. It represents many diflSculties which present themselves when one chooses a place of further education and those things which must necessarily be considered before defin- itely decided. Gwendolyn Monroe, ' 30.