Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 29 CLEAN GOVERNMENT. For two years the old, hardened news edi¬ tor of the most sensational newspaper has received sufficient scandal copy to satisfy his most covetous desires. A crisis, unpre¬ cedented but once or twice in the annals of our history, during which the very founda¬ tion of the government were shaken, has been met and let us hope successfully passed. Now we nave reached a point at which we can, with some degree of accuracy, study the causes and circumstances of such a situation and pledge our strength and influence toward making its recurrence impossible. In such a consideration the first question that enters our minds is what effect will be produced upon the average citizen when he learns that his leaders, the men highest ip the councils of his government have not kept their faith. First let us consider the causes attendant upon such a situation. A prolonged period of prosperity tends to breed indifference and to corrupt moral soundness. During the World Wxr men and women forgot their political differences, their dissatisfactions and their stations in life and served with but one purpose in mind—to win the war. Fortunes were made over night; unskilled labor received wages at par with those of skilled and professional men: vast amounts of monev were appro¬ priated with but little regard for their ex¬ penditures and many men whose character and ability were ouestionable obtained po¬ sitions of responsibility in the government. In such an unstable period the drifting awav from the highest ideals of American poli¬ tics is the natural result. About two years ago the two Houses of Congress began « systematic investigation of the executive branch of the government. While the larger number of these investi¬ gations were started in perfectly good faith, nevertheless a good per cent, were merely for political purposes. But we cannot get awav from the fact that in this short space one cabinet officer has been exposed as un¬ worthy to maintain h s country’s honor, two others have been forced to resign because of their connection with this traitor, one Senator has been impeached because of cor¬ ruption in his election campaign and three Congressmen have been arrested on crim¬ inal charges. It may be interesting to note that one of these was the representative of a Kentucky mountain district where hon¬ or is prized more highly than life. Yet this man was accused and tried on the charge of attempting to bribe the prohibition en¬ forcement officer of his state, was found guiltv and sentenced to serve two years in the Federal penitentiary at Atlanta. There are in this country at the present time a large group of people with radicalis- tic communistic ideas biding their time but patiently waiting for an opportunity to make a show of their strength. This fact should inspire every red-blooded American cit ' zen with due consideration of the effects of Bolshevism in Russia, of Communism in Germany, to pledge his whole-hearted sun- port toward the removal of whatever evils may appear in our present form of gov¬ ernment. No truer statement has ever been made than that of Thomas Jefferson when he said that “the whole are of government is the art of being honest.” Our greatest need to-day is for public officials of incor¬ ruptible integrity, unwavering lovaltv and enduring faithfulness to dutv, ready and willing to follow the ideals of such men as W ashington, Lincoln and Roosevelt. Robert Jackson, ’24. (o) AMERICA’S GREATEST HISTORICAL COLLECTION. America’s greatest historical collection may be seen on disnlay at the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. This Institu¬ tion was started in a strange wav. James Smithson, the son of an English Duke, was born n France. He died in Italy in 1829, and willed his fortune, amounting to over half a million dollars, to the United States government to be used in the “in¬ crease and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Thus the Smithsonian Institut ; on was founded, and its first aenuisition was one of Smithson’s own collections, for he was a mineralogist. These collections have been ncreased by gifts, hv purchases, and by expeditions to out-of-the-way places, unt’l the National Museum, in which they are stored, has be¬ come a veritable treasure house. The collections that may be seen there are of various kinds, such as botanical exhibits, mineralogical exhibits, and relics of war. Many articles which remind us of the life and ' career of George Washington may be seen. His christening robe, which was used

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28 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD GRADUATION EXERCISES. SALUTATORY AND ESSAY. Members of th e Board of Education, Teachers, Undergraduates, Parents and Friends:— This evening we must turn our thoughts to a more serious occasion in our High School Life—our Graduation. We are standing at the beginning of a new era in our lives in which many of us enter higher institutions of learning or take our places in the business world. We, the Class of 1924, welcome you and hope that you will enjoy the closing exer¬ cises of our High School Career. The Japanese Problem. The kind of Americans that will inhabit this country in the future depends largely upon the character of the immigrants we aunnt to-day. The hrst interest of every American is to keep his country a decent place to live in. One of the problems be- iore this country to-day is that of restricted immigration with respect especially to the Japanese, We may, on the whole, admire the intelli¬ gence of the Japanese, but we must admit in the end, that all eltorts to combine two different races, in the history of the world, has showed unfavorable results. It cannot be done satisfactorily. The Americans cannot compete with the Japanese. The latter works long hours, he has his wife and children work for him. He eats rice and sleeps but lilttle. He saves his mcney because he doesn’t spend much. And with his savings he buys land in Cali¬ fornia, known as the Japanese Farming Community, and lives there, but he keeps on saving. That’s more than some of us can do. We cannot live as the Japanese do. We would die in a short time, because we would not have the proper kind of food, or because our strength would be overtaxed. For these reasons and others a new Im¬ migration Bill was passed by Congress and was signed by President Coolidge the 26th of last montn. This bill contains a pro¬ vision for the exclusion of the Japanese, effective on the first day of July of this year. The six provisions pertaining to exclusion are:— First—No Japanese resident will be allow¬ ed to bring his family here. Second—Japanese who seek to enter the United States because they wish to study the ministry, will be allowed to come in. Third—The Oriental student is admissible to America if he is over fifteen years of age and “seeks to enter” the United States for tne purpose of studying at a college, seminary, or university designated by him and approved by the secretary of Labor. Fourth—The new Immigration measure is nostile to international understanding. Fifth—The Japanese, who have been liv¬ ing in this country, may return here from a temporary visit to Japan, provided the visit does not exceed one year. Sixth—Japanese officials, tourists and merchants who come to America for a tem¬ porary visit will be admitted. The Japanese do not wish to settle per¬ manently in the countries where they go to earn a livelihood. “If they wish to settle in a foreign land, they should learn to love it as deany as their original home.” The Japanese have been coming in so rapidly that they would soon be dictating to us, and would put many American farm¬ ers and merchants out of business. Last year the California Birth Rate Statistics showed that the Japanese birth rate was 69.4 while the white rate was only 18.1. 1 he Japanese would soon be outnumbering us, if methods were not taken to restrict their entrance to this country. Someone has said “America must not be thrown open as the home for the opprest of all nations, good and bad alike.” We must keep America a decent place to live in ' and the time to act is now! Mildred Orvis, ’24.

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30 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD in 1732, is there, together with his faded uniform which he wore as Commander-in- Chief of the American Army. There is a noteworthy collection of arti¬ cles used in the Civil War. The uniform of General Sherman, and the war saddle and riding boots of General Grant, and the very table on which Grant prepared and wrote out his famous terms of peace with General Lee, are found in this collection. Probably one of the most interesting ob¬ jects to be seen is ‘‘Winchester. ’ the famous horse that carried Sheridan from Winches¬ ter to Cedar Creek, Virginia, in time to reorganize the retreating and panic-stricken Union Army, and turn defeat into victory- There is an interesting story connected with this famous steed. At the death of this well-known charger, his hide was removed and mounted in a life-like pose and placed in the Military Museum at Governor’s Island, New York, where it was soon for¬ gotten. However, in 1923, it was rescued from obllivion and placed in this Institution, where it has a prominent place among the interesting exhibits. The most interesting relic of the Spanish American War is the collection of objects from the battleshin “Maine,” sunk in Ha¬ vana harbor on February 15, 1898. This collection includes the ship’s steering wheel and compass, as well as coins, shells and revolvers which were secured at the time that this famous ship was raised. There is also a department given to scientific collections, which shows, (by models and machinery) the progress of science and invention in the United States. There is the Edison Dynamo which provided the current for the first use of electric lighting. There may be seen also the first heavier-than-air machine to fly by its own power. This machine was planned and built by Samuel P. Lansrly, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and took its first flight on May 6, 1896. In the last twelve months more than 40.000 specimens have been added to the collection, making a total of over 300,000. The majority of these recent acquisitions are relics of the World War. There may be seen the map used by General Pershing and his staff at the American headquarters at Ghaumont, Frame, during our war with Germany. This map shows the location of the allied and enemy forces as they stood on November 11, the day the Armistice was signed. There is a great collection of death-dealing weapons used in modern warfare. Exact models of submarines, full-sized torpedoes, and even the engine of a captured German submarine, together with battle-scarred airplanes; all these tell their silent story. Outside of one of the Museum buildings, excluded from the main exhibits. becuase of its size and weight, is the six-inch gun from which was fired the first American shot in the World War. Such are a few of the exhibits that make the Smithsonian Institution the depository of America’s greatest historical collection. Its value to the nation can hardly be over¬ estimated. If all the former owners of the objects displayed in the museum could come back to life and take their places beside what were once their possessions, most of the famous men and women who have made our nation great—statesmen, generals, scholars, inventors and explorers—would all be assembled there. Raymond Hancock, ’24. -(o)- CLASS MOTTO. “To Be, Rather Than to Seem.” We. the Class of 1924. have seleoted the fol’owing motto—“To be, rather than to seem.” What a fine adage to have in our thoughts as we leave the W. L. H. S. There is an underlying principle in this v otto which we should all trv to follow. If we are always natural and do not try to pretend as w’e go through this wo rld, we will come out victorious in the end, though nerhans there may be trials and troubles to endure on our way. Many people who are genuine and sincere, but unnoticed in the world, envv a popular person, who may heve secured favor and position by appear¬ ing what he is not. How much better it is to be trusted, however, than to win glory through deception. Someone has said “To be trusted is greater than to be loved.” A person is usually judged by what he does and says. What a difficult position one is ip when his true character is discov¬ ered if he has been shamming his way from one th’ng to another. For a time he may ; noarently succeed in his efforts to deceive the public but when he is suddenly put to a te t he fails miserably. The boy or girl who cheats in school is the chief loser. The man or woman who thinks he will “get by” at the expense of someone else will never succeed. Recent disclosures of dishonest