Woodbury High School - Warrior Yearbook (Woodbury, CT)

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12 Closely alliod with poople, as a factor in the success of n nation is government. Britain's government has been very stable, ami since the signing of the Magna Charto, has become more and more dom ocr tic although it still retains the king. This fact, that the government has boen stable, has givon the British faith in the monetary system and they have not beon afraid that if they invested thoir money in business they v ould not bo protected. Thoy also knew that if they were trying out now methods they would not be sot back by overthrows of the government. ThiP confidence has aided them greatly. In natural resources Britain is very rich in valuable ores, from an economic standpoint. It has for minerals, the two most necessary fc:r a nation's welfare; largo deposits of coal 'which will probably last for 500 years and large deposits of iron. Croat Britain is surrounded by water which forms a natural protective barrier against enony attacks. It has many fine harbors and there is good fishing off the coast. It has a chain cf mountains down whioh streams flow, giving it excellent waterpower. Its climate is mild and bracing although it is farther north than the United States. The winds bring moist air to the west coast and make excellent grazing land for cattle and horses. Farther east it is drier. Sheep are raised here and here also are located tho woolen mills. All these resources contribute to England's welfare. Now let us oonsidor Brazil. The people of Brazil wore, until the last few years, largely poor, ignorant, Indian, Spanish, and Portugese mixtures. They were not ambitious, partly due to the warm climate in which they livo. Their government has boen upset and overthrown many timoe. Peoplo with capital do not wish to invest it here for fear of losing it booause of political instability. The land i3 mostly fertile except in tho mountainous regions and deserts. The climate of the highland is agreeable to whites, but most of the lowland is damp and hot. Manufacturing has not been developed, for, although it has a large supply of fine iron ore, its coal supply is very small. All the fuel for manufacturing must be imported. The people of Brazil are not highly enough oducated to work in factories or at skilled labor. These are some reasons why one nation is well dovelopod economically v hile another is only of secondary importance. Japan has few natural resources. However, to make up for this lack it has a very strong government and the people are intensely patriotic. The heed cf their government is the head of their religion. Tho Japanese nation steps in and takes for itself whatever is not nailed down. Thoir standard cf living is very low and labor is so cheap that they can sell their goods cheaper in foreign markets than the local manufacturers and still make a profit despite the tariff. The United States, as a nation, is very well off. It lacks only a few minerals, among which are tin and the nitrates. Wo import other materials such as food stuffs and textiles but if necessary we could become nearly self-sufficient. Our waterways, railways, airways, and roads miJce fast transportation possible. We have fine telephone and telegraph facilities and cur radio system is the best in tho world. Wo havo two long coastlines with many excellent harbors. Our lakes are numorous and are excellent resorts for fishing, bathing, and boating. Although wo possess vast amounts of natural resources, wo do not pccsess everything necessary to cur land. Practically overy bit of coffee and rubber used in this ocuntry is imported from Brazil and other countries. Tin is anothor resource which is imported. In some goods we are cnly partially self sufficient. We import beef from Argintina, linen goods from Great Britain, and silks from France and Japan. No nation is able tc exist as well without the aid cf ther nations as it can with them. Some nations carry on a large

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13 reexport trade. They import raw materials from one country and export the manufactured goods made from these raw materials to other nations. Raw ootton is exported from India to Great Britain ' which in turn experts the cotton goods to Canada, Egypt, Australia, and India. Some nations support themselves by carrying exports and imports. The Netherlands is such a nation; here nearly everything but the soil has been imported. I am going to close with an illustration of the interdependence of industry. A few years ago, the women were introduced to the ide% of bobbing their hair. They took to the idea very strongly much to the dismay of the ccttcn textile manufacturers of New England. Before women bobbed their hair, they wore hair nets. These hairnets v ere, for the most part, made by the people of a certain section of China. When the Chinese no longer had a market for their own goods, they couldn’t buy as much. Since they bought most cf their cotton goods from the cotton manufacturers in New England, the textile mills lest their trade and this aroused their ire against the bobbed hair fad. This is only one of the many thousands of illustrations of the interdependence of business. No matter hew small a business is it is dependent on some other business O cusaeac oment 3c.e ay THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION Ccncetta Ida Rossi The year 1935 is important to us because it marks three hundred years of progress since the founding of Connecticut. Equally important and remarkable is the fact that, three hundred years ago, the ceremony which iB making us so nervous tonight, was instituted. Between votes concerned with the management cf the community cows, the Boston farmers unceremoniously founded cur first high school. The Boston Latin School, as this school was called, reveals by its very name that these hands which voted for it, blistered aS they were from wrenching rocks from stubborn Massachusetts fields, left the succeeding ten generations of young Americans a mental task as hard as their physical one had been, namely, the task of uprooting gerunds from the pages of CaBSar and Cicero as a college entrance requirement. Latin and a little Greek were the only subjects taught in these first schools, to boys between the ages of seven and fifteen, so we can readily see why the whipping post was needed as a stimulus to learning. At this timo there was little distinction between church and state and therefore the school was founded to train ministers and political loaders. Because of this, girls were automatically excluded and only beys of outstanding mental ability v e re eligiblo to attend them. The Boston Latin Grammar School was modeled in almost every respect after the schools in England which a few cf the settlers had attended, so it was not the outcome of an original idoa, nor of a democratic motive. Nevertheless, it was a beginning and the six