The Rimrock Echo (Billings, Mont.) 1930-1943, June 01, 1934, Image 2

THE RIMROCK ECHO THE RIMROCK ECHO Published by EASTERN MONTANA NORMAL SCHOOL AT BILLINGS, MONTANA Editorial Staff Mabel Huether, Donna Pefley, Josephine Strawn, Juanita Davis, Joe Weinschrott, Hilton Utterback Faculty Adviser Mary J. Meek EDITORIALS AB.12 WHO WILL FIGHT THE NEXT WAR? It has been predicted that Europe will be in the turmoils of war within the next eighteen months. There is ample foundation for such an asser- tion, for political conditions in Europe are strained to the limit. Mus- solini may be quoted, \From the philosophical and doctrinal standpoint, I do not believe in perpetual peace. Only a bloody effort can reveal the great qualities of peoples and the qualities of the human soul. War is to man what maternity is to woman.\ Let us pause to remind Mussolini that he will not fight the next war. He will only make it. Wars are made by politicians, but they are fought by young men. The present generation of youth, in college and out, will ultimately determine whether or not we go to war. Will these young men fight? There is no question as to their desires. They do not want to fight, but propaganda, military music and sentimental patriotism can move mountains. What youth needs is organization against war. Opinions must be voiced now, while it is possible to form level-headed opinions. Youth must band together against man-slaughter, for no political ma chine in the world can make war without manhood as ammunition. The Columbia Spectator says, \If war does come in this country, we, as students, would throw in our lots with the white-collar slaves, the factory-workers, the farmers, and, united, advance upon the war-makers —the imperialist, the banker, the munition-maker—and smash them be- Every citizen should be ready to do his full part in the services of the community in which he lives.—Horace Mann. Success comes in cans; failures in cants. A STUDENT'S VIEW POINT All great revolutionary and evolutionary movements have been moti- vated by youth. It was youth that carried Bolshevism to a reality; it was youth that led the Cuban revolt; it was youth that fought the Amer- ican Revolution; and it was Columbus' youthful idealism that resulted in the discovery of America. Is youth ready to meet the great economic and political crisis that we are facing today? This is a current question. The Kansas State College Intercollegian believes not. This paper says of our college students, \Nations may withdraw from the League, Europe may totter on the brink of war, strikes may break out in New England, and lynchings may increase in the South—yet the majority of students will be peacefully oblivious to these facts and their implications. If they did happen to learn the facts they would be quite content, promptly to forget them.\ The statements made by his paper are far too true. Many students are not greatly concerned with current issues, but as a member of the student body which is being so highly criticized I should like to defend my colleagues. Not ALL students are sleeping peacefully while Rome burns, and when the call for leadership comes the cream of our students will meet that call with clear-visioned efficiency. The rest of the stu- dents will merely become what the average business man of today is— smug, self-centered, indifferent. The challenge to educational institutions today is not for leadership, because leadership rises from that type of personality that can assert itself in spite of handicaps; but rather for intelligent followers. The students who fail to realize the dramatic age that is developing about them are blind, not because they are indifferent, but because they have never been trained to watch. The same paper that I quoted above goes on to say, \It is a rare in- structor who can teach his course in economics or political science in a way to inspire his students to apply the facts to life situations.\ (I must admit, however, that we have one of these rare individuals in our institution.) The challenge, then, becomes not one for students to meet, but one for teachers, for I would remind our critics of the older generation that we are no more indifferent than their own generation. They have pro- duced great leaders, and so will we. They have produced social slack- ers, and, I'm afraid, we shall do likewise unless they do something about it. Social and economic sciences must become the very backbone of our educational systems from kindergarten to graduate institutions. These students who are being viewed with so much alarm because of their indifference must be educated to become intelligent followers— more intelligent (if I may be so bold) than the generation who has pre- ceded us and who is so harshly criticizing us. We must be trained, inspired, motivated to succeed in meeting economic and political situa- tions in which our parents have failed. A thing done right today means less trouble tomorrow. WHAT ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS? For the last two decades \Federal Control of Education\ has been one of the biggest social issues. Shall the government control our schools, or is our present state and local control satisfactory? And again arises the same old political issue of \State Rights.\ But forgetting the political issue (if it is possible for any American mind to rise above politics) and viewing the problem entirely from the standpoint of better education, what is the best policy? Our present economic system has concentrated wealth at the expense of education in many localities. Montana has felt this sacrifice as acutely as any re- gion. Montana's schools have been closing and shortening terms at a terrific rate. Government control of school finances would certainly enhance educational opportunities in Montana. But what about the more densely populated regions? Shall the steel manufacturer of Penn- sylvania help to educate the children of Montana cattlemen? We gladly leave the issue to be settled by keener minds than ours. Dr. George Strayer, professor of education, says, \The crisis in educa- tion is a matter of more than local and more than state concern. The denial of opportunity for education in any area is a menace to the well being of our nation. We cannot segregate ingorance.\ Less than 40 per cent of the citizens of any state, on an average, are born in that state. A boy denied educational opportunity in Alabama may later bring great expense as a criminal or a delinquent citizen in Minnesota. The condition of our schools is to be viewed with alarm. In the United States nearly 2,000 rural schools failed to open this fall. In hundreds of counties school terms are being drastically shortened. One in every three American teachers is now receiving less than $750 per year, which is the minimum wage scale for unskilled labor under the N. R. A. As teachers we tend, perhaps, to be a little lop-sided on this question. It is an issue which affects not only our ambitions and careers, but our pocketbooks as well. JUST FOR FUN I hope that those who read this issue of the Rimrock Echo will do so with keener appreciation than is customary. It represents the volun- tary effort of half a dozen young people who are not afraid of work; who are willing to spend long hours collecting and writing the news and making up the paper \just for fun.\ Almost all of the staff are carrying more than the usual load of school work, besides a good share of extra- curricular responsibility. When they learned that the paper had to come out on June first, five days earlier than they had planned, not one of them complained about the extra work which had to be crowded into an already busy week. Juanita Da- vis, Donna Pefley, and Jo Strawn have gone through the ordeal of publication all through the year; Joe Weinschrott and Hilton Utter- back contributed to the success of the Razz edition; Mabel Huether is a new comer to the task. To all of them I wish to express my ap- preciation for the fine type of en- deavor which they choose to carry on \just for fun.\ —Mary J. Meek, faculty sponsor. We Are Grateful WAR IS TABOO Recenty 10,000 men, women, and children, representing church, school and social service organiza- Wins of New York City, paraded up Fifth Avenue to Madison Square Garden in an anti-war demonstra- tion, where John Haynes Holmes said to them, \In the prison cell of the conscientious objector there is more honor than on the field of battle.\ As it turned out, the chief ac- complishment of war was to make the world safe for Japan. We wish to express our apprecia- tion to the \Paltzonette\ for the complimentary comment which was made on the Rimrock Echo. The Paltzonette reprinted extracts of Charles Murchie's editorial on \What Does Education Mean to You?\ and some of our liners. The Paltzonette is a monthly pub- lication of the New Paltz Normal School, New Paltz, New York. It is on the order of a small magazine. It is a very good looking publica- tion, artistic, original and full of interesting material, including edi- torials, literary selections, verse, plays and play reviews, book re- views, alumni notes, sports, ex- changes, humor and news. During the week, May 20-25, Mr. Abbott made a tour of the northern and central parts of the state giv- ing commencement addresses, visit- ing Indian reservations, and talking to E. M. N. S. alumni. On Monday, May 1, Mr. Abbott attended the Rotary International at Havre as a local delegate from Billings. He spoke briefly to the delegation on \Individualism and Social Groups.\ On Tuesday he visited the Nez Perce Battlefield, and Wednesday he spent several hours discussing Indian life with the supervisor of the Fort Belknap reservation. Thursday, he visited the Fort Peck dam. He gave his reaction to the situation there in the following words, \The construction which is under way is a thing so immense in scope that a non-technical man can not apprehend its vastness. The progress is so rapid that it might be called an ant-heap of human en- deavor.\ On Thursday evening, Mr. Abbott gave the commencement address to a group of 22, young people in Jor- dan, and on Friday evening he spoke to a class of 24 in Winnett. He reports that many of these young people expressed their de- sire to attend B. M. N. S. next fall. He also tells of interesting encoun- ters with many alumni who were eager for news concerning our school. Eugene Field disposed of a would- be poet who had submitted a verse entitled, \Why Do I Live?\ by writ- ing on the rejection slip, \Because you sent your poem by mail.\ ABBOTT MAKES TOUR