The Chemawa American, December 10, 1930, Image 1

CHEMAWA « AMERICAN
Printed at Chemawa, Oregon, and Devoted to the Interests of Indian Education
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 1930
Vol. XXXII
DESERTING THE SHIP
All good sea-faring crafts have their rats—they ap­
pear as a part of the crew. It seems that so long as
there are rats aboard the seamen feel assured of the sea­
worthiness of their craft. When a ship docks and the
sailors see the rats disembarking, they, too, are inclined
to ‘ ‘sign off.' ’ The deserting of the rats is an infallable
sign—and sailor men are as a class firm believers in
signs, good and bad.
A good ship may be likened to success—everybody
wants aboard, rats and all. Success succeeds, they tell
us, and we believe them. Success is always a sea­
worthy craft and never is there a scarcity of people
who want to sail the ship—lots of captains can be
found.
Strange, isn’t it, to note how the world will boost
for a project that has already succeeded? How will­
ing the masses are to give assistance where it is not
needed! But there is great skepticism regarding things
that appear shaky, and often they are shaky only be­
cause of lack of boosting—dearth of enthusiastic sup­
port. Nobody can blame a rat for leaving a sinking
ship, but we can blame a man for abandoning a right­
eous cause, in the final anaylsis of things, simply be­
cause others have not already given it support. Man
should reason problems out and ascertain their merits
or demerits. Many a fine undertaken has died a pre­
mature death because of lack of backing. We see
evidences of this about us every day.
Start something and note your success, especially
if it is new to the age or the place. On the other hand,
observe things that are failing or flourishing about
you. You will be forced to admit that more often
than not the really finer projects go to the wall, while
something not so good will survive. The sentence of
life or death for the two projects lies in the power of
the people and whether one or both appeal to the pop­
ular fancy—whether or not the“Joneses” approve. If
a thing is already a success it is certain that the
“Joneses” have approved and all the sheep in the fold
want through the gate. Why not do your own think­
ing? Why should the masses let a worthy project fail?
The majority are products of the herd formation idea
and they think as the herd—or not at all. Think for
yourself.
Let us get back to earth and consider home matters
for a moment. If Chemawa has a fine band almost every
boy in school will want to play some instrument in it.
No. 14
If we have an unusually good football team it is no
effort to put your finger on young men who are cer­
tain that they can shine as hooters of the pigskin. If
it is a mere matter of a good team of baseball players
nearly every boy in school wants to “go to bat.”
(Continued on page 4)
^outh
OUTH is not a time of life—it is a state
of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks,
red lips and supple knees; it is a temper
of the will, a quality of the imagination,
a vigor of the emotions; it is a freshness of the
deep springs of life. <jYouth means a temper­
amental predominance of courage over timidity,
of the appetite of adventure over love of ease.
This often exists in a man of fifty more than in
a boy of twenty. (^Nobody grows old by mere­
ly living a number of years; people grow old
only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle
the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the
soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and de­
spair, these are the long, long years that bow the
head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.
<LWhether seventy or sixteen, there is in every
being’s heart the love of wonder, the sweet
amazement at the stars and the starlike things
and thoughts, the undaunted challenge of
events, the unfailing chilolike appetite for what
next, and the joy and the game of life. <£You
are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt;
as young as your self-confidence, as old as your
fears; as young as your hope, as old as your
despair. <JIn the central place of your heart
there is a wireless station; so long as it receives
messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage, gran­
deur and power from the earth, from men and
from the Infinite, so long are you young. <LWhen
the wires are all down and all the central place
of your heart is covered with the snows of pes­
simism and the ice of cynicism, then are you
grown old indeed and may God have mercy on
your soul.— Anonymous.
Y