ST. PATRICK’S
DAY
THE TWIG
T "
( ST. PATRICK’S
j DAY
\
Vol. IV
Meredith College, Raleigh, N. C., March 13, 1925
No. 15
Norman Angell, Noted Lecturer,
Speaks on International Politics
NOTED ENGLISH AUTlIOmi’Y 0>’ IM’KItXATIONAL POLITICS GIVKS
SEllIES OF TIIRKE LUCTIUKS IVEDAESHAY AND TllUKSDAY
AUTIIOll or ‘‘CHEAT ILLUSION” TALKS AT MEIiKIIITII
Wednesday and Thursday, March 5th
and 6th. a series of lectures was given
in the College Auditorium by Nor
man Angell, celebrated English ex
pert on matters concerning foreign
politics and international relations.
Those who had heard of Mr. Angell and
particularly those who Had read hia
book, 2’he Great Illusion", were rather
surprised at the general appearance of
the man, having expected a bulging-
browed orator of Herculean propor
tions, Instead of the diminutive and
mild-mannered gentleman who lec
tured. Mr. Angell is English by birth,
but was brought up and educated in
France, where he • has many relatives
and friends. He speaks with a notice
able French accent, but in other re
spects seems quite cosmopolitan.
The subject of the first lecture was
“Human Nature and the Management
of Society.” Mr. Angell said: The
voter manages society. He considers
that he needs special training to do
anything else, but for the very im
portant business of running his gov
ernment he votes haphazardly and
without knowledge of what he is vot
ing for. The method of letting every
body vote on everything might have
been all right in the days just after
the Revolutionary War In the U. 'S. A.,
when everyone knew all about every
thing that was happening, but this
procedure is not so good now. Ouv
problems are increased by Instantane
ous communication and other modern
inventions, therefore, we need more
knowledge to vote. Learning is not
synonymous with knowledge in poli
tics, however. It is quite impossible
to please all classes, and not always
desirable to do so.
The decisions of whole nations in
the past have been gross illusions and
have come near bringing civiliziition
down in chaos. These errors were
made in plain facts which were visible
to everyone they are due to the ig
norance of those who made them, and
the ignorance is due to a lack of In
terest. In England a candidate for
an office was popular with the people
because he had married a musical com
edy actrcss, had killed live Germans
and had kicked three goals in a foot
ball game, The people don’t want
their complacent ignorance disturbed.
“Never argue, never complain, never
explain,” is a wise slogan for a poli
tician. This attitude is not very-likely
to better matters in dealing with cur
rency, foreign trade, bad housing, or
unemployment. People prefer to hear
Jackie Coogan and Mary Pickford
speak to hearing benellcial lectures;
they are bored by problems.
The people sometimes, or usually,
do what they think is right, but many
times they have a wrong conception of
what is right. The German people
stood behind their government, Imt
it was wrong. The peace treaty was
the voice of the people but it was
wrong. The facts about it wore as
visible then as now; It was shown
then that the proposed treaty would
be fatal to the financial fabric of Ger
many and therefore harmful to Eng
land. They were interested in hanging
the Kaiser instead of getting financial
mattera on a firm basis.
Some people say that the peace
which was made was the only kind
possible “with human nature what it
is." We have passed the stage where
instinct is an excusable guide for our
affairs. Human impulses ought to be
controlled, not to control us. Civili
zation would fall under another war;
if we cannot check these panics civi
lization will fail.
It is of no advantage to have fifty
million ignorant people vote on a case;
better a few who know what they
are doing. Polities should be raised
from the plane of Instinct and emo
tion to the plane of sense and reason.
Natural leaders are not effective; they
are cast out for what they teach,
If everyone felt the obligation to be
reasonable and intelligent our prob
lems would be solved. “Be good, fair
maid, and let who will be clever,” is
a atatemcnt of very doubtful value.
It takes cleverness to be good. Peo
ple will rise to the occasion if it is
the thing to do. If everyone else does
it. We ought to consider whether
these fine emotions are right or not.
The subject of the second lecture,
which was given Thursday morning,
was “Patriotism for Peace,” War has
its virtues; it usually has noble mo
tives, because men fight for what they
think is right. During war times peo
pie are unselfish: everyone becomes
(Continued on Pan/e lourj
ANNA BELLE ABBOTT
Y. W. C. A. PRESIDENT
DR. POTEAT SPEAKS TO
COLTON ENGLISH CLUB
ANXA IJELLK ABBOTT ELECTED
Y. W. C. A. rilESlDENT FOR
Amid great enthusiasm and excite
ment, Anna Belle Abbott was chosen
to lead the Meredith Y. W. C. A, for
the year l!)25-20 in a meeting of the
Student Body on Monday evening,
March 9. On account of the capabili
ties of the two nominees, It was a
hard task for the students to decide
who they really wanted, but after a
second ballot the office was given to
Anna Belle with a very small margin.
That our Y. W, C. A. will be a suc
cess next year, everyone is assured,
because Anna Celle has the quaUties
that go to make up an odlcer, both as
an executive and as a mixer. She has
l)een a favorite with the student body
since her Freshman year when she
eutored Into all college activities with
full heart. During her Freshman year
she voUuUeerc'd to give her whole life
in service for the Kingdom, Yes,
truly she is a consecrated girl, and one
who is tactful and inlluontlal. She
has impressed the students as having
high ideals and not only having them,
(Cojitinued on i)age four)
int. IIUIIEKT POTEAT OF WAKE
lOKEST COLLEGE ADDRESSES
CLUR
On Thursday night, March 5, 1925,
the “Y” room was packed with mem-
liers of the Colton English Club and
visitors, who had assembled to enjoy
one of the monthly programs.
The president welcomed the visitors
and presented Dr. Hubert Poteat of
the English Department of Wake For
est College, Dr. Poteat spoke on voca
tional training In high schools.
Dr. Poteat began by reading two se
lections, one from a recent speech by
Dr, Bulten, which served as a splendid
introduction or background for his
talk—by giving some important sta
tistics. We now have 700,000 teachers,
300,000 of whom have no training
whatsoever; 100,000 even under twenty
years of age; 200,000 with less than
a high school diploma. Are we will
ing to trust our children, who are to
lie the future leaders of our nations,
to these 300,000 uneducated and un
trained teachers. Our aim should be:
Higher Ideals for the Functions of
Education,
Vocational education has been in
troduced into high schools, to be
taught to our boys and girls by teach
ers who only have a vague understand
ing of the vocation themselves. This
makes vocational training in the high
schools a tragic and criminal mis
take because:
I. It cannot do what it pretends
to do.
(a) Not sufficient time.
(b) No facilities.
It Is impossible for any boy or girl
to muster any vocation in so short a
time. Not only is the time limited
but the child does not have sufficient
background to begin to specialize in
any one or more vocations. The mind
has not been developed. The funda
mental subjects which he needs and
should be compelled to take are left
out of his curriculum. Too early the
student is allowed to pick his course
and choose his electives. What does
a young boy or girl know about choos
ing his or her electives?
II, Vocational education offers
short cuts and easy courses.
Pedagogy is a good thing in lim
ited doses. The student who is too
early allowed to pick hia electives—
before he is capable of sound judg
ment—he naturally chooses the quick
est and easiest ways.
(Continued on Paye four)
Astrotekton Society Presents
Three Act Pl\y
“Peg O’ My Heart”
“PEG 0’ 3IY IIEAIM” PLAYS I'O LARGE AM> EXTIIL’SIASTIC ACDIEXCE
SATURDAY NIGII'I'
AUDIENCE EXPRESSES GREAT DELIGHT IX “PEG 0’ ^TY HEART”
LEONE WARRICK
ELECTED EDITOR OF
TWIG FOR 1925-26
WITH EFFICIENT STAFF AS CO-
WORKERS PROSPECi’S FOR
TWIG AWE BRIGHT
Leone Warrick who has served so
efficiently as Managing Editor of Tin-:
Twitj for this year hus been unani
mously elected EdItov-in-Chlef of Tiiio
TwKi for the year 192C-2C, Miss
Warrick is very well adapted to this
work, as she has been closely con
nected with the publication this year,
and because she has unusual talent
and originality in writing ami journal
istic methods.
Miss Warrick is to be ably assisted
by a staff that has been chosen with
(Continued on paoe three)
Peg has come and—but, no, she
hasn't gone yet, for everyone has her
name on their lips. Peg who? Why,
“Peg 0’ My Heart,” of course—and
Peg’s her name, too, "so it is.”
It was Ruth Leary who impersonat
ed the famous “Peg,” and though the
name of Laurette Taylor has become
almost synonymous with that of “Peg”
in the minds of the world in general,
to us at Meredith, Ruth Leary is a
prominent rival for the fame and the
name of Irish Peg. To say that she
ably interpreted the role is the con
ventional but entirely unsatisfactory
criticism. She was, for the night at
least, “I’eg” herself, and it was only
with diJiiculty that we remembered
that the little girl with the Irish
IjroRue was in reality a 'Southern
Meredithite, who has never even kissed
the blarney stone.
She was undoubtedly the center of
the stage from the time she entered
with Michael and those shoes, till she
leaned her head against the shoulder
of the handsome Jerry ana the audi
ence, especially the feminine portion of
it, uttered a long sigh.
Jerry, was he really a she? It was
really dlsturliing to know that it was
Ruth Bruce and yet be confronted with
the sight of a real he-man. One can
now sec how Phoebe could fall in love
with Rosalind and not suspect the
truth (I have always hitherto doubted
that a little.)
The steadiness and dependability of
Sir Gerald contrasted wonderfully
with the impulsiveness of “Peg.” His
sense of humor was not lacking, as
i’eg observed, but it served more as
a background for her keen and spark
ling wit.
In jjtrong contrast with Jerry was
Alaric, Did you ever see any one who
could talk more and say less? She,
(oh, yes, this is another one of those
feminine he's, Geneva Benthall) didn’t
say or do one useful thing during the
evening and yet no one of the actresses
deserve more praise than she does.
Slie was perhaps the most natural of
them all. (Now, 1 don't mean to im
ply that Geneva is Alaricish but—you
understand). The elllcient way in
which she procured the smelling salts
at ihe end of the second act is worthy
of especial notice.
'Sudie Crcech as Ethel, the daughter
of Die house, showed her usual dra
matic interi)retation. One of the most
dramatic monionls of the entire play
was onactc'd when she renounced her
feeling for Chris and came to the
realization that Peg liad a bigness of
heart and soul that makes her own
look pelly. It was a dillk-uit role to
play, but was very well done.
It is often disputed whether Sudie
or Portia Alderman can show more
dignity when the play denmnds it. I
am still wondering. At any rate, Por
tia surely upheld the dignity and tra
ditions of the Kingsworths. Maybe
English ladies aren’t in reality as aris
tocratic and august as she was last
Saturday night but that's the way we
imagine they are, anyway. Nothing
was lacking, from the lorgnette to the
upraised eyebrows.
The part of Chris Brent, played by
Marguerite Blackstock, was an es
pecially hard one. He was the “vil
lain" and no one loves villains any
more than they do the proverbial fat
man. But whole the sympathy of the
audience was against her, its admira
tion was decidedly with her. The very
fact that her role was one that did
not win the apprbval of the spectators
makes the praise which she received
nmre remarkable.
The solicitor, Montgomery Hawkes,
was played by Margaret Wheeler. She
did very well, although her trousers
a\id stiff collar seemed to be in her
way. For reasons best known to the
writer, further discussion of this char
acter will be suspended.
Clarissa Potea*, as Jarvis, caused
peals of laughter (especially from
Blanche Stokes) whenever she ap
peared. Dr. Bruner’s dress suit fitted
her exactly and she was tlie acme of
unyielding and unbending dignity.
Madaline Elliot made a very charm
ing and very pretty little maid in her
crisp l)lack dress and dainty apron.
We are so glad that dog didn't bite
her,
(Continued on Paae four)
MARY O’KELLY ELECTED
PHILARETIAN PRESIDENT
E'lllS ELE(T MARY O'KELLY
l’l{i:SM»E>T F(H{ YEAR
After electing the other numer
ous ofilcers for tlie incoming year,
the Phis adjourned just outside
the chapel. As there were no ofticers
nominated by the student body, Mary
Alderman ca.st liie ballot for Mary
O'Kelly as president, and the following
other officers: Vice-president, Margaret
Eagles: secretary, Mary Love Davis:
treasurer, Emily Cheek. The marshals
were as follows; Blanche Stokes, chief;
Paige Leonard, Thelnui Gatewood and
Mary Crawford as subs.
Although the excitement was not
felt which is usually prevalent at elec
tions when tliere is conipetitinn, yet
we rejoiced in the election of the olfi-
cers, because we felt sure that the year
l!)2!i-2G would 1)0 a bright one in the
history of the Pliilaretian F.iterary So-
cieiy under tlie capal)le guidance of so
iilie a girl as .Mary O'Kelly has proven
herself to lie. Wo arc sure she will be
a worthy successor to our own Bessie
],ee, wlio by her winning personality
and discreet judgment has made such
a success of the society this year.