Page 2
University Daily Kansan Wednesday. Jan. 4, 1956
Guide Needed For Free World
1956. The year of decision?
For those of us who are or will be able to vote it will be. Before the year is finished we will have chosen a President and a Congress to guide the country through another four years. Guide is the word, because the shape of things on the international front promises no pleasure cruise. This in turn means that we no longer will elect just a President of the United States but rather a leader of the free world.
There are those among us who would pursue a policy of isolation—nationalism they now call it. But even advocating nationalism we must think internationally. For the domestic policies we push forward will have effects upon the social and economic well-being of the nations about us. What we do with our farm surpluses affects the bellies of foreign peoples who do not have enough to eat. The tariffs we raise and lower affect markets all over the world.
Yes, like it or not, we are the leaders of the free world and the others, like us or not, look to us for that leadership. They look to us because we have the power, the wealth to combat something they hate even more—Russia and communism. Two ideologies stand on opposite sides of the fence and we hold the sword for one side—placed there by our own progress and initiative.
We pledge allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, but we are also serving the Union Jack of Britain, the Tri-color of France, the Crescent and Star of Turkey, the Sword of Yemen, and Israel's Star of David.
Even here at the University the girl up in the front row is from China. The gentleman in back is from Egypt. Back to their homes they will take an impression of our country and culture, and leave with us a smattering of theirs.
No, deep as our concern may be with farm prices, education, off shore oil, and labor; we must keep in mind that those whom we elect, whether Democrats or Republicans, must be able international politicians. We must be able to sit with Jew and Arab and keep blood off the table. We must keep a finger in the collar of the Chinese Nationalist eager to reconquer the mainland. We must bolster up sagging economies and provide the bulk of aid in mutual defense pacts. We must keep our friends, begrudging as they may be, and seek to win more.
If we fail in this then all domestic issues will not mean a jot as we arm alone against a Communist aggressor. We must maintain our buffer states to freeze the cold war even colder.
The Washington administration and Congress sit not as a central government of 48 states who have a common heritage but at the call of many nations whose institutions and history are as unlike as the languages they speak.
Ours is a bi-cameral world. The administration for one sits in our own capital—the other in Moscow. And when the differences between the two are finally settled a world government will rest in one or the other. Which one depends on the diplomacy of each—or its strength!
.. Short Ones ..
-Dee Richards
We wonder how many students who were assigned term papers over the vacation sat up all night last night completing those masterpieces? There's nothing which gives such personal satisfaction as completely wasting an entire vacation without opening a book.
Judging from a casual observation, it looks like quite a few students got up early Tuesday morning to stand in line for those pretty white 1956 license tags. Too bad the tags don't come complete with KU parking permits.
Maybe it's our imagination, but we've only been back to school one day and it already seems colder than it was all vacation.
One good thing about returning to school is that we will no longer be faced with leftover turkey three meals a day.
Wonder how many KU students made New Year's Resolutions to stop cutting classes? Judging from the looks of most classes, quite a few students broke those resolutions the first day.
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler
"NICE BLIND PATE — LITTLE TOO TALL THOUGH."
... Letters
Editor:
Somehow, I feel the class of 55 failed its hallowed trust of "leaving the University a better place than we found it." I refer, specifically, to our failure to somehow, someway, restore Christmas to KU.
In our years there, strange and fanciful abominations, created by realists who confused Christmas trees with the Virgin Mary, blossomed at Yuletide in Strong Rotunda. These horrors, as far from good, old-fashioned, greenery is Salvador Dali is from Grandma Moses, ruined Christmas after Christmas at KU—at least for this writer and most of her acquaintances.
Gosh golly darn, we should have done something about it.
We tried. But a quick perusal of Marion McCoy's well-put remarks on the latest design department effort showed our heart-felt utterings were anything but taken into consideration.
Another member of this household (there is only one other. His name is Bob.) ruefully remarked that the Student Council should have done something about procuring a real, honest-to-goodness green tree with many-many colored (not monochromatic) ornaments and popcorn streamers and tinsel and lights (please, no tinted angel hair) and tradition, for heaven's sake.
Letty Lemon Kennedy Class of '55
In your picture supplement of Dec. 19, appeared a ghastly "posed" picture of an automobile accident and paradoxically on the same page the words, "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year."
Or the Kansan should have. Or the Senior Class (so there, Sergeant Parkinson) or Panhellenic or the ISA or SOMEBODY. The Design Department has had its day. Go at it, class of '56.
Editor:
This is a typical example of the actual trend (used all over the world) to prevent accidents. It consists of showing to the public "uncalled-for" pictures of the most horrid and macabre death scenes, which would turn the stomach of any butcher.
This method is working like a burning candle, attracting moths to be burned. The bad news is printed big; the good deeds if they are mentioned, are hidden among commercials. The result of all this is a deformed vision of life and its values. The task of correcting this lack of equilibrium is very important.
If we do not look at the good side of life it is because the morbid and the sensational attract our attention. It is the law of contrast; in a field of white flowers a red flower is noticeable out of all
proportion, in a church full of people the crying of a baby seems like a tremendous noise, among hundreds of honest or careful people a corrupted politician, a murderer, or a careless person monoilizes all the interest.
This approach of "Negativism" is unfortunately also taken by education, and we are offered many courses like "Abnormal Psychology." "Social Disorganization," etc. Why could we not teach "Normal Psychology" and "Social Organization" to the same degree?
I do not mean that we should disregard abnormality or disorganization, on the contrary, we should know about them in order to fight the anxiety which they bring about, but let us know EQUALLY well about organization and normality. This would be the best defensive weapon that we could use to prevent the alarming wave of uneasiness and mishaps.
Mike Cardenas, Graduate student
Where's The President?
DES MOINES, Iowa (U,P)—Des Moines has its own "White House" on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a large, old house the Des Moines chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous bought for its clubrooms. Some members painted the 19th century brick house white. The address: 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (U.P.)—Asked by an out-of-town friend where he lived, two-year-old Park Caron answered, "South Bend, Channel 34."
This TV Age
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas Student Newspaper News Room, KU 251, Ad Room, KU 368 Member of the Inland Daily Press association. Association. Represented by the National Advertising service, 420 Madison Ave. N.Y. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $5 a semester at Lawrence and Lawrence). Published at Lawrence Kan., every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and Sundays. University holidays and examinations. Email address: emily@lawrence.edu. matter, Sept. 17, 1910, at Lawrence, Kan., post office under act of March 3, 1879.
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Gretchen Guinn ... Managing Editor
Sam L. Jones, Marlon McCoy, Dick Walt, Ted Blackenship, Assistant Man-
ual Editor, Bill Millionian City
Editor, Barbara Bell, Millionian City
Editor, Bob Bruce, Telegraph Editor;
Bob Lyle, Assistant Telegraph Editor;
Jane Techovsky, Society Editor;
James Kostka, Sports Editor;
Harry Elliott, Sports Editor;
Kent Thomas, Assistant Sports Editor;
John Stephens, Picture Editor.
Charles Sledd ...Business Manager
Jack Fisher, Advertising Manager; Paul Bunge, National Advertising Manager;
Robert Wolfe, Circulation Manager.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Leo Flanagan ... Editorial Editor
Louis L. Hell, Lee Ann Urban, Associate Editors
Annual Wage Problem Arises
One of the difficult situations facing us this year in labor is the question of adopting the Guaranteed Annual Wage.
If approved by management, G A W would assure the worker a yearly income of 52 full pay checks regardless of lay-offs or business recessions.
Now that wages are high, the most important factor for the worker is that he will have a job the entire year. With the prospect of automation in some industries, the threat exists that some people will be out of a job.
General Motors and Ford Corporations guaranteed workers last June that laid-off workers eventually will be able to draw up to 65 per cent of their normal take-home pay.
Walter Reuther, former president of the UAW was able to convince automobile management to give the GAW when he threatened to call a strike while Ford and General Motors were competing in the production of the 1956 cars.
No one, however, can begin drawing the lay-off wage unless the plan hurdles these obstacles:
1. The payments into the funds must be ruled by the Treasury Department to be a deductible business expense under federal income tax regulations.
2. The payments must be ruled not part of a taxable base pay under the Social Security Act.
The plan received a severe setback in the Ohio elections last November when an overwhelming vote rejected a plan to increase unemployment insurance payments and permit jobsless auto workers to receive state insurance plans.
It appears that many people do not approve the plan because it may cut the incentive to work. However, the solution to the problem will be interesting to follow.
-David Webb
In fact, it's generally an extreme rarity. But there comes a time in everyone's life when some unknown, courageous individual breaks down that almost insurmountable barrier and comes through for the lowly taxpayer.
To this nameless, but certainly courageous group of people, the veterans of the University of Kansas send their thanks and appreciation. The early checks allowed some to leave school ahead of time, others were able to buy a little gift or two for Christmas, and others were able to go home for Christmas. Sam Jones
It isn't often you can say something good about the red tape of the United States government.
During Rep. Errett Scrivner's talk at the CCUN meeting recently he said he wasn't worried about the young people of the country. An enterprising student replied, "We're not either. It's the old people we're worried about."
Through some miracle, the Veterans Administration of Kansas City dropped its identity as a hard-headed nameless group of individuals, go into the spirit of Christmas, and sent out all the checks for veterans going to school four days ahead of time.
We overheard one harried student today who not only couldn't remember what he had learned in class before Christmas, but also was having a great deal of difficulty recalling his class schedule.
This rarity happened on Friday, Dec. 16, 1955. The time was roughly 11 a.m. (1100 military time). The bringers of the good tidings were some unknown but courageous government employees—the mailmen of the Lawrence Post Office.
As if final week wasn't enough to worry about, there's always the Western Civ test to worry about — that is if the student isn't still sweating out the results of the English Proficiency exam.
Early Checks Please Veterans
After today—only 14 more days until final starts. But why worry about grades—t always next semester.