An evening's conversation
Photo by Mike Frederick
Local coffee house a greeting place
"The cheapest coffee and doughnuts in town" are among the boasts of the Fiery Furnace, a weekend coffehouse at Canterbury House, 1116 Louisiana.
The Furnace, after an entrance fee of 15 cents per person, offers free coffee and doughnuts during its weekly sessions.
"Entertainment is what the people bring," said John Weismiller, one of the volunteers who help to run the Furnace Fridays and Saturdays.
According to Weismiller, "what the people bring" may range from folk music and poetry recitation to good conversation. Anyone who cares to, may perform for the Furnace patrons.
The Furnace is officially open from 8:30 to 12:30 p.m., but the Furnace never closes its doors as long as there are people to talk or perform. On nights when a good discussion was underway, the Furnace has been known to stay open until 3:30 a.m. or even to adjourn to a hospitable sponsor's house.
Since its founding four years ago by the Rev. Tom Woodward, an Episcopal priest formerly in Lawrence, the Furnace has had no official religious format, although its sponsor is the Kansas Canterbury Association.
Pot plagues police officers
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that rumors that syndicated crime—aimed at producing and selling marijuana—was moving into Kansas and the Lawrence area were unfounded. They said a Topeka official had been misquoted and there was no evidence to indicate organized crime activities in Lawrence or the state.
"The only type of drug organizations that we have presently are small groups of college-oriented kids getting together and forming what, at most, could be described as a loose organization," a detective said.
The Lawrence officers commented that not one person over 30 has been arrested and that a good percentage of those arrested were both KU drop-outs and non-Kansas residents.
Although Johnson stated that his office concerns itself solely with drugs in Douglas County, the Lawrence detectives said they were kept informed of the movement of couriers carrying dope between Mexico and East coast cities. They had assisted in the arrest of several of these couriers.
"The reason that so many non-Kansas residents and drug couriers are picked up in Lawrence is the neutral attitude of the people and students in Lawrence to drugs. Kansas has become sort of a haven for these people," one detective said.
Student attitudes toward authorities have not changed a great deal, according to the officials interviewed. Both Johnson and the Lawrence officers said most students are willing to cooperate, but a few, embittered by previous run-ins with the law, cause trouble.
Johnson also said that fewer students are willing to turn in acquaintances who are having drug problems than previously.
"It becomes a dilemma for friends of those who are constantly having bad trips. They don't want to squeal on them, yet they know they need help. As likely as not anymore, they will decide to stay away from us," he said.
A University Daily Kansan story stressed the dissention between the various agencies involved with drug arrests. It implied that Lawrence police did all the leg work while the final arrest and all the "glory" went to either the sherriff's department or federal agents.
The detectives dismissed this and said cooperation among federal, military, county and city officials couldn't be better.
"I could pick up the phone right now and have 12 federal agents over here from Kansas City within an hour," said an officer. "If they (the government) has someone working in Lawrence on a given day, they'll advise me of it," he said.
'If we know that a soldier from Ft. Riley has picked up marijuana on a visit in Lawrence we'll call the military police and they'll pick him up when he
Statewide moratorium meeting held in Topeka
Two schools were represented Sunday afternoon at the initial statewide organizational meeting to plan events culminating in the Nov. 15 moratorium marches in Topeka and Washington, D.C.
Bob Swan, unsuccessful 1968 Congressional candidate and organizer for the Topeka march, outlined the goals of the demonstrations as to keep pressure upon the nation for peace, and to teach students of the importance of learning from Vietnam tragedies so that the United States will not make further commitments.
Students from the University of Kansas and Washburn University attended the meeting at the Civic Auditorium in Topeka.
The KU mobilization committee will sponsor several activities including a mass rally at Hoch Auditorium Oct. 30 featuring Pvt. Joe Cole, an organizer of GI's United Against the War in Vietnam, and a panel discussion following President Nixon's Nov. 3
20 KANSAN Oct. 27 1969
Louis Wolfe, program director of the Lawrence Peace Center and coordinator for the Washington trip explained the difference between the national and local moratorium activities as coming from a split of opinion on how to incite public concern about Vietnam.
Although the public is being reached through both local and national demonstrations, the core of coordinators supporting them is essentially made up of the same people and organizations with the common aims of peace, Wolfe said.
nationwide address concerning Vietnam.
Wolfe suggested that attention be focused on interesting participants in the Washington march now because the deadline to charter buses for the trip is Oct. 31.
comes back," another detective added.
Although they meet occasional bitterness from the students who seem to take the arrests personally, the detectives claimed they had no personal grudge against those they arrested.
The KU buses will leave Lawrence around midnight Thursday and will arrive in Washington in time to participate with other Kansas marchers in the Death March from Arlington National Cemetery to the White House early Saturday morning.
"I think they realize we're only doing our jobs. They do their 'thing' when they smoke pot and we are simply doing our 'thing' when we make arrests. They know that smoking pot carries the possibility of arrest. When arrest does come, most of them take it in stride. Likewise, we don't take it personally; the law has been broken and we make arrests regardless of the kind of person we have to arrest," a detective said.
Johnson did not want to comment on what treatment or punishment should be metted out to
drug offenders. He did say that his views coincide with those of prominent doctors in the area.
One of the detectives stated that he felt that those who use drugs are sick and need psychiatric help. Another officer said that taking drugs was "unnatural," similar to drinking in that it was an escape from reality. But the officer emphasized that drinking could be done in moderation while drug-taking couldn't
"In my opinion what should be done is to create a widespread educational program to impress on students just what the effects of drugs are," a detective commented. "I know that something has happened to this country and whether it can be blamed on drugs alone, I don't know. All I know is that drug use is increasing," he concluded.
At Shakey's...
where it all happens!
MONDAY NIGHT IS
"GREEK NIGHT"
BEER
10¢
(light stein)
(Dark stein - 15¢)
BOOMBA-LA-ROOMBA
544 W. 23rd VI 2-2266
SUA invites you to the 1969 Homecoming Concert featuring
Steppenwolf and The Turtles
on
November 8th at Allen Field House
Tickets: 3.50 - 3.00 - 2.50
Available at:
SUA Office, Kansas Union
Richardson's Music Co.
Bell's
The Sound
Information Booth