COVE
University Daily Kansan
Page 2
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Friday, March 18, 1955
A Poetry Hour Glance
Every once in a while a few elderly ladies, young coeds, and students come together in the Student Union music room for what is called the poetry hour—which, besides verse—includes free coffee and a comfortable chair.
Verses are read, introduced, and commented upon mostly by professors of the English department. Their programs include modern and old English, American, and foreign poets.
Actually, though, the poetry hour is usually a pretty lonely affair. It seems as though these poetry hours need not be arranged in a special-way. They could just as well be held in ordinary classrooms without coffee, comfort, and publicity—it is usually the same small circle who shows interest in them anyway.
It almost seems as if the University plans the poetry hour with publicity in order to show that there is still interest in poetry even at KU—interest in something besides sports, science, politics, and ears.
The lack of interest in poetry is a result of the fact that poetry doesn't seem to be a medium which can bear the expression of our time.
At least that is the way most of the students apparently think, and they show only an ironical grin when they hear the word poetry.
It must be said that this attitude toward poetry is not quite incorrect as far as the development of our time is concerned. Today poetry is not a language which can be understood by everyone. Old-time poetry must be studied like history or science in order to find, by means of a technical approach, a deeper understanding. Modern poetry becomes more and more a dispute of emotion and thought between the poet and the single reader, the individual.
Yet if these individuals wish to meet together to hear, talk, and read about poetry, they gain much by not meeting under the ordinary circumstances and by preparing and creating a certain atmosphere, which might be a tribute to what poetry was in the past and still is today.
And these people are admirable who stand up in front of the public and read verses and explain how and why they like them. Even if their audiences are small and sometimes mixed, they fill a wide space with their performances. And this is not merely romantic dreamery. It is the love and interest of one of the best arts.
Heike Engelkes
And Back to Formosa
The United States is gambling that a show of force will deter any thoughts the Communists might have of invading Formosa and the Pescadores and that the impulsive Chiang Kai-shek will not provoke the opening phase of a third world war.
The Chinese Communists are continually saying that they are going to attack and that Americans should mind their own business and let Chiang fight his own war.
Sometimes we, too, have the feeling that we ought to let Chiang carry out his plans without our aid. He is not content that we are defending Formosa and the adjacent territory, but he also wants to invade the China mainland. Chiang seems to forget that the United States is not obligated to defend the area at all. He takes the attitude of a tiny belligerent dog that is protected by a screen door from being instantly torn apart by his enemies.
Chiang Kai-shek must be made to understand that if he is to continue to receive U.S. aid, he cannot endanger us or the rest of the world by provoking an international incident like his proposed invasion of Communist China.
The next move is definitely up to the Communists. If the Chinese Reds want peace, they can have it easily. If they want war, they can contrive to get that also.
The United States is committed in this battle to stop Communist aggression, but we should not put ourselves in a position of letting Chiang Kai-shek push us into war.
Gordon Hudelson
"Blastwell tries hard enough to put these hour dances over."
Recent statistics brought out in the Senate committee investigating juvenile delinquency show that 14 million American youth a year have been in trouble with the police.
One Woman's Opinion
Since a large number of these delinquents come from good homes it seems to be necessary to attribute their actions to something other than their family life.
At present the blame is being plopped in the laps of the comic book publishers. From the looks of some of the covers on these comic (or terror) books, they could easily be a bad influence on young minds.
If this is true, American adults certainly aren't setting a good example for the younger generation according to statistics reported last week by the University of California.
The results of the survey taken for the California state legislature showed that almost all children in the fourth to eighth grades read comic books.
But the alarming part reports that 12 per cent of the nation's teachers are comic book fans as are 16 per cent of all college graduates, and 25 per cent of all high school graduates. According to the survey, 41 per cent of all men in uniform during the second world war read funny books.
Twelve per cent ordinarily doesn't sound like a huge number, but it's difficult to imagine that many of the nation's teachers reading comic books. Let's hope they wait until they get out of the class room to read them. Maybe they save money by reading the ones they take away from their fourth grade students.
The 41 per cent of servicemen who read comic books doesn't seem quite so fantastic. At that time they were probably reading anything they could get their hands on. But it does seem rather strange that 16 per cent of all college graduates resort to comic books for reading material.
No wonder grade schoolers don't see anything wrong with reading funny books.
The older generation probably isn't setting the example with "Donald Duck," either. They have no doubt progressed to the "gory comics" by now.
No matter how you look at it, the terror comic books aren't doing anyone much good—unless the publishers are making tremendous profit from them.
If there are such things as "wholesome" comics, readers can get a nice daily supply from the commercial close on Sunday—in color, too.
In other words, why don't they get those "funny" terror-comic books off the magazine stands?
-Lee Ann Urban
Europe leads in coal production, accounting for approximately 45 per cent of the world output; the United States mines approximately 34 per cent, and the remainder is evenly divided between the USSR and the rest of the world.
UNIVERSITY
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas Student Newspaper News Room, KU 251 Ad Room, KU 376 Member of the Inland Daily Press association. Associated Collegiate Press association. Mail subscription to vertising service. 420 Madison ave. N.Y. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a year (add $1 a semester if in Lawrence). Published at Lawrence Kan, every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and Sundays. Subscription periods. Entered as second class matter. Sept. 17, 1910, at Lawrence, Kan.,
Editorial Editor Gene Shank
Ed. Assistants: Elizabeth Wohigemuth.
post office under act of March 3, 1879 EDITORIAL STAFF
Executive Editor...Letty Lemon
Man Editors: Amy DeYong, Ron Gran
NEWS STAFF
Man. Editors: Amy DeYong, Ron Gron-
don, Karen Hilmer, Jack Lindbergh
Nancy Neville
Asst. News Editor Lee Dale
*ports Editor* Stan Hamilton
Wire Editor Tom Lyons
Society Editor Mary Bess Stephens
Editor Ed. Iris Goodman
Feature Editor Dot Taylor
News Adviser C. M. Pickett
BUSINESS STAFF
Business Mgr ... Audrey Holmes
Advertising Mgr ... Martha Chambers
Nat. Adv. Mgr ... Leonard Juren
Clr. Mgr ... Georgia Wallace
Classified Mgr ... James Cazier
Business Adviser ... Gene Bratton
Weather Due to Location
In the last few days, students on the Hill have experienced several kinds of weather, ranging from reasonably balmy to very frigid.
This condition is due to the rather peculiar location of the state of Kansas. Situated as it is between two mountain ranges and with open plains to both the north and south extending in both directions to the sea, Kansas can be readily subjected to the frozen winds of the North Pole and the warm winds of the Gulf of Mexico.
The mountains to the west are the Rockies and to the east are the Appalachians. These two ranges form a natural channel for air currents moving in either direction. They also tend to act as buffers so that the winds moving across the plains cannot spread out and lessen in intensity.
These circumstances are responsible for the wide variations in temperature to which Kansans are subjected. High temperatures can go to such extremes as the 117-degree high of last summer. Lows are frequently below zero.
Under such conditions, it would be valid to assume that Kansans are a hardy and highly adaptable lot. Subjected as they are to all extremes and kinds of weather, adaptability is necessary to carry on normal life. —Harry Elliott
10 DAY EASTER VACATION STARTS APRIL 2
From KC Round Trip (tax inc.)
Tourist 1st Class
Washington D. C. $101.20 126.61
Dallas 55.00 71.06
Chicago 41.80 54.67
New York 114.40 146.85
Denver 82.39
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- Airlines— Domestic— Foreign
- Join the Vacation Club plan for a paid vacation.
For information, itinerary and reservations, call your FAVORITE travel agency.
The First National Bank of Lawrence
TRAVEL AGENCY
Miss Rose Gieseman, Manager
8th & Massachusetts
Telephone 30