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University Daily Kansan Tuesday, Feb. 9. 1954
Sen. Douglas A Politician-But of Rare Sort
While Oregon's Sen. Wayne Morse is the only senator to use the title "Independent," that description fits very well the conscientious junior senator from Illinois—Democrat Paul Douglas.
Sen. Douglas is a politician, but one of a rare sort. He realizes that most goals in government must be reached by the occasionally shady devices known as "politics," but at the same time he works to have politics bringing about the best possible government.
Thus, he is often at war with his party. He has a trained eye, which sees first whether something is right or wrong, and second whether the matter is attached to his own or to the opposition party.
When Sen. Douglas made his political debut as a city councilman in Chicago before World War II, he was a constant source of trouble to the other councilmen. They were hardened veterans trained to decide issues with an eye toward personal gain, while he, fresh from a professorship in economics at Chicago university, was full of ideas on how to improve the rotting city government.
Since that time, it has always been the same. In any group he joins, the divisions are like this: Republicans, Democrats, and Sen. Douglas.
Naturally, Sen. Douglas could be expected to lock horns sometimes with former President Harry S. Truman, since Mr. Truman breathes a doctrine of party loyalty.
In 1851, it happened. Sen. Douglas disagreed with Mr. Truman's three nominees for federal judgeships in Illinois. Two of the men, he said, weren't up to the job. The fight which followed brought the attention of the nation to Sen. Douglas, and he began to be watched.
Many had already decided this white-haired fighter was worth watching. When he entered the Senate in 1948, he was one of the few World War II veterans in that chamber. He had left an astounding war record, starting with his enlistment as a private in the Marines. When discharged, he was a lieutenant-colonel, had been wounded twice, had fought in the Pelleieu and Okinawa campaigns, and had been decorated for "heroic achievement in action."
His entrance into the Senate was not the same as his assuming a place on the Chicago city council. He was no longer a bright-eyed idealist; he was instead a dedicated advocate of honesty and economy in government who backed his idealism with a knowledge of how the game of politics was played.
Now, Sen. Douglas sits with the committee on Banking and Currency, and with the committee on Labor and Public Welfare. On both these committees he works to stem government extravagance.
He plays along with the present administration as often as not. On what the "Congressional Quarterly" terms the seven "key votes" of the first session of the 83rd Congress, his vote agreed with that of the majority of the Republican senators four times, and with the bulk of the Democrats only once.
and with the bulk of the Democrats only once
The seven issues:
1. A proposed amendment would have added $400 million to the appropriation for the Air Force. The original request from the Air Force had been trimmed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower from $50 billion to $34.5 billion. Sen. Douglas voted against the additional $400 million, and it was defeated.
2. The Administration asked for $140 million for soil conservation, which figure was up to $195 million by a committee on appropriations. This was acceptable to the Senate, but Sen. Douglas voted against a second increase—to $225 million. The measure was defeated.
3. Sen. Douglas voted with an overwhelming majority—74 to 13—to confirm the appointment of Charles E. Bohlen as ambassador to Russia.
4. The bill for foreign aid called for a $9 billion appropriation, which a proposed amendment would have slashed by $500 million. Sen. Douglas voted no, and the amendment was defeated.
5. On the hectic Tidelands oil dispute, the Senate confirmed the coastal states' title to the submerged lands just off their shorelines. This reversed the measure passed during the Truman administration, which gave the rights to such lands to the Navy. Sen. Douglas voted no on this measure.
6. He also voted against giving the government mineral rights on all submerged lands on the continental shelf just outside the waters titled to the states, but this bill passed.
7. When President Eisenhower asked for a six-month extension of the excess profits tax, in the Senate, the amendment to raise the amount of profit a business man could make before being subject to the tax from $25,000 to $100,000 was debeated. Sen. Douglas voted for it.
He is in favor of a form of compulsory health insurance, but feels that the type now being considered is too extreme. He is in loose accord with the Administration's tax, civil rights, and foreign policy programs.
With his background in economics, he has insight in the matters of labor, big business, and trade that few others have. He draws support from persons in all these areas, and because of his consistent support of public welfare issues draws the backing of many liberals.
Sen. Douglas announced his intention to run for the Senate again just last month. After six years, the voters of Illinois know what they have in Paul Douglas. They should realize that their "obnoxious" junior senator carries their interests, and the interests of the whole country, with a great deal more conscience than any other candidate now on the scene. -Tom Stewart
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler Across the Campuses
Semester Fee Hike to $55 Irks Minnesota Students
While KU students currently are concerning themselves with the kickoff of the spring semester, problems on other of America's campuses keep rolling along like Old Man River.
(Ed, note—The survey referred to evidently did not include KU, where resident fees range from about $75 on up. However, if the average KU student drank as much coffee at Minnesota as he does here we doubt if he would save any dollars by transferring.
At the University of Minnesota a minor furor developed when fees were raised this semester to $55 for Minnesota residents, "just about average for eight Midwest colleges." the Minnesota Daily reported. However, on another page of the some issue of the MU paper a writer complained about the raising of coffee prices from a nickel to 7 cents in the student union.
The Oklahoma A&M Daily O'Colegian editorially advocated a course that might be well received here. "Courses are taught in such fields as home life and marriage . . . but the course we . . . are proposing would deal exclusively in instructing the student how to handle his own tax problems," the editorial said.
A reading period of six days at the end of each semester now is in effect at Connecticut College for
Women. The period of self-directed reading precedes final exams, and courses which regularly meet during the reading period are excused.
Daily Hansan
University of Kansas Student Newspaper News Room KU 251 Ad Room KU 376 Member of the kansas Press Assn., Nahawaii Assn., Associate Collegiate Press Assn., Associated Collegiate Press Assn. Represented by the National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Avenue, N.Y. City, description a $4.50 award; $4.50 a book is semester if in Lawrence). Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University of Kansas university holidays and examination periods. Entered second class matter Sept. 17, 1910 at Lawrence, Kan., Post Office under act
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Letters
To the editor, Daily Kansan
After reading coach Mather's opening speech to his players in the Lawrence Journal-World, I am beginning to wonder how people can continue to give this man their unqualified endorsement.
If this is what KU wants, they're welcome to it. As for myself, I would prefer to spend my Saturday afternoons next fall playing scrabble rather than watch a team like this perform.
So far as I can see, he is interested in one thing—winning, not in the die-for-dear-old-Rutgers sense, but in a cold, efficient, machine-like manner. In fact, Mather's entire attitude reminds me of a machine rather than a human being. Just the phrases he uses reflects the cold, depersonalized approach of the man: "You'll be evaluated." "grade sheets," "urge to succeed with technical efficiency," "get the jobs," "football is a work game," etc. What hath KU wrought? Is this what we want in a football coach?
Yours very truly, Lawrence Townley
The most incredible fact about Mother's speech is its complete lack of idealism, its cold realism, its ignorance of the fundamental purpose of intercollegiate sports. It has been indicated that the purpose of the speech was to acquaint the boys with the coach's gridiron philosophy. Exactly what is this philosophy? Well, in the beginning of the speech he says, "We want to set our goal high." This certainly sounds like a noble utterance until we learn that this "high goal" is to "win them all if we can," get a taste of that sunshine next winter, (Orange Bowl) and "beat everyone we play."
However, since Mr. Townley's letter was devoted to a subject of such widespread interest, we felt justified in running it.
(Editor's note—Mr. Townley's name does not appear in the student or city directory or on the Daily Kansan mailing list. The registrar's office has no record of his enrollment at the University. Usually we make it a policy not to print any letter unless the author can be identified, such as John Doe, college sophomore, or Joe Doakes, Lawrence resident.
Outside of this overwhelming desire to win all of his games, I fail to see any "philosophy" reflected in the speech. There is nothing about character building, courage, learning to take defeat in the proper spirit, sportsmanship. The idea seems to be (quotes are mine): "We have a job to do and that job is to win all our games and be invited to the Orange Bowl. In order to achieve this goal, we will need a smooth-functioning machine with each of the eleven cogs running at top efficiency. As soon as you stop acting like a machine and begin acting like a human being, your IBM tabulation card will be destroyed and another coog will take your place."
The Editor Sez
Hollywood could have picked up some valuable pointers if a representative had attended Friday night's showing of "King Hearts and Coronets" in Hoch auditorium. For there it could have learned the answer to its No. 1 problem, how to snap out of the box office dohrums.
1. A good plot
Our British cousins across the Atlantic proved beyond a doubt that the best way to draw customers and keep them is simply by use of: