Page 2 University Daily Kansan Monday, Dec. 7, 1953
We're Still at War-- It's Our Costliest One
Dec. 7. Twelve years ago today the United States became engaged in the second World War—a war that was never supposed to come about. Many of our fathers fought in the first World War, or the "War to End all Wars," as it was called. And the international scene looks black once again.
But too many of us are seemingly unaware of the biggest, costliest war in American history. It is a war which we are losing, losing not by a small margin, but we are being beaten decisively. American lives are flowing down the drain. Many billions of dollars are being spent in this war, but surprisingly enough, very few of them are being spent to try to stop the war.
But that is all well-known history. The sneak attack by Japanese forces on Pearl Harbor, the fighting in European countries, the alliance with England, France, Russia, the Scandinavian countries and the nations in the Lowlands, and finally, after four long years of fighting, the surrender of Germany, Japan, and Italy, which were then called the "Axis" powers.
We and our allies won both of those wars.
It is the war of manslaughter on American roads, streets, and highways. It is a senseless war, and we are responsible for it. Like no other American war in history, we are being maimed, killed, our families are being broken up, our resources spent.
Drinking is blamed more often than not for traffic deaths, but this writer is of a different opinion. We believe that too many persons driving on America's highways do not realize that they are driving 1953 or 1954 automobiles on highways which were built and designed for automobiles produced at least 15 years ago. American drivers seem to be afraid to "waste" a few moments on the highways in order to make sure that they arrive safely at their destination.
A taxi driver in a large city was recently awarded a prize for many years without having had an accident. When asked the inevitable question "To what do you attribute your success?" he replied in this way. "I drive my cab," he said, "with the idea in mind that every other driver is useless."
We will be more than happy to admit that drinking mixed with driving is a large contributing factor in the outlandish number of traffic deaths. But it is no more a factor than stupidity when behind the wheel of an automobile. Carelessness, from which stems speeding, and even driving while drinking, cannot be measured except by the lives for which it is responsible.
When driving home and back during the Christ mas holidays won't you please "Waste a momen and save a life—maybe your own!"
Farmers Have Had It; City Dwellers Follow
The farmer has known for sometime now that the era of prosperity is over. The squeeze that already has hit the farmers is soon going to hit the city dwellers.
—Ed Howard
Signs of trouble in business are showing up in official government figures. The signs were definite during the month of September and the signs spread further in October and November.
The squeeze comes from declining incomes and rising living costs. Incomes of wage and salary workers are declining. There is less overtime now and factory jobs are not abundant. The cost of living, however, is still going up.
The autumn upturn in trade, usually expected every year, has yet to appear.
The decline in retail sales is being reflected at the producer's end. Factories are not getting the volume of orders and their high shipments are slipping.
Stocks of goods at factories have reached an all time high of $46,400 billion, according to figures received from government agencies.
Weekly production in the automobile industry has dipped from a peak of 162,000 per week to 124,300 per week and is scheduled to decline further.
New construction is down from $36,000 billions per year at the peak to $34,300 billions per year at the present time.
Wages and salaries have declined from $197,300 billion per year at the peak of the prosperity era to $195,-700 now. Factory orders have declined to $22,400 billions per month from $28,300 billion.
Farm cash income has dropped from $38,400 billion in the peak year to $28,300 billion now. The drop in farm income has been the most severe but the decline has been going on longer than in industry and business. —Elizabeth Wolgbemuth.
Letters
To the Editor:
In the emotional haze which has blanketed the football scene at the University of Kansas, one issue, far more crucial than football itself, has escaped critical notice. I refer to the alarming ease with which much of the press and many sincer people have unconsciously applied the cancerous doctrine of guilt by association.
It is as inevitable as it is unfortunate that whenever a football coach in the United States has a losing season certain "Johnny-comelatellys" and "wolves" will demand his ouster. Despicable as this is, it does not automatically make Johnny come-latelys and wolves of all those who, for principles entirely apart from won-lost records, have consistently held the conviction that the coach was misplaced.
The Kansan editors have indeed recognized this truth in a single editorial, but the fact that it has so generally escaped the thinking of sports writers and fans in the area is a frightening illustration of a malignant evil which is sapping the vitality of our democracy.
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler
Our nation and the free world desperately need citizens who decide issues on basis of their merits. 'University students, training for leadership in our democracy, should be especially slow to condemn those who first ascertain the facts and then, regardless of the company into which their convictions throw them, follow what they believe to be right.
Fortunately—and this should be repeated again and again—truth is independent of its adherents. Suppose that all the Johnny-comelatlys and wolves who are demanding a losing coach's scalp should suddenly assert vociferously that water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. Two facts would remain: (1) water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, and (2) all the people who hold that water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen are not necessarily wolves or even Johnnycome-latelys.
C. A. VanderWerf Professor of Chemistry.
University of Kansas Student Newspaper News Room KU 251 Ad Room KU 378
Daily Hansan
Member of the Kansas Press Assn., National Editorial Assn., Inland Dally Press Assn. Represented by the National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Avenue, N.Y. City. Mail Subscription rates: $3 a semester or less. Lawrence's semester lawrence.com. Published in Lawrence, Kan.; every afternoon during the University year except Saturdays and Sundays. University holidays and examination periods. 1910, at Lawrence, Kan., Post Office
under act of March 3, 1879.
Flashbacks in History From the Daily Kansan
A missing bar, a clothes-mending project to help service trainees, a problem involving the jurisdiction of the student court, an informal reception in honor of the new Military Science building, and a KU basketball victory were in the campus news of December, 1943.
10 YEARS AGO
At KU 25 years ago Dr. F. C. "Phog" Allen was worried about short pivot men, auxiliary facilities were set up to handle influenza cases, fashions, and basketball broadcasts made headlines.
Pni Gamma Delta borrowed a bar from Pi Beta Phi sorority to give atmosphere to an El Rancho party, but the girls became suspicious when the Pni Gams claimed the bar had disappeared.
To investigate the matter, the sorority sent Shirley Henry to the Phi Gam house. Asking to see Mrs. Oakes, housemother, she was admitted by a surprised Phi Gam and proceeded to walk through the house looking for the missing bar.
After talking with Mrs. Oakes, she declared the intention of buying the house, and continued to search through the fraternity house.
While Miss Henry was distracting the Phi Gams, sisters in the bond located the bar in a small building nearby and carried it back to the sorority house.
Men in the service training program at the University were advised to contact the Home Economics club, which had volunteered to mend clothes, sew buttons on uniforms, and darn socks for the trainees at their weekly meetings.
An informal reception was held Dec. 10 for the opening of the new Military Science building to honor Col. Karl Baldwin, former ROTC commander who had obtained the land grant for the building, and others who had assisted in the project.
After trailing 11-18 at the half, the Jayhawks came back to defeat the Ft. Leavenworth Flyers 31-27. KU did not score a single field goal in the first 14 minutes. Sparky McSpadden, who hit ten points, led KU scoring.
.25 YEARS AGO
Lack of height in his centers was a concern of Coach Allen in 1928. The University of Missouri was reported to have a 6' $ \frac{1}{2} " $ center, the University of Oklahoma's Shelby stood 6" $ \frac{8}{2} " $ and Nebraska also had tall men. The Jayhawkers had only one man who was substantially taller than six feet.
Auxiliary hospital facilities had to be established to handle influenza cases at the University. A house at 1100 Missouri was converted into a temporary hospital, using bedding from Bell Memorial hospital in Kansas City, Kan., and from Corbin hall. Dr.Ralph Canuteson urged students "to get plenty of sleep and to use a good gargle several times a day as preventatives."
What did the well-dressed collegiate wear in 1928? Instead of raccoon coats, the Kansan said sheepskin coats and leather jackets were more likely to be seen on the campus. Corduroy trousers and a few hats "that had seen better days" were also common. In spite of cold weather girls wore "fimsy hose, and with only a short leather jacket." If the weather were wet girls wore "galoshes, which flop merrily in the wind."
All broadcasts of future basketball games at Kansas State college were banned, M. F. Ahern, director of athletics, said. The small attendance in the Aggie gym was believed caused by radio broadcasting. There were 300 empty seats for the KU-Kansas State game in Manhattan.
POGO