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University Daily Kansan
Friday, Nov. 6, 1953
Ike Orders Crackdown On Federal News Ban
Washington—(U.P.)—President Eisenhower today ordered federal agencies to stop keeping unnecessary secrets so that American citizens may "know more of what their government is doing."
The White House, after months of conferences with press and broadcasting representatives and officials of the government, issued a lengthy set of new rules to govern "classification" of federal information. Classification means putting secrecy labels on documents, messages, plans, weapon designs, and such.
The President's new order, effective Dec.15, had three primary provisions:
1. He stripped 28 federal agencies of the power to classify information.
YMCA Receives Chest Benefit
By ELIZABETH WOHLGEMUTH
Editor's note—Fifth in a series of articles explaining organizations receiving benefits from the Campus Chest drive.
The Young Men's Christian association is one of the campus groups receiving 5 per cent of the Campus Chest fund.
The YMCA at KU, although small in number, continues to provide a non-denominational religious program for students, which attracts those who would otherwise not go to the church-related organizations on campus.
The student YMCA is one of 309 YMCA's in American colleges and universities, with a total membership of approximately 125,000.
YMCA work with college students began 76 years ago and has produced a number of leaders in various professions.
"It continues to give the kind of strong religious motive to college students which administrators and others feel is very important in our day," Harold J. Kuebler, associate secretary of the national organization, said.
85 Officers to Aid In Handling Traffic
Additional policemen and highway patrolmen will be brought into the Lawrence area Saturday to handle the increased traffic resulting from the KU-K-State football game.
The Kansas City Auxiliary Police force will furnish 24 men. Topeka will supply six additional police officers and the Lawrence police force of 20.
They will be stationed at intersections to direct traffic from 10 a.m. until game time and again after the game The Lawrence force will block off certain streets around the stadium about 9 a.m. Saturday.
The Highway Patrol will have a force of 35 men in this area Saturday. Ordinarily only three men work near here.
2. He designated 17 agencies and departments, including five of cabinet status, in which authority to put a "secret" label on information would rest only in the hands of the department chief.
Neckwear News
3. He abolished the bottom information classification of "restricted."
Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., who pulled the information program together, said he was convinced the President's new plan was the best method of "attaining proper balance" between the need for safeguarding the government's defense and diplomatic secrets and "the need for keeping the citizens of a republic as fully informed as possible."
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Brownell pointed out that the President's order said a member of the White House staff would be designated to receive and act on complaints. Press Secretary James C. Hagerty said he thought this official would be Bernard M. Shanley, special counsel to the President.
Some reporters expressed to Brownell the fear that instead of releasing information, certain government agencies would now upgrade "restricted" documents to fit the "confidential" classification.
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He said the Eisenhower administration wants to promote a freer flow of information to the people. The new order will have that result.
The agencies stripped of classification authority included the Veterans administration, Federal Reserve Board, Securities and Exchange commission and Selective Service system, as well as such little-known agencies as the committee on purchases of blind-made products.
Homecoming Sales Of Mums Discussed
Plans to sell mums for the Homecoming game were discussed at the YWCA house meeting recently.
The Inter-Fraternity Pledge council will sell flowers in all Greek houses for the YWCA, and the House of Representatives will sell them in all other organized houses. They will be delivered to the houses Saturday morning.
The mums are bronze, yellow, and white and will sell for $1.50 each."
Savant Bewails Geographical Knowledge Lack
Washington (U.P.)—The reason our kids don't know Peculiar, Mo., from What Cheer, Iowa, is that their teachers don't know, either.
This sad commentary comes from Prof. Harland Westermann, who heads up the geography department at George Washington university. His observations largely are echoed by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
The government people say the trouble generally is that public schools have thrown geography into a general heap of subjects known as "social sciences" when it ought to continue separately.
One high-up government official said he is unhappy to report that the study of the maps is chopped off before students reach high school.
Prof. Westerman saw the straw in the educational wind when he asked his college freshmen to name the states in the union.
"Only five per cent could do it," he told me, "and only a couple of these could name three-fourths of the state capitals."
The professor said he was ashamed to admit that some of his kids put down such places as Denver, Sacremento, and New Orleans as states.
"Almost as bad,' he added, "they got the Great Lakes all mixed up, and one of them even made a river out of Lake Huron. Very few of them could locate our great mountains, like Mt. Shasta (Sacramento), Pike's Peak (Denver), and Mt. Rainier (Olympia). It's not a very pleasant thought."
The way Prof. Westermann looks at it, if we could teach teachers who know a little about the map, maybe we could teach the young a thing or two.
"But how can you find teachers, when the future teachers don't learn geography when they are young?" he asked.
The professor thinks it is a good idea to buy the youngsters stamp albums and encourage them to collect stamps from around the world and postmarks from their own country.
"When they get a stamp or post-mark," he told me, "make them look it up in their atlas."
New York—(U.P.) Americans may well be proud of the tremendous accomplishment of their press representatives in covering the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the inauguration of President Eisenhower, and other great events of the last few years, according to Hugh Baillie, president of the United Press.
UP Chief Praises Newsmen For Coverage of Big Stories
In an address to the St. Andrews society last night, Mr. Baillie said Americans have the most complete coverage of news developments anywhere and everywhere in the world, of any people in any country.
The battle for freedom of access to the news at the source goes on, Mr. Bailie said, and in many countries it is a losing struggle because the people are condemned to ignorance which goes along with a blacked-out press. They become subservient to dictators, "and the last thing a dictator wants is a free press."
"But in the United States there has been little restriction of freedom of the right to gather news," Mr. Bailieil said. "In fact, it is at a peak. And if there is the slightest inclination on the part of government officials to dry up news at the source, this is attacked vigorously by the newspaper people, as it has recently been done in Washington where a number of government departments were authorized to hold
"The newspapers, radio, television and news reels all combine to put the American, even though he is sitting comfortably at home, right in the midst of all the great public events as they occur," Mr. Baillie said.
In the case of the atom bomb, for instance, he pointed out that there are very few Americans who have not read complete, thorough and detailed descriptions of atomic explosions and their effect, and that millions of them have actually seen news pictures in the papers and others have heard and seen atomic bomb explosions "live" on their television screens.
back certain news items on the ground of security. These rules and regulations are being greatly relaxed except insofar as genuine security is concerned on matters of national defense."
The relaxation of these rules is entirely due, in Mr. Baillie's opinion, "to the pressure of the working press and the newspapermen in Washington."
The apus, a little desert shrimp, breathes through its feet, swims up-side down, and lives only 40 days after a two-year hatching period. It has the appearance of a miniature horseshoe crab and is of no commercial value.
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DRAKE'S BAKERY
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Tooth
907 Mass.
WESLEY FOUNDATION
Invites You
Sunday, November 8
To Hear DR. W. A.YOUNG, Baker Univ., Discuss
"Is Peace Possible? 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
University Church School Class — 9:30 a.m.
Remember... the Pre-Game Buffet
(12:00 to 1:30) Saturday in the Kansas Room, Student Union
NO RESERVATIONS NECESSARY
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