University Daily Kansan
Page 2
Monday, March 9, 1953
Sudan's Freedom Strengthens West
The Sudanese have won their battle for independence—if they want it. A recurrent danger of war in the Near East also would seem to have been tempered by the recent agreement between Egypt and Great Britain over the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
The two countries have been running the Sudan together since 1899. However, in 1929 the British, weary of subversive action, threw the Egyptians out of all practical part in the condominium of the Sudan.
It has been a troubled area since. Friction over the Sudan because of British military rule worsened following World War II. When anti-British and "anti-any foreigner" Mohammed Naguib threw out King Farouk and assumed powers of prime minister, the situation grew tense.
Gen. Naguib's proposed internal improvements met with the favor of democratic nations, despite his dictatorial methods of achieving his ends. But, as a British exchange student on the campus put it, "It remains to be seen as to Naguib's future policy. Will he follow in the steps of another country that started out under a dictator and evolved into a democracy like Turkey—or will he choose to follow the example of Persia and its 'government by assassination'?"
This concern was voiced by the British student, too. "We do have a genuine concern for the South Sudanese in regard to powerful Moslem forces in the North," he said.
Any danger of a minority grasping the reins of government would seem to be dispelled by the conditions of the present statute drafted for the introduction of self-government in the Sudan. It is the result of a 13-man constitutional commission with a British chairman. The statute met with the approval of the Sudanese legislative council.
Foreign Secretary Eden said the British governor-general has been given a special responsibility to insure fair and equitable treatment to all Sudan inhabitants. This, in the three-year interim before complete independence, or whatever the Sudanese elect to do with themselves, should assure equal representation in the upcoming special election.
In that election the Sudanese, eight million strong, have the opportunity to join Egypt, join the British commonwealth, or establish themselves as an independent nation. Whatever their decision, it would seem that a long step has been taken in the direction of enlisting Egypt's aid in the proposed Middle East defense command being framed by the West. —Don Sarten
Short Ones
Probably the biggest factor in Japan losing the second world war was that certain mercenary interests wouldn't stop being mercenary. This same factor may prove serious to the United States if it is involved in another world war. The most recent instance is the New Jersey waterfront firm, the Dade Brothers, which, after obtaining a blanket contract to handle shipments of all materials needed in the North African base projects, spiraled its original contract of $150,000 up to a request for $9 million.
The "body" swaying leisurely in the breeze on the limb of a tree in Fowler grove scared a group of near-sighted students one dark night. The sign beneath the unique advertisement was nearly descriptive of the scared-stiff students' mode of conveyance from the scene—a boot, heel drag method.
POGO
My opinion is that men like the sunset better than sunrise. In business they may like advancement rather than recession, in politics a rising leader rather than a declining one, but in talking about the sunsource-of-life, they like it better when it sets.
Hotel managers and tourist guides invite people to watch the sunset—completely neglecting the sunrise—in capri, Zadar, Lake of Como, on the Riviera, from the Swiss Jung-frau, in Andalusia or crossing the Channel. (In Zadar, Yugoslavia, the sunset is supposed to cause a "green ray" to come out among the islands, but none of the tourists in the group was able to see it. "Only intelligent persons can see the green ray," the guide said. "Sure, I can see it now!" a lady yelled.)
"Sunset in Western Kansas is still nicer," was told by a girl. "Go west to see it, foreign student."
But it is in Kansas that I have seen the purest and tidiest sunsets of my life. No skinny or chubby clouds defrauding men of one hour of sun heat, no bulky mountains concealing the horizon, no sea vapors or volcano smokes altering the colors of the sky. Just the bluish earth with midget hills, the sun covering a third of the horizon with amber cosmetic powder, and orderly above it yellow, azure, blue and two or three golden stars at the top. Preordained, businesslike, modern.
West. Maybe men always associate sunset with west. Maybe Ulysses, the Vikings, and Columbus started thinking about taking a trip west while looking at a sunset. As a matter of fact warriors, followed by merchants and tourists, moved west since the tenth century B.C. from India to Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. They stopped in the Middle Ages—when only Barbarians and Arabians pushed west from Asia—and then they started anew seafaring west.
They rested for a while in New England, Quebec or on the Brazilian coast. Then they looked again at the sunset and decided to move to California, Hawaii, Alaska or Peru. There is only one exception to this sunset-rule: the Bolshevists. They send their soldiers and agents West, South and East, and if they don't like somebody they send him North, to Siberia.
Sunset is also associated with a sense of good will and sympathy. It means the end of a hard day and the hope of a better tomorrow. It invites one to have sweet thoughts, to have fun or at least to sleep and to dream. Nobody will ever know how many billions of men and women decided to marry at sunset—and how many millions decided to divorce at sunrise.
For all these reasons it is so gloomy when it rains or snows, and the sun cannot even say good-bye to the earth after a day of messing around. Al Traldi
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Little Man on Campus by Dick Bibler
"Oh, she has a pretty mouth all right, Worthal—It's just that most freshman girls are a little bashful on blind dates."
McCarthy 'Voice' Probe Will Strengthen West
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy's investigation of the Voice of America broadcasting agency, a move he said was designed to expose waste and mismanagement left over from the Democratic administration, has resulted in a no-holds-barred search for subversives among Voice employees.
Although Sen. McCarthy is often blasted for tactics used in his frequent investigations of governmental workers and agencies, he is to be commended for his intensive drive to weed out unloyal Voice employees.
Dr. Wilson Compton, retiring head of the International Information association, the agency which supervises the Voice of America, recently submitted to the secretary of state several recommendations concerning a reorganization of the Voice of America.
Therefore, it would seem obvious that the United States cannot afford to have persons on the Voice staff who are "pinkish." There is too much at stake for any disloyal citizen to slant the Voice broadcasts in such a way as to strengthen anti-American feelings among people throughout the world.
The information that this country can send over the air waves about the United States and democracy can be one of the free world's greatest weapons in the struggle against communism. Guns and shells can destroy men and equipment, but an idea cannot be destroyed by weapons alone. This is where psychological warfare comes in.
Some of his main points were:
An assurance that the Voice of America personnel are of unquestionable integrity is of tremendous importance since the effect of psychological warfare is often much greater than the results created by material warfare.
1. The entire program should be converted into a series of individual city information programs instead of having all the broadcasts sent from Washington or New York.
2. Broadcasts should be concentrated on nations behind the Iron Curtain. Voice broadcasts to Western nations should be cut sharply, since the primary goal is to hit communism where it can hurt the most-at home.
3. Broadcasts should be limited to straight newscasts.
4. The number of American employees should be reduced. In this way, there would be fewer jobs, but higher salaries could be paid to the essential workers. He points out that a high pay check would attract better qualified men.
Lewis J. McKesson, a former Voice of America engineer, testified before Sen. McCarthy's Senate Investigation committee that the broadcast agency is making a serious mistake by building two 1 million watt transmitters which lie in the magnetic storm belt. If these transmitters were located outside the belt, he argued, they would cost $18 million less and would require 90 per cent less power.
Mr. Compton's suggestions and Mr. McKesson's testimony emphasize that all unessential costs involved in operating the broadcasts should be wiped out in order to pour the money into channels where it can be used to the maximum benefit.
Russia's propaganda system has been far superior to our own. However, a streamlined, effectively operated Voice of America agency can meet this Red menace on even terms.
Sen. McCarthy is out to accomplish this goal. If he and his nations can do so, the Western nations will receive a big shot in the arm. —Chuck Morelock