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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1950
The Editorial Page一
'Goodnight, Irene'
Poor Irene! She's told goodnight 1,400 times a minute here in the U.S.A., not to mention her fame in other parts of the world.
When Decca began selling recordings of "Goodnight, Irene" early in July, the song's popularity zoomed. Since then, although other recordings have been made, Decca alone has sold more than 1/4 million platters. According to sheet music and record sales together with jukie box and radio performances, the song is played 8,400 times every hour of the day.
No, this is not a plug for Decca nor for the song hit. But Lawrencites, like everyone else, are daily dropping nickles into juke boxes or turning on radios or just humming to the strains of "Goodnight, Irene." It seems, however, that the song's shotgun popularity may fizzle into a sick-and-tired-of-it dislike. Some critics say it's crazy. Others say it represents Americans' poor taste in music. Still others call it a wonderful tune. Unbiased as to its merits, we do find the background interesting, especially since three separate versions are being voiced.
(1) "Goodnight, Irene" is a favorite of Lead Belly Ledbetter, an old folk ballad singer who many authorities say is the composer.
(2) John Lomax, a collector of folk music, recorded the song 15 years ago for the Library of Congress. Its origin is unknown, although some credit Stephen Foster with, itwhile others say it originated in the taverns of Queen Elizabeth's day.
(3) An anonymous article which somehow crept into a recent issue of the Kansan says the song was written by a convict who sang his way out of two prison terms with "Goodnight, Irene."
"Playing a 12-string guitar accompaniment, he won a pardon from the governor of Texas and later from the governor of Louisiana," the story stated. "He was pardoned in Texas from a life sentence for murder and in Louisiana from a similar sentence for assault with intent to kill."
Those critics who do not enjoy the frequent repetition of this tune which has sped to the top of the popularity scale, may not be so concerned with—how did it start—but rather—when will it end? Well, one composer has already written a song named, "Please Say Goodnight to the Guy, Irene!"
Football's 'Monster'
In Life magazine's rather frank review of conditions in bigtime college football an unnamed athletic director is quoted as saying: "We have created a monster that nobody knows how to slay."
Elsewhere in the piece is considerable detail on the big expense accounts of football at the University of North Carolina and one direct quote from North Carolina's football coach, Carl Snavely.
No sooner had the magazines hit the stand than Snavely was denying that he had said what Life attributed to him. "Ahy part of the conversation he (the writer) got from me is completely distorted and its quotes are utterly inaccurate." About the only thing Snavely didn't deny was that he talked with Life's reporter.
Maybe the coach was misquoted, and maybe, just maybe, the sight of his words in print has reminded him of just how ferocious the aforesaid "monster" can get when people start pointing at its fangs.—St. Louis Star-Times.
Candid Comments
Professor's lecture sidelights: "During the war the persons in the apartment next to my house constantly threw their empty whiskey bottles on my lawn because the honeysuckle vines prevented them from rolling into the street. My son obediently gathered the bottles into a basket and set it next to the garbage can. But my wife protested. She didn't want the garbage collector to think the family had been drinking, so she moved the bottles to the basement—where the meter-readers could see them."
When an elderly woman walked into a German railroad station and asked for a ticket to Russia, authorities decided to investigate. They learned she had just escaped from an insane asylum.-United Press.
"Sure, I like the Republicans," said a professor accused of Democratic tendencies. "I like the Republics just as I like the ancient Greeks or Romans. . . they're about as outdated."
Politicians occasionally intersperse their speeches with sparks of witticism, but even their humorous remarks are slanted toward party lines. Edward Arn, Republican nominee for governor, told an audience in Hiawatha that Democrats apparently have not printed copies of their 1950 Kansas platform.
"I don't blame them," Arn added. "I wouldn't print copies of it either if I were a Democrat."
Saturday's Homecoming queen will have a difficult time matching the delicate beauty of the queen who reigned over a mock homecoming celebration during one of last week's intramural games. The two "queens" will have one discrepancy . . . "Fig" Newton was selected on a voluntary basis.
Chaucer Critics Call Class Vulgar
Dear Editor:
With all due respect to the best judgment of the English department, we dare to question the true value of that ancient vulgarity indoctrinated into our innocent young minds in the course misleadingly entitled, "English Composition and Literature III." We cannot bear the torture of seeing the cute coed sitting between us blush with an unbecoming shade of embarrassment while we sit helplessly.
The truth of the matter is that just because these gems of vulgarity are classically ancient, they do not differ morally from the same classification as our lewd and obscene present day pocket literature. If modern literature of this same repulsive level were to be introduced to our supposedly unoffensive classrooms, it would bring down the wrath and indignation of the board of regents, the chancellor, and the deans of men and women. We maintain that antiquity does not purify obscurity.
Either the nomenclature of this course should be changed to "The Naughty Days of Chaucer's England," or the department should clean it up.
Two Shocked Sophomores
(Names withheld by request)
Dear Editor:
Who's Disgusted?
In a recent letter to the Kansan, a college sophomore said that he was disgusted with two previous letters. Well, if he is interested, I was rather disgusted with his letter.
The first letter he criticized was an unwarranted attack on the World In Crisis lectures. The second was a subtle, satirical dig at the type of thinking that promoted the first letter. In fact, it was so subtle and so well written than Mr. Stanfill and many others could not understand it.
I believe that Mr. (Uncle Henry) Pinault and Mr. Stanfill have somewhat the same views but Mr. Stanfill was unable to get Henry's real meaning. Perhaps this is not Mr. Stanfill's fault. There are so many irrational affirmations of the "American Way of Life" that a satire is easily mistaken for the real thing.
Blaine Hardesty College Junior.
Marion, Ark., (U.P.)—Folks have a right to be confused about the name of a little town about six miles out of Marion.
One Town With Many Names Causes Much Confusion
Highway markers call it Clarkdale, while the railroad station says it's Clarkdale. The service station spell it Clarkdale.
Officially the name was Clarkton until 1910. Then it was changed to Clarkedale, which it should be.
BEAT NEBRASKA
FLYING?
See
FIRST NATIONAL BANK TRAVEL AGENCY
Tel. 30
Sounding Board
If's For Student Voting
Editor's Note: Second in the Kansan's weekly series of guest editorials or interviews of persons able to answer questions of concern to students is the following article by Tom Page, political science instructor. First, the question:
How can 21-year-old students vote in the November election while attending the University?
IF you consider Lawrence (or Sunflower) your home during your college years, and IF you will have lived in Kansas six months and in your present township or ward for 30 days by Tuesday, Nov. 7, you can vote. If you live in Lawrence, you must register by 10 p.m. Friday (this week) at the city clerk's office in the city hall, corner of 11th and Massachusetts. If you live in Sunflower, you must register at the Johnson county clerk's office in Olathe, unless you can find out when the registration books are going to be brought to DeSoto briefly before Friday. IF you do not live in a first or second class city or do not live in the suburban precincts in Wyandotte or Johnson counties, registration is not necessary—simply go to the polling place in your voting precinct on election day.
TOM PAGE
IF you consider some other place in Kansas as your home, you can vote in any Lawrence polling place, but as an "in-state absent voter." If you use this method, you must certify that you meet the same two length-of-residence requirements for that home residence that you would have to meet if you considered Lawrence your home. IF registration is required there, you must have already registered in person. If you don't know the exact township name, or the precinct and ward number, for your permanent home address, write home for it before election day. It must go on the envelope in which your ballot is sent to your home county clerk to be counted. If you don't know the names of the candidates for the U.S. house of representatives from your congressional district, and for your state.
representatives, and for your home county offices—write home for those, too. You must be able to write the exact names of candidates in blank spaces on the special "in-state absent voter" ballot. (Names of statewide candidates, including U.S. senator, will be the only ones printed on this type of ballot.)
IF you have already established legal voting residence in another state than Kansas and wish to continue voting there, you must write to (usually) your home county clerk or city election commissioner for a necessary affidavit forms on which to request an absentee voter ballot from that state. Since the laws of every state vary widely and the processes are frequently slow-moving, you should start this request immediately. IF you have not already voted in your home state, it is usually difficult and often impossible to register by mail and cast an absentee vote.
IF you don't know which candidates to support or which party to support, ask the membersof Young Democrats and/or Young Republicans. You will be overwhelmed with kindness and excellent (no doubt) advice.
If you don't know whether you should really take the trouble to vote, just consider for a moment that you may be voting in place of a young American who won't be voting again—ever.
Phone An Ad, Then Be Glad, With Kansan Want Ad Results.Call K.U. 376.
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