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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1942
The KANSAN Comments...
Can't We Do It Too?
Being University people we should be quick to recognize immediately the importance of defense measures which affect us, or rather—which we may effect.
That is precisely what the University of Cincinnati has done, and our hats are off to that institution! Their plan was to get professors to accept themes and other assignments written on both sides of the paper. Formerly, of course, such a procedure was deemed contrary to all rules of classroom practice.
It isn't silly, either. For those who think it is, let us glance at some figures (figures don't lie, you know.) A recent survey of Cincinnati campus book stores during the three-month period ending December 31, 1941, disclosed that during that time the 10,750 students at the University of Cincinnati bought 200,000 sheets of theme paper.
For this tremendous "bundle for knowledge," the pupils parted with $600. Perhaps that doesn't seem like much, but if we consider it in terms of the nation's 1,300,000 college population, a slice in half amounts to a sizable portion of paper saved.
Paper is becoming scarcer every day—and scarcity results in higher prices. The more we use, the greater the scarcity will be, and the deeper we will have to dig into our side pockets to buy paper. Eventually we may be limited to rougher grades of stock, and think what it'll be like to write a 2,000-word theme on the rough tablets of grammar-school days!
And now the Topeka Capital comes forth with the vital information that natives of Timbuktu put up roosting poles on minarets to serve as resting place for the returning souls of their dead.
Our forces are going to be seriously discommoded if forced to use Little America as a base for operations in the Southern Pacific.
Russia Fighting Our Battles
The success of the Russian armies against Hitler's forces has for several months been acclaimed throughout the world. Many military experts, however, have warned that the Russian successes have not been as great as pictured. Perhaps the world has over-estimated the rout of the Nazis, but it is also possible that the full significance of German reverses has not yet been seen.
First Hitler's spring offensive can never carry the deadliness that his surprise attack of last June carried. At that time he had everything in his favor. The element of surprise, seasoned troops, and better equipment all pointed to an early Russian defeat. But with all these advantages, Hitler's troops failed to reach Moscow or the Caucasus, which contain the oil fields so vitally needed by Hitler.
The German spring offensive faces a more problematic situation. Hitler sacrificed the surprise element which can be all important in modern warfare; secondly, he has suffered tremendous losses in first class men and materials, which he can never replace; and finally, German troops have found that they are not invincible. German morale has suffered still more by America's entry into the war.
Hitler has a defensive line of 2,000 miles to hold while conducting his offensive. To hold this line will require nearly 200 divisions, according to a statement by Major E. W. Sheppard, one of Britain's most highly regarded military authorities. Of these, jackal armies might supply 50, leaving Hitler 50 to 80 divisions, or approximately one and one-half million men to carry on his Caucasus offensive.
Fewer men and poorer equipment will fight for Hitler in the spring. These men now realize that they are not invincible. Russia's victories this winter are going to total more than many of us expected; how much will be revealed in the spring offensive.
OFFICIAL BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Vol. 39 Wednesday, February 25, 1942 No. 92
Notices due at News Bureau, 8 Journalism, at 10 a.m. on day of publication during the week, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday for Sunday issue.
Dr. Frank Nelson, in a lecture 'I Saw Norway Fight Back', 4:30 p.m., Fraser Theatre, Thursday, Feb. 26. The public is invited to attend.-J. H. Nelson, Chm. Comm. on Convocations and Lectures.
CATHOLIC STUDENTS: Rev. E. J. Weissenberg will be in room 415, Watson library, Thursday afternoon from 1:30 to 5 for personal conferences.
DRAMATIC WORKSHOP. Meeting Monday, March 2, at 4:30 in the Little Theatre, Green Hall. Edith Ann Fleming will present plans for casting the Palm Sunday play, "The Terrible Meek." The final report on the all-student spring show will be submitted by the play committee. Please be prompt—Dave Watermulder, president.
PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION: The third Proficiency Examination of the year will be held on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 8:30 a.m. Students who wish to take the examination must register in person at the College Office, 229 Frank Strong Hall, Feb. 23-25. Prerequisites are junior or senior standing and five hours credit in Freshman Rhetoric—J. B. Virtue.
Women's Aeronautical Association will meet at 7:30 Wednesday night in the Pine Room of the Memorial Union Building—Georgia Ferrel.
El Ateneo will meet at 4:30 Thursday, Feb. 26, in room 113 F.S. Slides of the Philippines will be shown and a short play will be given. We expect a large attendance so be on time to get good seats.-Frank Pinet, President.
NEW ADDRESSES FOR DIRECTORY SUPPLEMENT. Students who changed addresses between semesters and who have not reported new addresses to the Registrar's office should file these addresses at once so that corrections may appear in the Directory Supplement.—James K. Hitt, Assistant Registrar.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Student Paper of THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence, Kansas
Publisher ... Kenneth Jackson
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-chief ... Charles Pearson
Editorial associates ... Maurice Barker and
Floyd Decaire
Full Text
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1942 Active Member
Subscription rates, in advance, $3.00 per year, $1.75 per semester. Published at Lawrence, Kansas, daily during the school week and on Saturday and Sunday; entered as second class matter September 17, 1910, to a post office at Lawrence, Kansas, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Rock Chalk Talk
BETTY WEST
Since the appearance of the latest Jayhawk, poor Rex Bailey, assistant instructor in the School of Engineering, has been a wretched man. Rex sat with his brothers of the American Institute of Electrical Engineering for a Jayhawk portrait, and has been regretting it ever since. Because of a little confusion, the name of Mrs. Rex Bailey appeared as a faculty member of the Institute. Rex has no serious objections to his wife belonging to his engineering fraternity, but he would be a little bit more set up about the situation if he were married.
Last night some Teke actives sent two baby Tekes over to the_Chi Omega house to keep guard over these West Campus girls. The signs which they carried with them announced that they were "Herman" and "Vermin" and their pie-pan helmets and broom sticks promised adequate protection. Later in the evening a few unoccupied actives came over to see how guard duty was going, and found that if they yelled "Air raid" in a piercing voice, "Herman" and "Vermin" were only too delitied to scury under cars parked in front of the Chi Omega house. The O.C.D. marches on!
One of the requirements of education week at the Delt house was the gathering and preservation of a gold fish as a gift to each active in the chapter. This naturally led to a goldfish surplus around the Delt house, which led to other things. Buzz Crain named his two little friends Brenda and Cabina, and put them on display in a new and shiny bowl in his room. Last week Joe Laird invited his brothers in for a goldfish swallowing demonstration, the subject of which was Buzz's beautiful Cabina. About half way through the demonstration, (or should we say half way down the demonstration?) Cabina became so uncooperative that Joe renigged on the idea. Now Cabina, having gone through a harrowing experience, swims nervously back and forth in her fish bowl, minus a couple of scales, and with the oomph gone from her lovely tail. Buzz is afraid that she is developing a psychosis.
Quality of Mercy
Education Marches On
that the milk of human kindness still contains 92% butterfat.
Let's get down to cases. Quite often we are forced by sadistic professors to get lessons from books in the reference and reserve rooms at Watson library. Now most of us, being of unsound mind, etc., would wander aimlessly through the pages of said books, extracting little of the pertinent material, except for — and here is where love is on our side. Before we have had a chance to get the book, some person or persons known only to God have gone through the book and underlined every significant statement. Usually they use black pencil, but on occasions resort to red, depending on the significance of the theory being expounded.
In times like these, when the newspapers are filled with tales of man's inhumanity to man, it is well to veer off the beaten track and show that the spirit of selfless sacrifice and brotherly love has not perished from the earth. And, what is more, we do not have to leave the University campus to find proof
Sometimes, when the author of the book has made a valiant attempt to present the truth and fallen a little short of his goal, these unknown knight errants of the higher education fill in the breach with contributions boldly inscribed in the margins. And most important of all, when the author's mind has fallen into error, our anonymous pen pals fearlessly scrawl their refutations in a place where nobody can fail to notice. The basic motive behind such practices has never been ascertained. There can be little or no financial gain. The writers are not seeking glory, because they remain anonymous, neither signing their contributions or leavin gany clues. All that remains is the principle of pure, unblemished charity, a type of charity unparalleled in human history.
Rescue Squad
is not strained
To support the last statement, the following evidence can be cited. In
No Precedent
the arid plains of Asia Minor, in the region ruled over in ancient times by the Babylonians, many curious clay tablets, have been found, bearing a type of writing known as cuneiform. The characters were formed by marking soft clay pads with a chisel-shaped instrument, and then baking the clay into a brick-like hardness. Now it might have been that while the cuneiform writer was out for a short beer, some unknown party crept up and with his potent chisel underlined everything he considered of special interest to posterity. That is, it might have been, but no such tablets have ever been found.
And later on, when the art of writing was kept alive only by monks working in monasteries, many priceless manuscripts were turned out, and are now preserved in the museums of the world that have not yet become military objectives. Now it might have been that while one of the monks was asleep, another monk crept into his cell and underlined selected passages from his manuscript, on penned illuminated refutations in the margins, but no such manuscripts are in existence.
A any rate, the literate world owes an immense debt of gratitude to these "underwriters." We can only look with pity on the poor savages who must use the jungle telegraph as a means of self-expression. Nobody ever shows them what is right or wrong, or emphasizes significant points, which is why they are still savages. It may be that when one of the Rain Forest Pigmies is drumming out false doctrines, one of the boys in the traditionally wet river precincts hammers out a reverberating refutation, but Martin and Osa Johnson have been ominously silent on this point.