PAGE SIX
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
SUNDAY, JANUAF.Y 26, 1941
The Kansan Comments -- EDITORIALS BOOKS LETTERS NOTI
Some Thoughts For Today
By PAUL B. LAWSON
Dean of the College
YOU may put fifty bullets into a man at one time and not kill him; in fact, you must hit him in one of a few select spots or he will refuse to die. You may infect him with a dozen diseases and expose him to starvation, devastating heat, and paralyzing cold, and still he will live to a good old age. Even extremely old men, their bodies shrieved to skin and bone by old age, starvation, inaction, and the ravages of several varieties of disease, their senses dulled until they lie in death-like stillness with little contact with things around them, still have hearts which refuse to stop. Among all the marvels of biology none is more striking than the determination of the body to live. Despite all odds, all foes, all hells, it hangs on to life. And the individual's will live is only an index of the determination of the entire race.
But stronger and even more wonderful than man's will to live is his determination to live as a free man. Tenacious as he is of life, he is still more tenacious of his freedom. For this no sacrifice has been too great, for this he has always sacrificed even the will to live. Life counts; freedom counts infinitely more. Bullets may kill the former; all the bullets in the world cannot kill the latter.
Which thoughts bring with them a word about today—and some about tomorrow. They tell us clearly and surely that regardless of the confused chapter of 1941 and the bewildering and possibly painful tomorrow, man will never finally submit to the death or the degradation of his essential freedom. That is sunclear. He is determined to believe that "the universe is not a gigantic, ruthless machine; it is not a cemetery of dead values and lost causes; it is not an orphanage of screaming children; it is a place where souls are made and where fellowship is to be established." And this is the determined faith of Americans of all ages, among them the students of today, who, in spite of all that is said about them and their future, particularly by those who do not live with them and look them in the eye every day, have a faith which involves the determination to do their full share in making such a future possible.
Enough has been said by older people of the hopelessness and helplessness of the youth of today, enough dark pictures have been painted not only of their present but of their future plight, enough tears have been poured on their shoulders by the oldsters, enough elderly moans over their sad estate have filled their ears, enough discouraging and wailing words have greeted them hourly, that were it not for the essential toughness of the spirit of today's youth, their elders would have on their hands a whole generation of spineless, dead-panned, hopeless young people spending their days shedding briny tears over their difficulties and in feeling sorry for themselves. These walling oldsters forget that where we are—in either time or space—is not significant compared with what we are; and what we are is solidly tied to the will to live and the determination which must ultimately defeat all foes of freedom.
(1) With faith in the ultimates of life we steel our minds and hearts to face an immediate future which might make strenuous or even terrible demands of us all, proud of the fact that we are ready to do our part.
What then shall we think, how shall we feel, and how shall we act in this today of 1941? May I suggest that;
(2) We train ourselves to feel continuously that the blessings of our democracy and freedom are of extreme value and, therefore, worthy of any price we may be called on to pay to preserve them.
I would not be unrealistic about the future. It has its near and its more distant aspects. We can be more certain about the latter—in fact, about the ultimates of humanity in this world we can be certain. We can also be certain that man's will to live and to freedom will not die either tomorrow or the day after, although we may be very uncertain about the conditions and forces which will face that will, and attempt to destroy it in the days that lie just ahead. Immediate conditions may be painted correctly in very dark hues, no one knows how dark. But even the blackest will not keep man from fighting through to the ultimate realization of his goal, the complete freedom of the spirit of all men.
PATTER★
"To count the life of battle good,
And dear the land that gave you birth,
And dear yet the brotherhood
That binds the brave of all the earth."
"To count the life of battle good,
That binds the brave of all the earth."
"I count life just a stuff
I count me just a stun.
To try the soul's strength on, educe the man."
(3) We bring ourselves to feel that in the fight for freedom of the human spirit we do not only may have a part, but we must have our part. To watch the ball being carried is not as satisfying as it is to carry the ball ourselves. The great Shakespeare knew life and the human spirit when in the king's mouth he put the shouted greeting to a tardy general who came charging up after the hard-fought battle had been won without a general's aid: "Go hang yourself, brave Crillon, we fought at Arques and you were not there."
(4) We remember that each of us counts in changing the world's dark picture into a brighter one. Old people and weak people may sigh for a perfect world; young and vigorous people do not. For what would there be to do in a perfect world? In it there would be "no challenge, no place for anger and pity and effort and sacrifice and achievement and satisfaction and contentment and joy." When the world moves, I am sure that youth is determined to be a chief-mover, and not an onlooker.
In one of the above am I urging that we go to war. I pray God that may never come to our nation. Rather I say what I have said that I may make the three following suggestions to the students of the University of Kansas at this time:
(1) In my judgment your best opportunity to be true to yourself, to your country, and to humanity in 1941, is to stay in school if you possibly can and give yourself the best possible preparation for tomorrow's hard work.
(2) Hold yourself in readiness to do whatever service your government may call you to and to go to any place your government may ask you to go, glad to feel that you are in the right place if your country calls you there.
(3) Don't feel sorry for yourself—in that direction lies paralysis of will and action, and death to happiness. Remember, it is not where we are that counts, but what we are there.
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Vol. 38 Sunday, Jan. 26, 1941 No. 76
OFFICIAL BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Notices due at Chancellor's office at 3 p.m. on day before publication during the week, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday for Sunday issue.
EDUCATION FACULTY MEETING: There will be a meeting of the School of Education faculty at 3:30 on January 28 in room 115 Fraser.—Dean R. A. Schwegler.
ENGLISH MAJORS: Students wishing to enroll in Reading for Honors in English will please see Miss Burnham in 211 Fraser between 9 and 12 or 2 and 4 on Monday or Tuesday, the days of enrollment. Transcripts should be brought if possible.—J. M. Burnham, for the committee.
NOTICE TO ALL STUDENTS; Dr. E. T. Gibson will be available for personal conferences at Watkins Memorial Hospital on Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 5. Appointments should be made at the Watkins Memorial Hospital.-Dr. R. I. Cauteson.
TRANSFERS: Students who plan to transfer from one school of the University to another at the beginning of the second semester should apply for their transfers at the Registrar's Office before January 30.—George O. Foster, registrar.
Spooning Allowed In Old Library
If you lived in the good old days of 1894, you could take your date to Spooner library and study in a private alcove. But probably little studying would be done. Today, though, facilities are improved to handle even the final rush.
The first University library opened in the fall of 1866. J. S. Emery was appointed librarian by the Board of Regents. The library was mostly a mirage then, for it occupied part of a room in the main building.
Gradually, the library grew, and was then placed in the northeast corner of Fraser hall.
William B. Spooner, a relative of Chancellor Snow, left a large sum of money to the University, to be used for a building. The fund was used for a library building; the building is now occupied by the Spooner-Thayer museum. It was dedicated in the fall of 1894.
In 1876, Miss Carrie M. Watson began work in the University library and was librarian from 1887 to 1921. Her interest and work in the library never ceased.
The aloves at Spooner were convenient not only for study but also for twosomes. Soon they were removed and tables set up. Since there were fewer students, juniors and seniors were permitted entrance to the stacks for selection of books. Other issuances were the same as now.
With the smaller number of students, the study rooms were made into seminar rooms, certain subjects in each room. The book capacity was not much smaller than now, but the University soon outgrew it.
When the new library was opened in Setp., 1934, E. H. Lindley announced that the building would be
called the Carrie M. Watson library as a tribute to the faithful librarian. Watson library awaits you. So do finals.
'Hit Parade' Goes Patriotic
The "Hit Parade" program, the college student's text for keeping up on number one songs, has gene patriotic.
Such famous orchestras as Jay Savitt, Charlie Barnett, Jack Teagarden, Ozzie Nelson, Tommy Tucker, and Sammy Kaye will now reach the University campus as they play from various military posts in the United States.
Tommy Dorsey led off the band series last Saturday night when he broadcast from the U.S. marine barracks at Quantico, Va.
Journalism Graduate To Visit Here
Bill Mills, '40, arrived in Lawrence yesterday to spend a few days Mills came from Pittsburgh, Pa., to St. Louis, Mo., last week where he will be assistant district advertising manager and assistant sales promotion manager for the Westinghouse electric company in a 12-state district.
ROCK CHALK TALK
By HEIDI VIETS
But Friday night he took his ocarina to bed with him and got the boys up next morning by piping the "Alma Mater."
Yesterday morning C. H. Mullen, Battenfeld proctor, broke custom by waking the final-worn men with a melody. Usually he takes a whistle to bed with him, blows it at 6:30 to start the day with a shriek.
Betty Meuschke, from 1331 Vermont, known as Wager hall, has found a new cure for colds. The other night she prescribed for herself a hot bath, bed at 7 o'clock with a jar of cold-cure ointment.
She took the bath, turned off the lights, grabbed the jar, and jumped into bed. When she took the lid off the jar, she thought something fell out. Then she stuck in her finger and pulled it out ink-soaked.
She had picked upa bottle of ink by mistake and spilled it all over herself.
Among skiers last Thursday were Margie Hagstrom and Ben Mantz. On a hill sloping down toward Potter lake from the corner of West Campus and Oread, he was showing her how to skim over ridges, she was showing him how to fall down and go bump.
Men who live with Mr. and Mrs. K. D. Holland, 1126 Ohio call their house Sigma Chi Holland. They say their landlords treat them as well as Sigma Chi's.
Last Sunday some twenty Sig Alphs decided to let their beards grow until the Thursday finals end. So earnest were they that they promised each other whoever peeled off his whiskers early would have to also shave his head.
But came the week-end, and the Sig Alph girl friends complained. Friday most of the boys gave up and got out their razors.
Stan Stauffer was the forgotten man of that now-a-memory Valentine queen contest. Directing the contest for the Kansan, he worked and slaved. And at the basketball game, he was all dressed up to give the bouquets to the winners, but Bill Farmer didn't even mention his name.