PAGE SIX
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1940
The Kansan Comments -low the slight Spanish market to get away from them, and it is quite probable that the state department pointed this out to the British.
EDITORIALS
BOOKS★
BILLY, PUT THE KETTLE ON
With the creation of the new office of production management, delegating the power to speed up defense production to a committee of four members, America's greatest peace-time preparedness program at last has the means of doing away with one "bottleneck" that has hampered it from the start: lack of managerial authority.
The new defense streamlining replaces the old commission, which is being retained in an advisory capacity, and places full authority in the hands of William S. Knudson and Sidney Hillman. The other two members at the production switchboard, Henry L. Stimson and Frank Knox, are in a position to coordinate the work of defense to provide for the needs of the country's armed forces.
Knudson and Hillman are both men of proven ability, and although this is the biggest job they have ever undertaken, there can be a definite expectation that the two can accomplish it. "Too many cooks spoil the broth" is an adage that fitted the defense preparations under the scrapped scheme, but with two chefs and a couple of fry cooks the production managers should be able to keep the defense pot boiling.
President Roosevelt, of course, has taken another unprecedented step in creating the new office by executive order. It is a step, however, that was dictated by necessity, for production has run far behind schedule and some industries supplying vital defense needs found themselves almost hopelessly snarled when the program was stepped up into high gear.
Followers of the Graduate Magazine will find in the January number a departure from the magazine's usual form of presentation. The innovation will be the use of a literary style instead of the customary "news magazine" manner.
Topping the list of features will be a paper by Dean E. B. Stouffer, entitled, "Development of Scholarship at the University of Kansas." Dr. Stouffer, who is dean of the graduate school, was recently appointed head of the mathematic department upon resignation of that post by Dr. U. G. Mitchell, who will be on sabbatical leave of absence next semester.
MERCHANDISING MERCY
The British government has at last given the American Red Cross permission to ship food to the starving citizenry of Spain, "free" France, and possibly Finland. This permission reflects a strange example of American pursuance of the "good neighbor" policy. The mercy shipments are a fine example of American generosity, but the probable means of getting British permission is a case of hating to see business, even unprofitable business, get away from us.
The probable reason for even compromise is the possibility of Argentina's selling a few shiploads of wheat to Spain. Americans couldn't allow the slight Spanish market to get away from them, and it is quite probable that the state department pointed this out to the British.
Help for Spain is the price for keeping her on good terms with the British. Our state department has been wanting to give that help, but even Britain has been hesitating to allow Spain to be appeased. The mercy shipments are a small scale compromise.
When it was recently rumored that the United States was to extend credit to fascist Spain, much criticism was directed at the "croquet set" in our state department. Such credit, it was said, was appeasement. The rumor of loans to Spain died down.
LETTERS★
Argentina has been wanting to make barter sales of grain to Spain, and if this had been done it might open up further markets on the continent. It seems important that the starving hordes on the continent eat American grain, even if the American people must buy it from their farmers and give it away.
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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OFFICIAL BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Vol. 38 Thursday, Jan. 9,1941 No.67
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.
CATHOLIC STUDENTS: The Reverend E. J. Wisenberg will be in room 415 in Watson library from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday for personal conferences.Joseph A. Zishka.
I. S.A.: I.S.A. members of Districts II and IV will meet at Corbin hall and Miller hall respectively at seven o'clock this evening to elect District Councilmen and make nominations for council men at large—Charlotte Steel, president.
NOTICE TO ALL STUDENTS: Dr. E. T. Gibson will be available for personal conferences at Watkins Memorial Hospital o nTuesday afternoons from 2 to 5 Appointments should be made at the Watkins Memorial hospital—Dr. Ralph I. Canuteson.
ROGER WILLIAMS FOUNDATION: There will be an important business meeting at 9:45 Sunday morning of the University class. At 6:30 there will be a "Dad" Elliott union meeting at the Union Building. Please attend.-Stanford Splitter, president.
SCHOLARSHIPS: There are a few loan scholarships available for use during the second semester. Applications should be made immediately in Room 1, Frank Strong Hall—Lela Ross, Executive Secretary, Committee on Aids and Awards.
SIGMA XI: The Kansas Chapter of Sigma Xi will hold its regular January meeting in the lecture room of Blake hall at 7:30 this evening. Dean J. J. Jakosky will speak on "Economic Aspects of Geophysical Exploration. There will also be initiation of new members." W. H. Schowe, secretary.
WOMEN'S GLEE CLUB: Tryouts for new members will be held at 4:30 Friday, Jan. 10, and at 4:30 on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in room 306 Frank Strong hall—Irene Peabody, director.
Y. M.-Y.W.: There will be a Y.M.-Y.W. skating party Friday from 9:30 to 12 p.m. Admission will be 15 cents. All Y.M. and Y.W. members are invited.—Helen Martin,
NOTICES★
Pulse of America In English Themes
By United Press
Examination of 10.000 English test themes of Junior College students has convinced Dr. Harvey Eagleson of the California Institute of Technology, that they constitute an "amazing and unutilized source of information on American home life and opinion."
For him they are the "poll of all polls" on what Mr. and Mrs. John Citizen of the U.S.A. are thinking about and doing.
"A poll published recently," Dr. Eagleson said, "revealed that the majority of Americans are not in favor of double movie features.
"I knew that as an established fact two years ago from reading Junior College English test things."
A few of the facts about present-day American thought and trends which Dr. Eagleson has established from his reading of the 10,000 themes are as follows:
The radio has become the chief soruce of entertainment and popular education.
There is a growing boredom among housewives.
The family income is inadequate for comfortable and civilized living.
The American public is becoming increasingly tolerant and liberal
in its religious views, but church- going is declining.
Taste in interior decorating is decidedly improving.
Knowledge of proper dieting is increasing.
There is a hopeful indication that a better knowledge of child training, based on the best principles of modern psychology, gradually is penetrating the American home.
Dr. Eagleson said the themes reveal that the reason why housewives are becoming increasingly bored is that the modern household devices have so speeded and simplified housework and have been so widely disseminated among all classes that the housewife has hours of leisure for which she has not been educated or prepared.
Dr. Eagleson believes that the students of junior colleges represent a perfect cross-section of American social and economic life; that they are adolescents without ideas and opinions of their own and that in their themes they voice largely what they have learned at home.
It is for those reasons he feels their English test themes constitute a veritable reservoir of treasure for educators and others who want to know just what is going on in the average mind in this country now.
ROCK CHALK TALK
Do you know what "symposia" means?
Neither did Marvin Goebel when he read the word on the program planned for the celebration of K.U.'s 75th anniversary. Before he sent the program to be published in the "Alumni Tickler," he dragged out the dictionary and found that "symposium" could mean either a drinking party or a conference discussion.
He is hopeful that the committee intends the latter definition. If not, tsk tsk.
At midnight last night five A.T.O.'s went English. They went down to the kitchen, made a jolly good pot of tea, and settled down to a long bull session. These tea-sippers were Vincent Trump, Mike Guber, Dick Webb, Bill Langworthy, and Jack Meyers.
Later the party was crashed by Page King and Fred Rhoades.
Tuesday night the Phi Psi freshmen threw Otto Kiehl, better known to the pledges as "Lord Grouch," into the shower, turned on the hot water, then threw in a bucket of cold. They recommend this treatment for all hard-boiled actives.
If tea attracts so many people, it's a good thing they didn't have coffee.
Delta Chi's must believe that good things come in pairs. Just before Christmas they pledged a boy who is named Ed Hall, which is also the name of football man Ed Hall, also a Delta Chi.
The crowning feature of this duet came the other day when Ed Hall's name appeared on the stag list for the Kappa party. Of course, each one thinks that he got the bid. To settle the problem, both of them will probably go to the party.
Whenever someone called for Hall, the boys were forced to ask, "Which one?"
Sad tale it was last night when the hospital called Charlene Baker to inform her that her date would spend the evening three, not at the midweek. So now all germs are on her blacklist.
Storer Discusses Navigation Means
Professor Storer first gave an
N. W. Storer, associate professor of physics, discussed "Astronomical Navigation" at the Mathematics colloquium at 4:30 today.
outline of the classical methods of astronomical navigation, of accuracy sufficient to locate the position of a ship at sea within a distance of a mile or less.
The second part of the discussion dealt with recent developments in air navigation. The speaker also exhibited a sextant and other navigation instruments.