GE SIX
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1940
The Kansan Comments-ships of months of demolition than a harking back to those other regretable days in its history.
PATTER★
EDITORIALS★
The American Way
Transcending in importance individual political views is the need of showing the totalitarian states a democracy united in morale. Until the next election comes up we must forget that we are Democrats or Republicans and make the world realize we are Americans. Until we vote again we must be the united people of the United States. If we are united on all days but election days, there will never be any threat which our democracy cannot meet.
Yesterday the people of the United States registered a heavy vote for the man who lost in the presidential race. The voters will be disappointed, they may have to pay off some election bets, and they will be the butt of the winners' jokes. But they will not be shot for treason, they will not go to concentration camps, and they are not financing a revolution somewhere in the hinterland. This is as good an illustration as possible of the "American Way."
No Malice Forethought
We, in this country, take our elections seriously. But as serious as we are, we do not consider an election a grudge fight, but, rather, as a sporting contest. Now we must call it a good game won and lost and show that this is the UNITED States.
A recent news story which appeared in The Kansan concerning the investigations of two University students carried an unpleasant and unintended connotation that put the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation into a seemingly ridiculous light. As the investigations turned out, the F.B.I. was made to appear over-zealous at a time when the country is a little weary of the continued shout of "Wolf! Wolf!"
Actually, of course, there was no disparagement of the thoroughness with which the F.B.I. operates. Its record, one of efficiency that cannot be rivaled by any other law enforcement body in the United States, was achieved in a large measure due to the perseverance of its operatives in following up just such small details.
Frontier London
Reports that reach this country of an increase in the looting of London's bomb-stripped shops and homes leave a bad impression in the minds of many Americans who have come to have the greatest admiration for the people there in their determined and valiant stand.
Severe penalties have been inflicted upon marauders for even the most trivial "loot" in an effort to curb thefts from unprotected property. A United Press correspondent in reporting the looting epidemic wrote:
“‘Some one should be hanged—quickly.’”
The death penalty for looters was common enough during America's frontier day, and occasionally this old penalty comes back into effect even at the present day, particularly during time of flood or other disaster. That it should become a penalty in London's bombed areas is perhaps more a manifestation of a frontier spirit that has grown amid the hardships of months of demolition than a harking back to those other regretable days in its history.
"Time seemed to have turned back a century in London—to the period when commoners could be hanged for stealing goods worth but a shilling—as the Sunday Dispatch, in an editorial captioned 'Forward the Gallows,' said:
BOOKS★
LETTERS★
EDITORIAL STAFF
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Student Paper of
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence, Kansas
Editor-in-chief Gene Khuin
Feature editor Bill Fay and Mary Luskens
Feature editor Mary McAnaw
NEWS STAFF
Campus editors ... Stan Stauffer and Art O'Donnell
Sports editor ... Bab Trump
Society editor ... Benth West
Photographic editor ... Ed Garch
Wire editor ... Orlando Epp
Makeup editor ... Pat Murdock
Rewrite editor ... Wandalee Carlson
BUSINESS STAFF
Business Manager...Rex Cowan
Advertising Assistant...Frank Broussard
Assistant...Ruth Spencer
Subscription rates, in advance, $3.00 per year, $1.75 per semester. Published at Lawrence, Kansas, daily during the school week. Published as second class matter September 17, 1910, at the post office at Lawrence, Kansas, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS OFFICIAL BULLETIN
Vol. 38 Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1940 No. 38
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.
BOTANY CLUB: Botany Club will meet this evening, Dr. R. H. Beamer will review the 1940 Biological Survey. The meeting will be held in room 417 Snow Hall at 7:15 o'clock - Ronald McGregor, president.
CATHOLIC MEN: Phi Kappa, National Catholic social fraternity, will hold a meeting for all interested in organizing a local chapter in the Pine Room this evening at 8 o'clock.—Albert Protiva.
DRAMATIC CLUB: The Dramatic Club will have a picnic tomorrow afternoon. All members and apprentices should meet at the front of Green Hall not later than 4:30. If unable to attend, please notify one of the officers immediately.-David Watermulder, secretary.
PREMEDICAL STUDENTS: The Medical Aptitude Test will be given in Room 206, Marvin Hall on Friday, November 8, beginning at 1:30 p.m. All premedical students who plan to enter medical school next fall either at the University of Kansas or elsewhere should take it on the above date since it will not be given again this year. A fee of one dollar will be collected from each student at the time of taking the test. Further information if desired may be obtained from the undersigned. Parke H. Woodard.
EL ATENEO: Se recuña el jeuve a las tres y media en 113 F.S. El senor Gerald Banker hablara. Se convida a todos los que se interesen por el espanol.—Merle Simmons.
QUACK CLUB: Quack Club will meet at 8 o'clock this evening in Robinson Gym. There will be a short required business meeting.-Margaret Learned.
SOCIOLOGY CLUB: A Sociology Club sing will be held on Thursday at 7 o'clock in the Union ballroom. Robert Jenkins, Marimba soloist, accompanied by Victor Miller, will be featured on the program. Everyone interested is welcome. Bring your dates.-Patty Riggs.
QUILL CLUB: Quill Club will not meet this Thursday because of the lecture—Mary Elizabeth Evans.
STINKER'S CLUB: An important meeting of Reek No. One of the Ancient and Honorable Society of Stinkers will be held tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock in the Little Theatre, Green Hall. All residing Immortal Odors, Lingering Odors, Arriving Odors, and Departing Odors are asked to be present. All odors are required to wear their sacred pins.—David Watermulder, A.F.D., Immortal Odor.
THETA SIGMA PHI: There will be a regular meeting Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the sky parlor of the journalism building.-Polly Gowans, secretary.
NOTICES★
Mercury Journey--- Planet Will Cross Sun In 5-Hour Trip Nov.11
On the wind-swept peak of Mount Oread, students may celebrate November 11, Armistice Day, as just a chance to sleep late because of dismissed classes, but up in the warless heavens astronomical history will be made. $ \textcircled{4} $
On that date at exactly 2:48 p.m. the planet Mercury will take a trip across the sun in 5 hours and 4 minutes—a speed which would rival the fastest rocket ship of H. G. Well's imagination.
The phenomenon will not be repeated until November 14, 1953, according to N. W. Storer, assistant professor of physics.
For two or three hours, Kansas telescope-gazers will be able to see Mercury moving across the sun. The planet will be on its solar journey until 7:52 p.m., but the sun will have sunk beneath the Lawrence horizon and out of the local astronomers' visions by that time.
During those two or three hours, however, a super-man's eyes will be necessary to view the minute eclipse without the aid of a telescope. Since Mercury is but one-two hundredth the sun's size, the planet will appear no larger than a black dot even
through the telescope's lens.
Mercury's across-the-sun flight is more than interesting—it is important. Several such perfectly-timed phenomena can be used to check the correct speed of the earth's rotation. If Mercury arrives on the scene only a minute or two early, blame can be laid on the planet's over-anxiety to be prompt. If the several timed phenomena occur at the same rate of over-promptness, however, man knows that there is an inconsistency in the earth's rate of rotation. Fixed passage of the stars varies rarely, says Professor Storer.
From his Hill observatory, the astronomy teacher will time the journey of Mercury. Professor Storer says that he is anxious to witness the event since he hasn't been able to see such an occurrence since 1924. Mercury usually makes its expeditions across the sun at 13-year intervals. Occasionally, however, only seven years elapse between journeys.
ROCK CHALK TALK
A philosopher yesterday advised walking as a remedy for that election defeat slump. If his advice was followed, the Kansas prairie must have been thick with hikers last night.
Not only Republicans were defeated yesterday. Beta Theta Pi came out at the zero end of a 6 to 0 football score. Undefeated Phi Gams had something besides presidential election to celebrate last night.
National politics even leaked into Homecoming queen interviews last night. Gamma Phi Greta Gibson was grilled about her Republican activities on the Campus.
Thad Robbins $19 poorer after last night, nevertheless remains a red hot Republican. Phi Delts seem to believe in mind over matter even in politics.
At dinner at the Phi Beta Pi house last night Max Graves, staunch Socialist, rose with dignity to declare, "I regret to admit that it seems Norman Thomas has lost the election."
Harry Brown, Democrat, cracked, "Now, if we could only get some Republicans to say the same."
Interviewers again detoured from expected questions to ask A. O. Ph Beatrice Witt about oil business in Russell.
Purse at its poorest—when a Republican Jayhawker who bet on Kansas against Villanova and Willkie against Roosevelt finds out his high school football team (50 cents 3 to 1) lost its game.
Werner Quizzes Faculty "Experts"
"Information Squeeze," an entertainment feature by a University "board of experts" and songs by the Modern Choir were part of the program of the Topeka University of Kansas Alumni club at its meeting in Topeka last Saturday.
Meeting in conjunction with the state teacher's meeting, the club elected Ray Senate, '34, president; Stuart Campbell, fs'25, vice-president; John Randolph Tye, '39, secretary; and Florence Lemon Compton, '25, treasurer.
Henry Werner, men's student adviser quizzed in "Information Squeeze" a "board of experts" composed of F. J. Moreau, dean of the School of Law; R. H. Wheeler, professor of psychology; Helen Rhoda Hoopes, professor of English; and Bert A. Nash, professor of education.
The following students sang in the Modern Choir, directed by Clarence Peterson, college junior:
Virginia Gsell, Mariam Bartlett, Jean Robertson, Peggy Pat Hennessey, Otto Kiehl, Tom Orr, Harry Patton, Harold McCarty, and Loren Miller.
According to some estimates, the British and French governments are spending 40 per cent of national income on war, and Germany 60 per cent.