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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN, LAWRENCE, KANSAS
SUNDAY, SEPT. 29, 1940
The Kansan Comments -- EDITORIALS LETTERS PATTER
(Editor's note: The Kansan feels that the following article, written by Prof. Raymond Wheeler, chairman of the department of psychology, is of significance for the student reader. From time to time during the year, The Kansan will print editorials and articles written by faculty members in the attempt to widen the scope of these pages.)
Toward Democracy
Anybody who entertains this idea is simply ignorant of history. It so happens that those times in history when socialism and communism have been at their peak have also been times of dictatorships, tyranny, persecution of minorities, inquisitions. In short, from the standpoint of liberalism—defined in its true historical sense—as freedom of the individual, these have been the worst periods of history. They have always been periods of regimentation, lack of freedom of the press, lack of freedom in religion, and either a relimitation or an out-and-out cancellation of the franchise. In other words, communism and socialism are synonymous in history with absolutism in government. They go together. They belong to the pattern that has so often been repudiated by mankind, namely "The Divine Right of Kings"—only the modern version is "Divine Right of the State or Dictators, or of the political party (frequently a minority), that happens to be in power."
I seems to be a popular conception that liberalism in government, or liberalism in the economic and political world, is that condition which furnishes to the individual a certainty of employment and a certainty that in his old age the state will take care of him. This popular concept of liberalism seems also to conclude that capitalism is obsolete, and that the only decent people in the world are the ignorant proletarians. In other words, liberalism seems to be synonymous with a distrustship of the proletarians.
Historically, then, socialism and communism have never been associated with great liberal movements, but with the reverse—the reactionary, decadent, and despotic. Hitler and Stalin and Mussolini are living modernistic forms of such men as Louis XIV, Tammerlain, James II, Charles I, Richelieau, and so on back to the Greek and Roman dictators. Their periods of rule belong to the same place in a repeating phase of political history.
This is something to think about. It helps one to understand what is happening now and what the attitude should be in a college community today. Despotic epochs in history have always been associated with epochs of complacency. Lack of loyalty on the one hand, and fanaticism of the other, go together. They are like depression and schizophrenia in the individual on one hand, and manic phases of behavior on the other. Both conditions are signs of instability, decline and weakness; both presage a coming collapse. There is no need, therefore, of worrying especially about long time subordination to fascism and communistic dictators, nor need there be fear of a permanent world collapse by international war.
Just how long this war will last we cannot tell. But the appearance of communism and dictators is alone sufficient to justify the expectation that, in the not too distant future, governments will be liberalized in the direction of democracy, a broadening and an extension of the franchise once more. Down through history such trends have always been aspects of civil war eras; but, bad as it is, civil war is better than international war, for at such times a nation will leave its neighbors in peace.
Many people make the mistake of clamoring for reform, thinking it is a communistic or socialist state that they want. This is especially true of the laboring classes, and of idealistic youth. It is not communism or socialism they want. It is more participation rather than less participation in the political and social order.
But history shows that this can be achieved only by one method—the democratic way. The minute a society surrenders its franchise to a single party, or to a dictator, with the intent of regulating state affairs for the equal benefit of all, the economic status of the country is gone, the rational debts pile up, freedom is curtailed. There is no such thing in human nature as giving a responsibility of the social welfare to the state without losing the sense of individual responsibility for that welfare. There is no such thing as allowing the state to take over the economy, the religion, the control of the people, without degenerating either into complete lethargy or complete fanaticism. This is a psychological law.
It will take a series of civil rebellions and reforms to
break up our present totalitarian states. These reforms are unquestionably due sometime in the near future, and it should be up to the youth of this country to use all of its moral, physical, and intellectual energy to advertise and promote a democratic movement—a democratic movement with teeth in it—if for no other reason than to give the downtrodden people of the world courage, and to give those people now fighting for the democratic principles courage.
Students should remember that lethargy and lack of patriotism at the present time is nothing more nor less than a symptom of a dying age during which democracy as well as totalitarian states have become decadent. But if they are to help along the process of transition to a better age they must show a willingness, and a desire, not only to think, but to act intelligently, to denounce fascism and communism both, and to help show the world that democracy is going to come out of the struggle stronger than ever.
When we have only one soldier or one man in uniform to fifteen millions dollars worth of property, it is not a sign that a democratic state has wisely leaned over backwards in the opposite direction from militarism, but that it, like France, has simply become decadent to the point of dangerous weakness in a world of realities. An army and navy, democratically assembled, and democratically run by a democratic government, is in no way a sign that we are becoming fascistic, or socialistically militarized. It all depends upon where one is, in history, whether militarism results in tyranny. We are not in that position now, because the militarism now at its peak in Europe is at the end, and not at the beginning, of the era of despotism.
UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
OFFICIAL BULLETIN
Vol. 38 Sunday, Sept. 29, 1940 No.11
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ORGANIZATION: Christian Science Organization will hold a regular meeting Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 in the Pine Room of the Union Building. All students, graduates, and faculty members are welcome.—Patricia Neil, secretary.
FRESHMAN MEMBERS INTRAMURAL BOARD: Men wishing to be considered as candidates for freshman members of the Intramural board of managers must state qualifications in a written application addressed to Senior Intramural Manager. Applications will not be accepted after Wednesday, Oct. 2—Lee Huddleston, Sr. Manager, 107 Robinson Gym.
PHI CHI DELTA: The first meeting of Phi Chi Delta will be held Tuesday, October 1 at 5:30 at Westminster Hall, 1221 Oread—Dee Ellen Naylor, Jean Dooley, Co-program chairmen.
JAY JANES: Jay Janes will meet at 4:30 in the Pine Room of the Union Building Wednesday.—Ruth Spencer, president.
PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION: There will be a proficiency examination October 5 at 8:30 a.m. Register, in person, at the College Office, 121 Frank Strong Hall, September 30, October 1 and 2. This examination is open to Juniors and Seniors in the College of Liberal Arts, provided they have not passed an earlier examination. Seniors who pass the examination on October 5 may qualify for graduation in June, 1940. Other examinations will be held December 14, March 1, May 3.—J. B. Virtue.
WESTMISSTER FORUM: Westminster Forum will meet this evening at 7:30 in Westminster Hall. Mr. Neal M. Wherry will speak on "The Presbyterian Church in Cuba."-Robert Talmadge.
ROGER WILLIAMS FOUNDATION (Baptist): Dean Paul B. Lawson will speak on "The Tools of Religion" Sunday, 9:45 a.m., to the University class at the First Baptist Church, corner 8th and Kentucky Streets. The B.Y.P.U. will meet at the Student Center, 1124 Mississippi at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome.—Chas. W. Thomas, director R.W.F.
REINTERPRETATION OF RELIGION COMMISSION: The Y.W.C.A. -Y.M.C.A. Reinterpretation of Religion Commission will meet Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 4:30 p.m. at Henley House. The topic for discussion is "Christianity—How Come?" led by Reverend Edwin F. Price. —Mary Helen Wilson.
STUDENT UNION ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE: All students wishing to sign up for work on subcommittees of the Student Union Activities Committee are urged to call in person at the Student Union Activities office in the Union Building between 2 and 5 p.m. Junior men and sophomores are especially wanted. There is opportunity for typists, carpenters, artists, and others of special talent—Carter Butler.
TAU SIGMA: There will be a meeting of Tau Sigma members Monday afternoon at 4:30. Attendance is required—Carolyn Green.
Subscription rates, in advance, $3.00 per year, $1.75 per semester. Published at Lawrence, Kansas, daily during the school week. Subscription fee is charged as second class matter September 17, 1910, at the post office at Lawrence, Kansas, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
DAGO RED by John Fante. The Viking Press, New York. 211 pages.
$2.50.
By the author of that charming piece Wait Until Spring, Bandini, Dago Red is as overflowing with the joy of living and vitality as the smooth Italian wine for which it is named. A series of some thirteen sketches make up the group which takes the Toscana family through a tumbling, vigorous existence as seen through the eyes of a growing son of that family. Each sketch is a gem in itself, with the whole unified by a sombre Latin manner. The author is the Clarence Day of the Latin quarter; the book is Life With Father with an Italian accent.
Father is a swashbuckling, at times hard drinking, man of changing mood, a bricklayer by profession. He first saw Maria Scarpi on the street. The wine flowed in his veins at the time. And so he followed her home. But ship ran in the house and locked the door. He promptly started serenading her in a loud baritone standing on the sidewalk and he didn't stop until Maria poked her head out of a second floor window. Then he promptly asked her to marry him, with a gaping crowd gathered in back of him.
Thus did father meet mother. Their children were born Jim, and Mike, and Tony, and the beautiful Clara. With the addition of Hugo, the dog, completing the picture of this Dago family who lived in Denver's Wop section. Jim, the storyteller, once beat up every kid in school who called him a wop. He got pretty good at fighting too, especially when his dad showed him how to deal out fists. Jim had the sultry emotions of his race, but he so wanted to be an American. Father had once lived in the Argentine, so Jim often gave that as the nationality of his dad. It was easy, as far as his mother was concerned. She was born in Denver.
From the pages of Dago Red, we learn what it means to be an Italian running away from the odor of ravioli and garlic. Little Jimmy so wanted to be a plain American.
There is humor aptly to be found in these pages. First communion for the author, and all that can be found for a blouse is a tremendous shirt of father's with sleeves cut down. On the Denver jail house walls probably remains the signature of the fourteen-year-old author, carved thereon the one time he was locked up: "Two-Gun Toscana, the Death Kid."
The cursing comes loud and often, mostly from father; and tears fall softly and often, mostly from mother; and the spankings come hard and often, mostly on the children. But here is great and binding love, with the passionate faith in God and this life which is the especial heritage of the Latin.
The unbending faith of the Catholic pervades all the author's life, except once for a period of two years. In that interim he was living with Claudia, a woman many years his senior, but interesting. There hadn't been any attendance at Mass for two years. Then one afternoon came the coastal earthquake. Jim and Claudia were caught in the building and barely escaped. In ages of green grass, the description of the tumbling building and people's reactions, supplies the rippling stream. As neat a bit writing as the author displays anywhere or, rather, everywhere.
Some of the stories of Dago Red have been printed in the magazines before collection into this volume. But one story in particular that is new is the one called A Wife for Dino Rossi, probably as amusing a bit of writing as it will be your pleasure to discover.
And so Dago Red ends with a lusty Hail Mary given with the knowledge that John Fante is now out in Hollywood and writing for the movies and doing all right by himself.-B.F.
ROCK CHALK TALK
By Geo. R. Sitterley
In the last publication of the Rock Chalk column we made some cracks about Mr. Willkie. Which was all right in our eyes, but some people got the notion that, just because the pressmen forgot to change the byline, Reggie Buxton had taken a back-handed swipe at his Republican cohorts. Now Buxton, perhaps that'll exonerate you, but we won't guarantee that the Young GOP's will have their arms open to receive you.
Absolutely the very first time that anyone invited us—in anything but a "making conversation" tone—to be sure to come to the open house —Alpha Chi,but we won't make the young woman a mark for public scorn by divulging her name —the only time that happened was when we were sewed up with the Kansas until all hours last night. She probably knew that we would be.
Roscoe Born, the incomparable reporter and managing editor of the Kansan, might very well have lost his public forever yesterday if it hadn't been for a much less journalism light. Ros, intent on having a dramatics story exactly correct, tried to make certain that he had the title of the play right—he finally had it, "The Birth of the Sewing Machine Girl."
Comes the bewildering news that Carter Glass, Democrat and Senator from Va., has declared himself against a third term president but decidedly with Roosevelt, the "twotime" champion in the presidential fight and scornful defender of the crown against the upstart Willkie. As you may have noticed by our rambling — we're confused — very. We just can't seem to see through Glass.
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