Thursday, Dec. 18, 1958 University Daily Kansan
Rockets, Mideast Made Top News
Page 3
By Pat Swanson
A year ago two Spartans swing supreme in space. The United States' prestige and national pride seemed to hinge on the performance of the untried Vanguard.
The story of this year's United States probe into space was voted the top news story of 1958 in a survey conducted by the editorial class and University Daily Kansan editors.
The space story reached its peak Dec. 8 when the Army fired Juno II in a moon shot. The successful Vanguard and three Jupiter C rockets already had given the United States our earth-circling satellites.
Juno failed to reach the needed escape velocity to turtle onast the mean and "fall" into orbit around the sun. It reached an apex of 66,654 miles, however, then burned as it re-entered the atmosphere over Africa.
Atlas at Takeoff
The editors voted the Middle East crisis the second place story of the year.
Gamal Nasser, through the merger of Syria and Egypt into the United Arab Republic, continued throughout the year to pressure other Arab countries to join the Union.
The Iraq revolution in July overthrew the pro-Western monarchy, President Chamoun of Lebanon called on the U.S. to send troops to his country to put down civil strife. About the time U.S. Marines were landing in Lebanon, British troops parachuted into Jordan to support that pro-Western government.
The scene of world crisis shifted in the fall to the Far East. The Chinese Reds began bombarding Nationalist-held Qusmoy and Matsu island. This rated as third place news story for 1958.
In fourth through seventh place respectively were the US, interne-
then stories, the death of Pope Pius XII. Charles de Gaulle's reorganization of France and the United States elections.
In Little Rock and Norfolk, high schools have been closed since September. Attorney General William P. Rogers told the South it was a choice between integrated schools or none.
Upon the death of Fone Plus XII in October, the College of Cardinals elected Angelo Cardinal Roncalli the 202nd Pope in history, Pope John XXIII.
France, skidding on the brink of civil war this spring, turned once more to de Gaulle. He established the Fifth French Republic with a constitution approved by $0 per cent of the voters. A strong right wing National Assembly was elected in November.
The Democratic landslide in the elections brought the liberals high into the 86th Congress. It was the biggest Democratic victory since 1936.
Last spring Red China launched a communization program which is destroying a centuries-old family system. This was selected as the eighth biggest story of the year. Three months ago Mao Tse-tung ordered an all-out campaign. Now 90 per cent of China's peasants live in 24,000 communes.
The Chicago school fire, ranked ninth, took 92 lives and injured more than 85. It was the third worst school fire in the nation's history.
The passage of the Alaskan statehood bill by the 85th Congress brought the 49th star into the flag and was rated the 10th place story. The labor probes and the Berlin
The labor probes and the Berlin crisis tied for 11th place.
The Senate labor rackets committee investigated labor leaders during the last session of Congress. The classic case was the Teamsters and Jimmy Hoffa.
The Berlin crisis followed on the heels of the Quemoy and Matsu affair. Khruschev launched a drive to oust the Allies from West Berlin. The investigation of the Sherman Adams-Bernard Goldfine case, voted 14th, was important because the history of the Eisenhower administration was in question.
In 14th place was a tie between the North Pole voyage of the atomic submarine Nautilus, and Boris Pedersal, author of the Nobel Prize novel, Doctor Zhivago.
The recession in early 1958 and the more recent outturn in business and economy was story No. 13.
The wave of bombings which swept over the nation in the fall, striking schools, churches, symposies and homes was voted 17th.
The Nova Scotia mine disaster, 18th story, caught the world's attention as the dramatic rescue of 12 men trapped in a pocket 15,000 feet from the mine entrance unfolded.
The hostile reception of Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife in South America last spring was rated 19th.
And the stories of juvenile delinquency were voted into 20th place because of the striking increase in crimes committed by youth.
Marines in Lebanon
THERE ARE ONLY 5 SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS-REMEMBER THAT
You can get ANY gift you want in Lawrence and be sure you get what you want.
Buy in Lawrence and avoid the last minute hustle when you get home.
Downtown Lawrence stores will be open these nights for your shopping convenience:
Dec. 18, 19, 20, 22, 23