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University Daily Kansan Monday, Sept. 17, 1956
Habitual Road Is Death
Americans, individually, are a peculiar bunch. After forming worthwhile groups and organizations, intent upon reducing the nations traffic fatality toll, they move onto the nation's marble and concrete slab highways and get themselves either an amputated head or a steering post in their bellies. Not pretty, huh. How about a broken steering wheel threaded through your thoracic region or an emergency brake handle impaled through a relatives head.
For the most part, people only read or listen to such gory details for the gore and for the details. That the blood and guts they read about someday may be theirs doesn't enter their minds for more than a second if it ever does. Perhaps, if a wife and child are in the room or car where they read or hear about the messy accident, they may glance at them and sluff off a. "Gee, I sure wouldn't want that to happen."
The above tactic is just one of many developed to try to keep people from putting on an unscheduled daredevil act while sauntering down roads at 70 mph.
If the average American could be convinced that he is a creature of habit and that habits are not easily broken, a start would be made toward reducing traffic fatalities.
Otherwise everyone, and there are few who do not qualify, goes back to his old, dangerous ways and here is where the problem lies.
The average American should be convinced first that he is a creature of habit, second, that he does have some bad driving habits and third, that these bad habits are as hard to break as good habits are to form.
For example, take a student who walks out of the student union to his car parked in Zone I. He gets in his car, shuts the door and starts the motor with the identical movements he has used for years. He backs out of the parking lot and drives ahead down the street in a manner that
would identify him nearly as much as would his fingerprints.
Driving down the street he maintains a usual speed which may have little in common with the speed limit; if he's in a rush, 25 or 30 mph on campus and downtown, 35 or 40.
Onto the highway he pulls, automatically knowing just how this stretch will be driven but he doesn't give it thought. At once he boosts the needle up towards 50 or 60 mph, which is a decent speed. He then comes up behind a car doing a little less than he so he waits until it's safe to pass. While waiting he follows according to habit, at a dangerous interval.
The driver ahead suddenly applies his brakes to keep from driving past the side road he miscalculated, and our student experiences a near accident. But does he criticize his poor driving habits? To answer a question with a question, do you?
Breathing heavily from his near-miss, our student continues down the slab which soon may be his to have and to hold until the hospital attendants scrape or pry him loose.
Driving too close is just one bad habit. What about the student, the same one, who tries to maintain a constant speed of 60 mph. He drives along at 60, comes to a hill, and so must give his car more gas to maintain his speed. Does he ease off after he gets over the hill? Do you? The same case applies when passing another car.
Our student also drives too close to the line in the middle of the road but should some driver coming from the opposite direction be doing the same, who gets the red-hot criticism? Why, each, most appropriately, gives it to the other.
Drivers of today will not see their own failures. It's too hard on the ego. As was said before they need to be shown their bad habits—in red and white, flashing neon signs—but is seems they won't learn until they see red and white corpuscles flashing out of their arteries in spurts of warm blood.
Higher Fees For Doctors?
An aspect of a proposal by the new president of the Colorado State Medical Society, Dr. George Buck, was made without considering plain and ever-present human nature.
In his address to the society, as reported on page one of the September 7 issue of the Denver Post, Dr. Buck asked for increased fees for doctors which would enable them to give more needed time to fewer patients at the same time maintain their present standard of living.
This aspect of his proposal, to say the least, is a utopian idea not to be reached by mortals of this or many centuries to come.
Doctors for the most part are undoubtedly devoted to their profession as are lawyers, statesmen, etc., but they are human and in so being make just as much money as they can.
Unless some kind of check, say semi-anually or annually, is to be kept on the doctors who raise fees on the above basis, the situation in a doctor's office will be crowded as usual and doctors will be making more money than usual.
There is no provision for any such check in Dr. Buck's address.
Ordinarily, a doctor doesn't turn down patients. And unless he begins to, as well as cut his present roster of patients, no change in today's patient-filled waiting rooms will be evident.
Dr. Buck does cite reasonably the doctor's increasing costs. Comparing 1936 salaries in Denver to those of today, he said receptionist's salaries have gone from $65 to $227 and nurses' from $90 to $300. Call fees, meanwhile, have increased only from $2 to $3 for office calls and from $3 to $5 for home calls. Office rent also has increased considerably.
On the costs issue, Dr. Buck has a case, but to increase fees on a more-pay-for-more-time-to fewer-patients basis is strictly inhuman and sounds more like the beginning of one of Aesop's Fables.
British Eye South
From the British Information Services, Sept. 4, 1956:
British Daily Comments
The disturbances in Clinton, Tenn., over the admission of Negroes to the local high school is referred to in The Manchester Guardian (Liberal), which says that in this matter the South is a patchwork. Some cities, for instance, have quietly integrated their schools a while ago. The Manchester Guardian takes the view that Clinton marks no more than the beginning of a period of confusion and some strife. The drift, it believes, is still towards acceptance of the Supreme Court's ruling. Integration arouses strong feelings, but no coherent political resistance, at least none that time and patience cannot conquer. The Manchester Guardian concludes.
Three and a half years ago the U. S. Army supply system stocked a million and a half different line items. Today that number has been reduced to less than one million, of which 640,000 are spare parts.
One of the Hollywood gossip columnists has announced that Elvis and actress Natalie Wood are in love. (In case you don't-remember, Natalie is the little dollie who cavorted through "Rebel Without A Cause" with the late James Dean.)
Daily Hansan
We must be losing our touch with civilization, right here in one of the leading cultural centers of the United States.
University of Kansas student newspaper
1904, twice weekly 1908, daily Jan. 6, 1912
We received a letter from home the other day, and what—or who— do you think they were talking about?
...Just Browsing...
Extension 251, news room
Extension 276, business office
In addition to the fact that we don't like to watch him on television, Elvis now has another strike against him.
No, it wasn't the Kansas City Athletics. It was Rlvis Presley.
Member Inland Daily Press Association.
Associated Collegiate Press. Represented by National Advertising Service, 420 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. News service: United Press. Mail subscription rates: $3 a semester or $4.50 a year. Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the University year except spring and summer periods, days, and examination periods. Entered as second-class matter Sept. 17, 1810, at Lawrence, Kan. post office under act of March 3, 1879.
Now we ask you—what has Elvis got that we haven't got—he'sides money? And it seems like such a shame to have someone like him take one of our numerous dream-girls out of circulation.
Telephone VIking 3-2700
It seems they had seen Elvis on a television show over the weekend, and he had understandably created quite an impression.
of this monstrosity of motion oftimes comes music, but the sight of him is enough to scare us out of the TV room and back to the kitchen.
As a matter of fact, this has been a year of tragedy for our dream dollies. First Grace Kelly, then Marilyn Monroe, and now Natalie Wood.
Originally we were planning to ignore Elvis Presley, following the old adage about "If you ignore him, maybe he'll go away."
NEWS DEPARTMENT
Dick Walt ... Managing Editor
Margaret Armstrong, Gerald Dawson,
Larry Stroup, Louis Stroup, Assistant
Managing Editors; Kent Thomas, City
Editor; Felicia Fenberg, Assistant City
Editor; Jane Pecinovsky, Telegraph
Editor; Dary Hall, Sports Editor;
Greg Tversky, Sports Editor;
Sports Editors; Betty Jean Stanford.
Society Editor; Dona Scacat, Assistant
Society Editor.
Now we have nothing personal against Elvis.
however, it seems that Elvis has no intention of going away, and he seems to be growing even more popular.
We just don't hapen to like to watch him. His records are bearable, and we can see how he could be popular among the rock 'n roll gang. In fact, although we hate to admit it, we sort of enjoy listening to him on the radio.
But on, television—that's another story. He wiggles, he twitches, he hitches, he lurches, he staggers. Out
But we have one thing which will endure all these Hollywood marriages and love affairs, and we wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. It's our genuine, lifesize, paw-printed, pin-up of Lassie. Stop in and have a look any time.
—Dick Walt
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Ray Bergerson Editor
David Webb Associate Editor
They're smart on campus
They score in sports...
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