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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1957
Fear Doesn't Change
There are some striking and fear-producing resemblances between problems of today's world and those which faced us in the late 1930's. To fully realize their meaning, let's take a look at the two periods.
In 1957, we consider Russia and Communist China the two most formidable opponents of Democracy. Flashing back to the late 1930's, the terrible twosome was Germany and Japan.
We shall leave Communist China and Japan at this point, and consider only Germany and Russia, who seem to have more in common than their Asiatic counterparts.
Germany was ruled then by as powerful and persuasive a person as has lived in modern time. Adolph Hitler was a fascist. His primary aims in life were to rule the world, and to develop a master race; his two most frequent purge victims were the Jews and the Communists. Although he never realized these aims. Hitler did at one time control most of Europe.
In 1957, if we were to point out an individual to parallel Hitler we would probably select Nikita Khrushchev. More fitting in the role would be Stalin, were he still alive.
Khrushchev is not the dynamic personality Hitler was. He does not command the great personal following Hitler did. However, the two are alike in their primary principles—world rule at any cost.
In the late 1930's Germany was pushing across central Europe. In 1939 Germany's primary objectives were Poland and Czechoslovakia. These two countries were virtually demolished by German thrusts, while free nations sat by, content with appeasement.
In 1957 we might have to stretch things a little to make the parallel. We might call Hungary a "Poland." It was Russia that crushed the little country with tanks and arms only a year ago, while free countries stood by and watched. You might call Russia's push in the Middle East a more suave approach to conquest than Germany's thrust against Czechoslovakia.
Who were the military and political powers in 1939? You remember these names: Germany, The United States, Britain, France, Soviet Russia.
Although they were not all equal in strength, these were the countries which played the most
important roles in the years of crisis before World War II.
Notice how the 1957 list resembles the one from 1939: Russia, the United States, Britain. Familiar faces, aren't they? The war had its effect on the larger list of powers. Germany and France are now out of the picture. Germany is rebuilding, but is not considered a power, and France has been weakened almost to the breaking point.
Back to the repeaters. Russia in the late 1930's was a secondary power. The Russians were a large body of people, but only for that reason were they considered a partial threat. The U.S. was about the same as today, comparatively speaking. We are rated about as big a power today as we were prior to World War II, and if anything we have dropped some in esteem.
Britain has declined even more than before the last war. The nation is now at a point where it cannot be relied upon for major support in the event of a nuclear war.
The late 1930s were the crisis years. Are not the present times a crisis? Is not Russia pushing its way across Europe and the Middle East? Russia now has more land behind the Iron Curtain than Germany had under its wing in 1939.
In the 1930's it was the airplane that was the coming thing. Sure, we had had the airplane for several years, but it was generally thought that the next war would be fought with airplanes. We have a weapon today which is considered to be the determinant factor if war breaks out: nuclear power. The principle is the same, even if the weapons differ in potency.
We seem to have all the symptoms: A country in search of conquest of the world, a major weapon threat, a large free power, dictators, international trouble spots, and tensions. If there is such a thing, we must be on the "brink of war."
Should we consider ourselves as close to war today as we were in 1939? Perhaps not. However, this is no reason for sitting back and breathing a sigh of relief.
Will the foreboding thoughts of nuclear destruction prevent an outbreak of war? No. If things get out of hand the slightest flame might light the fuse. We have little control over what might happen as a result.
Bob Hartley
Missile Rivalry - A Hindrance
The United States missile program has been weighed in the delicate balance of world armament and definitely found wanting.
On Friday the two leaders issued a declaration of common purpose. It said:
Last week President Eisenhower and Prime Minister Macmillan, conferring in Washington, decided that the U.S. and Great Britain should combine their scientific and military knowledge in order to regroup the free world alliances.
"First, the free world must work together.
"The countries of the free world are interdependent, and only in genuine partnership, by combining their resources and sharing tasks in many fields, can progress and safety be found.
"Second, a reunited free world can face down the Soviet menace.
"If the free nations are steadfast, and if they utilize their resources in harmonious cooperation, the totalitarian menace that now confronts them will in good time recede."
The above decisions are wise, logical, admirable and slow in coming.
While the United States and Great Britain prepare to combine resources and talent to strengthen the West, our own Army, Navy, and Air Force still are bickering over appropriations, scientific personnel, and who has the best missile.
These decisions point to a maturing of diplomatic and scientific thought on the international level. They strengthen the free world and give us a sense of unity that has been lacking for many years. This is good. But it also represents a glaring inconsistency of administrative reasoning.
Internationally we have some common sense; nationally we sometimes don't have the sense to pound sand in a bomb hole.
The most prominent example right now is interservice rivalry which has hindered our missile program. It will certainly hinder the proposed program between Britain and the U.S. It is time the Army, Navy and Air Force forgot their petty squabbles and realized that we have a common threat that must be dealt with, not only by one nation, but by the Western world.
—John Eaton
.. Letters ..
Editor:
Mr. Thomas' critique on 'La Traviata' uses some interesting reasoning. Carrying this process further one comes to the conclusion that an American audience can appreciate an Italian opera better than an Italian audience, because the latter would be distracted by the meaning of the words (assuming that the performers were martistic enough to pronounce them clearly).
This is of course equivalent to saying that Verdi, writing for Italians, should have used a language other than Italian, but equally as beautiful—perhaps Polynesian. Then practically all audiences (except Polynesian) could listen to the beautiful "harmony" twixt voice and instruments without "losing half the beauty" by listening to the swords.
Charles Christenson
Kansas City, Kan. senior
Peter Gardner
Osawatomi junior.
The first fraternity at the University was Beta Theta Pi established on January 9,1873.
Daily Hansan
Girls who pass Green Hall Don't care at all
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