Daily hansan
62nd Year, No.113
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Tuesday, April 13, 1965
—Photo by Harry Krause
OPERATION JONESBORO — Civil rights workers sponsored by the KU chapter of C.O.R.E. worked with residents of Jonesboro,
La., last week rebuilding a Negro church as part of a project to solve racial problems in the northern Louisiana town.
20th Century Reconstruction
CORE Builds Churches
Editor's Note: Harry Krause, Daily Kansas staff reporter and picture editor, traveled to Jonesboro to report the activities of the KU students there. Krause, New Haven, Conn., Junior, made the trip with money from the Reader's Digest journalism scholarship fund.
By Harry Krause
Ten civil rights workers returned to Lawrence Sunday after spending eight days in northern Louisiana helping rebuild burned churches and demonstrating for the desegregation of public facilities.
The group, sponsored by the Lawrence chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was part of Operation Jonesboro, a CORE project since the summer of 1964.
Jonesboro is located about 80 miles east of Shreveport, 50 miles west of Monroe, and 40 miles south of the Arkansas border. Because of its location in the pine forests of the state, the main industry is timber. A paper mill employs 1600 of the 3000 residents
in and around Jonesboro. Approximately 1200 Negroes live in the area.
STARTED during the summer of 1964, the project has been concerned with helping the Negroes become more interested in their community. "The immediate concern of the project was organization," Mrs. Orethea Castle, CORE field worker in Jonesboro, said.
The Rev. William L. Eichelberger said the work began when the Negroes "took a hard look at themselves and their immediate community. These people realized that they were outside the mainstream of American life. They became aware that they were a part of a sub-culture within the American culture."
He continued, "These people realized that they were not sufficiently involved in the political, social and economic life of their city. Very few were registered to vote. All non-whites were barred from the use of facilities which were supposed to be open to the general public—facilities such as
theatres, drive-in movies, the public library, and numerous restaurants. The most menial and degrading jobs were the only ones open to them."
"Two of the Negro churches of Jonesboro opened their doors to the local citizens who were interested in transforming the structures within their community and making them more equitable and responsive to the needs of the total community. By doing this, these two churches alienated themselves from the power structure of the city and reactionary elements in the community. These
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Weather
Showers and thunderstorms covering 40 per cent of the state will begin tonight and end sometime tomorrow. The low tonight is expected to be near 50 degrees. Temperatures tomorrow will be in the 60's, according to the Topeka weather bureau. Winds will reach velocities of 15 to 20 miles per hour.
Victims Commence Tornado-Clean-Up
CHICAGO—(UPI)—Residents of tornado-torn towns and cities in six Midwest states fought rubble and heartbreak today in a massive effort to restore order. The death count stood at 239 and police in Indiana feared more bodies would be found.
Many areas in hard-hit Indiana, Michigan and Ohio were still without power and water. Hospitals were jammed with injured.
THE HOOSIER state counted at least 132 dead from the Palm Sunday barrage of tornadoes. There were 53 dead in Ohio, 44 in Michigan, 7 in Illinois and 3 in Wisconsin. Iowa, where the twisters started, reported no deaths.
"It is shocking. It is awesome beyond belief. It compounds misery upon misery," Ohio Gov. James A. Rhodes said after Monday's on-the-spot inspection of the stricken areas in his state.
The sorting and the sifting went on today, with grim emergency workers from as far away as New York pouring into the disaster areas to help the homeless, feed the hungry and care for the injured. Bull-dozers roamed through splintered towns, clearing small paths through the debris.
"Your heart is torn to shreds when you see a father sorting a splintered garage for a broken bicycle, a tattered toy, a mud-splashed doll, a little red wagon."
A TEAM OF U.S. Weather Bureau specialists started a state-by-state tour of the tornado-scarred Midwest today, examining the extent of damage. Insurance experts estimated property damage would approach $100 million. The Small Business Administration in Washington promised loans for the stricken area "as soon as all the reports are in."
But no one was saying when that would be.
IN PLACES LIKE Pittsfield, Ohio, a tiny crossroads town, no one knew where to begin. The village's nine houses, two churches and some of its stores were all blown away by the storm. Seven of the town's 50 residents were dead. Nothing was left but rubble.
A state-by-state look at the clean-up operation:
INDIANA: Hardest hit of all the states, Indiana was still reeling today from its worst disaster in history. State police feared more storm victims would be found in the wreckage of a trailer camp near Dunlap.
Electric power lines were still down early today from Fort Wayne to Lima, Ohio. People in the Fort Wayne area set up charcoal burners in their living rooms to keep warm; nearly a score went to hospitals Monday night suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Indiana Gov. Roger Branigan set up a morning meeting with state police, National Guardsmen and civil defense officials to assess the situation.
OHIO: Gov. James A. Rhodes, visibly shaken by his tour of the devastation Monday, prepared to survey the area again today.
He wound up his tour Monday night, with the state's DC-3 airplane flying low over the countryside, illuminated by eerie moonlight.
MANY AREAS were still without telephone communication. State officials said property damage would total at least $50 million.
MICHIGAN: Gov. George Romney ordered an economic survey of Michigan's ravaged counties and the state Agriculture Department warned residents of the stricken areas to avoid food supplied by damaged stores and restaurants.
Four National Guard companies were activated to prevent looting. Romney flew over the storm's path Monday and said federal aid would be needed to recover.
Athletes, Engineers Set for Big Weekend
This weekend at KU promises to be one of the biggest of the spring semester with the KU Relays and the Engineering Exposition both attracting top billing.
A 10,000 meter run at 4 p.m. Thursday will open the 1965 Kansas Relays, the 40th running of the annual event.
DR. FORREST C. ALLEN, Karl Schaldeman of Michigan State, and Dr. John Outland founded the first Kansas Relays in 1923. Since that time many famous track stars have participated in the relays. Jim Bausch and Glen Morris, two world's Olympic decathlon champions, have participated as well as hurdlers George Saling and Harrison Dillard. Distanceaces Wes Santee and Billy Mills have made their appearances in KU's stadium during past Kan as Relays.
The Kansas Relays will end at the conclusion of the university one mile relay slated for 5:10 p.m. Saturday.
Universities, colleges, junior colleges, and high schools will participate in the track events. Entrants will be able to enter almost every track event from the javelin throw to the steeplechase.
Team champions in the all university class relays will receive 21-jewel wrist watches and place winners will be awarded Kansas Relay medals of silver and bronze.
PHI KAPPA PSi will feature its version of the Kansas Relays Saturday between 11 and 12:30 p.m. The "Pi Psi 500" will consist of an obstacle course for girls on tricycles, according to Tom Spink, Shawnee Mission sophomore. The course will be
run (or ridden) in Zone N parking lot north of Allen Field House.
Spink said all sororities and five women's dormitories have entered the "Pi Psi 500". There will be four women in each team. Four teams will compete in the five heats of the race.
"So far, we're going to have a bridge-type structure they (the contestants) will race under. Raw eggs will be suspended from the bridge," Spink said of one of the many obstacles. He also said one hair-pin turn in the course will be well greased. Among other obstacles on the course, a slalom arrangement of barrels will be constructed.
According to Spink, Pi Kappa Psi wants to make the "500" an annual event. This year is the first for the "athletic" contest.
The 45th annual Engineering Exposition will begin this Friday at noon and will continue through late Saturday afternoon. The exposition is an open house of the School of Engineering and Architecture.
TWELVE STUDENT exhibits, four faculty exhibits, and five "outside" exhibits are entered in the Engineering Exposition to be held in the New Engineering building, according to Samuel Love, Pittsburg junior in engineering.
"Moon Olympics", an exhibit by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics will feature an Olympic course which will enable a man to jump high walls and run faster than he can on earth.
Two laser beam systems will be
demonstrated — one from the U.S. Army and one from the Bell Telephone Co. The Army's laser beam will be used to cut metal while Bell's will be used in communications, Love said.
John S. McNown, dean of the school of engineering, will open the Engineering Exposition Friday noon with an address. The opening ceremonies will take place at the entrance to the new engineering building.
FIFTEEN HUNDRED alumni of Tau Beta Pi, national honorary engineering society, have been invited to attend the 50th anniversary of the Kansas Alpha chapter of the society.
Their anniversary will be celebrated April 17, in conjunction with the Kansas Relays and the Engineering Exposition.