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(Photo by Harry Krause)
EXPLAINS VIEWS—Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas tackles a score of questions over a variety of subjects at a news conference in the Kansas Union. Justice Douglas, 66, spoke last night on the role of international law in the nuclear age.
Douglas Says Survival Depends on World Law
By Mary Dunlan
Before an estimated crowd of 2,000 students, faculty members, and guests, William O. Douglas, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, told his audience that "the prevention of war is our only hope for survival."
The silver-haired justice addressed his audience last night in vigorous and sometimes somber tones about the impending dangers of a world population boom in China, the status of the United Nations today, and the need for changes in U.S. policies throughout the world.
(See picture, story on page eight.)
He stated that the problems of Red China are serious and are growing each day.
"By 2,000 A.D." he said, "there will be as many Chinese in the world as there are people today three billion Chinese."
"HOW ARE WE going to live in a world filled with Chinese people and Chinese dreams and ambitions?" he asked.
"The nuclear bomb is capable of
destroying life on all continents." he said. "We now have 80 tons of explosives for every person in the world.
"The prevention of war is our only hope."
He cited a statement by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that "universal distrust creates universal incompetence," and added, "In 15 years, 15 nations will have the nuclear bomb. It is a dangerous delusion that the Chinese bomb will not be used."
He warned that an atomic detonation could very well come from the "junior nuclear league."
He moved to the subject of the United Nations, calling it "a sanctuary for weak nations."
He said, however, that if the United Nations did not exist, we would be trying to devise it at this very moment.
THE UNITED NATIONS was not founded to solve debates between great powers, he said.
"The judicial function of the U.N. is the most neglected." Justice Douglas continued. "It is not geared to handle power blocs."
He advocated repeal of the Connally amendment concerning the World Court.
"It states that we can accept or reject the decisions of the Court if we want to," he said.
He thinks the World Court's policies are in need of revision or possibly, discontinuation.
He closed his speech by saying, "My generation has largely, miserably failed in the solution of this problem, but we have left some skeletons of possible solutions to this problem."
WE MUST HAVE a consensus with the Soviet-Sino block on nuclear policy, if a solution to the nuclear problem is to be reached, he concluded.
The audience rose to give Justice Douglas a standing ovation before he left the building to attend an informal reception given in his honor in the Kansas Union.
Daily Hansan
At the reception, with students crowding around him, some sitting at his feet and others forming a circle about him, Justice Douglas answered questions and traded quips with approximately 135 people.
ONE STUDENT ASKED the justice what the central issue of the Supreme Court was this year. The audience roared as he replied, "When do we adjourn—the first Monday of May or the first Monday of June?"
Thursday, Feb. 25, 1965
Returning to the question of Red China being admitted to the U.N., he said, "I proposed in 1950, or 19-52, that the U.N. admit Red China and I almost got run out of the country."
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
Amid flashbulbs and a few final questions, several members of the crowd moved forward in an effort to shake Justice Douglas' hand.
62nd Year, No. 87
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(Photo by Harry Krause)
FRASER HALL . . . Landmark to be razed.
Theater in Fraser Will Still Be Used
By L. R. Ketchum
Permanent seats will be installed at the front of the auditorium after a large lectern is moved to the stage. It has not yet been determined how many seats will be required. "Fire and safety regulations will be met," Dean Smith said.
Although all seats have been removed from the balcony of Fraser Theater, classes will meet on the ground floor as usual throughout the remainder of the spring semester, according to George B. Smith, Dean of the University.
DR. WILLIAM M. Bass, associate professor of anthropology, teaches the largest class at KU in Fraser Theater. Enrollment in the class is 482, and the extra seating provisions are primarily being made to accommodate this class. No students will be allowed to sit in the balcony which has been closed on
Father Brendan Downey, who conducts Catholic services each Sunday in Fraser Theater, said, "We will 'just have to make the best of the seating arrangements." The 11 o'clock mass has had a large attendance and many people sat in the balcony in the past.
It has not yet been made known whether the "Friday Flicks" will continue to be shown in the condemned building.
FRASER HALL WAS built in 1872 at a cost of $182,000, which was shared by the city of Lawrence and the state legislature. The building housed all of KU after the University was moved from North
the recommendation of State Architect James C. Canole.
Fraser will be torn down as soon as there is a necessary appropriation.
(Continued on page 6)
Justice Backs Nod to China, Opposes TV in Court Trials
By Rosalie Jenkins
United States' recognition of Red China, the admission of admitted Communists to the American Bar, and the limit of press coverage in criminal trials were among topics discussed by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas at a news conference yesterday afternoon in the Kansas Union.
Justice Douglas was also asked his opinion of the duties of a university in maintaining equal rights in campus housing. "If you're trying to get me to say that 'I'm against discrimination' — 'I'm against discrimination,' the 66-year-old justice replied.
He added he had never thought about this question, particularly, since he hadn't encountered it.
THE SUPREME Court justice also said he was in favor of recognizing Red China. He said "war is obsolete" and in order to deal adequately with world problems, there must be a basis of communication between the countries.
"We can't have agreements unless you get people around a table."
Justice Douglas stated that the countries must have working agreements. "People said that we could not work with Russia, but we've made progress with Russia. Russia respects the bomb, I think China will too."
When asked whether an admitted Communist should be admitted to a state bar, Justice Douglas commented, "A lawyer takes an oath to defend the Constitution ... and to work under the system which we have. A real blood-and-thunder Communist like Lenin or Stalin probably would not qualify."
Concerning press coverage of criminal trials, he said that the Constitution guarantees a public trial but "that doesn't mean a Hollywood production." He said the Supreme Court's conception of a public trial is "a quiet, dignified
Weather
Temperatures should warm up through Friday. Low tonight will be 15 degrees, and high tomorrow will be in the upper 20's or lower 30's. Winds from the west and northwest will range from 5 to 15 miles per hour through tomorrow.
procedure with as much as possible of the emotion in the community left out."
"TV AND RADIO coverage would be monstrosity on the American scene . . . a terribly vicious influence" because the officials would be playing roles for the press, he said.
Justice Douglas also was asked about the Supreme Court's rulings on equal representation in both houses of state legislatures. He said there "were some who thought that apportionment should be left to the legislative branches but when apportionment involves a dilution of votes with one man getting one vote and another getting 20 votes, then the Court should make a decision on that issue."
The justice also commented on the changes which have occurred in the court's philosophy and interpretation of the Constitution.
"THE OATH that you take is to support and defend the Constitution and not support the gloss put on it by some other generation in
their interpretation. . . This is why it is so durable," Justice Douglas said.
WHEN ASKED FOR comments about the late Justice Felix Frankfurter, who died Monday, Douglas commented, "Frankfurter was a very stimulating man with a very wide range of activity. One of his colleagues at Harvard said that he was like a terrier chasing a rat.
"He was by no means dogmatic;
he was very colorful and original."
Bulletin
MERIDIAN, Miss. — (UPI) — A federal judge today threw out felony charges against 17 of 18 men accused of plotting the deaths of three civil rights workers in Mississippi last summer.
"The indictment surely states a heinous crime against the state of Mississippi," ruled U.S. District Judge Harold Cox, "but not a crime against the United States."
(Photo by Harry Krause)
DEMONSTRATE AT TALK—About 35 members of the Civil Rights Council picked against alleged discrimination in housing at the University prior to Justice William O. Douglas's lecture last night in Hoch Auditorium. Justice Douglas entered by a rear door and did not see the picketers. (See story on page eight.)