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University Daily Kansan
Friday, Feb. 12, 1965
Lincoln's Compassion
Today we celebrate the 154th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of his assassination.
Much, perhaps too much, has been written about the man, his Presidency, his humor and his humanity. In the struggle of a nation for survival, he glued the pieces together again and again. And now, once more, America is rent by a struggle, less bloody but no less tragic. It has grown out of the struggle that pitched the nation into war 100 years ago. It is the struggle of a race of people to attain full and meaningful citizenship. The token of that citizenship was granted a long time ago and now they are fighting, and rightly so, for the meaning behind the token.
ONE CANNOT HELP BUT WONDER what Lincoln would have thought about the civil rights struggle. However, it must also be said that it is impossible, and even undesirable perhaps, to trace Lincoln's thought through one hundred years, a period in which the status and condition of the American Negro has vastly changed.
Lincoln was needed in his time. Because he was a strong Presseident, he could hold the nation that was ripped apart. His policies, personality and ideas helped to repair the damage of the Civil War.
BUT THE MAN CANNOT BE resurrected one hundred years later to solve the problems of the
20th century. The solutions he enacted then would not have, in all probability, too much validity today. His solutions would not cover the present crisis in Selma, Alabama. New laws, ideas and principles have entered the ideological situation since then. Lincoln would probably be the first to admit he did not have the answers.
One cannot draw solutions to the present crisis from a man who lived one hundred years ago, a man who had different problems than we have today.
His immense understanding made him a great man, regardless of what he did as a President. He seemingly remained understanding in an issue that involved much more emotion than reason. If no other comparison can be drawn with the present situation, this one can.
BUT IF THERE IS ANYTHING that the harried and disturbed legislators and citizens can conclude from his life that will help alleviate the problem, it is his understanding and compassion for the plight and problems of both sides.
There have been pleas for action, more action and still more action. And perhaps now the time has come for thought, and hopefully, understanding about the problem. The thought cannot come from heated and hateful action. One cannot think in a mob. It is time people started to think, not parrot.
— Leta Roth
More Food-Immediate Answer
(Editor's note: The following is the last of a four-part series on the world food an population science. This book an introduction to the problem, the second analyzed birth control ideas, and the third discussed food production ideas. This analysis the relative veno of global food production, including the financial means of carrying out a program.)
On reviewing the various proposed solutions to the world food problem, one quickly realizes that most of these solutions need to be undertaken. Birth control is essential, since the world cannot continue to support large population increases indefinitely. In agriculture, irrigation, use of pesticides, seed and plant improvements, and training programs are all essential to bring agricultural production to a high level. Since all these cannot be undertaken in full measure either due to local customs or lack of financing — the problem of feeding the underdeveloped world becomes a problem of priorities.
The studies of an Indian demographer, P. B. Gupta, indicate that once economic advances have taken place, the population problem may decase. His studies have found that, while fertility does rise with economic improvement above the mere subsistence level, a "critical level" is reached at which continued economic improvement causes the fertility rate to drop. "He suggests," according to Scientific American, "that special efforts should be made to improve the status of the poorest villager in order to transfer as many people as possible from the 'rising' portion of the fertility curve to the 'falling' portion . . . Such a transfer, he says, would not require a very great overall economic advance. Yet it should 'automatically' reverse the fertility trend in the poorest segment of the population, paving the way for the greater reduction in fertility that should come with significant economic development." Economic improvement which does not touch the lowest income group would cut the birth rate hardly at all. Gunte said
Whether or not Gupta is right,
more short-term good on a dollar-and-cents basis can be rendered by turning to increasing agricultural output. People understand much easier increases in food production than they do attempts to change the natural reproductive process. Thus the cost of educating the people in new processes would probably be less.
While it is important that research to develop new seed and plant varieties and training of agricultural experts continue at least at their present paces, these are long-term projects. Certainly they are not geared to solve the world food problems by the 1970's. Of the short-term answers that have been found, Raymond Ewell's idea to drastically increase the output of fertilizers which he enunciated last Sept. 1 is the best.
IN THE FIRST PLACE, little additional research is needed to begin producing fertilizer. The investors, whether they be private or governmental, would begin having an immediate return on their investment through sales. What's more, the farmers using the fertilizer would get almost immediate results while using locally available means. In short, results would start in a time as short as it would take to build the fertilizer plant and reap the first crop from the fertilized fields.
Just as important as selecting the best method of attack on the food problem is figuring out how to finance the attack. All of the funds obviously cannot come from the countries themselves. They simply do not have the money. Since neither governmental units or private enterprise can totally support the programs necessary, both will be essential.
Private investment must be increased and diverted to agricultural needs unless it can be used more constructively in the economy. Investors will have to work with governmental planning units to determine where the most need is. The announced plans in the building of the fertilizer plants in India are a good
example of the arrangements which can be made.
THERE THE INDIAN AND U.S. shares are about equal. The Indian share is being carried by the Indian government, private entrepreneurs, and the general Indian public. The U.S. share is being carried by the internationally known Bechtel Corporation, various U.S. fertilizer manufacturers, and U.S. citizens and manufacturers.
Financial assistance must continue to come from the various foundations, notable of which are the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations.
The governments of the United States and other developed countries, as well as the United Nations, also must increase both aid and attention to agriculture. There are only a few methods by which the United States can aid these countries. One is through outright grants. Another is through loans. The ability to repay loans should determine which should be used.
CERTAINLY THESE COUNTRIES will not be able to repay loans for some time in the future. At the same time, most countries feel it a loss of respect to accept outright grants. Thus, the United States has turned to what is known as "soft" loans. Here loans are given at low rates of interest which are due in 40 to 50 years. They almost amount to grants, but it is hoped that these countries will be in a better position to repay them in that length of time. Conservatives who demand that every dollar of aid must be for our defense are reminded that these countries will certainly turn away from the West if world-wide famine comes about. In the cold war, this type of aid is more important than jets and bombs. It is essential that "soft" loans be given in increasing amounts.
Not only is the problem massive, but it is upon us at the present time. For instance, the United States is transporting tons of wheat to India to avert famine. It will not likely cease. Gron Swartz
— Greg Swartz
Pennant-Winner
BOOK REVIEWS
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF PRACTICALLY EVERYBODY, by Will Cuppy (Dell, 40 cents).
With illustrations by William Steig, known to many readers of The New Yorker, this book by the late Will Cuppy, which enjoyed quite a vogue a dozen or so years ago, gives us delightful and nonsensical history. It may be too bland, however, for a generation that much prefers the sick joke in humor.
It wouldn't be fair to give you the amusing insights into these famous people, but let it go by saying that Cuppy tells us things about the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks and "worse," as he puts it (Pericles, Alexander, Hannibal, Cleopatra and Nero), such folks as Attila the Hun, Charlemagne, Lady Godiva, Lucrezia Borgia, Philip II (The Sap), Louis XIV, Madame du Barry, Peter and Catherine and Frederick, all great, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Elizabeth, George III, Leif Ericsson, Columbus, Montezuma, Captain John Smith and Miles Standish.
It's all quite irreverent. Hannibal established a record for crossing the Alps with elephants. Catherine the Great was great fun when she felt like it, and she always felt like it. Henry VIII must expect a little talk, for after all he beheaded two of his wives. Nero gave many concerts, most of which were attended by disaster. And so on.
* * *
THE LODGER, by Marie Belloc Lowndes (Dell, 60 cents).
Readers whose tastes turn more to Sherlock Holmes than to James Bond will go for this stunning old Victorian thriller. You may have seen the movie years ago, in which Laird Cregar gave a horrifying portrayal and scared the liver out of Merle Oberon before George Sanders came to the rescue. And you've undoubtedly heard of the chap who was the lodger—one Jack the Ripper.
It is the home of the Buntings where a mysterious person calls, and takes up lodgings in an upstairs room. And it's all over London where the terrible crimes take place, mostly murders of women. So, in the creepy fog, with suspense moving in on every page, the story progresses. Old-hat, "The Lodger" still deserves, and gets, a wide reading.
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