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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, March 7, 1962
Back to Neutral Corners
J. Edgar Hoover has written a piece that ought to turn off the gas under the furiously boiling pot that represents the squabble over how to combat communism.
It is high time. The extreme right-wingers are getting so reckless that they threaten to create a widespread fear that the country is being deliberately betrayed by trusted leaders. At the same time the attack on the "radical right" is getting so shrill that any conservative runs some risk of being suspected of a fascist plot.
The effect of it all has been divisive, even when it has stopped short of mistaken apprehension or hysteria.
The stage was set for this hubbub last year when the country experienced some sharp setbacks in the Cold War. The Berlin wall and the failure of the Cuban invasion brought a sense of frustration that made some ready to believe we weren't trying. There was, at the same time, a calculated politeness toward the Russians—now evident in the story of the censored speeches—that seemed to lend credence to suspicions that appeasement was the new policy.
conservatism with the screwball fringe.
SO A LOT of self-created experts on communism leaped upon the platform shouting that the Reds were at the gates and we'd better shoot now and ask questions later. The number, the importance and the strength of the following of these alarmists was exaggerated by those who found it tactically advantageous to identify all
Hoover, whose long experience as head of the FBI ought to qualify him as a trustworthy authority on the Communist menace, writes in the American Bar Assn. Journal: "We need enlightenment about communism, but this information must be factual, accurate, and not tailored to echo personal idiosyncrasies. . . Our fight must be a sane, rational understanding of the facts. Emotional outbursts, extravagant name-calling, gross exaggerations hinder our effort."
BY THIS TIME, even the Welches and the Walkers must observe that wild and undocumented charges of Communist sympathies alienate the people they are trying to persuade. Similarly, their counterparts on the left must suspect that they have been suckered into fronting for the Reds.
Hoover doesn't believe there are very many serving Communist ends, and we doubt if he thinks a fascist coup is imminent. We ardently hope, therefore, that he makes converts with his plea for a moratorium on emotional outbursts, extravagant name-calling and shouts for the vigilantes.
It won't be easy to convince the raucous super-patriots that they can serve their cause better by restraint. But if their audiences dwindle the shouting should diminish, permitting the voice of reason to prevail.
(From the Feb. 19 Chicago Daily News)
The End of Fraser Hall
There has been considerable comment about the plan to raze Fraser as part of the University's plan to renovate and expand University facilities. Some alumni have expressed a desire to see the building preserved. A resolution was introduced in the All Student Council "encouraging these officials to retain part of the design of the old Fraser in the new building so that the spirit of this relic of the founding of the University will not be lost."
THIS SENTIMENT is admirable and certainly there is no reason why some of the "spirit" of
Fraser could not be preserved in the new building if it does not interfere with the efficiency of the new building or add to its cost.
But Fraser, like many other old buildings and relics, must yield to the needs of society. It has already deteriorated to the point where it is dangerous to its occupants. In addition, the amount of room available for new buildings at the center of the campus is obviously limited.
In deciding to raze Fraser, the administration was taking the only realistic and reasonable course of action.
—William H. Mullins
Comments on the ROTC Editor:
I agree with Don Warner that we should concentrate on avoiding war instead of making plans for what to do after it starts. But 100 per cent concentration goes too far. Who would begrudge say five per cent for other purposes?
I think the more important issue concerns the existence of ROTC itself. It may shock most of us, but some people who are not Communists (Bertrand Russell, for example) have accused us of being unduly militaristic. I agree.
THE MILITARY is necessary, but when it reaches its hand into civil institutions I think it needs to be denied its object. The fact is that a great many schools have ROTC programs, there are also military high schools, and if I'm not mistaken military training even goes below that level (I'm not thinking about the Boy Scouts).
What this does, which I think is harmful, is to create (in however much a way) a militaristic atmosphere. Say all you want about how those trained in military techniques are thoroughly schooled in democratic tradition, they nevertheless learn about warfare, march around with uniforms, even saluting one another in some cases, and insofar as this happens, society gets that much more oriented toward, unfortunately, things military.
SOME WILL ARGUE that the existence of ROTC programs are in the national interest, since the military needs astute officers and such programs provide them. No doubt these programs are a source
of military personnel, but the question is at what price? I would be happier if colleges and universities got out of the military business, leaving that to the military. That might increase the burden of the military somewhat, but it is not a problem with which it could not cope.
On the other hand, permeating society with things military is the wrong way to go about trying to create an atmosphere conducive to thinking peace. As a rule I think that the pugnacity of a nation varies in some kind of direct proportion to the number of polished metal buttons worn by the non-military public. I am not advocating doing away with the military, what I am advocating is its confinement. And that involves the restricting of the instruction of military techniques to military bases.
Edward Lopatin
New York, N.Y.
graduate student
* * *
The trouble is that ROTC has become sort of a national institution. A fine attribute for a nation that is supposed to be among the most peace loving.
The Civil Rights Issue Editor:
The members of the All Student Council Human Rights Committee who were interviewed by the paper must be commended for their honest approach to the problems of their relation to the Civil Rights Council. Apparently the Committee regrets its inactivity. Its problems lie in the response of the ASC, which seems to discourage all civil rights activities. In the attitude of Chancellor Wescoe, who
appears to believe that the less done in this field the better, and in the Human Rights Committee's own lack of initiative. The Committee has continually given the CRC the lead in civil rights: "It is better for the CRC to do it openly because it can and is getting the job done" (Mr. Meeks, Thursday's UDK).
THE CHANCELLOR seems to believe that, by denying any direct contact with the CRC, he can avoid the whole civil rights problem. The people on the Human Rights Committee are responsible students, and it is hoped that they will use their new prominence to become an active organization and to present strong and responsible recommendations to the ASC and to the Chancellor. But the CRC is a far more vital and active organization and Chancellor Wescoe cannot fulfill his duty to the students in this area unless he listens to the CRC and responds openly to its suggestions.
Charles Nicol Blue Springs, Mo. graduate student
University of Kansas student newspaper
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LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler
Member Inland Daily Press Association. Associated Collegiate Press. Represented by National Advertising Service. 18 East Sloan Newark, NJ 07502. Mail subscription rates: $2 a semester or $5 a year. Published in Lawrence, Kan., every afternoon during the week except evenings and Sundays. University holidays and examination periods. Second class postage paid at Lawrence, Kansas.
HEY COACH, WHAT'S THIS I HEAR ABOUT A 'WINNING PROSPECT' YOU
FOUND FOR US THIS SEASON?
Sound and Fury
A Traffic Incident
Perhaps I have been laboring under a false illusion, but I have long considered it the job of a traffic policeman to improve the flow of traffic rather than hinder it. However, there seems to be at least one member of the campus police force who thinks otherwise.
THIS GUARDIAN OF student security stood stubbornly in the middle of the intersection of Jayhawk Blvd. and Sunflower Road at 2 p.m. last Friday and refused to allow traffic to move across the intersection because a student pedestrian or motorist had raised his irie.
One student, who witnessed the spectacle, said the gentleman in blue became excessively irritated when some inconsiderate student pulled into the intersection against his command. The infraction was compounded when a young lady, in a rather small car, attempted to thread her way through the mess. Our vigilant traffic director apprehended her immediately. Other motorists protested the ensuing traffic tie-up by hefty blasts of their horns.
THIS WAS MORE than any self-respecting public servant could take and our defender promptly halted traffic. For three minutes he stood with him arms crossed, while students continued to assail him by appropriate manipulations of the horn. Finally he consented to allow a few cars to pass through his sanctuary and ultimately full flow was restored.
After the traffic jam was dispelled, the policeman, who refused to identify himself, told a Kansan reporter:
"Those kids thought they were going to outdo me, but I outdone them."
He warned, "next time I'll take the whole mess of them down and citation them. I can do it."
When he noticed that the reporter was taking notes he said, "you better not write a story or the chief will be down there eating you out."
HE CONFIDED." I think those kids framed me. I think a bunch of them got together and framed me."
He then requested the reporter's name, classification and student number. He warned that a story on the matter would, "just make it harder on the force."
— R. G.
Sound and Fury
On Communist Speakers
Since the University of Kansas recognizes no equal in the land among institutions of higher learning, I feel it my duty to note that the University of Oregon is now one up on dear old KU: Oregon recently allowed Gus Hall, the former general secretary of the Communist Party in the United States, to speak on its campus.
I THINK our far-sighted administration here should extend Mr. Hall an invitation to speak on our campus, particularly since KU has gained a reputation for presenting all viewpoints.
We've had a Bircher (Love), a Castroite (Shaw), a newspaperman (Kilgore), a Comsymp (Schlesinger) and a Soviet official (Fomin). Now it's time we had a good old red-blooded American Commie.
Bacchus