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University Daily Kansan Monday. Feb. 26, 1962
Judges for Kansas
The federal court system in Kansas is now capable of handling only emergency civil matters, motions, and criminal trials, according to its only federal district court judge.
Noticeably absent from its capabilities are civil trials. A recent Kansas City Star article said the federal court system had come to "a stand-still in civil litigation because President Kennedy has not appointed the two additional judges provided for the state."
There is at present only one federal district judge in Kansas. As of February 1, 973 cases were pending in Kansas, 848 civil actions and 125 criminal. Surrounding states have a significantly lesser number.
THE TWO additional Kansas judgeships have been authorized for about six months. According to the Kansas City Star article two nominations were forwarded to President Kennedy more than a month ago.
The reasons for the delay are not readily apparent. It would probably be a good bet, however, that politics has something to do with it.
Yet there has still been no action on the appointments. The Kansas Federal court system piles more and more cases on an already overburdened docket.
KANSAS REPUBLICAN senators have urged that the post be filled. But the Kansas Democratic leader, Frank Theis, national committeeman, wants one of the judgeships for himself, according to the Star article. Also, Rep. J. Floyd Breeding (the only Democrat in Kansas' delegation to the United States Congress) has at
various times endorsed some 20 Democrats for appointments.
Politics enters into the picture through an extra-official selection system for the federal judgeships. The state bar association, Congressmen, and party leaders all get into the act before the President makes his appointment subject to approval by the Senate.
Since Gov. John Anderson is apparently interested in one of the judgeships, the Democrats may be waiting for a chance to move him in. This would take him out of this year's gubernatorial race, leaving the position wide open for a good Democratic push to seize the governorship.
BUT THE political plum of the Kansas judgeships has been hanging dormant for six months. As a result, the federal court system in Kansas has come to a near standstill. The citizens of a state have a right to expect the federal court system of a state to operate more efficiently.
Or another good possibility is that the Democrats in Kansas have not yet decided upon whom they want for the judgeships. Kennedy may be holding off until the Democrats have decided how they can best strengthen their Kansas party with the judgeships.
THIS SYSTEM of selection leaves plenty of holes for politics to rear its head. This is evidently what has happened in the filling of the two additional federal judgeships in Kansas.
The state and national politicians who are playing politics with these two federal judgements in Kansas should keep that in mind.
—Karl Koch
Greek Discrimination
Editor:
Am I dumb or is the administration's statement on fraternity and sorority discrimination intentionally ambiguous? It states that they have the right to choose with whom they will live. Does this mean if they do not want to admit minority group members the administration will support them in that choice; or does it mean if they do want to admit such students the administration will defend them? All things to all people, I suppose.
Jan Smythe
Topeka sophomore
● ●
Fraser Hall Praised Editor:
Anyone who would seriously consider tearing down Fraser Hall has not the remotest idea of what makes a University a living, breathing institution. If you want a string of aluminum and glass buildings along the boulevard, then you destroy a link with the past and you kill the spirit of a university.
Mrs. Margaret Alberta Truitt
Denver, Colorado
. . .
YAF and Payton Castigated Editor:
The local chapter of the YAF has made some incredibly sensational news in the last three weeks, most of which can be considered as just so much noise from so many "Johnny Birchers."
Yet, it seems more incredible to me that the chapter has not embarked on a wholesale propaganda program of condemnation of the entire administration of the University. For, after all, aren't the University owned and operated dormitories, lunch or snack counters, laundries, married students housing, etc., etc., all socialist enterprises designed to run some "rugged individualist" out of business? And isn't the Kansas Union the most striking example of the "pink Socialism" which is surrounding us all? And the Union Book Store—good Lord, I can't see how these conservatives' consciences allow them to spend a dime in such an obviously Communistic movement. Yes, arise YAF members, we are surrounded by the "plague" from all quarters. What are we to do?
LOGICALLY THE YAF would have a constitution pledging themselves to combat the Socialist policy of the University as their major objective. However, logic does not seem to be one of the qualities of the YAF. Presumably their leader, Marick Payton, is employed in some of the "pink" functions of the University's activities. Thus, I have been anxiously awaiting Mr. Payton's resignation as a University employee and his subsequent statement charging "subversive" activities being harbored by his employer, but alas, as yet I have not seen this.
in Mr. Payton's letter of Feb. 14, to the UDK, I was surprised when I found that he had not charged the UDK with being "Communist infiltrated" and that it is destroying the incentive of a private citizen to stamp out an "American" paper for us poor "thoroughly indoctrinated" students. Mr. Payton asks why his organization's basic philosophy and theory of economics have not been challenged. The answer to this is that they are so antiquated and naive, and so obviously outdated, that no one bathers to do so. Mr. Mullin's editorial of Feb. 12 was most certainly praiseworthy and if it is an "inane" assertion to state that the YAF is a political fringe group that is usually wrong in its approach to economic or political problems, it is beyond hope for this radical bunch to see the light of truth and responsibility. (Possibly reality and sensibility too.)
MR. PAYTON has stated that there aren't any conservatives in the Political Science or Economic Departments and surely if he could overcome the "barrel sighted" vision of his own prejudice, he would perhaps see why this is true. Let us state first that all of us have a basic conservativeness and that we retain it throughout our lives. This is in regard to economics and I feel that this basic conservativeness is retained by all our professors on the hill. Most students of political science and of economics gain such an insight into their theories that they quite logically and quite correctly accept the more liberal philosophies of both. They are by no means indoctrinated or swayed by forces other than their own intellectual insight. I have taken
LITTLE MAN ON CAMPUS by Dick Bibler
many courses on this campus in the above subjects and have always found the subject matter presented in a free and open manner, open for discussion by both sides of the class. It follows that the overwhelming majority of students take, as I do, a middle of the road attitude toward these studies. The very first reading in Government I is Eliot's "Facts and Values in Political Analysis," which might be extremely beneficial for YAF members and Mr. Payton to read.
I have found that an instructor with liberal leanings is also the most liberal in presenting all sides of the picture in the classroom. In high school, out in Western Kansas, all of my teachers were rock-ribbed conservatives with approaches as old as McKinley's and to say the word "liberal" was damn near a sin. To even find any liberal reading, one would have had to search through the Public Library, not the high school library where it should have been.
IF MR. PAYTON wants a Goldwater in the University political Science Department, then I say grant him a scholarship so he himself can become this Goldwater. But he would reject this scholarship as a Communist handout and perhaps it is best, for I would venture to say that his classes would be the most boring on campus and the presentations would all be Robert Welch dogma. Or, perhaps, Mr. Payton's intellectual ability is on the same level as his colleague, Scott Stanley.
There is one area in which I wish to LAUD the YAF for its far-sightedness and intellectual insight, and that is in their selection of Portugal as their country to represent at the model U.N. Nothing could be more fitting and I shall eagerly be awaiting their wholesale condemnation of their ally, the U.S. and its horrid foreign policy. For after all, shouldn't the U.S. be fighting India right now, defending the rights of our ally Portugal. All this is to be blamed on that hopeless "socialist demagogue" in the White House, isn't it Mr. Payton? Here I say HURRAH for the YAF.
Alec Hamilton
P. S. No, Mr. Payton, I'M NOT a Communist as you suppose, but a good and true loyal American. A good Kansas Republican in fact.
"NICE OF YOU BOYS NEXT DOOR TO WASH OUR WINDOWS WE HADN'T EVEN NOTICED THEY WERE GETTING DIRTY."
In Defense of a Kansan Series Editor:
Editor.
Needless to say, the opinion of the L. S. Kubie articles (on Faith and Non-Belief), expressed by Mr. Hilbert is not the only one available. I am sure that a great many people felt, as I did, that this series was one of the Kansan's brightest moments of the year, or years.
MR. HILBERTS objections are, themselves, open to several objections. His quarrel with the factual basis of Kubie's observations on the public consensus regarding faith and faith vis-a-vis education is refuted by a myriad of opinion polls (such as presented by Herberg) and by individual incidents (the classic but far from isolated example being the Russell-CCNY affair). Waving an un-labeled list, either pro or con, at best proves nothing.
Mr. Hilbert next supposedly shows by means of logical analysis that Kubie is guilty of an "absurdity" requiring "childish credulity." He first needlessly ascertains that Kubie cannot claim to absolute truth. Then, either deliberately or helplessly, he commits his fallacy, which is assuming that an admission that truth is only approximately approached is equivalent to an admission that any such truth (which would include all scientific truth) is necessarily in part certainly wrong. This is ridiculous.
A PROPOSITION put forth as a human attempt to approximate truth is in no way logically condemned to contain error merely because it lacks a divine seal, or whatever is supposed to confer infallibility. Mr. Kubie's statement may not be true (I believe it is true) but that is a matter for evidence, not verbal sleight-of-hand, to decide.
Mr. Hilbert says he objects to
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the printing of these articles not because they question faith but because these particular articles are "stupid." Would he please recommend to Kansan readers some writings which reach the same unfriendly conclusion as did Kubie, but which he does not consider stupid. If he cannot think of such an example, one must conclude that in reality he wishes to prevent publication of any material unfriendly to religious faith.
B. H. Wildenthal Lawrence graduate student
***
As a member of the committee which sponsored the showing of "Operation Correction" I would like to make the following comments.
Comments on Operation Correction
Editor:
First I would like to thank all those who contributed both their time and money to make possible the showing of the film and the debate which followed.
SECONDLY it would appear that the appearance of Mr. K. Myers on this campus has demonstrated to anyone concerned that the students and faculty of the University of Kansas have been and will continue to be, open to all points of view. It should be apparent to anyone, after listening to Mr. Myers speak for himself, that his capacity for judging what is fit to be seen and heard on this or any other university campus has been grossly over-exaggerated. His exposure to this University yielded only gross generalizations, distortions, and out-right unfounded accusations which were now substantiated.
FINALLY WE must observe that both Mr. Myers and Mr. Tankersley willingly agreed that there were many more mistakes in the original film "Operation Abolition" than Chairman Walter of HUAC was willing to agree to. This in itself seems evidence that Abolition is greatly limited and that further showing of the film only perpetuates gross distortions.
Kansas University has come through the whole ugly mess begun by the "Americans" from Wichita in rather honorable fashion. From the Administration to the ASC we have stood for some rather basic principles. I personally am proud of KU and would like to thank everyone for simply sticking to what they believed to be right. Now let's move on to more significant problems.
Stephen S. Baratz
Lawrence graduate student