Poor Kansas
This year's "fickle finger of fate" award goes to the voters of Kansas. These suckers—er, voters, were idealistic enough to think that a Republican legislature and a Democratic governor would be mature enough to cast aside partisanship for responsibility after the November election.
Having lost too many Democratic seats in the legislature the Democratic governor has no veto power and the Republican legislature, eager to remind him of this fact, proceeded to overrule every veto the governor tried to exercise during the 1968-69 session.
The people of Kansas voted the governor in by a sizeable plurality. He was elected on the basis of a fiscal platform
calling for a complete reform in the tax structure of the state. Lowering taxes is the only way a Democratic candidate can make it in Kansas. A Republican legislature was elected to vote "yes" on these reforms yet the whole session turned out to be nothing but a ping-pong game of partisanship on both sides.
The art of compromise apparently died in this session of the legislature. What this state needs most is a lobbyist for the people. He won't be found in Topeka.
The 1968-69 session of the Kansas legislature hath ended. Thus endeth one of the greatest political exercises in futility of the twentieth century-at the expense of the people of Kansas. (JKD)
Commemorate guns
The United States is bedecked with monuments-from one shining shore to the other, its citizens can hardly walk a straight line without tripping over a marker, museum or roadside sign.
However, our country lacks a commemorative placque to one of our greatest national heroes (a God, you might call it)—the Gun.
Our nation was founded on the firearm—at least, that's what the National Rifle Association would have us believe.
Ever since "the shot heard round the world" was fired, the United States has bowed down before the Gun as the protector, the aggressor and the virile symbol, and each generation has so taught its children.
So certainly it's disgraceful not to show outward public homage to something so dear to our hearts, traditions and our national way of life.
Perhaps a monument could be erected in Austin at the University of Dallas where Charles Whitman played executioner for a few hours atop a high tower and slayed 14 people.
Or perhaps to mark the spot of the slaying in Chicago of eight nurses, by Richard Speck, a shy social misfit who possibly saw the gun as a symbol of manhood—a symbol of belonging.
Of course, the monument could be placed almost anywhere in the cities of our
nation. Since Kansas City has lately been making its way into the big time of yearly murder ratios with a total of 108 murdered last year, most of these committed with firearms, the city might be a good candidate. The city's murder rate hasn't slackened with the new year and the chilling gunning down of an 18-year-old youth last week reaffirms Kansas City's right to a marker.
The unmentionable—deaths by guns in hunting accidents—could also vie for the honor of a monument. After all any man, woman, child, or presumably infant, in the United States has the right to shoot a gun at an animal (sometimes this includes the breed of homo sapiens). Whether he is unskilled, uncareful or unable, he has the inalienable right.
But perhaps it's unnecessary to erect a monument; our daily life with its constant reminders of the Gun cult might be sufficient. Our policemen-even those on the college campus-carry guns. Television is profuse in its adoration of the gun on western and spy stories. Our three-year-old children receive toy rifles for Christmas complete with instructions on how to kill victims.
And our legislature only gingerly passes gun-control laws, continuing to carefully avoid any criticism or complaint about the nationwide idolatry for the Great God Gun. (AMS)
Readers' write
To the Editor:
The Nixon administration's initial proposal for an anti-ballistic missile system precipitated widespread reappraisal of appropriations for the military. Many members of Congress, who recall past programs which resulted in vast wastes of money, now object to this program for it may result in the same thing. Their reservations about the expenditure, efficacy, and general desirability of the program have been successful in causing the administration to relinquish its original plan of an immense ABM shield for both people and missiles, and to replace it with a modified system for protection of missiles only, the Safeguard proposal. In addition, scientists have recently indicated that only research and development is advisable at this time; and this further opposition has brought forth the possibility that the Safeguard system may be again modified (though perhaps in name only).
Testimony of experts has asserted that the ABM system will not function as planned and that it will lead to a significant magnification of the arms race. Deployment of the Safeguard system will also result in the siphoning of billions of dollars away from essential and pressing domestic needs that we can ill afford to ignore.
Nothing can impress these facts on our legislators as effectively as strong petitions from respected academic institutions. We therefore urge you to editorialize to this end and to start a petition to be sent to your Senators and Representatives, as we already have done at William and Mary.
Our faculty and student peitions requesting that the Safeguard system not be deployed have received favorable, even enthusiastic, support here at William and Mary. In fact, interest in this issue has been so strong that we have recently expanded our efforts and are currently planning a public forum in which representatives of both sides will present their views. We are also planning a news release detailing the results of our petitions.
We hope that you will give serious consideration to our example and our suggestions. We will be pleased to assist you in any efforts you may make in presenting the ABM issue to your faculty and students, and we request that you contact us if you feel that we may be of any help.
J. Barry Cammarata
Douglas N. Chard Co-Chairmen, Ad Hoc Committee Department of Physics College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
An All-American college newspaper
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Published at the University of Kansas daily during the academic year except holidays and examination periods. Mall subscription rates: $6 a semester, $10 a year. Second class postage paid at Lawrence, Can. 60044. Accommodations, goods, services and employment are free. Membership required; creed or national origin. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the University of Kansas or the State Board of Regents.
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