US troops enter Cambodia
WASHINGTON (UPI) President Nixon announced Thursday night that several thousand American ground combat troops had entered Cambodia to wipe out Communist headquarters for all military operations against South Vietnam.
The President also announced he would provide "small arms and other equipment" to enable the Cambodian government "to defend its neutrality."
"This is not an invasion," the President told the nation and
the world in a broadcast from his White House office. "The areas in which these attacks will be launched are completely occupied and controlled by North Vietnamese forces ..."
Administration officials, amplifying the President's remarks, said several thousand Americans along with some South Vietnamese troops struck at 7 p.m. EDT into a long-held Communist sanctuary 20 miles inside Cambodia and about 55 miles northwest of Saigon. The President expects the operation to last between six weeks and two months.
Nixon said the actions were "in no way directed at the security interest of any nation." He warned: "Any government that chooses to use these actions as a pretext for harming relations with the United States will be doing so on its own responsibility and at its own initiative, and we will draw the appropriate conclusions."
Nixon's speech was broadcast live nationwide and by satellite to at least a half-dozen Far Eastern and Southeast
Asian countries. The Voice of America carried the address worldwide, including the Soviet Union and Communist China.
The President said his decisions were "indispensable" for assuring the success of his program to withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam and to end the war rather than having it drag on endlessly.
The President noted that ten days earlier, in his report to the nation on Vietnam, that he had warned he would take strong and effective measures to deal with any increased
enemy activity in Laos, Cambodia or South Vietnam which endangered American troops.
"Despite that warning, North Vietnam has increased its military aggression in all three areas-particularly in Cambodia," he said.
"I have concluded that the actions of the enemy in the last ten days clearly endanger the lives of Americans who are in Vietnam now and would constitute an unacceptable risk to those who will be there after our withdrawal of 150,000" men over the next year.
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80th Year, No. 126 The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas Friday, May 1, 1970
Chalmers refutes Agnew's speech
By LINDA WRIGHT Kansan Staff Writer
Chancellor E. Laurence Chalmers Jr. said Thursday he was "astonished" by the observations of Vicepresident Spiro T. Agnew on the burning of the Kansas Student Union April 20.
Agnew reportedly said that he hoped the students who burned the Union would be brought to justice.
Chalmers criticized Agnew for "leaping to the conclusion" that KU students were responsible for setting the fire.
"I am greatly concerned," Chalmers said, "by the inference that students burned the Union."
Chalmers said Agnew's remarks had no basis since no suspects had been arrested and no information had been released which would implicate students.
He also said there was no reason to believe that the Lawrence police and the Douglas County sheriff's office were not working with a substantial amount of evidence regarding the Union fire.
Chalmers said there was a very good chance that the person or persons responsible for the Union fire would be caught, especially since a suspect had already been arrested for starting the ROTC building fire.
In a speech earlier in the week, Agnew blamed campus violence on faculties that failed to guide students.
"The true responsibility for these aberrations and the nurturing of arrogance and contempt for constitutional authority rests not with the young people on campuses, but with those who so miserably fail to guide them." Agnew said.
The vice-president said American universities had become a spawning ground and sanctuary for revolution and rebellion. He proposed a nine-point program for handling what he called "the criminal left."
- Barring campus organizations which publicly declare intention to violate the rules of an academic community and then do so.
- Establishing a clear set of rules for campus conduct with immediate expulsion for serious violations.
- Ending open door enrollment policies for unqualified students.
Agnew's proposals included:
- Eliminating amnesty for lawlessness or violence.
Agnew said campus radicals are the offspring of "affluent, permissive, upper middle class parents who learned their Dr. Spock and threw discipline out the window—when they should have done the opposite."
In rebuttal to these proposals, Chalmers said the University had already taken effective measures to establish guidelines for student conduct with the implementation of the Student Senate Code of Conduct.
The proper focus for the code, Chalmers said, is not on organizations, but on individuals.
Agnew quoted Kingman Brewster, president of Yale University, as stating that he did not feel that black revolutionaries could get a fair trial within our judicial system.
In reference to Agnew's remark that universities were becoming spawning grounds for revolution, Chalmers said that if by revolution Agnew meant change at large, then yes, the universities were producing revolutionaries. But if he was referring to destructive change, then KU could not be considered a spawning ground for destructive revolution.
Chalmers said the question is not whether or not
UDK News Roundup
By United Press International
Chicago greets astronauts
CHICAGO — The city prepared its "biggest fireworks display" and a downtown ticker-tape parade today for the visit of Apollo 13 Astronauts James A. Lovell and John L. Swigert.
The two astronauts and six Mission Control personnel from Houston, who helped bring the crippled Apollo spacecraft safely; back to earth, were to visit the city to be honored and to answer questions from some of the city's outstanding school children.
Big Eight meet on TV
LAWRENCE—A 34-station network will telewise the finals of the Big Eight Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 15-16 at the University of Kansas.
Wayne Duke, Big Eight commissioner, and Mark I. Wodlinger, president of Inmedia, Inc., made the announcement Thursday.
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2
Docking to announce candidacy
Governor Robert Docking is expected to announce his candidacy for a third term of office Saturday at three news conferences arranged by his office.
In a speech before the Wichita Lion's Club Wednesday, Docking said, "This is only the beginning. There is much more to do."
James Shaffer, Docking's assistant press secretary, said Docking had been urged to run for office by thousands of supporters who approved his tax lid measure and his methods of handling the violence in Lawrence last week.
But, Shaffer said, there are also supporters of Docking who are urging him to wait two years and run against Senator James Pearson, who is expected to declare his candidacy for governor in 1972.
"They think Docking has done all he can, and should quit while he is at his highest peak," Shaffer said.
If Docking decides to run, Shafer said his campaign issues would be the same as in the past. That would mean reforms in state government, and tax structure reform which would be the main issues, with pollution, criminal administration and conflict of interest cases sharing space on the platform.
Shaffer said the recent criticism
of Docking for his tax lid reform would not hurt him in an upcoming election.
"Docking has been trying to do away with the duplication of stage governmental agencies," Shaffer said. He has instituted a committee to study duplication, but the
program is only in its beginning stages."
If Docking succeeds in winning a third term, it will be the first time in Kansas history that anyone has served three terms as governor.
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Photo by Larry Fencyk
Peace?
A spring day and a girl with a hula hoop are the ingredients of a peaceful day. The wind on the top of the hill made the attempt to hold onto the hoop express the symbol of the feelings of the day.