TWO.
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
WEDNESDAY. FEHRUARY 21. 1 934.
The Daily Nebraskan
Station A, Lincoln. Nebraska
OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
Thl paper I represented for general
artvertielng by the
Neuraika Press Association
S&ssoriatrd tfoUrnlntr $rrs
Entered as second-class matter at the postoftlce'n
Lincoln, Nebraska, under act ot congress, March J, 1879,
and at special rate of postage provided for In "ion
1103, act of October 3, 19 7, authorized January 20, 1822.
THIRTY. THIRD YEAR
Published Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Friday and
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-chief Bruce Nicoll
Managing Editors ........
Burton Marvin Violet Cross
News Editors
Jack Fischer Fred Nicklaa Lamoine Blola
Society Editor VlrKini,S o'
Snorts Editor Irwin Ryan
Sports Assistants Jack Gmbe and Arnold Levlne
Contributing Editors.
Maurice Johnson Dick Moran Carlyle Hodgkin
BUSINESS STAFF
Bernard Jennings Business Manager
Assistant Business Managers
George Holyoka Wilbur Erickson Dick Schmidt
Advertising Solicitors
Robert Funk Truman Oberndorf
Circulation Department
Harry West Phyllli Sidner
What About
Phi Beta Kappa?
DHI Beta Kappa, national honorary scholastic or
ganizatlon, was made the subject of an attack
last week by Dr. Edward Ellery, former president
of the New York state organization of the society.
His statements brought forth a storm of protest
The discussion casts new slants on a debatable
question.
According to Dr. Ellery, the fraternity has done
nothing to "enrich the life of the college world or
'of the individuals who compose it"
The acting president of Union College de
clared that the principal reason why Phi Beta
Kappa has failed to exert any "definite and positive
influence" in the intellectual advancement of indiv
iduals and institutions is its reliance on the grades
received by students. It merely "seconds the mo
tion" of professors who give out grades, he said,
and makes no distinction between difficult and easy
courses.
"Phi Beta Kappa can adopt an independent
basis of eligibility one of its own devising and un
der its control," he declared. "It can demand from
all candidates an idea or two, instead of an ability
to reproduce on call a few facts from a mental
store accumulated during undergraduate life."
As a remedy the eminent professor suggests
that the society should blacklist those courses which
require a small amount of mental effort and which
are generally regarded as pipes. He also suggested
that the grading system be abolished.
The blanket indictment made by Dr. Ellery is
not a new one. Rather has it been sounded before.
A great deal of time and words have been wasted
on this controversial subject
' Dr. Ellery suggests a change little short of
revolutionary. At the outset we suspect Dr. Ellery
would encounter some difficulty in setting up a
workable system that would ultimately weed out
the pipe courses. In addition Dr. Ellery fails, rather
prominently, in suggesting a substitute system for
establishing requirements for membership in the or
ganization. The professor's suggestion that the rrade sys
tem be abolished has come In for considerable re
hashing in recent times. As a matter of fact a few
educational leaders have made revisions of the grad
ing system. On the whole however, it has remained
unchanged.
Dr. Ellery's massage has often been heard on
this campus. Especially at convocation time do the
critics of the system make themselves heard. For
the most part they are "sour grapes." Others have
substantial grounds to base their claims upon. It
is a commonly admitted fact that some students
fail to make the necessary average by a few points.
Others miss it quite a distance. As such, member
ship in Phi Beta Kappa does not indicate superior
intelligence. Furthermore it points rather conclu
sively to the fact that the system of selection if far
from perfect even Inadequate.
For lack of a better scheme educational insti
tutions such as Nebraska have continued to use the
grade system. As such, Phi Beta Kappa on this
campus will, of necessity, continue to use the grade
system to determine membership.
Reform in this direction, we feel, is in t e far
distant future. Students must content themselves,
perforce, with the status quo. One thing is evident
however: Thinking individuals are beginning to
tread upon the heretofore untrammeled havens of
Phi Beta Kappa.
Close Vps and
Long Shots.
CCORDING to yesterday's Nebraskan the Pillar
Committee is again showing signs of activity.
They have been working for some time and every
thing is decided except where to put the pillars, who
will put them up, when they will be put up. All this
action depends upon the board of regents approval
when the plans are completed. The project, when
completed, should enhance the university malls.
The prom committee took a nice picture. They
also indicated in yesterday's Nebraskan that the
winner of the presentation contest has not been de
cided. For a while we thought they were not going
to have anything to present
A tun detective will apeak at the University
school of music convocation Friday afternoon. From
all appearances It should be good. We rtlnenUy
suggest however, that the good gentlemen do a
little detecting with the glee dub.
Ogden Mills little piece has seemingly aroused
the ire of many editors. Boiling it all down most
of them seem to consider presidential-hope Kills
only as much as Mr. Mills hopes to be president
The Student Pulse
Brief, concise, contributions pertinent to matteis
of student lite and the university ,ue welcomed by
this department, under the usual restrictions of sound
newspaper practice, whicn excludes all libelous mat
ter and personal attacks. Letters accepted do not
necessarily indicate the editorial policy of this paper.
amlners. Federal and state authorities seeking to
fortify the American banking system and insure tho
safeguarding of depositors' money will do well to
consider these recommendtions. Minnesota Dally.
A Message to the Councilmen.
TO THE EDITOR:
Last Thursday under the pretense ot doing
something constructive, the Student Council called
together so-called leaders of the various organiza
tions to discuss the proposed reorganization of the
council. Included in the gathering were some truly
sincere and capable students, some astute and en
terprising campus politicians, and some unelnssifi-
ables. Supposed to bring student criticism ot the
student council to a head and to formulate some
Idea oi revision, the meeting resolved itself more or
less into a good "bull session," and often strayed
far from the subject at hand.
For its deviations the meeting may be for
given. But what is inexcusable and what is one of
the most abysmal failures of purposes perpetrated
so far this year was the instruction given those
present to go home and think the matter over. The
student council president, after sitting smugly for
over an hour as chairman of the discussion and say
ing very little, sr.id to go home and think about the
very idea the meeting was supposed to consider!
The meeting was absolutely inconclusive! No deci
sions were reached. Very few definite plans of
revision or procedure were advanced. With one or
two exceptions, indecision was the keynote of the
-whole discussion.
What is wrong with student leaders? Have
initiative, resourcefulness, originality, and individ
uality fled to the nether regions that such stifling of
campus progress shall continue? How long will
such dilly-dallying pervade the atmosphere of sup
posed student leaders' gatherings? How long will
the campus tolerate such half-hearted and insincere
efforts on the parts of supposed leaders and espe
cially its governing body?
I point specifically to the business of council
reorganization as conducted by a special committee
appointed at the first of the year. After five
months of effort ( ? ) the committee comes forth
with two plans, the fruits of its toil, which are of
doubtful quality of merit. Specific weaknesses of
the present arrangement were entirely neglected.
Is it possible that they were blind to these defects?
I say no. They are too evident
Witness the present set-up of the council based
upon proportional representation from the various
colleges. I ask how many campus activities are
carried on thru the medium of the respective col
leges ? Few indeed. And on what grounds tis the
presen system of proportion based? Review the
figures on college enrollment for the past semester;
Pharmacy, 72; Dentistry, 73; Law, 1S1; Ag
riculture, 396; Graduate College 396; and Busi
ness Administration, 578. The enrollment va
ries from 72 to 578 yet each constituency
has but one male representative. True enough, the
latter three colleges included both men and women,
but the male enrollment in each of those still is in
the majority. Engineering college with 578 en
rolled, the same number as Business Administra
tion, has two representatives on the council how
ever. Is that proportional representation? I say
no and that is but one example of a number which
show that the very idea of proportional representa
tion on the council is hooey and has been thrown to
the winds.
No provision is made for ability. If there
should be no capable or interested man in some col
lege, one is elected anyway. I cite as proof the
cases of the past two or three years when in some
colleges but one candidate filed and that one often
not until the last minute when no one else would.
Similar cases among the women candidates could
be cited if necessary.
But ceasing my comment, I believe the student
body want a change and are expecting the council
to assume the leadership in correcting its own de
fects. So far its disposition has been not to do this.
The council Is "on the spot" as a result and can well
afford now to throw off its mantel of lethargy and
show the students it still has some semblance of a
governing body left How about some action on re
organization right away? B. R,
Contemporary Comment
Placing the Blame
For Bank Failures.
pURING the American banking debacle which
culminated in the national bank holiday of last
March, bank directors and officers, defending them
selves and their system against a welter of criti
cism, united in shifting responsibilities for losses on
the depression in the securities market. Thousands
of banks failed, millions of dollars were tied up in
frozen assets, and for answer the banker pointed
blandly to the drastically falling price level and
considered himself wholly absolved. The question
of mismanagement was indignantly rejected.
Now that the tumult and the shouting have sub
sided, exponents of that magical formula will take
small comfort in a report prepared by Prof. Robert
Weidenhammer of the University of Minnesota and
published in the January number of the Annals of
the American Academy of Political and Social Sci
ence. In a survey covering 50 banks out of 479 in
Minnesota which closed between 1920 and 1932 the
report charted and correlated such factors as cash
and secondary reserve, loans, real estate, ratio of
Capital funds and deposits, bond holdings and bank
borrowings. The results point conclusively to a
lack of objective criteria in banking methods, and
to an equal lack of understanding and experience on
the part of the bankers themselves.
A number of specific abuses was revealed. One
of the most notable was the overexpansion of loans
in proportion both to capital stock and to deposits.
Moreover, it was found that in every case the bank
failed to maintain a proper secondary reserve to
protect its liquidity. In many cases it was found
that even the cash reserve was inadequate. Other
factors such as excessive real estate holdings, large
borrowings to permit loan expansion, and preten
tious bank buildings contributed in many cases to
the collapse of the institution. In relatively few
cases could the bank's failure be attributed to the
decline in security values.
Granted that banking reforms have been insti
tuted under the federal insurance act and the con
sequent tightening of government supervision, the
record of the '20s nevertheless remains black re
proach, both to the nation's r-ankers and to the lax
ity of the official examiners who failed to remedy
tho situation in time. With a view to preventing
recurrence of such conditions, the survey recom
mends a number of reforms, two of which are par
ticularly emphasized. The first Is a standard by
which to limit the quantity of loans and provide for
adequate secondary reserve, and the second applies
to the personnel and supervisory powers of bank ex-
Ag College
By
Carlyle Hoilpkin
Bis antl Burgeois.
One of the stereotyped phrases most commonly
used by university officials, even on high and dig
nified occasions, is this: "the student body." Now
why do they use such a phrase as that when to
simply say, "the students," would mean the same
thing and save a word ?
The reason Is that, once It is started, one easily
falls Into the habit of using such a phrase, and this
"student body" phrase got started because it tends
to give the mind a sort of picture not found in
the single word, students. But what sort of a pic
ture does "the student body" call to mind? Is it a
complementary one to the most of the students who
help to form that student body ?
To most students the student body Is probably
a coed a vague and indefinite one, but a coed nev
ertheless. To a few, however, the student body may
be a Rah! Rah! boy in a baloon pants and a red
sweater. Which ever it is, it is sure that the stu
dent body Is big and ungainly. It is a great hulk
sitting somewhere on a chair or two, holding a lap
full of text books, staring in awe at a university
professor, and wondering what the score is.
Because the students who are represented in
the phrase form a large, relatively disorganized
mass when they are all together, it follows that the
stereotype of the student body must be large, un
gainly, and disorganized. It is no complement to
any individual student to feel himself a part of such
a body.
The student body, of course, must have all the
usual parts that make up a body. That means that
some few students get to be the brains. Others
have to be the beef. Still others have to be even
less desirable parts. Now few would be willing to
be anything but the brains. And if no one will be
any part other than the brains, there can't really
be any student body at all, only a large number of
students.
It follows also that if there is a student body,
there must be a student mind. And who will volun
teer to define that? There is no more a student
mind than there is any other kind of a public mind.
Try to get any large part of the students to agree
on any subject which they have given any thought!
No, the student body as an entity in itself is
so vague, so indefinite, so trite so uncomplementary
a picture for the average student to contemplate, so
big, so awkward, and so dumb that it might be a
good idea to just forget about the student body and
give each student a chance to be an individual. Why
not let the students be called just the students?
For Other Years.
This week the Coil-Agri-Fun committee meets
to settle the year's business and to elect a commit
tee for next year's ehow. They will be thinking
about and talking about ways to give the show new
life and zest next year, ways to make it a better
show. An analysis of tho production last Friday
night would, of course, bo in order as a starting
point for such a discussion.
One thing will doubtless stand out in tho minds
of the Coll-Agrl-Fun committee as they tackle their
problem. Tho themes of the skits from year to year
are too similar. The big job is to find new squirks
for the skits.
It seen.s that the general theme of several skits
will not be greatly different any year. Especially
so Is that true of the chorus. Their act will be
songs. But if some new quirk can be given the
singing, then the whole thing is made new, and
everybody likes it.
Consider the acts that were the most popular
this year. The theme of Miss Nevada Wheeler's
Farm Op skit was not greatly difterent than last
year dancing, kicking, singing. But the novel cos
tumes gave it a newness, and the scene of the skit
gave it a note of humor that made it a different
show than last year.
Incidentally, the Farm Ops have won the first
prize two years now. And It's a safe bet that if
prizes are given next year they will win it again.
For Miss Wheeler can take two dozen big, husky
farmers, put them In those dainty costumes which
she so aptly designs, and put on a skit that will
make any group in Ag college hump to beat
The first skit of the show was an unusually
good example of how a simple and common theme
can be given a clever twist. The whole thing was
set to rhyme. That alone made it new.
Go all the way thru the list of skits, and it is
clear that they were successful just to the extent
that they were able to give some new twist to an
old theme, to add, as it were, a new flavor to the
old and familiar soup.
Second semester officers for the university
Four-H club have been elected as follows: Elmer
Heyne, president, Ruth Wolf, vice president, Ruth
Carston, secretary, Howard Pitzer, treasurer, Wil
liam Donahue, news reporter.
On the organization's calender for the semester
are meetings the first Tuesday night of each month,
a mixer or two, a program for the boys and girls
during the club week next June, and a picnic for
the same group during that week.
The University Four-H club, like many another
student organization, has no highly vital function
to fill. There is perhaps nothing it does that might
not be done as well without it Some other organi
zation could have more meetings, sponsor a mixer
or two, give a picnic for the club boys and girls.
The club would find it hard, indeed, to show some
vital function it has to fill, some real need that it
Is designed to satisfy.
If its usefulness lies not in the importance f
its function, then where does it lie? It lies in the
initiative of the club's officers. If they prepare
an interesting program for the meeting each month,
if they find jobs for a goodly number of the mem
bers so that all will feel themselves a part of the
club, if they will get the group to working on a
good program for the club boys and girls, if they
will keep the members doing something, and there
by deriving some benefit from the club, then there
will be reason enough by why the club should exist.
There have in the past been live and active
Four-H clubs on Ag campus. There have been oth
ers almost at the other extreme. It depends in large
measure, on the personality of the officers.
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
A new tradition has been started
at Christian college with the hold
ing of the first pet show at the
Columbia, Mo., institution.
The University of Hawaii sent
a squad of 25 men a distance of
10,000 miles to play Denver uni
versity In football last fall. The
players on the Hawaii team, de
spise shoes, yet kick for fifty yards
or more with great accuracy.
Most Chinese universities are co
educational, but none of the high
schools are. The only courses avail
able for women in universities are
teaching courses and training for
secretarial work.
The giraffe is unique among
mammals in the respect that it
has absolutely no power of making
sound with vocal cords.
Y.W.C.A. STAFF MEETINGS.
Tho staff meetings for Y, W c.
A. members and leaders are; So.
clal, Evelyn Diamond, Monday Ht
5. Vespers, Alaire Barkes, Mon
day at 5. International staff, Lor.
raine Hitchcock, Tuseday at 4, So
cial Order, Bash Perkins Tuesday
at 1. Finance, Marjorie SnoRtali
Thursday at 4. Publicity, Dorothy
Cathers, Tuesday at 4. Swap Shop
Thendora Lornman, Thursday g
4. Program and Office, rhyllis
Jean Humphrey, Wednesday at 3
World Forum, Beth SchmiU
Thursday at 4. Posters, Ruth Allen'
Thursday at 4. Church Relations'
Mary Edythe Hendricks, Wednes
day at 5.
Miss Miller will conduct a spe
cial study group on "The Life of
Jesus." This study is led on Thurs
day at 1 o'clock and on Sunday
morning at 9 o'clock.
Y.W.C. A. INTEREST GROUPS.
The follow Y. W. Interest groups
will hold meetings in Ellen Smith
hall this week:
Tuesday at 1 Books and poetry,
Janet Vacek.
Tuesday from 12:30 to 2 Hand
craft, Ruth Armstrong.
Tuesday at 4 Kodakery, Marg.
arei waia.
Wednesday at 5 Keep Current,
Violet Cross.
Thursday at 4 Know Your City,
Lois Rathburn.
Thursday at B Art of Being a
Hostess, Arlene Bors.
STAMP COLLECTORS.
7:30 Thursday evening, Feb. 22.
in Social Sciences 301, there wili
lie an organization meeting of a
University Stamp Club, to which
members of the faculty, student
body or administrative staff, are
invited. Plans also call for an auc
tion so bring anything you wish
to sell, either U. S. or foreign.
LUTHERAN STUDENTS.
Lutheran students will meet for
Bible study Wednesday in room
203 of the Temple building. Rev
erend Erck will have charge of
the class.
GIRLS COMMERCIAL CLUI.
The Girls Commercial club will
meet Wednesday evening at 7
o'clock at Ellen Smith hall.
CORN COBS.
Corn Cobs will meet In the
Tempie building Wednesday eve
ning at 7:30.
PENNSYLVANIA.
Speaking of his football career
while at Northwestern to a Penn
sylvanian interviewer, Billy Sun
day, noted evangelist, said with
characteristic modesty: "The in
terference never was of any use to
me as I ran so fast I left all my
interference far behind me." All
shrinking violets aren't found in a
vase !
Fried
Half -Spring Chicken
In jointed on New Pears mmgt
Olnre, Crisp Bacon
PTOMAINE TONY'S
FACING CAMPUS
oading a pipe, son,
is like building a fire
NOW if you want to build
a fire you've got to have
the right kind of chimney, and
you've got to have the right kind
of wood, seasoned right and
packed right in the fireplace. If
you've got all this, it's easy to
light up.
"It's pretty near the same way
in smoking a pipe. Now if you've
got Granger Tobacco the right
kind of pipe tobacco any old
pipe will do.
"And if you put in a pinch at a
time and pack it down good and
tight the way to load a pipe all
you need to do is strike a match.
"Granger smokes sweet and cool
right down to the bottom of the
bowl.
"That's pipe comfort, I tell you."
(granger Ron
hCut
19V4, Lieem Mm Toatcco Co.
the pipe tobacco that's MILD
the pipe tobacco that's COOL
Jolks scent to liie it
n