TWO.
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1934.
The Daily Nebraskan
Station A, Lincoln. Nebraska
OFFICIAL STUDENT PUBLICATION
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRA8KA
MEMBER jj&fo, 1934
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THIRTY. THIRD YEAR
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor-in-Chief Bruce Nlcoll
Mananlnn Editors
Violet Cross
News Editors .
Fred Nicklas Lamolne Bible
Virginia Selleck
Irwin Ryan
, Jack Grube and Arnold Levin
Contributing Editors
Dick Moran Carlyle Hodgkln
BUSINESSSTAFF
Bernard Jennings Business Manager
Assistant Business Managers
George Holyoko Wilbur Erlckson Dick Schmidt
Advertising Soliictors
Robert Funk Truman Oberndorf
Circulation Department
Harry West Phyllis Sldner
Burton Marvin
Jack Fischer
Society Editor....
Sports Editor.
Sports Assistant..
Maurice Johnson
Is P.B.K. Membership
An Achievement?
rjTHE thirty-seventh regular announcement of new
ly elected Phi Beta Kappa members was made
Tuesday morning. Forty-three' university under
graduates were chosen. Approximately 100 people
attended the convocation in the Temple theater.
There was slight applause as the names were an
' nounced.
This Is not unusual. For years the announce
ment of Phi Beta Kappa selections has created lit
tle more than a ripple of mild concern among stu
dents. Perhaps this inay have been naturally ex
pected during the gay twenties. But with the sober
ing effect of the depression on university campuses,
it seems unusual that so little student attention
should be paid to this occasion.
Sufficient justification for student indifference
may easily be found. Indeed, they are simply re
flecting the barrage of criticism leveled at Phi Beta
Kappa for many decades. Some of the critics are
misinformed. Others find ample evidence at hand
to justify their criticism of an organization that has
seemingly lost its original usefulness.
Phi Beta Kappa, oldest Greek letter society in
America, was created to award deserved distinction
upon undergraduates excelling in scholarship. Those
admitted to its membership represented the true
scholars of a university. Its creation fulfilled a
much needed function. Theoretically Phi Beta Kap
pa still epitomizes scholastic endeavor on our uni
versity campus. There is unquestionably a place
for this type of organization. From this point of
view, Phi Beta Kappa as an organization, and its
specific purpose cannot be severely criticized.
Theoretically this is an ideal situation. But
the actual picture is far different. In practice the
benefits of Phi Beta Kappa chapters on university
campuses, at best, has been doubtful. As the sys
tem actually worked out, the best interests of the
organization have suffered. But far more unfortu
nate, it has not stimulated students, generally
speaking, to achieve higher scholarship and even
tual membership in its ranks.
The basic evil, we feel, lies in the system of se
lection employed by Phi Beta Kappa. At present
the only prerequisite necessary for membership is
high grades. Obviously well meaning members of
this organization labored under the illusion that
students with high grades meant good scholars.
Common sense teaches us differently. There
are students in the university, it must be admitted,
for whom high grades mean success and above av
erage ability. On the other hand, there are stu
dents who do not revel in ability to obtain high
grades, contenting themselves, for the most part,
with thorough understanding of their work. For
them, high grades hold little significance.
Upon this issue Phi Beta Kappa has been torn
to shreds by well meaning and intelligent critics.
They point cut that Phi Beta Kappa selects, in most
cases ambitious grade getters not true scholars.
In many instances these criticisms are well found
ed. Many Phi Beta Kappa members are students
whose principle merit lies in the ability to memorize
"parrot-like," a maze of incoherent facts long
enough to pass an examination and eventually
Realize a high grade. Indeed the only justification
for selection of these over-zealous undergraduates
ft the virtue of high grades. Their ultimate value
to the student, and how they are obtained, is appar
ently insignificant.
It appears, then, that Phi Beta Kappa as an
organization, is not at fault. It is more than evi
dent that the system of selection has outworn its
usefulness. It is also apparent that only a few of
its members deserve the honor. But the evils of
this system have not been confined to the organiza
tion alone. In fact, it has created an epidemic of
"mittwringing" in our university. Unfortunately its
victims foster the illusion that ability to worm high
grades out of professors is a signal achievement and
the mark of a true scholar.
It seems unfortunate, too, that many young
men and women cf scholarly quality, are barred
from membership in this organization purely on the
score that they failed to accumulate enough flimsy
figures to run the gauntlet of a necessary average.
iTTH these facts in mind, it seems a trifle per
niclous for this organization to overlook obvi
ous discrepancies in its makeup. But apparently
Phi Beta Kappa has been unmoved by its critics.
This is unfortunate.
When an organization loses the respect it Justly
deserves it is time for stock taking. On this cam
pus Phi Beta Kappa does little to promote interest
in scholarship. With the exception of its regular
meetings open only to members of the organization,
Phi Beta Kappa ia seldom heard above the wheels
of campus extra curricular activity during the year.
Perhaps Phi Beta Kappa members feel that
this organization should be held aloof from the
common run of organizations. Whether this should
e the case is a matter of considerable conjecture.
It is clearly evident, however, that it hsi fallen into
general disrepute among student. If this may be
taken to indicate a general disregard for scholastic
distinction, then Phi Beta Kappa is defeating a pur-
n -me well worth fostering..
Criticism of Phi Beta Kappa, and more espe
cially its system of selection, is by no means a local
issue. Indeed it has been a controversial issue the
country over. Most recently a serious argument
flared up in New York when the former president
of the New York state organization of Phi Beta
Kappa voiced a stinging attack on the system of
selection. We do not feel that this was "sour
grapes." Neither do we feel that it ia impossible to
remedy the situation he described. At least, Phi
Beta Kappa might take steps to rectify an unneces
sary evil.
SIDE from this, membership in Phi Beta Kappa
is a mark of real distinction. Many worthy
students are included in its roster.
New members elected Tuesday morning should
carefully guard against illusions that they possess
outstanding ability. They should not allow them
selves to be victimized by a superiority complex.
Phi Beta Kappa membership, in Itself, means little.
The flashing gold key of Phi Beta Kappa is not
an "open sesame" to economic success. Neither
should it be regarded as an end in itself. For mate
rial values, like popularity, die as quickly as they
are created.
The Student Pulse
Brief, concise, contributions pertinent to matters
of student life and the university are welcomed by
this department, under the usual restrictions of sound
newspaper practice, which excludes all libelous mat.
ter and personal attacks. Letters accepted do not
necessarily indicate the editorial policy of this paper.
The B.M.O.C. Hatchery
Begins Activity.
TO THE EDITOR:
Activity workers and embryo E. M. O. C.'s are in
action. The motion of stirred -waters "is discernible
in the distance. It's only a few weeks until spring
elections will be held, and shortly following, Ne
braska's greatest tradition, Ivy day, will put in its
annual appearance. All very well and good, and
necessary portions of the student life. But what
of the results? Too often these events are consid
ered fine old traditions, and nothing more.
Lacking them, something important would be
missed from the campus, but even as they are there
is something that is conspicuous by its abesnce.
And that Is the candidates for the honors. At least
until a very few weeks before the names are to be
placed on this or that ballot, or until it becomes
necessary to be seen once or twice about the cam
pus before Ivy day recognition.
If history repeats itself, and it has never failed
year in and year out, activity workers will begin
being busy within a reasonably short time. It is
uncanny the amount of energetic hopping candi
dates can do when the political pudding is about
to be dispensed. Then and only then (almost) is it
known Just who is who among those who would be
a who's who on Nebraska campus. Such is the sit
uation and such it has probably been for a long
time. The remedy Has in the hands of those who
purport to be activities men and women. They are
seeking positions in the campus sun or they would
not be working, for the most part, at all. It seems
to me that there is room for many more earnest
workers. The publications offer positions to nearly
seventy-five students, not to mention other activi
ty centers. Observation'of these centers will reveal
a much smaller number actually participating un
til, perhaps shortly before election, meetings of the
publications board or the eventful day in May.
Why can't those who desire positions take upon
themselves the responsibility that goes with the po
sitions available each year? Chuckles, and many
of them, for those who be vain enough to believe
that concentrated effort at the last minute deserves
generous servings of the political pudding.
W. C.
Contemporary Comment
4 Saga of a
Modern Criminal.
Those few rjersons who had retained some de
gree of sympathy for Samuel Insull following the
collapse of his vast utilities empire more than a
year ago, probably feel that his present flight from
Athens has destroyed that remaining sympathy.
The great American Idea in me past nas oeen
to accord deerj resoect to anything done on the
grand scale, that consideration often outweighing
ethical factors or rather causing such conrusion oi
perspective that what would have been regarded as
criminal in a small concern became merely big busi
ness in a large concern. This idea has cast a sort
of halo around the Insull case so that he was not
regarded universally as a common criminal, but In
some Instances as a great business leader wno De
came unfortunately entangled with the law.
It is reported that the fugitive's escape was
engineered by an international band of criminals
nnomtlne- out of Roumania. This direct connection
of Insull's name with the Roumanian criminal band,
whether true or not. would serve to dispell the idea
that he was anything but an ordinary law breaker.
Rumors have persisted that Insull offered the
Turkish government $15,000,000 toward the further
ing of their five year plan ir tney wouia gram mm
asylum. Whether he has that much money is doubt
ful, but it is hard to feel sympathetic toward one
who la even rumored to have carried that much
wealth away with him.
American Ideas about a great many things nave
rhanired in the vears of the depression, due, some
sociologists assert, to the fact that people whose
comfort is disturbed will do much more thinking
about problems not directly applied to themselves,
than in times of prosperity. The halo which we
have previously cast about the heads or our nnan
clal leaders has been abruptly removed by recent
senatorial and other investigations, and the sensa
tional revelations of the manipulations of Ivar Krue
gar, Swedish international financier and Samuel
Insull probably will .preclude such hero worship for
years to come. Daily Kansan.
A Definition
For Education.
The Trojan open forum topic for next Sunday
night is much more juicy than it sounds. 'The
Aims of Education" at first glance does not appear
particularly enticing, but when one considers that
almost every educator s opinions or ine aims or euu
cation vary more or less, and that students who are
faced with unemployment when they graduate are
beginning to question the aims, the subject becomes
more potent
For Instance, it has long been a popular theory
in the United States that education's purpose was
to fit one for the ordeal of earning a living; later
pupils were taught how to spend their time when
they weren't engaged in working; now education
attempts everything from teaching how to earn a
living to training for citizenship.
Similarly, there Lb variation not only of time,
but of schools. Some scholars believe that education
should be a training period, others that education
should be imbued into the minds of pupils in se
cluded spots, far from the problems of the world,
another school thinks that education should be a
part of life Itself, with all its difficulties and en
vironmental factors. And students, who have been
subjected to one or more of the processes, have
ideas of their own.
At least we do. We think that educaUon should
be a training not for life, but to develop processes
of thought and methods of learning, in order that
a person may be able to select intelligently the ways
of thinking that govern him and his community.
Next Sunday night's forum will undoubtedly bring
out other definitions.
The beauty of the open forum is that one can
get up and say anything one wants without being
hooted down by the audience or hammered down
by the chairman. As democratic as ancient Athens,
the forum is becoming the most valuable institution
on the campus. Dally Trojan.
BENEATH THE
HEAOLDNES
By DICK MORAN.
APPARENTLY Russia isn't the land of stiff
beards, huge factories, and government spies
that many people think it is. At least they are em
phasizing more than ever before the social side of
life, and the paternalistic government is encourag
ing all forms of amusement and entertainment. The
leaders now feel that the crisis has passed, that the
experiment has passed the stage of struggle and
work, successfully," and that It is time for the people"
to relax and to enjoy a gayer and brighter life. In
addition the administration has done an about face
in policy in the direction of much greater freedom
and a sweeping change in attitude toward the lives
of the soviet workers. Russia is going in for night
life as well as day life.
Jazz, which formerly was barred to the resi
dents and restricted to the so-called foreigners' ho
tels, has invaded a number of the larger cities, in
cluding Moscow and Leningrad. Numerous orches
tras are playing, dance halls have become immense
ly popular, and the foxtrot, once considered arch-
bourgeois, is now in vogue in the dance halls and
skating rinks of the Russian proletariat The ho
tels, which a short time ago were almost deserted
and depended mainly on foreign tourists for con
tinued existence, are jammed every night with
pleasure-seekers. Russians were given the privilege
of wearing newer and brighter clothes a few months
ago and they are taking advantage of this new lib
erty. And more than ever the Russians are going
in for all types of sports, especially the youth of
the country. Baseball is the craze at the present
time. Many causes contribute to the change, but
the most important are political independence and
higher wages.
'TWERE is at least one person in this world who
can reaiiy taxe it wnen it comes to eaung. i uis
person is a woman in Brooklyn, from whose stom
ach doctors recently removed 1,203 separate pieces
of hardware. When asked why she swallowed these
things, her only explanation was that she did It to
be funny. She is recovering from the operation
now, and doctors plan to put her on a more ortho
dox diet for her recovery. Included in the items
found in her stomach were: Upholstery tacks, car
pet tacks, screws, bolts, picture frame hooks, nuts,
safety pins, nails, pins, beads, wire, glass, china
ware, and hundreds of other pieces. The woman
said she had been an employee in a hardware store
and had swallowed all of the items in a week. They
had given her a little trouble, which she had treated
with patent medicines, until the pain became so
acute that doctors ordered her to a hospital for
examination. An X-ray revealed the mass of for
eign substance in her body.
A LTHOUGH congress, on paper has a heavy
load of legislation on its hands, party leaders
seem confident that it will be out of the way in
time for the body to adjourn by the end of May at
the latest They probably will, because President
Roosevelt wants to leave about the first of June for
his vacation in the West Indies and possibly the
Hawaiian Islands. Congress has about five major
emergency measures up for consideration as well
as the same number of permanent reforms to enact
into law.
The emergency measures include the Bankhead
cotton crop control bill, which the president en
dorses, and the agricultural adjustment administra
tion brain trust is sponsoring. The bill would use
the taxation power of the federal government to
stop over-production of cotton. The tariff problem
is being tackled in the Hull-Roosevelt plan, which
provides for executive authority to secure recipro
cal tariff agreements without the advice and con
sent of the senate. The bill also gives concurrent
power to change rates on dutiable articles as much
as B0 percent without previous investigation by the
tariff commission. Another Important emergency
measure is the Patman bonus bill, a carryover from
last year calling for immediate full payment of
adjusted compensation to war veterans to me iune
of about J2.400.000.000. The administration also
wants some settlement on the labor problem through
the Connery 30-hour week bill, another carryover
from last year establishing a maximum work week
of thirty hours and providing the penalty for viola
tions of barring goods from interstate commerce.
The permanent reforms now pending will
arouse considerable debate before final action Is
taken. In the first place the perplexing air mail
situation must be solved, and hearings on this ques
tion are now being held. Then the 3ck exchange
control bill will receive much opposition from Wall
street, if from no other place. The bill concerning
Philippine independence has been favorably report
ed out of committee in both houses, and immediate
action is expected. Another bill now pending pro
poses to settle all communication problems by
bringing all telegraph, telephone and radio facili
ties under federal control. And then there is Sena
tor Wagner's plan to establish 8 tlonal labor
board to settle all labor disputes. Congress has
plenty of work to keep it busy for the next two
months, it seems.
FOR AG BREAKFAST
Arline Wilcox Will ive
Violin Solo; McCamley
To Sing.
Twn features of the Ac colleee
Easter breakfast program Sunday
morning, March 25, are a violin
solo by Arline Wilcox, university
graduate, and a vocal solo by Max
McCamley, Ag freshman. Dr. Roy
Snooner. aurierintendent of the
Lincoln district Methodist churches
will address the meeting. Ward
Bauder, Ag junior, will be master
of ceremonies.
According to Milan Austin, pro
gram chairman, the invocation will
be by Rev. J. J. Sheaff of Epworth
church, and Rev. W. L. Ruyle,
Warren church, will Dronounce the
benediction. It is expected that a
number or members or me Ag col
lege faculty will be present at the
breakfast, which will be served,
the committee reports, promptly at
8 a. m. Sunday morning.
Chairmen and co-chairmen pre
paring for the Ag college gather
ing Sunday morning are as fol
lows: Menu, Irene Leech, chair
man; program, Milan Austin,
chairman; decorations, Louise
Bernhardt, chairman; reception,
Leo Ruyle and James Warner, co
chairman; tickets, Virginia Keim
and Wesley Dunn, co-chairman.
AFTERNOON TEA
CLOSES PRAIRIE
SCHOONER DRIVE
(Continued from Page 1.)
the Y. W. C. A., Elaine Fontein,
president, and Theodora Lohrmann
will be In charge of the tea. About
thirty of the workers are expected
to attend. Captains of the teams
ara an follows: Bash Perkins. Mar-
jorle Shostack, Carolyn Kile, Flor
ence Buxman, uoromy uen.ay,
Beth Taylor, Elizabeth Momaw,
Martha Watson, Margaret Medlar
and Dorotby Holland.
WELL DIGGERS CLOSE
MEETING THURSDAY
(Continued from Page 1.1
products on exhibit. The luncheon
will close tho convention.
Burnett Welcomes Group.
The first day of the convention
was opened at 9 a. m. by E. A
Burnett, chancellor of the univer
sity, who gave the address of wel
come, followed by the response
from Andrew Olson, president of
the Nebraska Well Drillers asso
elation. Short talkB and the tak
ing of still and motion pictures of
Professors at California Differ in
Opinion of Students' Sense of Humor
,8 '
ITS' V
"Is yours
the
DUNLAP,
sir
Dally Califomisn.
What kind of a sense of humor
does an undergraduate have?
None, says one professor; pretty
good, says another.
"Students are so sunk and halt
drunk with undigested masses of
assignments, they suffer from a
lack of Intellectual metabolism,"
A. F. Blanks, professor of pub
lic speaking said. "They have no
sense of humor, intellectually
speaking."
Students don't laugh, but rather
they guffaw for relief, he added.
It is not that they are lncapame or
appreciating real humor, but be
cause of the life they lead.
Prof. C. F. Shaw, of the soil
technology department, believes
the average undergraduate Is at
heart serious minded. "Lire, es
pecially to freshmen, looks too big
to be taken lightly," he said.
On the other side of the fence
is Prof. G. P. Adams of the phil
osophy department. It has been
his experience that students nave
a keen sense of humor which takes
unexpected ways of expressing it
self.
"Possibly better than the profes
sorial " is the wav R. L. Olson.
professor of anthropology, charac
terizes undergraduate numor. bui
dents are rjrettv fast on the retort
except in 8 o'clock and 1 o'clock
classes, he said.
Prof. Gordon McKenzie of the
English department says of stu
dents, "Very good sense of humor;
keen brains."
the convention followed the re
sponse. At 12:15, the convention
had luncheon at the Lincoln cham
ber of commerce.
The afternoon was started by
viewing exhibits in Nebraska hall
Reports of district chairmen foi
lowed. Next, at 3:30 p. m., was a
lecture on "Repair of Well," by
H. H. Brown. The afternoon was
concluded by talks from E. E.
Brackett, head of the department
of agricultural engineering; Pror.
E. B. Lewis, college of agricultural
engineering, and a Dutch lunch at
the Lincoln hotel.
"Is yours
tlie
UDUNLAP,
' Jl sir r
No Increase in Price
on Dunlap Hats.
They are still
$5 at
mil a rii;v w? j
la- I I I an m 111 ' f
I I
KOSMAN ISSUES CALL
Fi
OR CORN COB NAMES
Forfeit Year's Membership
Penalty for Failure
Have Candidate.
Henry Kosman, president of
Corn Cobs, men's pep organization,
stated Wednesday that names of
all candidates for initiation into
active membership must be sub
mitted to officers of the club at
the meeting Thursday night The
meeting will be held In room 205
of Social Sciences at 7:30 in the
evening. The place of meeting was
previously announced as the
Temple.
Fraternities failing to have a
man initiated into the club at the
spring ceremonies next Thursday,
March 29, will automatically for
feit their right to representation
by a member in the organization
next year.
Plans for the annual Corn Cob
spring party which will be held on
Friday, April 13, will also be dis
cussed at the gathering.
Officers to whom the names may
be submitted are Henry Kosmari,
preriident; Emmett Morava, vice
president; Charles Flansburg, sec
retary; and Jack Fischer, trea
surer. Exactly 105 prisoners at the
Ohio prison farm have applied for
enrollment In Ohio State univer
sity' junior college radio course,-.
A course in mental hygiene and
social work has been established
at the University of Buffalo.
The University of Kansas has
on the walls of its auditorium
autographed photographs of fa
mous people who have visited that
institution.
Develop Your Mental And
Physical Coordination By
Learning to Dance
Classes every Monday and Wednes
day. Beginners given personal at
tention at 8:00 P. M.
LUELLA WILLIAMS
PRIVATE STUDIO
1220 D St. B-42S8
New LOW
Cleaning Prices
Men's Suits a .75o
Men '8 Hats 55c
Men's Top Coats and
Overcoats 75c
Ladies' Dresses. .. .75c up
Ladies' Coats 75c up
Extra for Pleats. Frills end
Fur Trim
Corduroy Pants 40o
Modern Cleaners
Soukup & Westover
Call F2377 for Service
- M ..
dp
, J
They pick you up
every 50 miles
Without vacuum tubes, Long Distance tele
phony would hardly be possible. But with these
little tubes placed in "repeaters" or amplifiers at 50
mile intervals along the line even a whisper carries
from coast to coast!
With many tubes used in tandem, individual per
formance must be almost perfect or cumulative
distortion would render speech unintelligible. That
todays Long Distance connections are so reliable
and clear, is a tribute to the skill used in making
Western Electric tubes.
Manufacturing nearly all Bell System apparatus,
Western Electric contributes much to the quality
of telephone service.
BELL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
WHY MOT TAKB A TRIP HOME BY TELEPHONE
TONIGHT AT HALF PAST EIGHT