Wednesday, March 12, 1941
fcdibohiaL
DAILY NEBRASKAN
Many are muddled over . . .
School fund investigation
By a unanimous vote of 36 to 0 the legislature Mon
day endorsed a resolution by Senator Dan Garber to in
vestigate the status of Nebraska's $14,000,000 permanent
school funds, which are controlled by the Board of Edu
cational Land and Funds.
Coming like a bolt in the dark, the action of the
legislature has brought to the minds of many ideas of
graft and of misappropriation of funds. And with no
thorough explanation of exactly what the investigation
involves, many have the erroneous conception that the
university and the normal schools have been placed under
scrutiny.
Toward a better understanding of these funds and of
the purpose of the investigation, it is essential to point
out the history of Nebraska's land grant, and the im
mediate difficulties that have brought on Garber's investi
gation. When Nebraska became a state its government was
allotted several sections of land in each township, total
ing in all 3,500,000 acres for the support of education.
In the course of years much of this land has been sold,
and the receipts from the sales have been converted into
bonds.
Today a total of $14,000,000 in cash and bonds and
1,600,000 acres of land remains, all of which is under the
control of a board composed of the governor, secretary of
state, attorney general, treasurer, and state superintend
ent of public instruction.
Through poor investment of this money sizable losses
have occurred on several occasions in the past. From
1890 to 1900, some $500,000 was lost In this manner and
through a scandal which involved several important fig
ures in the state. Again in 1931-33, carelessness resulted
in serious financial loss. In both instances more syste
matic control of the funds by the legislature could pos
sibly have averted the disasters.
Once again problems of investment and of adminis
tration of this fund have arisen. Large holdings of irri
gation district bonds on nthe North Platte river, and of
Whitney irrigation district bonds which are apparently
worthless, have brought cries of mismanagement from
all sides. And there is danger that the land grant of this
state will suffer another drop.
Thus Senator Garber, and members of the legislative
council, have called for an investigation, to find what
legislation is necessary to protect these investments, and
to make up the losses incurred through power district
holdings. The university is concerned in the matter only
to the extent that it is a leading party wishing the pro
tection of these funds, which pay to the various educa
tional institutions in the state approximately $1,000,000 a
year.
Of course it is possible that in the investigation re
sponsibility for mismanagement may be pinned upon cer
tain individuals. That however is a minor point. What
ever the charges, whatever revelations are made by the
committee we can be assured that funds supporting this
university will be guarded more closely in the future.
Pom m pn tor i n 1 .Q
. .
. . . from our readers
a
Too many exam make courses
stiff, prevent adequate lectures
Dear Editor:
This is an open letter to our astute professors, and
to the powers that be which control the academic poli
cies of this university.
In the past few years most of us have noticed the
disappearance of the old time snap courses, and the
gradual tightening up of the remainder. As when all
changes are made, mistakes are likely to happen, and, I
believe, we have developed a good-sized "bottleneck' of
our own. This appears to me in the form of the grow
ing frequency of examinations In most of our courses.
My "research" is quite inexhaustive. but from my per
sonal contacts I have discovered that many others have
noticed this change, and that the majority of them dis
like it, at least in the way it is now being made. I sin
cerely hope I am not rationalizing, as is extremely easy
Sn this case, but it seems to me only logical that he should
explain his subject, rather than test his students once
or twice a week upon unadulterated "book-learning."
The ordinary text book is notoriously incomplete, am
biguous, and prejudiced (see Time, March 3; p. 39) and
I believe the professor's job is to interpret, elaborate
upon, or even contradict the author's views. This should
be a more rational means of diffusing the broadening
effect a college education is said to have.
It might be that our professors are not themselves
opposed to these methods, since a half-hour spent in giv
ing a test must be much less work than a half hour spent
in lecturing. But is it possible that they (too) could be
lazy?
I am not an educator, and have no complete solution
to offer. I only believe in fewer, and perhaps more diffi
cult examinations and more time allotted to lectures.
Sincerely,
A Reader.
Beneath the
Golden Dome
by Art Rivin
An encouraging note for those who are in favor of
reduced state expenditures but not at the price of ruining
state institutions was sounded Monday by appropria
tions committee chairman, John S. Callen.
The occasion was the education committee hearing
on a bill empowering school boards to establish sinking
funds by levying taxes above needs in some years so
that when school buildings become in need of repair there
will be money with which to do the job.
Mr. OHara, representing the Nebraska Taxpayers's
Association, objected to the bill "on principle." He took
advantage of the opportunity to condemn any measure
which would result in increased indebtedness for any
state agency and to ask that the state stop spending
money.
After the lobbyist's rebuttal Senator Callan pro
tested strongly against organizations which continually
advocate reduced expenditures and reduced taxation, for
getting the needs of the state and never offering any
thing constructive in the way of a revised taxation sys
tem. He pointed out that the capitol building roof is leak
ing in many places and asked if it would bt wise 'to let
the building crumble because the state Is in debt rather
than to appropriate money to repair it." "Letting our in
stitutions deteriorate to the sinking point is certainly
false economy," he said.
Necessary evils perhaps
This is an educational institution. And its main
function will always be the stimulation of thinking. Any
man who feels his classes are means to secure grades
rather than to secure knowledge doesn't belong in this
school.
Too many tests of course reduce the amount of in
struction possible through lectures. But if the standards
of this school are to be kept high, and if students are to
be encouraged to do work on their own initiative, per
haps these tests are necessary.
Snap courses after all aren't courses where nothing
Is to be learned. Some of the most comprehensive sub
jects are given the "snap" title. The term applies rather
to courses where there are no exams or outside work to
compel the student to keep up wVth the class.
As to the amount of time a professor must spenfl in
examinations and class discussions, it is hard to say.
Certainly if a fair examination is given, considerable time
must be given to compiling the questions, and in looking
over the papers after the reader returns them. The stu
dents themselves are to blame. If the class as a whole
would score high in the examinations they would not be
necessary. It is probably true they are an evil; but they
are a necessary evil, resulting from the delinquency of
the few. '
Editor.
Words, methods used by
neus analysts unfortunate
Dear Editor:
The words and the method that Messrs. Ordal and
Olson have employed in an attempt to refute the argu
ments presented by Mr. Shields in his letter of March 6
have intrigued me. Even agreement with many of their
basic tenets does not preclude objection to the unfortu
nate method of presentation which they have adopted in
their attempt to clarify "the issues for such people as
do not have the historical knowledge necessary to indict
his (Mr. Shields') culminations for the clap trap that
they are."
It is well known that color may be lent to poor argu
mentation by the judicious use of the mantle of self
righteousness and that when needed the appearance of
impregnability may also be acquired in this manner..
When those who are unable to advance fact tal truths
In support of their beliefs employ obloquy, they are justly
subjected to general condemnation. But, curiously, when
the same tactic is used in addition to a few factual argu
ments, the finished work is occasionally received with
acclamation.
Genetically, these are debaters' tricks.
They cannot be reconciled with dispassionate discus
sion, with the doubt of the reasonable man. They are
incompatible with all but the mask of impartiality.
Joseph R. Slevin.
Daily ode on mall
has definite odor too
Dear Editor:
I find it difficult to preceive any difference between
the odor of the Mall and the odor of the "Ode" in your
Friday, March 7, issue.
As an undergraduate, I claim to be neither a psycho
analyst nor a literary critic. Nevertheless, I am wonder
ing about Mr. Abbott's state of mind although I am not
undecided about his poetical attainment. I find his crea- j--JL
tinn ffMnnArnhle to the nrattle of children who Viavp in-
tense imagination but immature judgment.
The worst offense of all was the including and muti
lating of a stanza from "The Arrow and the Song" by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
If this jumble of words is representative of the best
wit of the University of Nebraska, I can only deplore
that Mr. Abbott was ever inspired.
Very truly yours.
Shirley Ann Miller.
I MSI A
my public (both of 'em)
Open letter to
Dear Tublic:
When I embarked upon the sea of words (oh treach
erous seal, I entertained the hope that those words could
be made to flow into individual little streams of beautiful
poetry, and did they?
I knew not (at the time) what a huge reading audf
ence 1 would have (both of 'em). Of all the touching
phrases gathered from the mails addressed to me, these
two were the most fitting, me thinks; "why don't you go
over and lie in the mall?" and "just wondering about Mr.
Abbott's state of mind." (Strange it seems that a reader
of mine would call me, a beardless boy, "Mr.")
At any rate, dear public, today I write my mall poem
finale, dedicated to both of you. The mall, it seems,
should be meandered around and not meandered upon,
and since my poetry was so well received, I have devoted
several seconds to dashing of Part Two of the "Ode to
that which stinketh the nose knows." Hereafter, the
subject of my poetry shall not be the mall.
Part Tico
Oh treeless mall, thou barren plain,
1 once more write of thee;
For without trees, or brush, or rain,
Thou must still barren be.
I think that there will never be.
Upon thy soil a single tree;
But poems are ruined by fools like me.
And still, oh mall, must I write of thee ?
Minnesota has her Kn611,
And there, 'tis said, the students stroll;
You'll find coeds at L. S. U
Walking by the old Bayou;
But if my earthly life would be
A life of happiness, you see,
I should meander spring and fall.
But goodness, on the mall?
And so with tears within the eye,
With a sorrowful gasp, yea, a sigh,
I drop my quill, no more to pen
The poems for I write and then
Comes the arrival of paper and ink
- Spilled in words that shout, "You Stink."
So does the mall, my readers fw,
So now to you I bid a fond "adieu."
The Daily Ncbraskan
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