Sunday, May 18, 1941
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DAILY NEBRASKAN
Sludehaher pleas ...
Defense courses po or substitute
. . . for education
Commissioner for Education Studebaker's
plea that students now enrolled in higher educa
tional institutions finish their professional work
rather than signing up for. emergency, defense
courses strikes close at home. For with America's
movement toward greater economic participation In
the war increasing numbers of Nebraska students
arc taking advantage of the special defense training
program aimed at equipping men with the arts nec
essary to fill vacant industrial posts.
These special courses and the positions they
piepare one for, offer an opportunity for conscrip
tion evasion, and open up relatively good jobs with
out the need of higher education. To those there
fore who think only in terms of the immediate fu
ture, the opportunities offered by this program
seem unusually promising.
Fear moreover that army service will break up
the continuity of one's education and may block
forever the completion of his work has deterred
others from working towards distant educational
accomplishments. Unless the fallacy of such action
can be generally understood; it is feared by the de
fense chiefs themselves that a bottleneck will arise
in the production of educated citizens.
Studebaker is more or less in charge of the de
fense training program. And primary among his du
ties is to secure the well equipped labor necsseary
to met the shortages in important defense indus
tries. It is with full realization that he is obstruct
ing his own program that he warns against sacri
ficing university work for those other short courses.
His logic is unusually sound. Industry neds
men, and it needs them quickly. But to get these
men, he reasons it is far better to tap the unskilled
and csmi-skilled workers of the country than to
lower the educational standards generally by draw
ing from the top. Education to him and to the lead
ers of the country is a long range program. Within
a few years, he points out, the demand for profes
sional trained workers will be much larger than
their supply. And that supply must not be further
curtailed by useless sidetracking at this time.
Those bent on an education and having the
Ability necessary to obtain it can secure much lar
ger salaries and can be of more service to America
by getting their advanced degrees now.
Defense work of necessity is dead end work.
With the let up in production following the war,
large numbers of those going into these appealing
fields will find their bubbles broken and will find
themselves untrained for other jobs.
These are restless times. And the ultimate goals
of an individual and of the state itself are so easy
to bury in present fears and desires. But to do so,
will injure America seriously, and injure her at such
times as educated men and women are needed to
reconstruct a depression wrought America and a
war torn world.
No matter what the- course of America may be,
do no good. T settle for a defense job because of
an emergency when one has dreamed of an educa
tion and of professional highly skilled employment
the abandonment of her ideals and of her goals can
brings a disruption in life that it will take years to
heal.
Studebaker's advice is good, his intentions
clear. We must go on as we've gone before, never
faltering because of fears and uncertainties; we
must continue our present work in the university
with all our ze'al; we must prepare ourselves for
the type of jobs that the uneducated man can never
fill.
Light intensity of stars
no longer a mystery
shown by new machine
Behind the News
Challenge to youth
Mis. Franklin D. Roosevelt told American col
lege students this past week that they faced a two
fold challenge, and urged them to meet it vic
toriously. First, the challenge consists in a decision on
the part of American youth whether they believe
in democracy, understand its background, recognize
its flexibility to meet new conditions and intend to
work for its improvement not only as an instrument
of government but as a way of life.
Secondly, Mrs. Roosevelt sees a spiritual chal
lenge. "This country waa founded by religious peo
ple," she said, "and cold and hard as their religion
may have seemed at times, it was, nevertheless, a
motivating force. One and all, they were prepared
to sjffer for their beliefs,' and these beliefs, as they
spread out over the country, emphasized the right
to liberty, liberty of worship, liberty of expression,
liberty of belief on any subject."
' Essential to the successful meeting of the chal
lenge, according to the President's wife, is the
ability to stand up for the things in which we be
lieve, and the will and ability to help those who
are fighting for similar objectives.
She discussed the failure after Versailles, and
the possibility that had we been willing to assume
our share of the responsibility we might have been
able to set aside war as an instrument for settling
international disputes.
Instead of fretting about the mistakes of the
past, however, she recognized that the past is be
. hind us and that what we are faced with today is
the necessity of meeting force with force in the
defense of our ideals and way of life until the time
comes when again the world can ait down around a
conference table.
She rividly portrayed what a Hitler victory
would mean to this country, and lashed out at iso
lationists who declare that we cannot possibly help
Britain and at the same time blandly assert that
alone we can defend ourselves against a Germany
that has conquered Britain.
Aside from the inaccuracy of this fantastic
picture, she weru on to say, we face cooperation or
competition in an economic world with Europe dom
inated by Hitler, with skilled people enslaved and
forced to work as one man decrees.
Do you know what a photo
electric microphotometer is? It
is the new machine designed by
Prof. O. C.Collins of the depart
ment of mathematics and astron
omy which can revenl the bright
ness of the stats.
Making use of photograph neg
atives of stars the machine is the
result of more than a year's work
by Prof. Collins. A few similar
machines have been constructed
by other institutions, but Prof.
Collins has incorporated their best
features plus several new ones
which he has worked out.
The negatives taken with a
Special astrographic camera at
tached to the telescope at the ob
servatory on the ag campus, are
brought to the city campus and
placed in the new microphomeier.
Principle of this machine is a
photoelectric cell front on which
the negative is placed. The degree
to which the light from a special
lamp in the machine penetrates
the durk negative image of a star
Hnd activates the photoelectric
cell affords a measurement of the
intensity of the light from the star
itself.
Located in Brace lab.
The instrument, built by me
chanics in the physics department,
is located in a windowless room in
the basement of the Brace labora
tory of physics.
Interference of the studies of
faculty members and Advanced
students in the room is avoided by
freeing the room from drafts and
variations in temperature.
Planets merely reflect the sun's
light, but stars are their own
source of light, said Prof. Collins.
This means that photographs of
them are not taken as pictures
but as measures of their varying
intensities of light. '
The image of the planet varies
in size and density according to
the brightness of a star. Each
star is photographed on two plates
one sensitive to blue light,, the
other to red. The difference of
brightness ot the two plates gives
the color index or relative color
of the star.
Uses turntable.
In using the microphomeier, a
photoelectric plate or a certain
section of the sky is placed on a
turntable which can be moved in
any direction horizontally to bring
a particular star on the plate with
in a beam of focused light given
off by a special lamp of steady
intensity just above the turntable.
The beam of the light then is
intercepted by the negative image
of the star and the light that is
not obstructed is projected onto a
photoelectric cell at the base of a
wooden case below the turntable.
This image is magnified about
20 times by means of lenses
through which the light passes. A
small electric current is set up
by the cell.
The electric current is measured
by deflection of a galvinomenter .
connected by wire circuit to the
cell. The galvinometer in turn
shines a spot of light across the
room to a long measuring scale
which records the intensity of
light falling on the cell.
A quick comparison between
stars can be easily made by shift
ing the photographic negative
about on the turn table and the
same time noting the changes on
the measuring scale as different
stars are brought under the light.
By Raymond Manchester.
The psyrholo-ist loves to give
you a word and have you say what
first comes into your mind. One
young man answered, "vulture,"
when the word culture was given.
I suppose the psychologist would
search for hidden meaning, but
Johnnie lived with an nunt. The
aunt may not have had some
things, but she was herself sure
Uiat she did have culture with a
big C. Johnnie thought of vulture
because friend aunt preyed upon
Ids short-comings.
It is possible, however, to have
culture without being a vulture
and further I wouldn't say that
all vultures have culture.
Culture is something like
Britain-
Commentorials
Dear Editor:
"Graduate Assistant" in his letter in the Ne
tiLKkan for May 15 sems to believe that those of
the faculty .who favor "all-out aid to the Allied
peoples not necaeaarily short of war" are "beyond
military ni'e "physically unfit" etc. etc. He (or
the I would like to st e names of signers published.
As one who did" not request a "bomb-proof"
(deferred classification) In World War I, I should
be pleased to see two lists (1) Names or those
who signed the petitions and (2) Service records
ef those signing who were of military age during
World War 1.
Many of us who served in World War I ex
pected J.o be on the battle-lines in ninety days from
date of induction or enlistment. Many of us did not
get overseas. All of. us received training in the
art of war quite different from the first two years
of r.OTC. Bayonet drill was not omitted because it
was "disagreeable." (It was taken out here about
J921 or 1922.) We know what we are asking of
young men today.
Many men who were under arms in this coun
try or overseas at the time of the Armistice be
lieved that Germany should not have been spared
invasion when she shouted "Kamerad" in Novem-
i
u
a
bcr 1918. We believe we have a right to ask of
others now what was asked ef us twenty-four years
ago. We believe the need now is as great or greater
than in 1917-1918. It is of little use to say the Ver
sailles Treaty is responsible for the present situa
tion. We do not approve gangster rule though the
gangsters may be spawned by our social defects. ..
There are faculty men who, in 1917-1918. rep
resented every phase of educational preparation
you find in our student body today. Service meant
a lot to us then as it will to students today. But
many of us believed in the United States of
America.
C. C. Minteer.
Dear Editor:
In justice to a colleague, may I call attention
to Professor Raysor's military record and ex
perience as recorded in "Who's' Who." He not only
saw service in France during the previous war but
was graduated from the Officers' Training School
in Saumur, France, after the Armistice and there
by qualified for a commission in the artillery. I may
also add that he is the most thoroughly Informed
student of military history, theory and tactics that
I know among my acquaintances.
J. L. Sellers.
(Continued from page 1)
last week seeking to bring out the
minority opinion, found. 37 percent
of better than 200 instructors re
turning them sympathetic with the
stand taken in the petition. Thirty
percent at that time however, de
sired to keep America's aid to
Biitain "short of war" and 13 per
cent wished the United States to
retreat from ' her present daring
-position.
Backing was strongest in the
department of physical education,
and in the English department and
lowest in the college of agriculture,
tlental college and college of busi
ness administration.
Objections voiced to the petitions
were that they represented the
opinion of the university faculty as
a whole even though the memorial
states the signers sign for them
selves in their individual capaci
ties; and as a representation of
faculty opinion, it was one-sided.
Right of citizen.
Answering these objections, pe
tition signers declared that in send
ing in their signatures they were
exercising the right of American
citizens to state their views, and
that their positions as members of
the university faculty and what
influence they might carry, were
but incidental.
The memorial goes to the presi
dent and vice president of the
United States, to the speaker of
the house, the secretary of state
and to the senators and represent
atives from Nebiaska.
It appenrs In its literal form on
page three with the1 signatures of
those endorsing it attached.
freckles. It shows up like
freckles) when tha heat is turned
on. In fact one good way to de
termine the presence of culture
within a man is to place him in a
tough spot and watch develop
ments. Some ambitious persons do
much struggling and conniving to
gel hold of elusive culture, even to
the limit of trying to buy it by the
book yard or thiongh the act of
social climbing; but for them, the
darn thing never seems to b
where it can be cornered. Others
just have it.
It is a thing every man wants,
but a thing he can't buy even
though there are salesmen who
offer it at a price. Also it ran t
be borrowed or given away or
even stolen. If a man has it. he
carries it as lightly as a feather,
but if he hasn't it, the lack of it
weighs a ton.
The first procedure for yon to
follow if you desire culture, is for
you to be studijus, so that you
may be well informed, to be ten
uous so that you may share your
blessings, to be courteous and well
mannered so that you msy Jve
pleasing to others, to be totei a nt
so that you may be fair nnd just,
to be sympathetic so that you may
be helpful, to be honest so thct
you may be dependable, to be in
dustrious so that you may net be
a burden and to be friendly so that
you may be well liked. If in s. idi
tion you are humble in spirit find
courageous in action, you will f nd
that you really do not care i.iiich
about the thing we call culture,
yet, strangely enough, you will
discover that you have this very
thin you cease to be concerned
about.
A peculiar thing. culture.
The
Daily Nebraskan
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