Friday, May 8, 1959
Poqs
The Daily Nebraskan
Editorial Comment:
Fidel Has No Good Answers
LITTLE MAN ON.CAMPUSr
We have been a little too concerned for
the past couple of weeks about the at
tempt by five lonely men in the Legis
lature to start a revolution, to consider the
doings of a bona-fide, successful revolu
tionary in the U.S.
We refer, of course, to "Fidelito" old
Fidel himself, who has been stomping up
and down the east coast flirting with
caged tigers and a free press.
Fidel Castro, the revolutionary hero of
Cuba, has created a storm of applause
among Americans during his tour that
has, unfortunately, drowned out the dis
tant mutterings of thunder in the island
land which he governs.
Now, no one is going to hack Fidel for
banishing the batista regime, which was
a bit too autocratic for the U.S. to main
tain, a scant 100 or so miles off its south
ernmost tip, without some embarrass
ment. At the same time, Americans should be
a little cautious about opening the gates
to Batista's successor. America has
always loved the man of action and dar
ing so much so that they sometimes
tend to forget that people like Stalin
started out as revolutionaries too.
We tend to forget to ask the questions
that ought to be asked of this kind of peo
ple. For instance, the American press
has gotten very little out of Castro on the
subject of Communism except that "my
government is not a Communistic one."
Fidel might have added "yet" to that
for his brother Raul, who tends to use
guns while Fidel is relying on words,
shows some powerful leanings toward the
Moscow line. He is probably helped along
in this by his bride of less than a year,
who, it is reported, stifl carries her party
card.
Fidel has also come up with nothing
substantial in reply to double jeopardy
and his "war crimes trials." (Sample:
"The people have a right to appeal as
much as any criminal.") American busi
ness, which has done much for Cuba be
sides build gambling casinos, has also re
ceived the flippant approach. (Sample:
"You want to stay here, you pay your
1960 taxes now and we will think about
it" Cuban toughs talking to an American
auto dealer as reported by the AP.)
In 1890, Cuba was referred to as the
"shame at America's back door." Per
haps In 1960 we will hear of it as "the
menace at America's back door."
Names Plague Iowa Cyclones
Every campus has its peculiar prob
lems. Iowa State College has one pres
ently that's a lulu. It involves the very
name of their school.
Recently, the legislature in Iowa
changed the name of Iowa State College
to Iowa State University of Science and
Technology. This elicited the following
editorial comment from the Daily Iowan,
student organ of the State University of
Iowa for football and incidental academic
subjects (the one that goes to the Rose
Bowl all the time, not the one we play.)
CHEERLEADER: "All right you Cy
clone fans, let's spell it out. Who do you
root for?"
- FANS (obediently): "I-O-W-A S-T-A-T-E
U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y O-F S-C-I-E-N-C-E
A-N-D TE-C-H-N-O-L-O-G-Y."
CHEERLEADER: "What's that again?"
FANS (not obediently): "G-0 N-E-B-R-A-S-X-A."
FIRST FAN: "Go Nebraska? I thought
we were playing Michigan."
SECOND FAN: "No, no. Michigan is
playing at Iowa City against the State Uni
versity of Iowa. Iowa State University of
Science and Technology is playing Ne
braska here at Ames."
FIRST FAN: "Oh, I wondered where the
crowd was."
And So, confusion will reign at Ames
' this fall. We can hear the leader of the
Iowa State University of Science and
Technology Marching Band now:
LEADER (tearing at non-existent hair) :
"No, no, no. The tuba section forms the
"TECH" and you trombonists belong in
the "NOLOGY" section.
Thus the troubles at Ames win mount.
Football lettermen will sport purple and
gold I-S-U-S-T sweaters and megaphones
will have to be of the six foot variety in
order to accommodate the -necessary
ciphers.
The card section? Sparkling In the au
tumn sunshine the letters I-O-W-A
S-T-A-T-E U-N-I-V-E-R-S-I-T-Y O-F
S-C-I-E-N-C-E A-N-D T-E-C-H-N-O-L-O-G-Y
will ripple across the stadium from
the five yard line to the five yard line.
We at SUI are not considerably con
cerned by the fact that the preponderous
name will probably be shortened at some
time in the future to Iowa State Univer
sity. Certainly Iowa's sister school will
be even more widely confused in the fu
ture. SUI students, however, can merely
continue as they have in the past with a
clarification something to the effect of
"Oh, you know, the school with the foot
ball team."
But what about poor ISUST? We feel
that it is our neighborly duty to propose a
symbol of distinctiveness that can be used
by the Ames residents to identify them
selves during the fall months. Thanks to
Gregg, think we have come up with the
answer. How about something like: "Iowa
State University of Science and Technol
ogy, Home of the First and Only Short
hand Football Card Section in the Middle
West?" What could be more distinctive
and utilitarian?
From The Daily Iowan
There's just something about the at
mosphere down here at the office it
breeds romance.
Now we learn that our star columnist,
Roger Borland, has been secretly mar
ried for the past 16 months. This is the
second wedding of a Rag staffer revealed
under the present regime, which may be
an all time record.
And for the summer, Sellentin has sug
gested we turn the editor's office into a
marriage counseling bureau. Our rates,
of course, will be nominal.
Seriously, congratulations to the Bor
Casual Observer
Diana
It's sort of like admitting that you could
be done without, and certainly none of us
would be caught doing that voluntarily.
However, this being college (yeah, that
rumor reached us too), and classes being
classes (gad, what a hor
rible time of the year to
bring up that sort of
thing), grades being what
they are (or aren't), the
Rag staff Is being forced
to admit next week that
we (or most of us) can be
done without
It's all because of a
crazy class actually
three of them, In which
most of us are enrolled.
Anyway, instead of having one simple
three-hour final which determines whether
you make the grade or not, the good Drs.
la the J-School have conceived a plan
whereby all the gung-ho (or otherwise)
journalists in advance reporting, pho
tography and editing classes go scooting
off to the nether regions of the state to
publish daily papers. This time we're
heading for Grand Island and Hastings.
In so doing, virtually all of George's 'All
Girl Band 'n Carroll are disappearing,
thus leaving the Rag staff a grand total
of four persons for two days. However,
Journalists being on the whole a good
group (modest, too, yta will note), some
of .our journalistic-type cohorts have gal
lantly agreed to come in. and take over
the Rag reins while we're gone.
Now here's the rub. This crew which is
coming in is entirely too talented. Doesn't
look good for the regulars when the two
day substitutes come through with a ster
ling publication with no help whatsoever
from the regulars.
Editor Moyer has refused to emerge
from his office during the whole affair, on
the grounds that having once gotten out of
the hub-bub of the outer office into the
relative peace of the editor's hide-out,
venturing back out into the wilds might
bring on a nervous breakdown.
Head man among the group coming in
will be Bob Martel, who will take over my
job as managing editor'. Bob is actually
no newcomer to the Rag, as he presided
over the sports editor's cubby-hole for
two semesters a year or so ago. So if a
Massachusetts-type foreign voice greets
anybody who gets lost in our office look
ing for their Cornhusker (which won't be
out yet) don't panic, it's just the Jour
nal's star sportsman doing a bit of pinch
hitting. As long as I've violated the don't talk
about yourselves rule, might as well men
tion that Rag applications are now open
for next semester. It's not necessary to
have worked down here to apply, the jobs
do pay (though you won't get rich), and
, we've yet to eat anyone who ventured
down. Applications are in the Journalism
office, 309 Burnett.
I Ti
J Jsl
'-AT Hfsfc TlN' TO 0U OUK lNTEKeST.
The Distillery
This is the story of Jere
my Bean. Jeremy felt very
deeply about things and par
ticipated with a religious,
patriotic ferver in all the
noble com
m u n i t y
causes. He
gave up
s u nflower
seeds dur
ing clean-up-fix
up
week. He
wore cork
tip sneak
ers in all
Spring
Day events
paigned vigorously against
checker playing in the jan
itor's room of Love Library,
a scandal which he had per
sonally uncovered while
trapping basement-beaker-beetles
for his bology pro
fessor. Jeremy read
"Peyton Place" forty-seven
times, and each time wept
profusely. He sent 25 con
ciliatory telegrams to Deb
by Reynolds. Such was
Jeremy Bean, a man of
real sympathy and understanding.
Borland
and cam-
Another Wedding Grill
When I met Jeremy late
last Friday night he was
strung loosely across the
boney surface of a center
table at the Grill. I noticed
a bulky burlap sack caught
in his limp fingers. The bag
clinked as I kicked it aside.
I cautiously eyed Jeremy's
keen features. He was visi
bly shaken. He acknowl
edged my present and be
gan to mumble something
about "a debris that would
mar our glorious celebra
tion." Then he became
came more incoherent, re
peating over and over some
story about cleaning up an
impossible mess of broken
wire and piles of paper.
Jeremy looked as if he had
been working very hard. I
tried to remember if this
was clean-up-paint-up-fix-up-week.
It was May Day,
maybe Jeremy had sabo-
n
EUTT -EIGHT TEARS OLD
Camber: Associated CollerisU Press
Intercollegiate Press
Bepresentathrei National Advertlsln Serrlee.
Incorporated
Publishes' at: Room 20, Student Union
Llnoofn, Nebraska
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Gatvaratt et Nrtirmlu imt tor atrthorfiatloa of Urn
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dltortal imutnnhlp oa Uw Fr of lb NnbonramltUw a
a purl of any atrmo-r of thr fwnltr of the t'M
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Daily Nebraskan
tor Um
muliy impotMthi tor what thai mr.
pnm. FHorwmry B. I HAH.
BubMripnoa ibmo art S3 Mr mnimm or SI
Uaoola. Nobraaka. mi ta mM f a arm ,
EOHot EDITORIAL STAFF "
Managta Editor ............. .V.V.V.V. l)tana Mavw?u
Cindy jEorlwa
Cops' fln Carroll Kiwra, Sandra Kully Freed,
Vr. Opf Editor ...
Staff OTrltw
Staff FlmtoiTBplMr
BUSINESS ST4FF
BtutiMm Mmaaror
aslrant Button Manarn
ftmt-lfl-d Mnrr . Ofl OrmifT
CireulaUoa Manacar. Dtmt Voun4Bj
.... .... ..Fat Dean, Torn ftavloa
...auruja uoimjv Soodra
.Mlaetta Taylor
. trrrt MrNrntta
Staa Kalman,
taged a Communist cel
ebration. This seemed im
possible. The Regents
wouldn't let these people
near here. I ordered a beer
and began to figet with my
Pershing Rifles honorary
watch-for, wondering what
had happened to good old
Jeremy. Then the burlap
sack slipped from Jere'
fingers and several empty
beer cans rolled out across
the bar floor. Jeremy
jerked upright. He pulled
out his Lincoln Centennial
button, which he always
carried with him, and be
gan to finger it tenderly.
Our eyes clinched in an em
brace of sympathy and un
derstanding. Then he spoke.
Transfer
Jeremy Bean, a transfer
student from Akron, Ohio,
felt more a part of Lincoln
than many long-time resi
dents. He knew this and
was proud of it. As the days
of celebration neared, Jere
my's special delight, . the
Centennial .Mall, with its
landscape and trees and
quaint terraces, was still
not really the idyllic imita
tion of a Nebraska country
side which Jeremy thought
it should be. Thus Jeremy
slipped into downtown Lin
coln at 10 P.M. Friday night
intent on adding that last
touch which would really
make the mall a picture of
the idyllic Nebraska coun
try side he loved so well.
Jeremy slipped into down
town Lincoln with a sack
full of 123 empty beer cans.
The business-district was
deserted, awaiting the flood
of bands and floats which
were to come in the morn
ing. It was here in the de
serted village Jeremy wit
nessed a bitter fight. Rag
ing across the length of the
Centennial Mall, four men
were ripping and tearing
into each other and into
several racks of men's
suits and gay spring dresses
placed about the terraced
mall.
Wreckage
Seeing such a mess in the
very center of his great
' community pride, Jremy
knew he must act to restore
the ruin. The four store
owners were working their
way down 13th street, each
indescriminantely ripping
apart the Centennial bunt
ing which decorated the
other's store. When the bat
tle had subsided Jeremy
began feverishly to pick up
the wreckage. After several
hours of exhausting labour,
Jeremy limped into the
Grffl. It was there that I
pieced together from good
old Jer's tired lips the rea
son behind the little-known
incident of heavy fighting
on 13th and O.
It seems that there was
a horrible oversight on the
part of the Centennial
Chairman In Charge Of
Modern American Mer
chandise. This Centennial
Chairman In Charge etc.
had erroneously given the
exclusive rights to display
merchandise on the mall to
all four of Lincoln's lead
ing department stores. Thus
Ben Campsack, Bob Skirn
us, Ollie Mishnuss and
Dwaine Snoo (owners re
spectively of the four really
big main-street stores)
each thought he had the
only commercial display on
the mall, and each arrived
at the same time with their
special "Centennial Special
Sales for Glorious Special
Centennial Days Special
Centennial Prices Sale!"
Consequently the displays
of four stores, the signs and
samples and racks of
clothes, were trampled in
one wild angry crash as
Campsack, Skirnus, Mish
nuss and Snoo fought to the
death to see who' smodern
American merchandise was
going to be displayed on
Lincoln's beautiful Centen
nial Mall.
' f) if
.
I DON'T SHARE
( MY PAD UJTH
Jf
Nebraskan Letterip
kim thl DnUl iaa Nobraaaaa iara a rl"'
IrrMra anwed talt Hmlt tt Nebraski
Maialac Iaa writer'! vtowa.
Trunk Tax
To the Editor
In 1969
Never before since the
head tax had the state
Hexacameral been in such
a dither. There was nothing
more to tax, and what
taxes there were had taken
a heavy toll. -
Nary a drop of alcohol
was to be found, and all
the property owners had
moved to Senator Plumb
er's tax free, low rent
housing plan. All domestic
animals, who had long ago
felt the wrath of the Hexa
cameral, were now in the
hands of the Humane Soci
ety. The Senators paced,
stomped, shouted, pounded,
orated, jumped up and
down, got red, and re
moved their white collars
and swore, but try as they
did they could find nothing
more to tax. At first they
had considered the toe tax,
but Senator Purdelo, Oha
ha's biggest political con
tributor, a horse track own
er, had been born with 18
toes, which no one had
bothered to . remove. Can
you imagine what his tax
would have been? And since
each toe was assessed by
weight, and his had that
same comfortable look as
those of all racetrack own
ers', this tax would have
been grossly unfair.
"Pshaw," the good Sena
tor argued, "Hasn't the
man been punished enough
by now, what with buying
extra wide shoes and all;
rather than going barefoot
and drawing attention."
Then there was the hair
tax proposal. Actually the
bill had been passed once.
They thought it would be
such a break for the over
burdened old folks, but lat
er there were such com
plaints from the County As
sessors that it had to be
repealed.
But all of a sudden an
idea struck Senator Phil
Beaver of Cadilac. He rea
soned that anyone could be
missing a toe or a nose (a
nose tax had once been pro
posed to be assessed ac
cording to length, but the
Governor had vetoed it on
the grounds that it would
discriminate against him),
but there were two append
ages everyone had to have:
a head (already bringing
in a rate of $5 per pound)
and a trunk. The head tax
had been fatty, but now at
last they had a way to tax
even University students.
So the bill sailed through
committee, and just as it
was about to be voted
upon Senator Terrible
Plumber of Scottshump
twice got up, shouted, and
sat down again. But then it
occurred to him he had
something to say.
"Trunk could be taken to
mean . anything," he bel
lowed. "Farmers who sup
port land conservation
would be penalized for hav
ing windbreaks." He
screamed that, "Millions of
grandmothers would have
to seek new places to store
their old Deer steins." H
fnally fniished by shout
ing, "This will be the worst
calamity since the state and
I became Republicans aft
er F.D.R's death."
The bill finally passed,
however. The wording was
clearly defined and Knee
braskee became the first
state in the union to have
a torso tax.
Now I sit here alone
reminiscing. I am the only
person left in the state.
Shortly after the bill's pas.
sage the auctioning of sor
ority houses became a com
mon sight as their inhabi
tants made a mass exodus
to neighboring states. Short
ly afterward the boys fol
lowed, what with no more
Eanties to raid and all. So
ere I sit alone! Skinny,
bald, desitute, but at last
free.
Lee A. Larsea
The Short Fat Phantom
Scopes
To the Editor:
Only a few weeks ago the
Lincoln Community Play
house presented "Inherit
the Wind", a play based on
the Scopes "monkey trial,"
of Dayton, Tennessee, in
1925. The play, in which ag
nostic, personable Darrow
and Bible-quoting, equally
personable Bryan are pic
tured in their battle of doc
trines, captured memorable
the invidious prejudices and
dogma of rural idealism. It
ended with Leo Hill, who
played the Darrow-based
role, forgiving Bryan and
optimistically claiming for
everyone the right which he
had just defended "the
right to be wrong."
"T h e stage direction,
authors Jerome Lawrence
and Robert E. Lee stated in
their preface to the pub
lished edition, "sets the
time as 'Not too long ago.
It might have been yester
day. It could be tomorrow.
Certain Nebraskans seem
to be reviving the dogma of
their once favorite son, Bry
an, and falling into a class
somewhere between the
Scopes trial and a George
Orwea novel..
A man with the stature
and education that Profes
sor Merton Bernstein has in
his field should be able to
draw more accurate conclu
sions from, and give more
constructive criticism to,
this field than could a man
whose acting knowledge
seems to follow a tradition
of Egyptian conservatism.
A professor's submitting
his beliefs to legislative in
vestigation is of abotit the
same absurdity as Einstein's
presenting hi theories to a
truckers convention for
revisions.
We can do nothing but
yield to Sen. Romans the
"right to be wrong" and
wish that our statesmen
could find something a bit
less medievil, a little more
intelligent, on which to prac
t i c e their legislative
prowess.
JIM THOMAS.
West
Photoplay
In 1924, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, both IB;
both of brilliant intellect and wealthy families; both stu
dents of law at the University si Chicago, brutally killed
nine-yearold Bobby Franks. Reason given: "because we
damn well felt like It." Their sensational trial, involving
aui.ii nappy cuuaiertu issues as superiority
complexes and an admitted unnatural at
tachment for one another, was predicted
to end in a death sentence. It was for
Clarence Darrow, famous trial lawyer, to
attain life imprisonment for both. Meyer
Levin, classmate of the two and cub re
porter for the Daily News., covered the
entire case and, 32 years later, fiction
alized it into a best seller called "Com
pulsion." The Trial
"ComDulsion." as translatorl in film" tut
produced Richard Zanuck and riirertnr RirharA Pi&wtma
is hardly the detailed account of the crime of the century
Levin presented. Avoiding the sensational and underplay
ing the violence, it touches more on the trial portion of the
case. In doing so, "Compulsion" achieves a tasteful ac
count of one of the least tasteful moments in Chicago his
tory, and also becomes perhaps this season's most interest
ing picture.
Dilman
Bradford Dilman, in m thrid picture, is excellent as
Artie Straus (Loeb) reckless and popular. Dean Stockwell
as the lonely and introverted Judd Steiner (Leopold) has
proven that his youthful training as a chad actor went to
good purpose. But "Compulsion" is really Orson Welles'
picture. In the Darrow role (and braving many pounds of
padding and facial make-up), he appears on the scene as
defense lawyer after the killers had pleaded guilty There
fore, rather than actually defend the two, his task is to
plead for their lives against strong, even violent, public
opinion. His summation to the jury (condensing what took
Darrow two days) lasts a fuU 12 minutes, and is the
longest uninterrupted address ever in movies.
"Compulsion's" psychic picture of two gifted teen
agers, whose distorted superman philosophy is used to
justify cheating, stealing and cold-blooded murder, is
unforgetable. Its enactment of Leopold and Loeb's black
assault on society is terrifying, but done with brilliance.