THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
OIHrial Paprr of Die
University of Nebraska
IVAN G. BEEDE Editor
LEONARD W. KLINE. . . .Mng. Editor
FERN NOBLE Associate Editor
KATHARINE NEVVBRANCH
Associate Editor
WALTER BLUNK. .Business Manager
GEORGE DRIVER Asst. Bus. Mgr.
MERRILL VANDERrOOL
Asst. Bus. Mgr.
Offices , ,,
News ltasement University Hall
Business, basement Administration Bldg.
Telephones
News, L-Mlfi Husiness. n-2o97
Mechanical Department, B-3145
Published every day during the college
Subscription price, per semester. ?1.
Entered at the post office at Lincoln,
Nebraska, as second-class mail matter
under the act of Congress of March S,
1T9.
Half the fun of watching a football
team develop and "wade through" a
stiff schedule is lost if the opening
game is missed. Lincoln people seem
to realize this better than University
students themselves, for the business
men have promised that there will be
live thousand people at the game with
Wesleyan Saturday. Against these
five thousand townspeople, Nebras
kans so far have purchased sixty
seven season athletic tickets. As few
will go to a minor game at single ad
mission prices, this means that so far
only that many have made arrange
ments to watch the first kick-off. Sea
son athletic tickets will be purchased,
.there is no doubt about that, for the
hargain is too big to pass up. But
they should be bought before the first
game so that the buyer may get the
use of them at the season opening.
And the first game this year is to be
a practice cheering session, so that
every rooter who is planning to do big
work at the more crucial games later
on will be there to run through a few
vocal fomations.
SUBSCRIPTION DANCES
In the first two weeks of school
there have been three subscription
dances attended largely by University
people. This is a good batting aver
age even for the piping times of
peace; as an indication of how Ne
braska is to live during war time it is
startling. One of the affairs was given
as a Red Cross benefit, and therefore
it may be excluded from discussion,
leaving one perfectly useless dance a
week to consider. Both of these de
pended almost entirely upon Univer
sity patronage although neither of
them were strictly under student con
trol. If we are to believe this just a
good start for what is coming later,
what, then, may we expect of the so
cial program as a"whole, Is Nebraska
to dance through the year while for
mer classmates are fighting in France?
Certainly our desire for diversion and
amusement does not require such an
elaborate and extravagant program
to satiate it as this hints at. There
is no time for meaningless parties
promoted by individuals for individual
benefit. Students should withdraw
their support absolutely from sub
scription dances. It is not a question
of economy at all; it is a question of
patriotic duty. Money comes too dear
ly in the work of the Red Cross, the
Serbian relief, the Red Triangle, and
similar war causes, to waste it upon
an institution that is as out of place
in University war-time life as the
policies of the Kaiser are in the mod
ern conception of world relationships.
THE S IN ACTION
(The New York Sun.)
The s have gone into action.
They are a family, not a regiment.
Their name cannot be given here be
cause the names of all the units, even
the smallest, must be withheld. Nor
is it possible to distinguish them by a
sobriquet. Were they to be referred
to as the Fighting s the German
intelligence office would say. "Oh, yes,
the Fighting Flannagnns." And a
mention of the Ready would bring
prompt comment. "So the Ready
Roosevelts have taken the field. And
they think to disguise it!"
The s. just the s, will have
to do. Perhaps we can get around
ihe difficulty by using first names.
U.esides father and mother there
are three boys John. George and Jo
sephand two girls, Man and Jane.
None is married, but Mary is be
trothed. She was to have been mar
ried, but her affianced does not wish
to appear to be a slacker. So he is
waiting until he has been certified
for the National army. Then there
will be a quiet home wedding with no
rice thrown, hecause rice is a food-
Ftuc and Mrs is a member of
the food administration.
While the wedding is necessarily
delayed preparations for it are goine
forward at a great rate. Mary's trous
seau Is nearly completed and the
groom is not buying any, expecting
to receive on from the quartermas
ter's department at Camp Upton. Jane
who will play the wedding march, Is
having trouble. Most of the wedding
marches were written by enemy aliens
and are obviously unsuitable at the
marriage of her sister to an Ameri
can soldier. Probably she will select
one of Mr. Sousa's compositions. If
she cannot find a piano airangement
the phonograph will have to play it,
it being obviously impossible to hire
a brass band. A band for a wedding
is an extravagance in war time.
The fact that the bridegroom will
be outfitted by the largest firm in
North America does not preclude his
receiving accessories of one sort and
another made by the folks at home.
As any one who owns an automobile
knows, accessories are practically
endless and consist of anything the
immediate usefulness of which is
not apparent. There are accessories
before and after the fact whether the
fact be the purchase of a sixteen
cylinder gadabout or entry into the
military service of the United States.
The greatest peril of Mary's prospec
tive husband is not however, the lists
of "Things Your Soldier Boy Will Ap
preciate," complied on an assumption,
and a doubtful one at that. His future
peace and comfort are mainly jeopar
dized by Jane's passion for knitting.
She has nearly completed an outdoor
sleeping suit which will make her in
tended brother-in-law resemble a well-to-do
Eskimo rather than a private,
U. S. N. A.
While the impending wedding en
grosses the minds and fingers of
Mary, Jane and their mother, John,
George, Joseph and their father arc
at odds over large questions of pro
duction and supply. The parent is
a farmer, John is working for Mr.
Hoover down in Washington, George
is a contractor's man in charge of
cantonment construction, and Joseph
is raising sheep in Texas. Mr.
put in a large crop of wheat and an
other of potatoes. His wheat came
out rather poorly and the priceset by
the government won't give him much
of a profit. He is patriotic enough
not to mind this, since he has added
to the amount of wheat in the country
the main thing. But the money to
pay for his subscription to the next
Liberty loan will have to come out of
the potatoes. He is afraid the potato
price will go below $1 a bushel. It
cost him $125 an acre to plant them,
and the crop averages 2.r0 bushels to
the acre. Well, that's all right if the
price stays at $1. a bushel. Can't John
suggest to Mr. Hoover that the price
of potatoes be established at that
amount?
John's replies are evasive and his
father is just a little disgruntled in
consequence.
George has had a serious row with
his father because, under the spur of
haste, he has paid common laborer's
$5 to $8 a day in building the canton
ment not many miles away. Mr.
found it impossible to compete with
this wage scale in getting farm help.
He spoke to George about it and they
had some words, but after the can
tonment is finished and the harvest
is in it will blow over.
From Joseph -have come several
scathing letters. He wrote from his
sheep range to John, asking if the
government was going to neglect
sheep. Joseph wanted to know if
clothing to wear wasn't as important
as food to eat. An epistolary mention
of the outdoor sleeping suit caused
Joseph to indite a regrettable letter
to his younger sister telling her that
it was girls like her who were wast
ing the visible supply of wool. Jane's,
answer she had always depreciated
Joseph as a sheep raiser was brief.
She wrote:
"Much cry and little wool."
What of Mrs. ? The poor wo
man is having a hard time as fam
ily mediator and arbitrator, a role
which she had had to fill, like all
women, from the time she became a
mother. Added to the delicate task
of bringing about daily peace by un
derstanding with no annexations and
no indemnities, but. with restitution
and reparation and guarantees for the
future added to this are all of her
war functions. She is a member of
the Red Cross and makes surgical
dressings. She cans and preserves
and serves butter in one-thord ounce
portions. She helps her husband in
the outdoor work of the farm as a
demonstration of woman's ability in
war time. She knits. She has joined
a "Take a Soldier Home to Dinner"
movement and once or twice a week
seats at her table some bashful youth
from the neighboring cantonment.
She is on a committee to he'p pro
vide visiting soldiers with healthful
recreation. She watches the kitchen
for waste. She does other things in
spare moments. At present f-he is
taking a census or inventory of the
farm's resources in foodstucs. No
body will ever be able to take an in-
ventory of her activities.
The s have gone into action.
Those who know them do not think
of them as especially engaged. Every
one else, pretty nearly, is doing the
same things, or some of the same
things, and others equally eager, well
meant, occRRirm!W TTi"!ir?rt?d fctit
mostly of value in winning the war.
Like the millions of their fellow
Americans who have been ordered into
action and have gone with relish the
s think of their enterprises only
in terms of winning the war. They
don't realize that what they are get
ting is a combined mental, physical
and spiritual training, a kind of splen
did series of setting up exercises of
inestimable worth to them the rest of
their lives. Though they never stop
to think of it, winning the war is the
most effective way of preparing for
peace.
Adjutant General McCain
Tells What We Should
Get From College
What are the things most worth
while in a student's life? What ex
periences will be most valuable to
him? What habits should be formed?
Wherein lies success? Over half of
the applicants for commissions at
(he Reserve Officers Training Camp
at the Presidio, San Francisco, found
(hat they did not possess sufficient of
the essentials of success to secure
an office in the army of the United
States. The reasons being behind the
failure of this large percentage as
conceived by one applicant are ad
mirably set forth in the following
communication issued by Adjutant
General McCain:
"Believing it might be interesting
and helpful to schools and colleges
in the present emergency, your at
tention is invited to the following ob
servations of a candidate at one of
the reserve officers' training camps,
as to the probable causes of the con
siderable number of rejections of can
didates for reserve officers at the
training camps:
Perhaps the most glaring fault
noted in aspirants to the officers' re
serve corps and one that might be
corrected by proper attention in our
high schools, preparatory schools and
colleges, might be characterized by the
general word "slouchiness." 1 refer
to what might be termed a mental
and physical indifference. I have
observed at camp many otherwise ex
cellent men who have failed because
in our school system sufficient empha
sis is not placed upon the avoidance
of this mental and physical handicap
In the work of the better government
military schools of the world this
slackness in thought, presentation and
bearing is not tolerated, because the
aim of all military training is accu
racy. At military camps throughout
the country mental alertness, accu
racy in thinking and acting, clearness
in enunciation, sureness and ease of
carriage and bearing must be insist
ed upon, for two reasons. That suc
cess may be assured as nearly as hu
man effort can guarantee it with the
material and means at hand, and that
priceless human lives may not be
criminally sacrificed. Only by the
possession of the qualities referred
to does one become a natural leader.
A great number of men have failed
at camp because of inability to articu
late clearly. A man who cannot im
part his idea to his command in clear,
distinct language, and with sufficient
volume of voice to be heard reason
ably far, is not qualified to give com
mands uion which human life will de
pend. Many men disqualified by this
handicap might have become officers
under their country's flag had they
been properly trained in school and
college. It is to be hoped therefore
that more emphasis will be placed
upon the basic principles of elocution
in the training of our youth. Even
without prescribed training in elocu
tion a great improvement could be
wrought by the instructors in our
schools and colleges, regardless of the
subject, insisting that all answers be
given in a loud, clear, well-rounded
voice; which, of course, necessitates
the opening of the mouth and free
movement of the lips, it is remarkable
how many excellent men suffer from
this handicap, and how almost Impos-
LOST Large pink cameo pin, with
gold mounting. Return to Student
Activities office for reward. 14-16
LOST Black purse containing sil
ver fountain pen, several dollars and
schedule to class. Please return to
Student Activities office. Reward of-1
fered. -' 13
ROOMS Pleasant rooms, one on
ground oor, steam heat. Board if -desired.
152S R St. 14
Wanted Roomers and boarders at
1801 R St. Board $5 per week. 14-18
NEW DINING ROOM
1528 R St.
Rates to Students $4.f0 per week
Tickets $5.00
Home Cooking
REMODELING
our store front. We will give
you a discount on any of our
merchandise (except contract
goods) if you will take the trou
ble to come in.
HALLETT
Uni Jeweler
Eat. 1871 1143 O
sible it is to correct this after the
formative years of life.
In addition to this physical disabil
ity and slouchiness is what might be
termed the slouchiness of mental at
titude. Many men fail to measure up
tn tho rpnuirements set for our offic
ers reserve because they have not
been trained to appreciate the impor
tance of accuracy in thinking. Too
many schools are satisfied with an ap
proximate answer to a question. Lit
tle or no incentive is given increased
mental effort to co-ordinate one's
ideas and present them clearly and
unequivocally. Insistence upon de
cision in thought and expression must
never be lost sight of This requires
eternal vigilance on the part of every
teacher. It isjiext to impossible for
military instructors to do much to
counteract the negligence of schools
in this regard. This again has cost
many men their commissions at canip.
Three months is too short a time in
which to teach an incorrigible "beater-about-the-bush"
that there is but one
way to answer a question oral or writ
ten, and that is positively, clearly and
accurately. The form of the oral an
swer in our schools should be made an
important consideration of instruc
tion. I have further Holed at camp that
even some of our better military
schools have turned out products that
while many of them may have the
bearine of a soldier in ranks, yet their
carriage is totally different as soon as
they "fall out." Schools, military and
non-military, should place more in
sistence upon the bearing of pupils
all the time. It should become a sec
ond nature with them to walk and
carry themselves with the bearing of
an officer and a gentleman. This
again is a characteristic that cannot
be acquired in a short time and, when
coupled with other disqualifying ele
ments, has mitigated against the suc
cess of men in training camps.
As a last important element that
seems to me has been lacking in the
moral and mental makeup of some
of our students here is the character
istic of grit. Not that they would have
proved, cowardly in battle, necessar
ily, but some have exhibited a ten
dency to throw up the sponge upon
the administration of a severe rebuke
or criticism. Their "feelings have
been hurt" and they resign. They
are not ready for the rough edges of
life. The true training school should
endeavor to inculcate that indomit
AL, SPEIER
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able spirit that enables one to get
out or sen, to Keep one s eyes fixed
upon the goal rather than upon the
roughness of the path, to realize that
one unable to rise above the hard
knocks of discipline cannot hope to
face with equanimity the tremendous
responsibilities of the officers under
modern conditions of warfare. This
ideal of grit belongs in the school room
as well as upon the campus. U. of
Nevada Sagebrush.
Tfarjorie SDavzj
H
WITH THE BRANDEIS PLAYERS
At the Oliver, Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday, in
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Ban k Bldg
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Street
Lincoln
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IECDY !
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