TWO
DAILY INEBR ASKAN
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1939
LIFE, LIBERTY . . .
Last week, on Ivy Day, Mr. Willard Wilson,
the Ivy Day orator, delivered what was probobly
one of the finest of such orations heard in many
years. Mr. Wilson deplored the economic conditions
into which he and his classmates are about to ven
ture. As a first step in solution of the problem, he
suggests solution of the educational deficiencies. He
deplores the existing bubble which pictures the in
herent right of advanced education, and in its stead
would expound the principles of realism.
Sunday, the editorial writer of a local news-'
paper, gave to youth a challenge to fight for the ad
vantages they would have. In a letter reprinted
in the 'Student Pulse" columns this morning refer
ence is made to a truly enlightening and inspiring
address made by Nebraska's Senator Norris on re
ceiving the Cardinal Newman award "for distin
guished service to his country." Altho the award and
the address were made seven years ago, the thoughts
and arguments presented are even more timely to
day than they were then.
Says Mr. Norris in part:
'Is our civilization breaking down? Is our
government structure giving way under the terrible
problems now encumbering the road of human prog
ress? "With food rottinng in numberless store
houses, millions of our people are starving for
something to eat. We are freezing because we
have too much fuel. We can scarcely cover our
nakedness, because we have manufactured too
much clothing. It is plainly evident that some
thing is seriously wrong with our civilization.
Everyone acknowledges that the burden of perm
anent feeding and clothing an army of 12,000,000
unemployed is too great for organized society to
bear. Unless we meet this situation, unless we
solve this question, our civilization, our govern
ment, our constituted society must fail.
"The mad and selfish rush for money, the un
explained desire to accumulate wealth at all hazards,
has for a century been one of the evil influences in
' our civilization. Wonderful developments in improved
labor-saving machinery have all added to the dif
ficulties and helped precipitate the crisis. The year
1929 was regarded by many people as the high mark
in our prosperity, but reliable statistics demonstrate
that by improved machinery installed sinje that date
we could today manufacture and produce all the
goods that could be consumed with 6,000,000 less
men than were employed at that time.
"Emergency relief is imperative to save the in
eituations of our civilization, but when we have
achieved that accomplishment we have only post
poned our difficulty. We are not fair to pass this
question on to our children. We ought to give to our
posterity a' world of opportunity freed from this om
inous threat.
At the close of every war, the wealth of the
countries engaged is oossessed by less people than
owned the property at the beginning of the war.
The World war being the greatest in all history
has had a tremendous effect in that direction.
During four years all the people cf practically all
the nations of the earth were bending all their en
ergies in one direction to destroy property and
human life. It is an economic axiom that society
in general has to stand this loss. It is a burden
coming all at once, and it has been almost too
much for humanity to bear.
"There is no doubt if we let matters flat and do
nothing to save the situation, when a new adjust
ment takes place, the property of the country will
be owned by a much smaller part of the people
than own it now. It is evident that if we want to
save our civilization, if we want to sae our system
of government we must do something now, and we
must be willing to suffer the disastrous changes
which must take place in order to save it.
"The right to acquire property and make un
limited profits is a sacred right Laws which gave
this permission were framed in accordance with
the conditions then existing, and when changes in
economic conditions occur, then new laws mustbe
enforced to protect the rights of the humanity.
That the personal liberty of individuals will be
modified cannot be denied, the personal liberty of -man
is always a relative one, and he cannot ex
ercise this liberty In a way which is destructive
of the rights of his fellow men.
"I am not claiming that this change will not in
volve some sacrifice. We will have to give up some
of our cherished ideas about the rights of property.
About all that is necessary, however, is to put some
humanity into our statute books.
"When it is evident that labor working eight
hours a day, with the machinery of modern times,
produces more than can be consumed, the very life
of our civilization will cry out and demand the law
which limit the hours of labor. If we desire to pre
serve our civilization intact, we must take the neces
sary steps to bring about such preservation. Where
such action infringes upon the rights of those who
are seeking unlimited wealth the rights of society
must prevail, and the rights of property must be
submissive. All along the pathway of history there
stand the tombstones of dead governments, be
cause the people failed to preserve the rights of man
as against the rights of property.
"An unreasonable accumulation of money and
the ultimate ownership of the property of the
country in the hands of the few is now admitted
to be dangerous to the perpetuity of any govern
ment. Man has forgotton the duty he owes to hu
manity in his mad rush for wealth, and yet the
warning is written in the canopy of heaven.
"As a permanent remedy we ought not only to
shorten the hours cf toil But we ought to limit the
right of wealth to entail itself from one generation
to another. The progressive inheritance tax would
make it impossible for the property of one gener
ation to be passed on intact to the people of a suc
ceeding generation. Such a tax could be collected
with less hardship than any other tax ever con
ceived by man.
"Our forefathers said in that immortal dec
laration that the objects of government were life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life and lib
erty are included in the pursuit of happiness; and,
so, if our forefathers were right, we can put it all in
one sentence: 'The objject of government is to pro
tect the happiness of the people comprising the
government.' If the object of the government is the
happiness of the people in the government, then it
follows that there must be some humanity in gov
ernment. It must become a religion a religion that
does not consider the conditions which may exist
beyond the grave, but confines its consideration to
happiness in this life.
"A satisfied citizenship is necessary either in
the preservation of the rights of man or in the
protection of the rights of property. A nation of
happy prosperous satisfied people means the pro
tection of society, and likewise and to the same
extent it means the protection of the rights of
property. Respect for law is one of the requisites
of stable government. It is in a government where
the people live in their own homes, where the
farmers are geting a profitable price for their
products, where the toiler in the workshop is get
ting an honest wage, and is laboring under decent
respectable conditions, that the rights of man and
the rights of property are both preserved in every
legitimate respect.
"The difficulties which, therefore, we are faced
with at the present time, and the dangers that con
front us, if we meet them fairly and honestly and
with the supreme desire to shape things as to in
crease the happiness of all people, will fade away
and we will find that all that is necessary is to be
honest with our fellow men. and to give equality to
all people alike, and that by so doing, instead of
these difficulties, and these dangers, being & menace,
they will, if we thus meet them, and thus solve
them, become a blessing to all humanity, and in
that day, which I hope is not far distant, there will
be placed upon the willing shoulders the new re
sponsibilities of the new civilization."
ihuiEeirait
IPuiifsc
Kditor Note: Thr following littrr In a
copy of one arnt to Mr. Millard WIIwmi,
arnlor In law rollouc who last wrrk dr
Itvrrrd thr minimi Ivy ltay oration. Mr.
Mhlry. thr writer, lit a Lincoln hnt.inrs
man who ha retainrd hi youthful view
point while watching; four n attend thr
unlvrrftlty, thr yoiincrNt nf whom com
pleted hln rd ura I Ion unly ttvn yrara aicn.
in the State
of 1039'' is
but it leaves
Mr. Willard Wilson,
Ivy Day orator
Dear Mr. Wilson,
Today's editorial
Journal, "The cry
much to the point
much unsaid.
The. struggle of the present, nnd
into the future, is going to be one
between the "Haves" and the
"Have nots". In Europe the whip
hand has been seized by the dic
tators, and their action is not sol
ution, but the contrary.
In this country it is up to us to
do the job in a democratic way,
and it is going to be the job of
your generation to make this ad
vance, with courage and directness,
being fully aware that it will taake
persistant effort, plus time and
patience, to accomplish anything.
It did not get this way in a day
or a year, nor will it be remedied
in a short tiime.
The forces of entrenched private
and corporate wealth are a unit
and have rlenty of money to buy
the best brains available to protec:
their position. The "Have nots" are
not a unit, unfortunately. So the
first job is to define the objectives
and the method of their accomp
lishment, and then try to get the
"Have nots organized behind the
effort to take the shackles off of
free enterprise in business activity
and give your generation a chance
to look at the sun.
I know of nothing which more
nearly gives your generation a cor
rect look ahead than the address
of our Senator Norris, when he
was awarded the Cardinal New
man Award at the University of
Illinois in 1933 for distinguished
service to his country.
I am enclosing a copy for your
information if you are interested.
Yours very truly
William M. Sibley
NO KICK.
To the Editor:
Thursday the Innocents foi- next
year were tapped. For the first
time in many years there were no
Barb chosen for this honor. I ex
pect that quite a number of the
independent students will raise the
cry that they were cheated out of
representation in the socity by
dirty politics in the fraternity fac
tions.
The great majority of Barb
men have no reason to kick
though, the fault is entirely their
own. We have a fair system of
elections here now that prevents
any underhanded work at the polls,
and the selection of the Innocents
is closely supervised by a faculty
committee in order that the men
selected are as nearly as possible
the choice of the junior and sen
ior men as indicated by the nomi
nating election.
The Barbs failed this year for
two reasons. First, ninety per cent
of the men eligible to vote didn't
take the trouble to name their
choices. Second, there were no
Barb men with the combined
qualities of leadership, character,
scholarship, and popularity ,to
really merit the honor of being an
Innocent. Perhaps some of them
had as much right to be tapped as
some of those that were, but that
is a question for debate.
Even though I am quite active
and interested in Barb work, I
should have regretted seing any
Barb made an Innocent for purely
political reasons as much as I dis
like seeing fraternity men chosen
for the same reason. I believe that
the Innocents should be chosen
tor their character, personality,
leadership, and actual service to
their fellow students and the uni
versity instead of choosing those
with a long list of impressive
looking activities and a record of
faithful political activity as, un
fortunately, the tendency is now.
When we can pioduce more
Barb men of the caliber of Bob
Simmons, I insist that they be
made Innocents, but I do not be
lieve that some one not deserving
the honor should be tapped merely
because it is the custom to select
one Barb every year.
The Barbs have plenty of po
tential Innocents in their numbers
even a fraternity man will admit,
but they seem content to sit back
with their hands folded maintain
ing that they can't do anything
because the fraternities run ev
erything on the campus. If they
would enter into the extrr.-eurri-cular
activities opeen to them,
they would have plenty of chances
of success.
One thing they cannot blame
the frateernities for running is the
Barb organization. Tomorrow
night the Barb Union will elect its
officers for the coming year. It
will be difficult to find men who
know enough about the organiza
tion to be entrusted with its direc
tion for the coming year. Wh'
the independent men don't ta.
interest enough to work for their
own organzation, how can they ex
pect to become Innocents?
Veiy truly yours,
ART HENRICKSON,
Editor Barb Bulletin.
Dr. M. L. Grant of Iowa State
Teach'-rs college has a personal
library cross-reference file of 15,
000 cards.
PM & (f '
Filings for awards
due Wednesday
Fire scholarships
available for students
Students interested in five schol
arships available this spring, are
advised by the office of the dean
of student affairs to file applica
tions before Wednesday, May 10.
Scholarships are available for
freshmen and upperclassmen alike.
Upperclassmen must have com
pleted 24 hours the previous year
and are required to carry at least
12 hours during the semester for
which the award is granted to be
eligible for the prizes. All grades
must be of satisfactory standing
to be considered by the committee.
The five scholarships and their
respective endowments are as fol
lows: Dr. George Bowman award
of $90; Edward Lang True me
morial of S80; the William Hyte
scholarship of $75; and the en
dowment of $50 established by Dr.
and Mrs. J. D. Clark in memory
of the late Judge Jefferson H.
Broady.
The freshman award endowed
by W. J. Nickel carries an award
of $20 to the freshman who has
completed his first year of work
under the greatest duress.
Alpha Kappa Psi hears
address by Don S. Cozad
Don S. Cozad of the National
Bank of Commerce spoke on the
Ihases of banking Wednesday eve
ning at the Union to actives, new
Initiates and alumni of Alpha Kap
pa, Fsi, professional bizad frater
nity. Friday, eight members of the
society spent the day in Omaha as
guests of several business houses
F.nterrd m arcMid-rlaaa matter at Iht
noftof fk tm IJnraln, NrttraaLa, under an
of cwiKrrm, March S. IH7B, and at anrrial
rate f povtare firortdrd fnr hi arrttmt
IIOH. art of Ortober S. Itti7, aulliorlrrjl
nuan JO. IHZt
.-y .-r if -r
VJ i. vi...----, .: ,
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Bulletin
Phi Tau Theta, Methodist fra
ternity, will hold a business met
ing this evening at 7 o'clock at
the Wesley Foundation. Flans for
the annual spring banquet Friday
night will be completed and ar
rangements for the regional meet
ing of the fraternity to be hld in
Lincoln May 13 and 14 will be
made.
Kosmet Klub actives will hold
an important business meeting
at the Kosmet Klub office at
7 o'clock this evening. It it
essential that every member be
pttsent.
To attend dance school
Miss Shirley Bennett of the de
partment of physical education for
women will attend the sixth annual
session of the Bennington School
of the Dance at Mills college in
California this summer.
SPRING TIME
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