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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1940)
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN Tuesday, May 28, 1 940 VbuvJu (RoundupL By Norbert Mahnken Cui.iki JNIQUES. From the French battlefields still come nothing but reports of additional German victories. The latest Nazi push yesterday rolled on in Flanders without meeting too much allied resistance. The French war ministry admitted that the Germans had succeeded in crossing the Lys river at several points. By moving their forces across this Belgian stream, the Germans are in position to strike with renewed vigor and speed towards their objectives, the channel ports. The action along the Lys river indicates that the attack for the moment has shifted to the northern Nazi armies. The openly-declared objective is to have the northern wing meet the German motorized units advancing from Boulogne and Calais towards Dunkerque. When once the two forces have met the ring of steel around the trapped allied forces in Flanders will be completely forged and the Nazi force3 will be able to cut the defend ers to pieces at their leisure. Meanwhile an attack, doubtless designed as a diverting movement, took place in the Valenciennes sector, where a forced retreat of the French forces prevented their launch ing any effective drive against the German arm to the sea, while at the same time making it improb able that any sizeable forces could be sent to the real danger points farther west. The tone of the news coming from the French capital indicates better than anything else the true nature of the picture. Chief emphasis in yesterday's dispatches was laid on the "tremendous losses" which the Germans were suffering as they drove Lack the French forces on practically every front.. Setbacks were admitted, as usual they were labelled "unimportant," but most of the words were devoted to picturing the bloody losses which the enemy was suffering. This shift of emphasis is very revealing. It is a standard device, which to the ncutril ob server demonstrates more than anything else th desperate straits in which the government issrirg the communiques finds itself. For by pointing to the huge enemy losses the government attempts to bolster its citizens at home, citizens who are begin ning to realize that the steadily-mounting list of enemy victories can foreshadow nothing but defeat. NEW COMMANDS. The past weekend saw the British follow the example which their allies set the week before and change their high command. General Ironside was lemoved and his position as chief of the imperial general staff taken by Sir John Greer Dill. The demotion of General Ironside was not as .'Hiking as that of the French General Gamelin, for the dis placed British leader was placed in charge of home defense, which will doubtless become a real prob lem within a few weeks. The removal of army heads by the allies in dicates the complete misconception of the nature of modern waif a re which had gained acceptance in Fiance and Britain. General Gamelin was the titular leader of the French group which believed that a war of defense was the only logical course to fol low, that the Maginot line was strong enough to break any German advance. The German break through at Sedan which smashed not only the west ern extremity of the Maginot line but Gamelin':: of ficial career as well, graphically demonstrated the falsity of the defensive warfare. Yet in one respect removal of the generals fails to get at the real weakness of the allies. It is not primarily the mistakes of the general staff that is responsible for 'ha tt 'ady stream of allied defeats. Bather, it is the mistake? of the past years, of lack of preparedness on the part of the allied countries. Weak in the air, with no effective mechanized ground forces, and possessing no adequate means of repelling the mechanized attack of the huge German tanks, the allies have paid in successive defeats and countless lives for the mistakes not of today, but of the past five years. Modern warfare does not wait until any nation can get its industrial if sources into action, and a nation when attacked is not allowed to pick the time when it wishes to fight. TRIPLE DAMAGES. Shunted to the back pages by the war news is a court decision of no little importance. The Su preme Court yesterday decided that sit-down strik ers were not liable for triple damages under the Sherman anti-trust act. The case involved the suit of the Apex Hosiery Co. of Philadelphia against a local unit of the AFL which conducted a sit-down strike in its plant In 1937. The courl ruled that the activities of labor unions are not subject to the federal anti-trust laws unless they "restrain com mercial competition In some substantial way." The decision will doubtless be greeted as "far reaching," but in reality it indicates little more than that the court is determined that restriction of com petition by labor unions must be a real and proven thing before prosecution can be started. I ScAafL 9hom Our day is done - at least for three months. My column and I celebrated our first birthday yes terday. It was a simple affair. No one there but me and the column. We didn't feel much like a big party. We took the files to our party. And there was a cup cake there with one candle on it. 'We sat for a while just looking at that candle. It meant a lot to us. New friendships. And friendships with those many readers whom we never saw. Then we began to go over the files. We sorta chuckled between ourselves when we read our ad vice to freshmen. It was the first column of the year. Then we came to the part that said "The only way to get ahead in this school is to make hay out of the grass that grows under the other fellow's feet." That made us stop and think. We wondered how many frosh let the grass grow. We thumbed on through the files. Then our one sin flashed up. It was a bit entitled "How To Make the Weaker Sex Stronger." We thought it was pretty good when we wrote it way back then. The Publications Board didn't like it. As we read it over, we could see why. We could see why be cause we are old now a year old. Wisdom gathers with age. lkre pages and we came to our column on our Girl Saturday. There were three of us for a while. And a Buick. But our Girl Saturday passed on to be a beauty queen. My column and I kinda laughed when we thought back and then decided that she might come back to once again be Girl Saturday - sometime. Then there was the "Tootie-fruity, Joey Venu ti" bit on the j roin committee. Ambiguity in that case was an asset. At lenst that's what the column ami I decided. That was the night that the titian haircd one came around. Real red activity. My col umn Miid the Kappa's like that one. We decided that the Kappas have our blessings. And the Theta's and the Pi Phi's and the DCs and the Chi O's and the . Then my column and I had a cold. It developed into double petunia. We told our tale of woe. It was then that some of the other college papers wrote us and asked us to write columns for them. We have been since, for a meager fee but maybe it will turn into something worthwhile -maybe next year. Then one night, somewhere, I don't remember where, we got the idea of surrealism in "writing. We wrote surrcalistically on life and sent the bit to Esquire. They suit it back. Said we had some thing that needed more practise. So my column and thing that needed more practice. So my column and I have been practicing. People have told us that try again. And they'll probably send it back. And we'll try again. Then we came to last Sunday's column. It was to the seniors. My column and I read it and then sat back. We were glad that we have two more years to sit here and put our thoughts to you read ers. We'd be just a bit lost if we were leaving this year. The column and I thought that it was a good year. It wasn't hard work. It wan a most pleasant pastime. We hope we can be back again in our same old spot again next year. The candle was burning low on the cup cake. Finally it flickered out. I cut a piece for the both of us. Mine didn't go down so good when I swal lowed. I don't know about the column. It didn't say anything. Our birthday party was over. We are one year old. ''It become imperative that leader in ulu ca tion and teacher in educution oppose any tendency vr dipoilion to ue the educational ytem 'for po Utital reaioni, and to in tint and demand that con trol and direction of educational practice he and remain in the hand of thoe who are profeuionally prepared," Dr. W, W. Trent, West Virginia ttate superintendent of tchoolt, caution education again! sacrificing it voire to politic. Military authorities predict uni ROTC to be artillery unit By Chris Petersen. From little acorns, mighty oaks grow. Four years ago, the United States army planted an acorn at the university, a field artillery unit to serve as a part of ROTC training on this campus. That aqorn has grown, rapidly, until some authorities say that the time is not far distant when ROTC training on this campus will be entirely confined to the artillery unit. In the fall of 1936, masons fin ished erecting a new building on ag campus, a few guns were wheeled in, the army gave a few trucks and some sergeants, and Major R. G. - Barkalow, Major W. R. Philip, and Captain W. R. Grove began to train 400 students in field artillery tactics and man euvers. , Job well done The ensuing four years were ones of hard work and organiza tion for the three officers. This spring Major Barkalow, who has served as commander of the unit, and Captain Grove, who has been in charge ot freshmen training, leave the university satisfied that their work here has been well done for the ranks in artillery have been growing steadily for the past four years until now more than 800 students receive training in that unit annually. In short, the field artillery unit has become of age. Those men who began their freshman train ing in 1936 and who have followed ROTC work through advanced training are graduating this spring, completing the first cycle of training. To war college M;iior Barkalow is leavinsr Ne- . braska for the War College in Washington, D. C. lor training. After his course is completed there he will probably receive a promo tion in ranks, captain move win go to Fort Sam Houston for the summer and then to Commander's General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for further training. Remaining on this campus will be Major Philip to take charge, of the unit and carry on the work that the three men started four years ago. He will be assisted by two new officers, yet to be named. Remarkable record Remarkable is the record of the unit for its four years of exist ence. During that time, it has strived to be the best in every thing and get the best in every thing. The record gives ample proof of the fulfillment of that de sire. Included on that record are: Since the origin of the field ar tillery, the Best Basic award has been made to students in this or ganization. This award is made annually from all basic students in infantry, engineering and ar tillery to the basic student who has made the most outstanding scholastic record. During the last three years, the unit's cadet commanding officers have attained PBK and Sigma Xi membership. They are Bob Beaver, 1938; Harrison Epperson, 1939; and Ray Harrison, 1940. The establishment of the Red Guidon society, the only military organization on the campus where all advanced course students are voluntary members. The purpose of this group is to foster the spirit of good fellowship and to provide a means of attaining increased knowledge concerning field artil lery technique. It was the first ROTC artillery unit to go to summer camps com pletely equipped with all of its own equipment. . A four year training course in which advanced stuednts when done have learned as much about infantry as artillery. The graduation of many seniors who are now actively engaged in regular army work. Cream of the crop The unit is equally proud of the sponsors which they select each year for the military ball and com pet. Termed as the "cream of the crop of sponsors" by members of the unit, the women this year are: Beth Howley, Jane Pratt, Harriet Jane Bowman, Bettie Cox, Peggy Sherburn, Gwen Jack, Priscillal Reitz, and Dorothy Wear. The training received in the ar tilleiy unit is beneficial to the stu dent regardless of whether or not he chooses to follow the army Students are given a thorough course in communications, motors and trucks, instruments which are not only used in the army, and full training in leadership. As al typical example of the work car ried on there, a student who has never learned to drive is taught how to operate a motor vehicle. Summer camp Biggest event in the advanced student's training, is summer camp. Each year, junior and sen ior cadet officers spend six weeks at Fort Riley, Kansas putting into practice those things which they have studied for three or four years, living a regular army life complete with the early to bed early to rise law. There is very little marching in the artillery. When the unit moves, it moves in trucks. Most interest ing class periods are those in which the guns are hooked onto the back of the trucks and the en tire battery drives into the coun try north of Lincoln to theoretical ly blast the capitol out of exis tence or shell O Street with their big guns. And compet '" On compet day, once again, the aitillery breaks the monotony of marching men with their big guns, gun drills, many instruments, and communications including tele phone and portable radio, rrob- Initio i iimi'1nil -1ni-irr Knt time in whic h the practical appli-f cation of the training can be shown to the spectators. The artillery course is not a j snap, mere is no opportunity to cheat in the many .tests that are . . ai ' Kivrn. Answers lU'ine questions cannot be copied out of text books or gotten from your nearest neigh bor for those tests which are not given orally are not given on the honor system. A student either does or docs not know the ma terial. Since the entire grade for the course is given on test grades, students make it a practice to know the material. That this sys tem has been for the betterment of Ihe unit is evidenced by the splendid scholastic .ratings made by all of the batteries. Class attendance It is impossible for a student not to attend class and. still pass the course. You cannot have ypur best friend or roommate answer for you for the instructors make it a practice to know every man in the class personally. In short, a man trained in the artillery course is trained thoroughly. Training is highly diversified. Freshmen students spend their time studying the guns and how to opeinte them, map making i ml map leading, and marching. Sophomores learn how to operate and care for motor vehicles, study fire control instruments and how to use them, and go through a thorough course on the radio and telephone. Juniors renew basic work, learn how to compute fire data, how to conduct a battery of guns, and how to lead men in marching. Seniors spend most of their time in instruction and lead ership, supervise field problems, supervise tactics of arms and are ir charge of the marching units. Roie of honor v No little credit for the nuccess of the artillery unit should go to the following non-commissioned men for the work that they have done on this campus: Sgt. Carl E. Hoffman, Sgt. William M. Smith, Sgt. Harold L. Sims, Sgt. Ralph B. Damon, Sgt. Charles S. Gage, Private Aaron A. Long, Private John R. Parker, Private Charles L. Clapper, and Private Cecile W. Foley. And so it is that these men and their officers have seen the artil lery unit grow and thrive for the last four years. Perhaps, as some authorities say, they will see their work dvelop until someday all ROTC students in the university will take their woik in the artil lery unit. mm StftfiQ Before the era of jitter and jive ... in the day of the clu of 1905 , . , "YessireeH" STUART TOMORROW! 4