I
DAILY NEBRASKAN
Friday, October 17, 1941
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The Daily Nebraskan
FORTY-FIRST YEAR.
Subscription Rates are $1.00 Per Semester or J1.50 for
the College Year. $2.50 Mailed. Single copy. 6 tents.
Entered as second-class matter at the postoftice in Lin
coln Nebraska, under Act of Congress. March 3, 1879,
nd at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103,
Act of October 3, 1917. Authorized September 30. 1922.
Published Dally during the sehoo lyear except Monday and
Saturdays, vacations, and examinations periods by Students of
the University of Nebraska under the supervision of the Fjb
licatiooi Board.
Office! Unioa Building.
Day 2-7181. Night 2-7183. Journal 2-3330
Editor Mary Kerrigan
Business Manager Ben Novicoff
Membei
ftssocialed Gollefcidc Pros
Distributor of
Cbl!e6ideDi6esl
.Member Nebraska frcss Association, 11)40-41
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT.
' Managing Editors ....Morton Margolin. Paul Svoboda
News Editors Marjorle Bruning, Alan Jacobs,
Marjorie May. Randall Pratt. Bob Sihlater.
' Bporta Editor Bob Miller
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT. -
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Chicago Boston Lo AniHeo 8aa FrMCise
All for the Gratis
It's homecoming weekend. Tonight and tomor
row all fraternity and sorority houses will be fes
tively decorated; there will be parties and open
houses galore; all organizations will be entertain
ing; hotels wil be crowded; there'll be much hand
shaking and back slapping. And it's all for the
homecoming grads. Because the Daily Nebraskan
wants to enter into the spirit of the thing we're
offering this special Homecoming- Edition. It's all
for a welcome to the grads.
The Big Leagues
Let's get into the big leagues instead of stay
ing in the bushes in debating. Despite all of the
conscientious efforts of those who have been direct
ing debating on this campus, it has remained a very
minor activity with few people interested either in
participating or in hearing the debates. On most
other campuses debate is considered by the stu
dents to be a worthwhile activity, helpful not only
while they are in school, but after graduation.
A call will soon be issued for the varsity de
bate squad by LeRoy Laase, head of the speech de
partment. When this call is issued, it is expected
that a great many students will turn out for active
participation.
There is no reason why the debate squad should
not be active if the student body shows interest in
intercollegiate debates held here. At other schools
large numbers of students turn out to hear the de
bates. For example, the summary report of the
Kansas University Forensic program showed that
attendance at debates there last year totalled
11,000.
Debaters at other schools take part in Inter
national debates, conferences such as the Rocky
Mountain Speech Conference, conventions such as
the national Delta Sigma Rho Congress, tourna
ments such as the Western Conference Discussion
and Debate Tournament which includes the Big Ten
schools and to which University of Nebraska de
baters are invited this year, and leagues such as
the Missouri Valley Forensic League made up of
the Big Six schools and a few other colleges.
It is shameful to find that the small colleges
in the state far surpass the University of Ne
braska with their favorite programs and gain a
great deal of recognition for themselves. There is
no reason why the university, with sp many more
students to choose from, should not greatly sur
pass these small colleges.
Perhaps a few decision debates would add more
interest to the debate program. As an answer to
those who object to decision debates it may be
noted that the ag college stock judging teams take
part in decision competitions and this adds more
interest to their judging activities. The same might
be true of debating.
Our athletic teams and squads gain most of the
intercollegiate recognition the university receives.
Why can't we branch out with a few more of our
teams, including the debaters, to gain recognition
in other fields besides athletics ? We have a possibil
ity of getting out of the bushes into the big leagues
in debating if that activity only has a great deal
of interest, turnout and support from the student
body.
Behind the News
By David Thompson
Japs Change Cabinet
Failure of the U. S. and Japan to reach any
sort of agreement on the peace in the Pacific has
caused the fall of theonly cabinet group in Japan
that has any use at all for America, and has
brought to power the military group in that coun
try, a group whose sole aim is to combat the al
leged encirclement of Japan by the U. S., Great
Britain, China and the Dutch East Indies.
The result of this will of necessity make even
more precarious the already strained relations be
tween the Nipponese and the U. S. Even the more
moderate cabinet of Prince Konoye was unwilling
to reach an agreement unless the American gov
ernment agreed to relieve the pressure upon the
Far East and sanction the Chinese campaign. What
then will be the stand of a faction that did not
agree with that much conciliation even?
The military faction has said publicly many
times in the past month that they did not fear the
military and naval strength of the U. S. in the Far
East, and now tha' they have the opportunity to
again gain control of Japan's foreign policy, they
will not hesitate to continue their expansionist
program in southeastern Asia in spite of threat
ened intervention on our part.
It may also mean a move against the Soviet
in the East now that Russia has weakened her Si
berian army to help relieve the pressure on Mos
cow. The most serious move that Japan could make
as far as we are concerned would be to prohibit
shipping in the Sea of Japan and thus block the
route for American supplies to reach Russia
through Vladisvostok. This would be even more se
rious if the Russians have to give up Moscow, and
retire their army behind the Caucasus. They would
then be largely dependent upon the Trans-Siberian
railroad for supplies.
There is always the possibility also that Japan
may even take military action against the Soviet
in the Vladivostok area. Even the setbacks in the
Chinese war have not caused the Japanese to with
draw their crack troops from the Manchurian-Si-berian
border, and with Russia's forces there weak
ened by withdrawals it is not impossible to think
that Japan might act there. It would certainly be
a move that Germany would approve, and it is well
known that the military faction in Japan is in
sympathy with the nazis.
What will be the effect of an aggressive Jap
anese foreign policy upon the U. S. ? There exists
a greater danger of our intervention in a war in
the Pacific at this time than of our entrance into
the European conflict. The waters of the Pacific
are considered, even by the most rabid isolationists,
part of our defensive waters, and governmental
action to keep it open to our shipping would meet
with almost unanimous approval by the American
people. If Japan then attempts to close the Sea of
Japan, or to expand further in the South, it may
well mean that the U. S. will act with force now
that reason has apparently failed to gain anything.
Commentorials
. . . from our readers
Dear Editor:
The' Nebraska Band has many activities com
ing up which are very noteworthy. Naturally, be
cause we do not want to make the Nebraska cheer
ing section at least one-eighth that of Stanford's in
the Rose Bowl, we have offered our services to the
cheerleaders, the Corn Cobs and the Tassels. I
might say that the band has had more lung power
in cheering than the student section has had.
Therefore, in order to bring about better school
spirit or should I say lung power, I would like to
suggest the following thoughts:
1. Have each fraternity and sorority make
their members memorize all pep songs.
2. Have the Daily print the words to a song
every day.
3. Tlace the noteworthy yells and songs in the
football programs.
To any of these the Nebraska band will give
its fullest co-operation.
Adequate publicity has been given to the band
in all state and local newspapers. Perhaps the Daily
might devote a column or several inches to the
band each week.
The band is ready at all times to give its aid in
fostering school spirit. Let's try to co-operate.
Sincerely,
Roland ,(. yrbanek,
Vice President, University Band.
With the Best Sellers
By H. Jayne Lynne
BERLIN DIARY, by William L.
Shirer (Alfred A. Knopf).
Here is a first-hand, ringside
seat account of the events in Cen
tral Europe which have shaped
themselves into war for the world.
This tale by a pioneer "radio for
eign correspondent" is presented
in the form of a diary; event by
event, development by develop
ment, complete with expert inter
pretation. The only possible comment upon
the historical value of the book is
this: Had Mr. Shirer been pres
ent and observant during Napole
on's dramatic campaigns, school
boys might not now regard Na
poleon as such an heroic figure.
Should posterity so far forget the
repugnance of Nazi ideology to
democratic ideals as to endow Hit
ler with a similar romantic aura,
this book will serve to dispel the
mists of time and reveal the actu
ality of our today.
As a social document, the book
is probably valueless. Mr. Shirer's
comments on the philosophy of
Nazism are based on the theory
that peoples always get the sort
of government they deserve. He
maintains that the German people
have a peculiar passion for being
regimented. He says over and
over again that all Germans in
stinctively turn toward militarism
as the one aim of life. He ad
vances the theory that Nazi totali
tarianism is but the most recent
of a long series of outbreaks of
that militarism, which is, accord
ing to him, so dear to "the strange
soul of the German people."
Through the pages overlaid
with righteous hatred of the Nazis
and their methods, and under
standable disgust for the Munich
appeasers, there occasionally
Coeds Discuss
Hobby Groups
At Mass Meet
Coed Counselors will hold a
mass meeting on Sunday after
noon, Oct. 19, at 3 p. m., in Ellen
Smith hall. Purpose of this meet
ing is to discuss the three hobby
groups sponsored this year by the
organization: Charm school, book
reviews, and "Bundles for Brit
ain." Dorothy Weirich will serve as
leader for charm school; Janice
Hagelin will be sponsor for the
book review group; and Ann Kind
er will sponsor the group's latest
project, "Bundles for Britain."
Harriet Talbot, president of
Coed Counselors, urged that not
only members of the group, but
also everyone interested in these
hobby groups, make a special ef
fort to attend.
shines the light of a particularly
fine bit of writing. The first entry
is such a bit, and throughout the
book sporadic stories of discus
sions and parties, a small tribute
to old Vienna, and a few personal
reflections contribute to the at
tractiveness of the took.
Whether the reader agrees or
disagrees with the general tone of
Mr. Shirer's implied conclusions,
whether the book infuriates him,
or delights him, he will find it
fascinating from the first entry
to the last (January 11, 1934
December 13, 1940).
THE PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran
(Alfred A. Knopf).
This book is in its 38th Ameri
can printing, but far too few
Americans have read it. Written
in flowing Old Testament ca
dences, this prose-poem begins:
"Almustafa, the chosen and the
beloved, who was a dawn unto his
own day, had waited 12 years in
the city of Orphalese for his ship
that was to return and bear him
back to the isle of his birth.
"And in the twelfth year, on
the seventh day of Ielool, the
month of reaping, he climbed the
hill without the city walls and
looked seaward; and he beheld
his ship coming with the mist.
"Then the gates of his heart
were flung open, and his joy flew
far over the sea. And he closed
his eyes and prayed in the silences
of his soul."
As Almustafa waits for his
ship on the last day of his stay in
Orphalese, the people of Orpha
lese gather about him, and ask
him to tell them of the things of
life. Almustafa answers them in
lyrical wisdom.
The Oriental tone of the book
is no accident, for Kahlil Gibran
was born and brought up in that
place of many prophets, Mount
Lebanon. Like all Gibran's writ
ing, "The Prophet" is rich with
his unflagging love for humanity.
When Almustafa speaks with
compassion and love to the people
of Orphalese, it is Gibren himself,
speaking to all humankind. And
he speaks with wisdom and great
faith.
The drawings with which Gibran
has himself illustrated the book
are on a par with the writing.
They are mystical, and require
that a conscious effort be made
to understand them.
This is a book to inspire medi
tation, to be read only in an ex
alted mood.
Leverton Speaks
To Campus Club
The Campus club met Tuesday
evening for the first time this
year at a dinner at Ellen Smith
halt Dr. Leverton spoke on "Bet
ter Nutrition, Our Descent." ....
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