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EDITORIAL
Thursday, May 10, 1962
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Art h
The
Sick
State
Yes. Nebraska is sick. Or maybe we
ihould say it hibernates during the win
ter and naps during the summer.
Finally, someone has decided to stand
sp and say some of the things that too
many people have refused to recognize.
A Lincoln lawyer, and we might point
at a conservative Republican, Roger V,
Dickeson, In a "political" sermon deliv
ered April 15, took his congregation on a
trip into what he termed the "Twilight
Zone."
We have received his permission to
take you, our readers, through that same
fantastic world of facts, documented,
about Nebraska. This journey points out
clearly that Nebraska is really sick. That,
it is suffering from World Heralditis;
that it is ranked 35th of 36 in the number
. of qualified teachers with four-year edu-
cations; that teacher salaries in Nebras
ka, rank 43rd on the scale of 50; and
that 45 of our elementary teachers
leave Nebraska each year.
One of the most surprising facts was
that Nebraska, a conservative state
which supposedly does not want federal
aid, is 23rd in reliance on such aid for
education while it ranks 49th in state ed
ucational support.
Is the Unicameral an effective tool for
state government? Roger Dickeson points
to its non-partisan structure as one of
the major faults in effective government.
This unique structure which has gained
much publicity for Nebraska is run by
43 one-man legislatures, each largely,
responsible only to himself.
We feel that Nebraska will not move
forward until state legislators are elected
on a political party basis and can be
held responsible for that party's platform.
Today many state senatorial contests
are nothing more than popularity con
tests. As Dickeson observes, even the best
and strongest of governors can accom
plish little when the power resides with
the legislature.
. The pay scale is also a bit ridiculous.
As Mr. Dickeson points out in his speech,
Nebraska's football coach is paid more
than the Governor. And the state sena
tor's pay is ?vthing but a token. Young,
aggressive, progressive men can not af
ford to enter into government for a
meager salary of 5(2400. During the last
Unicameral legislature, there were over
14 of the 43 senators over 60 years of age.
Education, which everyone . should
agree is the most vital ingredient of our
society, is another area of this "Twilight
Zone." Ted Sorenson started a row last
year when he labeled Nebraska's educa
tion as sick. He pointed out in his speech:
5
"'Here in (George) Norris' own g
state where the pioneers once
vowed that every child should go to
common school, where the proportion g
of high school graduates has long g
ranked high and illiteracy low among
all the states of the Union educa- g
tion is no longer a prime concern. g
Budgets are cut federal aid is op- g
posed. Teachers and faculties, are g
harassed and underpaid . . . And one
result is a steady exodus of young g
people seeking ... a better life (until g
Nebraska) is left behind, old, out-
moded, a place to come from or a
place to die." g
1
Students do leave Nebraska. Dr. Clif-
ford Hardin told Nebraska graduates
last February that they had a "moral
obligation" to Nebraska. Moral? Yes.
But Nebraska also has a moral obliga- g
tion to its people. It has a moral obliga- g
tion to become a strong state in the g
upper ranks of statistical charts, other
than the large number of people over
65. A moral obligation to provide a g
strong educational system so that we do 5
not fall behind.
A part of the Nebraska graduates' 1
moral responsibilitiy to Nebraska is to g
fight to change the complexion of Ne- g
braska and Nebraska politics. We should g
talk to our parents, question the candi- g
dates for state offices, urge a partisan g
legislature so we can place responsibility
and power into the same ring. We should 3
urge the unlimited support of education, g
the backbone of a strong nation, a strong g
state and a strong community. I
Last, but not least, the state press, g
When any state or city has only one pa- I
per, there is a strong possibility of veto g
by that paper. The same holds true or
could hold true for other media. But g
the press has a responsibility to give g
ALL sides of the issues. The press has
' the responsibility to guard the right of
the people in the state it serves. It has
the responsibility not to cloud the issue's
or slant stories or headlines so as to g
mislead the public The press should al- s
so encourage progress and state develop-
ment State, not an individual commu-
nity, or a particular interest group, but g
the people.
But the Twilight Zone is here and now. I
It is Nebraska. It is more mystic than g
Ivy Day and more shocking than many
Friday night TV shows. We are a g
"sick" state, a state that refuses to treat g
its illness. g
Now is the time to wake up. Now is g
the time to THINK, Now is the TIME
to do something about this State that is g
"100 timid to live." The problem is a bi-
partisan one. g
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TS 6001V OR ill ASK FltL To SEU you TP THE VANQUISH I
Daily Nebraskan
JZVENTT-OWE TEARS OLD
14th A E
Telfjisa nx t-7631 ext. 422S, 4228, 4227.
timber Aaaoelated Collegiate Trttt,
lferaatlonal Prese Representative: National
A&vtrttelng Service, Incorporated Published
ts 'Roma tl. Student Union, Lincoln,
.ihranka.
Bfr4 as at a tlaae sutler ilttim atriae la
tim, Mefcraska, eadcf Ibe e af Aafui ( UIX
Th Dili Nabraskaa H published M (radar. Wedaesday, 3
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at Nebraska aaai aatkerlsatlee at Ike Cammluee a 3
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aa tba Dart at laa libwmaltw at am Ika aaii at may 3
amam antilUc tba (alTeraKjr. Tka awmfcera af Ilia Dalir
Nakraakaa ataff art paraaaallr nipaaalbla for what tbay
tut, at ma, at aaaaa v ba prlalat. rakraarv t, 19U.
foligwing it -a ipetch delivered by Rsgqr V.
Dickeson During the paat (ew week Bwra haa bean
considerable comment from political circlet and newa
papers in reference to the speech. It waa delivered from
the pulp-' of the Unitarian Church of Lincoln on April IS.
1962. and Is a "political sermon." We feel it's a message
of vital interest and concern to University of Nebraska
students, the future leadership of. maybe. Nebraska.)
Last July, at McCook, in ccniisction
with the Norris Centenni&i, Ted Sorensen
made some uncomplimentary remarks
about the state of the State of Nebraska.
He said Nebraska was falling behind in
the field of public education.
The editor of the Lincoln Star daily
newspaper had this to say on March 8,
1962:
"... Nebraska finds that where it was
once a leader in watershed development,
it is now a trailer; it finds its state
institutions still using buildings that
have long ago been condemned as fire
hazards; it finds it cannot even satisfy
public demands for tourist literature
about the state; it cannot build nearly
the roads it needs into recreation areas;
it cannot pay its full welfare bills; it
cannot afford an adequate railway com
mission to protect the public's interest;
it cannot adequately patrol its high
ways, cannot adequately enforce its
driver's license suspension cases, can
not meet competitive salary levels in
many areas of government and educa
tion, is among the tail-end states in In
terstate highway construction and in gen
eral operates on a near-starvation fi
nancial diet.
"This does not represent a state of ef
ficiency. It represents a state of pov- r
erty when we are not an impoverished
state ..."
On ?laroh 6, 1962, the Christian Science
Monitor carried a feature story on Ne
braska. The reporter stated that,
"In a real sense, this still is frontier
country . .-..Some of the liberal-con-..
servative battlegrounds of, "say, Ouio "
and Indiana, and some other Midwest
states have not even been reached
here , . . "
He stated that although this frontier
concept is changing,
"... the way of doing things in Ne
braska still is a long journey from the
eastern seaboard, or for that matter, ,
parts of its own Midwest"
obseriptlaa rales are II
eademla year.
xr se matter er W f er Uae
"Nebraska, Frontier Country
My purpose ... is to share a concern
with you. Unlike Tombstone, Arizona, the
town too tough to die, is Nebraska the
state too timid to live? Are we wasting
our heritage? Are we, in a very real
sense, consuming our capital, living off
of principal? If this is true, why is it
happening to us here in Nebraska and not
in our sister states such as Iowa or
Kansas?
This is, frankly, a political sermon. I
shall make a controversial remark or
two. You are entitled to a note on my
biases. I have always been a registered
Republican. My training in accountancy
and law makes me a traditional, conserv
ative. I have publicly spoken for a broad
ened tax base before the Nebraska Senate
and have assisted in the drafting of langu
age for proposed state sales and income
tax statutes.
The Twilight Zone,.,
Now let me take pa Into the Twilight
Zone. This Zone is in the world of num
bers statistics. It is nearly an unbe
lievable and shocking as the Friday night
TV program.
1) Nebraskans are not poor. On a per
capita basis for 1960, the personal income
of a Nebraskan was $2113 while an Iowan
bad $2003 and a Kansan $2068. (1)
2) Indeed, Nebraskans are not poor. For
every pupil enrolled in school Nebraskans
had personal income of $13,111.(2) It ranked
18th among all the states in this regard.
3) Why, then, of the 36 states reporting
teacher qualifications last year did Ne
braska rank 35th next to last in
the percentage of teachers who had fin
ished four years of college? (3)
4) Why was the average teacher's sal
ary in Nebraska $4,160 last year, when
the national average was $5,527? (4) Here
Nebraska ranked 43rd -among 50 states
while Iowa and Kansas respectively
ranked 31st and 33rd.
--5m.airhappened4o causeJ)il)LlO of
our high school graduates to go on to
college while nationally 35.6 of the high
schoolers go on to college? (5) Lyman
Glenny in his study of the state of higher
education in Nebraska for the Legislature
informed us of this.
6) Do you wonder why 45 of the
trained elementary school teachers leave
Nebraska for careers in other states? (6)
7) Doesn't it intrigue you to ponder the
fact that Nebraska ranks 49th among 50
states in state financial support of public
education while it stands 23rd in rank
among the stares in its reliance upon
federal aid to education as a source of
monies to support education? (7) This is
MOST curious. I thought we sound con
servatives despised federal money and
believed that the state could do it better!
8) Parks and recreation? I hate to men
tion this. In 1959 Iowans spent $1,395,000
on state parks, Kansans $1,105,000. Nebras
ka? $381,000. (8) Belatedly, commencing in
1963, Nebraska will begin to spend
$1,000,000 a year on the acquisition and
improvement of state parks. (9) Drink this
bitter cup: Lewis and Clark reservoir at
Gavins Point divides Nebraska and South
Dakota. Under a law just passed in 1961
Nebraska has decided it could commit
$120,000 annually to a matching program
for paved access roads to recreation
areas. (10) The state offered Knox County
$25,000 if it would raise the same amount
to be then matched by federal funds of
$50,000 to provide paved access to the
Nebraska side of Lewis and Clark reser
voir. Knox was unable to come up with
$25,000. Result: no paved access. The in
creased tourist revenues from resorts,
boat facilities and increased assessed val
ues of properties for tax purposes are all
over on the South Dakota side where you
may count the Nebraska license plates
if you wish.
Lack of Patrol
9) For 1960, Nebraska ranked 50th
among the states in the amount of state
funds appropriated for public health. (11)
Per capita, the state appropriation was 34
cents while the national average was $1.10.
10) Interstate highway? On January.!
of this year, Nebraska had completed and
opened to traffic 70 miles or 14 of the
total to be built in this state. Iowans
had opened 32 of their total; South Da
kotans, 26 of their total. (12)
11) Before the Interstate was opened, the
National Safety Council recommended a
minimum of 290 highway patrolmen for
Nebraska. Col. Sanders, head of the pa
trol, recommended a minimum of 247 at
the last legislative session in 1961. Pres
ently we are able to afford only 181 pa
trolmen for the entire state with a pos
sible increase to 200 in August. (13)
12) We have a State Railway Com
mission charged with the extremely com
plex task of fixing rate structures for
telephone companies and carriers.
These involve millions of dollars being
charged Nebraskans monthly. Yet we fail
to provide them funds for an adequate
staff of statisticians, accountants and
economists to analyze the reams oi data.
Misplaced Values ...
13) We pay our state Senators $2400 per
year, our chief justice of our Supreme
Court $13,000, our governor $14,000, and
our football coach $17,000. (14) In our soci
ety, compensations levels are some indica
tion of status. Is this not, then, a reflection
of relative community esteem? Is it not
an index of some very basic dislocations
in our structure of vclue judgements in
this state as to the relative worth of
these offices? Do we really think the
football coach is more important to the
welfare of Nebraska than our governor or
chief justice? You know, I think perhaps
we do! And, if we do we are sick.
And so, on into the Twilight Zone ad
infinitum, ad nauseum.
Is it not ironic that when Ted Sorensen
said simply that Nebraska was lagging
behind in public education that the Re
publican party chairman demanded that
Gov. Morrison apologize for the naughti
ness of President Kennedy's assistant?
Keep in view the fact that Nebraskans
are not poor compared -to neighboring
Kansans and Iowans.
Sorensen, the Star editor, and the Moni
tor reporter spoke truly. I do not cite
the figures as an argument that Nebraska
must embark on a wild spending spree.
For example, because we lead the nation
in the number of small, rural school dis
tricts, we are spending much of our public
educational money inefficiently. Taken
together, the figures indicate that Nebras
ka is sick. Relatively speaking, our vital
economic sap is running low. Population
studies by Dr. E. Z. Palmer indicate that
Pfople jre leaving Nebraska at the rate
of 12,000 persons a year. (16) These same
8,Ues 'J10 thaV ' about one-seventh
of the prime youth,. young men and worn
en, are leaving Nebraska at about the
ty a.v'ripe' !or fir employment
many of them after finishing high
chool and college in the state." (17) This
helps to explain why we now stand third
highest among the fifty states in the per-
nM!ftLour state Population over age
65. (18) Is there a degree of correlation be
SfSL PpPulation study conclusions
and the cited economic statistics? There
may well be.
fnr2?j!adS, Wa Pt Whkh iS
incapable of statistical measurement. It
concerns a feel for the attitude of the
people of the state.