PAGE 4
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1969
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Inscribed
of former philology professor
by John Dvorak
Nebraskan Staff Writer
A small rock with a gravestone-like
inscription rests about 20 feet
northeast of Architecture Hall. Behind
that inscription, unknown to most
present students and faculty, lies a
remarkable and mysterious story.
The inscription reads: Dr. James
Thomas Lees, 1889-1926, He Served
Well.
Lees was an associate professor of
classical philology who came to Lin
coln in 1889 and, in 1919, was named
Provost of the University. He became
ill in 1922 and died in 1926 at the
age of 67. He was cremated and the
ashes were strewn at the foot of the
Schiller linden tree, which lies west
of the Sheldon Art Gallery. The small
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Basketball best ... or 1913 roundball champs. We hope the prize
was matching jerseys.
ASUN in 1969 ...
Senate okavs
by John Dvorak
Nebraskan Staff Writer
By the minimum margin, ASUN
Senate approved a motion Wednesday
afternoon calling for a Constitutional
Convention before March 1, 1969.
Another motion by Sen. Bob Zucker
was introduced which provided for the
organization of the convention.
Sen. Fred Boesiger asked that the
motion calling for the convention,
which was defeated at last week's
meeting, be reconsidered. It was
brought to the floor by unanimous
vote.
ONLY SHORT discussion followed.
Sen. Bill Gilpin warned that a con
vention called this spring would be
"prejudged" by limiting its agenda.
More than just reapportionment
should be considered, he said.
Speaker Pro Temp Tom Morgan an
nounced that a roll call vote would be
taken and that 27 yes votes, or three
fourths of the Senate, would be requir
ed for approval.
Several Senators were absent and
one abstained. The final vote ended
with 26 in favor of the motion and
5 against, one vole short of spprovaL
Morgan then cast an assenting vote,
which put the stamp of approval on
the motion.
Sen. Larry Anderson vigorously
protested Morgan' vote, but with no
success. Morgan cited a rule which
allows the Pro Temp to cast a vote
when his vote would decide an issue.
THE CONTROVERSIAL proposal
had been under consideration for
three weeks. Its defeat at last week's
meeting sparked unhappiness among
many students.
Harper Hall President CM Sather
had threatened to organize a petition
drive which would call a Constitu
tional Convention without Senate ap
proval. Most senators agreed that some sort
of Convention was necessary, and that
some sort of reapportionment should
be undertaken to make the Senate
more representative. Some senators
wanted to reapportion immediately so
that th tw Senate would be elected
in 5h onder the new system.
rock marks grave;
stone was placed at the foot of the
tree in memory of Dr. Lees.
MANY QUESTION'S remain
however and some of them may never
be answered. What caused his death?
Why did he want to be cremated and
have his ashes put on the campus?
A check of 55 people who were
teachers or students at the University
in the 1920's turned up much data
about the man, but almost nothing
about his death.
Carl A. Donaldson, University
business manager, was a student in
the 1920's. "It (the cremation) was
quite a dramatic thing to do," he
said. "But that was the man's wish.
Cremation is still not too common,
but in those days it was much more
Constitutional
OTHER SENATORS wanted to wait
until next fall before calling the con
vention. Such a proposal was con
sidered at Wednesday's meeting.
Sen. Dave Rasmussen wanted to
call the convention on Sept 21, 1969,
which would have redone the entire
constitution as well as reapportioning
the Senate.
Speaking in favor of that resolution,
Rasmussen said that adequate time
would then be available to revise and
nothing would be done haphazardly.
No other alternative, he said, was
fair and just.
Rasmussen's resolution was
defeated 15-9.
AFTER THE immediate Constitu
tional Convention was approved, Sen.
Bob Zucker introduced an act pro
viding for the organization of the con
vention. Minor discussion followed even
though the act is major legislation
and cannot be voted on until next
week. But the Senate meeting, by this
time, was nearly two hours old and
one senator had already left com
plaining of hunger. A proposal to ad
journ was quickly and unanimously
approved.
Under the terms of Zucker's act,
which will be considered at the next
meeting, the Constitutional Convention
would consist of 30 voting members,
coming from six different sources.
SIX REPRESENTATIVES would
be selected by the Inter-Dormitory
Association.
Three delegates from the Greek
system would be chosen by the Inter
Fraternity Council and Panhellenic
Council.
Nine delegates at large would be
selected by a lottery conducted by
the ASUN Senate Executive Com
mittee. Any full time student would
be eligible.
Seven representatives from the
colleges, would be chosen from the
ASUN Senate membership.
Four representatives from the
ASUN Reapportionment Committee
would be chosen by that group.
The ASUN 1st Vice President,
of a shock to a person who first heard
about a cremation."
Being buried on campus was not
an unusual thing in those days, con
tinued Donaldson. Many universities
had small faculty cemeteries where
professors could be buried. NU never
had such a cemetery however, and
to Donaldson's knowledge, no other
professor ever was buried or had his
ashes spread on the campus.
Other retired professors remember
Dr. Lees as a highly respected scholar
who was one of the superior men
on the campus at the time. Ap
parently, Lees was a very formal,
almost stiff man who was
nevertheless loved by the students and
faculty alike.
Perhaps one of the reasons for
Lees' popularity was the summer
excursions he hosted. He was head
of the Greek department and also
taught other languages such as
Sanskrit. But his first love was Greek.
For many summers before 1920, be
conducted trips to Greece for
students, faculty and anyone else who
was interested.
JOHN K. SELLECK, former NU
chancellor, once went on one of the
excursions when he was a student
Just as Lees' classes were in
teresting, so were his trips, Selleck
commented. The summer vacations
were not really connected with the
University but they did have much
educational value, Selleck said.
"He was such a delightful man;
I enjoyed him very much," com
mented Professor Margaret Fedde.
Lees, as University Provost,
persuaded Mrs. Fedde to become head
of the home economies' nutrition
department. She didn't want to, but
at Lees' urging took the job on a
strictly temporary basis. She remain
ed in that post for the rest of her
active teaching career.
Retired Dean Theos J. Thompson
remembered Dr. Lees as a member
of the Athletic Board and for a time,
acting athletic director. Lees ruled
strictly and quickly on eligibility
cases.
"My brother and I used to play
baseball up in South Dakota in the
summer," Thompson began. "I was
a pitcher, and my brother was a
catcher. That fall, my brother wanted
to go out for football, but Dr. Lees
found out about our playing baseball
and my brother was never allowed
to be on the football team."
IT SEEMS that the only real in-
Convention
Mike Naeve, would also be a member
of the convention.
ACCRODLNG TO Zucker's act all
full time students at NU would be
considered non-voting members of
that Convention with as of yet un
determined speaking and debating
privileges.
All items on the agenda would be
submitted in writing to the Executive
Committee. The Constitutional Con
vention would then approve the agen
da at its first meeting, March 1.
The Senate took time for other ac
tion also. Tim Kincaid, a sophomore
from Lincoln, was chosen Business
Administration Senator, to fill a
recently created vacancy. Kincaid and
the other candidate for the vacancy,
Ben Cohen, appeared briefly before
the Senate.
THE ASUN SENATE'S newest
nember said that ASUN should have
jqual power with the Board of
.legents in the allocation of student
"unds. He also thinks that the present
apportionment system is unequitable
and a much better system must be
found.
In a special resolution, the Senate
said that it is in agreement with
President Richard M. Nixon and other
sponsors of the Volunteer Army Act
The senators urged immediate
passage of the volunteer army bill.
The Senate also unanimously
decided that it still strongly disagrees
with State Senator Terry Carpenter'!
LB8, which would penalize students
for the possession of marajuana.
LE8, in its original form, would
forever bar from any state college
or university any student found guilty
of possessing marijuana. In iti
amended state, LB8 would provide
for an automatic 30 day suspension
of such students.
Block and Bridle
Winter Dance
Sat., Feb. 15
9-12
Union Ballroom
Music by
Colonel Krispies
Music t Show
Band
Admission $1.50
belies tale
formation about Lees' illness and
death is in newspapers. "He was at
tacked by a painful and mysterious
disease four years ago (in 1922)," the
Nebraska State Journal said on
February 4, 1926. The Daily
Nebraskan on February 5 .reported
that Lees suffered a "serious
breakdown" in 1922. His death
however, was "unexpected," and
resulted from a "peculiar sickness."
Lees died February 3 in Coronado,
California. After services there,
cremation took place. The ashes were
returned to Lincoln in the spring, after
Lees family returned from their an
nual winter sojourn to the East.
Brief memorial services were held
under the Schiller linden tree on May
27. 1926, according to the Daily
Nebraskan. Chancellor Samuel Avery
presided and; at the end of the
ceremony, the ashes were strewn
about the tree.
Of .course the stone remains, but
even it has been moved. Charles F.
Fowler, long time University staff
member and a former head of the
buildings and grounds department
remembers that there was something
"sacred" about the stone and the tree.
"We never touched the tree or the
stone," he said. "We just mowed the
grass around it."
To Fowler's knowledge, the stone
had never been moved up until the
time of bis retirement several years
ago.
It has been moved several times,
according to George R. Miller, present
physical plant administrator. The
stone was moved about 20 feet north
of its original location a couple of
years ago. Within the last two months,
it was again moved closer to its
original location in order to make
room for a new sidewalk.
So, many hard facts are known.
But much more of the story remains
and it may never be known.
THE HAPPY HOUR
LOUNGE
PROUDLY ANNOUNCES
AH
PROUDLY ANNOUNCES
TO HELL WITH
IT. STOP BY - WE'LL
THINK OF SOMETHING
HAPPY HOUR LOUNGE
1041 "P"
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"And a rock feels no pain . . ." but it does conceal the ashes of
one of the Universities more colorful characters, Dr. James Thom
as Lees.
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