University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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War in Korea War in Korea has reached the two year, four month mark as this issue goes to press and cessation of hostili- ties seems impossible in the foresee- able future. Peace talks which have been going on intermittently for al- most fifteen months have now bogged down over the issue of exchange of war prisoners. The Communists are demanding full exchange of all pris- oners while the United Nations de- mand that only prisoners who wish to return to their home country be re- patriated. This is a very real, practi- cal problem since a very high per- centage of North Korean and Chinese Communist prisoners reportedly want to stay in UN territory. American casualties are now ap- proaching the 125,000 mark with nearly 1,000 added to the list each week. South Korean casualties num- ber 150,000 while those of other UN countries are slightly more than 11,000. Present UN strategy seems to be an intensification of the conflict, but by means of large scale bombing rather than infantry action. One thousand plane raids are quite normal with some air attacks rivaling in size the massive raids of late World War II. The present plan of attack is aimed at destruction of communica- tion and transportation facilities in rear areas. Although this strategy is rather cheap in terms of casualties, no great deterioration of enemy forces is taking place. On the ground the battle lines are very static with ac- tion resembling the trench warfare of World War I. Though still officially termed a police action, the effect of the Korean war on the economy is becoming quite pronounced. The direct cost of the conflict thus far has reached 15 bil- lion dollars. Nearly 525,000 American men are now in Korea and another 1,100,000 are veterans of this gigantic police action. The selective service draft is now taking 47,000 men per month and 1,000,000 are expected to be taken into the armed forces in- voluntarily in the next year. This pressure from Uncle Sam has caused a huge growth in ROTC programs in American colleges and universities. At present these programs promise a four year deferment in return for a minimum of two years active duty following graduation. The presidential campaign engen- dered new interest in the Korean con- flict as Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed that Ameri- can troops be withdrawn from the front lines and replaced entirely by South Korean troops, a policy which some military leaders have declared highly impractical. Eisenhower fur- ther promised that, if elected, he would go in person to Korea to look at the situation, before laying his course in a vigorous effort to seek a just peace. US and the world War and threats of war continue to be the big news on the international scene. In addition to the hot war in Korea, the incessant cold war con- tinues along the periphery of the Rus- sian empire. Constant guerilla war- fare is found in Indo-China and Ma- laya while armed conflict seems not KOREAN CATNAP Sleep is where you find it unlikely in Iran and Yugoslavia. How- ever, the general trend of public opin- ion is that war no longer is so immi- nent as was once thought. Most people think that war is still several years away, and the students at KU no longer have that hopeless feeling so prevalent during the past few years. Winston Churchill, Conservative prime minister in Great Britain, displayed this growing optimism by declaring that the prospect of war is remote and receding. However, the reasoning behind this statement is far from cheery; the famed British statesman feels that atomic warfare would be far too horrible for either side to con- template. Even with these bright signs pointing to a new era of cold peace, it is significant that the Nobel com- mittee is awarding no Peace Prize this year. Although heavily censored, news from Soviet Russia seems highly prophetic of a change in future Com- munist policy. The universally feared Politburo, a twelve man board that has ruled Russia for some 35 years, has been dissolved and will be re- placed by a body known as the Presi- dium. Since a turn away from the highly autocratic government now in power seems highly unlikely, the change is generally accepted as a propaganda move. The Politburo, so long connected with the ruthless des- potism of Soviet dictators, may have been abolished as part of a new Rus- sian peace drive. Further sign of a Soviet policy change comes from the manner in which the Russians have forsaken their terrorist practices in Europe in favor of a new peaceful approach. The strategy is to appear to be work- ing very hard for peace while making the Western powers look like war- mongers and terrorists. Continued on page 91 Music lovers on campuses today are undergoing a rough division into two groups pops and bops. The popular addict has been present in every gen- eration. Characterized by giggling girls who rush out to buy a record of a pop song so they can learn the words, this group makes popular songs into towering hits in a matter of weeks. Some bands, notably Guy Lombardo, have ridden the crest of popular songs for decades by bringing out palatable discs of whatever happens to be riding high at the time, while others have gotten a start fairly recently by the same method. The recent shift back to instrumental dance music in the popular field has brought to the fore such strictly dancing bands as Billy May, Ralph Flanagan, and Jerry Grey. The latter two brought back memories of the greatest dance band of them all, Glenn Miller ' s group. This switch to instrumental accents gave Blue Tango the distinction of being the first tune to climb to the top of the Hit Parade entirely without benefit of lyrics. The true boppers, known in their own group as hipsters, are (fortunate- ly) rare on the campus, as are their costumes (berets, goatees, floppy bows and horn-rimmed glasses) and their vocabulary (gone, crazy, cool, etc.). Usually quite prevalent, however, are their first cousins, the modernists. These cats on a modern kick dig deep on Stan Kenton, George Shearing, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, and cohorts. They are completely gassed by an augumented 13th in 6-part brass. They are, however, not sufficient in number to support their idols in the manner to which the commercial bands are accustomed. There is not any open conflict between these factions, but rather a com- placent sympathy for the other side. From any angle, however, the music business is not in as much of a slump as it is commonly depicted to be. Inventiveness and the striving for a new sound will continually bring new artists and ideas to the public eye, as they have in the cases of Stan Kenton, Billy May, Les Paul, and that controversial figure, Johnny Ray. This singer ' s voice and style created a furor of monstrous proportions when he appeared on the musical scene. But whether Johnny ' s ray is bright or dim, at least it has a different shade to it. 11

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NOVEMBER 1952 In observing the forces that mold the college student of today, we believe that wars and elections affect him no less than football games and weekend parties. A record of this college year would be incom- plete without reference to these outside influences. In these pages, therefore, we attempt to analyze the news of the world in which the university and its students must live. Ike beats Adlai On November 4, 1952, more than 51 million voters the largest number in any United States presidential elec- tion went to the polls and elected the first Republican chief executive in 20 years. Primarily, they were voting for a change. After thirteen years of New Deal policies and seven of President Tru- man ' s Fair Deal, America had given the highest office in the land to a political tyro who promised a great deal, by a margin of 442 electoral votes to 89 for his opponent and a popular vote of 32,690,000 to 26,275,091 (as tabulated at our time of going to press). The General also accom- plished the feat of winning several southern states. For the victor, the great military hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, the triumph was the climax of a long, 50,000 mile campaign marked by bit- terness in which the general the first Republican presidential candi- date to do so successfully invaded the Solid South on four different oc- casions during his speech tours. At this time he plucked the usually Democratic 24 electoral votes of Texas. He achieved this partly through his promise to support the state ' s rights in regard to the Tidelands oil issue, which concerned Texans greatly. For the loser, Governor Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois, it was the end of an equally hard-fought campaign which had changed him from a reluc- tant candidate in June to a vigorous campaigner of notable eloquence. But the people seemed more charmed by General Eisenhower ' s plans to lead a crusade in Europe more than they were by the promises of the obviously qualified Governor Stevenson, who lacked the General ' s fame. The Democrats built their campaign on the premise of prosperity and NIXON, EISENHOWER Co. The happiness of victory STEVENSON EATS CROW Only 9 states, 73 electoral votes trumpeted the song You never had it so good. The GOP forces, on the other hand, pointed out two chief ideas which vitally concerned the av- erage US citizen the war in Korea and the mess in Washington, with em- phasis on the seriousness of Demo- cratic bungling both at home and abroad. True, many Americans seemed to be tiring of a seemingly endless shooting war, which began in the summer of 1950 as a police action of the United Nations, but which was in 1952 still killing their sons and husbands in an apparently deadlocked struggle in a far off land. Probably next in importance to Mr. Average American, who wanted a change, was the issue of corruption in federal government or what the Re- publicans referred to as moral rot in high places. Candidate Eisenhower made the statement during his campaign: There is only one issue in this cam- paign the mess in Washington. From there, the GOP took up the cry to the effect that it ' s time for a change and what we need is a new administration with new policies. The infiltration of Washington by Communists and communist sympa- thizers as a great danger to America was introduced and popularized by Wisconsin ' s junior senator, Joseph McCarthy. As to foreign policy, the Republic- ans favored a get tough policy in Korea which the Democrats had said would lead inevitably to a third world war. Peace takes patience was the idea voiced by Governor Stevenson in one speech. To the Democrats ' you never had it so good speech, the Republicans constantly reminded the people (al- though there was little need for it) that although more money was in Continued on page 90 10

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