The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 14, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 18, 1963 Page: 3 of 10
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WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18, 1963
THE THRESHER
Three
Morris Parries Craig:
Society Not To Blame
To the Editor:
I do not think a period of na-
tional mourning is an appropri-
ate time for a political exchange,
and I do not intend to engage in
one. However, I feel that the dis-
turbing letter of one of our very
distinguished faculty members
last week on the assassination of
the President certainly deserves
comment.
The basic presumption of his
letter is obviously true: Our So-
ciety does have many imperfec-
tions, and there is presently in
the United States a trend toward
political extremism.
BUT HE GOES beyond this
and does just what he accuses
the right-wingers of doing, he
calls names and preaches of
their evil. The impression im-
mediately conveyed is distressing:
Hatred is bad; therefore, we
must hate all those who are guil-
ty of hatred.
It was particularly disappoint-
ing to read his letter just four
pages after President Pitzer's re-
marks. As Dr. Pitzer said, "With-
in the University, there should
always be respect for all honor-
able people and the courtesy that
this implies." Surely the office
of United States Senator merits
more honor than the guilt by as-
sociation accorded it, even if it
is held by a controversial figure.
IT IS PERHAPS significant to
note that the letter does not at-
tack extremists in general, but
only conservatives. What of the
many abusive threats of violence
made against the Honorable Sen-
ator John Tower, Representative
Bruce Alger, their families, and
a number of others ®ter the as-
sassination? Are these to be ig-
nored ? After all, let's take an
objective view.
Speaking specifically, the au-
thor of the letter asserts that the
atmosphere leading to the Presi-
dent's assassination must be at-
tributed to the right-wing. To be
sure, this was the immediate con-
clusion of "Pravda" and many
other Communist publications
who also "... presented it as
a carefully conceived 'rightist'
plot, tied up with the Ku Klux
Klan and the John Birch Soci-
ety'." ("Time," December 6)
BUT WE ARE all familiar by
now with the known facts of the
background of Lee Harvey Os-
wald. In fact, it now appears as
if he atempted to murder form-
er Major-General Edwin Walker
(an avowed ultra-conservative)
in Dallas last April after Walker
called for an immediate U. S.
invasion of Cuba.
A concise assessment of the
situation is found in the state-
ment of the House Republican
Policy Committee: "We are told
that hate was the assassin that
struck down the President. If it
was hatred that moved the as-
sassin, that hatred was bred by
the teachings of communism. All
the evidence so far presented af-
firms this. Efforts to make
Americans generally feel guilty
of the crime now are observing
the nature of the crime."
AND ON THE floor of the
Senate, Senator Thruston Morton
went further to say, " . . we do
not serve the best interests of our
nation, or the memory of a
murdered President, by letting
wrongly placed recriminations
overcome the good sense of this
great nation."
The man who shot John Ken-
nedy Was a "stranger to the
MORE THRESHING
ON PAGE 8
'American heritage," said Morton,
and his "mind had been warped
by an alien violence, not by a
native condition."
"LET US MOURN the terrible
event," "cried Morton, "but let us
not mourn for the American
soul—for that soul is stout and
lighted by truth and faith. Let
the blame be on him who actual-
ly committed the crime ..."
As Morton took his seat, Sen-
ator Albert Gore continued the
same sentiments: "I accept no
blame for what this demented
man did. I feel no sense of per-
sonal guilt. He is the one who
had become a fanatic.
"WHY SHOULD ALL America
be blamed for the actions of one
fanatic? ... it is an injustice to
our millions of people of good
will, even the teaming thousands
of hospitable, cheering people in
Dallas, to charge them with mur-
derous guilt. I regret it for my-
self and for my people. This was
the act of a madman."
President John Fitzgerald Ken-
nedy has now often been called
"a martyred President." But his
death seems even sadder if it re-
sults in further hostility among
political factions, a pitting of
American against American. We
have seen what it leads to, also
—can we reverse this trend?
GEOFFREY J. NORRIS
Baker, '66
RUNOFF-
(Continued from Page 1)
mers who polled only 35 ballots.
(The class vice-presidency is tra-
ditionally held by a girl.)
The office of secretary-treas-
urer was decided when Cambridge
defeated Hanszen's Barney Mc-
Coy, 166-118.
The following names should
be added to the list of stu-
dents initiated into Tau Beta
Pi, honorary engineering fra-
ternity, at its December meet-
ing:
Robert L. Houk, a Hanszen
ME from Memphis, Tennes-
see; Ronald F. Keating, a
Hanszen ME from Houston;
Charles C. Robertson, a Baker
Chem E from Houston; and
Alan P. Jackman, a Baker
Chem E from Shawnee Mis-
sion, Kansas.
•a &
Academic Chairs:
Four Are Given,
Three Are Vacant
Three out of four chairs in the
humanities donated to Rice last
year are vacant, the Thresher
learned this week. Two of the
chairs do not have adequate fi-
nancial support; another exists
unfilled.
The Gladys L. Fox Chair and
the William Gaines Twyman
Chair, to be established in the
field of humanistic study under
the terms of the will of Mrs.
Mamie , Twyman Martel, have
not been authorized by the trus-
tees of the estate.
The bequest by Mrs. Martel
provides $7500 per year for each
of the four chairs, two of which
were established last year. Dr.
Gaston Rimlinger was named to
the Henry S. Fox, Sr., Chair of
Instruction in Economics, and Dr.
Hugh D. Duncan was appointed to
the Lena Gohlman Fox Chair of
Instruction in Sociology.
IN DR. RIMLINGER'S absence
Mr. Serge P. Dobrovolsky is fill-
ing the Chair in Economics.
It was expected that the other
two chairs would be set up in the
fall of 1963. Dr. Pitzer explained,
however, that "The trustees have
told us that funds from the estate
are not sufficient to establish the
other two chairs this year."
THE LENA GOHLMAN Fox
Chair of Instruction in Sociology
is currently vacant, but it has
definitely been authorized by the
executors of the will.
Dr. Pitzer indicated that there
was no candidate for the chair
at the present time, but that it
would be filled within a year.
The late Jerry Nelson Nay-
lor, a senior Mathematics ma-
jor, was an honor student, a
member of the Wiess Cabinet
and a fellow of Wiess College.
His death December 4
shocked and saddened his
many friends who knew him
as highly intelligent, friendly
and considerate. He seemed' to
enjoy vigorous good health.
Memorial services were
held December 5 in the RMC
chapel. The Reverend Fred
Holt, Campus Pastor of the
Wesley Foundation, and Dr.
Paul Pfeiffer, acting Master
of Wiess College, spoke to an
overflow crowd of students
and faculty.
Funeral services were held
the following Saturday in
Wichita Falls#
The twenty-one year old
Naylor died at the Methodist
Hospital at 10:30 pm an hour
after collapsing in his room at
the College. Cause of death
was determined to be a mas-
sive coronary occlusion (se-
vere heart attack).
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"Mayor" Red Novak of Guitar City is
pictured to the left with the instructors
of
Guitar and Banjo
at
H & H Music Company
To the left of Red Novak is Charlie
Cash, Studio Manager, who states that
— each type of Guitar Music —
Folk-Jazz-Professional
is taught by these fine Musicians.
For Information, call CA 6-7606,
or
drop by and visit
H & H
Music Company
1211 Caroline Street
or
2^22 Sharpstown Mall
To the left is Bill Palmer our latest addition to our
H&H Music Company teaching staff who attends
the University.
RED
NOVAK
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Keilin, Eugene. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 14, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 18, 1963, newspaper, December 18, 1963; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth244903/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.