Omaha daily bee., 1918-06-03
AVERY ON STAND
SAYS FACULTY IS
SLOW TO CHANGE
Doesn't Believe One of Accused
Men Would Help Germany;
Tells How Labored
With LuCkey.
(From a Staff Correspondent.)

Lincoln, Neb., June 2.-(Special.)-
That Professor G. w. A. Luckey did
not want to play the game of follow
the leader" in the war because he did
not know where the leader was head
ed, was the testimony of Chancellor
Samuel Avery of the University of
Nebraska today. The chancellor
came from Washington yesterday
to testify in the hearing of professors
charged with lukewarm patriotism.
The chancellor said he had asked
Professor Luckey about the Howell
incident where it had been charged
that he had said in speech that this
was not his war. Chancellor Avery
said the professor said he favored a
defensive war instead of an offensive
and did not favor sending our SOL
diers across to fight.
The chancellor told Luckey he had
better make a plain statement of his
support of the president, which he
did. This was not satisfactory to the
chancellor and when the latter. re-
monstrated with him, Luckey said:
How can | support the president
when | don't know what he is going
to do?" The chancellor asked him to
cut out some of the explanation. but
he sent it to the newspapers as it was.
The chancellor said Professor Luckey
told him he thought old men ought
to go to war instead of the young, as
the latter could better perpetuate the
race, if they remained at home.
Willing to Do Duty.
Take it all around the chancellor
said he believed DR.. Luckey was will
ing to do what he could to help the
country in the war and was willing
to do his duty.
. Chancellor Avery said in answer to
a question. that he disliked to say
anything regarding a colleague, but
in this case he would answer all dues-
tons
Chancellor Avery said that at the
time of the arrangements for the
semicentinnial of the state Prof. Per-
singer had objected very strenously
to having Mr.. Roosevelt as speaker
of the day. That was the only time
he had ever talked with Prof Per-
singer on patriotic matters and he
did not know whether he was dis
loyal. He said he had heard some
comment regarding Prof. Grummann
but he had heard the professor say
after war was declared that. "Well.
we are in it now and there is nothing
else to do but see the country
through He had congratulated the
professor on his statement and asked
him II it would not be we'll to make
the statement public. He had UNDER
stood that Prof. Grummann had said
before war was, declared that as be-
tween Germany anG its opponents.
particularly Russia, he was for Ger
many"
However Persinger had later stated
that if Belgium was invaded without
just grounds he was against Ger
many.
The chancellor said that in conver-
sation with DR.. Luckey, who was one
OF the executive committee of the
university paper, the Nebraskan, he
had told him there must be no copper
head stuff in the paper. DR.. ,Luckey
asked if it would not be proper to
discuss the financial Side of the war
and the chancellor told him it would
make difference how it was dis
cussed.
The question was asked the chan
cellor rega; ding the loyalty of the
faculty under suspicion and he said
that he did not believe one of them
would help Germany, but, they had
not been able to adjust themselves to
the situation quite as fast as other
people had. In answer to another
question of how the student body
looked at the matter, the chancellor
brought out considerable laughter by
stating the students did not take the
faculty as seriously as people on the
outside did.
The chancellor closed his testimony
by saying there was not an educa-
tlonal institution in the country with
a more creditable record on the war
than the university of Nebraska.
Prof. Fogg, head of the four
minute men service, said that he did
not know positively OF his own know
ledge of any professor who really
was disloyal.