January 30, 1942

Jan 30, 1942

Iowa City, Iowa

Dear father, mother, the three little boys, and whoever else may read this letter,

Well, I’m finished with my tests but I haven’t yet found out what I did in any of them. I got along pretty good answering everything but that is a long way from saying that I got everything correct. I suppose I’ll end up with a bunch of “B’s” but I suppose it cannot be helped. The English test was certainly peculiar test like I expected it to be. Just a bunch of rather general questions about vague ideas. It was one of those tests where you could start a national shortage in pencils if you wanted to. He handed out five sheets to every person. Some guys asked for more than five when they got those filled up but when I had finished five, I thought that was good enough and left. Of course, it was distributed between all the questions in about proportion.

By the way, speaking of national shortages really riles me up. In my opinion, the people in Washington are absolutely the blindest, dumbest, most illogical-minded and generally “candidates-for Cherokee” kind of people I have every heard of. This sugar rationing plan is the last piece of monumental stupidity and short-sight that has come out of Washington. Instead of looking at the situation candidly, somebody starts yelling “sugar-shortage” and everybody starts yelling with him “sugar-shortage” and presently they begin to think there is something to what they are saying because they haven’t stop[ped] to think, if such a thing is possible. First of all, for years now, production and refining of sugar beets in the U.S. has been definitely curtailed because of the competition it would cause with Cuban sugar. Sugar can be produced much more simply from beets than it can from sugar cane. The sugar cane juice as it is crushed from the cane is mixed with all kinds of nitrogenous waste that inhibits the crystallization of the sugar.

This is not true in the beet sugar industry where the beets are not squeezed to get the juice out but rather extracted. If the gov’t wanted to it could sponsor a sugar growing & refining campaign in the Middle-West which would dive Cuban sugar off the market in no time. Even as it is, production from sugar beets could be stepped up. But of course, nobody realizes that, so they have to start rationing the supply, which is limited in the first place by the gov’t simply for the same of Cuban interests.

What is going to happen in my opinion is that the sugar shortage will either go the way of Ickes oil-shortage or that Henderson will find himself wallowing in a sugar pile of monumental dimensions presently. But then, people don’t think and its a cinch, the leaders they elect don’t even think of thinking.

That lets my blood pressure down to about atmospheric pressure again. Every once in a while I get fed up with the gov’t in Washington and if it happened when I am writing a letter home, you get the benefit of it.

I have been sort of loafing along since yesterday morning when I had my last test. Last night I went to the basketball game between Iowa and Kansas U. I cannot figure out what is wrong with Iowa. They have lost about 3 games by 2 points. In my opinion they only game they deserved to lose was with Illinois. When they are “hot” they make the other team look like a bunch of flat-feeted policemen. Then they cool off till they look like Gowrie this year.

This coming semester I am going to be taking 19½ hours. It will consist of 5 hrs of organic, 5 hrs of electrical engineering, 3 hours of principle of chem. eng. 3 hours of chem. eng. economy, 2 hours of technical writing, ½ hour of plant inspection (a field trip) and 0 hrs of eng. society. I have a petition in at the dean’s office which if granted will enable me to graduate at the end of August or thereabouts. It is concerned with substituting some subjects for other subjects. If it is not granted I will have to squeeze in some extra hours someplace or take a longer time to graduate. I rather think however that it will be o.k.’d. Then this summer I will take 12½ hours which will fulfill my graduation requirements.

It is sort of a queer feeling to be able to look forward to the definite end of your school days. I don’t know whether to be happy or not the more I think about the job. I don’t like chem engineering very well and even the salary doesn’t seem to be worth doing something you don’t like to do. What use would I have for $160 a month? I probably wouldn’t spend more than ½ or even less of it. And most of that would probably be due to the higher cost of living in a city. I only hope that it will keep me out of the army, which would be even worse than chem eng.

However, following my usual policy of doing that which I wouldn’t do if I didn’t feel I had to, I wrote and told them I would be in Calif on Oct. 1. I am sure enough of my petition going thru to make such a statement. School should be over along about the 1^st or 2^d week in Sept so I can come home for awhile. Also there will be some time after this next semester when I will be home. The more I think about it, the worse I feel. I guess I shouldn’t have any time to think. Whenever I do I only become discontented with my future. Sort of like looking a gift-horse in this teeth I guess.

Two other fellows I know from here have accepted jobs with the same company. Both of them are graduate students in chem. eng. One of them is from “down south in Alabama” who probably thinks this Iowa winter is too much to stand and also understand. First it is very cold for awhile, then it gets nice warm, and then turns foggy and sort of raw. That is the kind of weather we have been having for about ½ week now.

Even in all of this mental blackness there are some light spots however. The music shop this morning was very good I thought. He even had, “Voices of Spring” on. Whispering voices, I guess. And then of course there is the two very welcome interludes every week when daddy’s and mother’s letters come. And then there is always the matter of walking to church Sunday morning, especially when it is nice. I am beginning to think that everybody who is physically able should be required to walk a half mile or a mile, or mile and a half or two miles to church on Sunday morning. On a nice day I think it is more of a service than the actual liturgy, sermon etc. On a day that isn’t so nice, it makes you appreciate more that which you are walking for.

This may sound queer, but I actually believe it. Church services are very good and the Bible and other religious writings are necessary to understand what we believe and how we should act etc. but for a really thoro understanding of the wonder of God and his creation (as far as a human is capable of understanding it) there is nothing like getting out where the creation can really get at you. Fundamental or not, that is the way I think. Incidentally at L.S.A. we have started the study of the Augsburg confession. This I think will be rather interesting. Also, when I got down here after Christmas I was unable to locate my devotional booklet. Its somewhere but where I don’t know. So I have been simply reading as I felt from the Bible. Not so good but all right I guess.

Well my room-mate wants to go downtown & eat now so I guess I will close and go along.

With love

C.P.

P.S. I’ll try to remember to send my old cap home next laundry bag.

P.S. Thank you, mother and father, for writing to me. I will address my letters to you all, but whoever doesn’t write to me doesn’t get any thanks either.