40 years ago: Pro-gambling amendment proposed in Kansas House

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 19, 1971:

  • A constitutional amendment was introduced on this date in the Kansas House which would have repealed the provision stating “lotteries and the sale of lottery tickets are forever prohibited.” No form of gambling, including pari-mutuel betting or bingo, had been permitted under the then-current state constitution. Several legislators had maintained that the issue should be settled by Kansas voters.
  • Also introduced was an amendment which would have extended the right to vote in state and local elections to persons 18, 19, and 20 years of age.
  • An industrial-capacity crushing and pulverizing machine, dubbed the “Whomper,” had been installed in a room at the extreme north end of Memorial Stadium on the Kansas University campus. The machine was able to process bushel-loads of glass and metal cans, smashing them to about one-sixth their original size before sending them off for recycling.