■ EDITORIAL AND FEATURE PAGE OF THE OREGON DAILY EMERALD
fj
University of Oregon, Eugene
Willis Duniway, jfilitor Idirrv Jackson, Manager
Thornton Shaw, Managing Editor
Ralph David, Associate Editor
Hetty Anno Macduff, Editorial Writer Merlin Blais, Radio Director
UPPER NEWS STAFF
Rufus Kimball, Asst. Managing Editor
.Jack Bellinger, News Editor
Hoy Shcctly, Literary Editor
Walt Baker, Sports Editor
Doug Wight, Chief wight Editor
< I’PKR BUSINESS STAFF
Advertising Mvrr.Harry Schenk
Promotional Mmt. .... Dick (Joebel
Nsituinsil Advertising Mirr. Harold Short
Assistant Adv. Mgr..
Classified Adv. V«r.George
Office Manager .
Auten Hush
Branstetter
Jack Woods
Kathryn J-»augnriug«
On Freshmen and Politics
TNTO these tranquil, peaceful days of Indian summer has crept
a discordant note, entirely out of place, we feel, in the scheme
of things for fall term.
“Freshman class politics,” we hear from our green-capped
friends, and the phrase brings us rudely from thoughts of the
fine year in store for a promising class to the realization that
those of ’35 are getting off to a bad start.
Freshman class politics did not inflict themselves on the cam
pus in years gone by; in fact, only last year was the first
attempt made to organize regular party tickets in the yearling
class elections. In the end, and we congratulate ’34 on its fore
sight, class leaders were elected not on tickets but on merit.
Two from each supposed "unbreakable line-up” and “straight
ticket” went into office.
With the death knell rung last year for the ticket system
in freshman class elections, we thought finis had been written
to the practice. But again we find the entering class split into
political camps, with tickets and candidates the chief topics of
conversation.
Of all the classes in the University, the freshmen need most
a strong, unified organization. But how build this structure on
a divided political foundation? That is the evil and futility of
the whole ticket system, with its vote-trading, job-promising,
house line-ups, and attendant circumstances.
We hate to see it leave its mark on the class of '35 at such
an early date.
Hoover 6, Depression O.
ITHOUT the time for a studied analysis of the new Hoover
’ ” six-point program for turning the nation’s latent buying
power into commercial channels, it would appear that for the
first time the president of the United States has taken a step
that promises some relief for this depression-ridden country.
The creation of a half-billion dollar private credit agency to
liquidate assets of insolvent banks will provide relief for any
number of small depositors who are facing the coming winter
with little or no cash available. It should serve to restore con
fidence in faltering business concerns, and generally liven trade.
President Hoover further proposes to create a government
credit agency similar to the old war finance corporation if it
should become necessary While in many ways this is probably
one of the best of the six points, the congressmen assembled
with Mr. Hoover agreed to support it only as a last resort.
While the program of the president for immediate relief of
the country has many admirable aspects, he still persists in
laying the cause of the present depression at the door of Europe.
He finds that the European depression has so affected our com
modity and security prices that the nation has become foolishly
alarmed and limited the currency available by withdrawals from
banks.
It is unquestionably true that all these things play a part
in the economic situation. But business is never to be restored
to its normal place if no further steps are taken for economic
rehabilitation. The causes for the current depression are more
deep seated than mere uncertainty of prices and markets. Mal
adjustments in our economic life arising from new inventions
in modern machinery and methods of manufacture tlint flood the
markets with more goods than there is money to buy have much
more to do with the situation.
It is hi the adjustment and control of manufacture and dis
tribution that the nation must look for permanent relief. Such
proposals as the president's have only a temporary effect in
stimulating business.
Open House to a Vote
■hen the special student committee on Open House de
” ” cided Tuesday to leave final judgment on the “bunion
derby" up to all sororities, fraternities, and dormitories, it was
not “passing the buck," but proceeding in the only logical way
to determine true campus-wide sentiment on the question.
Before deliberation began it was thought some agreement.
might be reached, but the host of conflicting opinions and sug
gestions raised during the conference made the committee un
willing to decide arbitrarily a matter so closely affecting some
3000 students.
We think campus sentiment in the main favors Open House,
but at the same time there is a strong undercurrent of objec
tion going the rounds. Chief objectors, we feel, are upperclass
men who, with an assumed air of boredom, say they see no
reason why they should he compelled to go through a five-hour
social function they tare nothing about.
We cannot expect to make Open House compulsory for all
students on the campus and till hope to have the tradition live.
The student board of investigators realized this truth when it
left final decision up to all houses concerned. Only those organi
zations voting to; Open House will be scheduled to participate
in it, unit no loss of social prestige will accrue to tliat house or
dormitory unit which may vote against the function.
The Emerald is a staunch supporter of Open House because
if gives all Oregon students early in the year a feeling of gen
eral friendliness hard to gain in any other manner. It is the
freshman's best get-acquainted medium. It makes for democ
racy, unity, and co-operation so vital to successful student gov
ernment.
We await result ot he cuinpu. poll wi.h warranted mtere.-i.
THIS WEEK IN BOOKS
EDITED BY ROY SHEEDY .
MRS. LEWIS TELLS
Half a Loaf. By Grace Heggar
Lewis. Horace Liveright & Co.
Even though this novel were
not one containing considerable
merit it could not help but attract
attentii. i. It was written by the
former Mrs. Sinclair Lewis, who
was liv lg with the Nobel prize
winner during those spectacular
day;, * of his career when “Main
Street,” “Babbitt,” and "Arrow
smith” were coming from his flu
ent typewriter, and the whole
world was cheering his success.
Through the characters of Sue and
Timothy, Mrs. Lewis describes the
difficulties of being the wife of a
j man who over night is hailed as
a genius.
Sue and Timothy were very or
dinary young people in 1914, the
year they were married. They
were employed as manuscript
readers for a publishing house,
and though Timothy had one
novel to his cfedit, it had created
not even a ripple of attention. A
few years passed in which Tim
wrote several mediocre books and
enough short stories to enable the
pair to travel over America a
great deal. One day the author
received an inspiration. “I’m sick
to death of this romanticizing Of
the small town, this holding on to
log-cabin tradition in an actuality
of firebrick and arty bungalows,
of victrolas and autos; this fancy
ing ourselves hardy pioneers gal
loping about in hairy pants all
over the great open spaces of
Main street and Fourth. Doggone
it, it won't be a popular book, but
I got to write it all the same.”
Tim wrote his novel and named
it “God’s Own Country.” It was
the beginning of his satire, and
his first blow at complacent
American Main Streeters, Bab
bitts, scientists, clergy, and so on.
That was in 1922, and his success
was instantaneous. The money
rolled in, but it did not bring hap
piness to the couple. Whereas
Susan wanted a home of her own
where she could begin a family
tradition and raise her small son
properly, Tim wanted to travel, to
live in hotels. He began drinking
heavily, his conceit grew by
bounds, and he insisted on having
his old friends, whom Susan re
garded as so many rowdies, con
stantly about him. Tim was very
much like some of the glad-hand
ing American characters depicted
in his stories.
The marriage was destined to
land on the rocks from the begin
ning, though Tim’s work and a
sort of careless love between them
held the couple together for nine
years. But when Tim began hav
ing promiscuous love affairs, and
didn’t care whether Susan knew
about them or not, the latter's
pride finally caused her to go to
Reno.
Mrs. Lewis writes very much in
the style of her former husband,
though without the irony. It is a
simply and frankly-told narrative
with few peaks or valleys. Its
greatest fault is that the inevi
table conclusion is obvious
throughout. The story gradually
fades to a close with Susan wait
ing for her trial at Reno. Yet
for a “first book,” Mrs. Lewis’
writing is very good as a whole.
At any rate, the author should
know her subject. Those who
have read some of the novels of
Sinclair Lewis (and who hasn't?)
I will enjoy "Half a Loaf.”
* * *
■ WHAT I'KK'K COMMUNISM?
Seeing licit. By Eva Garrette
Uraily. Brewer, Warren, and
Putnam.
“Seeing Red” is a record of Rus
sia today through the eyes of an
intelligent American woman. As
Mrs. Grady sees it, an unemployed
man in New York is better off
than a Russian workman with a
job. The terrors of American un
derworld warfare fade into insig
nificance compared to the gang
rule of Red Russia.
Communisitie doctrines h a v e
largely made of the young women
of Russia legalized, if innocent,
prostitutes. Sex is a fetish. Mar
riage is a travesty. American
gentlemen, with a roving eye. says
Mrs. Grady, find the situation
most convenient; they gather
then Madame Butterflies on the
run. so to speak, all quite legally
and safely. Especially safely be
cause a Russian woman, even
though married to a foreigner,
cannot leave the country. Which
avoids potential complications.
In Russia, as perhaps nowhere
else, to them that hath shall be
given. For it is the ruling Red
class, and it alone, which has free
dom and power and what is most
.important, toud. lire “outs." Mrs.
Grady found, struggle perpetually
on the fringe of starvation. What
she has to say about food speak
easies and the bootlegging of lux
urying, is enlightening. Illumi
nating, too, is her story of the
American woman who was
dragged out of her bath (in birth
day costume) because she was us
ing soap. For the use of soap un
der Soviet law is a crime.
Eva Garrette Grady lived quiet
ly in Soviet Russia with her engi
neer husband. Mrs. Grady is a
trained writer, but the Soviets did
not know that, which is why she
had her chance. She observed and
set down exactly what was going
on behind the scenes. And then
she was thrown out of Russia be
cause in a Saturday Evening Post
article she told a little joke about
Stalin.
E. MULLINS
TOLD ON A MAIL BOAT
Amok. By Stefan Zweig. Viking
Press.
Among the new books of the
late summer this story stands out
so compellingly and forcefully
that it is hard to erase it from
memory—.this little volume by
Stefan Zweig. We have a re
minder of the Ancient Mariner
theme here, for the young Ger
man doctor is forced to tell his
story to the passenger on the
Wotan, the mail boat from Singa
pore. He tells it as the dawn
comes at sea, and so excitedly, so
passionately, so absorbingly, that
the reader is transplanted from
his own surroundings, and is there
on that ship listening intently,
and watching the ghostly face of
the young doctor. The story is
laid in the West Indies and tells
. of a white man who runs amuck.
It is so intense, gripping and com
pletely absorbing once picked up,
the reader cannot lay it down un- \
til it is finished. The author has
condensed much of real life into
so few pages and created a very
definite atmosphere.
M. ROBERTS
FAMILY LIFE
The Opening of a Door. By
George Davis.
This story opens with the death
of Grandfather Macdougall, the
head of a Scotch family in Chi
cago, and apparently a failure in
life, and ends with the death of
his wife, Grandmother Macdou
gall. We see their seven children
and their relationships to each
other and to their mother through
the eyes of her young grandson
who lives with them for a while.
We feel with him a mingling of
pity and contempt for Aunt Flora
with her trivial heartaches and
snooping habits, Uncle Lincoln
who drinks to escape from his
wife, and weak Uncle Albert,
whose hidden dream is a piece of
real estate. And we rejoice with
Aunt Theodore, who at last
achieves her happiness, and with
Uncle Daniel, who does not even
hope for it. Aunt Alexandra and
her peaceful metaphysics seem an
alien in the turbulent atmosphere
of their home lives.
Through the whole story the
dominating influence of the grand
mother is subtly felt. Her senti
mental mother love is slowly re
vealed to us as nothing but cruel
ty, stupidity, and vanity, and in
the end we despise her for her
unconscious selfishness.
This is the first novel of George
Davis and it has created quite a
furor in writing circles. The New
York Times says of it, “The novel
is a high achievement in creative
literature—worthy to rank with
the best of its time. Here from
among the multiplicity of new
novels is one to buy, to experience,
and to preserve.” Lloyd Morris
and John Erskine have also highly
recommended the book. You will
probably enjoy it for both its psy
chological and literary values.
M. F. OWEN
* * *
ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
The Golden Vase. By Ludwig
Lewisohn. Harper Brothers.
In this novel Lewisohn reaches
the summit of his career. The
mood here is one of idyllic and
lyric beauty. Only occasionally
does the author lapse into some
thing uninteresting and tedious as
for description.
John Ridgevale, a novelist, has
reached middle age after a youth
of fighting for lost causes. At
times he has had everything—
nights of music and enchantment
—mornings when he knew his
work would shake the world, but
love has passed him by. Then—
as is always the case in the novel
he meets HIS WOMAN, a type
no one would want to be. She
seems to be the one to fulfill the
long afternoon of his life. But
and there lies the philosophy and
psychology that is the real story.
If you are an artist, “The
Golden Vase” will have an intense
appeal for you, but if you are pro
saic minded you will be bored by
his soarings into the intellectual
and artistic beyond.
D. WILLIAMS
All books, fiction and non-fic
tion, reviewed in this department
can be obtained at the Co-op High
Hat library. Miss Mathilda Rob
erts, dire./t from five years on the
University of Washington cam
pus, is in charge of the balcony
book shop this year.
CAMPUS ♦ ♦
ALENDAR
Temeniil meeting at Craftsman
club at 7:45. Every member please
be there.
Christian Science Organization
will hold its regular Thursday
evening meeting tonight at 7:30
in the Y. W. C. A. bungalow.
Alpha Kappa Delta will have a
meeting of all members this after
noon at 5 o’clock at the Social
Science house.
Cosmopolitan club executive
council members will hold an im
portant meeting at 4 o'clock today
at the Y. W. C. A. bungalow.
REAL ‘HARD TIMES- IN
EUROPE, NOT AMERICA
(Continued from Page One)
sway for a considerable length of
time. His power now, however, is
on the decline, because of the ne»v
political leader Vruening. While
! Hitler says, “We will not pay our
i debt,” Vruening diplomatically
j says, “We can not pay our debt.”
"Conditions in Germany,” he
| continued, "are really not so bad
as those in Sicily. A laborer in
that country gets approximately
five cents a day. They live on
bread and lemons."
In closing. Dr. Schmidt pointed
out again that the American
i people do not realize what "hard
^ times” really mean.
OREGON
Headquarters
in
SEATTLE
This Week-end Will Be The
NEW WASHINGTON
HOTEL
(SECOND AT STEWART)
Seattle's Most Distinguished Hotel
SPECIAL RATES TO OREGON STUDENTS
“WELL BE SEEI.V YOU
THE GREEN JESTER
L
Weep a tear
For Casper Thill—
He figured out
His syllabus bill.
• * * *
I’ardon us if this column seems
a bit disorganized, but there are
extenuating circumstances. The
daughter of a prominent faculty
member is making so much noise I
we can't hear ourselves think—
not that we ever do think. But
here is some more verse. It is
verse than the last, so be pre
pared:— v
If she liked to lean
Upon a mantle painted green
And the mantle fell to earth—
Where, oh where, would Made
leine ?
* * *•
And that reminds ua of a story
we heard about the Tri-Delts:—
censored:
Little Joseph came in, despon
dent after 3 sets of tennis, and
says as a tennis player he would
make an excellent lawyer—settling
all his disputes out of court.
Joseph plays a “brooding hen”
type of tennis. He “sets” for a
half hour between each set.
* * *
In looking over the theatre re
view by our friend Sheedy, we have
eome to the conclusion that
Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo
have certainly made their Marx in
the world.
* * *
Advertisements extoil the vir
tues of an alarm clock that awak
ens one “painlessly.” Oh, yeah?
* * *
We can imagine some people we
know stretching themselves and
exclaiming, “What a delightful
awakening!”
* * *
We wish somebody would invent
an alarm clock that wouldn't break ,
when it is thrown out of a window.
And that reminds us of the window
song they sing in the Z. T. A.
house:—
“Window we eat ?”
# * *
♦
That last was pretty transparent.
•% * # *
Hi, everyone. Please note that
we are falling in with the trend of
all modern masterpieces and
adopting a theme song. In case
you want to know:—
“What a day, was Jesterday
Little Irvin of the Vigilance
Committee says that he wishes we
would fall in with the trend of his
credit and vanish completely. The
brute!
Tee hee. Jack Hempstead, where
is that nasty old mustache you
were growing? Did that old
meany law school cut it off?
We could say a lot of things
about the baneful effects and ap- 1
pearance of mustaches, but we
i.
won't.—Except that Mr. Hemp-1
stead has had a hair raising time
iprouting that growth and it seems
;ind of a shame to put it to waste.
Here is a photo of Strypt Can
>py, famous gangster — he has
nodernized the preamble to the
:onstitution and has paid us well
or printing it.
* * *
Us boids, the ginks wat runs dis
>oig, so as how we kin run our
looeh widout John Bull musclin’
n, put a stop to heavin’ pineapples,
ind an end to knife fights in the
•lub room, announce that we or
iainify this here set of orders and
my geezer wat busts it gets put
>n de spot.
Offering special low rates
to students and friends
attending the U. of 0.
and U. of W. Game.
$1.50 without bath, $2 and
S2.50 with bath. No charge
for second person sharing
room.
Street ears to stadium pass
hotel doors.
Coffee Shop and Garage
in connection.
Frye Estate Owners and
Operators.
P. J. Jensen, Manager
HOTEL
FRYE
HHH^SEATTLE
RRK
Book Bargains
FORMER PRICES $2.00 TO $.3.00
SALE PRICE 89c
(Main Floor, Co-op)
ENGLISH MEN OF LETTER SERIES — COLLINS SERIES
SALE PRICE 59c
Book Balcony — Co-op
nerve system
for energetic skyscrapers
Long before the huge bulk of a new sky
scraper looms up, Bell System men have
planned its nerve system—-the maze of tele
phone cables and wires so v ital to its busi
ness activities.
From the inception of a building design,
telephone engineers work hand in hand with
the architects. 1 hey determine the telephone
needs of thousands of future tenants. Then
they plan cable shafts rising from cellar to
roof and the grid of under-floor ducts that
will put telephones within easy reach of
every occupant.
1 here s a real thrill in working out these
p ans, for without telephones the immense
structures of today would hardly be practicable.
BELI
i & N A T I O N
WIDE SYSTEM OF
i
SYSTEM
INTER-CONNECTING TELEPHONES