Oregon W Emerald
MARGUERITE WITTWER-WRIGHT
Editor
GEORGE PEGG
Business Manager
TED GOODWIN, BOB FRAZIER
Associates to Editor
BILL STRATTON
Managing Editor
BILL YATES
News Editor
BERNIE HAMMERBECK
Sports Editor
DON FAIR, WALLY HUNTER
Assistant Sports Editors
walt McKinney
Assistant Managing Editors
BOBOLEE BROPHY and
JUNE GOETZE
Assistant News Editors
JEANNE 5IMMUNU3
Feature Editor
DOUG EDEN
Advertising Manager
REPORTERS
Seth Basler, Leonard Bergstrom, Bettye Jo Bledsoe, Hugh Davies, Diana Dye, Ruth Eades,
Virginia Fletcher, Lejeune Griffith, ^Nancsr^Srteraon,
Virginia Fletcher. Eejeune uritmn, jonn jens.cn, xjuuh«
Connell, Kathleen Mullarky, Barbara Murphy, Laura Olson, Joan O Neill, Nancy
Marjorie Kambo, Katherine Richardson, Adelaide Schooler, Helen Sherman, Jackie ietz,
Gloria Talarico, Sally Waller, Hans Wold, Phyllis Kohlmeier.
MEMBER — ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE SERVICE
Signed editorial features and columns in the Emerald reflect the opinions of the writers.
They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editorial staff, the student body, or the
University.^ ^ Mcon(j ciass matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon._
Emerald’s Book List
Somebody’s always compiling book lists. I here are five
foot shelves, through which the diligent citizen can become an
educated man if only he will devote fifteen minutes a day to
their contents. There are a “Hundred Great Books’ used in
colleges. St. Johns has a list. President Robert M. Hutchins
at the University of Chicago has one. The University library
has distributed several lists of “great books.”
We have perused many of these lists. Customarily we
get down to the end and find we have read almost none of
the “great books.” We haven’t read “Principia Mathematica.”
We haven't read Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason,” although
we might like to some rainy day.
Through high school and into college, students have been
-exposed to “literature” classes, where they were told to read
“Pilgrim’s Progress,” a musty old tome written by a frus
trated zealot. It’s greatest, virtue is that it is insufferably
-dull.
All this is not as it should he. i lie student wno nas read
^‘P’s p.” in a literature class, will not be inspired to go on and
read more. If he had to base his idea of “literature” on this
volume of boredom, he would never read again.
What is the objection to reading readable books? Would
n't it be much sounder education if the student in his “liter
ature” class were encouraged to read “interesting books,”
books that would encourage him to read more? Perhaps,
after he had been led from book to book, he might eventually
-on his own hook get around to ’ Pilgrim s Progress or Car
lyle’s essays.
There have been a lot of good books written in the last
three thousand years. Lots of ’em we haven t read, largely
because we haven’t lived long enough or because we are not
vet sufficiently mature to appreciate them. Those that are
above us we may grow into. But we’ll never appreciate Kant
if we have it shoved down our throat when we are still in the
Tom Sawyer stage.
hollowing is a random list of good books the Emerald
recommends to the student who would like to learn to enjoy
reading. These books, the Emerald feels, will inspire the
reader to read more, to grow.
“Farewell to Arms.” “Arrowsmith,” “American Tragedy,”
“Treasure Island,” “Green Mansions,” “Sherlock Holmes,”
“Parnassus on Wheels,” “Forsyte Saga,” “Tales of Poe,”
“War and Peace.” "Les Miserables,” “U. S. A.,” “Don Quix
ote,” "Late GeOrge Apley,” “Look Homeward Angel,” “Decam
meron,” “Crime and Punishment," “Red Badge of Courage,”
"Moll Flanders,.l'he Prince,” “Of Human Bondage,” “Plays
by Kaufman and Hart," “Pepy’s Diary,’ “Candide,’ "Native
Son,” “Brave New World." "Oliver 1 wist, “Gullivers trav
els,” "Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry l1 inn, “Alice in Won
derland.”
Some of the above books are high school level, some are
read by the Senior Six. But the Emerald puts them all up
as darn good books.
As a matter of editorial conversation, the Emerald would
be interested in additions to or deletions from this list.
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of Ictu
By LARRY LAU
This WSSF business is quite a
drive . . . drove me right out of the
Side yesterday. With coffee in the
10c bracket, the foreign students
will have to limp along as best they
can, at least until I get my house
bill paid . . . Speaking of foreign
students, I met a bunch of them in
the islands during the war . . . they
were shooting at me . . .
Hen Hall is in a big turmoil.
Seems that the-powers-that-be de
cided the dance they held was a lit
tle on the “rough” side. The hall’s
watchdog, Mrs. Stokes, is going
quietly out of her mind, and the
gals all think they’re being pushed
around ... ho hum, never a dull mo
ment. .. .
Price’s reporting class is bracing
itself for the unofficial bar exam
they’ll take Monday morning . . .
heard a Comp teacher rather sadly
admit that the new text they were
so proud of leaves much to be de
sired . . . too bad! . . . Sign of the
Times: During the Frosh election,
a young heifer named Lane had
signs made saying, “You were born
Independent, and you’ll die Inde
pendent” . . . maybe she’s got some
thing there. . . .
UO’s perennial malcontent, Herb
Penny, who quit the Emerald some
time ago because he was having “fi
nancial difficulties,” is busy as a
bee, with a petition to have the edi
tor ousted . .. the long hand of sub
sidy, no doubt . . . Every Frosh on
the campus seems to be hard at
work with Abe Lincoln. I’ll bet
many will be surprised to learn that
ole “Honest Abe” was a verra can
ny politician, addicted to “pork
barreling,” and actually had no real
gripe with slavery, if it could have
been limited to the old “Cotton
South” . . .
Somebody told my gal that one of
my columns sounded like True Con
fessions . . . maybe you think I did
n’t hear about that! . . . The sun is
out again, but I’m darned if I’ll go
off on another spring tack . . . last
time that happened, it rained for
two days and nights ... Just learned
today that the Campbell club boys
initiate, rush, wear and plant pins,
and do all sorts of things the big
boys do . . . how nice.
Andrew Fish threw an entirely
different type of hour exam last
week, and the class average fell 30
points . . . sounds like they were in
a rut. Dr. Dan Clark’s homespun
rendition of “Me Und Gott,” a poem
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Editor’s note: The following ex
cerpts are printed from a signed
letter received in the office. The
writer’s name is withheld at his
own request.
A reply to Mr. Bombarde: ... In
your first paragraph you let it be
known that you were “here on the
campus” in 1942. Perhaps later you
were an officer in the army or navy
during your war years . . .
Now to tell the truth there are
plenty of veterans (in the better
sense of the word, see Webster)
back who know what the score is.
Nobody is “able to put anything
over on them.” Really, “they’ve
been around. ..
Many of these veterans have deep
convictions; cinched opinions; and
workable schemes for the very sub
jects you seem so anxious about. But
long experience (Webster) in war,
travel and discipline has taught
most Joes when to speak, or vice
versa, for talking is but an escape
valve unless action is connected
with it. Then it becomes a dispens
able prelude. Most Joes are going
to act sans via the escape valve
route. Most Joes hate noise. . . .
The only sound point you made
. . . was the shallowness of the av
age American student. And they
are no different than G. I. Joe was
before he went away. If you have
ever tried to explain military tac
tics or a piece of military equip
which poked fun at the German
Emperor around the turn of the cen
tury, was riotous ... sometimes gen
uine humor will pop up where you
least expect it . . . The news that
“Lightning Jake” Leicht has re
considered, and will play for Oregon
next fall has warmed many a heart
. . . especially Jim Aikens!
ment to the one who was not in ser
vice, then it was that you were
TRULY met with a blank stare . , .
or were, so badly out-talked you
hadn't the stomach to stay and
listen.
Things like the recent trouble in
Georgia, etc., do not gripe Joe's
guts as “an American.” He has ris
en above that. He knows the Amer
ican crust is far too thick to yield
to this situation. Joe has learned
expediency. Joe is griped as a HU
MAN BEING who has COMMON
SENSE and DECENCY, which, you
have all but said yourself, is too
much to expect of “our anemic
world,” much less the average
American.
If you will look again, and more
closely, at those “blank stares” of
ex-GIs, you will see a supreme ex
ample of self control, for beneath
that outward expression you will
see the most beautifully camou
flaged sneer of your lifetime. He
doesn’t need to talk; he’s going to
DO.
The blade with the
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