Oregon W Emerald
ALL-AMERICAN 1946-47 _
The Oraron Daily Emerald, official publication of the University of Oregon, published
daily d^ing the Liege year except Sundays, Mondays and final examination periods.
r Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Ore.
Member of the Associated Collegiate Press__
«OB FRAZIER, Editor
BOB CHAPMAN, Bu»inea» Manager
BILL YATES
Managing Editor
JUNE GOETZE, BOBOLifiJi BKurnx
Co-News Editors __
DON FAIR FRED TAYLOR
Oo-Sports Editor __
v/ALT McKinney, jeanne simmonds, maryann thielen
Associate* to Editor ____ .
Unofficially, They're For It
Members of the executive council Tuesday night failed to
sponsor or encourage officially a member of their ranks to
sponsor the March of Dimes drive. This was not to scourge
the campaign, for the council is confident of the worthiness
of the program. But the council, which had been asked to
pick a chairman from student ranks to head the drive, did
not feel that it was within its jurisdiction to underwrite it of
ficially, since the council understood that that organization
had declined to participate in the proposed United Fund drive
at the beginning of fall term, and because even if it vveie
qualified, the council could not appoint a chairman arbitrarily
without first calling for petitions.
When the campaign promises were made last spring term,
and the spring term before that, as a matter of fact, it was
promised that one fund drive would suffice, and the drive-for
this, drive-for-that hammering would cease. The World Stu
dent Seryice Fund was the only organization agreeing to such
a drive and splitting of the proceeds. 1 he Red Cross declined,
the community chest declined, and the polio drive was le
ported to have declined. Actually, the U’s request never got
to the polio group’s executive committee, but the Univer
sity got a negative, unofficial reply from a seemingly official
•source.
As a result of this single campaign failure, no official drives
are being sanctioned on the campus and, therefore, the coun
cil is unable to give the initial impetus to the program. But
individually, members of the council are helping Lane County
representatives considerably, and the program will be encour
aged activ ely by the Emerald and the council.
The University chairman, Bob Christ, located and con
tacted by the Eugene March of Dimers, will organize his
own campaign apart from a University-sponsored group, un
less he can find a club without a cause that will take over.
But the Emerald, the exec council, and the University students
wish the campus leaders good luck, success, and cooperation.
J.B.S.
In This Land of Ours
(From The Montana Kaimin)
The days was in 1938. The occasion was a speech by the socialist
Norman Thomas in the stronghold of Boss Hague of Jersey City.
Thomas had been warned beforehand that to appear in Jersey City
was folly, that hot-heads could easily be stirred up against him.
But still he came, for he was that kind of a man.
Before he could even begin his speech he was pulled down. He was
egged. He was rushed by a mob.
And then the famous Jersey City police appeared, granted him
“protective custody,” and dumped him and some of his friends across
the city limits.
In the crowd of onlookers that day was young Leslie Fiedler, a
student at NYU, and today a Ph.D. on the humanities staff of our
university.
Fiedler had heard stories of fascism in the United State, but, as he
tells us now, nothing that had happened before impressed him as much
as this.
And he says that when he saw harmless old Thomas run from the
stand by that mob, shouted down and browbeaten, he felt a great fear,
for here, he saw, was fascism. He tells us that never again did he
catch himself saying, "It can't happen here.”
A few months ago another mob donned the facade of militant “tol
erance,” and struck out at another group—this time the Progressive
Citizens of America—who had gathered to protest the peculiar char
acter of the Hollywood Communist probe.
The speaker never had a chance. Veterans’ groups threw stink
bombs and overpowered him with noise and demonstration. And
where was all this? In a perfect place, in Independence square in
Philadelphia, center of much that is noble in our history.
There was but one casualty. When the PC A speaker was first
shouted down a woman cried, “Let him speak!” and for this she
was knocked off her feet.
And when that hapless chairman was just about to give up trying,
the commander of the local chapter of Purple Heart, apparently trying
to quiet his followers, deliberately piled coals on the fire.
“Fellow Americans,” he cried into the microphone, "I want to
congratulate you on a fine display of Americanism.”
The meeting broke up, and free speech was never more of a mock
ery in Philadelphia.
When Dr. Fiedler read the story of the Philadelphia disturbance
he felt again that fear that had ruined a day for him when Norman
Thomas was told he wasn’t good enough for Jersey City.
For Dr. Fiedler knows, as many do, that free speech is an insti
tution, and an institution will survive just as long as the majority of
its members have an interest in it.
An Old Indian Fable
Of a Day Not Yet Past
# By LARRY LAU
This is a gentle tale, perhaps a pointless
one. It is a story about a story—one that is
very old. Someone once said it contained a
moral. I leave you to judge for yourselves; it
goes like this . . .
Once upon a time, before even the In^
dians, all Oregon was a great animal king
dom. Wisest of all the animals, and lord of
the land, was a bear. His name was Harry.
One day as Harry the Bear was thumb
ing through a stack of slate tablets (he was
a great one for charts and statistics), a
group of blackbirds on senatorial tour from
the dense wooded area to the east dropped in
to pay their respects. Because they were all
so wizened and small, Harry the Bear had to
be careful not to step on their toes. They
were shown about the kingdom by Orville
Owl, (a wise old bird whose head could turn
.360 degrees), who was in charge of tribal
law. When they were returned to Harry the
Bear's big stone cave, they felt smaller than
ever because all Harry’s subjects were so
big.
Not Too Smart
This is all very nice, they said, but prob
ably your subjects are not very wise. The
Bear held them in the palm of his hand and
answered them thus : They are straighter and
taller are they not? Their trees would cast
shadows on even your large castles. Their
lands are rolling and vast. They laugh much,
and loudly, and they fight hard. Their teeth
gleam white when bared. They can play
harder and faster than any I know of, includ
ing the peoples of your dense forest to the
east. Have patience old blackbirds, these!
are a young people and have yet time for
wrinkled brows and spectacles.
The blackbirds sniffed, left their card in
Harry’s hand, and straightaway flew off.
Harry the Bear chewed thoughtfully on an
old thigh bone. He didn’t like even the black
birds talking about his subjects that way.
Suddenly he hit upon a plan. Why not make
his subjects wise too?
He called in his staff of trained beavers,
the dignified board of walruses, Carl Camel,
Goldie the Canary (who was virtual queen of
the realm), Dick Otter (who made things
run smoothly), Bull the Frontiersman (who
was in charge of defense), and all the rest
of his helpers, told them what he wanted
done, and lumbered back to his charts and
statistics.
Throw ’em Out
My, how the fur flew! The board of wal
ruses met and decided that it would be best
if all those not wise were banished from the
kingdom. Carl" Camel was given the job of
telling people to leave. Orville Owl and Bull
the Frontiersman got into an awful row be
cause Orville wanted to keep all the unwise
out too, and Bull said he needed some of
them for national defense. Late one fall Bull’s
army repelled an invasion by the aborigines
from the west, and atter that public sentiment
was on his side.
Goldie the Canary worked harder than
ever to keep the girls from distracting the -
boys, and the trained beavers toiled long*
lours devising tests to make the people wise.
The walruses decided that too many festi
vals were being held, so many were cut, and __
for the biggest festival of all, the walruses
said the people would have to stay indoors
and study to become wise.
The people didn’t like the walruses taking j
their festivals away from them because, they -
said, the walruses were too old and slow t»
play their games anyhow, so what did they .
know. The walruses were bigger and more
powerful than most, so what they said be
came law. After many moons, it was decided
that a great contest should be held to see how
wise the people had grown.
No Result
Days passed and grew into weeks, but thej
results weren’t announced, and the people be
gan to wonder. Days after day more and more
of their friends left for the muggy lands to
the north. Goldie the Canary told some of
her favorites that the results were too dis- |
appointing to be announced, and that no T
one had become wise after all. Carl Camel '
told some of the local tribal chiefs the same'1
thing and so the rumor was started, and the
people were dismayed and perturbed and did
n’t laugh and fight anvmore.
Long months passed and once again the_
blackbirds flew in for a visit with Harry the
Bear. Harry's chest expanded mightily as he
told them of what he had done, because he'
knew only what his advisors told him. Tlfe
blackbirds were taken on a tour of the king
dom by Orville Owl .and they returned much
satisfied, because the people were growing!
smaller, and didn’t laugh so loud or show
their white teeth (which had frightened the
blackbirds before) so much now.
Harry Wonders
This is progress indeed, they told the'
Bear. Before your people are as old as ours
they shall be wise beyond measure. Festivals
are wastes of time. Far more important to
grow wise before we die. Harry the Bear.
wasn t so sure this was true, and was about
to ask the blackbirds if there weren’t a need
for people to laugh and fight and play and':
show their teeth and tall trees, but he decided
that the blackbirds wouldn’t understand be
cause they were so small.
Before we leave, said the blackbirds, you
will need many more slate tablets, and spec
tacles. and potions for headaches, and charm'
amulets for people taking the tests necessafy
to become wise. You can buy them from uV
you know. ^
After they’d gone, Harry the Bear prowled 1
silently around his kingdom and saw the. '
people all working hard to be wise, and saw
the merry-go-round broken and rusted and
the may pole with cobwebs, and the silence
made him feel uneasy. *
Looking Through a Grounbglass Darkly
dj lvinn nn.v i
Oregana Editor Ross Yates cor
nered the photographer in the re
cesses of his underground dark
room.
"Braun," he said, sticking a gun
into the lensman’s ribs, "We got
to get something DIFFERENT
for this year’s Oregana."
The photographer spit out the
old negative he was chewing on
and tried to duck behind a box
of burnt out flash bulbs but the
yearbook editor’s grip was firm
and he had that fanatical gleam
in his eye.
"Here it is,” Yates went on.
"I’ve got to have character shots
of the students from the various
schools and departments—shots
that, realty retiect a true picture
of each type of student on the
campus. I have a brief list here.”
With that, the editor shoved a
sheaf of papers into the photog
rapher's face and crawled out the
trapdoor.
The photographer lit a candle
and scanned the list:
‘‘Following pictures to be tak
en immediately for the Oregana.”
“LAW SCHOOL—Catch that
distinctive mark of a law student,
the neck tie. May have trouble
with this subject for he will bab
ble at you continually in a jargon
of case histories.”
“JOURNALISM — show the
characteristic “wild look"—also
h
try to show that tired look ajjd
redness of the eyes from working
40 hours a week on two-hour
copyediting courses.”
“ENGLISH—Use a lit student
for this shot. Show the anemic
look that comes from poring over
volumes of forgot'ton lore under
the flicker of a fluorescent light”
“BUSINESS ADMINISTRA
TION — Catch the flicker of tfte
dollar sign that usually shows in
the eyes of a BA student. Also
might show stubby fingers from
punching adding machines.”
“CHEMISTRY — this student
smells. Try to portray the smell
of hydrogen sulfide and also sknvf
(Please turn to page six)