Wanted: Nice Warm Tent
For Light Housekeeping
The $5 board and room increase for dor
mitory space effective the first summer ses
sion of 1948 completely demolishes the old
illusion that living in a dorm is cheaper than
living in a fraternity or sorority. Sadly
enough there doesn’t seem to be anything
dorm students can do except pay up, pledge,
or look for a tree-house.
The state board of higher education felt
forced to pass on the raise because of the in
creased cost of labor and food during the past
year. The labor angle has become especially
potent since the civil service took all state
employees under its wing recently thereby
cutting down the number of working hours
from 44 to 40 a week and raising employees’
wages. The obvious reasoning is that they
have to eat too, even during inflationary
times. However, this meant that the John
Straub and veterans’ dorm dining halls had
to employ more help. More help means more
money and so John Q. Student is asked to
dig a little deeper and come up with $62 a
month rather than the present $57 and then
pay his house dues.
Board bills in the Greek houses run be
tween $60 and $62 a month and there is no
contemplated increase according to Bresee
Warner, local accountants for affiliated
groups. This is more understandable when
one realizes that fraternities and sororities
are not state institutions and therefore not
bothered by the civil service employees prob
lem. As long as they keep their membership
up they can keep their house bills down.
Also, anyone who has compared the quan
tities of food served in the dorm dining halls
readily see why rising food costs would hit
the dorms harder. The dorms serve a large
meal at both lunch and dinnertime, which is
not the rule in the houses.
And so the noose settles snugly around the
dormitory student’s neck. Possibly he can
gain some mental lift or prestige by know
ing it is costing him more to live than his
affiliated neighbor. More likely he will start
haunting the war surplus sales looking for
a swell tent. M.E.T.
Letter Writers Object to UMT;
Call It Obsolete for Atomic Age
To the Editor:
Regarding the letter of Lieutenant Colonel
Sheets in Wednesday’s Emerald, he assumes that
universal military training will provide security;
therefore, anyone who is against UMT is against
security. That is a fine basis upon which to argue,
but it isn’t true. Nor is it true, as he stated, that
General Holdridge is against preparedness. He, along
with many other of those “average veterans” for
whom you claimed to speak, fails to see how UMT
will provide security.
May I quote such a “pacifist” as the president
of the Reserve Officers’ association, Col. William
Neblitt, air reserve. He wrote in an editorial in the
December, 1947, Reserve Officer Magazine, “The
professionals have no plan to meet the menace of
these frightful weapons. Instead of going to congress
with a plan for national security, our military lead
ers seem to be in disorganized retreat from the prob
lem of peacetime preparedness presented by the
atomic bomb, radioactive dust, and bacteriological
warfare. They do have some vague idea that UMT
would meet the emergency presented by these weap
ons. They have pinned all their hopes on UMT. The
fright campaign which our military leaders are
making to obtain UMT is not well founded.”
Nor is this all. Our highest military leaders, in
testifying for UMT, have made the following state
ments: It would take at least six months to mobilize
the reserves; population, manufacturing, and trans
portation centers would be the chief targets in a
lightning war; the war would be decided within 60
days after it began.
When confronted by these statements from their
own side, proponents of UMT provide no explana
tion for them, but fall back and parrot their pre
vious arguments. They should be told that repe
tition of an argument does not increase its validity.
The colonel speaks fondly of “marshaling and
maneuvering a unified army should the need for one
arise.” Exactly what benefit would the nation derive
from mobilizing men several months after the war
was over, when many transportation centers would
have been crippled? It still resolves to the fact that
only with a well-trained professional force can se
curity and retaliatory power be maintained.
Richard Smurthwaite
1st Lt., Inf.»Res.
To The Editor:
I would like to draw to Lieutenant Colonel
Sheets’s attention and to anyone else's who might
be Interested, that his arguments presented in the
January 28 issue of the Emerald were excellent ones
for a strong and well-organized voluntary reserve
organization which can be immediately and effec
tively activated. However, I fail to see the necessity
of enacting anything so drastic as compulsory mil
itary training. If the armed services can't get
enough volunteers for their regular and reserve
forces for any emergency', then there must be some
thing inherently wrong. I should like to present the
following arguments for a strong voluntary reserve
organization and against any form of compulsory
military training:
1. Our country is faced with three possible situa
tions in the near future. They are:
a. Peace
b. War of the atomic bomb, guided missile, and
bacterial types of mass annihilation
c. War essentially as we knew it in World War II
If we have peace, our problems will be of an in
ternal economic nature. Certainly UMT can't help
us in this situation.
If we have war of the atomic bomb type, it will
no doubt mean near total suicide for both sides. We
won’t even have time to get all of the regulars out
of their sacks let alone mobilize thousands of peace
time trainees.
If another country who also possessed atomic
bombs, guided missiles, and germs should remember
that we too have them, they might not wish to start
a war of this type because they would know that
they couldn’t get all of our arsenals at once and
would thus run the chance of being annihilated
themselves. They might, however, decide that they
could invade us without our using atom bombs
against them because we knew they had them too—•
a vicious circle somewhat like the poison gas situa
tion of World War II.
(Z) rne major reason we ueieaieu me enemy m
the last two war's w'as because of our tremendous
productive capacity. Our efforts therefore should be
directed toward those goals rather than towards a
massive armed force which would sap our internal
economic strength.
(3) The largest armed force in the world would
not prevent such a fiasco as occurred at Pearl Har
bor December 7, 1941.
(4) From my own experience and through talk
ing to other veterans, I am led to believe that it was
not what we learned in basic training or boot camp,
but it was the cooperation we learned from our
school mates, the mechanical knacks we learned
from our jalopies, and the many other things we
learned as civilians which aided us the most in our
particular job in the service.
(5) No country in history which practiced peace
time military conscription ever succeeded completely
in peace or war. Consider the fates of Sparta and
Rome, of Germany and Japan.
(6) Why should we believe that the United States
of America would be any better a place to live un
der a militaristic government which would certainly
evolve out of any such program as UMT than Ger
many was under Hitler?
(7) I am sure that if a little of. the unnecessary
“H" igh "S” tandards were removed from the armed
forces and their social standards were brought up
to date, there would be a sufficient number of
volunteers to maintain an adequate regular and re
serve force.
James S. Witzig
Lt (jg) USNR
Oregon If Emerald
ALL-AMERICAN 1946-47
The Oregon Daily Emerald, official publication of cne University of Oregon, published
tally during the college year except Sundays, Monoays, and final examination period-.
Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Ore.
Member of the Associated Collegiate Press
iOB FRAZIER, Editor _ BOB CHAPMAN, Business Manager
Everybody Gets Along
Just Peachy at Oregon
By BETTY ANN STEVENS
Tlie following item should be for the blonde Gamma l’hi
who writes the who-is-with-what column, but this columnist
found it first. All mine.
Wav last spring, in the SDX edition of the Emerald when
“sprig terb” politics were in full blast, Filler Editor '1'. Berton
Moore wrote, "Aril black Parker pens look alike," and "Stan
Williamson and Howard Lemons are very good friends."
among other incredible bits. V bile there have been a few
doubts expressed as to the valid
ity of the former statement, the
latter is unquestionably true.
Playing escort at the Senior
ball to S., pinnee, the ever-ef
fervescent Maggie Harrison, was
H. Stan and Howard are such
bosomy friends that the indepen
dent member of the student body
cabinet has been subbing for the
prez., on weekends while he has
been away chalking up baskets.
This is significant in extreme.
If ASA-ISA teeth-baring at Ore
gon can be transformed into a
pearly smile, there seems to be no
reason at all why the Americans
and Russki’s can’t waltz in har
mony. A likely thesis topic.
Joe Gurley, who would stamp
on the foot of any Russian pre
suming to waltz with him, is
deep in economic cycles and their
relation to sun spots. (Thesis re
search sometimes is uncovered in
devious paths.) He has been won
dering if the “Gypsy” palmist out
on Highway 99 might be able to
throw some light. A talented
soul, she is able to determine the
GPA of seekers-after-the-trutb,
by the manner in which they
clench their fists. This is ac
cording to Hank Volk.
Sacrelegious note: At a local
theater, where the loges are
pleasantly overstuffed' blocks of
comfort, a materialist paused
reverently and genuflected be
fore settling himself beside his
date. And it wasn’t during the
chapel scene of “Green Dolphin
Street.”
Items From
Roundabout
By BOB REED
The student who scribbles
something and then wants the
professor to tell him what he
wrote reminds us somewhat of
the statesman, tuning in on the
radio commentators to see if he
said what he said in his last
speech.
« * *
Society and etiquet experts
point out it is polite for the man
to alight from a public convey
ance first. Thus, if the lady slips,
the gentleman not only can break
her fall but is freed from any
suspicion of having pushed her.
:i: $ :>s
A California woman complains
her husband thought more of his
car than he did of her, “And a
1937 model, too.” It is hard to de
cide the justice of this case, how
ever, without knowing the model
of the wife.
ijs sj:
Henry Morgan has a new spon
sor, a shampoo company. This
will be a new experience for the
comedian, who has ordinarily
been in his sponsor’s hair, instead
of vice versa.
Don’s
Disc
Data
I’M LOOKING OVER A FOUR
LEAF CLOVER has arrived —
you know it! You.might be sur- "*
prised by the
age of that tune.
FOUR LEAF
CLOVER hit its
stride in 1919.
The 88th Divi
sion (Infantry),
with a four-leaf'
clover as insig
nia, was in Gon
dreeour't, France,
waiting for the
ship home.
Nothing to
PORTER do . . . an inspi
ration . . .an army mess hall ...
and the biggest musicale in the .
E.T.O.
Hit of the show was I’M LOOK
ING OVER A FOUR-LEAF CLO
VER. Also from the same produc
tion were MY CLOVER-LEAF
GIRL and WHO CAN TELL. We
can end that s'tory by saying, yes,
who can tell?
Records to look for:
1— NOW IS THE HOUR (Cap
itol 15024) vocal Maggie Whiting,
Frank DeVolorch. Another res
urrection. This came from Aus- .
tralia, by way of England and its
ambassador of song, Gracie
Fields. It’s a Maori love song,
sweet and simple . . . clean ar
rangement . . . lots of sincerity.
If you want to dream—Buy It!
2— I'LL NEVER SAY I LOVE
YOU (Columbia 38061) Horace -
Heidt orch, vocal—and get this—
The Masked Spooner. Two rea-C
sons for this listing. First, this is
the first waxing for Horace after
an absence of three years . . .
which gave him time to make
money in California real estate. »
Second, the hidden talents of a
gas company testimonial by the _
Masked Spooner. Listen to him
run through his true love story—
ugh!
3— IT ALL CAME TRUE (Co- *
lumbia 37966) Frank Sinatra, Al
vy West and his Little Band. Not^
enough imagination or feeling for
Sinatra. This was cut during his _
"tired and am getting a cold”
spell. Watch Alvy. Six well-“
trained musicians with the feel
ing for doing great things.
The coming tune: Mel Torme's
COUNTY FAIR.
It’s a grave situation if you .
can’t purchase your favorite wax- _
ing at 1198 Willamette street.
Don Porter.
Music Art
graves
1198 Willamette, Phone 4107