'Nature Boy’ Promises Big Things By MICHAEL CALLAHAN “Nature Boy” is dimming dance lights across the country today like nothing since the haunting “Gloomy Sunday” of years ago. The story oi this strange melody, now re corded on what may be the/ greatest single 1 record of the decade, goes back more than a century, to an- / other country. I The moody theme oi pgaiuie Boy” was born in a brilliant pi ano prelude that took Paris of the 1830s by storm. Frederick Chopin hurriedly wrote this pre lude only a few months before his death, and into it poured so much of his passionate Slavic na ture that critics soon spoke of it reverently as “the great Prelude Appasionata.” In America, the prelude won a brief flurry of demand as the theme of the film version of Os car Wilde’s “The Picture of Do rian Gray.” Leopold Stokowski recorded an orchestral arrange ment that sold well enough to keep out of the cobweb files, but the public was looking for words to match the music. All they were waiting for is in “Nature Boy.” From Chopin’s stormy compo sition, Capitol writer Eden Ah bez built a wistful song about a wandering young lover. To sing the plaintive words (“the greatest joy—is to love and be loved in re turn”), Capitol picked soft-voiced Nat “King” Cole, with Frank De Vol’s golden-stringed orchestra in the background. Short days after its release last month, “Nature Boy” rose to “song of the week” honors on station wax-spinner programs in every part of the country. (Eu gene station KASH held it for a solid week). Advance shipments promptly sold out over more than one Eugene disc bar, and the de mands are piling up all the way back to the Cap studios in Holly wood. If you haven’t heard “Nature Boy,” make the rounds until it comes in. The whole work is strictly mastepriece material—■ just the short piano passage alone is worth the buying price. Album notes: Someone at Vic tor should get the axe this week. The formula for Tony Martin's comeback album was surefire— Russ Case's ork, some memorable old-timer tunes that Martin fans would jump at, and the great old tenor himself. But scratchy disc surfaces, some of the worst we've ever heard, loused up the whole set. A blunder like that hasn't slipped out of Victor since the old gramaphone days, and when the kickbacks come in someone is go ing to get a royal chewing. Just to keep the record straight, Vic tor flubbed Martin's stylings of "Night and Day,” “You and the Night and the Music,” "Deep Night,” “In the Still of the Night,” and a pair of others right out the back door. Night Staff: Joyce Good Jim White Bob Hemingway, editor Copy Desk: Dotty Sorg Marilyn Madden Stan Turnbull, editor To get a reputation as a liar, a fellow has only to keep complaining that he's being misquoted. Oregon Democrats Get Little Books, Too, But the Passages Aren't So Purple The political complexion of the Emerald has been a matter of campus comment these past few days. The Emerald re viewed” the Republican party voters’ pamphlet earlier this week, and the word around the campus is that the Shack is a hot-bed of Democrats. This is not so. Neither do we swoon at each utterance of Senator Taft or Representative Knutson. The only thing we’re agin’ is humbug. Our review of the Republican pamphlet, we thought, was quite objective. We just quoted from the book. To allay suspicion we herewith do the same for the demo crats, whose loyal followers also receive little books before election. But it isn’t easy. A combing of the Democrat pam phlet has failed to reveal the purple passages that abound in the pamphlet of the GOP. Few of the Democrats declare themselves in favor of the "American way of life. Few of them appear eager to "return to constitutional government.” But here we go: There is the case of Henry C. Aiken, who is running for Democrat national committeeman. One of his qualifications is that he was: Former President of the Heppner Rodeo for 10 years. Mr. Aiken is opposed by Mike M. De Cicco, who is: Strongly interested in social service work, Mr. De Cicco is a long time member of the Eagles, the Elks, and Oregon Dads. Comes now the case of Carroll D. Irving Johnston, can didate for delegate at large to the Democratic national con vention. One of the planks in his platform is: Tolerant views. Another candidate for that job is Charles T. McPherson, By BOB FRAZIER . who appears to favor President Truman for the nomination. He’s quite poetic about it, saying that: The path of his thought is straight - “Like that of the swift cannon ball, Shattering that it may reach, and Shattering what it reaches.” William F. Tanton, candidate for nomination for repre sentative to congress, fourth district, uses no picture with his blurb in the pamphlet. His wisdom in the public relations field is something that could be copied with profit by many of the other candidates. A wheel-horse is Byron G. Carney, who is running for the secretary of state nomination. Says he: I will make an active campaign to reach every voter in the state, not merely to get votes for myself, but for every Democrat on the ticket. William B. Murray who would like to be attorney general is a fighter. The pamphlet tells us: Friends and opponents alike recognize that “Bill Murray fights hard, but he fights fair.” Keith W. Bacon, democrat, candidate for nomination for representative in the legislative assembly, fourteenth district, Lane county, believes in : Repeal of anti-labor laws. Our own Dale Harlan who is seeking the same job Mr. Bacon is after observes this about Oregon : It is a fastly growing state. The Democrats, you see, get little books, too, but the read ing is not quite so good. It is not tlrat the Republicans are really better. It is just that we have an affinity for the purple passage. r nWEMERALD ALL-AMERICAN 1946-47 The Oregon Daily Emerald, official publication of the University of Oregon, published daily during the college year except Sundays, Mondays, and final examination periods. Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Ore. Member of the Associated Collegiate Press BOB FRAZIER, Editor BOB CHAPMAN, Business Manager BILL YATES Managing Editor JUNE GOETZE, BOBOLEE BROPHY Co-News Editors DON FAIR FRED TAYLOR Co-Sports Editor _•_ JEANNE SIMMONDS, MARYANN THIELEN, BARBARA HEYWOOD Associates to Editor_ VIRGIL TUCKER Advrtising Manager DIANA DYE Assistant News Editors Editorial Board: Larry Lau, Johnny Kahananui, Bert Moore, Ted Goodwin, Bill Stratton, Jack Billings. ____ PHYLLIS KOHLMEIER HELEN SHERMAN Asst. Managing Editors National Advertising Manager .-.-.-.—Mar''yn Turner Circulation Manager .-.-.Bilhjean Kiethimller toujours gai, toujours gai, wattahell, there's a dance in the old dame yet A BOOK REVIEW By KENNETH ROBERTS Don Marquis’ column appeared in the New York Sun from 1913 to 1922, a column remarkable for the fact that it never degenerated into the usual mediocrity of a day to day deadline, and has been com pared to Addison and Steele's Spectator. The book, "The Rest of Don Marquis’ Works’’ incorporates some of the author’s best-loved poems and essays, the most renowned being "Archy and Mehitabel.” Archy was a cockroach whose soul yearned for expression, and told about the adventures of Mehitabel the corybantic cat, who claimed she was a reincarnation of Cleopatra. Arch would laboriously type by jumping from the framework of the typewriter headfirst with just enough force to strike each letter, but he could not work capital letters. Mehitabel was a philosophic cat, who believed amateurs were ruining her profession, but she always remained a lady even as she dropped the six little evidences of her latest alley alliance into the most convenient rainbarrel saying: my youth i shall never forget but there 9 nothing i really regret wotthehell wotthehell there s a dance in the old dame yet toujours gai toujours gai Marquis used Archy's lowly position to great effect for satirical allusions, and New Yorkers had a great faith in Archy's interpreta tions of the day's events. The rest of the book containe "The Story of the Old Soak,” a man who didn't believe that man was made to live by bread alone, Oregon Underground Each year the Emerald has obligations to fulfill. The fore most obligation, probably, is that each Tuesday through Saturday there l>e an Emerald printed and distributed. The second obligation, probably, is that the Emerald each year must run a feature on the University tunnel system. It may be because each new freshman class must be indoc rinated with the knowledge of the tunnels, or it may be that in this atomic age, all students should have a knowledge of some obscure hideaway. We’re not sure, for the reason became lost in 1926 and we've just been printing the stories ever since on hearsay. But it’s a ground rule of the “shack” that the tunnels be explained, so, perilously, two associate editors of the Emerald took flashlight in hand and descended into the depths via the heating plant. Well equipped with K-rations, a third and a fourth for bridge, a guide, two Hershey bars, and a copy of “Count of Monte Cristo,” the party explored the caves which bring to all campus buildings heat, light, electricity, and, to a great extent, water. Pipes overhead and on the walls, conduits on the floor, and ground water dripping at unexpected places all contributed to the feeling that we were far from the campus. The tunnels run from the heating plant to McArthur court, over to Susan Campbell, to the music building, down along Deady and Villard, and over to John Straub. They form a system of passageways about 7 feet by 4 feet, for students who get tired of it all, for professors who wish to escape from students, and for workmen who repair the pipes. A series of electric lights, burning bright but cheerless in the passageways, illuminate the cement-enclosed areaways. Certain passageways are wet and slippery and it’s not at all surprising to come suddenly upon a low valve, or a high con duit which must be skirted cleverly. Xo rats were there, though, we were assured, for there’s nothing for them to eat. It was fun to wander through. We even learned something. We found out that the manhole which gushes steam right outside of Friendly hall isn't really a hiding place of delinquent high school smokers; it seems that the steam is all part of the University heating system.—J.B.S. which became folklore during the bootleg era. “The Old Soak’s His tory of the World” tells how they used to have skin jugs instead of bottles. “Hermione and her little group of serious thinkers” are se lections satirizing arty intellectuals, and also an introduction by Christopher Morley, a close friend of Marquis, comparing Marquis, justifiably, to Mark Twain. The book is recommended reading on either the humorous or philosophical level, or both. One thing reading this book will give you, is a store of pungent sayings, such as: humanity usually triumphs over its details; try not to worry too much about things, somebody will think it all out for you; Freuds rush in where angels fear to tread; the only thing hindering the progress of the human race is the human race.