Look Here, Mr. Poll Taker...
. . . For many months now, you have helped spread over
this land the belief that the Republican's Mr. Dewey was a
sure bet to knock the Democrat’s Mr. Truman out of the
White Hopse in Tuesday’s election.
Abetted by a strong Republican press, you convinced
nearly all of us that a vote for President Truman was as silly
as a bet on one of Bing Crosby’s horses.
However . . .
YOU FORGOT A THING OR TWO ABOUT
AMERICA’S MR. AVERAGE CITIZEN!
He’s not an automaton. On the contrary, he’s a very un
predictable guy.
Attempting to fit him into a scientific groove is like trying
to drive square pegs in round holes.
Mr. Poll Taker—we think you attempt the impossible
when you try to reduce American public opinion to a formula.
We agree with the history professor on this campus who
told a class yesterday that national opinion polls, the ultimate
effort of the social sciences to achieve scientific exactitude,
have “failed dismally."
Although “Fighting Harry” Truman’s smashing victory
has undoubtedly caused great consternation in the camps of
Messrs. Gallup, Roper, et ah, on the other hand, it has greatly
reaffirmed our faith in this country and its way of life.
Even though your forecasts indicated that they were wast
ing their time, enough Americans believed in this country’s
free-election system to trek to the polls and vote for Mr. Tru
man anyhow.
Maybe it was “just for the hell of it.”
However, we think not.
It seems more likely to us that beating in the breasts of
those Truman voters was the same kind of hope that kept Jim
Aiken’s football team fighting on against St. Mary’s last Sat
urday, even though student opinion in the stands “indicated”
the game was lost.
Campaign Promises
There are some old-fashioned enough to harbor the hope
that campaign promises will be kept. In the case of Ed John
son, University alum and newly-elected mayor of Eugene,
the hope may well be justified.
I Long a staunch supporter of the University, Johnson has,
for the last four years through his position on the city council,
worked for University-city cooperation.
In an Emerald interview, the mayor-elect said he was in
favor of a speedy restoration of the mill race and believed the
city should aid financially in this project. He also gave high
priority to the improvement of traffic and parking conditions
near the University.
Returns from precincts near the University showed an
overwhelming vote for Johnson. This was particularly true
of Precinct 27, which included the bulk of the University stud
ents. This would indicate that the students put faith in
Johnson’s statements and showed this faith at the polls.
This same faith has a good chance of paying off. B. B.
Notes by a visiting Washington State student at Homecoming:
The Oregon Homecoming signs are much more elaborate
than ours but much more confused. Just a bodge podge of crepe
paper and all about their own school. Very few of the group
I,louses connected the Cougars to their 1 lomecoming ideas. The
Sig Kps, however, used the slogan of “Can the Cougars” and
V'on the noise rallv contest . . .
They have a verv nice campus, but no student Union build
ing. The proposed Union will be named the Krb Memorial
Union whenever they get a chance to build the structure.
lv'crvbodv that reported of their experiences in Oregon ov
er the weekend told of fun, frolic, and gaiety. M e bad poor
seats at the game, but hospitality of the Oregon groups made up
for the poor seating. The students were glad they won the
game, but did not become big-headed or brag too much about
their victory.—(Washington State K\ergreen.)
The Oregon Dait.y Emerald. puhlished daily during the college year except- Sundays,
Mondays, holidavs, and final examination periods by the Associated Students. University of
Oregon. Subscription rates: $d.00 per term and $-4.00 per year. Kntmed as second-class matter
nt the* postotlice, Eugene, Oregon.
BILL VATKS. Editor VIRGIL TUCKER, Business Manager
Boh Reed, Managing Editor Tom McLaughlin, Adv. Manager
Associate Editors: June Goetze, Bobolee Brophy, Diana Dye, Barbara Hey wood,
upper n iwi s Faff
Mike i allatiun. Man i urnouii
Co-New* Kditors
illenn (iillespie, Sports Kditor
V* in it a Howard. Women's Kditor
1161* Funk, Church Kditor
iioh cumin. .Assistant ^anagm^ r.ajtor
Kvelyn Mill anil Ann Goodman
Assistant News Kifitors
Jo Kawlftts. Research Director
Tec Arthur, Research As>i>tant
I' l-PFR
1US
"A K r
J.eth .Miller, l uvulatiou algr.
l.ve Q\eibeck. Nat’l Adv. Mgr.
£ally Waller. Assistant Adv Mgr.
Joan Mitnnaugh. Assistant AJv. Mgr.
\ itgima m..1:0:1. .Assistant .vav. al^r.
Donna Hrennan, Asst. Adv. Mgr.
Jack Schnaidt, Asst. Adv. Mgr.
America Awakes With Red races
By DON McNEIL
Red-faced America woke up
Wednesday to one of the most
staggering political upsets in our
history. After the feeling of
amazement had passed, people
began questioning how and why
it happened.
As one professor said, it would
take about 5 billion dollars and
5 million psychiatrists to find out
how Truman got himself reelect
ed. Let's try a few samples.
1. Dewey lost the battle him
self when he persisted on sticking
to the “unity” theme. He refused
to stoop to issues in making his
plea to the country. The inference
we draw from this is that the
American people are taking more
interest in what’s going on in the
world around them.
They are not satisfied with just
talk. Their levels or perception
and analysis and interest are
higher than they were in the be
tween-the-wars period. True, they
want the great American ideai
held up before them, but they
want it backed up with such con
crete things as discussion of
ECA federal housing, and labor
relations.
2. Organized labor turned out
en masse. This certainly had
something to do with it. Labor
was out to slug the Republican
congress into submission for
passing the hated Taft-Hartley
law. And when they got the turn
out to defeat the congressmen
who had voted for the bill, they
gathered in votes for Harry Tru
man.
The Republicans spent terrific
amount of money and the Demo
crats, in comparison, spent very
little. Labor’s expenditures
however, offset this very nicely.
3. People were so sure of a
Dewey victory they wasted their
votes. This point has considerable
attraction. For not only were
there those who didn’t bother vot
ing, but there were many, who
felt that because Dewey was a
shoo-in for the job, they might
as well register a protest vote
against both candidates.
If they had thought it was go
ing to be close, perhaps they
would have taken what they con
sidered to be the lesser of two
evils. Truman, though, might
have garnered as many as Dewey
to defeat by saying it was going
to be a landslide for Dewey.
Despite these three reasons,
all contributing to the Truman
victory, there are questions un
answered.
The press was 80 per cent for
Dewey. How could Truman get
through this seemingly impene
trable curtain ? We could esti
mate from this that the editorial
page really has very little influ
ence on the voting public. And,
of course, Roosevelt always faced
a preponderantly hostile press.
Another doubt arises over the
personal appeal of the respective
candidates. Evidently this isn’t
considered any more. For where
could you find two more charm
ing, gracious candidates than
Dewey and Warren?
Maybe the little episodes like
the train engineer and the Life
Magazine students in McArthur
court helped form different con
clusions on the part of the vot
ers.
Yes, there are hundreds of rea
sons, large and small. We like to
consider this election as refresh
ing. For it gives hope that when
it gets right down to it the Amer
ican people cannot have a
thought pattern thrust on them.
There is still much individual an
alysis and opinion, despite the
propaganda set forth by both
sides.
At this rate, Senator Taft had
better start a campaign to get
his legislatures to ratify his con
stitutional amendment limiting
the presidency to two terms.
The Latest
In Books
By TERRY REVENAUGH
Here's a merry twosome to
combat post-election, post-mid
term apathy. The first, “West
ward Ha!” (subtitled “Around
the World in Eighty Cliches”) is
a maniacal diary written by the
irrepressible S. J. Perelman
and lavishly illustrated by his
zany companion, Hirschfield.
These two habitues of Times
Square, subsidized by travel
magazine, Holiday, set out on
their safari in January, 1947.
Mercilessly failing to omit any
key place that might conceivably
spawn a cliche, Perelman and his
accomplice, Hirschfield, visit the
steaming jungles of Cochin China,
the sun-baked wastes of the Sa
hara, the crocodile infested wa
ters of Lake Chad and the wom
an-infested cafes of Port Said.
They travel by steamer, freighter,
plane, camel back, donkey and,
inadvertently, sagging on the
arms of porters in the wee hours.
Written in a burlesque of travel
magazine blurbs, plus some of
Perelman's matchless mania, the
book begins with a giggle and
ends in complete demoralization.
Says Perelman, “If you ever
want a place where scenery and
climate fuse to produce unadul
terated witchery, where life has
the tremulous sweetness of a
plucked lute-strings and dark
ness falls all too soon, go to the
Hotel Plaza in New York.”
Even if you dislike the Perel
man humor, by all means see the
lascivious pen-work of Hirsch
field.
“The Lost Art of Profanity”
will give you not only new and
sally phrases for your vocabu
lary but it can double as research
for an English course. “Cussing,”
says author Dr. Burgess Johnson,
"Is deeply ingrained in man’s na
ture and iis background is re
spectable.”
Dr. Johnson laments the good
old days. “Gone are the echoing
oaths of a day when swearing
called for skill and imagination.
There is a superficial ailment . . .
among moderns . . . swearers are
generally less afraid of Moses
than of Emily Post."
Progressing from “Cussing in
POLITICAL FRONT
Certainly SOMEONE in Nation
Thought Mr.Truman Would Win
By Vinita Howard
If any forecaster had predict
ed one month ago that Truman
would defeat Dewey he would
have been laughed out of the
country. Today, he would be
hailed as one of the few men in
the nation with any “donkey
sense.”
What started out to be a com
plete victory for the GOP in
1948 has ended in almost com
plete defeat, while the Missouri
donkey and Truman have raced
across the line to do the impossi
ble according to all “reliable”
polls.
While what happened at the
election polls Tuesday was a
great surprise to the Republicans,
their shock could never compete
with that of those expert poll
takers, Gallup and Roper.
For weeks the forecasters had
been predicting that Truman did
n’t have a chance, that Dewey
would win by a substantial mar
gin, etc. That’s why thousands of
radio listeners and radio commen
tators, too, were unable to be
lieve what they saw before them
when the returns started rolling
in for Truman.
Not even at Democratic head
quarters Tuesday night was there
much hope for a Truman victory.
The party at first was resigned
and any thought of victory
seemed overly optimistic. Most
Democrats had resigned them
selves to defeat. All, that is, ex
cept the “little” man from Mis
souri—the only one confident of
his campaign ability.
The big questions in the minds
General." Dr. Johnson goes into
the “Oath Denunciatory,” “The
Oath Interjectional,” and “Male
dictions.” He finds the Orientals
most adept at malediction but
religious people are the most pro
fane.
Maybe you have mother-in-law
trouble, a wretched golf game or
a tough government course.
Here’s your chance to do some
research for the appropriate
phrase.
“Westward Ha!" by S. J. Fer
elman. Simon and Schuster. $2.95.
159 pages.
of everyone today are what hap
pened, why and howT could the
forecasters be so terribly wrong.
These questions will be the topics
for much discussion in the months
ahead, but it is doubtful if any
one reason can be given for the
surprising win of President Tru
man.
A few guesses, however, have
been and can he ventured. First,
Americans are supposed to tra
ditionally support an underdog—
that’s exactly what Truman was
until Tuesday night. Second,
“Hard Hitting Harry” cam
paigned on basic issues and by
doing so succeeded in convincing
the voters that he should be con
tinued in office.
Third, the people, especially the
labor class, did not approve of
the action of the 80th congress
and took this means of hitting
back at the proponents of the
Taft-Hartley labor law. Fourth,
the GOP was guilty of over-con
fidence and thus failed to take off
the kid gloves to campaign with
the equal vigor of Truman.
This list of possible reasons
could go on and on, and they
probably will. No single factor
contributed to the election of
Truman for a full term in his own
right.
Considering what happened in
the congressional race, perhaps
it is fortunate that Truman did
win. Both the HR and the senate
are now in Democratic hands and
had Dewey been eieeted it seems
certain that the administrative
and the legislative branches of
the government would have been
at each other's necks for the next
four years.
Something must be vitally
wrong within the national Repub
lican party and it now seems ap
parent that if the GOP ever
hopes to get back in power they
will have to get new blood for
leadership, clean out the reaction
ary element in the party, ditch
the Joe Grundy outfit and most
important make a complete
break with the NAM and gain
the labor vote.
Move over. Mr. Gallup, you
iave lots of company!