We Like the Idea!
A letter to the editor printed on this page today contains
an interesting idea on the possible improvement in student
faculty relations after the Student Union is completed.
Dick Williams, union director, has often remarked that the
new student center will bring about many profound changes
on the campus. And no change could benefit the campus more
than that the students achieve rapport with the faculty and
vice versa.
Students rarely have the opportunity to exchange ideas
with a professor over a cup of coffee. The occasional professor
who wanders into the Side looks like a lost soul and there are
many professors who have never crossed the threshold, evi
dently figuring that the Side and kindred bistros are sacred
student property. They prefer to repair to the faculty club.
When the Union is completed there will have to be on edu
cational campaign on the use of the building. Along with this,
the idea should be put over that the faculty is welcome, too.
We agree with the writers of the letter that the informal
give and take between students and faculty in the Union would
be of benefit to both groups and would put an end to the pres
ent unofficial segregation and the misunderstandings which
have sometimes resulted. B. B.
At Eastertide
Peace Is the Prayer
Of Every Soldier
By Hal Boyle
NEW YORK— (AP) —This is a
nice Eastertide, because men
don't have to talk to God alone
in a foxhole.
T h i s hasn't
been necessary
for some years.
In crowded
small church or
tall cathedral of
Christian lands
families c a n
worship Jesus
in peace.
But many an
ex-soldier look
ing at the young son kneeling be
side him, will wonder:
“Will my boy some day have
to—as I did -pray alone at this
time in some place of war?’’
And he will offer up a small si
lent prayer of his own that this
won't happen. And the prayers
will be said in many languages—
English, French, Dutch, Russian,
German, Italian.
Easter has a peculiar niche in
tile heart of men in combat. At
Christmas thoughts of religion
aren't in their minds so much as
the memories of their families.
The broken packages full of small
gifts come, and they are home
sick to the hone.
But at Easter the story of
Christ, his death and rebirth,
stirred the doughboy of the sec
ond world war deeply. Part of it,
perhaps, was tied up also with
the rebirth of the particular land
he was fighting across. He could
lie in his muddy foxhole and see
the green spears of grass spring
ing from the winter-locked earth.
I don't know how the fighter
pilot felt at Easter, climbing a
tranquil sky. Probably he felt
like the poet-airman who wrote
he had the senesation of being
almost able to reach out and
touch the hand of God.
I
Blit I do know how many of
the walking’ soldiers felt. Some
came to believe that they under
stood the Galilean carpenter bet
ter than anybody. For the in
fantryman suffers most in war,
and lives on faith. They came
closer to Him through the kin
ship of agony.
It isn't true, of course, that
there were no atheists in fox
holes. But the atheist was a par
ticularly lonely man at Easter.
His foxhole held only a man with
an animal desire to keep on liv
ing. But the foxhole next to him
held that and something more—
a man with faith that if he were
killed there was a spiritual life
beyond.
I don’t know that this made
any difference to a German ar
tillery shell. But it made a dif
ference to the two men.
Wherever possible, the front
lino soldiers were brought back a
few thousand yards at Easter, a
group at a time, to attend brief
religious services. This gave
them a respite from rifle and
mortar fire. But they were still
w i t h 1 n enemy bombardment
range.
Once I attended one of these
services in a clearing in a cork
forest in northern Tunisia. After
it was over a grimy infantryman
said to me thoughtfully:
"You know this must puzzle
God. We come out of the lines to
pray to Him. On the other side
the Germans must be doing the
same thing. Everybody praying
for peace.
"But when we're through we
go right back into the lines and
start trying to kill each other
again. Does that make sense to
God? It doesn't to me.”
Well, this year the problem
doesn't exist. And that is the
blessing of Easter—1949.
Oregon W Emerald
Thf. Oricgon Daily Embaald. published daily during the college year except Sundays.
Mondays, holidays, and final examination periods by the Associated Students, University ot"
Oregon. Subscription rates: $2.00 per term and $4.00 per year. Entered as second-class matter
at the post office. Eugene, Oregon. _____ _
Bll.l. VATI'S, Editor
VIRGIL TUCKER, Business Manager
Associate Editors: June Goetze, Bohlee Brophy, Diana Dve, Barbara Hey wood
Advertising Manager: Joan Minuaugh
BOB REED, Managing Editor
Assistaut Managing Editors: Stan Turnbull, Don Smith
BOB TWEED ELL, City Editor
Assistant City Editors: Ken Mctzler, Ann Goodman
DEPARTMENT EDITORS
Tom King, Sports Editor
Colinie Jackson, Womeu's Editor
\V alter Dodd, Feature Editor
Warreu Collier, Chief Night Editor
A Letter
Let's Bring Our
Students faculty
Closer Together
To the Editor:
The construction of the Stu
dent Union building on this cam
pus shall provide an excellent
opportunity for a far greater
amount of informal contact be
tween students and faculty than
has been heretofore possible.
Construction plans include pro
visions for a coffee-room seating
350. There is little doubt that the
students will be quickly attract
ed by the convenience of this
meeting-place.
But why not bring the faculty
there, too? What I am suggest
ing is that some effort be made
by the students to encourage fac
ulty members to use the facilities
of the Union, though on a pure
ly informal basis, of course.
Students and faculty alike
would benefit by experiencing a
bit more social contact with one
another than is afforded by lec
ture halls and laboratories.
It must be emphasized that the
entire process must be informal
and unplanned. The recreational
functions of the Union should in
no way be reduced or altered. But
students and faculty should cul
tivate the habit of sharing its fa
cilities. If this is done, the re
sulting interchange of ideas,
opinions, and ‘small talk’ will be
stimulating to both groups, and
a better mutual understanding
shall develop spontaneously be
tween them.
Furthermore, the students will
be afforded a valuable and much
needed supplement to the more
formal contacts they now experi
ence with faculty members in the
sanctity of lecture halls and pri
vate offices..
It is to be hoped that the stu
dents and faculty of this Univer
sity will avail themselves of this
opportunity to further their mu
tual educational development.
Sincerely.
Denis F. Johnston
Claire Cardier
Same Old Stand
By Tom Marquis
AN ADVERTISEMENT by
the Eugene Typographical union
in Monday’s Register - Guard
caught my eye
and started me
to thinking
about some of
the claims made
in the ad.
In bold face
type the ques
tion “Who real
ly wants the vi
cious Taft
Hartley slave
labor law? was
asked. The last
nair oi me sen
tence was un
derlined and the entire ad was
set up in a manner calculated to
gain the greatest possible notice.
For the most part the ad was
pure propaganda and like most
propaganda made a lot of claims
that seem to break down on close
observation.
a: * *
THE UNION wants to do away
with this law that “makes crim
inals of union members and their
employers who wish to make a
friendly agreement to carry on
in a manner that was considered
honorable, workable, and legal
for a century prior to enactment
of the T.-H. law.’’
This friendly little agreement
they speak of is the closed shop
which does not appear too friend
ly to workers who are not union
members.
The ad says further that the
closed shop is a form of operation
preferred by many employers and
their workers. But is it preferred
by the majority? How many ca
pable men have been unable to
get work because of such friendly
little agreements many times
forced upon an unwilling employ
er ?
THE T.-H. law “takes away
the right of a voluntay associa
tion to choose its own membes on
the basis of good character, craft
competency and lack of hostility
to the organization and its prin
ciples. This comes right under the
part about the closed shop that
the union wants reinstated.
Closed shops are not always com
posed of men who are “voluntary
members” of the union. If you
want a job it's either join the
union (providing they’ll have
you) or look somewhere else for
a job.
The union is arguing against
the union shop which makes it
necessary for the union to give
membership to anyone hired by
the employer instead of the em
ployee having to be a union man
before he is hired, as is the case
with the closed shop.
This they say takes away their
right to pick men for a job who
are of undesirable character or
not able to hold down the job
satisfactorily ? That hardly seems
likely.
* * *
THEY ALSO say that the inde
pendent worker “if he really ex
ists is a stooge of the employer.”
I know several independent
workers who will feel downright
unhappy at being called stooges
because they do not choose to be
long to a union. There are some
men who still like to exercise
their right of independence when
seeking employment.
The ad goes on with other
things of a similar nature, but by
now you should see that not all
of the claims they make are un
biased.
The Taft-Hartley bill is not
perfect. In their effort to place
some responsibility for their ac
tions on the unions Congress may
have tended to go too far in the
other direction.
But the unions are not entirely
unresponsible for this either for
it was their high-handed tactics
that led a tiring congress to the
decision that something must be
done to curb runaway union ac
tivities.
LABOR HAS come of age now,
but many times it still acts in a
childish manner. It is still con
scious of a new found sense of
power and seems to be unable to
restrain itself at times.
Unions have done an immense
(Please turn to page eight)
Something New
Student Concert Planned
By Fred Young'
BARTOK TO Bebop highlights
the just announced Contempor
ary Chamber Music and Jazz con
cert to be held in the Guild thea
ter Sunday,
April 24 at 2:30.
The program is
being presented
by the best
qualified cam
pus musicians
under the spon
sorship of the
University Edu
cational Activi
ties office.
The tentative program will con
sist of three divisions: contempo
rary chamber music, ensemble
jazz, and solo jazz. It will offer
the serious works of today's best
known composers, besides the se
rious and jazz offerings of some
of the best musicians that have
been on the University campus.
We would suggest that those
interested make a sincere effort
to attend this truly remarkable
concert. The first of its kind ever
to be presented on our campus.
The attendance at this program
will determine if it will be con
tinuel in the Student Union
building when same is completed.
Everyone connected with this
concert, including the Education
al Activities office, hopes that the
attendance will be sufficient to
allow' further scheduling of jazz
and chamber music concerts.
* a-. «
COUNT BASIE “the Jump
King” is bringing his full band
to the armory Friday ngiht, April
22. Because of the Laine loss the
prices are being reduced to one
buck per couple with coupon.
Woodr3' Herman releases a new
2-sides with “That’s Right” and
“I Got It Bad." “Right” is, and
“Bad” isn’t so. The old Herd lov
ers will appreciate -“Right” about
the most of all the recent Her
man releases.
A Woodchopper introduction
sets the racehorse pace with Ter
ry Gibbs exhibiting vibraphone
skill that he never seemed to
have tw'o years ago with Buddy
Rich. An interesting bit of bop
ping (naturally) to listen to.,
Sims, Chaloff, Swope all perform
with their usual ease. Lou Levy's
piano will recall shades of Dodo's
playing with Boyd Raeburn. And
the terrific rdie-out will be remi
niscent of more old Herd.
Mary Ann McCall, who is no
longer with Herman, does an ex
cellent job of explaining what
ain’t good as Herman plays a
soulful alto bridge and the band
executes Ralph Burns’ excellent
arrangement with good taste. A
very great record buy featuring
the swift and the slow.
* * *
MORE ITEMS of Capitol’s 16
sides of bop released last week.
The strings behind Bill Harris’
trombone add pleasure for some
and pity from others. Showcas
ing the very great Harris horn,
the two moons (How High and
How Low) are very good modern
jazz classics found back-to-back
on the Harris record.
The Miles Davis orchestra
plays more bop, and should be
noted primarily for its instru
mentation. Besides the usual
trumpet, trombone, and saxes
there is a French horn and tuba
which give a strange low tone to
the ensemble part of the record.
Davis and his highly rated trum
pet revolve around “Godchild"
“Jeru." One of the best of this
particular Capitol shipment.