Omm Daily
•EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald, published Monday through Friday during the college year
with the following exception : no papers Oct. 30, Dec..5-Jan. 3V Mar, 6-28,_ May 7,JHanks
g'
W
iVing holidays,tncluding the following Monday, and after May 24; additional paper on
jvllyg12, hy the Associated Students of the University of Oregon. Entered as sec°n^ cliJ^
matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 per school year, $4 for two
terms; $3 per term.
Opinions expressed on the editorial page are those of the writer and do not pretend to
represent the opinions of the ASUO or of the University. Initialed editorials are written by
the associate editors. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor.__
Anita Holmes, Editor
Lorna Larson, Managing Editor
Don Thompson, Business Manager
Barbara Williams, Advertising Manager
Tom King, Ken Mktzlek, Don Smith, Associate Editors
Assistant Editor: Sam Fidman
News Editor: Norman Anderson
Wire Editor: John Barton
Sports Editor: Pete Cornaccma
Assistant Managing Editors: Bob Funk, Gret
chen Grondahl, Ralph Thompson, Fred Vos
per.
Circulation Manager: Jean Lovell
Assistant Business Manager: Shirley Hillard
National Advertising Manager:
Bonnie Birkemeier
Layout Manager: Martel Scroggin
Portland Advertising: Karla Van Loan
Zone Managers: Fran Neel, Jean Hoffman,
Virginia Kellogg, Don Miller, Val Schultz,
Harriet Vahey. _
No Time for the Normal
“Normalcy,” he said, “it’ll be good when times get back to
normal.”
It was an innocent statement. The speaker meant to stir no
indignation.
But a college student—a fourth-year-man—wanted to know
what he meant by “normalcy.” Define that evasive term you
use so often.
Was that “normalcy” in 1929 and ’30 when we walked into
the old world? The folks talked about them as “depression
years” in the same tone they used for “the plague” or “death in
the family.” Surely that wasn’t “normalcy.”
Then Dad went to work for the WPA, and people stood in
lines for dried apricots, and corn meal and lima beans. And the
men used to laugh about “leaning on their shovels” and look
forward to “getting back to normal.”
Europe rumbled while we moved on up through grade school
and junior high, but more than a mere rumble provoked that
broadcast we heard in the school auditorium. President Roose
velt had just declared war—and even we eighth graders were
hushed at the awful words.
Drafting, rationing, waiting, dying, and finally—ending the
war. Ah, that V-E night was one big sigh of relief—“now
America can get back to normal.”
Passed a few years of uneasy peace. Unending cries of Com
munism, and then a dagger cuts an imaginary line. And what
happens to “normalcy?”
Pardon me, Mr. Speaker. The college student didn’t mean to
interrupt. Nor was he complaining—none of that “lost genera
tion” stuff for him. A definition—that was all he wanted.
This Time,fa Compliment
Whoops! Wc almost forgot something.
It’s human to complain about small irritations and to say
nothing about big advantages. We re afraid that s what we ve
done too much of since the opening of the Student Union.
(Yes, newspaper men and women are human, too, so there.)
Anyhow, to heck with the inconvenience of the soda bar.
Service is better now than when it first opened and the kinks
will probably iron out before long.
What we really want to talk about today is the good side of
the Student Union.
Take the cafeteria for instance. We want to extend our sin
cere congratulations to all those responsible for the excellent
food—at reasonable rates—of which so many students and fac
ulty members are taking advantage.
Even though we still have occasional trouble with the but
ter dispenser, we feel the SU has become one of the finest eat
ing places in town.
That is definitely not the only advantage. The traditional
site of the post-class coke date has now switched to the Stu
dent Union. And for those slightly more energetic, there are
ping pong, pool and bowling.
And we hope to see a few expert female pool players come
out of the Student Union area. For, as SU Director Dick Wil
liams savs, the basement recreation area is not solely for men.
—K.M.
The Second Cup...
Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much
'life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for
something—Thoreau.
He that falls into sin is a man; that grieves at it, is a saint;
that boasteth of it, is a devil.—Fuller. _
A Penny for Government
Amendment 300, 301
Salary rates for state legislators will be one of the questions de
cided by Oregon voters November 7. Numbered 300 and 301, the mea
sure proposes a constitutional amendment.
The Measure Would:
Give each legislator $600 per year and $1200 for his term; each pre
siding officer an additional $200 per year.
Allow 10 cents per mile for travel to and from meetings.
Under the constitution as it now stands, the salary of an Oregon
legislator is $8 per day for a limit of 50 days every other year, unless
there is a special session ($8 per day, 20 day limit.)
Proponents Say:
By ending per diem payment, amendment would end jamming at
end of sessions.
Inadequate salaries may make legislators easy prey for lobbyists of
special interests.
Only two states pay lower salaries than Oregon (Washington legis
lators receive $1,200 per year plus $10 per day subsistence expense.)
Present pay is not sufficient to defray actual living costs during the
session, so only the financially independent can afford to govern.
Opponents Say:
We want economy in government.
High pay will attract men for the money alone.
Those legislators don’t do anything anyway—why should they be
paid so much ?
Emerald Says:
Yes.
Present salary rates are shameful. In 1949, clerks and doorkeepers
at the session were paid more than the legislators.
Our only objection to the proposed amendment is that it doesn’t
raise the salaries high enough.
For a penny, you hire a poor maid and the house she leaves is seldom
clean.
--—Letters-—
The Campus Answers
316—X—Yes
Emerald Editor:
Prohibition—smohibition! Here
we go again! In Thursday’s
Emerald there was presented the
pro and con of Initiative 316, 317
which deals with prohibition of
liquor advertising in Oregon.
First of all, let me say that I
am in full accordance with the
Emerald's policy of printing both
sides of the argument. However,
I can’t go along with the conclu
sions drawn by the Emerald in
regard to said initiative.
Initiative 816, 317 is not an un
derhanded and indirect approach
to the return of prohibition.
Advertising agencies and liquor
dealers will be the ones affected
by this initiative NOT the con
sumer except that he may miss
some of his favorite ads includ
ing the Old Judge’s warped but
homespun philosophy.
A closing thought regardless of
your opinions of the foregoing ti
rade—JUST WHAT IN HELL
DOES BEVERAGE LIQUOR
CONTRIBUTE TO THE BENE
FIT OF MAN OR SOCIETY ? ?
Thus, I think it’s about time we
approach the liquor problem in a
common-sense manner rather
than yelling false and ambiguous
phrases like “Don’t be tricked in
to Prohibition.”
Nevertheless, if you’ll pardon
the rephrasing, the way to limit
the activity of the giraffe without
killing it would just be by cutting
of his legs.
Bob Peterson
317—X—No
Emerald Editor:
Pro: WCTU reminded me of W.
Somerset Maugham’s Rain. Use
your imagination and you will
see Maugham’s island in the
Pacific alive again in a wet
state, trying to be dry.
I was also reminded of a story
from the Bible, the one about
Adam and Eve, and the Forbid
den Fruit. Perhaps this story
is more to the point, for though
Miss Walton may not be familiar
with Rain, surely she must know
the story of the fall of our par
ents in Eden. And I wonder that
she, representing the WCTU, is
so blind to its lesson, and to
human nature, not to realize that
forbidden fruit is sweetest.
Further, they must realize the
evils of prohibition, which may
well be the secret aim of this
crusade, and the ineffectiveness
of telling' Americans, who pride
themselves on their independ
ence, what they may and what
they may not do, legally or
otherwise.
The result of unreasonable
and unintelligent discipline,
therefore, is either developing
the harmful but practical philo
sophy of might makes right, or
fostering hypocrisy. To some
people, including myself, the
attitude of Miss Walton and the
WCTU is more harmful, more
criminal, than the possibility of
alcoholism.
Let them tell us what they
really desire, the prohibition of
all alcoholic beverages, and then
we will believe them, and know
them for what they are.
(Name Withheld by request)
I
I
I
I Hash
Re:
’ By Bob Funk
Sunday afternoon as we were
sitting in the MacDonald Theater
thinking about our English
Drama test, we saw the preview
to this picture “I’ll Get By.” It
occurred to us at that time (clev
er one that we are) that they are
naming a lot of movies after
songs this year.
The song movies are about peo
ple who sing and dance. This is
convenient, if not very subtle. It
is very difficult to make movies
about people who don’t sing and
dance into stong movies. You have
to present to the audience some
clever excuse for Judy Garland
to have learned to be prima bal
lerina While feeding the pigs.
In these song movies the titlP
scmg is used throughout for mood
music. Example: enter villain—
“Tea for Two” is taken by bas
soon; enter heroine—violins take
“Tea for Two;” enter crowd—ev
erybody plays like mad. By the
time you leave one of these mov
ies you are beginning to catch
onto the tune of “Tea for Two.”
We are not being critical. In
fact, we hope there are more
shows like this. We would like to
see "Put Them Little Shoes
Away,” “Floatin’ Down That Old
Green River” (what a plot you
could dig up out of that) and pos
sibly “The Battle Hymn of the
Republic.” Maybe not.
* * * ❖
We will be glad when they quit
doing whatever they are doing to
Friendly Hall. Half the people in
our classes there are plasterers,
electricians, and carpenters —
which would be quite all right ex
cept that they’re rather noisy.
Also, you go to your class one
day to find that the room has
either been altered to a point be
yond recognition, or done away
with completely.
We have no doubt that the fi
nal result is going to be pretty
fine, but we are having one devil
of a time, adjusting to riding up
to the second floor on a pulley
with a bucket of cement.
• It Could Be Oregon •
“That'll take care of the writing—but what if he asks you to take an
oral examination?”