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SltJiday . Ma^Ho ind^ Junior Weekend Saturday by the Associated Student* «f the Urn.
versity oi Oregon. Entered as second class matter at the post office, Eugene, Oregon. Sub
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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
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Wire services: Associated Press, United Press. Member, Associated Collegiate Press.
What About the Asian Question?
“Sure, but what can we do about it?"
A lot of you were probably asking that question Tuesday
after leaving Dr. Paul Dull s talk on Asia. \ on d just
beard him say that we Americans must become aware of the
state of Asia — its nations and their peoples—if we are to
survive. His words, “we cannot ignore Asia and survive,"
must have made an impression in your minds.
You will agree with Dr. Dull all right. And then you’ll
go about your daily studies, your bridge-playing, your eating
and sleeping. . . without much more thought. Some of you
because you feel Asia is very remote and not within your
interest orbit, others because you’re “University students.
To the first category we’ll do no preaching. Stay in your
own little orbit. But we have an answer to those in the
second, who are willing to recognize the problem, but think
it’s a matter only state department officials and economic
advisors can do anything about.
Take a look around you sometime when you’re walking
between classes. You’ll see students from India, from Pakis
tan, from Japan, from Singapore, from the Philippines— all
Asiatic countries. These are the people who can—and will—
inform you on the state of Asia just for the asking. on don t
have to spend hours heading books and magazine articles. . .
just talk for a while with them over a cup of coffee, go to an
International Relations club meeting, or to Cosmopolitan club.
Remember, they want to be informed on the state of the
United States too. And that’s part of the cooperation Dr. Dull
stressed.
When Dr. Dull said Americans must be aware of Asia,
he didn’t mean just a few officials. We’re sure he includes
the American students. And well he should, for who will be
running this country in a few years? You. . . today’s college
students.
You can do plenty about learning the state of Asia.
Just DO it.
0*1 tlt& Scsie&tt..
Hoffmann Tales Artistically Done
By Leonard H. Frey
(Ed. Note—“The Tales of Hoff
mann’ will be on the screen of
the Mayflower theater, starting
today. Frey, the reviewer, is a
graduate assistant in the Depart
ment of English.)
“The Tales of Hoffmann,” Jac
ques Offenbach’s last and great
est opera, has for its explicit and
obvious subject-matter three
more or less improbable yarns
told by the 19th century German
arch-Romantic, E. T. A. Hoff
mann. The three stories, con
nected and framed by Hoffman,
(the mature artist reminiscing
about past experiences) abound
in magic, black and otherwise, in
strange, dreamlike violence, and
in obscure, unnatural ellipses of
thought and deed. They are
truly the stuff of “fantastic
opera.”
But beyond the obvious dra
matic level of Hoffmann’s three
tales, there exists, I think, an
ambivalent, yet simultaneously
resolved aesthetic problem: the
artistic quest for a personalized
and at the same time valid style,
and the exposition of the artist’s
growth in relation to the whole
complex Of existence — “The
Growth of a Poet’s Mind,” as it
were. It is this dual problem,
perhaps more than each of the
tales in itself, which warrants
consideration in terms of the
form and content of the opera.
It may be noted that the first
half of the problem is solved in
terms of the second. Hoffmann’s
four loves, the doll, the courtesan,
the singer, and the ballerina, are
all denied him, and always
through the agency of one de
signated in the prologue as “Lin
dorf, sinister opponent of Hoff
mann throughout his life.” This
opponent assumes several guises,
A I i \ * * 1 * k * * ' ‘ r ‘ ' *
that of a puppet-maker, a sor
cerer, and a demonic physician;
and the uniformity of identity
becomes explicit only at the end
of the opera.
Likewise, the doll, courtesan,
and singer merge into the baller
ina, Hoffmann’s present love at
the time of his narration. All
his frustrated love and the oppo
sition that has frustrated it,
then, come together; parallel
strains of past experiences all
inform the present because they
have become, in a sense, the pres
ent.
When Hoffmann loses the bal
lerina, ‘‘three women in one," he
has nothing left but the very
frustration which becomes the
subject-matter of his art. His
"tales” are uniformly tales of
loss; success in any of them
would make their narration
pointless because Hoffmann
would then cease in his quest
(like Goethe’s Faust who owned
power as long as he refused to
embrace and become static in
any moment of experience). In
short the act of telling the tales
has given Hoffmann his idiom.
Beyond this there is the prob
lem of explaining the opposition
personified in Lindorf. The his
torical figure Hoffmann, a high
ly unsteady individual, would
doubtless be called scizophrenic
by modern psychoanalysis. I do
not propose to push the point
very far here, but in Lindorf
there is a suggestion of Hoff
mann’s own repressions.
Offenbach’s great opera stands
as a challenging aesthetic exper
ience, as well as a thing of
beauty. Its transference to the
screen seems to me to be a major
artistic triumph, and I strongly
urge everyone to make an effort
to see it. It may confuse, but
it will not bore or disappoint.
— Letters to the Editor
Rest in Peace
Emerald Editor:
"No petitions yet for assis
tant handshaker'for the SU;
deadline extended." Tsk, tsk.
"Who wants to be chief general
assistant chairman of the an
nual whooptdeedee weekend?"
No one. The great and glorious
university is rapidly going to pot.
I am sick and tired of hearing
gripes about student apathy con
cerning student government and
those glamorous activities. To
my way of thinking, this apathy
is a healthy sign that university
students are tired of foolishness
and expect of this institution
three things: intellectual stimu
lation , cultural emphasis and
tiOOD recreation.
Why do we need such a large,
involved and red tape bound or
ganization for a student body of
less than 5000? One would
think we were handling affairs
of state for a nation of at least
500 million. How about a com
plete shakeup. Let us quit try
ing to force everyone into student
government and activities. A
few capable, willing, non-parti
san selected persons could handle
the essential aspects of student
government and activities.
I would suggest that instead of
the ASUO officers, senate, etc.
we ha\e a board of five (select
ing their own chairman) to rep
resent the student Opinion to the
administration. Topics they
might concern themselves with
include: honor system, telephone
dispute, vacation periods, etc.
One persons could easily handle
any of the Student Union com
mittees. . As far as the Y’s, AWS
and WRA go—well let them go
out the window.
Give the students good movies,
good lectures, good music, good
dance orchestras and good dis
cussion groups. Then if they
don't take advantage of them, it
won’t be because they don't ap
preciate them. It will just be
that they are too busy or so
darned tired that they would
rather sit and drink coffee—and
I don't blame them.
But please cease mourning the
death of the activity hounds.
May they rest in peace (and let
us rest, too.)
Melissa Millam
Rah, Rah, K. K. K.
Emerald Editor:
Phillip Johnson, you nasty, nas
ty man, — taking underhanded
kraks at our fraterneety and so
rority seestem, the pride of Ore
gon, and I dun’t meen the gas
eeder! What do you mean by
ure reemarc that the greak hous
es wun’t tak in students wita
different colar of skeen odder
dan wite. You r wong. Eetz not
tint the phrats nnd their femail
counterpats wun't have these
studints, but radder as one boose
president tool yours trolly; ‘'they
just wouldn't be huppy living in
our house." Who no’s, maybee
da house has worms!
Hesliles dal, wood u wun’t yciir
seester to have Immaterial rela
tions with an off-color wile?.. Or
am I wong? . Hmm?.. The nex
ting, you radical, yu’ll wun’t to
let dee*e students eet In r 1st
rnt resteranls anil sleep In our
ami rut motels. (dare ain’t none
1st rat motels In Ktigene)
After all, deemokruMy Is n Root
ting, hut let* nut overdu It! Lung
live the K.K.K , Oovnor Tal
inadgc, and the fraterneely and
so-sororlty aeestem!
Pleeze excuse niy rlting ills In
crayon, cuz dey wunt allow me to
have shurp Instrlmcnts ware I
iz.
(Name withheld upon request)
rf-nom the Mosujue...
30 YKAKS AGO
Jan. 10, 1922 Petitioners who hail requested that the university
do away with the KOTC today decided not to present their petition
to the regents They feared it would damage the university's repu
tation.
20 YKAKS AGO
Jan. 6, 1932 "Webfoots” is chosen as the name for Oregon
athletic teams.
15 YEARS AGO
Jan. 10, 1937 Huge crowds attended a Duke Ellington concert
here last night.
-The Atomic Age
Why Build Carriers? There are
Reasons, But Not Valid Ones
——- By Phil Johnson
The Navy's plans to build ten
new GO,000-ton super-carriers at
a cost of more than two billion
dollars probably will meet with
some opposition from national
legislators.
The admirals will be asked to
state the reasons for the con
struction of these ships, and they
will probably
supply tne cus
tomary answer
—that the ‘flat
tops’ will be
used for at
tacks upon en
emy submarine
bases and fa
cilities.
The subma
rine, they say,
must be at
tacked at its
base—t*efore It
leaves to fulfill
PhD Johnson
its deadly mission.
This leads to another question:
why cannot land-based planes,
which cost much less than a fleet
of carriers, carry out the stra
tegic bombing attacks which are
being preserved for naval as
sault ?
It does not appear that a car
rier-based plane has any inher
ent advantage over its land-based
Sense of Humor, or Revenge?
C -07
//
“It must have boon one of your students with a sense of humor. The
note says ‘Prof. Snarf, your window is broken.’ ”
M t L : *. t i :
counterpart.
On the contrary, the carrier
aircraft actually in Inferior to the
land plane because certain spe
cial characteristics are needed
for lundicg upon and leaving res
tricted flight decks.
Nevertheless, the admirals
might assert that carriers must
be sent overseas in time of war
in order to provide fighter pro
tection for friendly bombers.
Fighters from North America,
according to the admirals, can't
fly to Europe and return without
refueling.
This argument ignores the fact
that the primary purpose of the
proposed flattops, according to
official Navy statesmen, will be
the housing of atomic bomb-car
rying bombers, not fighters.
Actually, if carriers are need
ed for transportation of fighters,
much smaller and cheaper ships
could do thut Job. The necessary
bombers could fly from contin
ental bases.
The navy's argument also ig
nores the possibility of aerial re
fueling of fighters based upon
continental fields.
A third basic fact also is over
looked. The United States al
ready has a number of airfields
in Germany, Africa, the Near'
East, Asia all of them capable
of handling fighter planes.
In this picture, carriers are
merely expensive added orna
ments.
Resources consumed in the con
struction of flattops might be
better utilized if devoted to the
strengthening of our regular air
force. The region of military
decision, the air. must be control
led by the United States if we
hope to avoid disaster in the
event of war with the Soviet
Union.
Carrier construction us an ex
tremely expensive method, of
gaining air power.
During World War II, Major
Alexander 1*. tie Seversky, a
noted uerial expert, estimated
that a single aircruft carrier
cost as much as a land-based
aerial unit with a striking pow
er ZH times as great. And this
estimate did not include the cost
Of numerous carrier escorts —
battleships, cruisers, destroyers,
etc.
The task force is a freight
truck doing a wheelbarrow’s job.
Carriers have many other de
fects, including vulnerability to
submarine attack, lack of de
fending strength against massed
land-based air power, easy neu
tralization by damage to the
flight deck, etc.
There may well lie good rea
sons for the launching of these
white elephants. If so, they
haven’t been revealed.