HERALD
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A Tiny Bit (^Understanding
The Parliament of World Religions is over. It’s been over
for five days now.
So you’ve had a bit of time to reflect... to consider its worth
... to you and your friends.
It’s hard to compare ... because you have experienced noth
ing comparable before (and perhaps never will again). If, by
chance, you should think of it in the same mental breath as the
Religious Emphasis and Religious Evaluation weeks of by
gone years, you see little similarity.
Then, speakers came ... and spoke ... on faiths already some
what familiar to you—Protestantism, Catholicism, and Juda
ism. Looking back ... you may remember, as we do, sitting
around the living room listening to a clergyman talking about
his, usually Christian, religion. But that's all you remember,
isn’t it?
Now look back on last week’s talks.
Remember the new thought and ideas you experienced when
you heard about those heretofore strange and mysterious faiths
...Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam...
those mysterious beliefs of the people of the equally mysterious
East.
These are not going to leave voif so rapidly.
* * *
In many cases we agree with the philosophy that a little
knowledge is worse than none .. . but not in this one. This little
knowledge served only to whet the mental appetites of many
among the hundreds of you who attended the talks and dis
cussions. We know some of you, interested by what you heard,
who are endeavoring to read and hear more.
And any event that will motivate you to learn more certainly
has concrete value.
Of course you still don’t understand completely . .. who does?
But you have a bit more insight.
World understanding is ... and will continue to be ... of ma
jor importance if humanity is to survive. This recent Parlia
ment of World Religions has added a tiny bit to our under
standing. Therefore, it was of utmost importance and worth.
* * *
Those who brought it here and organized it are to be highly
complimented. We cannot say blindly that it had no faults. It
did. But.. .again looking back ... the good derived so far sur
passed the bad that we’re sure our thoughts will retain the posi
tive, not the negative, in years to come.
How Slow Can Progress Be?
We’re happy to note that some improvement is being made in
the direction of progress on the 13th Ave., traffic problem.
But nobody seems to be in a very big hurry about-it.
The progress:
a. Truck traffic has been prohibited on the section of 13th
which runs through the campus.
b. The city council and the University have agreed to work
together on a signal system to control traffic through the
campus more effectively.
In December, the city council agreed to let City Manager
Oren King, W. C. Clubb, city engineer; University Business
Manager J. O. Lindstrom and I. I. Wright, physical plant super
intendent, work out a plan whereby city and University would
share in the cost of traffic signals.
We talked to Lindstrom and he explained the general idea
of what the University would like: automatic stop lights on
13th at Kincaid, University and Onyx streets. During most of
the day, these would act as regular four-way stop lights; but a
time clock would turn them on for the full 10-minute period
between classes. This would substitute an automatic system
for the present manually-operated lights at University and
Kincaid. The present plan is to hang the light from ornamental
steel poles over the center of the intersection.
This all sounds like a fine idea to us. But the University
officials have to meet with the city representatives to get their
viewpoint before a definite agreement can be made—and no
body seems to know just when this meeting will take place.
Nobody wants to sacrifice quality for speed; but it seems
to us that both the city and administration have had ample
time since December to study the situation thoroughly. Our
previous observations have led us to believe that it takes a
whjle jtp.^btaiiiy eqU(ipi|i^i|t ^en after( a definite .cjecjsion has
been padp; and weifeel obliged to point ©ut that meanwhile we
are still'dodging traffic between' classes.—G.G.
Qua VuUoaA' SffcJt...
Can Asia Be Won?
No,(it's Too Late
(Ed. Note—Marc Delemme, a
foreign student from Paris,
France, Is a sophomore In politi
cal science.)
By Marc Delemme
I do not altogether agree with
Dr. Paul Dull who said In his lec
tures that Asia can be won to the
West. I think it is too late.
In 1900 all of Asia was govern
ed, controlled and developed by
the West. The Asiatics had been
taken unawares by the military
and technical superiority of the
western countries. Since then
there has been a revolt, and what
a revolt!
India, free from English domi
nation, has become two Indepen
dent states. China has not only
been liberated, but has even be
came a militarized nation capable
of being aggressive. The Dutch
have had to leave Indonesia and
France's position in regard to
Indochina is In great danger. All
those liberated nations haiTe an
Asiatic consciousness and u pro
gram.
Although there is no geograph
ic unity, we find the same con
cept of lije and religion re
nouncement. The Hindu is a mys
tic, the Chinese a diagnostic.
Most important, there is a nega
tive unity—that of driving the
Westerners out of the Asiatic
continent in accordance with the
doctrine: "Asia to the Asiatics."
It is a unanimous sentiment
which goes from the prime min
ister to the lowest of all Asiatics.
Those nations have a program
for the future. They have a strong
urge to modernize. Asia wants to
get the same methods as those
which have given all this strength
to the West. She needs machi
nery,, tractors, chain-assembling,
technicians.
United States of America or
Soviet Union? Here lies the true
problem. Which country is Asia
going to choose to help them out ?
The American yoke could be, un
der its financial aspects, just as
dangerous as the' political yoke
from France or England was at
the beginning of this century.
In Asia, people resent and
sometimes even hate the Ameri
can because they are afraid he
will succeed Europe as the yoke
of the entire Asiatic continent. It
must be said that the American
is in far too great a hurry and
shows his face much too much.
I do not say that the West lias
no future in Asia. If we leave,
our work will be washed away be
cause they will be unable to main
tain it.
In any case, we are in the pres
ence of a mystic against which
one cannot argue.
-The Atomic Age
Civil Defense Being Neglected,
Several Congressmen Charge
-—-By Phil Johnson ■ » .—
Civil defense is being neglected.
That’s the opinion of several
American Congressmen.
As the United States is spend
mg lens oi mi
lions of dollars
annually for
military
strength and
foreign aid,
there have
been attempts
to economize in
other fields.
Civil defense,
some Con
gressmen be
lieve, has been
the victim of
Phil Johnson
OVcrempniUtia upuu rAjremiiutn;
cutting.
Thin fact becomes more slg
niftrant when It I* recognized
thut the Soviet t'nlon, according
to Kep. Henry Jackson (D-Wash.)
of the Joint Congressional Com
mittee on Atomic Energy, now
has 20 million people engaged in
civil defense.
That estimate, although It
might be mildly exaggerated, pro
vides an indication of the Krem
lin's views upon civil defense.
Dr. Harold C. Urey, a scientist
who worked on the 1944-45 atom
ic bomb project, also believes
that civil defense is a vital mat
ter.
According to I)r. t'rey, “Mili
tary strength will be measured . ..
not by industrial strength or
naval strength or the strength of
air power, but by the amount of
urban concentration."
Urey adds, "Because America -
is such an industrialized country,
with such large populations con-^
centrated into exposed cities, the -
effect of the atomic bomb will he
to weaken America's military
position."
Although it is difficult to ac
cept Urey's contention that urban •*
dispersion determines military
strength (well-dispersed Algeria..
for example, is hardly a world
power), his views on civilian de
fense deserve consideration.
Civil defense includes the fol
lowing steps:
1. Dispersion.
2. Construction of shelters and
firebreaks.
8. Construction of blast-resist
ant buildings.
4. Dispersion of hospital, fire
fighting and rescue ser\ lees to
suburbs of large cities.
5. Information and education of
the public.
A few of these steps have been
taken. Some education of the
public on the subject of the atom
ic bomb has been attempted. Dis
persion has been introduced to a
limited degree, arid almost 30.
per cent of all new factories con
structed since 1940 have been
established in cities with |>opula- •
lions of 10,000 or less.
Nevertheless, more action ap
pears to be necessary in order to
reduce the damage and disorgani
zation which could be caused by.
a surprise atomic attack.
- - Letters to the Editor - -
Try the Classified
Emerald Editor:
In the event that some student,
female type, is desperate to beat
the phone company, let it be
known that any coed, cither at
tractive or intellectual, or both,
who desires may have free use
of the phone at 146 E. 12th Ave.
In exchange they may tidy up
my science-fiction collection, help
me print my magazine, and . ..
Kosco E. Wright
Cut Grade Emphasis?
Emerald Editor:
I would like to raise a problem
with respect to the honor system
which some people arc thinking
and writing about. The fact seems
to be that let us say 50 per cent
of the student body is attending
About Time He Was Finding Out
“That’s Burwell’s chair, Worthal. Wo seated ytou alphabetically, .
t , , rem(ember?”
the University without any scrl
out academic interest. The other
!>0 per cent has u more or lens'
serious academic interest.
Hut to stay In school one has.
to meet an academic requirement
which Is not really hi|(h. hut,
nevertheless. Is a challenge to.
quite a few students, especially
the underclassmen.
How can we convince those'
without academic interest that
they are cheating themselves
when they just think that they*
are cheating the professor or
rather the University?
I believe that a problem like'
this has only two solutions: (I)
Ito not attempt to put In a gen
eral honor system, or (2) try to’
reduce the emphasis on grades to
stay in school, without reducing
the requirement of grades'* to"
graduate.
X prefer the latter solution. To
be short I will just show one
result of my second solution.
Quite a few students will stay"
two or more years in school, with- j
out worry, but they will not re
ceive a degree. Quite a few other .
students who spend too much,
time in the beginning on activi
ties, or other things which are
by no means of negligible value,
will simply take some courses ,
over, and spend five years to get
their degree.
I hope that this problem will
seriously be discussed in the Km-»
erald and elsewhere, because here ,
is a real Opportunity for the stu-**
dents to do something themselves. _
Dirk Schepers
Filth and Dirty Silver .
Emerald Editor:
I wish to make a comment fot»
the luckless mass which eats at
John Straub. I fully realize tin*
futility of complaining about ,
these substances which so mo,
naively call food, but surely the
condition of the utensils with1
which we cat cannot continue
forever; or can it?
If the state of Oregon should '
find, in any public restaurant,
utensils in such a state of tilth as
those with which we must eat, ■
that restaurant would be sub;
ject to heavy penalty if not clos
ure. Why, then, in the states' own
institution, must such conditionsj
exist?
Richie WjlbnnM p,