Opmn Daily k
EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published Feb 4 thru 8. 11 thru 15. 18 thru 22, £5 thru
29, March IffiApr 2 thru 4, 7 thru 11. 14 thru 18. 21 thru 25. 28 thru .May 2, May 6 hr.. ,
1 ’ thru 16, 19 thru 22, and May 26 by the Associated Students of the 1 Diversity ol Oregon.
Entered as second class matter at the post office, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 per
school year, $J per term.
Opinions expressed on the editorial rage 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
associate editors. Unsijfwd editorials are written by the editor. _____
Lincoln's Birthday
A great man ... and American ... was born 143 years ago
today. His name was Abraham “Abe" Lincoln.
And during his lifetime he had much to say:_
“...All men are created equal.” (Gettysburg, Nov. 19, 1863).
When y'ou picked up the Sunday Oregonian you saw, on page
one, a story of racial prejudice toward Negroes in I-.ugene.
Negroes here are housed in substandard buildings in an area
devoid of plumbing. A woman has been threatened because she
rented a home on Friendly st. to a Negro family.
Where is this realization of “equality ’?
* * *
“With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firm
ness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive
on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation s wounds
... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting
peace among ourselves and with all nations.” (Second inaugural
address, Mar. 4, 1865).
Whom among us ... or among our neighbors in Russia or
China or Germany or France ... bears “malice towards none ?
How many times since the Civil War have we bound up the
nation’s wounds? World War I... World War II... the Kor
ean war ... what next?
* * *
“While Man exists, it is his duty to improve not only his
own conduct, but to assist in ameliorating mankind. (Address
to Germans at Cincinnati, Feb. 12. 1861).
If only men ... throughout the University and Eugene and
Oregon and the United States and the world ... would abide
by this “duty” as defined by Lincoln, we would be living in
the kind of prejudice-free, peaceful, prosperous world he must
have envisioned.
We pray—on this, his birthday—that these spoken wisdoms
of Abraham Lincoln will someday become reality.
Skip-to-my-Lou, My Darling
We’re playing hopscotch again, as of last 1 hursday after
noon and the Alpha Tau Omega petition to rejoin AGS.
This move was nothing earthshaking... or even particularly
unexpected. *
The ATO’s left the Greek fold a couple years back when they
had a potential student body prexy candidate they knew didn’t
stand a chance of getting the AGS nomination. USA needed a
man. So ... the ATO’s joined USA and Barry Mountain be
came student body president. (The whole story, which involves
a secret political society called Theta Nu Epsilon, isn’t quite
that simple, but we’ll let our short explanation suffice.)
Now the ATO’s feel USA has outlived its usefulness to them
so they’re engineering another switch ... back to AGS.
Some of the fellows in the house say they’re just being politi
cally honest: they’re Greeks so they’re going back to the Greek
bide. (USA is a coalition party of Greeks and independents.)
This sort of party jumping is nothing unusual. Happens
every winter or spring term when houses see greener pastures
on the other side of the party boundary.
Remember last spring? Phi Kappa Sigma leapt from USA
to AGS; soon after, Sigma Alpha Mu jumped the other way.
(They had a potential student body president too. He’s Veep
now.)
Of course, maybe the Greeks don't want the A TO’s back. It s
a pretty remote maybe. We’ll wager a gallon of printer’s ink
there’ll be little opposition in today’s AGS meeting.
We wish we could give you another reason for the switch ...
perhaps a dislike for the USA platform for the coming election.
But since the parties have no platforms, it’s impossible. (Yes,
we know, they do have a platform of sorts: (1) Better relations
between Greeks and independents, (2) more school spirit, (3)
more effective student government, and (4) better dance bands.
The above have comprised the platform of both parties for as
long as we can remember.)
Oh, we might give ATO a slap on the wrist for one thing.
They neglected to inform USA they were pulling out. That
party’s acting chairman heard about the petition nearly five
hours after it had been presented at the AGS meeting.
For the benefit of those who are wondering whom ATO
might have this year as a potential candidate, we might explain
that AGS has a policy of not giving any nominations to mem
bers of houses for a year after they rejoin the bloc. Wait and
see who they have in line for ’53.
Hop, skip and a jump ... who’s next? Spring term’s a-coming
fast.
- - Letters to the
Editor
I
More About Asia
Emerald Editor:
In a way, I have been aston
ished by the way the article on
Asia was interpreted by some
people on this campus. This ar
ticle meant to deal only with the
economic situation of Asin, nnd
not the cultural or religious side
as suggested in both letters to
the Editor.
I appreciate (even if I do not
thoroughly understand) the vari
ous cultures nnd religions of
Asia. But, at the same time, I
try to be realistic about the eco
nomic and human situation of the
Far-East From M. Islam's letter,
you could think that Asia was a
paradise before the coming of
the West. It is not what our
teachers have told us about the
Far-East. Sure, we can only
plead guilty when we are accused
of having exploited the people of
Asia; but I do not think however,
this is the reason we should still
like to be in Asia.
Civili/4)tion, as Europeans and
Americans understand it, is a
many-sided question: it is com
posed of technic, of culture, but
also of this rare quality: the abil
ity to administer. We have in no
way the monopoly of culture:
quite u few Asiatics are more
cultured, more refined than we
are. Not even the monopoly of
the technic for our machines can
Im» Irautht or copied anti other*
than us know how to tine them.
But to know how to run a busi
ness or a firm I* something quite
different.
To be nble to administer in this
"manegcrial age" which Burn
ham talks of, you must have the
sense of the end in view and of
tlie means you dispose of, to
achieve this end, e.g., the sense of
pioportions. You must also have
the notion of upkeep, not only
under the accountant form of
amortization, but also the ele
mentary form of keeping the ma
terial in good shape. People who
have been to Asia will tell you
that nothing Is perfectly looked
ufter. What is really missing is
the sense of tile great adminis
tration, with a few exceptions for
Indian groups such as Tala Birla
or Dalmia. You do sometimes
find the technic, the financial
competence, the intelligence or
the ability, but hardly ever do
you find a rational organization,
the notion of value of time, the
capacity to defend your business
against the temptation of bar
gaining.
"Dispatch Is the soul of busi
ness" was what I»rd Chesterfield
used to say. But to come to mi
end is not in the hublt of the
-The Atomic Age
Labor Leader Hits Taft-HartleyAct,
State Politics and Money Troubles
- By Phil Johnson -—
Organized labor's chief bone of
contention with the Taft-Hartley
act was explained Monday by
Secretary George Brown of the
r T O otnto in.
dustrial union
council when
he talked to
students of
Professor P. V
Klein sorge s
Economics -42G
class.
According to
Brown, the
framers of the
act expected it |
to be used to
destroy the ef
fectiveness of
l’hll Johnson
( it uu r ummin wnrn a ur|irrmiuu
arrived. The provision which
would cause this reduction of
union strength is the one allow
ing strikebreakers to vote in shop
elections. Since the strikebreak
ers naturally would vote against
unionism, and the union mem
bers would not be allowed to vote
because they would be striking,
the union would be voted out of
that firm, according to Brown.
He also asserted that the fra
mers of the Taft-Hartley act be
lieved that a depression or re
cession was approaching at that
time and that they realized that
large numbers of potential strike
breakers (also known as "scabs”)
seek employment during periods
of economic decline.
Although the nation does not
appear to be immediately threat
ened by a depression, such a de
cline is possible, and the unions,
Brown maintained, will then face
a great loss of effectiveness.
The C.I.O. Official also provided
some interesting observations on
national and state politics. He
stated that on the 65 major issues
coming to a vote in Congress in
1951, Southern Democrats united
with Republicans to defeat the
administration 33 times, includ
ing a vote w'hich resulted in "the
emasculation of the defense pro
duction act.”
Furthermore, according to
Brown, Oregon’s Representative
Harris Ellsworth voted with the
Republican-Southern "unholy al
lience” on 15 of the 17 most-im
portant issues, was absent on one
vote and, supported the adminis
tration on one.
Referring to Oregon politics,
Brown asserted that Oregon’s
1953 legislature will face a finan
cial crisis because the 1951 legis
lature did not provide for suffi
cient taxation.
Usually the state has enough
reserves to carry the financial
load from one session to the next,
but this time, the speaker re
marked, the normal reserves will
be exhausted by . the time the
legislature meets.
Brown maintains that the pro
ponents of an Oregon sales tax
delayed taxation proposals In the
1951 legislature because they felt
that a 1953 financial crisis will
reduce the difficulty of forcing a
sales tax upon the people.
He hinted that organized labor
will vigorously oppose any sales
tax because the lower and mid
dle-income groups suffer a heav
ier proportional load than others
under such a tux scheme.
He also indicated that the 1953
legislature will discuss the pro
posed national amendment limit
ing income taxes to 25 per cent.
He claimed that if this amend
ment is adopted, “the only alter
native" will be a national sales
tax.
Oriental: he understands, he <11*
CIIMMCN, ho makes conclusions , .,
and then often nothing happen*,
Whut la Innuffiolent and ofteiJ
lucking In the average worker;
not only capahlo to carry nut mi
order, but alno to Interpret It and
If necessary to adapt It to un
foreaeen rlrcumstunce*.
The Weal han passed a loud
time ago from the tool age tni
the machine age, and more re-,
cently to the managerial age In
dia, and we are apealtlng of the'
moat favored country In Asia,
haa arrived to the machine age,
but by the muss of ita workers
ahe la alill prcdominently art I -
aanal and only a few of her lead
era have reached the niveau of
the managerial age, like the Pal
ais for instance.
And let us apeak of the "deveis
opinent of Asia,” AI. Islam ?
Theoritically Asia might be able
to industrialize by herself. But
tell me how she is going to do It,
when Europe, who has already a
greut industrial background, has
to rely on foreign aid. To start
up a big industry in Aslg.^you
need capital and technic
Where are you going to find that,
M. Islam, if not In the U S A or
the- Soviet Union? And by the
way, in what kind of world do
you think we are living just now
if not In a '’sharply divided'1
world ?
And speaking of ''the thou
sands of people in the name of
western civilization,” how many
millions were slaughtered recent*
ly In the name of "religion,” M.
Islam? A higher concept, is tt
not ?
I know the Buddhist has a
symbolic respect for life, lie it tlie
one of a mosquito or a grass
hopper. But tf they do not kill the
cows, who nourishes them? Who
In Aslu seems to worry alioul th<;
poor? Christian charity, this
“milk of human kindness” men
tioned In Shakespeare, seems tu
belong more to the West than to
the Far-East.
Immensely developed, techni*
cal methods have been placed in
the hands of states, a power thaj
governments of earlier days could
never have imngined. Solutions
are no longer individual but coU
lective and they have ceased to
be national, because no state is
large enough any longer to ac*
alone. Under these circumstan
ces, the horizon has widened, hag
become world wide.
It is on a world plan that poli
tics, economies and military
strategy compel us henceforth to
reason and to live. To consid. r
the problems of our time, what*
ever they may be, in another
light is to run the risk of judg
ing everything by false syyrid
ards and form an outdated angleT
Mare I>elemme
Foreign Student
Grades on the Curve
“ It’s nothing, really—I gave them 100 multiple-choice questions—
hut none of the answers are right.”