Orman Daily
ERALD
The Oukgon Daily Emfxald is published Fch 4 thru 8, 11 thru IS. IS thru ... -5 thru
20, March 10. Apr thru 4. 7 thru 11, 14 thru 18, 21 thru 25, 28 thru May May 6 thru 10.
12 thru 16. 10 thru 22. and May 26 by the Associated .students of the 1 nivcrsity of Oregon.
Entered as second class matter at the post ofticc, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates. per
school year, $2 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, nitraled editorials are written by
the associate editors. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor. _
A Split Five' For Spring Vacation
We’re going to use a nasty word in the editorial column
today. ,
Midterms.
To paraphrase Toni Paine, these are the times that try men s
brains. These are the times when there’s only one side to every
thing, and that side bad. These are the times when the sleeping
porch at night fairlv hums with mumbled snatches of Chaucer,
Spanish, mathematical formulae, and the Twenty-One de
mands.
A fragile sunbeam pierced through our aura of blackest
gloom the other day. We just remembered something.
For the first time since 1949, we’re going to have a full week
of spring vacation this year.
At last! A chance to recuperate from finals long enough for
the anti-sleep pills to wear off; to go home and get that ac
cumulated cleaning done at Pop’s expense; to find out what
we got in that course last term before the deadline to drop
classes rolls around.
We’re glad the higher-ups finally decided we wouldn’t be
ruining our academic standards by giving more than two days
of spring vacation. We suspect—privately of course that the
truth is they’re tired of our dull faces too. Three cheers for
the higher-ups!
Now if we can just live throug these midterms .. . and final
week ... —G. G.
Is The P.T. and T. Really Confident?
Three men paid a special visit to a University student 1 ues
day.
They were three Pacific Telephone and Telegraph official—
Fred Scholl, commercial manager; \V. G. Keith, commercial
engineer; and R. B. Bacon, southern Oregon district manager.
The student was Dick Kading, UO phone committee chair
man.
The purpose? We’re not sure.
Their main reason seemed to be to request an acceptance of
the pay phone status quo, giving them more time to investigate.
(Time, incidentally, during which you’re dropping those dimes
into the coin boxes.)
The phone men want to take a survey—to be completed prob
ably by next fall term—of tariff administration throughout
the country. They’ll be ready again to discuss the pay phone
matter after this is completed.
Mr. Scholl doesn’t want to bother with a hearing because
hearings are lengthy and involved.
But, if the students should request one, he s confident 1M & I
would win.
If the phone company is so confident, why doesn’t it want
a hearing right now? Officials could save the time and work
involved in the proposed survey. Why did they bother to send
three top men to talk personally with Kading ?
Let’s ask for a hearing now and find out to what degree
Mr. Scholl’s confidence is justified.
Elementary Logic
1 WILL
NOT fV'tN
C0N$IP£(?
“But Professor Snarf, how can you say whether Or not I should
flunk this course when it just so happens I’ve never been here when
you gave exams?”
- - Letters to the Editor - -
Surnames Preferred
Emerald Editor:
When I entered my first uni
versity the orientation speaker
said, "You will be addressed by
your surnames in this school, fn
grade school and in high school
you were called by your nick
names or first names, but now
you are mature men and women.
A part of higher education is
learning to address other adults
by their surnames and getting
used to being addressed by yours.
Accordingly you will be address
ed here as you will be in the
business and professional world."
I suggest that the I'nlverslty
of Oregon adopt a regulation to
the effeet that professors and
students should address each
other l>y surnames and that at
freshman orientations the stu
dents will be told what to expert.
Violations due to occasional
carelessness need not be punished,
but the use of surnames should
be looked upon as appropriate
form.
Jerome E. Frederick
On Phone Profits
Kmc raid Kill t or:
Your editorial report of the
earnings of American Telephone
and Telegraph Company is, per
s e, wh oily insignificant and
meaningless.
If you must bring the earnings
of this company and all of its
subsidiaries Into a petty contro
versy with the local rompany,
then there are other considera
tions. Let's not distort the pic
ture through omission of other
reievunt and pertinent data
which must be considered if we
are to investigate the earnings
of this or any other company.
The 1950 net income of the
parent company ($286,802,293) is
a return on an investment of $10,
105, 187, 781 in plant and prop
erty, and represents 2.838 per
cent of this investment. These
figures include all controlled sub
sidiaries. The income of Pacific
Telephone and Telegraph Co. (in
cluded above) was $46,079,799, or
a return of 3.44 per cent on an in
vestment of $1,341,438,776. The..
1950 income of the “Bell System"
companies, excluded from the
earnings of American, amounted
to $11,099,510, representing a re
turn of 4.056 per cent on an in
vestment in plant of $273,646,660.
Data for 1951 are not yet avail
able in Moody's reports which
may be found in the library.
Who is to say that the earn
ings of these monopolies are un
reasonable and unjust ? All rates
charged by public utilities are
subject to regulation and review
by the ICC and state regulatory
agencies. Perhaps your objection
to the tremendous earnings of
these “monsters” should be
voiced to proper authority. Or
maybe you should write your
Congressman.
If it is a function of the Em
erald to incite an unfavorable at
titude toward the Pacific Tele
phone and Telegraph co. through
speculation on the earnings of
the telephone companies, it is
also a necessary function to pre
sent all pertinent data concern
ing their profits.
Monroe Blackwell
Great Books Major?
Emerald Editor:
The acceptance by the Univer
sity administration of an honors
program starting at the fresh
man level (and continuing possi
bly through the senior year)
proves the existence on the Ore
gon campus of a healthy and cri
tical attitude toward curriculum
problems. At the expense of the
repetitious Emerald-Law School
editorial feud I would like to in
vite student and faculty com
ment in the letters column to a
small idea which might fit in
with this curricula development.
The idea is essentially this:
why not set up a separate inter
departmental major—open to
qualified and interested students
—based upon the Great Books?
I know that this is certainly
not an original idea; it is being
discussed all over the country,
and has been adopted in several
universities, notably Chicago.
Speaking personally, however, it
seems that the course might
have some merit. It might he
worked like this:
Hlartlng at the freshman year,
students who qualify In the up
per deciles of their entrance ex
ams (or qualify by other criteria)
would be enrolled in the equival
ent of a Great Books major, lead
ing to the Bachelor of Arts de
gree. Students m the major
would be expected to become pro
ficient in two major literary
languages besides their native
tongue. By literary languages I
include English, French, Geiman,
Spanish, Greek, Latin, Italian,
Norwegian, Chinese, and Japan
ese, all of which are currently
being taught at the University.
Every student In this major
would also be required to take
brief faetual eourses In literary
forms, and, possibly, literary
philosophy.
During each of the four under
graduate years, the Great Books
major would study the grammar
and literature of each of his
selected languages.
In addition, he would read,
critically and constructively, the
translated great books of other
languages
For an example, an American
student might select as his two
languages French and German.
For each of his four years he
would read the best from the vast
fields of English, French, and
German classics the King
James edition of the Bible, Para
dise Lost, Chaucer, Sijpker.peare,
the major English poets, Les
Miserables, Voltaire, Mont e s
quieu, Rousseau, Zola, Faust.
Lessing, Schiller, Mann, and so
on each in its native tongue.
From the great IhmiU* of the
languages he would also select
the best, ill the best translation
a v u il a b I e, whether English,
French, or German. From the
galaxy of significant literature
he would muster Pluto, Sophoc
les, Homer, Thucydides, Aris
totle, Demosthenes, Caesar, Plu
tarch, Cervantes, Tolstoy, Don
toesvsky, and on to the limits of
the student's capabilities.
It seems to me that a major
study developed along thes>- lines
has several advantages:
(1) It would give the student
a broad and varyingly compre
hensive grasp of the great
lining ms, me great situation!
and people of the world's'cui
tural history. Unless we r,!J
awaken appreciation ami undc.J
standing of these Ideas, our uf>l'
Is apt to leave only Mickey Spif
lane's pornography as our merf
tal heritage.
(2) While milch small <|ct
of polltli .il science, history, ||
erst ore, anil other traditional d
purtments of Instriictlon ul|| ),
missed in sueli a course, I kirn
from my own experience
many ‘'facts” from ni> own in
dergntiluate major, not to )MP
lion other courses I lime tag,,
have si nee departed m> inemon
The fault of much of this, I |»
Hove, lies with our reliance on tii
survey textbook. I'ut great elm
actors, excellent speech, ilrnniat
historical development, ami
1 nil y -Im port an t philosophy
gether In ore work such as \\i
and I'enee, and there you hair
tar iM-tter picture of the ICtissij
pi-ople, history, and traditions
government, to be remember*
tar longer, than any text on Ihi
sian history and eulture coui
offer.
(3) Finally, a cultured nTtivtS
sity graduate, fluent in thr<*
languages. Intensely aware A
what t.S and what i IMl'Otff
ANT In the world, i
knowing the cult.ir
i: tnea'.e*
of IhlH
peopli s, and having
r 4
h M
grasp of the cultural hei.
much of the rest of tie
would aland at least < ■
terms with any "tradltlm
graduate In compi tltion
better Jobs.
My own limited (too n
unfortunately) acquaintam ■ wM
the world's Great Hook h»
shown me that much real a.to.i
mation. that most of the u»|I
ant Ideas that are valued Una ,
art* to be found therein Tbcrl
fore I propose that we maln'M
the traditional departin' i.ial 6m
vision of the liberal ail- l.tH
for the specialized scholar, b.*s
thaj we also create a separatf
inter-departmental progiam
this nature. We already ha’,
tendency to "area" study
for example in the Far Ka:
and I propose that
this even further to
man” study through the GreJ
Books. |
4
3
we t i < a'lej
o a "worl®
Michael Callahan
A Dun nt //«#* Zoo
Helpful Hints For Politicos Dept.: j
Fence-jumping Form Letters
- By Bob Funk
~T—
We have ceased long since to
be amazed at the interesting
back-flips which are periodically
executed by those involved in tne
IJCIU UI L'HIIl
pus politics.
Charges
have made
that the per
sons most ac
tive in campus
politics are
those interest
ed in promot
i n g their
house; those
interested i n
having verbal
a rguments
with members
nOB FUNK
Lne ufjpusiwun, film mose wnu
just generally like to mess things
up. When we were younger, we
occasionally involved ourselves
in the political maelstrom. It had
something to do with Juvenile
emotional outcroppings which we
have at least partially overcome.
However, this rather dim view
of campus politicians Is probably
extremely unjust. There are un
doubtedly just lots of people
around who are sincere In their
political views We can even
name one—Virginia Wright.
There must be others—maybe on
some other campus.
Whether this or that house is
making hay in one or the other
or both of the political camps is
immaterial. It is how they write
the idealistic letter glossing over
the whole stinking mess that
counts. For convenience of fenel
Jumpers (and all of us ha^l
jumped fences so many tiro!
thut the grass in both pastures!
getting considerably trample
we present the following forf
letters:
“We, the members of (rmnn'.*f
some lily-white club for II"' l**^
petuatlon of obscure rituah
hereby notify the t'nlted SIM
dents Association that we i*
longer consider It to be the ideas
Istlc Instrument of democrats
government that It once wii
Therefore, we can no longer bd
tray our principles and our brctpj
ren on the other side by lingeriif
under your soiled banner.”
For alternate use:
“We, the members of (sani
name), having examined our coj
sciences, find that we can J
longer reconcile ourselves wil
the principles of the Associate
Greek Students. Therefore, M
intend to break our affiliate
with that organization (arid m
cidentally get a few people A
the USA ticket).”
An additional comment whirl
is necessary is the following:
“When asked for comment *
his house’s action, X. Mug" ubf
stated that ‘we think we're did*
the best thing for the house a«
for the campus.’ Mugwump dp
dined further comment.”
Some people's political breas) 1
buttered on both sides, whi«
probably tastes excellent* bi
makes handling rather messy.* |