Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1952)
HERALD The Okkcon Daily Emhald is published Feb 4 ihru 8, 11 thru IS. 18 thru 22, 25 thru 29, March 10, Apr 2 thru 4. 7 thru 11, 14 thru 18. 21 thru 25, 28 thru Hu 2, May 6 thru 10, 12 thru 16, 19 thru 22, and May 26 by the Associated Students of the l niversity of Oreitou. Entered as second class matter at the post office, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: J5 per school year, $2 per term. Opinions expressed on the editorial page ate those of thewriter and do not pretend to represent the opinions of the ASUO or oi tne University. Initiiled editorials are written by the associate editors. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor._ Help for Negro Settlement There’s been a lot of furor created lately about the conditions in the Negro settlement out on West 11th. In the midst of much talk, at least two groups on the Uni versity campus are trying to translate words into some positive action. They’re the first to admit it's only a drop in the bucket, but at least it’s a step. A group of members ofthe University's YW and YMCA are making weekly trips out to West 11th—to work with the high school students there on a project of fixing up an old parish house to serve as a community recreation center, or “friendly house.” Last week they spent Saturday afternoon cleaning the place up; this Saturday they plan to lay some linoleum and start re-springing and re-upholstering some furniture. The “friendly house” can be used as a meeting place for high school students and community potltick dinners, and as a room for the primary Sunday school classes, now held liter ally in the middle of church services. What we like about this project is the spirit in which it is being undertaken. The University students aren’t going out to West 11th with the idea that they are doing something for the people out there; they are trying to work with them to achieve a common goal, getting better acquainted in the pro cess. Along the latter line, the Y also gave a square-dance party Wednesday night, to which high school students from West 11th, Eugene girl scouts, and University students were invited. This sort of action isn't going to solve the problems of segre gation and substandard living conditions for the people on West 11th, any way you look at it. But at least some students have taken it upon themselves to take the first step in getting acquainted and in helping to relieve the immediate situation. —G. G. Master of Arts This year, 1952, is the 500th anniversary of the birth of a genius, Leonardo da Vinci, who was possibly the best example of a master of all the arts and jack of none. Leonardo is famous for his Mona Lisa and the Last Supper paintings, but his extraordinary abilities went far beyond the painting field. The Florentine was an outstanding sculptor, mathematician, musician, anatomist, engineer, inventor and an amazing athlete. The diary of Giovanni Beltraffio in Merej kowski's novel, The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci, relates how Leonardo stopped his painting to straighten out an iron horseshoe and twist the tongue out of a brass bell with his bare hands. Then, with never a pause, he resumed the deft, sure painting that made him renowned. Grumman aircraft has just released an advertisment which pictures Leonardo as a consultant engineer to a contemporary aviation scientist. The caption says Leonardo would understand even though he lived four and a half centuries ago. And he probably would. He designed an airplane before Columbus discovered Ameri ca. If petrol or some comparable fuel had then been available, many think Leonardo would have beaten the Wright brothers by some four centuries in their successful flight at Kitty Hawk. Anything he did, he did superbly. About the only fields, in which he showed little interest were love and politics. There might be a moral for a would-be success in that last sentence. Anyway, we’d like to nominate Leonardo for top honors as the best all-around man of the Renaissance period, on this, the 500th anniversary of his birth.—B. C. The Atomic Age The United States Might Learn From Puerto Rico's Constitution — -By Phil Johnson - The proposed constitution of Puerto Rico is an extremely lib eral document. The bill of rights guarantees Fhll Johnson "lne rigni. oi every person to social pro tection in the event of un e m p 1 oyment, sickness, old age, or dis ability." It also pro vides for the "right of every pet son to a standard o f living ade quate for the licaii11 auu n vii'iA.wif, wi and of his family, and especially to food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services." The bill of rights also Includes a reasonable minimum salary for every employee, the right to ob tain work, the right to receive free elementary and secondary education and privileges of col lective bargaining and striking in all work except non-commercial government activities. In addition to a limit of six months upon incarceration before trial and a ban upon the death penalty, the document includes numerous guarantees concerning freedom of the press, freedom of religion, right of due process, writs of habeas corpus, equality before the law, etc. Some of the provisions might well be applied to the United States constitution. The gover nor, elected by a popular vote, has an Item veto upon appropri ation bills. Gerrymandering la rendered less likely by a provision that election districts "shall be com posed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be organized, insofar as practicable, upon the basis of population and means of communication." Reapportionment, a problem which has concerned both Oregon and the United States because legislative bodies rarely vote for fair representation, also is pro vided for In the proposed Puerto Rican constitution. The document states thnt after each decennial census, senatorial and representative districts will be revised by a board composed of the chief justice of the su preme court and two other mem bers appointed by the governor with the advice und consent of the senate. Another provision protects newspapers und publishing firms against one method of govern mental suppression. It states printing presses may not bo con demned und that no building con taining publication offices may be condemned unless another "adequate" site is available for operation. The document, which was pass ed by a Puerto Rican constitu tional convention by a vote of 88 to 3, will be submitted to a popular vote March 3. If passed, it will be sent to the President of the United States. If he approves it. it will be sent to Congress, which will deter mine its acceptance or reject ance. At that point, anything can happen. Gampui. <Mea<&Ln&i--£Uet*liesie. Literqry Magazine Is Too Highbrow By Rae Thomas Students at Montana State university are unhappy with their literary magazine "The Mount aineer." The magazine has "been somewhere apart from, perhaps above, the student level. It is a mouth-piece of a self-assumed class of intellectuals.” * * * Also at Montana the other morning, when one of the girls went down to the dining room for breakfast, she found a gray horse standing there—a live one, whose presence has not yet been ex plained. The damage resulted to several hundred dollars. *• * * Headlines In “The Daily Tex an’’ announced, along with the beginning of Religious Emphasis Week that a professor’s wife had committed suicide by stepping in front of a train, and that a for mer student body president was to go on trial for murder. * * * Seattle City Light Company is raising the cost of electricity al most 100 per cent for sorority and fraternity houses. The stu dents intend to fight the Com pany because the Houses are not Labor News Straight from the Horse's Mouth One of the United State’s strongest, most vocifer ous advocates of labor will be on campus today. And that statement is more significant than it sounds.' Sure, Walter Reuther is just another speaker on the University assembly program. But he’s a speak er presenting one side of an extremely controversial issue on the American scene today—labor vs. management. We can be sure that Reuther being the president of the United Auto Workers and veep of the CIO, will take labor’s side in presenting "The Common Denominators of Democratic Survival” at 1 this afternoon in the SU. There are some who want to “know what the University’s trying to puli” in bringing this strong union supporter here. (The University has re ceived a few letters on the subject). The University- is just showing what kind of a school it is. * - * It’s not pro-labor. Look at the speaker coming in March—Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Picture association of America. It's not pro management... or Reuther wouldn’t be here today. You’ll hear about labor today. You may hear comments on wage controls. (Reuther made a strong stand in favor of his “escalator clauses” and "productivity increases” before the Wage Stabiliza tion Board on May 24, 1951. He gave the Auto Workers a cent-an-hour raise for every jump of 1.14 in the Consumers Price Index. From June 1950 to June 1951 he added 24 cents to the basic hourly rates of his workers.) You’ll be hearing one side of an issue. And you’ll know it. The other side will come in March. And you should be mighty glad that the Univer sity assembly committee and the school itself is broadminded and “free”enough to g;ve you today’s opportunity. public but private homes. (Sounds familiar. 1 The University of British Co lumbia spurs its students on in the current blood drive by re minding them that they must have 600 pints of blood a day to top University of Texas’ 2,810 pints. Asks the paper, "Are we going to let a little, sun-bleached, dried up state like Texas beat us?" So far 1,377 pints have been given with more coming in all the time. Letters to the Editor (fitter* for thin column must 1»«* 400 word* or lm» in length and ftignrd by the author or author*. Request* that name* he withheld will lx* given rureful rotiaidrra tion. l etter* may be mailed to the Emer ald editor or left in the Emerald quoiihct adjacent to the Journalism building.) Clarification Emerald Editor: I was quite disturbed to read in the February 22 Emerald "About one-third of the Japaneso people are Communists," ax xtated by one of the Japanese xtudentx Interviewed by the Em erald. 1 am xure thlx muxt be a mistake. Although the Communist party claims to la* the party of the masses It won the support of less than 2 per cent of the voters aeeordlng to the “Contemporary Foreign Government 1949.” Ac cording to the “World Affairs Interpreter, 1950-51,” the full fledged communist party mem hers are listed less than 200,000. However, I would say they in- ■ eluded intellectual and popular leaders who wield an influence all out of proportion to their num bers. In the general election of Jan. 23, 1949. the communists captured public fancy sufficient ly to increase their representa tion in the House of Representa tives from 4 to 35. And last of all for your information the Japanese population is 82,630,000 (U.N. estimate 1949). Yoshlko Hekl Foreign Student from Japan (Ed. Note: A statement by a Japanese student in Friday’s Em erald was corrected Sunday by the student, lltako Nad a. psy chology major from Saitamu, Japan. Mins Nadu said she failed to adequately qualify her statement that “About one-third of the Jap anese people are Communists.” What she really meant, Mins Nadu explained, was; “About one-third of the Japanese In telligentsia are Communists nr Communist sympathizers.” Cheers for Clothier Emerald F.dltor: Bill Clothier’s comments on Bandleader Dick Jurgens' war time activities best yet! Would Ex-Marine Clothier ac cept the beer ration of an ex Army infantryman? Tom Barry (Ed. Note: Ex-Marine Clothier pokes his head out of the nearest foxhole to accept gratefully. Cheers and beers have been few and far between of late.) Professorial Rights “College HoOkstore ? You say you have enough second hard texts of my 1945 edition to meet student demands? Well, send a truck over —My REQUIRED text next semester is my 1914 edition.” t'