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'