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EMERALD
The Ougon Daily Emerald is published Feh. 4 thru 8, 11 thru 15, 18 thru 22, 25 thru
29, March 10, Apr. 2 thru 4, 7 thru U, 14 thru 18, 21 thru 25, 28 thru May 2, May 6 thru 10,
12 thru 16, 19thru22, and May 26 by the Associated Students of the University of Oregon.
Entered as second class matter at the post ofhcc, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 per
school year, $2 per term. . , , . . . . . .
Opinions expressed page on the editorial are those of the writer and do not pretend to
represent the opinions of the ASUO or of the University. Initialed editorials arc written by
the associate editors. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor. __
Wanted-Campus Polling Places
It seems to us that one of the chief attributes of \ irginia
Wright’s proposed ASUO-sponsored primary for both campus
political parties—the Associated Greek Students and the United
Students association—is its provision for campus polling places
In past years USA has held its primary election at an after
noon nominating assembly on campus. Many party members,
due to jobs or afternoon classes, or just to general lethargy,
failed to attend the assembly. AGS members, including ASL O
President Bill Carey have pointed this out (and rightly so) as
a failing in the USA system.
But although the AGS-dominated ASUO senate stalled ac
tion this year on Miss Wright’s proposal by sending the matter
into committee, USA is proceeding to correct it’s former fail
ing. That party will utilize voting booths located throughout
the campus on April 16, so now a member can drop his vote
in the box while hurrying to class.
Now AGS argues that it's new system, of going around to
each of its 33 member houses with the ballots and box during
meal time is really much more democratic because ALL party
members will be polled. All who eat at the houses, that is. And
all members living off campus—married or single—may come
over to their respective houses at the specified time and vote
too.
So is it a fairer system than a polling booth method? It
would seem that social pressure would just about force a
student to vote, under the AGS plan. And although we think
everyone should want to vote in an election, national and state
as well as campus, not everyone does. I hat is our privilege in
a democracy.
The practice of one house calling another and saying “we'll
vote for your candidate if you’ll vote for ours ’ has been com
mon in the past. This new system, where all the members are
voting together—though on separate individual ballots—would
seem to intensify the power of vote trading. The woman who
didn’t really know anything about the candidates would have
only to lean over to her sorority sister and find out for whom
she was supposed to vote.
The factor that makes it so difficult to say a certain some
thing is good for BOTH parties is their incompatability. How
could USA, with its individual membership basis, at least
theoretically, use the AGS system. \ et AGS could easily follow
the ASUO-sponsored proposal.
- - Letters to the Editor - -
The Opening Blast
Emerald Editor:
I have petitioned and desire to
'be nominated and elected to the
ASUO Senate from the next jun
ior class as a candidate of the
Associated Greek Student party.
If elected, I will support the fol
lowing policies which are needed
for the betterment of the Uni
versity of Oregon.
1. “Hell week” vs. “help week”
—the doctrine of popular sov
ereignty should be applied with
in each Greek living organiza
tion, since it is a matter for each
fraternity to decide for itself.
Each house should decide for it
self whether it wants A "hell
week” or a “help week.”
2. Grant the Emerald more
freedom In printing news. A free
press ceases to operate when the
school administration takes steps
to censure some news so it is
never printed. If one boy or
group of boys do wrong, their
wrong should be known to all
so that their actions reflect on
their living organization. In turn,
the living organization will prob
ably take steps to prevent fur
ther misfortunes.
3. Inaugurate a speakers’ for
um. Have interesting speakers
such as the governor of Oregon,
the mayor of Eugene, etc., ad
dress the student body at noon
once every two weeks. Following
these talks students would be
allowed a period to ask the
speakers questions.
4. Less restriction of fraterni
ties by the administration. By
extensive Restrictions the admini
stration’ has hindered school
spirit until it has been reduced
to a whisper of what it was three
years ago. And what school
spirit does exist now is mainly
due to the efforts of the frater
nities. How many dorms had
signs up for Dad’s Day?
The administration has or
ganized the so-called “indepen
dents” until they are no longer
independent living groups. If a
student wants independent life,
he should not be organized into a
semi-fraternal organization by
the administration.
The administration upholds de
ferred rushing and living for
freshmen. What happened last
fall term ? The two lowest grade
point averages for living groups
were those of Chere.ey and
French halls, both composed of
freshman boys.
I challenge the administration
to apply the doctrine of popular
sovereignty in the forthcoming
spring elections among the fresh
men to determine whether those
freshmen prefer the present
system or whether they would
like to return to the old plan of
getting it done in September be
fore school starts.
In conclusion; I will support
these proposals along with the
constructive planks of the AGS
platform, but if I am not nomi
nated by the AGS, under no cir
cumstances will I consent to run
on the USA ticket or as an inde
pendent candidate. If a man can
not abide by the decision of his
party, of what use is he to that
party ancl that party to him ?
What is most needed in politics
is party responsibility.
Robert E. Hooker
Communism in Japan
Leaders of Japanese Reds Going Underground
(Ed. Note: Outbreak* of Com
uiunlst activity have occurred In
termittently In Japan since the
end of the war. For Instance,
Thursday's Oregonian contained
a photo of a recent raid on a
Communist hideout. Naturally we
are interested in the Intensity of
the Communist program In Jap
an, and Its present degree ttf
success. So some time ago we
asked a Japanese student, Mrs.
Kuinlko Kurata, for Information,
and she mentioned this Interest
of ours to her hushund, a Tokyo
journullst. A short time ago the
mailman brought u letter from
Tokyo containing the article be
low written especially for the
Emerald.)
By Yasuo Kurata
TOKYO The present plight of
Communists in Japan is one of a
cat belled around but not caged
yet with eight Communist party
leaders having gone underground
since early June, 1950, and hav
ing remained ''incommunicado''
to date, in spite of all-out, nation
wide “sherlock-holmesing" by
police authorities.
These Ked leaders went under
ground immediately after they
had been purged and banned
from political activities under the
directive of General MacArthur’s
headquarters, which was issued
shortly before the outbreak of
the Korean war.
A total of nine leaders had
originally vanished, but one of
them was fished up by police a
few months later, while the re
mainder are still at large. Most
of them arc believed still hiding
within the country and pulling
the wires of the party machinery
60,000 Registered
According to a recent govern
ment estimate, the present Com
munist strength in Japan is
broken down into 60,000 regis
tered party members, 20,000
secret members and about 250,
000 sympathizers.
The Japan Communist party,
while it is yet to lx- outlawed,
has been almost completely de
vitalized as a political organiza
tion, and it now retains but a
modicum of seats in the National
Diet—23 In the 462-seat Lower
House and only 3 In the 250-seat
Cpper House.
It seems almost certain that
the Japanese Communist party
then and now has been under the
direct control of the Russian
engineered Cominform and thus
groomed to act in accordance
with specific decrees issued by
the Kremlin.
Before its 24 Politburo mem
bers, including the above eight
"AWOL’s", were purged in 1950,
the Communist party had been
outspokenly advocating the over
throw "by force” of the Govern
ment and the establishing of a
“peoples government" through
its available organs and stump
ing tours by party members
throughout the country.
After the purge and the sub
sequent tightened control by the.
government Over their subversive
activities as such, the Reds
switched their tactics to under
ground propaganda activities
based on clandestine publication
of anti-government and anti-oc
cupation pamphlets put into
"hush-hush circulation” with in
nocent-looking trick covers de
signed to fool the eyes of govern
ment agents.
At the same time, they ap
parently moved the center of
activities to Hokkaido, a north
ern island of Japan, which is
bordering perilously close to
USSR-occupied Sakhalin. (Hok
kaido Island was severely rocked
by a series of earthquakes Mar.
4. The tremors left in its wake
20 persons killed, four missing,
235 injured and nearly 3,000
houses and buildings either des
troyed or washed away by sub
sequent tidal wave.) The island's
northernmost tip has already
been known as a rendezvous be
tween Soviet and Japanese Com
munist couriers.
The government has already
sent a sizeable force of police
reserves to Hokkaido Island
where the Reds havo been al
legedly mustering their strength.
Patrolman Murdered
Indicative of such Communist
build-up, is the recent frequent
occurence of Communist-geared
organized attacks against police
on the island, culminating in the
latest cold-blooded murder of a
local patrolman.
Another Communist - inspired
plot is held responsible for the
murder of a patrolman in a su
burban district of Tokyo late in
February, which occurred amidst
reports of a catalogue of riotous
incidents Involving mostly young
factory workers in the nation's
major cities since the beginning
of this year.
As Hiich, there is no denying
that the ComniimlNtH are nmt set
to spread organized terrorism by
staging hit und run guerrilla ut
tueks mainly against policemen
and law-enforcement Offices on
u regional Imsls.
Their propaganda campaigns,
in the meantime, are being under
taken In the direction of stirring
up the public opinion against the
garrisoning of American forces
in post-war Japan “for the sake
of liberating our fatherland from
foreign colonialism."
As a matter of fact, however,
the Japanese people are now gen
erally developing a sound think
ing about their security positioh
after the coming into effect of
the peace treaty and therefore
supporting in principle the gov
ernment's bid for American mili
tary assistance in tooling up
Japanese prepardness to meet
the present threat of aggression.
in this Hense, the current Com
munist activities in Japan should
amount to hut a helled cat, and
the government, having under
its control a 150,000-man police
force, ineluding 75,000 nest-egg
poliee reserves, Is now in con
stant readiness to squelch any
vest-pocket Communist upris
ings.
It is a fact that Japan, follow
ing the end of the occupation, is
bound to give birth to a vacuum
of power which is quite allergic
to Communist aggression as in
the case of Korea, but this dan
ger can be largely met by the
presence of TJ. S. garrison forces
under the U. S.-Japan Security
Pact.
It is a foregone conclusion that
an independent Japan must have
her own defense to cope with
the danger of foreign aggression,
but the present situation par
ticularly from an economic
standpoint does not allow her
to carry out any full-dress re
armament plan.
Police Reinforcements
Under the circumstancea, the
government lma already decided
to reinforce the present 75,000
police reserves up to 110,000 by
this autumn and eatabliah a 20,
000-man marine security force.
These forces ure to be inte
grated into a single defense
corps equipped with modern arms
to la- mrpplied by the United
States.
Meanwhile, the government
proposed a defense budget of 180
billion yen ($50 billion) or about
20 per cent of the total budget
ary outlay of 850 billion yen
($23.1 billion) for the fiscal year
of 1952, which is now under Diet
consideration.
It is to lie noted In this con
nection that a recent public opin
ion survey conducted by Japan's
most widely - read newspaper
Asahl Hhimbun (circulation <i
million) revealed that a total of
56 per cent of the Japanese
people believed that Japan needs
un army to build up her security
strength against the danger of
agression.
It is to be recalled, incidental!}!,
that Japan, under the existing
constitution, is not entitled to
maintain "land, sea and air
forces, as well as other war po
tentials” In accordance with her
avowed principle of renouncing
war forever.
Peace Offensive
Turning to external aspects,
while party wheel-horses are
savagely prancing around at
home to the tunc of Communist
underground big shots, the Krem
lin authorities have been making
eyes at this country in what is
believed to be a new Russian
peace offensive in the Far East
since the beginning of this year.
The curtain-raiser of tins of
fensive was Stalin's New Year
message to the Japanese people,
expressing the hope of establish
ing "friendly and peaceful rela
tions" between the peoples of
Russia and Japan.
Close on the heel of this move
came various seemingly juicy
trade offers, including Japan's
badly needed coal, followed by
an official invitation of leading
Japanese businessmen to the In
ternational Economic Conference
to be held in Moscow in April.
In conclusion, Japanese’ Com
munists, though presently strait
jacketed in their internal ac
tivities, are still “a formidable f!y
in the ointment” for the nation's
post-war security position, par
ticularly when considered against
their alleged link-up with the5
Soviet Union.
... And Speaking of Politics ...
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