Educational Channel
L-JIKl
“Dear Friends: Congratulations to your fraternity for taking top
scholastic honors this year; heard you didn’t have a ‘TV’ set—please
accept this slightly used one as a reward for such outstanding—”
Notes to the Editor
Dear Eugene Friends:
Christmas has passed and has
brought to me as a most precious
present (there were not too many
others anyway) more than a doz
en letters from friends all over
the USA. mostly from Oregon
and particularly the Eugene cam
pus.
Therefore, again my thoughts
went back to the happy and in
teresting time I spent there last
year.
Now I have been back in
Germany three months. At first
glance things seem to have im
proved here the year I was
away. There are quite a few
new" buildings, many people
look better dressed and fed,
there are now developments in
industry and various other
fields.
Still Difficult
But if you take a closer look
and if ^ou live here for some
time you will recognize that the
situation is still pretty difficult
and may be even more so than
the year before.
In the political field the
treaties of the Western Ger
man Federal Republic with the
Allies (which are generally ex
pected to be ratified soon) have
been the topic of discussion
during the last few months.
Some Questioning
There has been some question
ing and doubting, especially
abroad, as to the stand Western
Germany takes in this question.
I think that is no question what
soever. Knowing what it means
to live under the occupation of
the Eastern power it is not hard
to decide with whom we shall go.
If there has been and still is
opposition to those treaties in
Western Germany so for the
fundamental question: What
will happen to our brothers In
Eastern Germany who have to
live under even this occupa
tion?
An East-West Shift
Because the terror and the
pressure there has been getting
worse since the Western German
Allied negotiations, a constantly
increasing number of refugees
have shifted from Eastern into
Western Germany.
There are hundreds of people
pouring in every day. About
2000 crossed the border in one
day. This creates a situation
almost unbearable in a country
which has already the still un
solved problem of 10 million
refugees from the Eastern Eu
ropean countries, which has
more than 2 million unemploy
ed and which under normal
conditions would need at least
15 more years to establish
enough housing facilities to
place everybody now living
there.
Ike Satisfactory
As a comparison I would like
you to consider that Western
Germany has almost exactly the
size of the State of Oregon but
that in this area 49 million peo
ple are now living.
The election of Dwight D. Eis
enhower as president has gen
erally been received with satis
faction over here as he is sup
posed to know best about Euro
pean problems.
This letter is getting long as I
am going to say “Hi” to all my
friends on the Eugene campus
(it’s a good way to save some
postage which is as high as all
the other prices over here). Wish
ing you all a successful, happy
and peaceful year.
Eva-Marie Vogler
Germany
Orman Daily
EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald published Monday through Friday during the college year
except Jan. 5; Mar. 9, 10 and 11; Mar. 13 through 30; June 1, 2 and 3 by the Student Publi
cations Board of the University of Oregon. Entered as second class matter at the post office,
Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 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. Initialed editorials are written by
editorial staff members. Unsigned editorials are written by the editor.
Larry Hobart, Editor Sally Thurston, Business Manager
Helen Jones, Bill Gurney, Associate Editors
Jim Haycox, Editorial Assistant
Al Karr, Managing Editor
EVEN OLD POGO
Investigation Pattern Questioned
By E. A. Van Natta
According to Republican Sen
ator Homer Ferguson of Michi
gan, in an interview appearing in
last week's Newsweek magazine,
the new 83rd Congress will have
to be the “investigatingest” Con
gress ever if it is to be a “good”
Congress.
In the words of the Senator,
“the Congress must investi
gate, 1) to get the facts and to
determine what evils must be
eradicated, and, 2), to create
an informed public opinion
which will back the laws that
are passed.”
Investigation Necessary
Taken at its face value the
Senator's statement shouldn't
cause anyone any great alarm.
The 83rd Congress as the “inves
tigatingest" Congress ever could
spell out nothing but good for the
general welfare of this nation if
this inquisitive energy were to be
expended toward worthwhile leg
islative goals. Any legislative
body which hopes to formulate
and pass intelligent and fair laws
must use its investigatory powers
in order to familiarize itself with
all the pertinent facts and impli
cations involved in a situation
calling for legislative action,
Even during the past four or
five years of investigatory hys
teria in Congress many pieces
of good legislation resulted
from a reasoned consideration
of data compiled by various
standing and select committees
in the course of their investi
gations. If Mr. Ferguson is
speaking of an Increase in con
gressional investigations in the
new Congress which will be
oriented toward helping our
legislators give us better legis
lation then he is to be admired
for having such a worthy proj
ect in mtad.
No Change of Heart
However one would be rather
naive to think that the majority
of men who will compose the 83rd
Congress, including Mr. Fergu
son, will suddenly have a change
of heart and will wield their
power of invectigation with dis
pasisonate objectivity while
working for the general welfare.
In fact we can probably expect,
not a diminishing in the indis
criminate use of the investigation
but sooner an increase in such
uses and for two very good reas
ons.
First of all the Republicans
are now in power and since
they are human beings and
politicians they can be expected
to do everything this side of
Moscow to maintain their posi
tion. One of the best ways to
accomplish this is to resort to
the old political tactic of fer
reting out the sins of the past
administration and publicizing
them to the four corners of the
country.
What Better Way?
What better way to pry into
official past of your political op
ponent than by the use of the
congressional investigation, espe
cially if you are in the majority
as the Republicans and their
Southern Friends are at the pres
ent time?
Senator Ferguson announces
that he plans to call for a re
examination of the Pear] Har
bor disaster, apparently feel
ing that the Roosevelt Admin
istration got off too handily
once they sacked Kimmel and
Short.
GOP Not Alone
One shouldn’t get the idea that
the Republicans alone are guilty
of this “retrospection” into the
preceeding administration. The
Democrats have used the same
tactics many times themselves
and they would have had a glori
ous time of it in 1933-34 if they
had not been so hard pressed to
straighten things out after the
preceding administration. <
Tlu> second biff reason why
one can look for an Increase In
the abuse of the congressional
investigation is of course the
Communist question. During
the past few years the methods
employed by Congress In Inves
tigating Communism In the
United States have caused a
great deal of harm and concern
to many people.
Strayed from Goal
The original purpose of such
investigations of Communism by
the House Un-American Activi
ties Committee and the Senate
Judiciary Committee was to de
termine to what extent the re
armament effort and the internal
security of (.he United States was
endangered by foreign spies and
saboteurs. However, such investi
gations, when conducted by men
like Mundt, Nixon, McCarthy,
and McCarran, to name only a
few, have strayed far from their
original goal and have instead be
come the tools by which such
men discredit their political foes
and further their own political
fortunes.
McCarthy promises to use
the congressional Investigation
during the 83rd Congress to
hunt out “Communist think
ers” while Senator McCarran
in all likelihood will continue
his one-man war against the
United Nations and “interna
tionalism” under the pretense
of looking for subversives.
“Political” Investigating
These men are not half so in
terested in the facts concerning
Communist infiltration as they
are in keeping their names before
the public and they realize, as do
many of their congressional col
leagues, that the best way to get
ahead politically in these times is
to become the champion of a hys
terical movement such as the
''Inquisition'' in which many so
called patriotic groups and indi
viduals are presently engaged,
while believing that they are
fighting Communism.
In short, the 83rd Congress
will more than likely be the
“Investlgatlngest” Congress
ever hut If these investigations
follow their present pattern it
will certainly In* debatable
whether it will Ini a “good”
Congress from the viewpoint
of the welfare and liberty of
the nation. Even poor old Pogo
and Albert are probably not
above congressional suspicion
today.
Dishes Start Chain
At Texas Christian university
a student tripped in the cafe
teria, broke all the dishes on his
tray and started an incident
which ended in enough dishes to
fill a 50-gallon can.
It happened on a Sunday aft
ernoon. After the student
stumbled and broke the dishes,
several more students dropped
their trays# and ran from the
room, apparently in protest over
the meal.
Then came a volley of soft
drink bottles from the lounge.
The cashier stopped serving the
lines and pleaded for order. The
cafeteria manager asked that a
committee meet with her and
discuss the grievances.
But no one is really sure that
grievances were at the bottom of
this. The Skiff, student news
paper there, claims that some
students are loud in their com
plaints about cafeteria food,
while others praise it highly The
entire incident might just have
been a psychological chain reac
tion.
VW^faftanMout
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