Christmas Is Not at Its Best
(Continued from page two)
Thought them have died or eloped
' with your fiancee) and have to
r"V)uy new onea
^ And what ha* the Chamber
. of Commerce done with Pre
f Chriatmaa Suspense and Ex
citement, that moat pleaaant *
of nil tensions? It has extend
i\ od It, like taffy, from July to
/ December. How can you be
- suspended for so long? Can
^ you pant with excitement and
■ delicious anticipation through
. the dog days of August,
• through September reglstra
- tion, October Mid-terms, No
vember elections and Decent
ly- l«T finals? Not without be
\ coming a bit breathless, we
- Imagine,
U On the Might Before Christ
mas, you are left with nothing
rto do but sit around admiring
Wyour July wrappings on your
August presents; which might
■<not be so bad except that the
August present also embodied
('August sentiments — old, mold
ed, and half-fogotten.
It is true that the Hebrews an
ticipated the birth of Christ for
a much longer time than that
period represented by the span
from July to December. But they
did not, during that anticipatory
period, deck the Holy Land with
tinsel and paper cut-outs of the
Wise Men. The real excitement
started with the Star, and every
one knows that the Star arrived
at Christmas; it did not hover
ostentatiously around for several
months.
We are not essentially
against the Chamber of Com
merce; let them Indulge In
their luncheons, their plans to
attract new factories and to
keep the cash registers conten
ted and noisily full. But as for
Christmas: let all of us Christ
ians, naughty German pagans,
and members of families band
together for the moment, and
go out to wrest Christmas
from the cold clutch of the
Chamber.
“Hark, the Herald Angels
Sing” — but not, perhaps, in
August.
LIT Gives Quite Adequate
[^cmnnuca jrom page iwoj
». father. All through this there
•I* an air of philosophical mel
ancholy and some good humor.
I. I have two major criticisms of
i the "Irish Drama" and they also
-refer to this play. There is little
i conception of time during the
Transition periods; and they don’t
cjtnow where to stop -tragedy is
heaped upon tragedy, until the
i T>nly purpose is to show how dis
appointing life could be. One has
i to overlook much in order to
•find the wealth of social, relig
fhus and individual thought pre
sented in these plays.
- Last Saturday night "Juno"
.''"as quite adequately performed.
iJO Students Plan
paroling, Projects
Several campus organizations
£»e spreading the holiday spirit
lids season by giving their serv
ices to brighten Christmas on cam
jTus and in the community. They
pave chosen a variety of projects.
(| Members of Alpha Phi Omega,
rational men's service fraternity,
u e planning to decorate the huge
Ir tree in front of Johnson hall
Lt the end of this week. This tree
vas chosen because it can also be
ten by townspeople passing by on
3lh street.
It will be decorated with light
>nlbs solicited from downtown
jtores. Don Thurber, sophomore
^ music, is chairman of the pro
ject. ... ...
The service commission of the
■pVCA, headed by Martha Van
■Camp, senior in sociology, is
Jp reading goodwill by giving par
ses for children at the Skipworth
Home in Springfield and at the
Jafnpus nursery for faculty and
^.ifdents’ children. Parties include
Jistributing gifts to the children,
Ji.ving skits, serving refreshments
jnd singing carols.
^Christmas boxes for needy Eu
Ifene families, prepared by cam
pus living organizations, were col
peted by AWS at the annual tea
|eld last Saturday.
'The boxes contained toys,
mes, books, food, clothing and
er gifts. Sally Ryan, sopho
iKcfie in pre-journalism was gen
ial chairman of the event.
Assisting with the foreign stu
nt hospitality program is a pro
t of the YMCA. This is plan
id to help find accommodations
tji "private homes for foreign stu
dents during the holidays.
>< A caroling party, open to all
1 talents, will be sponsored by the
diversity Religious council. Sat
rday night, students will carol
t -various Eugene institutions in
luding the old people’s home.
Phil Sanders exhibited consider
able feeling and ability in his
portrayal of the father; his per
formance ranks with the best I
have seen on the University
stage. There could be but small
criticism of Miss Maulding's fine
portrayal of the mother. Scott
Lehner gave a generally good
performance as the drunken
“Joxer.”
There was a very pleasant ac
cent used throughout the play.
The amazing thing about it was
that It was understandable (us
ually). Most accents used on the
University stage are unintelligi
ble and-or ridiculous. Miss Von
Groenewald couldn't seem to
make up her mind which country
she was in, but other than this
the use of accents added to the
performance. Mr. Hunter is to be
congratulated in having the col
loquial words pronounced in such
a way as to make them mean
ingful.
The only real complaints I
have with the actors concern
some minor parts, but this con
dition is so normal at the UT
that I probably wouldn’t feel at
?ase without it; besides, its the
Christmas season.
ONI BOOK-$1200
Rare Books in UO Library
by Rodney Morrison
Bim»M Reporter
Hidden in an obscure corner on
the third floor of the University li
brary is a thin, rather worn book
let which has a value approxi
mately equal to the cost of educa
ting one student for one year at
Oregon.
The booklet — prized as a rare
example of early printing in the
state — is worth $1200, according
to Martin Schmitt, curator of
special collections at the library.
Recently rebound in a bright green
cover, it is one of three known
copies of a “Melodrama” by Mar
tin L. Adams, printed in 1850.
Adams' “Melodrama” is only
one of many interesting and un
usual books to be found in library
303, the rare books room. Here,
behind locked doors, is kept a col
lection of several hundred books
whose over-all value has never
even been estimated by library of
ficials.
Value Xot Stressed
The separate value of the col
lection is not stressed, Schmitt
said. The library includes the rare
books collection in its complete
estimate of the library property,
but makes no individual estimate
on any of its special collections.
Most of the volumes in the rare
books room are kept there because
of price or rarity. Special auto
graphed copies and special col
lections which the library wants to
keep together are also kept in
the room.
Although the library has no col
lection as such of so-called "dirty”
books, it does keep a few books
locked up due to content. Stu
dents may access to these books
only upon written permission of a
faculty member.
Withheld from general circula
tion is Karpman’s “Case Studies
in the Psychopathology of Crime."
This ponderous set of volumes is
specifically labeled private on the
inside cover, and only numbered
copies are sold to libraries and
scholars.
Book Withheld
One German book is withheld
because of the obscene illustra
tions it contains. The library also
has a copy of Edmund Wilson’s
"Memoirs of Hecate County,”
which has been declared obscene
by the U. S. Supreme Court. It is
Brownie Hawkeye Kits_
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Rolleiflex _
Brownie Movie Camera_
Brownie Movie Projector_
G.E. Light meter_
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Argus Slide Projector_
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PHONE 4.8241
698 WILLAMETTE
now illegal to buy or sell this book,
but the University’s copy was pur
chased before this decision was
made.
The University library has an
open stack policy which makes
every book in its possession avail
able to students. The reason that
so few books are withheld due to
content stems from the fact that
the problems of a university li
brary are quite different from that
of a public library, Schmitt de
clared.
"The purpose is different; the
support is different,” Schmitt said
in drawing a comparision between
university and public libraries.
Most books in a University library
are for class work, and support of
the library is a statewide, rather
than a direct community affair.”
Small Libraries Discussed
"In its day, Sinclair Lewis’ ‘El
mer Gantry' might even have been
kept off the shelves of a small
public library,” Schmitt pointed
out. Today such books as "The
Kinsey Report” and “From Here
to Eternity” might be withheld
from general circulation in small
libraries.
It is the policy in many of the
small public libraries to keep off
their general shelves any book
which has received the condemna
tion of a minority group Schmitt
continued. Though these books are
made available upon request, a
member of one of these groups
cannot say that the book was in
the library as a personal tempta
tion for him.
"Most students won’t steal t
rare book from the library, main
ly because they don’t know on<
when they see one,” Schmitt said
Members of the library staff ar«
not infallible in detecting rar<
books either.
Three years ago, a copy of i
modest little pamphlet "Idaho
Six Months in the New Gold Dig
gings’’ by J. L. Campbell was
found in the open stacks. It car
ried the date 1864. The library hac
purchased the pamphlet for $1.5<
in 1920, and the book had beer
circulated at frequent intervals foi
30 years.
When it was discovered that
the library copy of the pamphlel
was the only one on the Wesl
coast, the book was removed tc
the rare books room. Schmitt nou
estimates the value of the book at
$400.
TRY US
FOR USED
BOOKS
NEXT
TERM
Cyrus Prouty
Old Bookstore
1219 Alder
Well-Known Reindeer Tells All
NORTH POLE, ARCTIC. Looking very dapper for
an 18-point buck with chalked muzzle and matching
white tail assembly, Dasher, famous front-running
reindeer for the S. Claus Parcel Service, stated today:
1. Conditions on the northern tundra are pretty
much the same as ever. No-o, TV hadn’t affected
the grazing habits of the middle-class herds.
2. That despite reports to the contrary, you
don't ever thoroughly adjust to sub-zero weather,
regardless of the warm esteem people hold you in.
3. Rumors of a reindeer strike for Christmas Eve
are unfounded. Somebody’s got a termite in his
antler.
When asked about the most popular Christmas gift
down through the years he replied without hesitation:
“Menswear by Manhattan. I’ve helped haul Mr.
Claus’s sled, roe and buck, nigh unto forever ... so I
ought to know ... nothing makes a man happier than
shirts, sportshirts, ties, pajamas, beachwear or under
wear labeled Manhattan. Don’t know whether it’s the
live style that makes a man look and feel so good,
whether it’s the traditional tailoring detail, or the
array of fabrics, patterns and colors that are all so
unmistakeably quality. I’ll admit one thing. I’ve kind
of wished sometimes that Manhattan would make
deerwear.”