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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1956)
+ EMERALD EDITORIALS + Moving Closer It's moving1 closer. A fraternity at Oregon State college was put on social probation this week for its pre-initiation ceremony. The fraternity in question was denied social privileges be cause a student was hurt when struck by a paddle. The hazing aggravated the student’s existing medical condition, and he was treated for one day in the campus infirmary. Last week, an MIT initiate died during his fraternity’s pre-initiation procedures. How long will it be before it happens here?—(S.R.) Downright Dangerous With three deaths from the old killer diphtheria within the state in the last week, a mild panic has been generated among cer tain students on campus. Others have ig nored it completely. Modern medicine discoveries have pretty much curbed diphtheria’s epidemic tenden cies, but the disease still crops up occasion ally and, according to bacteriology books, runs in five and ten-year cycles in this country. The student health service has brought large supplies of the material used for Schick tests, to determine whether a person has immunity to the disease. Manv students have been to the infirmary to have these tests, but there are still a lot who haven't bothered. Dr. Fred Miller, head of the health serv ice. has asked all students who have not re ceived a toxoid injection for diphtheria to have a Schick test. The fact that three persons, two children and one an older woman, have died from the disease soon after its onset* bears witness to the fact that, once contracted, a person is in real danger from the disease. It seems a small thing merely to go and receive one painless treatment to determine susceptibility. Whether it is more a service to oneself or to the campus community to have the Schick tests performed is probably a matter of personal opinion. But we think it constitutes both responsibilities, and a campus epidemic of the disease would in deed he tragic. Not that such an epidemic i> likely or ev en probable—but stranger things have hap pened. As long as the infirmary is prepared for giving large numbers of the tests, and as long as there is no cost for receiving them, it seems downright dangerous not to take advantage of the service. —(A.K.) Fleeting Russky Fame Fame seems to be more than fleeting in Russia where the late Joseph Stalin is now the brunt of a public attack by his former underlings. His policies had been questioned before, but had not been directly blasted until last w'eek when First Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan sought to dissolve some popular misconceptions about Uncle Joe. The attack was directed mainly at Stalin's idea of one-man rule. The Kremlin Com rades don’t go for this method of running the country any more. They espouse some thing called "collective leadership.” The reason is obvious. There are too many participants in the struggle to be a one-man ruler, so everybody rules in a kind of uneasy oligarchy. Stalin tried to hand pick his successor before he died, but Georgi Malenkov wasn't strong enough to keep his job. So far no one else has been either. Will one of the current bunch eventually take over? No one can really answer that. Alfred G. Meyer, director of research at Columbia university on the Communist party, explained why in the January issue of Current History. He said: "Stalin could rise because his rivals were inexperienced in the type of party politics in which he was a master ... Stalin’s lieu tenants, on the other hand, have gone through his political school, and they are only too well aware of each other as rivals for power.” The question is, how many new towns will spring up to join Leningrad and Sta lingrad. IIow about Kruschevgrad, Hub ganingrad, Zhukovgrad, or Mikoyangrad? —(J.C.R.) The Daily E ... to the'senior class for a noble attempt at raising money for the \1 illrace fund. INTERPRETING THE NEWS It's Difficult to See Now How U.S. Can Avoid Limited Arms Race By J. M. Roberts AP N*wi Analyst It is hard to see now how the United States can avoid being involved in at least a limited arms race in the Middle East. Here are some of the factors involved. As part of the mutual de fense program, the United States made a deal last spring to send some tanks and other equipment to Saudi Arabia. It apparently was part of, or a corollary of, the arrangement by which the United States maintains its great air base at Dhahran. Soon after this deal Russia made one for the supply of Czech arms to Egypt, major threat against the existence of Israel. The American transac tion was not publicized, but the West made much of the Com munist attempt to leap-frog into Middle Eastern squabbles. Israel demanded balancing arms shipments from the West. The United States hesi tated, wanting to know, for one thiug, whether the bal ance of power had actually been upset. Iraq, Pakistan, Britain and Turkey formed the “northern tier’’ defense group under the Baghdad pact, and Britain im mediately increased her arms shipments to Iraq, which how ever, continued her alignment with other Arab states against Israel, despite the bitter Egyp tian attitude toward the Bagh dad Pact. Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt signed pacts directed against Israel. Egypt apparently is sharing her Communist bloc arms with Syria. More than one reference to the possibility of preventive war has come from Israel, on the grounds that she cannot afford to sit until the Arabs are fully armed. There are about two million Israelis, 40 million Arabs. With the ship about to sail, the President heard of the Ara bian tank deal and held it up for nearly two days. In the end an American agreement was recognized as an American agreement — and, presumably, Dhahran was recognized as Dhahran. Israel is now redbubling her efforts. The situation is complicated by the fact that Britain has continued to sell carefully doled arms to both sides. Pre sumably, she could, If the United States asked her help, step up sales to Israel. But Israel wants more than arms, and more than a mutual as sistance agreement with Brit ain, France and the United States, who are already com mitted to guarantee her bor ders. It looks very much as though she wants the appearance of approval of her policies which American arms shipments would ' give. Since those policies in- 1 elude retalitation against Arab , activities along the disputed 1 borders — compounding viola- ' tions of the United Nations j truce—the United States is un willing. The chances are good, how- j over, that Israel is going to get 1 some quid for the Arabian quo, ; and that America’s troubles in - the Middle East are beginning 1 to multiply. ) How to Get Ahead '/// “If you rntlly want to Improxc your dally papers, why don't you drop out of school for a few days?" Letters to the Editor Emerald Wit or: An editorial signed "J.C.R" in Monday's Emerald pleads for comment., specially when it is considered that your paper is published on a university cam pus for consumption by univer sity students. The gist of the editorial was that political debates are of du bious value inasmuch as the pre debate perspective and prejudice of the listeners prevails despite the efforts of the participants. The example employed by your purveyor of public opinion was the Coon-Neuberger debate where admittedly the pertinent facts were "thoroughly dis cussed." Perhaps this subtle denuncia tion of the power of truth would not be so exasperating if it weie not for the fact that the name theme was preached on the self-same subject using the same examples in a recent Register Guard editorial. (So that no un warranted implication will be drawn, let me say I don't know whose deadline came first). Is it passe' on a university campus to believe in the power of truth or is this perspective one peculiar to Journalists? Per haps the perspective is one pe culiar to "J.C.R.” who intends to become a professional jour nalist. What sort of satisfac tion will there be in the career of a newspaperman who believes that tho members of the public are not affected by the impact of new fact and new ideas? What benefit is there to anyone based on the philosophy that the function of an editorial writer la to nurture th<* preju dice* of the subscriber. ftather than these things I had thought the editor assisted a public crying to know what it shoujd rightly believe about an idea or an Issue. And I had though the politician a* well a* the journalist had both an op portunity are! a responsibility to answer the public's cry by waging battle with weapons of the truth fact and not preju dice, sincere inquire and not pie supposed cynicisms. Edward X. Farirly Second year Iaiw Student PS. Perhaps a perusal of Adlai 8teve tiaon's statements of the function of a political party, its candidate and his campaign in the education of the public ns to the philosophy and issues involved would not be amiss for the editorial as pirant. From the Fites . . . five years ago . . . The Inter-Dormitory Council recommended to the administra tion that rushing and pledging be delayed until the beginning of the sophomore year in view of the deferred living plan. . . . ten years ago . . , The first International Fes tival, sponsored by the YWCA and YMCA, was held. . . . fifteen years ago . . . Oregon’s ‘student union' bill was expected to pass in the .slate senate, according to fj. D. Byrne, secretary to the slate board of higher education. PEC2CLD The Oregon Daily Emerald is published five dav- a wee!: during the school w ar, \cfut <b, U, heb. 2.J and during examination and vacation . oOm by the Stii... t ubhcations Board of the University of Oregon. Entered as s.-omd class matter t the K>5* 9ff,ce» Eugene, Oregon, Suhscnntion rate- : $5 per school yrai ; per tern. Opinions expressed on the editor al pane are tho*-e of the wntn ai d do not pretend ° r*5’rew;"t <lie. opinions of the ASUO or tlir l'mvt„in, |»n.Hi«nr.l .-in .rial- arc «,,11,11 2L._ r tnitialejl editorial* by member •< of the editorial boaH. iORDON ktCE, K.litor J^?rgAXWylM.K,~Fmine»it Manager JIM CAKTKK. l At'KA MORRISl (’■» Advertising Mauagets ALLY K VAN, Editorial Page Edit »t A M VAHEY, Managing Editor .. JERKY CLAUSSEN, POP ROBINSON’, AWE IIIE., JOE RICfEKT, Associate Editors IN.NK R ITCH ICY, News Editor \ ANCV Ml \W. Office Manager -inr( K MI I t II ELM OWE, Sport, ARI.I-.XK KRAUSS, Nat'). Adv. Mgr. CIJITORfAf liOARO: Cordon Kiri, Jerry ( Ian ,-n, ("buck M itolielmorc, Amie Ritchey, Bob Robinson, Sally Ryan. Sam Valuv, Anne IIill. ),„■ Kinert. iss t .Managing Kiiitor: Marcia Maunev bss t News Editors : Al Johnson. Hill Main waring. Loretta Meyer, Cornelia Fogle Mature Krlitor: Carol Craig Vomen’s Kilitor : Cay Mtinilorff 'buto Editor ; Jlrant iJucey A.-s t Sjiort* Editor J;n k Wttaoti ( !as«.ifii <1 A<1v. Mgr. I*.'it C’ushnic A-*1'1 Mgr.: HccKy Towler Circulation Mgr. Jim I.atimore Executive ^Secretar> : Ucri (loebcl