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About La Grande observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1959-1968 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1959)
Smoke Screen wxm 1 Jf-iVVi.: 1? EDITORIAL PAGE LA GRANDE OBSERVER Wednesday, November 18, 1959 "Without or with friend or foe, we print your daily world as It goes" Byron. RELEY ALLEN, publisher Grady Pannell, managing editor George Challis, advertising director Tom Humes, circulation manager 21 Victories For U.F. Workers The continued difficulty to meet the iroal of the United Fund Drive in La Grande has raised the question of wheth- it the effbrt should be continued. The same difficulty is being encountered all across the country. There are some bright sixts, however, and from these pur workers can take heatl. Norfolk, Va., has just chalked up its 21st. consecutive United Fund Drive suc cess, exceeding a record jtoul of ? 1,333, 07 1 by over $30,000. Twenty one consecutive victories is a record which few cities in the United States can, match. Apparently only Lin coln, Neb., has a higher mark 25 years. Before the Virginia City's first vic tory in 1939, the workers had gone through 12 straight years of failure. Plagued with a multiplicity of drives, leaders met to discuss the possibility of disbanding the federated fund. It was decided that the drive had to be preserved and the services of the agen cies made safe. Prejudices and cliques were reduced by the stand for unity. Norfolk's success has been measured by the determined effort on the part of a great many people to promote the United way of giving. Heavy industry is relatively non-extant in Norfolk hence the drive can not rely on large corporate gifts; systematic payroll giving can not be widespread because of the large num be of government civil service workers. One of the keys to Norfolk's success is the donation of executive time to par ticipate in an intensive, highly publi cized two-week canvass. With the wind-up of the drive here new spirit can be drawn from the effort of another community to send its drive over the top. As the Norfolk Campaign reveals, success of the United Fund rests with the individual participation. Have Our Colleges Gone Overboard? There is a belief in the minds of many, including some on the faculties of our biggest colleges and universities, that some of our teaching institutions have gone overboard on research, to the det riment of the teaching. There is, for example, a considerable lHdy of opinion on the faculty of one of the nation's best - known medical schools that too many faculty members are spending their time in the labora tory, and that the classroom is suffer ing. This is particularly important, since the proportion of doctors in our popula tion is declining. We already have a shortage of doctors in this country, and the shortage is destined to grow worse before it improves. This undoubtedly is a factor in raising the cost of medical care to its present astronomic heights. Still, this school has a numler of doc tors on the faculty who never, repeat never, teach regular students. All their work is done with those few graduate students who likewise are entering a research career. Now this is all right. No one can ar gue with the need for more medical research. Cut this is a private school, depend ent upon student fees, endowment and gifts for its support. It has no source of public funds to tap to make up a deficit. And, it has on its faculty a numlcr of highly skilled men, operating very costly programs, who are not helping at all in cutting down the doctor shortage. The problem is not confined to med ical schools, either. Too many schools and colleges base too much of their aca demic promdtion schedule upon the "or iginal research" and publication work done by members of the facuTty. Much of this "original research" is hardly worthy of the name. It is done just well enough to qualify for publica tion in the Widget Quarterly, and really adds nothing to the body of human knowledge. Some excellent teachers are not at all interested in research. It is a waste of time to force them to spend their hours on it, when they could be teaching students. After all, that's the basic purpose of a college or university. Research is a val uable by-product of their work, but it should not be allowed to overbalance the picture. Barbs Pumpkins all over, the place now re mind us that Dad has a face-carving job coming up. If they keep on jumping the gas tax we won't be able to afford to ride on the better roads. The Russians never did tell us w hether or not the moon is really made of green cheese. " What tickles a dentist like a new candy store opening in his neighborhood? It's enough to give owners a break down, the way some old autos do. DREW PEARSON $AYS: U.S., Russia Are Together On Antarctic A-Test Bans WASHfS'STON Despite ome of the gloom headlines from oth er parts of the world, a cheerful development is expected here just few days before Thanksgiv ing. It s a treaty regarding the Antarctic which probably won't make headlines. But it should set a completely new precedent for banning military operations of any kind from one part of the globe. One wholesome aspect of this treaty is that the United States nd Soviet Russia have been working side by side in complete harmony. As one Latin-American delegate remarked: "They've been working as u they d always loved each other. There have been some minor differences between the 12 coun tries interested in the Antarctic Chile, the United States, the Unit ed Kingdom, and most countries want to permit atomic experi ments In the icy wastes for sci entific purposes. The melting icebergs and icecaps, they be lieve, might be accomplished by atomic energy. However, Argentina is oppos ed even to scientific atomic tests. The Argentines are worried about radioactive poison wnicn may blow back on their adjacent cit ies. The Argentine navy has been demanding that President Frondizi not agree to any atomic explosions of any shape or .kind in the area. Significantly, Russia would go even further than the United States and likewise ban all atomic explosions, even scientific ones. These differences, however, are minor. And the basic fact is that no country wants to ' hold out against a treaty which should set a milestone for further genera tions by showing that the civiliz ed nationss of the world can get together to demilitarize part of the world. If they can demih tarize the Antarctic, a precedent may be set for demilitarizing the populated areas of the world. Cranberries and Australia As the Antarctic conference neared its end, U. S. delegate Herman Phleger made a motion in secret session that the next meeting of the Antarctic nations be held in Canberra, Australia His pronunciation was a little faulty however and he appeared to say "Cranberry, Australia. This brought a chuckle from the delegates. "Thank you very much," repli ed Ambassador Howard Beale the delegate from Australia. "We shall be happy to act as host. But I hope we shall have some- fu ture conferences also in Wash ingtonberry, and that none of us will get poisoned." Cranberry Dilemma Most of the chemists of the Food and Drug Administration are now concentrating on testing cranberries in order to separate those which are contaminated by weed killer-and those, which arc safe for human consumption. It's a gigantic task partly because two chemists can test only three lota of cranberries per day. They have to test the equivalent of one one-millionth of a berry, which is that part containing the cancer-producing poison. So the testing job is not easy. Some canned cranberries are identified by code mark on the label as to what part of the coun try they come from, but identify ing and separating them is a te dious, difficult job. Otficials of the Food and Drug Administration say that it all points to the danger and uncer tainty of new farm sprays. Dur ing and after the war, all sorts of herbicides were developed. some of them not fully tested. Some like DDT have now been banned from use in dairy barn; Others should be, but have nut Tne harrassed Food and Drug Administration doesn't always know where to draw the line. "If I banned all food contain u:g arsenic, says commissioner George Larrick, "the American people wouldn't have very much left to eat. It's established that arsenic can cause cancer. But arsenic is found in oysters, crabs. lobsters, and many other types of food, though in such small quantities that it should not be dangerous. Cranberry Delay The difficulty of ascertaining the extent of cranberry contami nation was the chief reason why Food and Drug officials waited until such a short time before Thanksgiving to act. First word that the weed killer aminotria- zole could conduce cancer came to F and D officials last March from the cranberry cooperative, Ocean Spray, whose executives expressed concern over use of the weed-killer in Oregon and Washington. Food and Drug officials say they began testing the crop im mediately but in fairness to all concerned wanted the test to be thorough. It was not finished until October. At about that time the Coos Bay world in Oregon published first word that the Oregon crop might be held up. It was the un derstanding of Food and Drug that the Northwest crop would be held up by the cranberry cooper ative. But when Food and Drug learned that one shipment had been sold on the market in Seat tle, Larrick took the facts to Secretary of Health, Education ar.d Welfare Flemming and he hit the ceiling. Flemming was sub jected to all sorts of political pressure from Secretary of Agn culture Benson and others. But he stuck to his guns that North west cranberries on which the weed killer "had been used must not be sold to the American pub lic. Washington Pipeline Sen. John Pastore of Rhode Island, Democrat, was urged by senators to investigate phoniness on television but he objected to paying $4,500 for a copy of the grand jury testimony taken in New York . . . A. C. Lenbeck, the chief security officer for the Naval Medical research Institute at Bethesda, Md., threatened last week to report anyone to the com mandjng officer who failed to sign the register certifying that his office safe was lucked for the night. The first violator who for got to sign was A. C. Lenbeck It doesn't pay to give tax favors to the big steel compan ies. When the Democratic com missioners of Bucks County, Pa., gave a low tax assessment to the giant Fairless plant of U. S. Steel, they were defeated. It will be interesting to see whether the Republicans now revise taxes . congressmen from the 12 states that expect to lose congressional seats after the 1960 census will move next year to enlarge the House of Representatives. They will claim the 435-member limit set in 1911 is now out of date They would permit growing stat es like California to add new seats without reducing the rep REMEMBER WHEN . . . 25 years ago, 405 I'nmn Couhty persons were on relief, but the scheduled opening of the Mount Emily Lumber Company was expected to cut this figure considerably. State and FHA housing pro grams planned also gave La Grande and Union County a "shot in the arm," with additional em ployment anticipated. Fifteen building jobs were set. La Grande High School Tigers were officially declared as run nerup to Pendleton in football con ference play as the season ended The Tigers' long conference lass was to Pendleton. Third was I'ni- on, with Baker fourth. Milton- Freewater fifth and Enterprise last. ... IS years ago, the Nazis be gan to weaken all along the front before mounting Allied drives in an attempt to break through the Rhine defenses. The Philippine Sea tight crippled the Japanese navy. Shirley Miles, daiiRhter of Mr. and Mrs. C. T. Miles here. shared state championship honors with two other Oregon girls in the Miss Oregon contest in con junction with the war loan drive. Union County women planned to take over a large part of the war loan drive, their goal a quarter of the county' $775,000 total. Mrs Ann Decker was in charge of th women's division, clly of La Grande. Sir Thomas Moore Seeking Flogging As Thug Punishment LONDON UPI Sir Thomas Moore is leading a campaign in Parliament to restore flogging as a punishment in crimes of vio lence. He thinks young thugs can stand anything but humiliation. "Forcing them to lose face among their fellows is the worst fate they can suffer," he said to day. "And the cane or the birch is the most humiliating of punish ment." Ever since flogging was aban doned a decade ago Sir Thomas has been arguing for its return. For years his was a lonely voice but as juvenile delinquency and crimes of violence increased he found many supporters. Mail Favor Him Sir Thomas, descendant of tne Irish poet of the same name CO believe me if all those en dearing young charms") and a member of Parliament for 35 consecutive years, makes a sharp distinction between the old time flogging and the sort of punish ment he advocates. Schoolboy Punishment "The cat o' nine tails can make a hero out of a thug," he said. But the cane which is often a schoolboy punishment and the birch la number of twigs tied to gether with string) can damage the ego more than the hide. "They would be deterrent in And today his mail, he said, is that they would make laughing heavily in favor of his suggestion that the cane and birch be re stored, but not the cat o' nine tails. I've even got a letter here from a vicar expressing complete support," Sir Thomas said. "And of course the former lord chief justice and the present lord chief justice are both on record as be lieving that those thugs who in flict wanton suffering on the old. the innocent and the defenseless should be permitted to feel some thing of the pain they themselves have inflicted." stocks of the victims in the eyes of those whose opinion they ap p a r e n 1 1 y value most other thugs." Sir Thomas said his forces in Commons will try to weaken Home Secretary Richard A. But ler's opposition to flogging when the new criminal justice bill is debated soon. Earthquake Checked By Depth Of Sea ROME (ITI The National Geophysical Institute reports that Sunday's earthquae off the Greek coast had a shock force equal to "one thousand atomic bombs exploded at the same time." The institute said the earth quake would have caused a ca tastrophe had it not been located 24 miles beneath the surface of the sea. SHOVEL SNOW INSURANCE NEWARK. N. J. 'LTD -The Prudential Insurance Co. has in sured itself against having to shovel snow around its new office building here. It said Monday the snow will be melted away by a heated sol ution of water and ethylene clycol circulated through pipes embed ded in the concrete. Toys! Toys! Toys! Good selection all ytar La Grande Hardware QUOTES IN THE NEWS United Prs International NEW YORK Secretary of State Christian A. Ilerler, stating that mutual fears of an all-out war may help East and West ac hieve a new process of communi cation: "I believe that on certain fun damentals we can find a common language because we have a com mon interest. That interest lies simply in the basic will to sur vive, shared by free men and Communists alike." WASHINGTON Former Sec retary of State Dean Acheson. criticizing the administration as lacking clear foreign policy ob jectives: "This administration neither ne gotiates nor acts. It travels. The mileage clocked. . .is very impres sive, but the results are not im pressive." LOS ANGELES Dr. Eber- hardt Rechtin, chief of the Cali-i forma Institute of Technology's jet propulsion laboratory guidance division, asserting that the United States must expand its space ef fort: "In a sense, we are so far be hind that the Russian competition does not even look back to see where we are." NEW YORK Republican Gov. Mark O. Hatfield of Oregon, pre dicting that Vice President Rich ard M. Nixon and New York Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller will hold within bounds any fight for the GOP presidential nomination: Nixon and Rockefeller have agreed that, whatever may develop, they will not conduct a vicious, name-calling, party-splitting pre-presidential campaign." resentation nf anv other statp This woud mean increasing the number of congressmen from 435 to 455. please care hunger hurts! Hungry children will smile again, needy people blss your kindness, if you join the Food Crusade. CARE gets foods from th U.S. farm abundance . . . buy other items . . . packs units to match needs in various countries . . . delivers on pack age for every $1 you give. And your name and address go with every package, t make friends across th worldl - every C- sencU a Food Crusade package CAItE 660 First Ave., New York 16, N. Y. or your nearest CARE address Hr It $ for th Food Crusoe. ' Nam Add7ts PUBLISHED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE BY THE LA GRANDE OBSERVER 1 ANNIVERSARY RECORD SPECIAL RECORDS ClU FOR & ANNIVERSARY FEATURE Introducing Sylvania TV THE SUPERIOR TV RECEIVING SET WITH THESE FEATURES . . . Halolight Automatic Tuning Slimlin Depth Decorator Colors COME IN AND SEE THE SYLVANIA MODEL 17012 SYLVANIA Dualette clock-timer automatically turns set on or off-at the time you select. Light, compact, with wcigfai -balanced carrying handle. Front-mounted speaker. Beautiful pow der blue and turquoise or dusty iwe and champagne mahogany color styl ing. 1 7" overall diagonal measurement, 150 sq. in. viewing area. From $169.95 Transistor Transistor DECCA Radio RADIO- 3-Speed only PHONO Phonograph Sg)95 C.mbi.aH.1 Sa895 2 Webcor Slereo Phonos JA Price RCA-WEBCOR STEREO WITH PURCHASE OF EACH LP RECORD Receive A New 45 RPM Record Free! 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