AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
PUBUSHER Alton F. Baker
EDITOR William M. Tugman MANAGING EDITOR Alton F. Baker, Jr.
SERVICES Full Associated Press, United Press, Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Register-Guard's policy Is the complete and Impartial publication In Its news
pages of all news and statements on news. On this page the editors of The Register
Guard offer their opinions on events of the day and matters of Importance to the
community endeavoring to be candid but fair and helpful in the development of con
structive community policy. A newspaper is A CITIZEN OF ITS COMMUNITY.
Entered at the Post Office at Eugene, Oregon, as jecond-class matter.
PAGE 8 EUGENE, OREGON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1951
Speaking of Christmas Favorites
There is a vast literature built
around the theme of Christmas, but
there are oi.ly a few of the thousands
of "Christmas stories" or poems which
are enduring favorites. We have on the
desk a request from a man who says
he is past 80, to reprint "The Night Be
fore Christmas" in "its original form."
He says:
"That was the favorite of my childhood
which was spent mostly in a sod hut in
Nebraska. Christmas was a pretty simple af
fair in those days, but my father and my
older brothers always managed to whittle
out some interesting toys and my mother
made gingerbread men. On Christmas Eve
my father always read the Bible stories and
we would sing "Silent Night" in German,
but the big event for me was when my mother
recited 'The Night Before Christmas' just be
fore she shooed us to bed. I know most of
it by heart, but over the years there have
been so many parodies and changes I would
like to have a copy of the original version to
read to my great-granddaughter, who is six.
I suppose the author is unknown."
The author of "The Night Before
Christmas" is NOT unknown, but not
a great deal is known about him. He .
was Clement Clarke Moore who was
born in 1779 and died in 1863. He was
the son of Benjamin Moore, who was
a notorious Tory during our Revolu
tionary War, but was later a distin
guished American citizen rector of
Trinity Church in New York City and
a bishop of the Episcopal church, and
president of Columbia University.
Clement Clarke Moore, the son, was
a scholarly man, a preacher and teach
er who authored "A Compensious Lex
icon of the Hebrew Language" in 1809,
a notable contribution to theological
education in its time, but his real fame
attaches to the jingling "Night Before
Christmas," which he wrote in 1823
for his own children.. Here it is:
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Twas the night before Christmas, when all
through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a
mouse;
mu .tn..Mnffa iratA hnntf Kv th chimnev
with care,
In hope that St. Nicholas loon would be
there.
The children were nestled all snug In their
beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in
their heads;
And Mama in her kerchief and I In my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long
winter's nap;
When out on the lawn there arose such a
clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was
the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up
the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen
snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects
below,
When, what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny
rein-deer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
Moro rapid than eagles his coursers they
came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called
them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Pranccr
and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and
BliUen!"
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall
Community Singing on
On Monday evening just before the
downtown stores close there will be a
real old-fashioned Christmas Eve sing
ing of carols at the intersection of
Broadway and Willamette. The civic
A Cappclla Choir, under the leadership
of John Ilendrickson, will lead in this
observance and everybody is invited to
join in. A portion of the street area will
be roped off by the city police. Mer
chants are donating gifts of candy for
children and Santa Claus will be there
in person.
This simple program may be the
answer to the long discussed problem
of "Community Christmas," the pro
ject which the Lookouts have been urg
ing since the end of World War II. It
has the great advantage of being rela
tively informal. It will not require any
elaborate preparation or setting. It will
be timed to catch the interest of all
the last minute shoppers and people em
ployed in downtown offices and stores.
(For the store employes, the occasion
should be especially welcome. The end of
the Christmas rush Is somewhat comparable
Morquis Child
Now dash away! dash away, dash away
all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurri
cane fly.
When they meet with an obstacle, mount
to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
' With a sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nich
olas too.
And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each little
hoof
As I drew in my head and was turning
around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came
with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur from his head to
his foot,.
And his clothes were all tarnished with
ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just open
his pack.
His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples,
how merry!
His cheeks were like roses,-his nose like
a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like
a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white
as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his
teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head
like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed like a bowl
full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right Jolly
old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him In spite
of myself,
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to
dread;
He spol:e not a word, but went straight to
his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned
with a Jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a
whistle,
And away they all flew like the down
of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim ere he drove out
of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL . . '.
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"
Literally millions, young and old,
have found delight in these verses over
the 128 years since they were written.
So far as we can learn Clement Clarke
Moore never received a penny for this
masterpiece, probably didn't expect any
reward except the wide-eyed excite
ment of little kids listening to them.
It was "a thing of the moment," but
in the re-telling of an ancient legend it
created a picture of Christmas which
the world has cherished. Christmas in
the home!
"Yes, but ... Yes but what? So we
don't have the great fireplaces and broad
chimneys they had when Moore wrote. So
Santa Claus arrives by airplane or rocket
ship nowadays. So the North Pole is just
a way-point in the ice on a round-the-world
hop, and most kids are completely blase be
fore they're out of the first grade! So what?"
V
All Christmas is an act of faith. The
time will never come when Santa Claus
and his reindeer will not be very real
to the little kids. It is a waste of time
to rationalize too much: Our venerable
friend, now past 80, will bear witness.
There was no great fireplace in the sod
hut on the Nebraska prairie, but you
could hear the reindeer pawing on the
sod roof. You can still hear 'em, where
evcr you may be, no matter how old you
are if you hark!
Christmas Eve
to the Inst day of school for kiddies. Every
body feels like letting loose.)
The timing of the event is quite im
portant and we are told that the singing
will be started in ample time so that
nobody will be delayed in getting home.
Over the years we have had many op
portunities to observe the phenomenon
of Christmas Eve downtown. Up until
store closing the stores are usually
crowded. Half an hour later you can
shoot a cannon up and down William
ette Street and hit nothing. But there
is always a sort of festive Deak iust
before the rush for home. That's where
this plan to have carol singing comes
in. It should catch that last minute peak
of enthusiasm before the family rites
begin.
(Although we have nothing much to con
tribute to the singing except a clumsy bum
bum, we plan to sea and hear this thing.
There arc enough good siiiRers In Eugene
to make the well-known WELCOME ring.)
The last word is to the weatherman,
urging mm to be kind, although we
doubt if a little snow or rain would mat
ter much to people who want to sing.
CHILDS
Timing for Ike's
Return Debated
WASHINGTdN For those who hope
that at the very least there will be a
spirited contest for the Republican nomina
tion the news from the Eisenhower camp
can hardly be considered encouraging. Be
tween General Eisen
hower's active political
backers and his close
friends something like a
division has grown up.
This is largely over
the timing of Ike's resig
nation from his com
mand in Europe and his
return to the United
States. What his active
political backers think
was summed up in a
letter Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. of
Massachusetts has just sent to Eisenhower
at SHAPE headquarters outside Paris.
In that letter Lodge, leader of the move
ment to get the Republican nomination for
Ike, expressed the strong conviction that
the general should .return at the very
earliest moment, preferably by the end of
January. Lodge has swung Increasingly to
the view that a last-minute draft with Ike
in Europe until the eve of the GOP con
vention is a political improbability and in
all likelihood an impossibility.
BETWEEN THE LINES
Between the lines of the Lodge letter
one may read the plain implication that if
Eisenhower wants to be President, then
he must return to his native land and per
sonally direct a campaign for that great
est of all political goals. Eisenhower scouts
in the south and southwest have heard
similar expressions of discontent with the
remoteness, both geographically and polit
ically, of their hero. Doesn't he think this
is important enough to come back and
work for, they demand. Isn't he being
pretty cavalier?
It happens that this view point con
flicts with that of Elsenhower's close
friends and probably with that of Ike him
self on at least two counts. First, the feel
ing is that he should not return while there
is still such a long way to go in doing the
job of hammering together a western
European defense force. Eisenhower is said
to feel most strongly on this point, with
little or no likelihood that he can be per-,
suaded to change his mind.
DATE OF SPECULATION
When this reporter was at SHAPE
headquarters three weeks ago the date
speculated about for Ike's retirement was
the end of March or early April. But even
this may be optimistic in terms of what
Eisenhower hopes to do as supreme com
mander of a force still for the most part
In the planning stage.
On the second count, purely as a mat
ter of strategy, Ike's closest friends are con
vinced that it would be wrong for him to
come home early in the new year to be
come an active condidate. This, they feel,
would dissipate much of the element of
drama centering around the Eisenhower
name. He would tend to become merely
another political candidate, pressed on
every hand for his views on the Taft
Hartley Act, FEPC, flood control and other
sundry and assorted issues.
ARRIVE AT CLIMAX
As these friends see it, by delaying his
return Eisenhower will arrive at the cli
mactic moment. On that climactic home
coming he wsuld come forth with some
dramatic concept such as federation not for
Europe alone but for the west. In this role
he would have an enormous appeal for
Americans who are fed up with politics as
usual in both of the major parties.
But the pratical politicians, working to
put Ike over, simply can't see it that way.
They want a live flesh-and-blood candi
date instead of a symbol several thousand
miles away.
For their part the dedicated friends are
of the opinion that if the politicians want
Elsenhower badly enough, they will be
willing to go out and do the job themselves
rather than insist that he clear the path
by his own personal efforts so that they
may follow along. The friends go so far
as to say that the politicians must be satis
fied if Ike makes no move to withdraw
his name once it is entered for the New
Hampshire presidential preference primary
on March 11. That passive indication of
his willingness must suffice.
This discussion of ways and means is
taking place against a background of
formidable gains being made by Senator
Robert A. Taft and the effective team
campaigning in his behalf for the GOP
nomination. Those gains are being record
ed in the south, the southwest and the
north. And at the same time as the weak
nesses of the Truman -administration are
more glaringly revealed, the chances that
the prize will go to Taft almost without a
challenge are increased.
(Copyright. 1931, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)
'False or Not They're Teeth !"
i iiei-rTiriTi I IT
In The Editor's Mailbag
SO THEY SAY
A few thee's and thou's can make viol
ence acceptable and sex unassailable.
Milton Shulman, British film critic, on
Hollywood's Biblical productions.
I personally don't know whether Gen
eral Eisenhower is a bird dog or a rabbit
dog, and I usually want to know what I'm
hunting. Gov. Kerr Scott, of North Carolina.
Modern art, not satisfied with the denial
of the spiritual nature of man, distorts in
a grotesque and repelling fashion his hu
man form. Dr. Matthcy Spinka, professor
of church history, Hartford Seminary.
MY FRIEND
"Ye are tnu riend."
John 15.14
You've meant so much to me this year
... So many times you've shown you
care , , About what happens in my
life . , , Our friendship is so free of
strife . I want to say at Christmas
time . . "Thank God for you!" in this
brief rhyme . . . You'll get a lot of gifts
and things . , . From Santa Claus, but
this verse brings ... A message from
your good friend's heart . , , Of which
you've come to be a fart.
JUUEN C. HYER
INDIGNANT MINER
REEDSPORT (To the Editor)
On returning from the Bohemia
Mining District recently, your art
icle of September 23rd, sponsored
by County Judge Bayly, respect
ing mining claims, came to my at
tention. Being an owner of un
patented mining claims in the Bo
hemia District and also a tax
payer in Lane as well as Douglas
County, the remarks contained in
this article do not set. well with
me.
My partner and I have followed
the practice of doing about doU'
ble the amount of Work required
each year for assessment work.
We have been working on our
claims in the Bohemia District
for ten years and have not yet
applied for any patents, but we
want to state emphatically that
the Government has no more
moral right to hold up or delay
patents on mining claims where
claimants have complied with the
law than the Government would
have to hold up homestead
claims.
We are wondering what legal
authority County Judge Bayly
had for hiring Francis Wagner
and Richard Baker to help the
Department of Interior look af
ter the Bohemia Mining District,.
We have never before heard of
Francis Wagner or Richard Baker
as mineral experts. We believe
the Interior Department is capa
ble of handling their business
without the help of a small cali
ber county judge and his min
eral experts and we can see no
reason why the taxpayers of Lane
County should have to pay for
this kind of nonsense.
The County Judge could profit
ably spend a little time and
money improving some of our
Lane County roads, some of which
are in a deplorable condition. We
would call his attention particu
larly to the Brice Creek Road to
Bohemia which is in the worst
condition it has been for 10 years.
If he will attend to reducing the
taxpayers' burden and the County
Court's legitimate business he will
have his hands full without try
ing to run the Federal Govern
ment's business.
I have not been able to figure
whether this socialistic article by
Judge Bayly is just small caliber,
political ballyhoo cr whether it is
some kind of a smoke screen. Per
sonally, I do not favor socialism.
The socialistic idea of taking
away the surface rights belonging
to the miners is not much dif
ferent than the acts of the Com
munists,' except that the Com
munists always begin with the big
corporations, like some right here
in Lane County who got a lot of
their timber holdings for $1.25,
$2.50, and $3.00 per acre.
If Judge Bayly wants to start a
real sensational crusade of in
vestigation to enhance his politi
cal ambitions he could start an in
vestigation of the handling of
I.ane County tax lands, involving
many millions of dollars worth of
timber. This scandal has been no
secret over the State of Oregon
for years.
WherA harA Vnil VtOAn rlnrlni,
the last ten years, Judge Bavly, jjCfi
timing wiiiL-n iime some oi tne
friends and relatives of the poli
tical ring which has hovered
about the Court in Eugene have I .
faViittni.e .....! - u-i
purchase of these county lands.
If you are as anxious and as
solicitous as you pretend to be in
championing the taxpayer's wel-1
U... J , ... '. .
....v. nun uui-s u Happen you niai
not go after this county lands is
sue during the past fifteen years?
You might have profitably
asked for a Congressional inves-'lji
tigation. It would have been real ; ""
political thunder for you. Youi'!
could start an investigation of"
this scandal without getting off i ".
the seat of your pants and with- 4"
out hiring mineral experts like
Mr. Wagner and Mr. Baker.
Perhaps this is enough to sav !'
to Judge Bayly at this time. 1 4"
But to the sensible citizens oi
Lane County we would like to say
that the mineral industries of the
U. S. are the backbone of our
fair land. And the present mineral
laws have served the country and
the mineral industries well. We
have in Bohemia Mining District
deposits of base metals of great
potential wealth. With foresight
this district was set aside by our
Federal Government for the fur
therance of mineral exploration
and development. The free-mill
ing surface has merely been
scratched. But the great depths
of base are known to exist in
this district, they are yet to be
opened up, and when this happens
(we hope it will be soon) this
may become just as important a
distrist as the Butte, Montana,
District.
Let us demand that we have
a good road up Brice Creek so
that when people like the Ameri
can Smelting and Refining Com
pany send men to investigate
opening up these vast bodies of
base metals, as the A.S. & R. did
during the past summer, they can
report a decent road for access
to the mines.
Few districts In the world are
blessed with the natural drainage
which the Bohemia District has,
which offers low cost production.
At Grass Valley, Calif, water is
pumped to the surface from ap
proximately a mile deep.
There is an urgent cry for base
metals for our government in
the war effort. At Bohemia all it
takes is deep level tunnels to
drain the district and open up the
vast bodies of base ore. and if we
boost as a unit for this district
and good roads, we will see Bo
hemia one of the important
sources of wealth in Lane County.
And the good road, when we get
it, will also be worth its cost
as a source of attraction to tour
ists to the gorgeous mountain
scenery of Bohemia.
Fifty years ago Cottage Grove
was an important mining town.
We have good reason to believe it
will be not many years hence
more important as a mining city
than as a lumbering city.
MAX KRUSE, SR.
Reedsport, Oregon.
Woodworth Named
Attorney for OLCC
PORTLAND (JF) George
Woodworth Wednesday was nam
ed attorney for the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission.
License supervisor since July,
1949, he succeeds Gerald Norville.
resigned to enter private practice
here.
W. A. Bingham, OLCC adminis
trator, said a member of the com
mission staff would be named li
cense supervisor.
COLD CCRE
. SPRINGFIWr,
tor)-oiderDeor;,r'i0N
cows and man '"aBWsi
dreadful diseSs."
wh a lump of e.""
m a smallTaVo"8 '
a child', neck. t.a,.,trinH
isolated sni.... V...ePt ft?
learned that .L'..,15e Parer.J
?llottedplen,;X'?H
shouldn't be tnu v.. a
way older American,,,
be rugged inrii,.iJ. .V.s .le
..uuausij
oalt nnrlr .
Per-the thicker h7 T
more the neDnor
. u worn n iht nj I
always wnrw.j ,! 1 .!.ni ci
day if one can f M
buy a Deep e .... .r. 8N
to pepper. No, f:
Piece fastened' overK1
doctor, even when we b, J
ior a sore throat
h.w" ?n? "'"toe -
, "u Was. anH .1
Will he 11 lacK H
might sav:
sepj
may explain whv
Prohibition. ' ""u
Skunk
grease, kerosene
Douglas County
Plans Centennial
SALEM (P) An organization
to celebrate Douglas County's
100th birthday next year was in
corporated here Thursday.
It is called Douglas County
Centennial, Inc., with headquar
ters in Roseburg. The incorpora
tion will expire on Jan. 1, 1953.
The corporation's purpose is to
sponsor a pageant and celebra
tion, educate the public about the
county's history, and put up his
torical markers.
lard, turpentine and land
"-""" uiese at,
grand, old remoHi.. '
nose, neck, chest (front and J
ov, "" i me ears, iust r
going to bed. Mother, i ,1
I doubt if Crisco or oleo i
unless it's used south nf tJv
nj ti: I-.. .
aim i,iAu,i ime ana skunk
sailing scarce. Why did ,
Off all those Vines ar,A ...L- .
have an OPA? I'm 50rr, 'j3
ecuciaiiuil. I
isnt it far more sensM
tempt germs out ot the J
ay&ieiii imo piece or pork
uum mat piece or pork t
use shots which kill th.
and leave their dead rati
wnnin tne numan body to l
out later in boils, ulcers or
cers which reauire morn y
cure them? No wonder doctor
ousy tnese days.
Porous plasters slwjyi
pores for the germi to nt
or there wasn't any usJ
leaving - pores" in them
first place.
One rubbed kerosene lad
on, all winter, fully and (nil
turpentine and lard, skunk p
knowing full well that his
late in the spring would
or lard, grease, germt mil
after it had served its purpJ
Keeping germs out of the
system.
All this was common knoii
a few years ago but these
tangled doctors won't listen
No 'wonder older folks pine
and die waiting sorrowMj
those good old days to :
again. Maybe the Republics
put this in their platform
have been looking for son!'
W. W. V:
(twuraf
UWMT
RUIUIN
The
Gold Arrow Stamp Co,
Wishes to Announcs That
H & M Richfield Service
187 E. 6th
Phoni 5-SKII
nwuM
091
fUMWM
COMMflT
Will Give and Redeem
Gold Arrow Stamps
. . . Remember banki pay
Interest on money you gave .
Gold Arrow Stamps pay Interest
on money you spend .
limited redemption.
Las
4-
3
on last minute gifts
UNDER $10
Shirts
Argyle Sox
Ties
Belts
Cuff Links '
Tie Bars
Wallets
Pajamas
Suspenders
Nylon Shorts
"Sunshine
Corner"
EUGENE'S MENS STORl
uHlAintttt
Broadway ana
1