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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1955)
UNI OUMfyT No Time for Comedy! AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER ALTON F. BAKER Publisher ALTON F. BAKER JR. Editor . ROBERT B. FRAZIER Associate Editor 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 second-class matter. 6A EUGENE, OREGON THURSDAY,' JANUARY 13, 1955 Let's Develop Mahlon Sweet Field Leigh Fisher, airport consultant, has apparently convinced the aviation com mittee of the Eugene City Council, the Chamber's aviation committee and pri vate fliers that their hope for adequate airport facilities lies in the development of Mahlon Sweet Field. We heartily agree with this viewpoint and can imagine that a great many peo ple who reside north of the Willamette River will heave a deep sigh of relief that no private airport will be construct ed there. The one big point that pro ponents of an airport north of the river had was the central location between Eugene and Springfield. In itself that is . not too strong when you consider that it would be only a few transient or busi ness fliers who would gain extra time by a "close-in" field. Fisher, in his report to the Eugene Council, makes a convincing case for the revamping of Mahlon Sweet. We hope when the full council gets his report that it will react favorably, at least in the basic outline, as the council aviation committee has done already. Fisher says that this area is "way behind" others of comparable size in meeting airport needs and blames this on "too many airports and not enough service. . . ." The report lists several stages of de- 'Creeping' Socialism In the morning mail is an issue of News of Norway, a Norwegian govern ment publication with a piece entitled, "Growing Demand for Norway's House wife Relief Service." It poses an interesting idea. In that highly socialized country they now have a municipally operated baby-sitting serv ice although they call it a housewife relief service. Women are employed by the government to go into homes where the housewife is sick and there are chil dren to take care of. They may stay up to three weeks or more doing the house hold chores, including meal preparation and even handling the family budget. The report says the service is free to those who cannot pay, the cost being shared by the municipal and national governments. There are about 1,400 women doing this type of work now in all but 150 of Norway's 746 municipali ties. The demand for this idea is so great now that consideration is being given to recruiting 19-year-old girls di rectly from schools to take training and make a profession of the' municipal housewife relief service. Housewife re liefs are municipal servants and the salaries are fixed by each municipal government. There are probably a lot of house wives around here right now who think it would be a great idea if they have a few sick youngsters on their hands, but we can see drawbacks. In Norway the women who are doing this are on a 48 hour week. Problems arising from sick ness in a family are, at least from our experience, a round-the-clock proposi tion. And then there are the baby sitter organizations. They would probably look upon such a plan as a usurper of their jobs, and just another form of "creeping socialism." And think what it would do to the relationship of husband and wife. The Little Woman wouldn't be able to run Hubby around the way she does now! Streets Again The Eugene City Council has placed itself in quite a pickle on street assess ment. For some time now the city has been charging abutting property owners the cost of extra paving thickness on arterial streets. Monday night the city ran into strong oppositii from property owners on West 18th who object to pay ing for the heavier. paving. As a matter of principle e must align our sutfrnrt with the pi ostan for it only seems prudery reasoning t!( any construction over and above the nor mal residential street, whether it be extra width or thickness of pavement, should be borne by the city. The arterial is built to carry a heavy volume of traf fic while the neighborhood street is mainly for the benefit of the'irbutting property owners. The legal and ethical problems, involved in the fact that some property owners have already raid for velopment for Mahlon Sweet, the first one being replacement of facilities for small planes that have been taken away by the vote against the Airpark, Funds for this stage should come from the sale, at full market value, of the Airpark, ac cording to Fisher. We agree with this. However, we strongly feel that School District 4 should have first call on the land if it is desired for school purposes. One thing about Mahlon Sweet that we believe needs urgent attention is the zoning of the area to protect the field. It can be done now with little damage to anyone's feelings, since there is rela tively little structural development near the field. But, the metropolitan area is moving north rapidly and it would be a shame to see the airport surrounded on all sides by urban development, as has happened to so many other fine airports. The City of Eugene has forwarded a request to the County Board of Com missioners requesting action on zoning. It should be done without delay. We, as a community, cannot ignore the need for development of adequate facilities for all types of aircraft. With the Fisher report as a blueprint and the enthusiasm of local fliers and other inter ested parties this area can make a first class facility of Mahlon Sweet Field. heavier construction, are the "toughies" that the council must decide in fairness to all concerned. We searched through files for stories on the street improvement levy ap proved in 1950 and, although we can find no direct mention that the policy would be for the city to pay for extra paving thickness, the intent appears sev eral times. Speakers who appeared in behalf of the plan, including members of a special committee of the City Plan ning Commission who developed the ar terial program, noted that "Arterials should be wider than ordinary neighbor hood streets and should be built to heavier specifications." John McGinty, chairman of that special committee in 1950 appeared before the council Mon day to emphasize this point. The pamphlet printed by the Citi zen's Street Planning Committee before the 1950 election notes that "owners of abutting properly will pay for cost of a standard street to serve the par ticular type of district." The city has a policy of paving residential streets 3Vi inches but one of paving arterials with 5'2 inches of thickness to support the heavier volume of traffic. There is plenty of room for argument on who should pay for extra paving thickness, if the charter amendment for the 2Vi mill levy is the basis for a deci sion, but fairness and common sense says that the city should pay for heavier construction in residential areas. Mr. Crookham Retires One of the great figures in Oregon journalism, although he was almost un known outside the newspaper fraternity, retired Jan. 1 in Portland. He is Arthur L. Crookham, known as "Mr. Crookham" to his news staff, as "Arthur" to his friends, and as "Crook" behind his back. At 65, he's off to tour the Mediterranean and, we trust, to toad dozens of books about the Civil War if there be that many which Mr. Crookham has not yet read. For 20 years he was the Journal's city editor, an exacting task-master who would rant and rail over a misplaced initial or a sloppy sentence, only to sit down the next minute and with great patience show a now man how the job should be done. More recently he's boon writing editorials, drawing upon his groat knowledge of almost everything. In his 4'jjv eating days he seemed to play tl,, role of the frustrated re porter a niaif with all sorts of stories bottU'l up inside Jtini and.iiist busting to coftn otAs an Editorial writer, he .always had more to say than the Journal had room to print. His excess opinions and stories anbits of fact were offered freely at-the drop of an editorial eye shade. We hope he has a wonderful time in the Mediterranean, and we regret that more of his kjnd don't stick around to show the others how the job should be done. a ' r MARQUIS CHILDS Career Service Needs Looking After WASHINGTON As one of his last acts the retiring chairman of the Senate foreign relations com mittee, Sen. Alexander Wiley of Wisconsin, issued a report point ing lu uie uemor- anzauon oi me foreign service, f This was based l on a visit to 11 European capitals i ana me answers to questionnaires submitted toL American diplo-j mats in those! capitals. I The consden- Childs tious Wiley was inclined at first to make the report much strong er, since he knew from his first hand observations that the low state of morale in the foreign service could scarcely be exag gerated. But about the time he was preparing his report, Sec retary of State John Foster Dulles dismissed John Paton Davies Jr. for bad judgment after Davies had been cleared by nine dif ferent security processes. This obviously was bound to have such serious repercussions in terms of morale that, short of direct crit icism of the secretary of state, which Wiley as a good party man would not indulge in, it seemed a bit futile to dwell on other causes of demoralization. BASE VOn STUDY Replies to the questionnaires also made plain that low morale was due in part to highly pub licized attacks on American for eign service officers led by the junior senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy. In undertaking to do a thorough and nonpartisan job as chairman of the foreign relations committee. Wiley had already stirred Hie wrath of some Wisconsin Republicans. But even though the punch was somewhat pulled, the Wiley re port provides the new committee chairman, Sen. Walter George of Georgia, with a base for a really searching investigation into the reasons for what is believed to be an almost paralyzing inhibi tion that leads to excessive fear and caution. The reports from foreign service officers all over the world are the raw material on which foreign policy must be based. If this raw material is faulty or deficient, then grave errors of policy can result. There are many reasons for the sharp drop in morale. One is that top diplomatic posts have increasingly gone to political ap pointees. This has been true even in Latin America where tradi tionally senior career officers have been given ambassadorial posts. They could take these posts because the cost of enter tainment is less than in Europe and, therefore, a large private income is not a prerequisite. CHANGE AT MADRID More and more, as the de mand for political appointments has built up, career officers have made way for deserving Repub licans. In the new Arab state of Libya, where America has a large air base andt where relations have often been tense, an able career man, Henry S. Villard, was taken out of the No. 1 spot so that the job could be given to John L. Tappin. Tappin, a ski expert and mountain climber with no experience in the Mid dle East headed the foreign ori gins division of the Citizens for Eisenhower group. Ambassador James C. Dunn is vacating Madrid so that key post can go to John Davis Lodge, who was defeated for re-election as governor of Connecticut. Dunn, a veteran who won wide acclaim for his service as ambassador in Italy in the postwar years, is said to have written a letter of strong protest to the state de partment at the time of Davies' dismissal. He has been persuad ed to go as ambassador to Brazil. Shortly after the Eisenhower administration took office James S. Kemper, a Chicago insurance executive, was named ambassa dor to Rio de Janeiro. This was a reward to the Taft wing' of the parly. While Kemper seems to have liked being an ambass.-ior so much that he wanted to stay on reports to the department in dicate he had a habit of getting into hot water. ' Some political ambassadors have done well, one case in point being Clare Boothe Luce, who overcame the initial prejudice against a woman ambassador in Italy to play an important role in the negotiations leading up to the Trieste settlement. Posts such as Rome, Paris and London are be yond the reach of career officers unless they have inherited wealth or a rich. wife. To maintain the post at Rome is said to cost Mrs. Luce up to $40,000 a year out of her own resources. This is a situation which only Congress can and must eventu ally remedy. (Distributed by United Feature) Syndicate, Inc.) SAUL PETT Barrymores of Game Tables A' Know Their Chips and Cues NEW YORK l You meet so tried his best to be casual, but hii many interesting people in a hand shook. She stood close to gambling house, and not all of hira. He rolled the dice, mad them cost you money. two or three passes and you The most fascinating, I think, could see her tugging mentally are the shills, those delightful at his elbow. But his sense of Barrymores of dice, roulette, man-of-the-worldliness wouldnt blackjack or whatever game hap- let him leave. Not until he lost, pens to be dragging and needs a Then there was the middle-aged shot in the arm. drinker, who appeared to be As you may know, shills are the drunker than he was. When the genial fakers who are paid to dice came his way, he turned to drum up trade by playing with ' a woman he didn't know and with the house's money, to appear to great flourish invited her to shoot be having the time of their lives for him. in the hope that, their thrills This, I guess, was supposed to will prove contagious. indicate he didn't care what hap pened to his money. Anyway, SHILLS STUDIED ae sight o fresn WOman roll On a recent trip to Puerto Rico, jg with somebody else's dough where gambling is legal, I studied seemed to give the other playeri the shills. You understand, of new hope. Many bet on her. course, that the only reason I she won at first, and then lost, went to the casinos was to gather And as she lost, the drinker be material for a column. came less iirunk, less flamboy- Shills are easy to recognize.- ant, less cavalier. They open and close the joint. AMATEUR When they run out of chips, they TIMID AMAlbUK retire to the men's room, smoke Then there was the timid, a cigarette, and somehow always guilt-ridden amateur. When he return with another (or maybe won, he looked apologetic, as if the same) $20 bill for fresh chips, he were stealing the money. When they win, their eyes flash When he won a real pile, he with triumph, and their chips are looked apprehensive, as though, piled prominently in front of three Chicago gunmen were wait- them. When they lose, their eyes 'n8 outslde for him. When he darken, but never to the black- lost, he seemed to be looking ness of real despair because, after m nls, shoulder as though he all, real despair is contagious, were playing with his boss too money. The kindly old banker always There was the tight-lipped, bel- wore an understanding expres- Hgerent skeptic. Every time his sion. As you paid for chips, his turn came, he growled for fresh eves seemed In wish vnn lurk dice. I doubt he WOUld know juaueu uiie iiuiu juppcicu iici ring. Anyway, fresh dice didn't seem to help, either. " Finally there was the student. For one entire night, he stood by without playing. Just made notes. This was the system player, bub bling with conspiracy. He played the next night. The advantage of a system, as I observed during the considerable research, is that with a system it may take you longer to lose, but you lose. IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG Safety Record GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (To the Editor) We just read in the Om aha World-Herald that the "Safety-Council" has given a special award to the City of Eugene. Ore. for not having had a single traffic fatality in 195-t. Such an achievement would be impossible without the cooperation and watchfulness of every single driver in and around Eugene, and the honor of the award belongs to every one of these drivers. We salute and congratulate Eu gene and its citizens. Yours. DAVID & MADELINE KALL MANN Editor's Note: David Kaufmann is the brother of Ludwig Kauf man of Eugene who received this letter and brought it to the news paper. The Why of It EUGENE (To the Editor) In 19.i4 BclhclDanebo district voted down a partial annexation to the city of Eugene. Why did they do this? I 'll tell you why. How would you like to have your home cut right in two? That's, what this parfial annexation meant to the people in Danebo and Bethel. Over a period of years they have built up one of the Number One communities in the State of Oregon. They have built this com munity by hard work, sweat and tears. Everything had been done the hard 'way. This community means something to 'us because we built it. The people of Bethel Danebo could never favor any plan that would split their com munities in half. It would be just like taking a chicken and chop ping its head off and letting the blood spurt all over the body kicking around here the head kicking around somewhere else. And too, secondly, our money and work has gone in to building this thing and wo do not want to see our investments cut up and snowed under, because who loses on the deal? THE TAXPAYERS OK BETHEL and DANEBO. I do know why the Bcthcl-Dan-ebo people voted down annexation to Eugene partial annexation, but it just sort of looks to mc like this is just one big family out here, and you have to treat this problem as a family problem. SIDEGLANCES Let's keep in mind the founda tions that built the Bethel-Danebo community, because if we do, I know that we can easily work out a solution to the problems that mutually affect not only Eu gene but Bethel and Danebo also. Let's be a family of good neigh bors. GEORGE M. PETERSEN 3011 Elmira Road. By Galbraith . LHj 1 i . 0: jj A T. M Km. U.1NM I'' J Cw. IMS tj V r- h. When you lost, he looked sad but, still, encouraging. Always en couraging. When you won, he beamed. He pouldn't have been more delighted that you were taking his dough.. Among the players, I noticed several types. CRUISE COUPLE There was the young couple just off the cruise ship. She seemed taut and breathless. He FREDERICK C. OTHMAN Resolved: Should Scorpions Get U.S. Mail Privileges? WASHINGTON Even as you read this the Senate committee on post office and civil service is considering gnahhh! whether to give mailing privi leges to live scorpions. This is no minor matter. Sen. Barry Goldwater of Phoenix, Ariz., who would seem to hail from the edge of the scorpion country, introduced the bill,' number 35 on a list that rapidly will climb into the thousands, giving scorpions the right to travel in mailbags. The trouble seems to be that in the desert country too many youngsters tangle with scorpions, which are mean little beasts that inject a shot of poison into any body who tries to pet them. This is no laughing matter. Scorpion poisoning is dangerous. It can result in death. MAKES SENSE Only preventive, aside from avoiding scorpions, is an injec tion of scrum prepared from live scorpions. Dead ones will not do. Sen. Goldwater's bill thus would allow scorpion trappers to mail their catches alive to the serum makers. This makes sense and nobody objects, except maybe the Post Office Department, which is al lergic to scorpions. The boss mailmen do not intend to get into any arguments with the gentle man from Arizona; neither do they like the idea of pasting postage stamps on scorpions, even when boxed. What, they demand, would hap pen if a railway mail clerk drop ped the package and 500 lively scorpions started scampering around the baggage car? What of the poor postman if a scorpion should gnaw his way through the bag on his back. NOT GNAWERS Having looked up scorpions in the encyclopedia beforehand, I assured my man that they are not by nature gnawers. They're more inclined to bite. My postal inform ant said that was what he meant. Gnaw, bite, or drill. He does not like scorpions in the mailbags. This may explain why Sen. Goldwater's similar scorpion bill last year did not become law. He has hopes this session, but I do not believe he'll appease the post al boys until he includes an am endment providing muzzles for mailing scorpions. Most of the other early bills of the 84th Congress, now number- ing 1,038, aren't as important as the scorpion legislation, but they 're still interesting. A number of lawgivers, for instance, have pro posed laws calling for postage stamps honoring the late Sen.' Robert A. Taft, Heywood Broun, Amelia Earhart, the 100th anni versary of the Illinois State Nor mal University, and coal mineri and schoolteachers in generaL Rep. Louis C. Rabaut (D-Mich) would have a law ordering the speaker to lead the members of the House in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag each June 14. Rep. Robert Hale (R-Mc) would put Amefica back on the gold standard. 1 PONDER TAX Rep. Gordon L. McDonough (It-Calif), half of whose constitu tents are feminine, wants to re peal excise taxes on face powder, cold cream, and handbags. Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-NY) would ,A slash Uncle Sam's take on drink- ' ing whisky. Rep. Thaddeus M. Machrowicz (D-Mich) would allow any am bitious youngster to earn up to $1,000 a year, without penalizing his father, taxwise. Sen. Charles E. Potter (R-Mich) would repeal the tax on automobiles. Sen. Homer E. Capehart (R-Ind) would authorize some more con- struction work to preserve the beauty of Niagara Falls. Sen. Everett M. Dirksen (R-I1I) would force the federal govern ment to stop spending more than it takes in, while Sen. Frank Carl son (R-Kan) would print on every postage stamp, "In God We Trust." Looks like a busy year for sure. (Copyright, 1955, By United Feature Syndicate, Inc.) OTHER EDITORS' VIEWS There Are Some People Who Somehow Stay Honest "Her comes Mrs. Jones with some hot soup when she finds out Dr. Brown onlycalled today to borrow our camera, she'll be disappointed!" - (From the Christian Science Monitor) A New York eight-year-old found two broken parking meters, took out the money, and, by way of his mother, turned it in to the city. Apparently he has been taught some very good rules about right and wrong. We con gratulate the youngster, his par ents, the Mayor (who had the wisdom and courtesy to thank both), the famous New York paper which put the story on its front page and the radio news services which also gave it prom inence. Sadly enough, we are more like ly to hear about some youth who broke into meters and stole the money. Which prompts us to ex tend a few additional congratula tions to peopJe who may never get into the news: To the autoist who puts his nickel into the meter even though In a few minutes restricted park ing will be over for the daj. To the one u-hn dnnc at - light and at a stop sign late at night when his is the only car in sight. To the restaurant diner who corrects his meal check even when the error is to his advan tage. To the taxpayer who lists exact ly what he gave to church and charity and chooses to remember to report those small items of income that "nobody can check up on." To the woman who returns the article more expensive than the one she ordered which the de partment store had delivered by mistake. And to the many others of like character. Some may call them "Casper Milquetoasts." They are among the ones, just the same, who give honesty an everyday meaning and keep our society fit to live in. .
