(i MAIL TRIIUNE, Madferi. Ot.
Tuesday, Oct. 20,-1939.
UNI
B7ryWi a Southern Oregon
ada The Mali Tribune"'
FuEftl) D-il except SaturdajTry
iBrtnin wuntiho co
13 "forth ril 8t Ph SP 2-6141
fipetRT W RTJHL Editor
1.HD GRaft Advertislna Manages
GEr-AJJ LATHAM Business M(i
fRIC VT AXLEN JR.
MarjMlrat editor
Brl7 ADAMS. City EdJtoT
BAflf CHIFJaAW Teleg Editor
JKIM JKVVETT Sports Editor
ttllfS STARi'HER Women a Editni
PAfcgETUCKSON Circulation MT
Ika ladeeenden Newsoaner
a aorwni eiaaa matter al
Oretron under Art of
Man S 189?
StJSSCRIPTlON RATES
afr Wat , In Advance Codv 10c
Jta5 id Sunday 1 year SIS 00
4waly and Sunday 4$ moa 8 0(,
Oleiil? ani Sunday 3 mos 429
-ovtjaeaay Qnly One year $4.20
By Carrier In Advance Medford
Aajnaa Central Point Eagle
OMajt Jacksonville. Gold Hill
OTaaealx Shady Cove Rogue Riv
mf 9&KBI and on motor routes
M? and Sunday 1 year IIS 00
(BjauaT ouThiay l mo l-XJ
etaarier aijd Dealer cop 10c
4M1 farm Cash In Advance
OtaWal Paper of City f Medfor
mmm aal Paper ol Jackson county
failed Pres Intematinnal
FuD Leased Wire
EH OF AUDIT BUREAU
VF CIRCULATION
4aiMsfng Representative:
OBST HOLIPAV CCV INC Of
. aXana in Men York. Chicago. De
"ewst. San Francisco.- Los Angela
jtanSUe. Portland St. Louis. At-
ja a. Vancouver B C
NEWSPAPER
PUBLISHERS
ASSOCIATION
E0ITORIAI
AsgCTIN
... .Lm
flight 'o Time
m
taeafferd and Jackson County
aJMary from the files of The
kWI Tribune 10, 20, 30. 40
asj M y&rs ago.
iaJL
8f ION AL
afcfCABS AGO
Cart. 0, 1949 (Thursday)
Congressman and Mrs. Kar
ri llworth pay a brief and
' gjrffirii1 visit to Medford-
a proposal that Bonneville
avtf be substituted for Cal
persia Oregon Power com
? power when available is
fisewssed before th.e Ashland
aaftr aouncil.
0 YEARS AGO
Qrt. tO, 1939 (Friday)
fjfedford taxpayers are in
efeKsted in the proposed $30,
00 bond "issue for develop
trrfRt of a city park, but a ma
feity of those approached in
B oll decline" to express their
Views for publication.
... - i tllT
itnm Artnur .rerry s ic
gmudge Pot" column: "A val
ley grower reported yesterday
4h present price of onions
"Was enough to bring tears
9e His eyes.' .
M TEARS AGO
9k 20, 1929 (Sunday)
Talley hens suddenly stop
laying eggs - and a shortage
' aC "hen fruit" is reported in
teal stores.
A rumor on the local streets
hat oil was struck in Grants
.ffaae proves unfounded.
TEARS AGO
art. 20, 1919 (Monday)
A. local boy, 11, is nabbed
:per joy-riding and lectured by
aaolice.
Medford is denied a squad-
ton of Army airplanes for -its
Armistice Day. celebration.
ft YEARS AGO
Oct,. 20, 1909 (Wednesday)
The ' Medford Commercial
lub presents its annual High
finks.
Congressman W. C. Hawley
"expresses surprise at Med
ord's growth. -'
What's Your I.O.?
4Min ar ten correct is superior:
una At aLiht is excellent: five et
m is good. "
1. In bullfighting, , which
one kills the bull-the picador
or the matador?
2. What kind of coal was
first discovered 1 in Carbon
Countv. Pa., in 1791?
3. According to the pro
, verb, what is worth a bird
in the hand?
4. Who founded the Amer
ican Red Cross Society?
' 5. If you wished to visit
the Isle of Capri, would you
go to Manila Bay; Bay oi Nap
1m or Bav of Biscay? . . -
; "What is - the only ele
ment, that does not solidify
when .subjected to temper-
tures approaenrng absolute
i 7. Into what sea does the
Rhine River empty?
8. In what city is George
town University located?
9. Of what kind of tissue
is the heart principally made?
10. Is it the east or west
front of the U.S. Capitol that
is being extended?
- . Answers: 1. Matador. 2.
Anthracite. 3. Two in the
, bush. 4. Clara Barton. . 5.
' Bay of Naples. 6. Helium.
f7. North Sea. 8. Washing
. : ton D.C. 9. Muscular tis
; ua. 10. asl.
I 'Brandy Is ' distilled from
grape wine; It got its -name
from the German Brantwein,
meaning burned wine.
Ashland's Renaissance
. Once again, Ashland has done it.
On Friday, by a margain of about 5 to 1,
voters in Ashland approved a $350,000 bond is
sue to finance construction of a badly-needed
new hospital.
It is renewed evidence of what looks, from
here, like a resurgence
sponsibility and interest, which once was most
notable by its absence.
IT WOULD be difficult, if not impossible to
determine just. when this renaissance in the
spirit of Ashland began: But its first became
evident when the city oversubscribed by 40 per
cent its quota in the fund rasing drive to build
a new Oregon Shakespearean Festival theater..
Then it passed a big school bond issue. .
Now it will build a new hospital.
This is the kind of spirit which makes a com
munity a good. one, with a real sense of civic
pride and responsibility. E.A.
Simple
. Ashland's hospital problems, of course, will
not be cured by building a new structure.
Hospitals everywhere are in the midst of
seemingly insuperable problems, particularly in
keeping their charges down within reason, and
their costs within their ability to pay.
One commentator blames much of the trouble
on the fact that in every community there is a
certain percentage of hospital patients who can
not pay for their treatment, that for humanitarian
reasons hospitals cannot turn away patients, no
matter what their financial status, and that local
governments do not pay hospitals enough for
charity patients to cover the costs.
AS A result, the hospitals are in a pinch.
A number of patients cannot pay, the hos
pitals do not recover 'enough in charity funds to
cover the costs, and as a result must, if they are
to remain in business, raise their charges to other
patients, thus aggravating the problem and breed
ing resentment.. ; -"
It is a real problem, and a real dilemma.
And it seems to us that it is un to the local
governments involved to
bility for chanty cases,
pital (and its other patients) do not have to as
sume that burden. 1 '
'
IT BOILS down to a choice between these alter-
1. Shall hospitals reject patients who cannot
pay for their medical treatment? . - -'-'v
2. Shall they accept
keep up; their already-high charges to ' pother
patientscharges which, even to a solvent cit
izen, come at the worst possible time? - " ;
3. Or, shall local governments accept uie re
sponsibility of making realistic reimbursement to
1- 1 ?2 1 1 "J O
me nospuais ior cnaniy
If we reject the inhuman first alternative, we
are iacea witn mis cnoice eitner. everyone
(through their taxes) pays for the hospital's in
digent cases; or else they are paid by; other pa
tients,, through the imrealistically high, charges
the hospitals are forced to make. -l
And that is a pretty simple choice, isn't it?
E.A. i - r . . v
. . j.
Why Foreign Aid? h !
Ever wonder what this foreign aid stuff is
all about? . Why our hard-earned tax dollars
should be "sent abroad to help some nation we
hardly ever heard of?
One of the best succinct explanations we have
seen was contained in a letter to Sen. Richard
L. Neuberger, from Ernest K. Lindley, of News
week magazine, who recently returned from an
extended tour abroad.
Here are excerpts:
"VOU are right in consistently supporting f or
... .eign aid., Taken as a whole, our foreign aid
programs-military,' technical, economic have
been a great success. They, are producing results.
; . "A global struggle between communism and
the free way of life will be settled, I believe, in
Asia and Africa. It will not be settled in Western
Europe, unless we lose our nerve.
"In the Middle East, South and Southeast
Asia, and East Asia, we are making marked
gains. The changes since - my previous visit to
these areas are substantial and heartening. They
rest largely-on our economic aid program, at
though most of our collateral and supporting
policies are also proving sound.
MUR gains will be lost if we cut back on
j; V: economic aid or, indeed, military aid at the
present time. The plain fact is that our aid in
certain countries ought to be increased. The
struggle for Aisa will not be finished until we get
the free countries on their feet economically and
in a position to move ahead at a pace comparable
with, or at least not too far shart of, the Soviet
Union's and Communist China's.
"Not to do this would be a teiribly costly and
possibly eventually, fatal
who nas had a chance to see the overall results,
I do not regret one penny of my money which
has gone into foreign aid." E.A.
The race for the presidency is the only one
we know about that permits a man to run halfway
around the track before entering the race.
Sherman County Journal . - -. - -
of a spirit of civic re
Choice
assume their, responsi
and make sure the hos
,..
chanty patients, and then
cases:
blunder. -As a taxpayer
Dennis the
I SAlP PUT'yOUR MOTHER OM THE RffOKE WHAT?
ygS.jM STILL AWWVGUl HEOO? VNH?fl5MVS...
Washington Report
By WILLIAM
Quiet Debate
Washington -Fateful
changes in high foreign policy
are taking place in an almost
total absence of public dis
cussion among the politicians.
Such a na
t i o n a 1 "de
bate" now go
ing on offi
cially is more
a series of
whispers than
of roars,
With isolated
exceptions,
, William 8. rV-
White - ination of the
Eisenhower Administration's
turn ;to negotiations with the
Russians is nonexistent. Most
Republicans seem sincerely to
approve. But approve or not
-and many privately do. not-
they are stuck with the policy
because the head of their, par
ty has made it.
The Democrats generally
are stuck with it, too, 'for. dif
ferent reasons Within , the
Democratic party there is ac
tually a very wide anxiety
about the Eisenhower 'Khru
shchev exchanges. But here,
too," there is nothing remotely
approaching an open and full
throated questioning. Totally
lacking now is ,.the. kind of
fierce controversy, that both J
rocked and informed the
country two , -decades ago
when we began to reject the
notion of Fortress America
and isolation.
r PLAIN -FACT, the Demo
cratic opposition cannot
responsibly now oppose. First,
it has too little real informa
tion to risk making majoij
judgments. Only political
juveniles are willing to ''op
pose in such an area simply
for the sake of opposing. Sec
ond, recent excesses of opposi
tion, like that indulged by
many Republicans in the
Korean War, have taught, re
sponsible politicians to think
twice before rocking the boat.
And, third, the nuclear age
has raised a serious question
whether- aU - out and official
foreign policy opposition will
ever again be fully possible.
When it is in , the power of
nations to destroy mankind
by ; a single act of. button
pushing, the political minor
ity may no longer be permit
ted to challenge, high policy.
Whether we are wise, in
dealing with the Russians, or
whether we are courting dis
aster, only .' time can tell.
One thing, however; is clear:
Never before in our history
have, so few leaders' under
taken so much in the f ace.of a
public able torknow so littie
about it all. t ; -: M't ;
: . - . ; "
ASSUMING: no ' vast ; a n d
early change in" the cold
war, ;,there wfll be no real
foreign policy debate at the
earliest w until a new Admin
istration and a new Congress
have been installed in Janu
ary of 1961. - : '
. Nobody in the 1960 election
campaign can or will run
against ."peace." Therefore,
there is a strange vacuum. To
fill this void is impossible in
present' circumstances.- But
the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee is trying, .in a
whoUy bipartisan way, to do
at least something about it.
The committee is sponsor
ing 15 major objective, and
nonpolitical studies df world
affairs at a cost of $300,000.
The work is being done by
scholars in the universities
and foundations who are not
running for office and not
running anybody else for of
fice. - ,
-
ONE OF THESE STUDIES,
which the. Foreign Rela
tions Committee itself in due
time will either endorse or
reject, makes somber reading.
It was conducted by the For
. Menace
S. WHITE
eign Policy Research Institute
of the University of Pennsyl
vania. ,
Ironically these academic
people speak much the same
language once spoken by the
politicians.' , :It; is ithe acade
mies who arevnow the most
worried about the possibility
of appeasement. They urgent
ly, recommend more rather
than less military strength in
the .Western . alliance; more
rather than less suspicion of
what they flatly call "Soviet
blandishment and blackmail.
.Whether they are right or
wrong is not the present point.
The point is that one group is
still speaking up in the tradi
tion of the great foreign pol
icy debates of the past. And
the academies are now about
the sole 'Open backers of the
"tough" line which used to be
the copyrighted possession of
the politicians. -
Communications ;
Letters to the Editor must
: bear e name and address of
the write although nder cer
tain circumstances tne use ot a
pen name m .initial for publica
tion is peinissible The- Mail
Tribune reserves the right to
edit aU letters-with an eye to
clarification, ano condensation
Letters sulmitted for publica
tion must tut exceed 400 words
Ends and Means
To the Editor: I feel under
a certain obligation to write
and tell you that I enjoyed
and agreed with your editor
ial of last Friday in reference
to raising money to send the
band to Sah Francisco. I fear
that you will receive much
adverse criticism for this
point of view and, therefore,
wish to state my congratula
tions. I want to be particularly
careful not to imply any crit
icism of our Medford school
system which, I feel, is out
standing, not only in Oregon,
but in the United States. Their
highly professional attitude
assures all our children the
best possible education for
their, capabilities. , ;
I would also like to add to
your criticisms of the meth
ods of money-raising. The ad
vertisements of the smorgas
bord were misleading. They
advertised all a person could
eat for 30 cents. However, if
a child asked for a larger por
tion (and the portions were
miserable), none was forth
coming. I do feel tiiat our
children, without cafeterias,
were in the position of . a cap
tive audience -bad enough -but
what is even worse, a pay
ing captive audience.: .- ...
We here in the United
States bitterly criticise the
philosophy of the ends justify
ing the means, and ;it makes
me uncomfortable to see it
cropping up in even a petty
situation of this kind.
: Mrs. George RodeV 7
Cherry Heights, '
Medford. "j.i
Kittens and Oldsters
To the Editor: I have a pet
cat and a pet peeve. Of either,
one is enough.
I am thinking of- people
who are so tender hearted that
they just cannot stand to have
their unwanted kittens put to
sleep, so they drop them off
beside the road to starve,
slowly, to death.
One such little fellow came
to the Fifty Plus club one day.
I took it around to over 60
members and the only one
who could give it a home was
an old gentleman who lived
alone. I've never dared ask
him what became of it.
Now with oldsters, it is dif
ferent.' The Fifty Plus club
means recreation for Med
ford's old people.: Any one
who is in need of real frinds
can visit or become a mem
ber. Just walk right in any
Friday noon. Meeting is called
to order at 12:30 at the Guild
hall at Fifth and Oakdale.
You'll find friends galore.
Each brings a sack lunch next
time. We'U have the coffee.
But . please, pretty please,
don't drop those pitifully
mewing orphan kitties
around.
Pearl Spackman,
Jacksonville, Ore. .
Examine His Eyas
To the Editor: The hunter
that shot my big grey ; and
white tomcat on Sunday af
ternoon needs to have his eyes
examined and also his head.
I didn't know a Dheasant
looked like a cat, before.
I nope the hunter will read
this.
Mrs. Burton Green,
2411 Sunset Court,
Medford. .
Economic Penetration
To the Editor: Four men
were active in the industrial
revolution that changed .the
tribal economic system into
the Feudal economic system.
They were Abraham, Moses,
Christ and Spartacus. .
; It was Abraham, the asari-
an, who told his fellow tribes
men the land they tilled was
based solely on production
for use and could not be sold
or exchanged. To Abraham,
the earth was the. beginning
and end of aU individual ex
istence. Moses, the stone mason,
carved the industrial laws of
his organization on a tablet
of stone and armed with the
tools of their trade, led his
followers into a land of milk
and honey far away from the
kingdoms of the usurpers and
slave holders. This is what
King Solomon meant when he
said, "Tools to the workers
are the life blood of a coun
try - for without them, em
pires perish and nations dry
rot."
r Christ, the carpenter, along
with Peter the fisherman,
Simeon the Tanner and other
labor leaders found sanctuary
underground in the catacombs
of Rome only to be accused
by the ruling classes of seek
ing to over-throw the govern
ment and met their fate by
crucifixion.
It was Spartacus the slave
gladiator who led the slaves
of Rome into battle that de
feated the might of Rome
only to meet betrayal with
the advent of the feudal lords
of Europe. Emperor Con-
stanune in collusion witn xne
high priests of Rome there
upon combined church and
state into a" form of govern
ment legalizing.its;; edifices of
superstition that, conceals the
true facts of history - housing
the non - productive clergy
that ignore the , cause and
effect of poverty. The good
earth awakens to reprisal, the
masses stir in rovolt. No long
er will Faith, Hope . and
Charity take' the place of
Food, Clothing '. and Shelter.
Economic ' Penetration rends
assiinder the cause of poverty
and by Education, Health and
Welfare restores to the earth
the heaven of 5s origin.
' Tom CaldweU
408 Laurel st.
Medford v v:
Dog Problems';
To the Editor: The policy
statement for dog control
seems out of line as a humane
view. There are, too, thoughts,
and they are common sense
and common knowledge.
It is common knowledge
that dogs have the worst dis
ease, named distemper, and it
should be common sense to
find out . if those dogs have
been vaccinated before any
operations are done.
It was stated the 13 females,
after being spayed, died from
distemper. This disease alone
is a torture, to say nothing
of being operated on. Then
you cry cruelty by taking a
chance with a living being,
and if you ask yourself,
chances are dangerous. You've
got to know", or something
suffers,
''The veterinarians' fees are
too high. In the middle west
these fees are six to seven
times less, as in the spaying,
$2.50 and all shots. This is
not done by dog hospitals, but
vets for the farm and home.
One dollar a day is too much
for a non-profit dog program,
with one meal a day. The care
of a $400 or $500 horse, care
including hay, water, clean
ing and a handful of grain, $1.
The $5 mutt without a name
costs as much as an animal
which is 25 times bigger.
I can't see any inhuman
treatment in using these con
demned dogs for human use,
as to find cures for man.
The kennels are a breed
ing place, as anyone knows,
and especially when dogs
come from every nook and
corner of the county. Dog is
much like man,, he is accus
tomed to a home and home
surroundings, whether they be
inside or outside, and if these
surroundings are not afforded,
the animal gets homesick and
gets off his feed, and disease
creeps in.
I feel that putting pets for
adoption is a sin and a shame
for any dog over six months
old to be dealt with in such
inhuman ways. The intelligent
animal never forgets his or
Strains Sesh Coming Soon in
U.S.-Brazilian Relationships
By PHIL NEWSOM -UPI
Foreign Editor jl
The traditional bonds of
friendship between the Unit
ed States and Brazil are in
for some se
vere strains in
the coming
month.
Some will
be the results
of next year's
eawpi election cam
I Daien in which
Brazilian Na
tionalists and
Newsom the nation s
strong Communist Party both
will indulge in their favorite
sport -of flailing the Yanqui
whipping boy.
The other will spring from
Brazil's always - precarious
economy and her attempts to
cure those economic ills
through flirtations with the
Soviet Union and the satel
lites and with Red China.
A hint of things to come
was seen in a recent warning
by the U.S. Ambassador to
Brazil, John Moors Cabot,
that overtures to the Com
munists could wreck the pres
ent "fruitful collaboration"
between the two nations.
Spoke Hard Truths
Cabot spoke '. only hard
truths. The U.S.. not only is
Brazil's biggest buyer but it
also has the greatest foreign
investment in Brazil. .
U.S.. dollar aid was the
main factor in preventing
Brazil from going broke long
before now.
Any close alignment with
the Communist nations not
ony would be distasteful to
the U.S. economically, it also
would presents a strategic
threat. Brazil now has an
agreement with the U.S. per
mitting U.S. missile tracking
stations on Brazilian soil.
Despite optimistic Brazilian
statements about the nation's
financial condition, these are
some of the conditions now
exisiting:
Brazil ended the first half
of 1959 with a -balance of
payments deficit of $150 mil
lion. ' Her trade deficit was $32
million.
Searching For Funds
- This year she must service
thei government's foreign debt
to the tune of $250 million
The government points out
that coffee exports have
jumped since July, and that
foreign investment is up.
- Critics, of the government
contend that these, develop
ments simply stave off the
evil day for the Brazilian
economy, unless Brazil is will-
her master. Each dog has a
history and if it not be known,
bow can you know what to do
to help the animal?
The man who sells must
know his animal and give an
intelligent history and facts
for the dog's own protection.
If one cannot give facts and
advice, he should put the col
lar around his own neck and
just grin.
Leo A. Rif enbark
- 1131 Pinecroft ave.
Medford.
An Appreciation
. To the Editor: On Sunday
afternoon, I thought to add my
presence, plus one dollar, to
the support of a worthy cause,
namely: the appearance of the
Portland Junior Symphony.
Having rested assured, these
many years, that the San
Francisco Symphony under
direction of Pierre Montieux,
was the outstanding feature of
music on the coast, I expected
to say, "They did very well."
Complacency is the word
for it, and I was most certain
ly put in my place.
The Beethoven Fifth Sym
phony, the old war horse I
have heard since the hey-day
of Walter TJamrosch, emerged
from the depths of despair to
victory with a continuity not
attained by many more sea
soned conductors.
The Enesco Roumanain
Rhapsody, so often used in re
pertiore of leading symphon
ies, was a revelation in tech
nical ability and changing
tempo.
In the Londonderry" Air one
could- positively hear voices
with organ accompaniment -comparable
to the national
theme on a desolate Finnish
shore as portrayed by Jean
Sibelius.
The music teachers and
group of budding genius (col
lectively) were conspicuous
by their absence.
Incidentally, 'Mr. Avshalo
mov did not heed my pres
ence. He could have perform
ed -in a lumber yard, without
human response, so far as in
spirational necessity was con
cerned. (Name on file).
Medford.
Husbands! Wives!
Get Pep, Vim; Feel Younger
Thousands of couples tie weak, worn-out,
exhausted because body lacks iron and
Vitamin Bi. For a younger feeling after 40,
try new. Improved Ostrex Tonic Tablets.
Contain iron and high-potency dose. Vita
min Bi for quick, new younger pep. vim.
3-day "get-acquainted" size only 69. Or .
get veonomy size, save tl.67.All diuggirta
t
Phil
ing to install a harsh auster
ity program.
Meanwhile, in a desperate
search for new funds, the gov
ernment has began to look
toward the Communist na
tions. '
Matter of Fact i?h mmp
KEROUXC, KEEP OUT!
Kyoto Over one of the
proud gates of the Daikokuji
monastery here, there is an
inscription by
U me junperor
V ft I a i tf n '
gllpil "P eerless
lempie 01 uie
I ' J Zen Sect" U
$ J I ' 5 the pious Go-
- x daigo had not
died six cen
turies ago, he
wo u 1 d now
add: "But Not
Joi-on Alsos
for the Beat Generation."
After seeing and hearing
some of tne seii-comessea
American Zen practitioners,
it is a very odd experience
to go to this monastery which
is Zen's fountainhead.
Its beauty is undefeated.
The precinct is peaceful and
fragrant with its pines. The
great pavilions, built of dark
cedar, ar3 soberly splendid.
At least three of the Daito-'
kuji's counUess gardens are
among the most lovely man
has ever made.
But go visit the strangest
and most marvelous of these
gardens a miniature yet
grand mountain landscape
largely made of rocks and
raked sand, with only a little
moss and a shrub or two sug
gesting the greenness of na
tural growth. Here one smells
defeat.
THIS garden's pavilion, be
in? a .Tananpsp national
treasurer, is under repair.
The old monk who lives here,
with no tourists to pay for
his performance of the tea
ceremony, has put off his
priestly robes. You find .him
enjoying a jolly bourgeois
meal with his wife and moth
er.
Two-thirds oi the. Daitokuji
Is now like this a place to
see the wonders of the past
but no longer a place to seek
the inner light. Yet this an
cient tree which has- died back
so far, .still' obstinately, puts
out a few green shoots of
faith. This you-discover if you
visit the pavilion of Chief
addou uaa aesso.
Here there is no married
monk taking an easy lun
cheon. Here, on the hard
bench of the handsome en
trance, is a young man in
shabby pilgrim dress frozen
in the antique petitioner's at
titude, head bowed upon knee.
So he must remain, silence
as a statue, until he is accept
ed as a novice. The silent
place, the silent figure have
their effect. The effect is not
diminished when a barefoot,
black robbed priest noiseless
ly appears, noiselessly pros
trates himself, and wordless
ly beckons the visitor to en
ter. "V
TfHE visitor is led to an in-
-- ner room,' giving on a gar
den. Still with no sound, Chief
Abbot Oda enters t a man on
whom discipline has con
ferred beauty, spare and
graceful in his spotless white
and pale tobacco brown
robes. Is he 50? Or 60?,Or
70, one asks. But who can
guess the game of a face so
linelessly serene? At length
the Abbot speaks in a low bell-'
like voice: r
"Have you some reason for
coming to see me?"
The visitor, suddenly reluct
ant to mention the long-haired,
unwashed young men and
women babbling of the Budd
ha over ccjffee in San Fran
cisco, mumbles something
about "the great interest in
t a-- .
Counsel With . .
Mr. Insurance Fred Brennan
JliiM ' ft
Fred Brennan
or call
Mr. Friendly
Bill Fish
Phone SP 3-7343
-
MEDFORD
, INSURANCE
AGENCY
27 NORTH HOLLY ST.
Inside Brazil, Nationalist
and- Communist forces 'are
clamoring for 1 e g i slation
which would bear down heav
ily on the 500 million dollars .
in U.S. money already invest-
ed . there. . :. .1
Zen in America." The Chief .
Abbott speaks again, very
gravely: -
"Zen is the key to under
standing of the civilization of
the Far East. And the key
to Zen are meditation and pur-,
ity."
SEEMING to look inward, he
briefly expounds " hie
faith. Then he is asked whe
ther he has felt any of the
effects of the quickened in
terest in Zen abroad. Smiling,
he says he has indeed, and
talks for a while of the tot--"
eign Zen enthusiasts who have
come to the Daitokuji. Gener
ally they come without a word
of Japanese, as though they
would absorb a new faith from
the air, but the Chief Abbot
is undisturbed by this.
A plant, grown in a new
country, may often bear dif
ferent fruit,, remarks the
Chief Abbot calmly. "So we
must expect Zen to bear
changed fruit, now that it has
been planted abroad." .
At this point, although the
atmosphere is exceptionally
anti-giggle, it is hard to re
press a giggle at the thought'
of the novels of Jack Ker
ouac. But the giggle is suc
cessfully swallowed and the
Chief Abbot continues: '
"It is good for us, this new
interest in Zen overseas. It
may teach our own people to
value this treasure, as for
eign interest has taught them
to put a higher value on their
architecture and' their gar
dens."
Thus the opening is given
to ask about the true state of
the Daitokuji. Again the Chief
Abbot answers calmly but a
little sadly. Reading between
the lines of what he says, one
can see that most of the Daitoi
kuji's two score pavilions
have become the poor con
cessions of the married Driests
who keep them, who are paid
for showing them to tourists,
and who hand them on to
their sons. But in some pav
ilions, like the Abbot's, the
true doctrine is still taught
"PIFTY years ago, the. Chief
A Abbot of the Daitokuji in
structed no less than 70 nov
ices. Now there are only 10.
Yet these novices follow tke
old discipline, meditatimg
daily, daily practising the Ze
questions and answers with
their master, begging theij
bread each day in the streets,
and doing all the work of th
place as well.
"Perhaps their noviclat
will not last 16 years, as mine
did," says the Chief Abbot
with a smile. "But they stijl
learn and they still come to
learn. Once we priests of Zeh
were outlawed and persecuted
and ' forbidden to wear our
robes; but we still preached
and we preserved our faith.
Zen has come back befor
this; Zen will gain strength
again."
,The talk turns to more re
mote topics. Almost gaily, the
Chief Abbot discourses on
such matters as the beginning
of Taoist influence on Zen
with the sixth master of the
sect. A great gong sounds and
a slow chant begins in the
neighboring pavilion. As th
visitor takes his leave, the pe
titioner is still bowed and
frozen on his bench. Has he
come," one wonders, because
he has heard that Zen is mak
ing a great noise overseas?
And what on earth would hap
pen if one of those young men
in San Francisco should take
the petitioner's place? "
(c) 1959 New York Herald
Tribune Inc.
BE CENTSABLE!
About your INSURANCE,;
we mean. It makes GOOD
CENTS to insure with Med-'
ford Insurance Agency;
where you get, $AVINGS
WITH $AFETY.
1
Bill Fish
f