From Oregon's Press
-Oregon's newspapers are, generally, vigorous and well-edited. The following , are
editorials, articles or column comment from various Oregon papers, quoted either in
full or in part, and selected because of their general interest. Their publication does not
Imply either approval or disapproval en the part of the Mail Tribune of the opinions
given. '
The Hard Life
Of the Liberal
" The path of the liberal is a
difficult one.
Sometimes he looks at the
conservatives, and even the
radicals, with envy.
For the conservatives, and
often the radicals, know ex
actly where their paths lead.
There is seldom any ques
tion of what to think, which
way to vote. The way is well
signed, with few paths lead
ing off to deviations.
But not so with the liberal.
On every issue, as a new
phase arises, he must reevalu
ate his thinking if he is to
keep a clear balance, an ob
jective attitude, and act ac
cordingly. For instance:
, What are the real issues in
the use of child labor in for
eign factories that compete
with the United States?
Who is the best judge of
whether the sand dunes of
Oregon should or should not
be made into a national park
- with what boundaries? And
how can we determine which
argument is really in the pub
lic interest and which is con
cealed selfishness?
What are the real truths
in the arguments between
business and labor, the state
ments of politicians repre
senting their various constitu
encies, the differences be
tween the law enforcers and
the social workers?
Every day the practicing
liberal faces these and myriad
other problems until the very
process of morning awaken
ing can become a challenge
in itself.
The brain grows tired. The
mind becomes numb.
And it is then the envy of
the conservative (or the radi
cal) grows.
All the conservative has to
do is exactly like his father
did. Any small variations of
thinking and conduct entail
ed in being pulled toward the
middle of the 20th century
are ordained by a staunch
bulwark of editorial and ad
vertising advice in such pub
lications as the Saturday Eve
ning Post and U.S. News And
World Report.
The radical?
" All he has to do is oppose
the conservative, right down
the line.
His mind can be as closed
as President William McKin
ley's, just dressed in oppos
ing colors.
Who could blame the liber
al for wanly wanting at odd,
tired moments to join either
rank for that safe, sure feel
ing of being told exactly what
to do, what to think, by lead
ers who often haven't bother
ed to do either in such a long
time that they cannot re
member if they ever did.
It seems so invitingly relax
ing, so nirvanish, to quote
the Zens of modern beatnik
Buddhism.
But with relaxation comes
again that itch that one think
ing man diagnosed as the
avocational disease of the true
liberal.
The itch to know for him
self the true facts in the pan
orama unfolding day by day.
The itch to feel the actual
experience of participation in
the life going on about him
rather than accept a watered
down or over-emotionalized
version of it from some self
proclaimed leader.
The itch to live, alert to
every moment until death
gets in the way.
So he turns away again
from the easy life he sees on
either side and resumes ro
tating his head, trying to look
at all sides of all questions,
hoping he will be able to
evaluate and act intelli
gently. It helps immeasurably if he
has a sense of humor.
- Robert W. Leedom in
Coos Bay World.
'Now Lie In It!'
From what I read in the
papers, every property owner
in Ashland should have been
at Medford's annual Chamber
of Commerce meeting the
other night.
Seems they had a speaker
who told them what is wrong
with their town; with colored
pictures to prove it.
And what
goes double
Ashland.
he said there
in spades for
Among other recommenda
tions, he suggested elimina
tion of huge unsightly bill
boards which hide and deface
all natural beauty.
If this expert thinks Med
ford has billboards, he ought
to take a trip on down to Ash
land. We've got billboards telling
people to read other bill
boards. And the first ones cover up
the second ones so that you've
got to go around the block to
see what you missed on the
first ones.
..'.
They have a place in Amer
ican Life just like measles
and whooping cough.
Yes, I'm all for them if
they are about two feet
square and about a mile from
the nearest road.
On one of my first trips
here I came out of a dense
fog just north of town.
Just in time to come face
to face with a huge 30-foot
cobra stretched across the
landscape and apparently
dripping venom all over my
windshield.
.
I'll tell you that was a chill
ing sight.
Especially for a guy who
is afraid of gopher snakes.
And the sad part is that
after the monster had appar
ently flown the coop, so to
speak, the sign lingers on.
Hasn't anybody around here
got a good chain saw? '
The expert also recom
mended the use of paint and
color to - accent or hide a
city's good and bad points.
Now before you apply that
recommendation to Ashland,
you've just got to give it a
lot of consideration.
I am reminded of a courte
ous gentleman who, when
walking down the street met
a lady acquaintaince carrying
her new baby.
The infant was not cherub;
in fact it was downright ugly.
Mustering up his gallantry
and realizing that some com
ment was necessary, the gen
tleman finally stammered:
My, that certainly
baby, isn't it!
IS
He's a Coward
Every Other Year
Every election year we
learn what a low down coward
we are.
A fellow stops in for a visit
and before the visit is con
cluded he says, "I'm thinking
of running for . What do
you think my chances would
be?"
We proceed to talk all
around the subject, never di
rectly answering his. ques
tion. We talk about who the
candidates for the office may
be, the issues likely to come
up, if any, and the general
political climate. By indirec
tion we try to get through to
him what we think his decis
ion should be. But we don't
come right out and tell him.
We haven't always done
this, however. We learned the
hard way. In a couple cases
we thought we knew the per
sons well enough that we
could give them direct an
swers, tell them that we did
not think they could win. We
not only thought we could
speak directly in answer to
their questions but, because
they were good friends, we
owed them honest, direct an
swers. We didn't want them to
spend a lot of money and
time and effort to no avail.
In both cases it finally got
through our thick skull that
they really didn't want the
answers we gave them. If we
were not ready to encourage
them to be candidates they
didn't want us to answer their
questions. In both cases good
friendships cooled consider
ably. One has been cool ever
since.
When the political bug
bites him the victim can't be
saved. He just has to run for
office. No amount of think
ing on the subject will change
his decision. He knows that
in every contest somebody
has to lose. But he never sees
himself in" the role of - the
loser.
So, in an election year
we're a coward. Even if we
think the odds against a man
winning are 100 to I we don't
say anything outright to dis
courage him. Urgently as we
may want to say to him, "It's
for the best that you be told
that you can't win. It will
save you, a lot of heartache
and money to forget it right
now," we keep our lips but
toned tight.
Good friends are not easily
come by. We will never again
lose one by giving him politi
cal advice he doesn't want.
- J. W. Forrester in
Pendleton East Oregonian.
This 'Sorry' Age
Walter Lippmann devoted
a recent column to criticizing
our economic objective to
"maximize consumer goods."
So intent are we on comforts
we fail to support more vital
programs for the national
welfare. Eric Allen, referring
in his editorial column of the
Medford Mail Tribune, agrees
with Lippmann's concern
"about the self-satisfied, com
placent, flabby, sanctimon
ious, conforming attitude so
prevalent t o d a y." Allen
writes:
"America today is becom
ing a rather terrifying latter
day Rome -eating, drinking,
sleeping and playing while
the Barbarians gather their
forces and muster their
strength." .
There is truth in the charge
that we are decidedly con
formist in this day and age,
also that we are more or less
slaves to "modern conven
iences." But part of this re
action may be due to a "guilt
complex." We are surprised
at our own prosperity. We
take it all in stride - power
washing machines, television,
motor boats, - but still think
we must be cheating to have
We really aren't as de
praved as the Medford editor,
following Lippmann, por
trays. And as far as our "com
petition" (the Soviet Union)
is concerned its goals are turn
ing more to what these crit
ics condemn, consumer goods,
with the time-payment plan
to speed their distribution.
America will not fall because
we have pop-up toasters and
electric razors .the wide
spread of the comforts of life
strengthens rather than weak
ens our form of socio-economic
organizations. Depriving
the people of their gadgets
would hardly make them
better citizens.
What we should do is turn
the "guilt" feeling into per
formance of good works, cul
tivation of high standards of
culture (not turning to the
vacuum of the beatnik). We
have many and great public
works to perform, and can
well divert part of our abun
dance to such undertakings.
Harvard College's recent in
gathering of $82 million for
its undergirding is a sample
of what should be done, in
proper scale, among other in
stitutions. Huge contributions
for medical research are an
other. Our material goods
should not reduce us to glut
tony but spur us to higher
achievement. - Oregon Stales
man, Salem.
Time To Heed Warnings
The resignation of Dr. Har
old M. Erickson as State
Health Officer and the release
of Oregon's comparatively
dismal 1959 health record
have caused many Oregonians
to take another look at the
state's defense against disease
and death. And that, if there
can be any consolation to
jerking up roots and leaving
one's home in mid-life, was
clearly what the health offi
cer hoped his letter of resig
nation would accomplish.
He admittedly was con
cerned that some people
might conclude Oregon's
health record had suddenly
gone into a tailspin, or that
the state is now unhealthy in
comparison to the rest of the
nation. The 1959 health pic
ture, Dr. Erickson empha
sized, merely was an exten
sion of a trend of the past
several years. If last year's
statistics are correctly viewed
as "danger signals" indicat
ing the need for more atten
tion to our defenses, both Dr.
Erickson and Governor Mark
Hatfield point out there is no
reason Oregon cannot quickly
regain its traditional national
Yes, you've just got to com
pliment the Medford group
for bringing in a man who
will talk straight from the
shoulder.
As long as we are all apa
thetic or worse; heedless to
the aesthetic qualities which
make life so much more pleas-'
ant; and unwilling to speakj
up for fear of jeopardizing j
our quest for the almighty j
dollar, we deserve what we !
usually get. j
Like my old German pro
fessor used to shriek when I
became entangled in a hor
rible sequence of verbs:
"You haff buttered your
bread, now lie in it!"
-Edd Roundtree in
Ashland Tidings.
TUESDAY,
FEB. 2ND
7:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.
KBES-TV
CHANNEL
"The
Dale Carnegie
Story'
Featuring I
Lowell Thomas
kAmm n 1.1
INVEST
with
CONFIDENCE
at
FIRST FEDERAL
Your investment is insured to $10,
000 by an instrumentality of the U.S.
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Earn healthy returns through current
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Your investment is available for
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29 North Ivy Street Robert F. Kyle, Manager
leadership in the public health
field.
In any event, there certain
ly is no reason for panic. We
may have slipped, but we
definitely haven't fallen, ex
cept in a few areas, below the
national average.
What perhaps is a more
serious implication of the
whole affair is that such
shock treatment would be
necessary to awaken Oregon
residents to the need for more
attention to such a vital re
source as their own health.
As anyone knows who wit
nessed the outpouring of af
fection and esteem at his tes
timonial banquet Deoember
30, there are precious few
NEVER SAY DIE
Springfield, Vt. (UPD- After
George Connor wounded a 13
point, 210-pound buck, he had
to wrestle the animal for sev
eral minutes before it bled
to death. ;
men around with Dr. Erick
son's ability to weld all the
divergent official and volun
tary interests in the health
field into the smoothly-functioning
team which has. car
ried Oregon with remarkable
success through one of the
most difficult periods in its
history.
A state's public health rec
ord invariably is exactly as
good as the support given by
its citizenry. That support is
not necessarily always finan
cial; it also is made up of
such simple steps as each in
dividual obtaining immuniz
ations when asked to do so by
health authorities.
The finest tribute Oregon
could give Dr. Erickson would
be the resolution of each res
ident to help restore the state
to leadership in the health
field. After 25 years of dedi
cated and distinguished serv
ice, he certainly has earned
such a lasting memorial.-Or-egon
Health Bulletin.
Teamsters Express Confidence in Vote
Officials of Teamsters lo
cals in Medford and Klamath
Falls are confident that the
Teamsters Union will win if
an election is held to deter
mine whether ' grocery store
clerks want to join the Retail
Merchants association, accord
ing to a story in the Oregon
Teamster.
The Retail Clerks associa
tion has petitioned the Nation
al Labor Relations Board for
an election of grocery store
employees in the two areas.
If an election is granted by
the NLRB, grocery employees
will vote on whether they
want the Teamsters or Retail
Merchants association as their
bargaining agents.
Grocery store employees in
Medford, Grants Pass, Ash
land and Klamath Falls have
been members of the Team
sters union for more than 16
years, because the Retail
Merchants association did not
serve this area, the story said.
The Oregon Teamster is the
official publication of Joint
Council No. 37, Portland.
Confidence that the Team
sters will win an election if
one is scheduled was ex
pressed at a meeting in Klam
ath Falls recently when as
pects of the change were discussed.
MAIL TRIBUNE, Madford, Or.
Sunday, Jan. 31, 1960
5:
RECEIVES AWARD
Eugene Robert W. Em
mens, son of Mrs. Leah
Emmens, 6 Modoc ave., Med-7
ford, has been awarded the
Air Science I commendation J
for superior classroom and .
drill proficiency. Emmens is
a freshman majoring in pre''
med.
r
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