PAGE TWO The Daily Collegian Editorial Page Editorials and column* appearing in The Dally Collegian represent the opinions o! the writer. They make no claim to reflect student or University consensus. Unsigned editorial# arc written bf Ifes adttety Politics—Why, How Latest activity in the campus political arena centered about the abandonment of a new third party, while still in its nebulous stage. With sophomore elections approaching, perhaps it would be wise to consider the purpose and oper ation of campus politics, and Collegian’s policies concerning it. As a mechanism for nominating, campaigning for and electing class and All-College officers, politics fulfills what should be its only purpose —to insure the election, in an orderly and convenient manner, of the best-qualified students possible. After the inaugurations, however, political par ties should leave the functions of student govern ment in the hands of the elected officers, except to assure that they perform their duties satis factorily. If a party tries to hamstring Cabinet, becomes a pressure or special-interest group, or practices the spoils-system philosophy of doling out the best committee jobs as political plums, then that clique is overstepping its bounds. Collegian’s policy is simple, clear and straight forward—that of a non-partisan observer and re porter. Thus while it neither backs nor opposes any clique, it nevertheless fulfills its duty to the students by exposing the dirt and praising the laudable in all parties. Individual candidates, regardless of party affili ation, are always subject to appraisal. Where great differences of ability exist between two opponents, illuminating facts will be presented. To preserve Collegian’s traditional impartiality, its junior and senior board members are not per mitted to associate with any campus party, nor to participate in any campaign activities. Political activity by candidates and sophomore board mem bers is encouraged, however, for the beneficial experience and personal contacts they will acquire. This year’s editor, however, has never been a clique member, and has never participated in elections except as a voter. Furthermore he has consistently cast his ballot for individuals, split ting his ticket in every election. Collegian pledges itself to a continuance of its equal treatment to all political parties. Although it will encourage non-party voters to mark their ballots on the basis of individual qualifications only, it encourages the maintenance of at least two political cliques, as a mechanism for efficient elec tions, the foundation upon which good student government is built. Dewey Wins! If the national elections were held on campus now, Thomas E. Dewey would be the next Presi dent of the United States. That is the result shown by a recent survey of political opinion on the campus conducted by the Daily Collegian. The result on this score is hardly surprising though, to one who knows the political back backgrounds of most students at the College. Pennsylvania, on the whole, is a state with a Re publican tradition and its sons and daughters at tending the College would naturally be expected to follow in the steps of their parents. A more surprising feature of the poll is the number who voted other than for the major candidates. J According to the survey, no one backed Gov ernor Thurmond for President while Dwight Eisenhower, who is not even running, received h?,? ™te No ° ne seriously believed that anyone hut President Truman or Governor Dewey would bn elected. u Assuming that the sampling was accurate, and e Y e t u y e H°^ t 'Y a , s j Cnt to , that Purpose, six percent th ? V odv would like to see Henry Wal lace m the White House. Despite their particular preferences, students eem to believe that Governor Dewey will find mmself m the White House next January with a Hill b ICan Houso as well as Senate oh Capitol & sss !sSMvnsaf r —• write Editorial writers often decrv the political ao-uhv ih » a numh egme v? tS v,° a thG P°P ulnti °n- In this surv-y wnn i cr W » ho had no s P e " ifl " "Pinion was qude low on almost every question. It would tend to diow that most students, even though they mav b f at ? le to take part in the election, are at' ast thinking about it seriously. ®ift HatUj CnUpgtan SuccM«or to THE EKEE EANCK. cat. 1877 thiMl y , hr T K 3 “ turduy ■n<*rnm K . inclusive dur ‘he 10l nee year by iho Haft of The Doily Culleition of The '.•nn.sylvanm State College. Kntered a. eocond cTase matte' luty 5. *934 «t the State College. Pa.. Pout Office under the tct of March 3 1879 Subscriptions - $2 a semester. $4 tht ‘fiool year. Represented fur notional advertising by Notional Advertis hi; Service. Mndieun Avo„ New York. N.Y Chicago. Boston ’a.s Angeles San hrunHscn. Editor Lew Stone STAFF THIS ISSUE Managing Editor. \sst. Mgr. Editor News Editor tsst. News Editor < upy Editor _. . -t. Cony Editor ... 'vertising Manager ■ tauts _ . _ Quelle Allen Karl Boriafc —Elliot Shapiro. -SB Eliot Krane -. _ - Art HenniiiK Sylvia Ockntr (Gloria Isenhera Dick lirosumtn Barbara Wachtrl Ed Hinkle Bill Dittenhoffer "Ah'll show him and his Civil-Rights Bill!" For more than a year, Temple University student leaders have had a problem that Penn State can’t imagine—empty seats at home football games. With a seating capacity of from 30,000 to 40,000 in the Temple Stadium, according to a recent editorial in the Temple U. News, more than half the seats go unoccupied. Let’s make a deal with them. Have therri bring up their own stands for the State-Temple game and everyone will be happy. In the Land of Jim Crow Ray Sprigle, Pulitzer prize-winning reporter and staff member oj "The Pittsburgh Post Gazette," recently disguished himself as a Negro and for four weeks "lived black" in the South among his fellow Americans. In a series of twelve articles, beginning today in The Daily Collegian, he presents his findings. Mr. Sprigle has changed the names of persons and pldces in some instances to pro tect those involved. Next: A discussion in a pleasant Negro home, I quit being white, and free, and an American citizen when I climbed aboard that Jim Crow coach in Washington Union sta tion. From then on, until I came up out of the South four weeks later, I was black, and in bondage —not quite slavery but not quite freedom, either. My rights of citi zenship ran only as far as the nearest white man said they did. Not that that Jim Crow coach was particularly bad—when re garded solely as a railroad coach. In fact, ft was surprisingly good. The reclining seats were com fortable. The wash room was really luxurious compared with those in some of the coaches I ride around home. Seats -were numbered and reserved, fhere was no crowding. But—even excellent accommo dations are not going to reconcile intelligent, cultured Negroes to Jim Crow. My companion and I were having a little difficulty in finding the black section of tne train. He encountered the daugh ter of an old friend of his. a handsomely-dressed, quite beail tiful Negro girl, and asked 'viiere the Jim Crow coaches were. School Teacher Goes Home “There’s the things we’ll ride in,” she said with a contemptu ous wave toward the two pieces of Jim Crow rolling stock. It de veloped that she was a school teacher from Harlem on her way home to visit her aged mother. (Weeks later we passed through the sun-baked, dusty, sprawling little town where the mother lived. There was a vast difference between that unkempt town and the fashionable, cultured-appear ing girl from Harlem with up swept hair-do and latest doo-dads in the way of costume.) Both coaches were filled. The crowd was like any other group of travelers one might encounter anywhere—e xce p t, of course, that nearly everyone was on the decidedly brunette side. Every one was courteous and quiet. Even the inevitable drunk who Edit Briefs By Ray Sprigle seems to be standard equipment on every railroad coach in the world was annoying only because he was so insistently polite. So, early in the journey, some of the many absurdities—idiocies might be a better word—that mark' the Jim Crow system began to develop. To get to the diner we had to traverse half a dozen Pullman coaches. My companion stopped to introduce me to at least three Negroes riding Pull man—a doctor from Atlanta, a minister and a businessman. And I was astonished to learn that Jim Crow doesn’t go on a Pull man. If you’ve got the price you ride Pullman, no matter how black you are. Ho Wait in Diner In the corridor of the dining car a long line of whites waited tor vacant tables. My companion, leading the way, brushed un ceremoniously past them. “Oh. oh, now comes trouble, so early,” I said to myself. But it was just that he knew the ropes and I didn’t. There were no §eats for white folks but at the end of the diner were two tables cur tained off from the rest of the ear, and vacant. They were for us while the white folks stood. Just what protection that curtain affords the white folks I don’t think that any living human has ever figured out. We could watch them eat and they could watch us eat. There weren’t any cur tains around the Negro waiters who served their food with black hands. I don’t know what kind of service the white folks got from those waiters. But ours was something right out of the old South. Our food arrived on the jump—promptly—and hot. Our waiter “sirred” us its I’ve never been "sirred” before. Across from us a family group took over the other table. He was a navy petty officer—spick and span—and black. His wife was (Continued on page six) FRIDAY. OCTOBER 29. 1948 NAACP, It Means— Abbreviations are many at the College, but NAACP is one with a purpose. NAACP means the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This organization was founded formally in New York City as an outgrowth of race-rioting which occurred in Springfield, Illinois, in |948. It is somewhat ironi cal that the race-riots which promoted the move ment had occurred in Abraham Lincoln’s home town. This nation-wide association has an inter-racial membership of approximately 400,000 distributed in senior branches, youth councils and 60 college chapters. Membership is not restricted to Negroes alone. The original founder, Mrs. Mary Ovington White of New York, who is not a Negro, is still alive and active in the program. In the national legal field, 24 out of 26 cases argued before the U.S. Supreme Court were won by NAACP. These cases regarded education, vot ing, segregation, mob violence, exclusion from jury service to mention only a few. Pressure groups were greatly aided by the as sociation in working for the enactment of FEPC legislation, anti-poll tax, and anti-lynch acts. To bring things closer to home, the State Col lege group was organized in May. A few of its plans are to use direct and indirect action tech niques to eliminate racial and religious discrimi nation wherever it may exist. To promote cultural programs and to point out accomplishments and contributions of the Negro people to the world. Educational programs will also be promoted to emphasize Negro history, tracing it from its origin, Africa, to the present era. Cooperation with the national office of NAACP in various fields of endeavor will be continued. The local group meets every Wednesday night and announcement of time and place will be pub lished in the Daily Collegian. No one race or creed is welcome more than another. Any interested person may attend the meetings and is invited to become a part of the organization. NAACP offers an opportunity to work for, and bring the country closer to Its stated principles of democracy. At Last Hats off to the student committee composed of Joe Colone, Men’s Athletic Association president: William Lawless, All-College president; Terry Ruhlman, senior class president; and Lew Stone, Daily Collegian editor. This committee has proved that by using com mon sense and ingenuity a plan can be adopted whereby a faster, more efficient and more pleas ant way of ticket distribution is possible. To prevent a recurrence of the “dawn patrol” which appeared in front of Old Main for the Penn tickets, a plan was adopted by this committee, with the approval of Harold “Ike” Gilbert, grad uate manager of athletics, whereby applications for tickets for the Pitt game will be accepted by mail next Monday. Applications postmarked earlier than 7 p.m. Sunday or after midnight Monday will be ignored since the student quota is restricted to 3500 seats. Besides not having to stand in line from two to four hours, individuals desiring to sit together in blocks may mail their applications together, ac cording to the newly adopted plan. COLLEGIAN GAZETTE Brief notice* of meeting* and other event* nut be submitted to The Daily Collegian office in Carnegie Ball by 2 p.m. ef the day before the issue in which it is desired to appear. Friday, October 29 PENN STATE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP, 405 Old Main, 7 p.m. College Hospital Admitted Wednesday: Philip Klemick, Fred Wiker, Charles Shenot and Pete Gorinski. Discharged Wednesday: Mackey Emmert, Keith Grant and Bruce Wallace. Admitted Thursday: Audrey Eppley, Melvin Widrow and Robert Martarana. Discharged Thursday: Arlene Mack, Don De sandro, John Stanford and Charles Shenot. College Placement Arrangements for interviews should be made la 204 Old Main at once E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., November 1 to 5, seventh and eighth semester men from Chem istry, Chem Eng, ME and Mining Eng. Proctor and Gamble Co., November 2 and 3, eighth semester men from ME, EE, lE, Chem Eng Chem, and Commercial Chemistry. ’ Brown Instrument Co., November 9 and 10, eighth semester men from EE, ME and Physics. Carnegie-Illinois Steel Co., November 8 and 9, eighth semester men from ME, lE, EE, CE, Metal lurgy and Chem Eng. Calep Chemical Division of American Cyana mid, November 3, eighth semester men from Chem and Chem Eng. Student Employment Students interested in working as substitute waiters and dishwashers, etc., over the week-ends. EE’s and Physicists interested in apparatus as sembly relating to relays and solenoids. Girls for housework. ■ Veteran’s wife to make beds. At the Movies CATHAUM—Southern Yankee. STATE—That’s My Man. NITT ANY—Hatters Castle. —Arnold Gerton. —George Vadass.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers