' Page Six ,/ SCARLET AND BLACK Reiier Finds Ceylon Crowds Mysierious, Exciting By Becl' Reitcr The downtown area at Colom— bo is called the Fort The prin— ciple government buildings and the large dcpaitnient stores are locatcd in this area. Most ot the buildings in the Fori. are not over two stories tall, The main streets, although not spacious, are wide enough to handle trai- tic ‘ The department stores are similar to the almost anything in them, ltluwA ever, they are not nearly as luxurious. and the service is rather slow. Sometimes this slowness is due to the tact that the merchandise must be passed through so many hands, Even one small package is handled by three dittercnt peoa‘ ple. First, there is the person who actually sells the article. "Even If one is paying cash. he ,must write out a bill of sale. Then the purchase. thc money, and the bill are given to another person who runs off vvith the lot. He, in turn, gives everything, to a third person at the exiti who wraps the package and re- turns the change. In addition to this timescon- suming process 1 have discover» ed that it is very difficult at‘ times to get the clerks to show one the dittercnt sizes, colors and varieties of any panicular, product. One asks if such and such a product is available. The answer may be ”yes,” but that is the end of the matter A no attempt is made to show the product to the customer. The next question is;r”May i see it, please?" Then the customer is shown one exam— ple. This goes on and on, the i customer asking to see each diffenm color and each par- ,walk in the streets, and traffic sea. Between (our and 51x every tieular size or shape. The solus i tion to this problem is just not i to lie in a hurry. Scattered in and among ,-,e narrower and more oowoled; the renegiung artsy the heat or the SIT s ’ Contr from p. 2 i actions have created a contlict of interest on legal grounds cons cerning individual rights. “The -sit.in' and our arrest," thev said, “have iaised this very cliia ticult question. Does a pi' atc businessman who invi s cos! toiners from the gene dl public have a right to exclude Negrocsi LAC Skid from [he use and benefit of some Of his soi’vtces and facil- ities while he Seeks their ‘bLISIr ness in other areas uf the Store7 We Wish to question whethel this open demonstration of pre— 1udiClal discrimination on the basis of race is entitled to the full protection of what is pi‘e-‘ gently the ‘law. Legally, the issue rests on the type of counter at which the large stores in, the States in that one can buy‘ ‘ displayed are small shops tourislsiypo pics ducts are sold. siieli piodiicts consist ot cai-i-cd woodcn cl — phants and precious or SCnils precious stones. Tlicsc shops are crowded close togethcr and almost cover the sidewalk As one passes these places, thc shop own s lcan out {mm the ,dark inter rs ot the stores and ask. "ch, plCasc’” Their tone has always seemed rathcr sinis— ‘Ier to me, and as yet, i can- not get over the fccling that they are asking people to come in and buy opium, help smuggle towels or something oi a simi- lar nature Hawkers also crowd the Sides walks in the part They cith walk around cairring waies or spread them on the pavement in iront ot the large stoi- _ The hawkers‘ lend a hit of atmosphe'e, ioi- they shout out their u res continually in staccato voi l-iowever, they sell rather uninteresting items such as ball-point pens, hand hei-chiets, socks, combs and toys. Next to the nut is another shopping center called the Pet- tah. The Pcttali is the true buying and selling center tor the inhabitants of Colombo, ,In the Fort there is too much catering to tourists to he au- thcntic. The Pettah is a virtual jungle ot commerce. A low large storcs bravely face the Fort; but be. hind this facade lies a maze of small. twisting streets and crowded tiny shops. Articles-are outside the making it seem as if the cone tents of the store have spilled out onto the sidewalks. The pedestrians are forced to 4 larger stores where mostly- barely crawls along. As one ocnetratcs deeper into this Jungle the streets become olirtier, heat is almost unbearable and the air stifling The uhole ctlcct is one or too many people crowded into too small a space and all wriggling to get out. It is very interesting to enter a same shop. (The saree is a piece of cloth six yards long tlieill shops ‘ that is worn hy the women) These shops sometimes stocked to the ceiling with stacks of sarccs oi ci'ury conceivable color. The sarccs are pulled out by tho dUZDnS lor the customer and quickly untoldcrl and spread out over (he Caunlcr person is hiiiicd in a mountain oi briilanlly colored material, One can haggle over prices in t~.e traditional Eastern style in the Pettah. This usually involves more patience and perseverance than any Wes- tcrncr has. , In addition to the Fort and Feiiah, there are small shopping Friday. March"|7, l96l‘ Iii/l DancersPo‘l until a ’ t iccntcrs scattered throughouuthc ‘ city These places are small, occupying only one street or halt or a street Food is ii- quontly sold and it is interest- ing to watch olol women sitting on the sidewalk shelling cashew nuts or preparing hetcl. Betcl is local ”chew" made of hetcl Ieai‘, bctcl nuts and lime. i King coconuts arc also a com. ,mon ware, These are large, iyellow coconuts With a smooth quite ‘ skin The trip is hacked oil lhe_‘ ‘coconul. and tilt: mill: drunk iroin the shell, it is, rather di , ticult to drink out 01 the shell, but the people got around this‘ lnicely by throwing back the, ihcad. opening the mouth wide and pouring the contents down the throat. Ono's mouth need never touch the shell. There is another ‘ )Ient feature oi CoInmho that must he mentioned even , though it is not connected with comincrcc. This is the l Gallo Face Green. 3 The Gallo Facc Green is at strip of grassy land, adiacent to the Fort, which runs along that promi. l evening, the citizens of Colombo flock to the Green to enjoy the, sea breeze and to relax IL is day to sit quietly in the cool air and watch the sun go down, i The Green is rather like the ,bach-y‘di’d tor people in Column ‘bo Such a place is a pleasant reliet aitcr thc selfsconsctousp, ness one otten feels in the pro cncc of strangers out here. ‘brush rollers changed with a flick of the lighting tech man's ringer for Next Thursday, in connection with WRA, sevcn women's halls will present a program 0‘ d3m°i this presentation Inuammala at 8 Rm m Darby' Japanese workers, Geisha girls Poems tl-om Winnie-Hw-Pooh‘and Samurai soldiers will dance will be uscd to narrate Pine thmugh the panems of Hams: Tree's theme. Mcars’ Bedlam on Eon Odor; Read Wm New“ its the Bureau Will present th an'ldevelopment of a Picture at an tics of a powder puff, mU‘l'Oli Exhibition, Loose has and lipsticks Almatle dcfiniie plans. leather duster will lie the dan- ccs together. The pony tail, page-boy and French twist arc action cells , ters tor Mitin's theme, Hair ‘ Flair. The eyes will take over with a glow in James’ Jccpers Crccpcrs. Eye shadows will be All Kinds of Nil A5 All N'E‘S wqchoiol Supplies ~Tobaccos l l i ! Negro asks for service In Nash- V ville, Negroes and whites 110 to school together. govern together, Tide buses together, shop togeth- er. even try an the same clothes in Stores. But they slill cannut eat together at the lunch coun., ter in downtown department, variety and drug stores or in the two bus terminals. The per—rii_sive acts are the result at specific legal action and changes in custom. The forbidden act stands iuntla» mentally on custom under the guise or interpreted legal pro- prictyi The students have indicated that they will not compromise with their basic goal of complete and equal treatment at lunch couns Ters. However, their action has encompassed not only lunch counter ' , but kneel-ins, wade-ins ns and recent- ]yi jail-ms, which point out the man l pes of legal and social discrimination Negroes encoun- ter in the United States The cttectivene. or their pol- itical and social gains ‘Tn 1950 has Encouraged lhc development or student 0 icntation to ideals and the ti-ansrormalion oi these ideals into action Future movements will be an attempt to build upon these gains not only with sustained ace tion at a local level. but also attempts at atecl programs. ilalioilally»uool‘(lili-I i i i i i l i The Latin Amen an Conference inroiip liaiiehis ii; We y group concerned with Latin American and United States diplomatic relations meet in Loose lounge to discuss and rev iew the \erk it has done in the past few weeks. The group is led by Joseph Wall (historyi and chairman Ray Horton. i A FLOWER FOR THE DANCE BAIES FLOWER$ See Our Representative On Campus Pipes — Typewriter Supplies and Repair Available Coe College Auditorium . Thursday, April zu — 7:30 at 9:30 Tickets 32.5», $2 and 31.50 on lisale at Armstrong’s and (Inc Business Office. Mail Orders wcl. ‘comci Enclose stamped, selt— ‘addresscd envelope. l i l i i LARQS NEWS STAND VISIT US FOR YOUR SPRING PARTY AND PICNIC NEEDS DAVIS ECE CREAM SEE OUR FINE SELECTION or GIFTS MifiLLiNS GIFT SHQP not yet'