Sixty-Ninth Year -- EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN "When Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS WlPevail STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This rncst be noted in all reprints. NIGHT EDITOR: SUSAN HOLTZERTUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1959 "Uh iluh --I'm Getting Worried About Inflation Too" \ AT THE MICHIGAN: Poor Pennypacker Packs Paltry Punch "IFIE REMARKABLE MR. PENNYPACKER" is rather difficult to describe. By no definition, Aristotelian, Websterian, or even Mil- lerian, could the film be called tragedy. Neither could it be called tragi-comedy. Nor comedy, farce, burlesque, satire, pantomime, harle- quinade, melodrama, puppet show, burletta, drama, or entertainment. The main thing -- no, the only thing -- remarkable about Mr. Pennypacker is the fact that he has singularly fathered seventeen children. While married. To two different women. At the same time. And Mr. Pennypacker lives in Philadelphia and Harrisburg - alter- nately, a month at a time - not in Salt Lake City. He believes that "the whole marriage pattern As medieval ritual." Sadly enough for the film, the director does not. Perhaps it is all best considered part of the Darwin Centennial celebration. In addition to his other activities, Mr. P. is president of Science vs. Humanities: The Need for Examination IN MANY RESPECTS, men now are the same as in any other age. Yet in today's world there are also attitudes which are startlingly different. Every era has its own philosophies, emphases, and fads, and these influence even the most uneducated. The lowest serf in the Middle Ages cbuld not help but be conditioned by the churchs' prevailing emphasis on the afterlife. The loiterer on a Detroit streetcorner cannot avoid awareness of the draft. A little over a year ago the Russians pin- pointed this era's alias... SCIENCE. Everyone recognizes it and bows to it, but no one seems to know how to handle it. What Whitehead stated in Victorian times holds: "A scientific realism, based on mechanism, is conjoined with an unwavering belief in the world of men and of the higher animals as being composed of self-determining organisms. This radical inconsistency at the basis of mod- ern thought accounts for much that is half- hearted and wavering in our civilization." WHAT WILL the scientist do with his power of atom and IBM? educators ask. Give him some human values, fast, they say, introduce him to men's finer aesthetic perceptions. On the other hand, the hardfisted practical men be- moan the aesthetes' academic veil which will not allow them to see the implications in facts and figures and man-made moons of today's world. Prof. Fred G. Walcott of the education school recently urged educators to "drop the old and foolish bickerings about the competitive values of science and the humanities." Oversimplify- ing, he said, "The two are really one in spirit. They offer two roads for man to the same cultural goals - 'to know himself and the world'." An old cry, an old fight. Unfortunately, edu- cators seem to think it has already been settled by introducing science into university curricula and balancing it with distribution requirements in humanities. \ As taught now, the sciences at the universi- ties have vocational value, producing fine chem- ists, physicists, astronomers, engineers. Fortu- nately, some of these people also have some appreciation of fine arts and great books. But even the "magic" of distribution requirements cannot blend for well-distributed students ideas of scientific law and individual spiritual experi- ence. They do not answer . . . what does science tell us about the universe in which we live? the origin and nature of man? the source and sanction of morality? the beginnings of reli- gion? the forces of cohesion and disruption in society? MAYBE THESE questions can never be an- swered, but they are crucial to this age and an attempt should be made. Looking for the balance the questions imply, the Univer- sity's curriculum committee is now examining distribution requirements. Extended and more detailed requirements are proposed. While such plans arrange for chem- istry and great books, they leave the big ques- tions up in the air. The science versus humanity is a crucial problem which should be given academic examination in courses like philos- ophy of science and history of science. -NAN MARKEL r .T i J 1 " '1 V I -----4 ' : , a . u .r--.. r k ' -. Y " ,r _f ( ' ~ '_ }: y ?., I -k+ EF L- &,try Tfiff, "JAI-&&Tw j rosr- CAPITAL COMMENTARY: Washington's By WILLI Coming-of-Age AM S. WHITE All's Calm, but Not Bright THE STATE of Michigan apparently doesn't have enough problems to keep the Legisla- ture busy if last week's "work" can be taken as any indication. The state is deep in debt and cannot meet its financial obligations: the legis- lature must pass new revenue raising measures to avoid complete financial chaos. In addition the group must act on the same old problems they meet every year, such as state university budgets and other appropriations of all kinds. It is thus very refreshing that the chief prob- lems under consideration in the house last week were almost escapist in nature. One bill, intro- duced by Democratic Sens. Harold M. Ryan and Charles S. Blondy of Detroit sought to hold up University and Michigan State University ap- prop*tions until the two schools agree to televise their annual football game across the state. The two senators probably think of this measure as promoting public service but fail to recognize that the televising of games rests not with the universities but with the National Collegiate Athletic Association. BY FAR THE MORE interesting proposal is that by Rep. John J. Fitzpatrick (D-De- troit). He propostd a constitutional amendment which would require the big three state univer- sities to file with the. Legislature detailed ac-, counts of revenues and expenditures. Univer- sity officials report they make these figures available each year ,to legislators now, but Rep. Fitzpatrick claims that in his nine years in the House he has seen only one such account and that one he obtained this week. He. also claims that University financial fig- ures can lie, and he says his proposal will see that they don't. The detailed financial account- ing he desires is already published by the University, and thus his proposal, unless he desires more information than he has claimed, seems needless. That the measure was defeated by one vote was an encouraging sign, but sup- porters will try to bring the proposal to the House floor again this week, hoping to finally gain enough support. Both of these measures seem to be founded on state legislators' lack of information. The University's appropriation, if the Legislature finds time to create new revenues so the Uni- versity has an appropriation next year, is far too serious a concern to be linked in the same sentence with the ridiculous television require- ment. It is possible for any legislator with five minutes of free time to discover that the Uni- versity cannot, by NCAA rules, televise a game simply because the state asks it. Publishing financial statements, already float- ing around Lansing in some quantity, seem to make the Fitzgerald proposal unnecessary. IT SEEMS OBVIOUS that the men in Lansing, who in four months will be the proud owners of a $110 million state debt, have far more serious matters with which to concern them- selves. In a normal session appropriations take most of the legislators' time. This year the additional task of formulating a new tax meas- ure must be met before appropriations can even be considered. One must admire the calm with which the Legislature is meeting their crisis. One would hope their attitude is, in fact, one of calm rather than lethargy which has the same symp- toms. --ROBERT JUNKER WHAT IS the truly significant news from Washington? It is not the posturings of those seeking petty, mean, personal political or party advantage for the Presiden- tial electionyear of 1960. It is not the running debate over "spend- ing" and "saving," though this is not unimportant. And it is not even the fact that the world may be approaching the ultimate war over the .,determina- tion of the Russians to drive the Western Allies out of vital German positions bought long ago with so much Allied blood. No, none of this is the real news from Washington. And though only a happy fool could describe the real news as good news, it may fairly be called decent news-and, in its way, actually heartening. It is this: * * * WE HAVE reached, in this crisis, a political maturity that we have not known before, in this genera- tion at least, in any time of such peril. Indeed, there are grounds to suspect that this new maturity -an obvious adulthood among our leaders and perhaps even among most of our citizens-may actually be the true "conformism" of 1959. To be sure, there is softness in that conformism. And it may be that among some there is too great an interest in the country club and too little in the country. But it begins to look possible that this is one of the comparatively small prices we have paid for the larger political maturity that is ours. For if too many people are over- relaxed, far fewer than in the past are over-tense. If fewer dreams are being dreamed, far fewer witches are being burned. Never before, in any comparably menacing hour in this century, for example, has na- tional discussion over what ought to be done so free of the "either- or" mind. (This was the mind that used to want to call the police or the FBI when the negighbor dis- agreed). * * * AND WHILE it is a' fact that we have little politicians seeking to forward themselves by dividing the country on shrill and relatively minor issues, the wonder is not that there are so many of these, but rather that there are-so very few. And the higher wonder is that they have had such piddling suc- cess. Many believe the Eisenhower Administration to have been weak most of the time. This correspon- dent, for one, has been so con- vinced, and he does not take back this conviction. But the Eisen- hower Administration, in these days, deserves the support of every American willing to put- his coun- try above himself, his ambitions, and even his no doubt far superior ideas as to how things really ought to be run. And the Eisenhower Administra- tion is receiving just that kind of support, particularly from Con-. gress. For if the Administration has not been strong in the past, it surely is strong now in its cold- war policy as we as a nation look in anxiety but in resolution across the region of the Rhine. It is not impossible that some of this new strength is being drawn from a nation now showing itself to be grown up at its core, if a bit squashy and'dipsy-doodle around the edges. And even if one thinks the Ad- ministration is still not as strong as it ought to be, Congress is hearteningly and almost amazing- ly strong - the Democratic side and the Republican side alike. *, * * NOBODY HEARS now the ill- thought and irresponsible Con- gressional backseat clamors - do this, don't do that, turn this way, veer that way - that the whole country heard from the Capitol when inescapable decency was re- quiring us to stand up at last against Hitler. Better yet, nobody hears now- from Congressional floors voices imputing treason to honorable men for differing views, as we all heard from those forums in the Korean War. The crackpot far-right wing has gone. from our national political life. A remnant of the crackpot left wing is still around, but it amounts to little any more. In a word, the earnest opinion of one reasonably skeptical political writ- er is that every man in any genu- inely responsible place in the Ad- ministration and in Congress is doing his duty and accepting his responsibility, including the re- sponsibility of self-restraint, like a man. This, then, is the news from Washington. the Darwin League, which passes out booklets proving that the chief of police is descended from an ape. As one of the young Pennypackers is about to marry a minister's son-a minister's son completely unlike any minister's son of song and ribald fable - a wonderful opportunity is pre- sented to rehash several of the century-old points in the science vs. religion clash. Time has some- what dulled these points. THE AUDIENCE should be rather leery of the show from the moment that Mr. P. answers one of his children's questions, "So- ciologically speaking . . .," for they should realize that the film is trying to Say Something. Some- thing sociological, perhaps. At least an attempt at philosophy - but a rather peurile attempt. Ex- ample: "Morality is merely a matter of geography. In the orient, a man is permitted as many wives as he needs, but is al- lowed to drink no alcohol. Here, a man can have only one wife, but all the alcohol needed to remedy the situation." The Message of the movie is - in addition to a dramatization of the imperturba- bility of the American Home - that philosophy has no relation to reality: "Philosophy is one thing - but nine motherless chil- dren are another," Obviously. Charles Coburn made the film for money, certainlyenot for art; Clifton Webb is clearly not the superior comedian in this film that he was as Lynn Belvedere in "Sitting Pretty." Dorothy McGuire tries to give depth to asvery thin role, and occasionally succeeds. As an unpolished but cultured pearl, however, David Nelson - as Henry, oldest son in the Har- risburg household - is well worth watching. "The Remarkable Mr. Penny- packer" is remarkably dull. How- ever, it is in technicolor, and the short is in Cinepanoramic France- scope. -Fred Schaen AT THE CAMPUS: (Oncle' Enticing "MON ONCLE" the Jacques Tati Eastman color entry which is the current tenant at the Cam- pus Theater is far and away the most enticing comedy of the cur- rent season and easily one of the most charming and delectabale films the French have sent across to us in many a year. Blending the art that is pantomime with a devastating comment on the contemporary wrold of automa- tion, the producers of this offer- ing have brought forth a'motion picture of universal appeal which will definitely emerge as one of the all-time triumphs of the cinema. The primary reason for the grand success of "Mon Oncle" may be summed up in two words: Jacques Tatim Although his gal- lant buffoonery which. is irresist- able appears to ' be primarily Chaplinesque in technique, the brilliant clown manages to bring to his role a quality that is typi- cally Tati and reminiscent of the delightful gentlman we met a few years back in "Mr. Hulot's Holi- day." * . * THE BEST examples we have of this brilliant clown's humor occurs in the scenes where Tati discovers himself to be the victim of some minor misfortune of life The black expression which covers his face and curls his mouth is not solely a pathetic glance of the Chaplin sort but rather an ex- pression of delicious, innocent be- wilderment which is typical only of the artist Tati. This is espe- cially noticeable in a downright hilarious sequence in which Tati is helplessly wandering about an ultra modern kitchen and inad- vertantly breaks a glass which he thought to be made out of a pneu- matic material as a water pitcher or something of the sort. Amazingly enough, there is no slackening of pace in "Mon Oncle" once it is established within the first few minutes of the film. One side-splittingly funny se- quence follows another in rapid sueessinn and the high noint of AT THE STATE : *S. Freud Out West THE WILD and violent days of the Montana gold rush in the 1870's are vividly re-created in "The Hanging Tree," whith was a, local remedy for the lawlessness that plagued the ant hill-like gold camps. However, fear of hanging from it does not stop the violence that is in store for the film's prin- ciple characters. A Swiss girl, Maria Schell, and her father have immigrated to America, when life becomes too hard for them in their native country. Together, they cross the continent for the rugged Montana frontier, but their plans for happi- ness end in tragedy because Miss Schell's father is killed in a stage coach robbery; after which she almost dies of the shock and ex- posure. She is nursed back to health by Gary Cooper as Joseph Frail, frontier physician. Dr. Frail seems to have pre- dated Freud since he exerts equal concern for Miss Schell's mental as well as physical recovery frofi her traumatic experiences. Need- less to say, much transference takes place. One majo' hindrance to his successful therapy is Frenchie Tark, Karl Malden, a strange mi- ture of good and evil, kindness and, cruelty. As he was the one who found Miss Schell 'after the rob- bery, he feelsshe ought to reward him with something more and the platonic friendship she offers him. * * * THE FOURTH main character is a screen newcomer, Ben Piazza, playing a troubled young man who is saved by Cooper from the angry mob that is chasing him because he has stolen some gold from Mal- den's claim. In return for this Piazza becomes Cooper's bondsman and through his servitude he learns to become a useful, produc- tive member of society. The dewey-eyed radiance ex- hibited by Miss Schell as Elizabeth Mahler is simply overwhelming. Her masterful skill at characteri- zation is revealed, facet by facet, as she progresses from scene to scene. PShe is able to convey Eliza-, beth's helplessness when she is temporarily blinded in a remark- ably convincing manner as well as her dogged determination to suc- ceed in the new world. As usual Gary Cooper does an excellent job at being tall, silent, and noble and is able to rise above the platitudes the scriptwriters put in his mouth. The place of honor at the end is reserved for the picture's breath- takingly beautiful scenery. Even though the gold may be out of the hills, Montana's natural magnifi- cence more than makes up for the loss. -Patrick Chester DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Offclal Bulletin I An official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daily assumes no edi- torial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3519 Administration Build- ing, before 2 p.m. the day preceding publication. Notices for Sunday Daily due at 2:00 p.m. Friday. TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1959 VOL. LXIX, NO. 107 Lectures Lecture,tHistory Dept., 'Hitler's At- tack on the Soviet Union," Gerhard L. Weinberg, asst. prof. of history at Kentucky University. Wed., March 4, 4:15 p.m., Aud. A, Angell Hall. Concerts The Baroque Trio will present a con- cert of the music of George Frederie Handel in the Rackham Lecture Hail Tues., March 3, 8:30 p.m. The Trio, Nelson Hauenstein, flute, Florian Muel- ler, oboe, and Marilyn Mason, harp- sichord, will be assisted by Elizabeth Grotegut, soprano, and Harry Duns- combe, cello. Academic Notiees Scholarships, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts: Applications for, scholarships for the academic year I ra On ioh .i" Pm 177(1 Aht I i 'z I: ' "I { LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: More Comments on Libraries, Oaths INTERPRETING THE NEWS: Russia Backs Down By L. M. ROBERTS Associated Press News Analyst THE WESTERN ALLIES appear to have won a major victory in their effort to talk Soviet Russia out of a crisis over Berlin this summer. Nikita Khrushchev, in accepting suggestions for a Foreign Ministers Conference to discuss German issues, may only be zigging back from last week's zag, when he brought East-West relations to a screaming pitch by his belligerent statements and cavalier treatment of British Premier Harold Macmillan. From the beginning, he has insisted that there should be negotiations over his plan to give Russia's share of control over Berlin to, East 'Germany, including Western power access to their Berlin garrisons. The inference has been that his plan for unilateral junking of the Potsdam Agreements would be held in obeyance if there were Summit negotiations. Now he has agreed for the Foreign Ministers to start them in April, and let them run for two or three-months. Instead of demanding a 28-nation peace conference, he now asks only that Poland, Czechoslovakia and the two Germanies be rep- resented. A strong hope but not a definitive demand for a subsequent Summit Conference is expressed, according to first readings of the note. If the Foreign Ministers should develop any agreements-which the West considers highly unlikely-there would, of course, be no objec- tions to a Summit Meeting to put the clincher on them. That has always been the order of procedure desired by the West. And even if there are objections because of lack of agree- ment, such a meeting is in the cards anyway. IN THE BACKGROUND of yesterday's devel- opment there is, however, the unclear situa- tion regarding Moscow's intentions toward the East German puppet regime. The question is whether, with a conference impending or under way, Khrushchev would go ahead with his plan for a peace treaty with East Germany, presum- ably including sovereignty over communications between West Germany and Berlin. He might, as a contribution to the war of nerves, do just that, but privately prevent inter- ference with Allied convoys. To turn East Ger- man inspectors loose on the convoys would be t r +iha , t ahvn+nf a nandr ei'rn +-n +ha To the Editor: I HAVE read with interest Mr. Harrell's letter in your column regarding students' behavior in the undergraduate library. I too have been somewhat disturbed at this selfish practice of "saving" seats when they were sorely need- ed by other students. Although I have now graduated and the problem no longer concerns me, I do have a suggestion to pass along to the students rather' than their waiting for the library to take some drastic step. On arriving at the library on a crowded night (and when isn't it crowded?) and finding these os- tensibly "reserved" seats, why not just sit yourself down at one and push the books, gloves, scarfs, etc. to one side. When and if the mys- terious owner appears just give him or her a "so what?" look, or if he ventures to say anything (which I don't think will happen) perhaps being politely told a few facts of life will straighten him out. I think thit solution is very simple and straightforward and not embarrassing to the other student unless he chooses to make it so. In fact, I tried it a couple of times myself, and it worked like a charm. On one occasion the stu- dent appeared and quietly with- drew his effects without a word, seems to be that against "oath- ism," as described in The Daily (Feb. 26). It is granted that an idea can be taken to extremes, and in the case of the loyalty oath for teach- ers, this could develop; but there are some basic values of such an oath. The recent statement by Texas legislator Joe Chapman that "atheists are Communists' has been taken out of context and blown up into a big headline (as is too frequently done) which per- verts the basic idea of his pro- posal. Behind Rep. Chapman's state- ment is the recognition that edu- .ation is the most powerful social influence in the world, and for this reason powerful nations have compulsory education. The purpose of compulsory edu- cation is not "to learn to question theories," but to give a basic framework of accepted theories from which ideas may be evaluat- ed. It is needless to say that even with this basic knowledge people can be easily swayed with an in- complete presentation of facts. - ~ - -4 THE BASIC question at hand is whether teachers, because of their powerful influence, should be allowed to introduce ideas or incomplete information about un- accepted ideas which the student is not nrenared to handle. The oh- strains them from acting in such a way as to jeopardize their posi- tion. A belief in God, as in the pro- posed oath, need not be "as illus- trated by a church," but as con- sistent with a nation that writes on its currency, "In God we trust" and in its pledge of allegiance "One Nation, under God." It seems appropriate that such a nation would require basic knowledge which is consistent with its phil- osophy. s-Parker Beebe Reflection . . To the Editor: WAS IT accident or design that the editorial "Atheists are Communists" (February 26), dis- cussing the demand from Texas lawmakers for teachers to take oaths of belief in a supreme being, was followed by "Even the Boy Scouts?" discussing the Polish gov- ernment's enforced "integration of the Boy Scout organization into the general scheme of Party con- trolled youth groups"? Both ac- tions it may be noted purport to be concerned with insuring the prop- er education of youth. Anyone who is inclined to cham- pion the cause of the Texas law- makers might well reflect on this prophetic juxtaposition. Attacks on individual freedoms invariably be- gin with the most vulnerable x .+ k 7- Editorial Staff - .