"Prospects for a Summit Meeting Appear Brighter" Sixty-Ninth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Nhen Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Truth Will Prevail" 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 must be noted in all reprints. DAY, APRIL 10, 1959' NIGHT EDITOR: PHILIP POWER . rw=.I AT LYDIA MENDELSSOHN: 'Volpone' Production Effectively Relevant _ ' a ff, , ,. - More Time To Think Would Improve Exam System THE CURRENT FLOOD of mid-term exami- nations in the literary college is distressing as usual, not only because of the obvious ner- vous energy expended, but more so because of the examinations. The search for a proper method of testing is, of course, one of the more tangled of educa- tion's problems. While the question may never be settled adequately, the quality of testing. at ,the University miglt still be considerably im- proved. Essay examinations, although never one hun- dred per cent accurate, are potentially useful as a guide to the depth of a student's ability. It is in the literary college that this type ex- amination is predominantly used. Unfortu- nately, it 'often seems to fall short of its potential- For example, a prevalent practice is that of offering from one to five essay questions for the student to discuss in a period of some fifty minutes. The questions, although occasionally vague, are generally decent and fair. THE REAL PROBLEM centers about the time allotted. Considering the usual weight of the subject matter, fifty minutes ordinarily represents an incredibly short time in which a student is forced to write blandly, thinking at amazing speed, wrenching his arm, and often'sacrificing any chance of reflecting on the quality of his "essay" in order to scrawl a few more words., Doubtless, every student subjected to this type examination shares the opinion that he or he could have done a far better job with more time. IT IS DIFFICULT to find a rationale for these examinations. One might argue that the rapid thinking demanded of the student is beneficial. Certainly, a bit of rapid thinking ought to be necessary in a test. Often however, rapid think- ing becomes a major criteria for success in a course, and the student who arrives at answers more slowly, perhaps because he has contem- But No Institute' DISGRUNTLED University scientists, unoccu- pied Michigan industrialists, state unem- ployment commissions and Governor G. Men- nen Williams please note: The National Science Foundation reports the nation's missile and aircraft industry employs more scientists and engineers in research and development than any other industry .,., ;for the most part situated on the West Coast. Meanwhile, a University space expert says research and development must come to the state before government missile contracts, Uni- versity scientists begin looking around for more secure paychecks, several Michigan legislators say they have never heard of the proposed Uni- versity Institute for Science and Technology, 13,000 unemployed United Auto Workers march on Washington, the West Coast continues to ride the missile crest .. . -BARTON HUTHWAITE plated or analyzed the problem more deeply} is penalized. Another argument for extensive-material, intensive-time exams might suggest that a student learns to think and work under pres- sure. Again however, the criteria for the course is shifted significantly to something other than the subject matter itself. If working under pressure is so valuable an asset, new courses such as "Introduction to the Combatting of Apoplexy" might well be initiated. PERHAPS THE MOST common defense of this type of examination is the view that the student should only need fifty minutes, since is expected to have studied conscientiously and has all the relevant knowledge at his im- mediate command. This may be true on occa- sion, but it leaves the test-giver open to some questions on other grounds: he is apparently offering as test material something the student could memorize easily and effectively spew out on the examination with almost no reflection. The question then arises as to whether any test can be termed intellectually stimulating if it allows only sixty seconds to consider the prob- lem before launching into a five-hundred word essay. Undoubtedly many professors are dissatisfied with the testing system, and those who are (constantly seeking improvement should be praised. THERE ARE numerous possible solutions of course, the extreme being total abolition of testing which seemingly would be more difficult than abolition of nuclear testing. One useful suggestion, though, is far more emphasis on papers, thus allowing the student time to probe and to reason out, to the best of his ability, a coherent, comprehensive argument. Still, it would seem that tests themselves might be improved. It might be feasible to schedule tests in the evening, and extend the time allottment to perhaps a maximum of three hours, allowing students to leave whenever they finish. No departure would have to be made in the test material; the only change would be the equitable one of granting sufficient time to the student. The instructor, who would have to give up only an occasignal evening, could be relieved of the burden of correcting a great number of extraordinarily long essays by a simple mechanism: the installation of a word limit, replacing the time limit which is now used to cut short the potentially prolific stu- dent. Granted, a word limit is also a limiting' factor, but unless an unreasonably few words are required, it would not have the same detri- mental effect as the time limit. The student would be allowed approximately the same number of words with which he al- ready floods his paper. However, he would have, in addition, the necessary time to think and carefully consider not only his choice of langu- age but, most important, the argument he wishes to express, thus making examinations a much more valid indication of a student's intellectual capacity. -THOMAS HAYDEN A SENSITIVE and thoroughly exciting performance of Ben Jonson's "Volpone" opened last night at Lydia Mendelssohn, and any doubts members of the audience may have had about the .relevance and imme- diacy of Joacobean comedy must have quickly been dispelled. The author's biting exposure of human corruption was increased in power by perceptive interpretations on the part of the cast; throughout the production, both the humor and the horror of it all were sustained on a consistent and effective level. The humor of any given comic situation is very often dependent upon the seriousness of its subject matter. And "Volpone" is on a very serious subject. It is also very funny. The hero is a rich man who gains his wealth and his pleasure by exploiting the greed of the people around him. The utter depravity of his would-be heirs fills the whole dramatic universe of the play with an atmosphere of perversion, trick- ery and lust. BEN JOHNSON IS, first of all, an .elegant dramatic craftsman. A great deal of the play was wisely cut, but what remained was under the dramatist's complete 'control. With the important, but mainly reflective sub-plots largely removed, the main plot progressed"di- rectly and powerfully towards its completion. Volpone, the fox, pre- tends to be sick,, destroying all that's human in his hopeful friends, the Vulture, the Raven, and the Crow. He forces the first to legal dis- honesty, the second to paternal betrayal, and the third to willing cuckoldry. But in the relish of their corruption, Volpone forgets to watch his servant Mosca (the Fly) who, in the process of aiding his master, gains power and betrays him. The parasite, however, has only the temporary illusion of victory; ultimately he is himself destroyed, and everyone is rewarded by their just desserts. The comedy is neither burlesque nor sheer wit. A sick joke in action, it falls into the category of serious farce. The power of greed to transform men into beasts and birds of prey is most frighten- ingly defined when it affects the innocent wife of Corvino and the ludicrously simple, but equally innocent son of Corbaccio. But all the way through we laugh as much at them as we laugh at the old Raven or at the mugging sarcasm of Volpone himself. In this mockery of knavery, the whole universe is turned upside down. * * * * THE MOTIVATING character is, of course, Volpone himself ."flon- ald Ewing somehow retains self-control here' through all his lechery and disguise, standing at th end,,reconciled for punishment, but still sardonic and essentially unchanged. Phil Smith as Bonario, Corbaccio's son, and Marvin Diskin (Voltore) turn in really humorous perform- ances, the latter throwing an unmatchable'fit in the final act. Patrick Chester as the dwarf Nano adequately reflects the perversion of this avaricious world and Estelle Ginn in the role of Celia gives a charm- ing - if slightly overactive -- interpretation of innocence outraged. But the role of Mosca is really the dominant and dynamic one in the play. Fortunately Al Phillips makes the most of his dramatic opportunity. Growing throughout the acts, increasingly entranced by his own powers as the perfect rascal and "true parasite," Mosca takes on a real life of his own in the play. His voice drips wit i sarcasm and even his facial gestures imply both a careful and complete read- ing of his role and a real understanding of the tempo and direction of the play. The entire production was marked by consistency and unity. Each characteri seemed to know just what his function In the plot was sup- posed to be and just why he was on stage. -JEAN WILLOUGHBY AT THE CAMPUS Deadly Cliches on Film 77 QE9 sry~w T "$ sritn6TrOJ o i.'k TWO BERLINS: German Nationalism Key Problem -Looking Towards the Summit PRIME~MINISTER Harold Macmillan is back in London, having finished his program of "reconnaissance and consultation" opened a few weeks ago. President Eisenhower is pre- sumably back at work in Washington after his tlIks with Macmillan at Camp David. And the diplomatic corps of the Western nations are now hard at work preparing for the summit conference that in all probability will be held this sumXier. President Eisenhower's willingness to go to the summit is perhaps the major result of the Camp David discussions. The talks at the sum- mit undoubtedly will deal with the Berlin problem and perhaps may go so far as to cover a tintative German reunification and European settlement plan that the State De- partment rumoredly has developed. BUT CONFERENCES, whether at the summit or not, all seem to be part of the same old story: a consistent failure to achieve anything significant through negotiations with the Rus- sians. The West has repeatedly approached talks with the Soviets optimistically, feeling -"at least something can be done to resolve our differ- ences." And time and again, this attitude has given way to disillusionment at the conference's end. The free world'has been uiuable to remember for periods longer than a year or so that any- thing the Russian agree to in a conference will be to their own advantage. Their consistent failure to agree to anything of real importance in the lengthy discussions on atomic test bans and detection comes immediately to mind. Based on this and other past performances of the Rtussians, it would clearly be a great mistake for the West to approach the coming summit conference with too high hopes for solutions or to forget the disillusionment that shattered the "Spirit of Geneva" after the last summit meeting.4 Additionally, Dulles probably will not be able to attend the talks. Though disliked by many, he is an effective, tough-minded negotiator, and the prospect of Eisenhower, unprotected by Dulles, facing Khrushchev is a pretty fearsome one. A FURTHER POINT is stimulated by the largely synthetic nature of this latest crisis in Berlin, as well as the other similar situa- tions recurrently facing the West. One might wonder if the Russians are not manufacturing artificial crises, conferences and diplomatic notes solely for the purpose of occupying the valuable time of the Western leaders to no useful end. Diplomatic notes take time to prepare, and for Eisenhower to reply to a Russian note which was written with no intention of any concrete result is a waste of his time in sterile paperwork. Time not spent on the positive direction of governmental and diplomatic affairs is lost time, and the Western leaders are sufficiently rushed so that they can afford no time to waste. If the Russians are so able to occupy our-statesmen with meaningless trivia, they are just that much better off. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Walter Lipp- mann has just returned from Europe, where he has taken a first-hand look at the Berlin crisis. This is the last of a four-part report on the situation.) By WALTER LIPPMANN THE QUESTION for us is how we should deal with a situa- tion which neither we nor the Russians can change. We cannot change the fact that there exist two German states and that West Berlin is a special problem. The Soviet Union will not allow East Germany to be absorbed into the Western military and political community; if it did so, it would sacrifice the strategic control of Eastern Europe. The Western al- lies will not allow West Germany to unite with East Germany in some sort of neutralized confed- eration. For that would destroy the fundamental basis of NATO which now rests on the strategic position of Western Germany and the re- inforcements which are coming from the West German army. An international agreement to reunite Germany is at present im- possible unless either the Soviet or the Western allies abandon what they regard as their vital interests. Since neither side will abandon its vital interests, and since neither can compel the other to abanldon its vital interests, all of us must live with the fact that there are two Germanys and Ber- lini. *-* SPEAKING for myself, I do not like this situation. I belong to the minority who have long argued that German national feeling will not accept the partition of Ger- many, that some day and somehow the West Germans will come to terms with Eastern Germany and the Soviet Union in order to re- unite their country. The case for a politically neutral Germany and for the disengagement of non- German troops has been inspired by an attempt to find an orderly settlement of the problem of Ger- man reunification-to avert a dis- orderly deal brought about by an explosion of frustrated national German patriotism. But the attempt to negotiate a general settlement to reunify Ger- many has failed. That is the meaning of the present German crisis. Both sides are against an agreed reunification and they must now live with the consequences. These consequences include the grave risk that the German people will not accept the partition. The best we can expect from the coming negotiations is not a set- tlement but a modus vivendi. The big question, as I see it, is whether to recognize and regulate the situ- ation that we cannot now change, or to accept the facts as they are but to refuse to recognize them on the theory that some day and somehow the facts will change for the better. * * * INSOFAR as there are conflicts of opinion among the Western allies, they arise primarily over this question. There is Dr. Ade- nauer's view, which has the formal support of Gen. de Gaulle, that while there are in fact two Ger- manys, nothing must be said or done by the Allies which recognizes the existence of the other Ger- many Thus Dr Adenuor's sh- in pretending that the East Ger- man state does not exist. Before we meet the Russians in the coming conferences, this coun- try will have to make up its mind sbout where it stands in the argu- ment between the Germans, and the British. It is a hard choice to make. For though the issue is posed in a theoretical forum, there are grave substantial risks which may follow either choice. THE ESSENTIAL argument for Dr. Adenauer's doctrine of non- recognition does notcome from any passionate interest of his in the reunification of Germany. Dr. Adenauer knows that reunification is not practical politics and it is no secret that as an old Rhine- lander his heart does not bleed for a close political union with the Prussians and the Saxons of the East. His doctrine of not recognizing the East German state is a defense against German nationalism which, if it goes on a rampage for German unity, may upset the whole applecart-NATO, the Com- mon Market, the entente with France, and the alignment of Western Germany with the West- ern society against the barbarians of the East. In the last analysis, we are asked to follow Dr. Adenauer's doctrine of the non-recognition of the fact of the two Germanys in. order to avoid the defeat of his party in the German elections of 1961. * * " ALTHOUGH I do not agree with it, it is, I admit, an impressive case. But the risks of the Ade- nauer policy are greater than' those of the Macmillan policy. For the British are, I believe, essen- tially right in wishing to recognize the facts of life as they are, and to regulate them by a negotiated agreement. The case for recognizing that there are two Germanys and that there is, therefore, a special situ- ation in Berlin is this: It is our best chance to arranger for an orderly evolution, in Germany. If we could get an international charter for Berlin, we could great- ly reduce the risks of dangerous" incidents caused by misunder- standing, by the recklessness or carelessness of subordinate officers- and officials, or by mischievous provocation. If we could bring the two German states into a legal relationship with each other, there would be a chance that the move- ment towards German unity, which is certain to grow, would be open and visible rather than clandestine and conspiratorial. In weighing the two views -- which we have called roughly the German and the British - we must bear in mind that we are not choosing between a divided Germany and a reunited Ger- many. Macmillan and Adenauer and de Gaulle and Khrushchev are agreed in realizing that the two Germanys are not going to be reunited. The question is whether to 'recognize this situation or to drift along without recognizing it. If we drift along, accepting the fact of the partition but refusing to recognize it, hoping to stand pat against the evolution of things, we can probably manage for a while. When, the Soviet Union' or the East German gav- ernment grunts, we can growl, and since neither of us wants war or dares to have a war, we may be able to keep things as they are for' a little time to come - perhaps, until all of us have had our elec- tions. THAT GIRL who inspired the movie title "Deadlier Than the Male's was indeed a lethal and in- human'sort; rarely, are we given any reason to like her. But throughout this vacillating film her adversaries exhibit such a striking and effusive stupidity that, we, in near-exasperation, can't quite blame the ambitious wench for wanting to murder the senti- mental males who stare blankly at her. For a French thriller the plot is startlingly straightforward. The. heroine hoodwinks stolid, solid Jean Gabin but through a motive- less love of intricacyl she is led to murder. The audience is in the position of realizing her deception from. the first while her bumbling males go insensible through their days. The twist is that for half the movie the audience sees no more than the easily-deceived heroes. There is little subtlety in this girl and so the disparity between the 'audience observations and those of the characters is too great for any suspension of disbelief. - * * * THE DIRECTION by Jean Du- vivier is sometimes brilliant at the beginning, but as the story grows yI tedious he too seems to yawn and by the finish he is using his cam- era less with courage and imagi- nation than with mere intelli- gence. The human eye is a natu- rally restless organ and its busy twitchings are only forgotten through insights of fascination and terror. For story-line which holds even our interest by only a fev taut threads the photography was often too static. Wasted was a fine Montmartre tune, reminis- cent of Jean Renoir which could have been used as a recurring motif. to become a force in, the. drama; instead it was flipped'in whenever thete seemed an open- ing. Gabin, who has exploited the French cinema for a long time with his remarkable stage presence was excellent. Indeed most of the performances were fine and a few even surpassed a confused script- role. TO LOOK at the movie consis- tently the title must be taken seri- ously. Gabin, who is pAinted a. typical, successful French bour-' geois, is and always has been un- der the dainty thumb of some woman. Not only does our eighteen year old heroine manipulate him but he has been at the similar mercy of the girl's mother twenty years before. An anomalous pair of mothers have also been domi- nating him, less seductively but even more successfully. The near- cretinous sensibilities and the total self-deception of the man Is wholly implausible. We are given no rea- son to believe the underlying as sumptions. To build a picture on such a notion is to build on a cliche and when the cliche is a recognized one we can hardly be- lieve, but we can still shrug. =-EU Zaretsky INSIDE ANN ARBOR: GOP ShwOraiainlSrgt 1" 1 7 I r By PETER DAWSON Daily Staff Writer AS THE HEAT from Ann Arbor's city election dies down, Repub- lican chairman Norman J. Ran- dall and Democratic chairman Peter Darrow agree on at least one thing. They both said yesterday that improved Republican organization was definitely a reason for the GOP success this week. The Re- publicans had three times as many workers active this time as in 1957, Randall said. The GOP took the mayoralty from the Democrats, who had held it for two years, and raised their majority on the City Council from 6-5 to 8-3. Cecil O. Creal defeated Lloyd M. Ives in the race for mayor, 6,728 to 5,107. He succeeds Prof. Samuel J. Eldersveld of the political science department. BUT THERE are other reasons for the Republican success. Ann Arbor is predominantly Republi- can. Prof. Eldersveld was the first, Democratic mayor in 26 years, and the Democrats last had a City Council majority in 1930. been a member of the City Coun- cil, but only for a year, and de- spite his active campaign, Creal still had a large head start. RANDALL thinks Ives' cam- paign was so aggressive that it alienated some voters, For in- stance, Ives challenged Creal's support of the present city- administrator charter, and ques- tioned Creal's interest in the wel- fare of the University. On the other hand, he probably gained somewhat by being aggres- sive, for Creal's prominence in city affairs was a strong asset, Ives probably aroused some inactive Republicans against him. Whether he lost more undecided votes than he gained is hard to tell. The results may well have been part of the Republican resurgence in the state election. In particular, Randall :uggests that Frederick C. Matthaei, candidate for Regent, drew votes to the Republican ticket, running well ahead of his competitors in almost all pre- cincts of the city. day's unofficial count by two votes, 642-640,° in the ward as a whole. Randall says the precinct vote means the residents on the whole oppose the present Urban Renew- al plan. Darrow disagrees, attrib- uting the outcome to the cam- paigning activity of a number of opponents of the plan and to "misrepresentations" of many facts about it. CREAL has repeatedly said that he will insist on a city-wide refer- endum to approve the necessary extra taxation before the plan is put into effect. But city taxation referenda are well-known for their frequent failures. It would take work to get this one through if it got on the ballot. There has been little indication that the n Mayor and Council will want to devote enough effort to improving the plan, discussing it with residents of the area{and other citizens, and convincing the voters of its worth. The Republican success in the election raises the question of what the Democrats will do next. Superior organization will not be enough for them to win elections. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin Is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daily assumes no edi- torial responsjbility. 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, FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1959 VOL. LXIX, NO. 32 General Notices London College Student Leadership Exchange Fellowship applications now available at Scholarship Office, 2011 Editorial Staff RICHARD TAUB, Editor CHAEL KRAFT JO itorial Director OHN WEICHER City Editor DAVID TARR Associate Editor I CANTOR..................Personnel Director I WILLOUGHBY .... Associate Editorial Director N JONES............................Sports Editor I