Sixty,-Ninth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLIG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone No 2-3241
hen Opinions Are Free
Truth Will Prevail"
Pos t-Election
Nation Turns To Liberals
By BARTON HUTHWAITE
Daily Staff Writer
RUMBLINGS OF A CRUSHING Democratic landslide turned into
roars as the final results of the recent congressional elections were
finally tallied.
Not since the sound trfncing administered by the New Deal in
1932- have the Republicans suffered such a defeat. The liberal tide
Observations
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily ex-press the indiiidual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
I
)AY. NOVEMBER 16. 1958
NIGHT EDITOR: LANE VANDERSLICE
.. V ...............,....... _,., _..,.,..
Liberalism: Definition
And Political Application,
ACCORDING TO WEBSTER:
"LIBERAI-Not bound by authority or
orthodox tenets or established forms in politi-
Cal or religious philosophy; independent in
opinion."
More than the definition of a word, this is
the definition of a philosophy, a philosophy
that has maintained America in strength
throughout her history. It is a philosophy of
change, the description of a constantly mobile
society that is the heart of American life.
For American life is based unconsciously on
the theory that there must be leeway in all
directions. The hardened mold, the costriction
of "orthodox tenets" is its mortal enemy, for
the fundamental ideal is a fluid system. This
must be so, for the hackneyed phrases that ask
"opportunity for all" remain the keystone of
American society even when overeworked. And
the only way all doors can remain open is by
constant shuffling of the patterns of society.
In America today, those who are "not bound
by orthodox tenets" are becoming increasingly
hard to find. However, meaning and applica-
tion being two different things, the word
liberal itself remains, attached to people not
entitled to it, purely as a political appellation.
E MAJORITY of present-day "liberals"
simply do not fall under Webster's defini-
tion; indeed, many of them would be horrified
by any such suggestion. They would, of course,
claim independence of opinion (so would con-
4ervatives, reactionaries and fascists) but few
of them would be willing to fully reject ortho-
dox tenets.
There has come to be a "liberal" pattern of
thinking almost as restrictive as any strongly-
conservative system. It is, basically, the pat-
tern of the New Deal, the advancement of social
legislation and civil rights measures beyond
their current point. But it does not seem to be
going any further than consolidating, stretch-
ing and administrating a program that began
back in 1932.
The Right
ALTHOUGH the Right to Work proposal was
th e most contentious issue in the election
campaign, the voters knew less about it on
November 4 than they did in prior months.
With the decisive defeat of the proposal in five
states, a grave mistake was made.
But the electorate must plead innocence. The
guilty ones responsible for its failure are the
labor unions and the various Right-to-Work
commissions.
Labor officials acted on the faulty premise
that an enactment of a Right to Work proposal
would prohibit the continuation of labor unions
Jn their present form or even cast the concept
of unionism into oblivion. These men ought to
know better. They are afraid only of a slightly
depressed pocketbook. The rank and file were
intimidated to vote against the issue or else be
reduced to a state of slave bondage by the op-
pressive management. This sort of propaganda
is vicious. The actual facts of Right to Work
were witheld The voters merely expressed the
1ears of the union leaders at the polls,
On the other hand, the promoters of Right
to Work instilled false confidence in the public.
Their platitudinous exaggerations backfired be-
cause of ignorance to come to grips with the
essence of their brainchild. Right to Work, if
on the state statutes, would not eliminate cor-
ruption within the unions; it would not halt
the recession; it would not raise union member-
ships:
Liberals today seem to be thinking along
the lines of certain "established forms," the
very antithesis of the term "liberal."
IT IS, OF COURSE, possible that there is no
need for any further revolution in thinking.
And then again, perhaps there is. At any rate,
there is no way of determining whether a better
system exists unless new ideas and new con-
cepts are proposed and considered. This must
be the function of true liberals, and this is
precisely what they are failing to do.
This failure is evident in all areas of Ameri-
can life. In business, government, labor and
education, the brilliance, the flash of fanciful
genius have not been forthcoming. The current
of world affairs has swept over them but left
them unchanged, unable to see that new world
conditions require new concepts.
Nowhere is the failure more dangerous than
in the academic world, for if imaginative think-
ing will come from nowhere else, it must come
from the American intellectuals.
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, in fact, are
in the most favorable position to produce
such new thinking. It is here, in the oft-de-
graded "academic atmosphere," that new ideas
have their best ,hance of fruition, simply be-
cause the process of pondering and analyzing
is most refined at this level.
There has been much emphasis on stimulat-
ing students to think for themselves. There has
been less talk about doing the same for pro-
fessors. And yet this, too, is necessary, for
academicians also have the lamentable ten-
dency to fall into a mental rut.
New theories, revolutionary concepts must
continue to be advanced, even if they are only
to be discarded shortly after. It is certain that
no great progress will ever be made, if there
are no great progressive ideas to begin them..
-SUSAN HOLTZER
To Work
ORGANIZED LABOR was highly successful
in manipulating the public. The RTW sup-
porters weren't. Since both dealt with their
own distortions of the facts, it is illogical to
conclude that the labor unions were in the
right since they emerged victorious.
Right to Work is a moral rather than political
issue. The political repercussions of such a
proposal are manifold, but the considerations
of the voters should be based on its ethical
merits.
A person who expends his efforts at a job
to secure the necessities and comforts of life
must be allowed to work toward such ends un-
hampered by pressures to join organizations.
THIS IS NOT TO DENY the benefits unions
offer their members, but to affirm the
individual's responsibility to himself and his
capacities to decide. Conscious acceptance or
rejection of what confronts him is an ir-
revocable right. Supposedly, free choice pre-
vails. If one has reservations about belonging
to an organization, must he be cut off from
avenues of work? Expenditure of effort by
working and group affiliation are independent
factors. Only the individual within the province
of his own decisions, can reconcile the two.
One's right to work should be safeguarded. A
Right to Work amendment can guarantee only
that. A job is a job, nothing else.
-GILBERT WINER
inspired by the strong Democratic
IN CONGRESS:
New Tends
Seem Likely
By RALPH LANGER
Daily Staff Writer
NO ONE is actually sure just
what "liberal" trends will re-
sult from the recent election, but
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
and observers have some fairly
definite ideas.
It isn't the first time, rather,
the third that the President has
been faced with a Democratic
Congress but this time he said the
people had ". . . obviously voted
for people that I would class
among the spenders, and that is
what I say is going to be the real
trouble." The President said a
trend toward higher spending is
a dangerous thing and promised
to "fight it."
THE POLICIES that do emerge
from the coalition of liberals, how-
ever, will meet opposition from
the White House. Although the
President's first reaction, that he
will fight the spenders, was rash,
he will be an obstacle to a great
many proposals of this group.
The new Congress will un-
doubtedly have more spats with
the President because they won't
have to watch themselves, politi-
cally, as much as previously. In
previous sessions, open conflicts
were avoided because of Presi-
dent Eisenhower's popularity. Now,
with a tremendous vote of con-
fidence in their briefcases, the
Democratic majority will not be
as hesitant to advance more pro-
gressive measures
The conservatives, recently de-
feated by more liberal candidates,
often held back and were able to
defeat many measures which will
probably be pushed through by
the new majority. Such things as
increased Federal aid to school
construction and a raise in the
minimum wages look promising.
THE FILIBUSTER may find it-
self a thing of the past or at
least curtailed greatly. Attempts
to abolish or curtail this conserva-
tive refuge has failed in the past
but the exponents of the filibuster
now find many of their group on
the outside looking in.
Help to exceedingly hard - hit
areas, economically, will probably
be forthcoming and the farm pro-
gram could be in for an extended
revamping. Congress will also
probably attempt to keep a tighter
rein on foreign policy, notably
that towards Chaing Kai-Shek and
foreign aid may be slanted more
towards a "development of under-
developed nations" than a
"friends-buying" type of program.
The overwhelming popular vote
against right-to-work laws will
find support with the new Con-
gress. The AFL-CIO has already
begun pressuring the new Congress
to repeal the section of the Taft-
Hartley act allowing state "work
laws."
machine captured an almost two-
thirds majority in both houses of
the Congress. Nearly three-fourths
.of the state governorships are now
also occupied by Democratic Party
supporters.
The the GOP camp consoled it-
self somewhat with the success
of a "modern" Republican in the
New York gubernatorial race. Nel-
son A. Rockefeller turned the
Democratic tide upside down with
his victory over Gov. Averell Har-
riman in the much-publicized
"Battle of the Millionaires."
Harriman's defeat wiped out any
presidential aspirations the ex-
governor may have had and fo-
cused attention on governor-elect
"Rocky" Rockefeller as a possible
presidential nominee. Republican
Congressman Kenneth B. Keating,
pitted against New York District
Attorney Frank S. Hogen for the
senatorial post, also rode the crest
of the state GOP tide to victory.
ONLY ARIZONA, almost un-
touched by the recession, bucked
the strong pull of the Democratic
tide in reelecting conservative Re-
publican Barry Goldwater to the
Senate. The western state gave the
Democrats their only loss of a
House seat. After a national ap-
peal by her irate husband "to come
home," Mrs. Coya Knutson was
defeated.
The GOP suffered their hardest
blow in California. A faction-rid-
den Republican Party proved dis-
astrous to thet16 years of GOP
dominance in the state.
Attorney General Edmund G.
(Pat) Brown crushed conservative
Republican Sen. William F. Know-
land for governor. Sen. Know-
land's defeat boosted governor-
elect Brown to a possibility in the
Democratic presidential nomina-
tion in 1960.
Republican Gov. Goodwin J.
Knight returned to private life
after his defeat at the hands of
Rep. Clair Engle. Gov. Knight
decided to fade from the political
scene after losing the Senate seat
he supposedly didn't want.
MASSACHUSETTS awarded
Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy
a history-making plurality of 869,-
000 in his race for reelection. Ken-
nedy's resounding victory bolsters
h's hopes for a presidential bid
in the 1960 Democratic convention
Democratic Gov. Foster Furcolo
also won reelection but fell far
short of Kennedy's vote plurality.
Connecticut's steadily rising un-
employment enabled Gov. Abra-
ham A. Ribicoff, a Democrat, to
eatn the biggest sweep either party
has made in the state in 34 years.
The mounting tide also aided
Democratic Thomas J. Dodd to the
senatorial post.
In Ohio, the labor force turned
out to swamp both the Republican
candidates and the proposed "right
to work" law. Stephen M. Young
won theSenate seat occupied by
the conservative Republican Sen.
John W. Bricker. It was Sen.
Bricker's first defeat since 1936
in a' state-wide election.
Democrat Michael V. DiSalle
wrested the governorship from
Gov. C. William O'Neill with a
458,000-vote plurality.
STILL IN FIRST--Despite setbacks to the "traditional" wing of
the Republican Party and the stunning victory in New York of
"modern" Nelson Rockefeller, Vice-President Richard Nixon firmly
retains the strong support of party chairmen and workers.
CRUSHED CONSERVATIVES:
ight Wing Clipped
By CHARLES KOZOLL
Daily Staff Writer
A ONCE-POWERFUL group
of "conservative" Republican
legislators has diminished to a
fraction of its former size. The
bloc's right wing element, soundly
defeated in the Congressional
election, fell to what seems to be
a nation-wide trend to a more lib-
eral viewpoint.
What remains is a possible co-.
alition of the conservative ele-
ments in both parties to back the
President who has been leaning
more and more to the political
right. The new force of liberals in
the House and Senate could cross'
party lines to thwart the Eisen-
hower program for the remaining
two years.
* * *
MISSING from the legislative
battles over spending, anti-reces-
sion tactics and the looming labor
question will be some important
Republicans. Probably the most
vocal was Senator William Know-
land of California who reached
for the Governor's post in Calif-
ornia and found almost nothing
in the way of voter support.
Knowland, whose right-to-work
amendment aroused labor union
wrath, was a victim of an all-out-
to-oust campaign by the organ-
ized labor group. The landslide
win has also been attributed to
an increasingly powerful Demo-
cratic party which thrived on the
disunity of California's GOP ele-
ment.
IN MANY CASES, what hap-
pened to Knowland is the story of
other Republican defeats. ". .. Re-
publican weakness has been evi-
dent since the end of 1953,"
quipped on political observer.
Where the GOP has retained its
strength, the power has come
from local leadership and not the
support from the present Admin-
istration. Presidential backing
might have been termed a liabil-
ity with a large population ele-
ment disgusted with equivocating
stands of GOP in recent years.
Democrats capitalized on this
fact by slamming the Administra-
tion for failing to face issues such
as the recession and foreign pol-
icy. ". . . Eisenhower failed to
strike while the legislating iron
was hot and the GOP suffered
by his lack of aggressive ability,"
commented Senator Clifford Case
(R-New Jersey).
While Democratic incumbents
raked GOP failures to accumulate
votes, the followers of the Repub-
lican old line which has been
crumbling since the death of
Ohio's S e n a t o r Robert Taft,
smarted under constituent criti-
cism of "nebulous GOP policy."
THE EFFECT of the defeat is
realized when the axe fell on Sen-
ator John Bricker of Ohio who
survived almost 20 years of New
Deal administration. Labor rallied
behind Democrat Stephen Young
when the thorny right-to-work
amendment came up.
In other areas, Nevada, Wyo-
ming, West Virginia and Maine,
where the GOP was highly re-
garded, the Republican's failure,
to ease the problem of unemploy-
ment cost the incumbents heavily.
Despite Eisenhower's late entry in
the campaign to defend his poli-
cies, the balance had been weight-
ed in favor of the Democrats.
A LATE ATTEMPT by the Ad-
ministration to attack the "social-
istlc Democratic radicals" failed
to arouse voters, many of whom
were evidently offended by defi-
nite partisan tactics by the Pres-
ident.
The loss almost smashed a rela-
tively disunited Republican Party,
leaving broken remnants of a con-
servative tradition of politics. The
job of the "lame-duck" President
will be to salvage the remaining
conservative elements led by re-
elected Senator Barry Goldwater
of Arizona and forestall the liber-
alized intents of a 1960-minded.
Democratic party.
Nixon Still
Far Ahead
By MICHAEL KRAFT
Daily Editorial Director
3HE STOCK of conservative Re-
publicanism went down in the
Congressional election and many
political observers are saying that
Vice-President Richard Nixon's
chances for the 1960 GOP Presi-
dential nomination is doing the
same.
Before the Nov. 4 elections, it
was duly noted that Nixon had
moved "all but openly" to the top
leadership of the party and that
his efforts were primarily on be-
half of the traditional, conserva-
tive wing of the party.
Voter repudiation' of this wing,
despite Nixon's campaigning, pro-
vides a dark (for him) contrast
to the one Republican bright spot
-the stunning victory of Nelson
Rockefeller over New York Gov.
Averell Harriman.
ROCKEFELLER suddenly has
emerged as an obstacle to Nixon's
walk to the speaker's platform to
voice thanks for a nomination
that everyone until recently
agreed was all but fbrmally his.
Already, "Rockefeller for Presi-
dent" chants can be heard and
national attention will increas-
ingly focus on Albany.
However, it seems that much of
the political strength attributed,
almost overnight, to Rockefeller
(and correspondingly taken away
from Nixon) will melt before the
harsh light of political reality.
Nixon has afirmgrip on the
Republican party organization
and the strong confidence of regu-
lar party workers which cannot
be quickly shaken.
True, it is possible that the 1960
GOP convention will repeat the
theme of 1952's, when an insur-
gent Citizens for Eisenhower
movement capped a long series of
struggles to wrestle control and
votes by nominating Dwight D.
Eisenhower over "Mr. Republican"
Robert A. Taft.
There are also similarities in
the way sides might .shape up,
with Nixon backed by the regular,
"traditional" Old Guard, and
Rockefeller backed by the "mod-
erns," who see the recent election
as a strong sign of national sen-
timent.
But Nixon is now, and probably
will remain, much more deeply
entrenched in a position of party
leadership than Taft ever was.
* 4' *
AT THE 1956 convention, about
the only newsworthy thing was
Stassen's futile effort to unseat
Nixon. After talking to numerous
delegates, this reporter and oth-
ers covering the convention found
an enthusiastic, almost complete-
ly unqualified support for the
W2ce-President.
Much of this, of course, may
have been an emoonal defense
to attacks from Stassen and the
Democrats, for many of the atti-
tudes towards Nixon, pro, and
especially con, seem to be emo-
tional in nature.
But Nixon, who has a reputa.
tion for acting in a calculated and
rational manner has built his
fences out of other than emotion-
al materials.
A recent Associated Press poll
of GOP state chairmen found
Nixon far ahead,
Those opposing his nomination
face a strong uphill fight.
OFFEE ....BLACK
4tI
By Richard Taub
Vlichigan
"Can You Make Out If They Look Real Determined?"
f -
CAPITAL COMMENTARY
Romanics vs. Regulars
[HE UNIVERSITY has been making the
headlines lately. Gambling, football and
od have projected it to the general public
a our mass media. Even the status of Sigma
appa has made the Detroit newspapers.
And yet, these are but small and unrelated
'agments of University life. Somehow the
forts of students to increase their knowledge
nd understanding about the world-the efforts
. faculty members to advance the frontiers of
an's knowledge-the truly dramatic stuff
oes not sell newspapers.
* S s
lAYBE, HOWEVER, the newspapers are a
little bit more justified than it might seem.
or how much of the work done in and for the
assroom is carried beyond the buildings
round the diag. A high school senior staying
a dormitory reported yesterday about the
ck of "intellectuality" she had witnessed.
f course her visit did take place on a football
eek-end and there is little advantage anyway
fwearing signs saying "I think" on one's
rehead-Yet, we hope that excitement gen-
ated by the discovery of new ideas in the
asaroom. would find its way hevond them.
tunately, this all too often never gets past the
academic deans. Certainly, it is a bit shocking
to hear our Dean of Women in a public meet-
ing after a display of incredibly bad thinking
herself, take pot shots at the "ivory tower, aca-
demic mind." Perhaps we need more examples
of that very type of mind in our administration.
: s s
THE UNIVERSITY community is a funny
kind of place. Students from all over the
county, in fact, the world, come here "to go to
college," and that will mean different things.
Some strive to become the pipe smoking, urbane
character so often depicted in the movies;
others, finally free from parental restraints,
see school as an opportunity, in one form or
another, to raise Hell; still others see the
University experience as a chance to raise their
status, income, or both; and finally, there are
some who see college with its hallowed ivy walls
as a place in which to learn, explore, mature
and develop.
The attractive thing about Michigan is that
each of them can find here as many compan-
ions as he wishes.
The University can be molded with some
By WILLIAM S. WHITE
WASHINGTON-In the Demo-
cratic party there are profes
sional, or romantic, liberals and
there are plain, or working, lib-
erals. The romantic Democratic
liberals respond to to new and
"modern" faces with ecstatic high-
mindedness-the newer the face
the gladder the ecstasy. The work-
ing Democratic liberals have most-
ly a common view on issues with
their enthusiastic colleagues.
The great difference is that the
working liberals are, first of all,
simply Democrats. To them, the
word "liberal" qualifies but does
not supplant theoperative word
"Democrat." In short, they like
their party to win elections. These
are what might be called the Har-
ry Truman liberals.
But the romantic Democratic
liberals have aims so much more
diffuse - and possibly so much
more elevated - as to be difficult
to define. They will have none of
the crudebonds of party; they
wish to soar wild and free above
all that is commonplace in poli-
tics.
These gentlemen-and ladies--
are now considerably worrying the
more "regular" liberal Democrats
-and sorely worrying all purely
organizational Democrats of what-
ever hue. For these professional
All this Is not welcome news to
the 1960 Democratic Presidential
nominee, whoever he may turn out
to be-and however liberal, for
that matter, he may turn out to
be. For ostensible Democrats are
making very early, and very emo-
tional, commitments to Mr. Rocke-
feller. And by this they are neces-
sarily weakening the prospective
Democratic position for 1950.
There is, in fact, a strong paral-
lel between this "I like Nelson"
movement among the romantic
liberal Democrats and another
movement among the same kind
of group in 1948. Then, some of
these professional Democratic lib-
erals-including a few who were
at least supposed to be close to the
Truman Administration-began an
earnest pursuit of a curious theory.
This was that President Truman
ought to step aside and more or
less force a "new face," Dwight D.
Eisenhower, to take over the Presi
dential nomination.
Mr. Truman, who is not gener-
ally thought to be to conservative
but has nevertheless never quite
hidden his distaste for profes-
sional liberals, was of course in-
sensitively unwilling to oblige. It
was then supposed by the disap-
pointed professional liberals that
General Eisenhower was the only
authentic and fully respnetable
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