Seventy-Third Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSrY OF MICHIGAN
T UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Where; Opinions Are- I STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG., ANN ARBOR, MICH., PHONE NO 2-3242
Truth Will Prevail"''
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
RIDAY. JULY 26. 1963
NIGHT EDITOR: PHILIP SUTIN
Negro Has Right
To Be Wrong
FcR YEARS the racial problem has been.
America's cocktail hour conversation sub-
ject. Yes, people have said intently but off-
handedly, one day we'll have to pay for en-
forced Negro inequality.
The day has come, of course. Racial round-
ups are now a standard feature of every daily
newspaper. Negro Americad has erupted with
all the bitterness, all the hatred it has held
within for centuries.
Indeed, there is hatred. The bloody riots
from New York City to Cambridge, Md. attest
to that. And to many members of the Student
Kon-Violent Coordinating Committee and other
militant groups, non-violence is merely a tactic
--not a way of life.
So cocktail discussions have changed from,
injustice suffered by Negroes too injustice prac-
ticed by them. Even many liberals have taken
to criticizing their excesses. Segregationists
have rolled out their "we told you so" attitude.
LIBERALS AND reactionaries alike have this
problem in common: they refuse to go be-
low the surface of the /Negro struggle.
The Negro has always been treated as a
monolithic institution, as something apart. He
has always been thought of in terms of "Ne-
groness" rather than as ai complex human
being. Negro is an abstraction. Very few whites
have been able to identify with the Negro as
an individual. Consequently, very few have
been able to identify with his problems.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk' phrased the,
problem one way in testimony before the Sen-
ate commerce committee concerning one ad-
ministration's civil rights package. In a ha-
rassing exchange South Carolina's Senator
Strom Thurmond asked Rusk if he approved
of Negro demonstrations. "If I were denied
what our Negro citizens are denied, I would
demonstrate too," the Georgia-born Secretary
of State replied.
This is what white Americans have almost
no way of comprehending. They have never
lived inside a brown skin.
IN THREE CENTURIES on this continent, the
Negro has been physically maligned in ways
which, except for scale and efficiency, are
not so different from Hitler's treatment of the
Jews. Negroes have been lynched, beaten, sex-
aally assaulted, all without reason. The Negro
has been burned out of his home. He has
been shot at, spit at and cursed, again with-
out reason. Much of the history of Negro
humiliation could never be printed in a news-
paper.
But the- physical harassment only supple-
nents the greatest wrong the whites have
committed. Slowly, over the course of these
three centuries, we have encased the Negro
in a mental shell of inferiority which he is now
trying desperately to escape.
The process has primarily been an uncon-
scious one, which is why it has been so ef-
fective. Without even realizing it, whites have
naturally looked upon the Negro as inferior.
The Negro has just as automatically accepted
this role in American life.,
NEGRO CHILDREN learned very young that
they had separate bathrooms, separate
drinking fountains, separate schools, separate
neighborhoods, separate do's and separate
don'ts. And there was no question in their
minds that they were separate but unequal.
They knew very well and very early the mean-
ing of the word "nigger."
Southerners are partially right when they
say that their "niggers" were content before
the advent of the civil rights era. As long as
the Negro accepted his station he had few
dreams of a better life.
'The growing Negro dissatisfaction, churning
the civil rights drive in, its wake, stems. from
an awakening-a realization of the terms un-
der which he is, living. The Negro is seeing
for the first time that not only does the white
man look. down on him, the white man 'has
made him look down on himself. Knowing
he is just as human as his white brother, the
Negro must still fight both within and without
himself.
This is not an abstract, intellectual question.
It is a passionate, emotional battle which the
word "patience" does nothing to soothe.
The Negro has a right to his bitterness; he
has a right to seek the same outlets that all
bitter human beings seek.
He has, in other words, a right to be wrong.
His enemies have been wrong for 300 years.
-H. NEIL BERKSON
"As I Was Saying, The Administration Has Failed
To Take A Bold, Fearless Stand--"
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NEW PACT:
Test Ban Faces Obstacles
AT CINEMA GUILD:
Silent Comedies Offer
Amusing Fare
BILLY WILDER'S film bio-
graphy of Lindbergh, "The
Spirit of St. Louis," was scheduled
to be shown Friday and Saturday
night at the Cinema Guild. How-
ever, the prints did not arrive, so
instead, five silent comedies-two
of which star Charlie Chaplin-
will be presented.'
"The Uncovered Wagon," pro-.
duced in 1923, is a fantastic re-
creation (using automobiles) of
the wagontroin epic: namely, of
difficulties the settlers met in
crossing rivers, settling petty
quarrels among themselves, and
repulsing "injun" attacks.fIt is
often crude, but Just as often it
is wildly amusing.
On the other hand, "Briny
Boob" with Billy Dooley is too silly
to be enjoyable. It is interesting,
though, to note that the yellow
tint of the film stock is the re-
sult of some color experiments
carried out in the 1920's (light
blue and sepia colored stock were
tried). Unfortunately, the humor
is just as pallid.
* * *
BEN TURPIN is all right in
"Harem Knight" as the aristo-
cratic lover Rodney St. Clair
("Kiss them, love them, then de-
tour."). After swapping clothes
with a pretty harem girl and then
duelling with the Sultan and his
bodyguards almost singlehandedly,
does he get the girl? Well . . . n
But just as Chaplin's slight buil
and maladroitness (what Park
Tyler calls the "comic flaw") pr(
vent him from completely attain
ing the love-object, Turpin's fan
ous crossed eyes do the same her
On to Chaplin. Not literally tt
tramp Charlie (I ask, not knowir
the answer: was he ever really
tramp in any of his movies?) bi
the handyman. In "Work" he's
paperhanger who quite indirectl
alas and guffaw, shatters the fu
niture and the sanity of his en
ployer-victims. Made in 1919, th
film displays the same fully-grow
genius that can be seen in h
universally admired "The Go
Rush" (1925).
* * *
"TRIPLE TROUBLE" gives t
Charlie the janitor. Again tt
naterial is bad. Name puns-Co
onel Nutt and his daughter Haz
-are not the high, situation hi
mor one wants from a Chaplh
comedy. And there is too muc
overacting by the supporting cas
Consequently the film is lukewar:
entertainment.
I would recommend this prc
gram only to a Chaplin enthusias
such as I am (now), or to somE
one interested in an amusing bt
not particularly hilarious "breal
from his studies.
, -Gary T. Robinson
TODAY AND TOMORROW:
Treaty Contains
Old U.S. Proposals
Concept of Freedom
I.
TH' E "RIGHT to read" has been seriously
challenged in the nation's sc iools. Textbook
censors have invaded the public school in hun-
dreds of communities.
During the past several years, textbooks have
come under fire in one-third of our state legis-
latures. It is not uncommon to find books
banned, burned or stripped of important pas-
sages. Censors accuse the texts on two grounds:
Being subversive or being pornographic.
Many teachers have been summarily dis-
missed for recommending such books as
"Catcher in the Rye," "1984," or "A Bell for
Adamo." Some times the opposition of one
influential parent or self-imposed critic is
Dispute
THE SINO-SOVIET peace talks were any-
thing but peaceful. The talks were termed
a total failure upon their conclusion Saturday
as the Chinese Communist delegation returned
to Peking still convinced that war and bloody
revolution are the only way to achieve the aims
of communism.
The Soviets greeted the Chinese with a chilly
reception which set the tone for the 15 days
of negotiating. The split' appears irreconcilable.
The Communist world is left divided between
those who follow Premier Nikita Khrushchev's
"peaecful co-existence" line and those who
espouse the more warlike line of Mao Tse-tung.
It is too soon to see what effect this split
will have" upon the world. One thing seems
apparent-tension between the Soviet Union
and the West may be eased.
COMMUNIST nations began to choose sides
in the dispute. Most of the East European
satellites rallied behind Khrushchev. The two
Communist giants will be competing to win
the favor of Communist-controlled countries.
Cuba is a good example, and Rumania is an-
other.
Surely, the split weakens the world power of
communism. Together the giants present a ter-
rifying force and a great threat. But we inust
not fail to realize that the spread of com-
munism may be greater. The two forces will
be fighting each other in attempts to get
countries on their side.
It appears that the Soviet-United States re-
lationship is in for inprovement, but when the
chips are down we wonder with whom would
the Soviets side in a U.5.-Chinese dispute.
As we mentioned, the significance of the
hr.a.. pfwAgz..-- o + :wn +- n m nnirt nnwo.r wil
enough to banish a book from the school or
library shelves.
THE AMERICAN teaching profession is much
concerned at this development. At its re-
cent convention in Detroit, Mich., the National
Education Association (N.E.A.), spokesman
for the nation's public school teachers, warned
against the growing dangers of text censor-
ship. Several discussions at the meeting pointed
to the enormous harm that growing censor-
ship can have on education.
Gene Roberts Jr. of the Raleigh (N.C.) News
and Observer, author of "The Censors and the
Schools," warned that organized groups, rang-
ing from the Daughters of the American Revo-
lution (D.A.R.) to the John Birch Society, were
behind the censorship movement.
Why are books censored? Usually the censors
claim that "un-American" material is found in
the books. The United Nations is "subversive"
in the eyes of the censors; so is fluoridation
to prevent tooth decay.
THE D.A.R. asked that a text be thrown out
because it included a picture of a breadline
in the 1930's. Another depicted slum areas of
our cities. A social science text was declared
unsatisfactory because it "referred to the United
States as a democracy. (It should be called a
republic, the censors contend.)
A songbook in California was attacked be-
cause it contained a song called "Swing the
Shining Sickle." Pure Communism? Not really.
The song was written in 1897 by an American
and was a Thanksgiving harvest song. Another
book was attacked because it referred to
"George Washington and his comrades." Com-
rades, the censors ruled, is a Communist word.
Unfortunately, the censors have considerable
power, the N.E.A. teachers discovered. One pub-
lisher removed a chapter on the United Nations
from his civics book after pressure from Cali-
fornia groups. Several publishers rewrote sec-
tions of their books before they could sell them
in Texas. Other publishers play it safe: They
do not include controversial 'material, whether
it be politics, religion or racial problems. Inte-
gration is a forbidden word in many parts of
the South.
THE DANGERS of censorship were stressed
by Dr. Archibald B. Shaw, associate sec-
retary, American Association of School Admin-
istrators. Our students should have all the
facts and get information on both sides of
controversial issues.
"Heaven help our society if we cave in to
these subversive pressures to suppress the
whole case, all the evidence," said Shaw, form-
er suprintendent of schools. Scarsdale. N.Y.
By PHILIP SUTIN
Co-Editor
MAJOR AGREEMENTS with the
Russians are like bolts from
the blue. They don't happen very
often and when they do, they are
the result of Soviet foreign policy
needs, not Western ones.
There are now two major post-
war treaties with the Russians,
both achievedsuddenly after years
of fruitless haggling. The first was
the Austrian treaty of 1955. Talks
on reuniting divided Austria had
continued since the end of World
War II, but no progress had been
made until Soviet Premier Nikita
S. Khrushchev decided he n'eeded a
peace-offering to promote a sum-
mit meeting with then President
Dwight D. Eisenhower. A treaty
for a neutral Austria was quickly
written and a summit meeting
was held the following summer.
The test ban treaty stems from
different roots. It is largely a re-
sult of the internecine struggle
with the Communist Chinese.
THE TALKS had continued in
various atmosphere and places
since 1958, but always some stum-
bling block hindered the treaty
writing. But now the Chinese have
militantly broken with Moscow
and Khrushchev is not only look-
ing for a successful venture to
flaunt the Chinese, but wishes to
avoid active hostilities on all
flanks. The test ban treaty serves
both purposes. It is a product of
the co-existence approach that is
OHonors
N JULY 4, President Kennedy
named thirty-one persons who
will receive the Presidential Med-
al of Freedom at ceremonies in
Washington next September. This
new award, highest civilian honor,
replaces a former Medal of Free-
dom which had been bestowed on
individuals who had meritoriously
acted "in the interest ofsthe se-
curity of the United States." The
present honor is given for out-
standing effectiveness in the area
of security, but also commemor-
ates contributions to "world peace,
or cultural or other significant
public or private endeavours . ..
-The Nation
The President's first list is ex-
cellent, including as it does such
eminently suitable names as Alex-
ander Meikeljohn, Rudolf Serkin
and Edward Steichen. But thirty-
one recipients in a single year
would seem a good many for a
medal intended to mark an ab-
solute standard of social or crea-
tive achievement.
It is wise, we think, to extend
the criteria beyond security to
the more creative areas of peace
and culture, but it is also un-
deniable that the terms of the
medal now have about them some-
thing of a grab-bag quality. This
is reflected in the quite disparate
backgrounds of the present re-
cipients ...
of value to the Soviets as well as
the West-underground tests are
still permitted-and it provides a
hopeful East-West atmosphere.
Khrushchev now can turn to
maintaining the Soviet hegemony
in the Communist camp without
worrying about an East-West cris-
is. He also can expand his co-
existence policies to provide the
validity of his viewpoint to the
Chinese.
But several stumbling blocks ap-
pear before this treaty can be
turned from a scrap of paper to a
meaningful document. Only the
first three nuclear powers - the
United States, U.S.S.R. and Brit-
ain-have signed the document.
France, which is also testing nu-
clear weapons, has not taken part
in any stage of the negotiations,
nor does she seem inclined to go
along with the document. Presi-
dent Charles de Gaulle wants to
establish France as a nuclear pow-
er and will not stop testing until
several series of tests produce the
necessary weapons. De Gaulle has
proven very unsusceptible to world
public opinion or to outside pres-
sures, even from the United States,
and will probably continue at-
mospheric tests in the South Pa-
cific despite the treaty.
* *. .*
EQUALLY FREE from public
opinion or power pressures are the
Red Chinese. While not as devel-
oped as France, China is on the
verge of exploding an atomic de-
vice and gaining novice standing
in the nuclear club. Such weapons
are in keeping with its aggressive-
ly expansionist policies. The re-
cent ideological controversy with
Russia indicates that the Soviets
have lostconsiderable control over
Chinese action. Mao Tze-tung
seems hardly ready to bow to
Khrushchev's pressures to stop his
atomic weapons program.
The second major stumbling
block is the United States Senate.
At this stage, just as President
John F. Kennedy swings his poli-
tical weight behind the treaty,
there is considerable doubt that it
will muster ,the two-thirds vote
necessary for ratification. This
would be a Cold War disaster for
the West and the United States.
Extremely conservative senators
like Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-
Ariz) have already voiced their
oppositionto the treaty. They how-
ever are only a handful. The cru-
cial votes come from GOP regu-
lars and from military-minded
Democrats like Sen. Henry M.
Jackson (D-Wash).
4 * *
A WASHINGTON POST survey
last week showed that most sena-
tors had not made up their mind
on the issue as they felt it would
never become an immediate ques-
tion. The Republicans have to
decide if they are going to politic
on the test ban question or main-
tain the bipartisan approval of ad-
ministration foreign policy that
has been in effect since World
War II.
The military-minded Democrats
will probably lean towards the
Post, the joint chiefs will not at-
tack the treaty outright. Rather,
they will claim that the outer space
provisions are an unenforseeable
and dangerous loophole through
which the Soviets can develop new,
more devastating weapons against
the United States. They may also
hit the treaty's limitation to the
United States, Britain and the So-
viet Union and its escape clause
allowing them to test: if tests by
non-signatory nations endanger
their national security.
4 * *
A DEFEAT of the treaty would
mean a reversion to the hard
cold war and a repudiation of any
efforts of the Soviets to co-exist
with the West. It will hand the So-
viets an example of Western bad
faith and militarism which will
make an efficient propaganda
weapon throughout the world.
Further, it will play into the
hands of Red Chinese who, have
not yet realized the significance
of nuclear holocaust. The collapse
of the treaty would be a defeat to
Khrushchev and give the Chinese
a lever to throw him out in favor
of a Stalinist. This would only
bring nuclear war closer.
While the hardest part of the
work-the writing of the test ban
treaty--has been completed, much
travail lies ahead before the per-
manent end of poisonous tests. The
stumbling blocks are both inside-
ous and difficult to overcome, but
with further effort, not insur-
mountable.
By WALTER LIPPMANN
THE DRAFT OF a test ban
treaty, which has been worked
out in Moscow by Khrushchev,
Harriman and Hailsham, is, it ap-
pears, substantially the s a m e
treaty as we offered the: Soviet
Union nearly a year ago. on Aug.,
27, 1962. This proposal in turn Was
very like the one made by Presi-
dent Eisenhower to Chairman
Khrushchev on April 13, 1959.
The two American proposals
were based on the same principle
-that tests should be prohibited,
when, as President Eisenhower
stated, the ban "would not re-
quire the automatic on-site in-,
spection which has created the.
major stumbling block in the ne-
gotiations so far." President Eis-
enhower mentioned tests in the
atmosphere, which can be detect-.
ed at great distances. He did not
mention tests in the water and in
outer space, which are banned in
the Americans proposal of Aug. 27,
1962, nd are included in the draft
treat which has just been nego-
tiated in Moscow. 4
The core'of the opposition to the
treaty consists of those who do not,
want to stop testing under any
conditions. But the official and
general popular view has been that
tests should be banned if, but only
if, they can be policed with iron-
clad certainty. The irreconcilable,
opposition to the new treaty will
probably make much of the fact
that it is not possible to police,
outer space.
FOR NO PROPOSAL has ever
been made, or could have been.
made, to insure that a violation in
outer space would be detected. If
outer space can really be used for
significant testing, then the two
Presidents have made a dreadful
error. In that case, the opposition
to a test ban has been strangely
silent. For it has been warning us
that significant and decisive tests
can be made underground with-
out being detected. If, now that
underground testing is to be per-
mitted; the opposition switches to
outer space as a stick to belabor
the treaty, they will look like men
whoareinventing the reasons to
conceal* their real purposes.
The situation we face is this. If
the Senate refuses to ratify this
treaty, the. United States' govern-
ment will be rejecting a treaty
which it has itself proposed. For
11 months, there has been before
the world an American draft of
essentially the same treaty which
the Soviet Union has now agreed
to, During those 11 months, no
move was made to withdraw, or
amend the proposal. If then the
United States government now re-
jects that the United States gov-
ernment itself proposed, how can
this be done with a straight face?
THE REAL OPPOSITION to a
test ban is inspired by the hope
that, if we keep on testing, we
shall invent the absolute weapon-
a weapon of annihilation against
which there is no defense.
* Both the hope and the fear rest
on an assumption which, though
theoretically possible, is in prac-
tice most improbable. The assump-
tion is that, as between the two
nuclear powers with their gigantic
nuclear arsenals, there is in sight
somewhere and somehow a weapon
so absolute that the existing arse-
nals can be written off as obsolete.
Almost certainly the truth of the
matter is that in nuclear affairs,
as, in all human affairs, the long-
ing for the absolute is, as the poet
said, the unending pursuit of the
everfleeting object of desire.
If, in the pursuit of the perfect,
we wreck the best that is possible,
the longing for the absolute will
be akin to madness.
(c) 1963, The washington Post Co.
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