Channel Crossing (011jrmidligan Baill Seventy-First Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN "Where Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Truth Will Prevail~" STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MIci. * Phone NO 2-3241 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily ex press the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1961 NIGHT EDITOR: JUDITH OPPENHEIM CINEMA GUILD: Mexican Movie Proves Hollywood Rides Again WHEN A FILM is made in Hollywood, based on an American best- seller, shot in cinemascope and stars big-name actors, one expects, and might even be willing to play along with a plot line, acting and moral that are pretty predictable. But when a movie is billed as "the most telling social document of our time," directed by "one of the most compelling and original talents of out time,"-and isn't-one is quite likely to balk. And so he does. Bunuel's "This Strange Passion," though made in Mexico by a "master craftsman . . . a great humanistic artist," is, plain and simple, a Hollywood movie. Picture to yourself the following plot: man (hand- some, rich) falls in love with fiancee of friend. Man marries friend's fiancee, whereupon the bride discovers that the man is an egomaniac and fantastically possessive. Sound familiar? But wait-the woman (Gloria) is willing to put up with the man (Francisco), because "he is 4 1 U.S., Britain Compromise Principles THE POSSIBILITY that Britain may re- .turn to Formosa a Chinese Nationalist con- demned to death for his political opinions is frightening and disillusioning. Wang Shou-Kang said Wednesday he flew to London from the United States because the FBI was trying to send him back to Formosa to face execution.: He was granted temporary asylum by British authorities, but there was no promise that he would be permitted to stay in England per- manently. The problem of whether to grant extradi- tion, particularly on the international level is always a serious one, its gravity depending upon the nature of the crime the fugitive is supposed to have committed and the punish- ment he may face as 1a result of it. The problem becomes a particularly in- oneirad useless T HE WAR OVER BERLIN which President Kennedy now seems to feel is imminent has caused him to request more money for defense - perhaps justly so. On the other hand he says, "We must keep down all expenditures not thoroughly justified." A look at the civil defense program for which the President has asked an additional $207 million shows where such a reduction might be possible. Fundamental to our current civil defense plans is Conelrad. In the event of an enemy attack this amazing radio system will broad- cast vital information on how to treat radia- . tion sickness with aspirin and bottled water. However, even more wonderful than the service it wil? render- is the way it works. Since it broadcasts from a different point every thirty seconds, theoretically no enemy bomber would be able to obliterate a city by homing in on commercial radio signals as planes did in World War II. THE ONLY Ti-ING WRONG with all this is that super-sonic missiles are guided by in- ertial guidance systems and not rock and roll. It might then be said that Conelrad falls into the class of "not thoroughly justified" ex- penditures. Perhaps the President can see his way clear to reducing the $207 million program by the cost of one outdated radio transmission network. -LEE SCLAR volved moral one when the act committed by the person seeking asylulm is not a crime in the country to which he has fled. FREE SPEECH, in both Britain and the United States, is an old and cherished right which (so we are told) our soldiers die to defend in every war the Western powers fight. But free speech as a self-evident right does not simply mean free speech for those lucky enough to be born in a democratic society. it means free speech as an ideal for all people everywhere. The United States and Britain would doubt- less be the first to expound this principle if the fugitive condemned to death had escaped from some country behind the iron or bamboo curtain. Nothing would give us a greater feel- ing of self-righteousness than being able to proclaim that we had saved an, innocent victim of a totalitarian regime from a brutal death. THE PROBLEM ARISES when the political culprit has escaped from an ally nation- particularly Formosa, since Chiang's feelings are always hurt at the slightest intimation that we are not ready to plunge all our resources into a nuclear holocaust to prevent his little island from being swallowed up by the Red Chinese mainland. If the FBI. intended to return Wang it was probably because We were, as usual, so con- cerned about what leaders of other govern- ments are thinking about us that we were willing to compromise our principles and re- turn him rather than risk Chiang's displeasure. This is a cowardly and hypocritical thing to do. These are times when, more than ever be- fore, it is necessary to reaffirm basic ideals and guarantee that they will not be sacrificed entirely in the all-out drive for prestige and political supremacy. If our ideals are to be thrown to the winds every time it is politically prudent, then they are not worth defending and the political prudence is unnecessary.. Wang should be given credit for having the courage to voice his opinions, regardless of' what they are, and should be permitted to remain in the United States or Britain as long as it is not safe for him to return to Formosa. It should be a well-known fact that the United States and Britain welcome any poli- tical refugees whose opinions have exposed them to danger in their own countries. The inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty may have become a platitude, but if the United States and the free world are to survive, it must remain true. -JUDITH OPPENHEIM INCOMING FRESHMEN: Seminars Advisable Economic Policy Questionable JUDGED from the ec'nomic point of view alone, President Kennedy was able to ask Congress for approximately $3.5 billion in ad- ditional defense appropriations without at the same time demanding compensatory tax in- creases only because the country has not yet fully recovered from the recession and still has an appreciable amount of unused human 'and material resources. If Congress approves the President's re- quest, as seems likely, there will be an in- creased measure of government pump priming, which should speed up the march toward full employment. BUT CLEARLY there are severe economics problems that may arise, even in the near future. The possible problem area that needs to be watched most closely for the present is the position of the dollar on world markets. The new rise in British interest rates may at- tract sizable amounts of short-term capital from this country to London. This, combined with the prospective increase in American de- fense spending abroad, might encourage an- other speculative raid against the dollar such as occurred last October. A more serious area of concern, however, con- sists of the prospects further ahead. The pos- sibility exists that Soviet moves may yet re- quire far more drastic mobilization measures than those just announced. ALTERNATIVELY, the economic stimulus supplied by the prospective large budgetary deficit for this fiscal year may bring us to a full employment situation comparatively quick- ly, with upward pressures on prices and wages, threatening a new inflationary spiral. On either of these alternatives, or a com- bination of them, the appropriate economic policy would be quite the reverse of that which the President is now taking. But he clearly in- dicated that he is prepared to resort to either sharply increased taxation or direct controls or both should they be necessary under changed economic conditions. We trust that serious ad- vance planning for any such eventuality is now vigorously in progress in Washinton. -NEW YORK TIMES By MICHAEL OLINICK Daily Staff Writer ADJUSTMENT to college level work proves a challenge to al- most every freshman, and a great many of them don't make it in time for first semester grades. The University of Chicago un- folded a plan last week to make the transition from high school to university a little easier. It will require a summer reading program of all new students. Freshmen who enroll this Sep- tember have already been asked to read one book from each of two lists. During freshman orien- tation, they will discuss these books at a student-facu.lty forum, and in an essay written for the required composition course. One list of the books, concern- ing higher education, includes Cardinal Newman's "Idea of a University," Mark Van Doren's "Liberal Education," Alfred North Whitehead's "Education in the Age of Science," R. H. Garrison's "The Adventure of Learning in College" and Edward D. Eddy's "Colleges for Our Land and Time." The other list concerns nation- al problems and contains "Out of My Life and Thought" by Albert Schweitzer, "The Status Seekers" by Vance Packard, "The Ugly American" by W. J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick and "Goals for Americans" by the President's Commission on National Goals. *~ * * SUCH A PROGRAM could find easy application within the Uni- versity. Incoming freshmen might be assigned the readings by resi- dence halls with the seminars tak- ing place in the quadrangle or house lounges. Such a procedure would have the added advantage of securing some of the ideals the residence halls are seeking. The living units wouldtake onsthe atmosphereof educational institutions and the freshman would look upon his campus home as more than a hard bed in a small room with bad food. The faculty associates assigned to each residence hall house could take an active part in this house activity - something which is quite rare now. The seminars would be close to the student, they would give him the opportunity to meet the other members of his house quick- Support "APART from East Germany, the poorest and least successful, the satellites are solidly behind Premier Khrushchev in his present attitude towards Germany. ".' . .The Poles, the Czechs and the Hungarians fear and hate the Germans to an extent which we cannot even begin to comprehend . . . And the Russians, who suf- fered less but only relatively, at the hands of the Germans are not far behind. * * * ly, and, provide natural subjects, for later "bullsessions." IF the residence halls are not selected for the program, other possibilities still exist. The orien- tation office could work through Student Government Council's Reading and Discussion Program, mailing out out the seminar lists to all prospective freshmen. The seminars could be held during ori- entation week, and perhaps made voluntary if need be. Seminars on educational goals would force the freshman to an- alyze and evaluate his reasons for attending college, a practice often postponed until graduation or even beyond. The more thinking and reading about education-its limitations and demands-that he does before he comes to the Uni- versity, the better off a student will be when he arrives. Reading contemporary accounts of major societal problems by authors with strong and often controversial opinions may prove a new experience for most high school graduates. The vast ma- jority of their previous textbooks have all contained soothing, America-Is-The-Best accounts of history and social sciences. , While a good argument could be made that the University has no obligation to prepare its in- coming students to do the re- quired work, that it acknowledges they can by admitting them, the facilities for establishing a pro- gram similar to Chicago's already exist, if the University wants to use them. The cost would not be high, but the returns-in better students and better residence halls -would certainly be worthwhile. U.S. Image Abroad "WHAT MAKES the most mis- chief (for the United States) abroad is an attitude of ours that is uniquely American but which the rest of the world views as verging on the bubblehead. "This is the attitude that every problem can be quickly settled or solved if everybody would only go about things the way we Ameri- cans do. "The American view that every situation is a problem that can be solved with money or a gimmick, with a smart idea or with propa- ganda, with good will or with teamwork, is the very opposite of the civilized world view. "THIS VIEW is that every prob- lem is a situation which can be solved, or rather dissolved, only by the efforts (generally over de- cades) of, patient and dedicated men. It believes that time solves more problems than all the world's statesmen, diplomats and elec- torates. "In truth, it is a rather more realistic view than our own. It is the historical view - the one view on which the American Giant is still shaky and without which he will never become a fully ma- ture, fully responsible world power. * * * THERE CAN INDEED be no question but that while the image of the good American Giant includes in good measure the vir- tues of courage, resourcefulness, generosity, imagination, it is some- what shy of the one virtue ut- terly necessary to world leader- ship. It is the virtue Soviet Russia possesses in abundance: patience." -Clare Boothe Luce lonely" and she feels sorry for him. But finally, he tries (to the ac- companimenthof throbbing back- ground music) to kill her and eventually, thank goodness, she gathers up the nerve to leave him. He races around madly with homi- cidal thoughts (more throbs), goes a bit mad, &nd winds up-get this -a monk in Colombia, visited by Gloria, who has married her early love (from whom Francisco stole her), and her new son, named Francisco. And so we fade out, as Francisco goes off muttering in the court- yard that lie was right all along. THE ONLY departure this re- viewer can see from standard pat- tern is the very end. Hollywood might have had Francisco com- pletely humbled as a monk, having found peace. That way one can feel that he is still a bit nutty. But is this ending a "calm coda,"' compared to "Tolstoy's epilogue to 'War and Peace'?" Come, come, Cinema Guild! Surely this is not the meat that is offered us be- tween "The Bicycle Thief" and' "Pather Panchali," movies that are social documents, that do show a bit of "humanistic artistry." But even all this might have been forgiven (many things are possible) if the movie had at least lived up to the description of "more thrilling than any Hitch-. cock opus." Hitchcock, after all, (though perhaps nt of late) has presented movies of fine tension and drama, and to better those would be at least some achieve- ment. However, even this conso- lation has been gainsaid, for "This Strange Passion" does not fill the bill in terms of the suspense or outright excitement thatbuilds up involuntarily in the observer as a well-made thriller unloads. WELL, perhaps Senor Bunuel was too busy with his "refined psychological insights" to be con- cerned with suspense; but in any case, the *result was that little excitement was generated. Whether Francisco killed Gloria or whether he became a monk (or both) did not seem a matter of great importance, since either would have fitted a fairly stand- ardized mode of plot line. Far more entertaining was a short called "Day Dreams," star- ring a Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester of at least thirty years. ago. "Pather Panchali"-next at the Cinema Guild-has been billed as something like "thebest pieceof folklore since 'Nanook of the North'." How strange these bill- boards be! -Mark Slobin Choice " BELIEVE the moral losses of expediency always far out- weigh the temporary gains. And I believe that every drop of blood saved through expediency will be paid for by twenty drawn by the sword." -Wendell Willkie QUESTION:, Red Chinese Policy TOYKO (IP) - To the non-Com- munist nations in the Far East today, the Berlin crisis raises a critical question: "What will Red China do if war breaks out in the West?" A Chinese Nationalist official said Communist-created trouble in the Orient is certain. South Korean newspapers said the West was obligated to West Berlin, and called for unity among the anti-Communist countries. In neutralist Indonesia, the pro- government newspaper, Merdeka, said the situation is causing "great anxiety." * * * POTENTIALLY, there are three motivations that could impel Red China to unleash its armed might in the event of war over Berlin, They are: 1 To divert public attention from the dangerous problems that have arisen in metropolitan China. Food shortages - and probably famine in great areas - have forced Peiping to buy huge quan- tities of wheat from abroad. Red officials admit having failed to achieve some of their announced agricultural and industrial goals. 2) To force the United States to divide its armed forces by at- tacking America's allies in the Far East. In varying degrees, South Korea, South Vietnam, and For- mosa - held by the Nationlist Chinese - are all dependent on American military power for pro- tection. 3) To further their own expan- sionist policies. In the past, vast areas of Southeast Asia were poli- tical vassals of China. Some ob- servers believe Communist China is' moving to restore that pattern. Even in'Indonesia, officials express concern. * * * WATCHING FOR REACTION in Peiping to the tension over Berlin, observers in the Orient noted par- ticularly a statement by the Com- munist news agency, New China. It said. "The noose around its (the American) neck is tightening." In Toyko, the government issued a statement backing President Kennedy's pronouncements on Berlin. It went far beyond any expression made heretofore by a Japanese administration., "We concur in the view of the United States that peace and free- dom cannot be attained by words alone, and that a 'peace treaty' does not automatically bring peace in Germany," the statement said in part. There was no reaction to this from the Japanese Socialists or leftist groups which, in the past, often have been critical of Japan's close ties with the United States. i INTERPRETING THE NEWS: Allies Unclear on Berlin Negotiations Small Victory in Viet Nam THERE ARE some scattered, inconclusive but encouraging signs that the South Viet Namese villager is beginning to resist Com- munist Viet Cong guerrilla intimidation. Heretofore, the rural farmers have been in the middle of the savage nighttime war, have been hurt by it, but have not in many cases taken an active role in it. To use an analogy familiar to Western eyes, the villager has re- sembled the neighborhood storekeeper beset by Editorial Staff MICHAEL BURNS ......................... Co-Editor SUSAN FARRELL .,........................Co-Editor DAVE KIMBALL .......................Sports Editor RUTH EVENHU IS ............... . . . Night Editor MICHAEL OLINICK....................Night Editor JUDITH OPPENHEIM ...................Night Editor brutal "protection" salesmen who nevertheless does not trust the police and politicians from the city enough to cooperate with them. FOR YEARS thoughtful Western political visitors have urged the Diem government to make South Viet Nam's army and rural ad- ministrators more useful to the village popu- lation. Their position has been that if the Viet Namese peasant could feel the government was interested in things touching his everyday life (other than just tax collection) he would be a more willing participant in the extremely difficult task of locating and stamping out guerrilla raiders. Recent reports tell of several instances in which village headmen and farmers have helped army detachments discover the timing and routes of Viet Cong hit-and-run attacks. Sev- eral important Viet Namese Communist lead- ers have been captured. A crack Viet Cong By J. M. ROBERTS Associated Press News Analyst NEARLY ALL THE COMMENT in the United States and abroad on President Kennedy's speech Tuesday night has included references to his effort to keep the door open for negotiation even while taking a very firm stand about Berlin. But neither Kennedy nor anyone else has come up with a very clear outline of just what is to be negotiated. Kennedy would be will- ing to negotiate Soviet requests but not " Soviet demands. But there is not suggestion of any- thing the Soviets might request which the West is prepared to give. Kennedy mentioned Soviet fear of a revived Germany, and possible guarantees of security in that quarter. That fear is very real, and has been real since long be- fore the attack of 20 years ago this summer. But it is not a major figure in the Soviet equation of action, which is for positive ex- pansionism rather than negative Germany, and the Soviet Union might be expected to follow suit as they followed the NATO pact with the Warsaw pact.) And the East German puppets may start substituting for the Russians in stamping travel permits between West Germany and West Berlin. If they then watch carefully to avoid provocations, as seems at least possible and perhaps likely, the realities will remain unchang- ed, the agitation will continue, but the crisis will have lost its edge. Khrushchev will have es- caped the shadow of his cwn ultimatum. There will be con- tinued Communist pushing around the world but, unless the Chinese Reds start it, no punching. ** * THE THOUGHT sounds reason- able, in the light of the dangers to everyone which Kennedy has underlined and which Khrushchev has himself recognized. There have been suggestions that Moscow might accept some other political but largely tech- nical concessions in return for a lessening of Berlin tension. f ;". ;^ '.r