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August 02, 1960 - Image 2

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Michigan Daily, 1960-08-02

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"And Now, Back to the World of Reality ..."

Seventieth Year
- - EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Mhen Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Tuth W Ia 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.
|SDAY, AUGUST 2, 1960 NIGHT EDITOR: ANDREW HAWLEY

Wayward Surveyors:
The Voters' Dilemma

T HE NATION'S two major political party
conventions are over, and both the Demo-
crats and the Republicans have nominated
men who possess some degree of literacy, in-
telligence, and experience in governmental af-
falrs.
As we face ,today's state primary election,
one realizes that the nomination of men thus
qualified need not always happen. The founding
fathers of our federal government and of the
various state governments sought as demo-
dratic a system as possible, keeping the qualifi-
cations for political office to a minimum. Thus
any person who had the fortunate (for him.
accident of being born in this part of the
world and the health to exist for 35 years can,
in theory, be elected President of the United
States. For lesser offices different age specifica-
tions are set up and residence requirements in
a state or county are needed, but seldom any-
thing more.
Such a democratic way of looking at things
does not prevent a moronic illiterate, moral de-
generate, or naive incompetent from gaining
office if he can convince enough voters to like.
him-.
FORTUNATELY for us, most of the men who
have political office in this country at the
city, state, and national levels have been fairly
intelligent and capable men. Yet, each year
that the electorate is summoned to the polls,
one finds a small percentage of men seeking
ce who have no business wasting the people's
time. by presenting their stands on public
issues.
More often than not, these men appear as
candidates for relatively obscure offices like
county surveyor or drain commissioner where
their campaigns rarely exist in discussing issues
and debating policy, but merely in presenting
their names in a favorable atmosphere to as
many voters as it economically possible for
them. Yet, sometimes we are fortunate enough
to hear their answers to important questions
about the offices theyseek and we can really
tell how fit these people are for public office.
A SIGNIFICANT force in bringing such in-
formation before the public is the League
of Women Voters. The League asks the major
candldates for office their views on certain
selected problems and presents them without
comment. It is clearly enlightening, often
surprising, and occassionally amusing to read
the answers.
A Democratic aspirant for a seat in the
United States House of Representatives pre-
sented his qualifications in a recent publication
of the League. After mentioning his helpful
exhlerience in anti-submarine warfare and three
terms as mayor of a Detroit suburb, he con-
cluded, "I understand and speak Russian,
Polish, and Slovak."
He was asked "What changes, if any, would
you recommend in the present farm price
support program?" Answer: "The removal of
prohibiting restriction on the less than 200-acre
farm. Today, in Michigan, and throughout the"
United States, the small farmer has been
Legislated back to the kerosene days of de-
pression. Returns are meager. Taxes high.
These same farms will be much needed in time
of war or in the near population-explosion
days. My folks have 80 acres at Fowlerville."
On the labor question, his reply is again
peclfic. "Keep in mind," he says at one point,
"that American industry is the goose that lays
the golden eggs-in harmony with labor. The
great expanding American Industrial Horizon
hias an undreamed of future-in harmony with
r.a r-

EVEN MORE striking are the comments of
two candidates for county surveyor who
were asked "Do you feel that under our present
State Constitution the office you seek has the
full authority it requires and for which it was
created?"
One certainly has wonders about the motives
of the Republican candidate in seeking his
office. He answered, "There is absolutely no
need for the position of county surveyor in this
state or any other state."
This was not, moreover, his final comment on
the situation. He went on to say that in many
universities and colleges, taxpayers were "un-
wittingly" supporting engineering instructorsI
"who use their fine and respected positions to
obtain consulting work in competition with pri-
vate enterprise."
He concluded, "There is certainly a great
need for a new State Constitution and a gen-
eral overhaul of State and County government
in order to return it to the American Way of
Life."
His Democratic opponent had even less to
offer as candidate for the public's vote. He did
not respond to the question, at all.
"READ . . .think . . . Vote" The League of
Women Voters exhorts. Those who con-
-tinually urge everyone to "Get Out and Vote"
often forget that the act of casting a ballot
ought to be preceded by careful investigation
of candidate worth and thoughtful considera-
tion of the man's positions and beliefs.
They are not, as we have seen, always intelli-
gent and cogent statements. Any man who
publicly declares that the office he seeks ought
not to exist raises serious doubts as to why we
ought to vote for him. Equally censurable,
however, is a man who will not publish views
for public consideration.
THE LEAGUE of Women Voters has filled a
gap where candidates for minor office can
have the views heard objectively. With such
information, the voter can determine which
man he likes, or in some less opportune cases,
which one he doesn't. A serious question still
remains as typified in the cases of the pros-
pective surveyors. What can the voter do when
he has eliminated both men as undesirable?
The conscientious voter will not rely entirely
on the League's printed supplement, but will
seek out the candidates themselves, especially
in a situation like this one. It is obvious that
one of the two men has to be elected, and it is
obvious that one must be better suited to the
job than the other. It's the voter's job to find
out which one it is.
The electorate has, by and large, given up a
large part of its power of selection to the two
principal political parties. The party offers one
man or two, or sometimes three from which
to make a choice. If the voter finds that all
Democrats and Republicans nominated for a
certain office are incompetent, he may seek a
better man in a third party, or more success-
fully, work within the party of his choice to
strengthen it and insure that more competent
men will be chosen in subsequent years.
Since the case of gross incompetency of
candidates almost always occurs only in minor
offices, the thoughtful voter may evaluate these
positions as to the importance of their remain-
ing political positions. Many of them ought to
be changed to civil service appointments where
a fair test of competence can be administered
to every office seeker. This may yet be the best
solution for the problem of the Wayward Sur-
veyors.
-MICHAEL OLINICK

la I Vol.A 4 ~ --;r 4 J

AT THE MICHIGAN:
S parkling Holiday Save
Overly-Slick 'Bells
ONE GLAD GIRL, Pollyanna, has given way to another on the gi e
silver screen of the Michigan Theatre. In fact, it might be s
that Ella Peterson (Judy Holiday) in- "Bells Are Ringing" is actua
Pollyanna's older, more modern sister who also tries to spread joy a
happiness wherever she goes.
But Ella is more ambitious because she takes on the city of N9
York, a place where eight million people live together in a perf
atmosphere of suspicion and hatred.

Ella's base of operations is a
service, "Susanswerphone" which is
starved matron appropriately
named "Sue" (Jean 8tapelton).
IN ADDITION' to taking mes-
sages, Ella impersonates Santa
Claus for a little boy, acts as a
mom image for a somewhat un-
certain playwright (Dean Martin-),
and tries to find breaks for a
dentist who really wants to be a
song writer-when he plays his
newly composed songs on .his air
hose, It's just too much.
Complications arise ' in this
"plot" through an overly - eager
police officer who thinks that
something more than mere ftele-
phone answering is going on in
Sue's establishment - that the
"Madam" Ella talks about is not
really a famous diva.
THE GIRLS manage to convince-
the officer of their innocence, but.
Ella is warned that her job is .
simply to take messages and that
is all.
But Ella just cannot restrain
herself and soon she is back at
the old sunshine game.
THIS MUSICAL was written by
Betty Comden, Adolph Green and
Julie Styne as a vehicle for Miss
Holiday two Broadway Seasons
ago and it would be hard to bear
it without her. She gives it life'
and meanng and freshness where
they have not.
It is not that the movie version
and/or the original musical are
bad, for they exhibit a great deal
of professional competence and
slickness.
Two of the songs have already
become standards, "The Party's
Over' and "Just in Time."
BUT ON THE WHOLE, "Bells"
does not catch fire for very ex-
tended stretches of time. Ella and
her various friends are interesting,
but no real involvement between
them and the audience is gener-
ated.
It is just a case of too much
icing with too little cake under-
neath.
--Patrick Chester

small scale telephone answering
run by a somewhat grumpy, love-
AT THE CAMPUS:
Flick
Flops
WHAT starts as an amusing ac-
count of the manners and
morals - of rich Frenchmen, turns
into a tedious fairy tale romance
about half-way through and ends
in a rather bland consummation
of young love.
The "Paris Hotel" is a place
for rich, middle-aged gentlemen,
curvaceous but wary young mani-
curists, and stodgy, stupid, mid-
dle-aged matrons whose only occu-
pation is to allow their husbands
to dupe them.
Francoise Arnoul side-steps her
way through approaching gentle-
men with the dexterity and reso-
lution of a broken field runner
until she discovers, in fatherly
Charles Boyer, a chance to play
Cinderella.
She has her eyes on a young
auto mechanic who is posing as
the son of a refrigeration tycoon
and who makes love like he is a
product rather than a son. Miss
Arnoul fakes Boyer into playing
the fairy-god-father and the pro-
ducer fakes himself out of any
chance he had for a good movie.
THE AUTO mechanic fakes him-
self ,Into stealing -his pretended
father's car and the trio is pff. to
enjoy Christmas Eve. Everything
works out for the young love-birds
but Boyer gets arrested for driving
a stolen car and spends the night
in jail, thereby salvaging a portion
of the'movie.
Needless to say, boy loses girl.
So girl goes back to fairy-god-
father who by now is bored with
his impossibly dull role. Besides,
he's horny. But boy finds girl in
an altogether unsatisfactory fin-
ish.
--Thomas Brien

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND:
Battle of Personalities
, By DREW PEARSON

W ASHINGTON - The Presiden-
tial campaign will now settle
down chiefly to a battle of per-
sonalities. The issues are not going
to be too dissimilar.
Jack Kennedy, by taking Lyn-
don Johnson as his running mate,
has made his program more con-
servative. Nixon, by adopting most
of the Rockefeller platform, has
made his program more liberal.
There will not be too much differ-
ence between them.
Nor will there be too much dif-
ference in the ages and vigor of
the candidates. Both will stage
tough, relentless, 18-hour-a-day
campaigns.
, * *
BUT IN ADDITION to differ-
ences in personality, there will be
two unknown factors, always dif-
ficult to predict: Religious preju-
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 responsibility. Notices should
be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to
Rocm 3519 Administration Build-
'g, before 2 p.m. two days preced-
ing publication.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1960
VOL. LXX, NO. 30S
General Notices
Deutscher Verein: Prof. Henry WV.
Nordrncyer,chairman of the German
department will speak on "Poetic
Translations" at 8:00 p.m. Tues., Aug.
2, in the East Conference Room, Rack-
ham Building. He will also read from
his own translation into the German
language of Fitzgerald's translation of
"The Rubiayat of Omar Khayyam."
Moazart's Don Giovanni opens 8:00
p.m. tomorrow at the Lydia Mendels-
sohn Theatre. Box office open today 10
a.m. to 5 p.m.; 10 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. re-
mainder of week. Tickets for Wednes-
day, Thursday, and Monday perform-
ances $1.75 and 1.25; for Friday and
Saturday performances 2.00 and 1.50.
Applications for the University of
Michigan Sponsored Research Fellow-
ships to be awarded for the fall semes-
ter, 1960-61, are now being accepted in
the office of the Graduate School. The
stipend is $1,125 plus tuition per se-
mester. Application forms are available
from the Graduate School. Only ap-
plicants who have been employed on
sponsored research for at least one year
on at least a half time basis are eligible
and preference will be given to appli-
cants who have completed the equiv-
alent of at least one full semester of
graduate work at the time of applica-
tion. Applications and supporting ma-
terial are due I n the office of the Grad-
uate School not later than 4:00 p.m.,
Fri., Aug. 19.
Concerts
The Stanley Quartet will present a
concert in the Rackham Lecture Hall
Tues., Aug. 2 at 8:30 p.m.
Lectures
Linguistic Forum Lecture: Prof. Alex-
ander Hull, University of Massichu-
setts, will discuss "Linguistic Analysis
and Language Teaching" on Tues.,
Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rackham

dice and how much of it still lurks
in the body politic; developments
on the fast-moving international
front.
More than anything else, Nikita
Khrushchev can influence how the
American people vote on Nov. 8. If
he gets too tough, if he calls Nixon
too many names, if he indicated
that he would rather deal with
the Democrats, the American elec-
torate is likely to vote against
Khrushchev.
This was why Nixon shrewdly
emphasized foreign policy in much
of his acceptance speech. He will
run more against Khrushchev
than against Jack Kennedy. He
hadn't been in Chicago more than
thirty minutes before he adroitly
worked in the fact that it had
beenJust a year since he jousted
with Premier Khrushchev in Mos-
cow. You will find, as the cam-
paign wears on, Nixon will be one
of the greatest big name droppers
in the history of American poli-
tics, He will constantly drop the
names of the statesmen he has
met traveling around the world.
VICE-PRESIDENT NIXON has
worked out some shrewd strategy
which will be popped on the Sen-
ate floor, not by him, but by close
friends.
Legislation will be introduced
at the special session of Congress
which will be much more effec-
tive than campaign speeches. The
legislation won't pass, but it will
put the Democrats on the spot.
For instance, Sen. Ken Keating
of New York, Nixon's close friend,
will introduce the entire Demo-
cratic civil rights platform in the
form of a bill and then challenge
the Democrats to pass it.
Obviously the Democrats can't
and won't pass it. For one thing,
there won't be time. But Republi-
can strategists are already grin-
ning over the spasms this move
will bring from Southern Demo-
crats.
* * *
IN THE LOBBY OF the Conrad
Hilton Hotel in Chicago was a
huge photo display of Richard M.
Nixon. It showed him in conver-
sation with Chancellor Conrad
Adenauer of Germany, President
de Gaulle of France, Prime Min-
ister Masmillan, and the Queen
of England, plus other bigwigs.
In none of this graphic mon-
tage, however, was there a photo
of Nixon with the man who orig-
inally picked him for Vice-Presi-
dent and elevated him to fame--
D. D. Eisenhower.
This caused some commenta-
tors to speculate as to whether
Nixon was trying to get away from
the idea that he was Ike Eisen-
hower's bright young man.
WHETHER THE speculation
was justified or not, the fact is
that Nixon is going to lean heav-
ily on Eisenhower in the coming.
campaign. Ike is boiling mad at
Senator Kennedy for attacking
his foreign policies and defense
program; has told Nixon he'll

years because of poor health, is
telling his Southern colleagues
what he thinks of them before he
leaves. He is saying to their faces
that most of them are Republi-
cans at heart who wear the Dem-
ocratic label to get elected; that
they are giving the South a perse-
cution complex with their hue and
cry about the Northern assault on
Southern traditions; that they are
standing in the way of economic
and political progress in the south.

INTERPRETING THE NEWS:
Soviet ConferenceBid Well Planned

By WILLIAM L. RYAN
Associated Press News Analyst
MOSCOW'S new proposal for a
universal disarmament con-
ference in the United Nations
comes as no surprise, and the aim
is no mystery.
Moscow hopes to catch the
United States off balance at the
height of a Presidential election
campaign and cause friction
among the Western alles.

The Russians telegraphed this
punch well in advance. The shift
in tactics bears the distinct stamp
of Premier Khrushchev.
Since the summit conference
collapsed at Paris in May, Soviet
policy makers have given every
indication of tryng to heat the
international atmosphere to a
point where once again the world's
nerves would be on edge. But they
had not intended to let the situa-
tion become too dangerous.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Student for Nixon,
A Hoax-and Worse
To the Editor:
CONCERNING the letter to the editor from Edmund Wooding, Profes-
sor of Journalism, published in your July 28 issue, may I point out
there is something a little too obvious about the young lady who called
him purporting to be a Student for Nixon and then goinig on with a line
of conversation guaranteed to do Mr. Nixon inestimable amount of
harm.
Certainly I do not blame Mr. Wooding for protesting long and loud
the proclamations of the young lady! I would be equally shocked and
incensed if someone called me in the same manner, and it would be
just as difficult for me to refrain from making my objections to such
statements as those made by the unknown Student for Nixon known
to the public.
* * *
IT REQUIRES A RATHER broad stretch of the imagination how-
ever, to interpret the actions of this young lady as beneficial to the
Republicans and their cause. It would, in fact, be a most unlikely action

N THEIR OPINION-
What are We For?

IN RESERVE, the Russians con-
sidered they had a trump: their
new proposal for a top-level meet-
ing of all 82 members of the
United Nations, a most unwieldy
and unlikely setting for examining
the problems of disarmament.
All this indicates Khrushchev
has won the debate with those
- within the world Communist ledd-
ership who sensed danger to the
movement from a super-abundance
of peaceful gestures.
The Russins propose a new con-
ference at highest levels, indicat-
ing participation by heads.of gov-
ernments. This is despite Khrush-
chev's avowal at Paris and later
that he would refuse to negotiate
with President Eisenhower with-
out advance apology for the U-2
spy plane incident of last May.
If this is inconsistency, Commun-
ists will ignore it because their
tactics are more important to
them than the appearance of con-
sistency.
KHRUSHCHEV won the point
that long range aims of Com-
munist world supremacy can bet-
ter be won without the destruc-
tion of a new war and are more
important than cheap, short-term
victories. Communist publications
have been belaboring this point
for some time with sharp lectures
to the world movement.
Only a few days ago, Pravda
carried a long article by Palmiro
Togliatti, Communist boss in Italy,
urging patience and demanding a
campaign to bring pressure upon
governments for a new top-level
meeting.
He told Communists this would
mean no deviation from long-
range alms, despite debates within
the world communist leadership
about the advisability of such
peace offensives. He argued that
the aim of Communist supremacy
would be more secure without
world war than with it.
* * *
KHRUSHCHEV'S followers have
argued similarly, warning impa-
tient ones - including the Red
Chinese-that United States and
Western strength must not be un-
derestimated.
And now, once again, Khrush-
chev has left the Red Chinese
outside. Peiping is not a UN mem-

WE KNOW what you're against. Just what
are you FOR?" '
The question stopped us. It is so easy to
rrive at a positive statement in a negative
nianner that we almost choked on our broccoli
rying to give a definition.
During the past few weeks, some members
f both parties have been serving up political
og-wash in almost unprecedented quantities.
'he Democratic platform is either the most
tarry-eyed optimism of the century or the
nost cynical of "something for everybody"
ries we've run across in a long time. The Re-
rublican platform which emerged amid screams
f mortal anguish from both conservatives
.nd salvationists is hardly less of a scatter-gun
.pproach to the problem. Both of them, it
eems to us, are like Mark Twain's revolver
vhich, if it doesn't fetch what you send it
fter, will fetch something else.
W HAT ARE WE FOR? We are for a few spe-
cific answers. We would think more of a

candidate or a party for giving the answers,
even though we disagreed with both ends and
means, than of a generously general statement
giving neither.
We are 'ardent nationalists. Not for the
America of 1860-we are for change as die-
tated by the times . . it was on such change
that America was founded, and it is from such
change that America can grow. Too often,
though, people answer the need for such
change in one of two ways:
1) They withdraw entirely, and snipe at all
existing institutions covertly and openly, out
of sheer fright and frustration, without offering
any program of change.
2) They resist all efforts at change, both
for the common good and by crackpots and do-
gooders, and scream "Socialist," "Communist,"
or even "reactionary," without investigation of
either needs or ways to meet these needs.
WE ARE MOST against, and are definitely
not for . . . we are most afraid, in these
times . . . of those who would go forward,
carrying bravely the banner Excelsior, going

on the part of a sincere Republi--
can seeking to further the cause
of her party.
On the other hand it could be
an extremely clever move on the
part of a Student for Kennedy to,
make such an appeal to the voters,
Please understand I do not mean
to infer this was the case, only that
it could have been. Consider the
fact that Americans, although fre-
quently nursing religious, racial
and other prejudices, do not usual-
ly make a practice of publishing
such prejudices.
On the contrary, we Americans
are proud of professing a tolerance
of religion (and other controversial
issues on which our great nation's
first foundation was laid) and will
normally go out of our way to hide
snrnl , n,.aiinac,

IT WOULD BE interesting to.
know the source of the call Mr.
Wooding received, as reason tells
me the caller was either an im-
poster or an illiterate, and it would
be just as unfair to say she was
typical of all Republicans as it
would be to say she was typical
of all Americans.
* * *
LET US ALL keep in mind as
this, campaign develops that reli-
gion, if it becomes an issue, can be
made so by either party. Both pos-
sibly could gain, but it is my be-
lief that both parties are determ-
ined it shall not become an issue
as both could lose much prestige in
the eyes of most Americans.
A look at history of the Quaker
religion will'. quickly reveal that

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