Seventy-First Year
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
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"The Question Is, Would It Be Proper
Foi Us To Take Sides?"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
Veni, Vidi,
In Turba Steti
SEPTEMBER 29, 1961
NIGHT EDITOR: ROBERT FARRELL
Calendaring Mess
May Kill G&S
IN ITS FERVOR to protect the quadrangle
Christmas dances from possible competition,
Student Government Council may. indirectly
have caused the ruin of one of the most out-
standing student activities on campus.k
Michael Baad, chairman of the Gilbert and
Sullivan Society, appeared before SGC Wed-
nesday night to plead for the calendaring of
the G&S 'production of "H.M.S. Pinafore"
Wednesday through Saturday, December 6-9.
The calendaring request was hopelessly late.
In presenting Pinafore once each evening and
on the Saturday afternoon of those four days,
G&S would have been conflicting with a Pan-
hellenic Association mass rush meeting, the.
Assembly Association-Inter-Quadrangle Coun-
cil Sing and the quad Christmas dances.
This would have been sufficient grounds for
denial of the request without further consid-
eration but for the fact that G&S at the pres-
ent time is $650 in debt and has been warned
it must make up its deficit with this semester's
production or fold.
BAAD SEEMED CERTAIN that with five per-
formances of Pinafore, probably the most
popular of all the Gilbert and Sullivan operet-
tas, the organization would easily be back on a
firm financial footing.
He also emphasized that his group was un-
able to secure use of Lydia Mendelssohn Thea-
tre for any other date.
These mitigating factors aroused the sympa-
thies of several SGC members who pointed
out that although G&S should be reprimanded
for its disregard of proper calendaring pro-
cedures, it would, be a great pity to let the or-
ganization die. G&S has been a University tra-
'ition for many years.
It keeps alivean art form which is fast being
forgotten, provides acting opportunities for
some of the most talented students in the Uni-
versity and delights participants in all phases
of campus life-faculty, students and adminis-
tration alike.
Grand 'Olde
SParty
THERE ARE THOSE among us who have
often accused the Republican Party of
being somewhat archaic.
But surely they little expected the GOP to
admit it themselves.
Yet a little item in the order of the day from
the State GOP Conference last weekend may
confirm their suspicions:
"6 p.m.-Buffet Dinner in the Tropical Room.
Speaker: National Chairman Rep. William E.
Miller (R-NY), whose aggressive leadership as
chairman. of the Republican Congressional
Campaign Committee in 1060 helped elect 44
new Republicans."
Typographical error, perhaps? Or a Freudian
slip?
M.H.
It is not just another activity. It plays a very
special role in the University, and its tours have
won wide acclaim.
LESS SENSITIVE Council members, notably'
Inter-Quadrangle Council President Thom-
as Moch and Inter-Fratenrity Council Presi-
dent Robert Peterson were equally unimpressed
by the organization's nature and plight. "Tough
luck" was their general attitude and they ex-
pressed it quite succinctly.
Moch's greatest concern was the quad dances.
He said they generally just broke even, and if
they had to compete with G&S they were very
likely to go into debt.
His concern was natural and it is quite true
that the quads, having followed correct peti-
tioning procedure are entitled to their tradi-
tional dances.
But Moch's attitude as well as Peterson's
was unnecessarily antagonistic. He refused to
consider the point raised by both Kenneth Mc-
Eldowney and Women's League President Bea
Nemlaha that G&S conflicted with nothing on
Friday evening and that it would be very
possible for anyone wishing to attend the quad
dances to go to the Pinafore performance on
Friday or even to go to the performance on Sat-
urday and then attend the dance.
WHEN ALL LOGIC FAILED and G&S was
denied the Saturday night performance, it
was suggested that the group be permitted to
give two shows Friday night.
It was obvious from the start that this ar-
rangement was nearly impossible. No cast could
be expected to go through two performances of
Gilbert and Sullivan patter in five hours and
then present a matinee the next afternoon.
In addition, since Saturday night draws the
greatest crowd, Baad considered it very unlikely
that G&S could balance its books without the
evening show, even if it made the almost super-
human attempt at two performances Friday.
And even with his quad dances protected
from all danger of competition Moch was not
willing even to permit G&S to try two shows.
He protested that SGC would never have
made such an allowance for another organiza-
tion and should not do it for G&S.
HOPEFULLY the issue is not dead. Perhaps
the group will be allowed to carry its defi-
cit over another semester. Perhaps it will find
financial assistance elsewhere and perhaps,
SGC may be convinced to reconsider the ques-
tion.
Certainly G&S should have learned a valu-
able lesson and ought to petition for calendar-
ing especially early next time . . . if there is a
next time.
But the hostility exhibited by Moch should
be critically examined. It displays a narrow-
ness of interest which should not be permitted
to influence the decisions of a Council mem-
ber and a stubborn lack of sympathy for the
interdsts of a very broad segment of the cam-
pus.
-JUDITH OPPENHEIM
SIDELINE ON SGC:
Politics Betray Council
By JUDITH OPPENHEIM
Daily staff Writer
THE ONE hopeful note about
Wednesday's Student Govern-
ment Council meeting is that ir-
responsible partisan politics, hav-
ing hit a new low, cannot sink
much further.
Emerging bleary-eyed at 3:45
a.m. from a two and a half hour
executive session, SGC members
announced they had filled only
two of the Council's three vacan-
cies.
The two seats went to David
Croysdale, '63, currently social
director of Inter-Fraternity Coun-
cil and John Vos, '63, a transfer
student from the University of
Arizona who has been on campus
approximately two weeks.
IT IS SPECIFICALLY not my
intent to cast aspersions on the
ability of either of the two ap-
pointees. They are certainly in-
telligent and probably fully qual-
ified men. It would be unfair to
judge their capabilities before they
appear at a Council meeting.
But judgment can and must be
passed on the manner in which
SGC made its selection.
It is no secret that the Coun-
cil is sharply split between two
main factions popularly labled the
"liberals" and the "conservatives."
On minor issues, members oc-
casionally vote without regard for
"partisan" politics, but on major
decisions it is generally possible
to predict how each member will
vote
The few members who cannot
be consigned to either camp are
generally divided and hence sel-
dom constitute a deciding force.
THE THREE COUNCIL vacan-
cies were created by the resigna-
tion of members whose absence
seriously depletes the ranks of
the liberals.
The liberals were of course an-
xious to obtain liberal replace-
ments and the conservatives were
committed to a battle to the death
to keep new liberals off the Coun-
cil.
But the factor which should
have been decisive was the quality
of the petitioners--their exper-
ience, maturity and grasp of the
many and crucial problems fac-
ing SGC this year.
In the interests of acquiring
new members with these ,qualities,
political motives should have been
strictly secondary considerations.
The members finally chosen were
quite obviously a "moderate" com-
promise.
VOS, in spite of his impressive
record of activities at the Univer-
sity of Arizona has been at the
University for too short a time to
have a real understanding either
of local problems or of Council
procedure.
Croysdale, with a fine academic
record, is aware of the nature of
certain issues the Council will have
to deal with but has no specific
plans or ideas on which to pro-
ceed.-
They are both candidates to
whom no one could object be-
cause they have no strong posi-
tions to advance. Perhaps if they
began attending SGC meetings
now as observers they would have
acquired sufficient background to
make valuable candidates by the
November elections.
HOWEVER, regardless of their
inherent capabilities, it will take
them at least that long to get or-
ganized. It would not even be
fair to expect any contributions
from them before their interim
terms expire.
Meanwhile, consideration of he
problems being discussed by the
Office of Student Affairs Study
Committee, policies of the Com-
mittee on Membership in Student
Organizations and reorganization
of the Council's administrative
wing demand immediate and in-
formed attention.
Good will and high potential are
not enough. Members with exper-
ience are needed. And potential
members with experience peti-
tioned. Robert Ross, a member of
the Committee on Membership,
belongs to Voice Political Party
and the Political Issues Club.
HE ATTENDED the National
Student Association Congress this
summer and is informed about'
student issues pertaining to this
and other campuses. He attends
Council meetings frequently and
is probably as fully informed on
SGC issues as any of the mem-
ibers.
This is not to imply that Ross
would have been the only good
choice. Several other petitioners
were almost equally well qualified.
The point is that they were re-
jected mainly because they are as-
sociated with the liberal ,roup-
and the conservatives, rather than
appoint a liberal were willing to
substitute two new members
about whom they knew almost
nothing.
* *
BY REFUSING to make a third
appointment the Council virtually
said there were not three qualified
candidates among the 18 who peti-
tioned.
Since SGC itself has never made
a public announcement of the
criteria it used, we cannot be
absolutely certain what the mem-
bers had in mind.
We can however be certain that
in the interests of partisan con-
cerns they have sacrificed the
ideal of an informed, representa-
tive Co.uncilfor the rest of this
elective term.
'WayBack
Then-
"GOVERNMENT never of itself
furthered any enterprise, but
by the alacrity with which it got
out of its way. It does not keep
the country free. It does not settle
the West. It does not educate. The
character inherent in the Ameri-
can people has done all that has
been accomplished; and it would
have done somewhat more, if the
government had not sometimes
got in its way."
-Henry David Thoreau
S.R.O. ..
To the Editor:
WFEEL COMPELLED to write
a few words of praise for the
beautifully remodeled language
laboratory. Modern technology has
made possible the efficient new
dialing system, and the psychol-
ogically beneficial brilliant colors,
conducive to bright thinking. Not
only are we learning to speak new
languages, we are learning to
punch a time clock- a valuable
experience for our future in the
working world.
It was unfortunate that the
technologists nIeglected to paint
the hall outside in these brilliant
colors, because that's where we
are forced to study our languages
now.
This afternoon, we were again
given a 45 minute wait, during
which we pondered possible solu-
tions to this problem.
It was suggested that we wait
until the "fad" wears off. Is the
language lab intended to be a
fad? If so, it will wear off after
students tire of waiting in line.
Learning a 'language has be-
come an endurance test. Only the
calloused soles survive.
* *
THE LAB is designed to cope
with this. The supervisors set
aside half of the booths for cer-
tain courses, but somehow they
forgot to include a Spanish 101
section. Instead, they set up Ger-
man and French rows, which
stand empty while Spanish stu-
dents stand in line.
- *
WELL, 45 minutes later, we
got into the lab, breathing a sigh
of relief in our psychological
splotches of color. We put on our
earphones and dialed, only to hear
nothing.%
What wasthe excuse this time?
A power failure.
-Mary-ann Oltean, '64
-Michele Todd, '64
-Nancy Wolfe, '64
Generalities.
To the Editor:
ERNEST VDE'S LETTER in the
. September 27 Daily is a dis-
turbing piece of writing. It is
unfortunate not because of his
inept and ridiculous generaliza-
tions, but because of 'his apparent
ignorance of logic and objectivity
in cultural comparison.
The naming of Americans as
"milk drinkers" and Europeans as
"alcohol drinkers" is generalization
at its weakest and most superficial.
But it could be ignored if Mr.
Vide did not attempt to develop
it as a criterion of the worth of
a social system. To use such a com-
parison as proof that Europeans
are "men" and Americans "child-
ren" is stupid; and to extend this
foolishness by equating manhood
withosexual experience is an act
unworthy of a college student. His
letter shows, among other things,
a complete misunderstanding of
our system of social and sexual
relations, and an unwillingness to
consider that the system may have
advantages for our own citizenry.
* * *
AS SUCH it is detrimental to
the purpose of the cosmopolitai
atmosphere the University strives
to maintain. One of the main rea-
sons for the foreign student pro-
gram is to promote a mutual un-
derstanding of differing cultures
and an objective atmosphere for
the discussion of international, in-
tercultural problems. Mr. Vide's
assertive provincialism, his dema-
gogic insistence that "his way is
best," is neither logically founded
nor helpful to this atmosphere.
Freedom of speech brings with
it the responsibility to think rea-
sonably about what one is saying;
free speech without logic can only
defeat its own purpose, as Mr.
Vide's letter has done. We hope
that is not a spokesman for the'
majority of international students,
and that there are those who are
willing to generate light with their
words, instead of mere heat.
-Ralph Humpriss, '64
-Rick Piltz,'65
Common Law...
To the Editor:
ONCE AGAIN Mr. Harrah proves
that he is perfectly willing to
speak out fearlessly when he is
monumentally ignorant. The his-
tory of Anglo-American common
law, dating back at least seven
hundred years, shows that common
law. courts have always created
new law, and made significant
changes in then existing law. The
growth of our common law sys-
tem has been mostly court-made,
not legislature-made.
Of course, the legislature has
the power to change a rule of de-
cision with which it disagrees, and
the court will be bound to follow
it in the future, so long as the
legislation does not overstep Con-
stitutional limitations, but for cen-
turies, the right of the courts to
change or create law has not been
doubted. As a matter of fact, the
whole history and development
of the Law of Negligence has been
based upon judicial creation.
Admittedly, courts sometimes
feel compelled by what is known
as "Judicial restraint" from over-
turning specific doctrine which has
become deeply vested. Therefore
they may leave it to the legisla-
ture's action, although knowing
that in light of changed condi-
tions, special circumstances or gen-
eral principles of law that the
law should be something other
than what it pesently is. But
this is not to say that they lack
either the power or the right
to changea rule of decision. They
created it. Cannot a creator alter
his product when he sees- the
need?
IF MR. HARRAH had had his
way in prior times, there would
be today no equity Jurisprudence,
no law of trusts, no development
of the law of torts or of con-
tracts, and (to use a familiar
example) no holding in 1954 that
s gegated publi c scol fcilitie
Weeunconstitutional. All these
were creations of, or changes in,
the common law. Since 1954, many
unknowing voices have been raised
"that the, courts are taking over
legislative functions," yet anyone
with even slight knowledge of
legal history must laugh at this
contention. The Michigan Con-
stitution surely does not forbid
the courts from doing what has
always been regarded as a judi-
cial function.
I sincerely doubt that Mr. Har-
rah "had the wisdom" (to quote
Mr. Harrah) to correctly exaluate
the opinions of the Michigan
'Supreme court. Is there not some-
one at The Daily responsible for
restraining the appearance of un-
educated outpourings in its edi-
torial column?
-Martin Robert Fine,'63L
Milk Toast ...
To the Editor:
A TOAST to Ernest Vide, for a
most astute assessment of the
American student!
-Grey Austin
Assistant Co-ordinator of
Religious Affairs
Bells Are Ringing.. .
To the Editor:
I READ with interest-and dis-
gust-your editorial by Michael
Harrah in the September 21 Daily
regarding the recent improvement
in Michigan Bell's phone service.
It was apparent to me that you
were quite uninformed-or mis-
informed-about the necessity of
switching to the All Number Call-
ing system.
Incidentally, your research on
the A. T. & T. company has also
;left you misinformed-the two
millionth shareowner received his
stock on July 26, of this year.
--Robert L. Linnell, 60E
Western Electric Company
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
(Letters to the Editor should be
limited to 300 words, typewritten
and double spaced. The Daily re- -
serves the right to edit or withhold
any letter./Only signed letters will
be printed.)
I:
TODAY AND TOMORROW,
>rThe TWil To Fioght
'VER SINCE VIENNA in June the President
has been greatly concerned with a central
iestion. How can he convince Mr. Khrushchev
iat rather than surrender the freedom of West
erlin, the United States would go to war,
id if necessary to nuclear war? He has said
is again and again. His brother has said it.
has been said for him. Yet now, nearly four
onths late, after the military build-up and
1 that, there is still great doubt in Wash-
gton whether the American will to fight
nuclear war has been realized in the Kremlin.
Why? The simple-minded answer, which
any believe, is that Khrushchev, having
udied the big words about Laos and the
asco in Cuba, has concluded that the Ken-
edy administration is spineless and can be
timidated into surrendering. This reading
Mr. Khrushchev's mind is, I feel sure, quite
Ise. But it is engendering a poisonous delu-
n that American courage is impugned. As
e delusion spreads, it is doing profound
image to our own nerves, to our capacity to
ork our way through this enormous inter-
itional crisis with clear heads and steady
earts.
HERE IS SOME DANGER of a fatal mis-
understanding on Khrushchev's part. But
does not lie: in anything so simple and
surd as the notion that the Russians be-
ve the Americans are cowards. Does anyone
ppose that Khrushchev supposes that if
attacked West Berlin as the Japanese at-
eked Pearl Harbor, this country would sur-
nder? Not for a moment. The danger lies
the possibility that he might misjudge what
could do short of anything so obvious
the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or, let
sav. Hitler's Invasion of Poland.
ALTER IPPMANN f
how much pressure he will exert on the West.
He can go far, as he did on August 13. But
he cannot go so far as to do a Pearl Harbor.
The danger to the peace of the world lies
in this twilight zone between intolerable pro-
vocation which would lead to war and harass-
ment that would not be worth a war.
This twilight zone exists because the Allied
position has not yet been developed fully and
defined precisely in a really serious and ex-
haustive diplomatic conference. In view of
the illusions and miseducation of the past
ten years about the German situation, I do
not believe that the Allied position can now
be developed and defined in public speeches. If
there is to be a conference, the chief negotiator
for the West must have enough freedom so
that he is not immoblized in, a straitjacket.
MR. GROMYKO'S SPEECH on Tuesday,
which followed the President's on Monday,
brought into the open, although not in precise
language, the immediate issue over West Ber-
lin.
In essence, Mr. Gromyko said that the Soviet
Union would guarantee self-determination in
West Berlin and access to'it on condition that
the rights of access are negotiated first with
the East German government. Whether this
is an intolerable demand or one that touches
no vital interest of the West cannot be deter-
mined in the abstract. It cannot be determined
until it has been thoroughly explored through
diplomatic channels.
Thus, it would obviously be intolerable if
what Mr. Gromyko means is that Secretary
Rusk is supposed to go to East Berlin and
work out traffic arrangements with Herr U1-
bricht. But it would not be intolerable if Mr.
1- -- ine+ .. t +,so+7n ii..-, riirn.
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