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November 20, 1963 - Image 4

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The Michigan Daily, 1963-11-20

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Aftw qtr va cmi
Seventy-Third Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHYGAII
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
"where Opinions Are Free STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG., ANN ARBOR, MiCH., PHONE NO 2-3241
Truth Will Prevail"'
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in al; reprints.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1963 NIGHT EDITOR: KENNETH WINTER

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Gov. Barnett's Address:
Message and Manners

Commenation . .
DESPITE A VIGOROUS attempt by the
Direct Action Committee to abridge
freedom of speech, Mississippi Gov. Ross
Barnett did manage to deliver his prepar-
ed remarks to the assembled crowd in
Hill Aud. last Monday.
The question now becomes: who was
the victor in the clash between Barnett
and his hecklers? The answer is quite
clear: Ross Barnett.
THE GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE was not
startling. As a matter of fact, it bore a
close resemblance to the address he de-
livered two months ago in Kalamazoo.
And the actions of his hecklers were
not startling either. They were the un-
couth and generally ignorant acts that
the public has come to expect from DAC.
SO BETWEEN TWO adversaries who did
not take any action of great note, how
can it be said that Barnett won out?
Very simply because Barnett, in spite
of his remarks which were clearly at odds
Stupidity . .
CONTRASTING STYLES of stupidity col-
lided at Hill Aud. Monday night.
On the stage, Mississippi Gov. Ross Bar-
nett attempted to defend his version of
states' rights with a speech composed
largely of the propaganda devices most
of the audience had learned in high
school civics courses. From his clumsy at-
tempt to flatter the audience, via some 10
minutes of irrelevancy about the Univer-
sity and Mississippi, to his platitudinous
and repetitive arguments for "states'
rights, local self-government, liberty,
fr e ed o m,constitutional government,"
Barnett appeared to be almost a parody
of the Southern politician.
UT FORTUNATELY for the governor,
in the audience was a supposedly civil
rights group which presented an equally
convincing satire of the irrational wing
of that movement. Its foot-stomping and
shouting, as inappropriate to the occasion
as Barnett's demagoguery, did more for
Barnett's position than all the platitudes
in Mississippi.
The group undoubtedly found it satis-
fying to make so much noise and at-
tract so much attention. But anyone in
the audience teetering on the brink of
bigotry may have been pushed over the
edge by this behavior.
AUDIENCE REACTION-even adverse-
is the lifeblood of political speeches
such as Barnett's. The ideal way of ex-
pressing hostility toward his ideas and
arguments would not have involved
shouting insults or even booing. Instead,
the audience should have welcomed this
Southern Gentleman, before, during and
after his speech, with one consistent re-
action: absolute, ice-cold, stony silence.
--KENNETH WINTER

with his audience, managed to win, in
opposition to his hecklers, the sympathy
of his audience.
His generally calm manner, I think,
managed to transcend the effect of his
remarks and capture the sympathetic
support (though not agreement) of the
audience. Such was actually manifested
when Michigan Union Special Projects
committeeman Jack Warren arose to as-
sure Gov. Barnett that "the disturbances
are not being caused by University stu-
dents." This drew a standing ovation.
BUT RECRIMINATIONS in this matter
will do no good. DAC is committed to
a course of belligerence no matter what
the cost, and the possibility that its ac-
tions are retarding the ultimate achieve-
ment of civil rights I am sure matters
little to its members.
By the same token, Gov. Barnett is
clearly not of a mind to alter his thoughts
in this matter or to cease advocating
them.
SO WE MUST LOOK to the commendable
aspects of the affair Monday night,
for there are several.
Initially, the student body of the Uni-
versity in attendance deserves commen-
dation. Almost to a man, the students
showed the governor respect and courtesy.
Also to be commended is the tolerance
of the University, through its Committee
on Public Discussion, which bent over
backwards to avoid any further disturb-
ance in the auditorium than was abso-
lutely unavoidable. The committee was
successful in this respect and managed to
carry out the intent of the Regents' bylaw
covering speakers at the University.
Also deserving of much credit is Jack
Warren, who intervened twice as the
governor spoke to provide the decorum
and dignity his presence deserved.
And perhaps most deserving of credit
was the Student Non-Violent Coordinat-
ing Committee, which was entirely suc-
cessful in staging, an orderly protest in
behalf of civil rights. The group massed
in the front rows of the first balcony and
listened attentively throughout the gov-
ernor's remarks. Their printed signs, in
full view, were in good taste, and their
vocal protest at the close of the program
(singing "We Shall Overcome") was or-
derly and sincere.
[ BELIEVE, by and large, the University
made good where its sister institution
in Kalamazoo fell down. The governor's
reception by faculty, staff and students
was one of dignity and courtesy. Of course
it is always impossible to subdue wild out-
pourings, but so long as this group does
not corrupt the good judgment and con-
duct of the great bulk of people, then the
agitators are simply hurting themselves.
The Regents' bylaw on speakers, the
Committee on Public Discussion and the
students of the University were put to
the test Monday night. And they all
passed with flying colors.
-MICHAEL HARRAH

Readers
To the Editor: their
AN OPEN Letter to Gov. Ross human
Barnett: Giovani
As I write this, you are no doubt
near the end of your address. I
regret that circumstances in Hill Ambi
Aud. this evening did not permit
me to remain to hear what you To the
had to say; thus anything I say OME
about you is based only on what clea
I have heard and read about you ning. (
and your views. ignorar
Since I consider opinions based realitie
on information gained in this way demag
to be less than completely satis- danger
factory, I commend both you and democr
the organization which sponsored even st
your appearance here in an at- ganda9
tempt to confront us with a "free gracefu
and open expression" of your posi- Yet,c
tion on a topic of current and ul- Why d
timate importance.
T he rudeness and hostility with
which you were greerned by several
members of the audience aroused
in me such anger and shame that
I wanted only to leave and, per-
haps self-righteously, to dissoci-
ate myself from those you will
remember as representative of the
University of Michigan.
* * *
UPON ARRIVING at my apart-
ment, I looked up the word "civil"
and discovered among other
things, the following: ". . . of a
community or citizens, their gov-
ernment, or their interrelations
. . suitable for a city dweller;
not rustic or countrified; hence,
polite, urbane, civilized. ..
Somehow I cannot avoid the no-
tion that these meanings are rele-
vant to the great debate in which
our nation is engaged, and that
this evening these meanings have
been either ignored or consciously
denied. I feel that both your and
my rights as defined with some
consideration for these meanings_
were violated as surely as are the
rights of Negro citizens in the
state of which you are the official
spokesman and head.
And I wonder if there~is after
all such a great difference be- the pr
tween you and whoever elects you platfor
and those like you, and those of to the
us who participated or condoned his ta
by our silence and inaction me didn't
active violation of your and my the int
rights here in the so-called Athens es oft
of the Midwest. spoke?
* * * formal
BY NOW you have finished or sacrosa
have been insulted to the point hallow
that it is impossible to continue.
Perhaps you would be interested FOR
to know that as you stood on the havioui
platform tonight, you were only are Go
a few feet from the spot where It is p
last night Mozart's Don Giovanni that as
uttered a terrible cry of despair absurd,
as he was dragged unrepenting say hi
down to the realm of unqualified of fact
individualism. Anyma
To the extent that you speak absolut
for a social and political philoso- He is
phy based on such an individual- persona
ism, you too will be condemned. sponsib
To the extent that the voices sufferir
raised against you tonight ex- That
pressed a similar disregard for Union

owners' position in the
community, they echoed
ni's last scream.
-David Huisman, Grad
iguity,., ,
Editor:
THINGS were made quite
r in Hill Aud. Monday eve-
Gov. Barnett is incredibly
nt of the social and political
s of his society. He is a
ogue in that sense most
ous to the persistence of
acy. His hypocrisy is not
ubtle. His brand of propa-
is naive, his rhetoric is un-
l.
other things were less clear.
didn't the Union insist on

audience to show respect might
first step from behind its pure
allegiance to manners and live it-
self for a while in the less black-
white world of moral commitment.
The Union took misplaced pride
in students' lack of participation
in the disturbances. Good man-
ners are a game for those who
need confront no ambiguity in
reality. T h e ambiguity exists
nevertheless.
-Jeffry Piker, Grad
Bilbo . .
To the Editor:
THIS EVENING Gov. Barnett
made reference to a son of this
University who later became Sen-
ator from Mississippi: Theodore

mittee to Investigate Senatorial
Campaign Expenditures,' 1946,
79th Cong., Second Session.
This committee investigated Bil-
bo's activities in the primary elec-
tion of 1946. Senators Styles
Bridges and Bourke Hickenlooper
both urged that he be denied his
seat. The other three on the com-
mittee, Senators Ellender (La.),
Maybank (S.C.) and Thomas
(Okla), found that he should be
seated, and of course he was. On
Monday night Barnett paid respect
to Bilbo; does Barnett deserve
ours?
-Joseph E. McMahon, '65L
David A. Ebershoff, '65L
Griffith Garwood, '65L
Immaturity .. .
To the Editor:
J AM APPALLED at the imma-
turity of the University of Mich-
igan student body. For the first
time at a university we have the
right to hear differing viewpoints
from controversial figures in gov-
ernment, and our student body
acts like children who do not know
the niceties of manners. I'm
speaking of the rudeness shown
to Gov. Ross Barnett Monday eve-
ning.
Personally, I do not agree with
the governor, but I do feel that
he has a right to be heard. The
action of this loud-mouthed, im-
mature minority has set the inte-
gration movement back. Until
such time as these individuals act
as young adults, I cannot. nor will
I support their movement.
No citizen in this country has
the right to deny free speech to
anyone, and this includes Gov.
Barnett. What has done :n Mis-
sissippi is deplorable, but two
wrongs do not make a right. The
more immature demonstrators he
sees, the more he believes in what
he has done. I believe these dim-
witted few owe Gov. Barnett, and
the University student body, an
apology.
WE HAVE fought hard for ibe
right to hear controversial speak-
ers, and now a few are making
the Regents think twice.
To Gov. Barnett goes my com-
mendation for continuing his ad-
dress in the face of such rude-
ness. To the Michigan Union goes
my thanks for bringing, such
speakers to this campus. To the
loud-mouthed minority, I wish
they would grow up.
-Harry L. Doerr, '67M
Viewpoints ,.,
To the Editor:.
THE NOV. 18th address by Gov.
Barnett and the crowd reaction
to it has moved me to written
comment in an attempt to "clear
the air" on several issues.
Several times during Barnett's
speech someone shouted "Let, a
black man speak!"
The purpose of inviting Gov.
Barnett to the campus was to al-
low interested students a chance
to hear another point of view in
the civil rights turmoil. Since its
inception, the Union's Profile Lec-
ture Series has endeavored to pre-
sent carefully selected speakers in
an attempt to present balanced
representationi on the major points
of a particular topic. On t-e ques-
tion of civil rights, this :awne lec-
ture series in conjunction with
other campus goups (the Office
of Religious Affairs and Voice
political party) has presented
Martin Luther King and Malcolm
X.
* * *
SECONDLY, I feel that a note
of explanation is in order to the

Voice Post-Barnett Reactions

majority of students who attended
the lecture to listen rather than
to be heard themselves. The Ann
Arbor police acted wisely in not
ejecting the hecklers. Had they
done so, physical harm could have
come to many innocent bystanders
as a result of possible physical
violence. Just as important, how-
ever, is the fact that no laws were
violated.
My final point concerns the
hecklers themselves. The whole
matter of discontent boils down
to a matter of respect. That the
man is governor of a state is
enough for me to give him respect
even though I disagree with him.
Drowning out his address did
nothing to help the governor
change his mind, nor did the
cause of those who yelled gain i.
stature in the eyes of the major-
ity who attended the lecture. But
even more important in my opin-
ion were the feelings of the 400,
or sowstudents in the audience who
desired to listen to Barnett's opin-
ions.
I hope that in the future, tha
Union can attract prominent na-
tional figures to the University
campus knowing that the individ-
ual's opinions will be treated with
respect as any human being's
opinions should.
-Robert Pike, '65
Chairman, Special Projects
Committee
Michigan Union
Classics .
To the Editor:
IN THE SATURDAY edition of
The Daily, Mr. Dick Pollinger
expresses an anxious concern for
the atrophy of the Department of
Classical Studies, writing "the un-
dergraduatehclassics department
withers on the vine."
We are touched, but if wither
we do, we wither in numbers. The
total enrollment in the department
this semester was 774; the figure
ten years ago was 291. Included
in the totals for both years are
courses taught by members of the
department but in fields outside
the ordinary range of classical
studies (specifically Great Books
and Greek and Roman Medicine).
If we subtract these courses we
find 723 students studying classics
this semester compared with 175
in 1953.
THERE WERE two classes in
1953 for freshmen who wished to
continue Latin in college. This
year there are 12 sections at four
different levels. Most significant
of 'all is the enrollment in courses
beyond the level which satisfies
the language proficiency. In 1953
the enrollment in 81 (the first
course beyond the requirement)
was four; this semester 381 (the
new number of the course) is 35.
We are, thank you, definitely
trophied.
-Prof. Waldo E. Sweet,
Department of Classical
Studies
Decision.
NEW YORK vs. Miln was de-
cided in 1837. Whatever may
have been the notion then pre-
vailing, we do not think that it
will now be seriously contended
that because a person is without
employment and without funds he
constitutes a "moral pestilence"
Poverty and immorality are not
synonymous.
-The Supreme Court
In Edwards vs. California,
1941

i

-Daily-Sam Haberman
Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett

esence of a Negro on the
m to indicate quite clearly
governor its evaluation of
ctics and policies? Why
the Union inform him of
ellectual, sophisticated bas-
the forum from which he
And why was so much
emphasis placed on the
anctity of manners and the
ed name of the University?
* * 4'
MANNERS as rules of be-
r are no more absolute than
v. Barnett's "states' rights."
leasant in theory to assert
)ny man, however base or
ought have the right to
s piece. But, as a matter
, the governor is not merely
*n, by birthright cntitled
ely to mannered treatment.
a militant segregationist,
ally immoral, personally le-
le for gross injustices and
ng.
university for which the
encouraged persons in the

Bilbo. The reference by Barnett
was made in great respect to Bil-
bo. We thought it interesting to
note that Bilbo is quoted as saying
the following:
The white people of Mississip-
pi are sitting on a volcano ... .
We are faced with a nation-wide
campaign to integrate the nigger
with the social life of this coun-
try . . .
Congresswoman Clare Boothe
Luce is the greatest nigger-
lover in the North except Old
Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Yep,
Old Lady Roosevelt is the worse
...(sic) In Washington she
forced our southern girls to use
the stools and the toilets of
damn syphilitic nigger women . .
. . . The nigger is only 150
years from the jungles of Africa,
where it was hisgreat delight to
cut up some fried nigger steak
for breakfast . . . I call on every
red-blooded white man to use
any means to keep the niggers
away from the polls. If you
don't understand what that
means you are just plain dumb
:.. I believe in white superior-
ity, white domination and the
integrity of my white blood.
Why, we have behind us 4,000
years of culture, learning, edu-
cation and wisdom . . . And the
nigger-I got nothing against
the nigger. I'm his best friend-
but the poor devil is only 150
years removed from the jungle
and eating his own kind.
THE ABOVE WORDS of Bar-
nett's respected and honored Sen-
ator from Mississippi can be found
in Collier's July 6, 1946, and also
in the United States Congressional
(Senate) Hearings: "Special Com-

1

EUROPEAN COMMENTARY:
De Gaulle's Nationalism
Causes Opposition

Barghoorn Case Indicates
Need for 'Tough Lilne'

THE RECENT RELEASE of Yale Profes-
sor Frederick Barghoorn, who was held
by the Soviets for over two weeks on es-
pionage charges, has been interpreted by
many as a victory for President Kennedy.
Unfortunately, this interpretation over-
looks the prohibitive context of Cold War
diplomacy: it does not permit victory or
defeat but, rather, operates with the sole
objective of preserving the status quo.
The pattern of Barghoorn's secret ar-
rest, followed by vociferous charges of
spying and his subsequent release after
President Kennedy's demands, is too ser-
ious to be overlooked.
IN TODAY'S hyper-tense atmosphere,
Khrushchev apparently has lost the
least in the Barghoorn incident. For while
Kennedy succeeded in meeting the situa-
tion with "tough line" diplomacy-deny-
ing that Barghoorn had any security mis-
sion in the Soviet Union and threatening
to drop the Soviet-American cultural ex-
change program-the Soviet leader held
4a ..Acra from+fa m~fQat

mands for Barghoorn's release were seri-
ous.
AT THE SAME TIME, the Cold War dip-
lomatic code is such that Kennedy had
to phrase his demands in such a way that
the Russian leader was left an opening to
withdraw from the commotion without
embarrassment.
Even when Khrushchev agreed to re-
lease Barghoorn, he made it clear that
he was doing so not because he was con-
vinced of the Yale professor's innocence
but rather as a favor to Kennedy and to
preserve good Soviet-American relations.
THIS ALTOGETHER uncalled for issue
instigated by the Soviets illustrates
the inherent difficulty in the Cold War of
maintaining the precarious status quo.
For it is the Russians who originally
created the issue and who ultimately
made the "concessions." The United
States, consequently, was forced into
making demands and being appeased.
The fact that Washington merely said

By ERIC KELLER
Daiy Correspondent
BASELr-A week ago, on Nov. 8,
the French National Assembly
approved a $4 billion program
for France's atomic forces. Pro-
Kuetion line output of atomic
weapons will be increased;
France's defense program will now
concentrate on building atomic
weapons.
But at the same time, students
of the University of Paris, the
Sorbonne, demonstrated heavily
against the high tuition costs and
the lack of adequate dormitory,
classroom and office facilities at
the university. This would not
have been something completely
new had it not been that for the
first time, they asked for the res-
ignation of de Gaullehimself.
They attacked the administra-
tion and the minister of educa-
tion, Christian Fouchet, who was
to open the Sorbonne's winter se-
mester. They seemed to indicate
that a modern educational pro-
gram ought to have priority over
the "force de frappe" program.
DE GAULLE'S INSISTENCE on
this and similar nationalistic ven-
tures finds more and more apathy,
distrust and even opposition
among his people.
One of France's leading news-
papers, Le Figaro, declares that
"... in today's world a nation can-
not represent a military unit for
defense. If all NATO members
would continue, like France, to
keep entire command of their own
troops, what would be left of this
alliance which everybody says is
absolutely necessary for the se-
curity of this country? . . . The
whole of the controversy concen-
trates in the end on our relations
with the United States. If our Eu-
ropean partners don't want de
Gaulle's Europe any more, it is be-
cause they feel that this kind of
Europe is anti-American."

office any time between now and
'65.
This puts the opposition in a
difficult position; it can't unite be-
hind one opposition candidate be-
cause that candidate would run
himself dead until 1965, if elections
are really held that late. On the
other hand, if the opposition waits
until de Gaulle announces his
resignation. it may be too late
for a candidate to become popular
with the voters.
De Gaulle himself, of course,
knows of his excellent position and
seems to utilize it. For some time
now he has been hinting that he
will be seeking re-election; he still
is afraid that France cannot man-
age without him. One or two years
ago, France would truly not have
been able to manage without "le
grand Charles." But today opposi-
tion forces claim that de Gaulle is
no longer a necessity of state nor
an unbeatable candidate.
Some opposition leaders are be-
having like future presidents al-
ready. Although it is an accepted
truth that the way to the French
presidency is fastest by going
through the Kremlin and the
White House, it was somewhat dis-
putable that Socialist leader Guy
Mollet would be the best opposi-
tion candidate. Like many other
anti-Gaullist leaders, he will be
too closely identified with the un-
fortunate Fourth Republic to be
an "ideal choice." Meanwhile, an-
other possible star in the French
opposition sky, Mayor Defferre of
Marseille, followed on Mollet's
track. He conferred with Khrush-
chev and he also plans to visit
Washington before the end of the
year.
THE FRENCH scene, therefore,
is neither uniform nor clear. At
the moment only a few things
can be safely said. Seventy-two
year old de Gaulle is losing his
popularity. Strikes, demonstrations
and increased talk of opposition
candidates are evidence of this

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