"Well, I See You Got The Rascal"

Sh* Hrrian ThxdI
Seventieth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BlY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241

AT THE CAMPUS:
'Naked Eye' Carries
Great Force, Artistry

hen Opinions Are Free
Truth Will Preval'

torials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.

.Y, NOVEMBER 5.1959

NIGHT EDITOR: NAN MARKEL

Two Views on Van Doren's
Position in the Quiz Shows.

on..

)TH THE "have-its" and the "have-nots"
are having a field day over the television
a show scandal.:
hose who "have it" (the erudite) are dis-
ted because a man of Charles Van Doren's
.tion and intelligence succumbed to tempta-
by participating in a fixed television quiz
gram. And, in -doing so, he disgraced the'
ae and national position of intellectualism,
y claim.
he "have-nots" are victorious too. As a' re-
of the scandal, the days of egghead idolatry
r well be numbered, and the "have-nots"
again come into their own.
oth these groups are doing more than their
e of "dumping on" Van Doren now that
has been, according to the Detroit Free
is, "exposed as a. cheat and a liar."
JT DESPITE all this, he can still be. de-
fended as an intelligent and courageous
, as Well as a good teacher.
roof of intelligence is a difficult matter. In-
et may be stimulated by environment. If
having a noted author-critic' father and a
ous uncle could prove Van Doren a brilliant
intellect can be revealed through the posi-
one attains and the work he has done, an
tant professorship at Columbia University
rtainly nothing to ignore. Nor is a listing
o-editor of "The American Treasury: 1455-
" and co-authorship of "Lincoln's Com-
do."
inion of students is also meaningful, and
Columbia pupils have appraised him not
as a brilliant man, but a fine teacher.-
THE OTHER HAND, even if Van Doren is
not a brilliant man (anyone can rattle off
orized answers, some may argue), he has
east displayed courage in the face of his
al. Although he lied in his previous claim
his quiz shows were honest he was not
lanimous enough to continue "living this
Personal integrity meant more to him than
family's reputation or the career he has
ted his life to.
it the issue of the man is not of prime im-.
ance here. There is the possibility that Van
n's deception and subsequent confession
yield something worthwhile yet. First, if
rols on television are tightened, some pro-
s with honesty and educational value
hl more than $64,000 'ould emerge and fill
;aps.
d if nothing of this nature is accom-
ed, the public may become wary of unfair
ices carried on by some of these shows.
resulting unfavorable publicity for both
advertising and network executives may
an ethical level which has sink frighten-
low.
any rate, there is a good English pro-
r reading the want ads columi now.
--NORMA SUE WOLFE

FEET OF CLAY were unearthed this week
belonging to Charles Van Doren, former
favorite of the television viewers of America.
The national press showed alacrity in pub-
lishing details of the hearing where Van Doren
said that he was a party to rigging the quiz,
show on which he won $129,000..
Editorial comment on the hearing, however,
showed a curious ambivalence toward Van
Doren. As soon as the results of the hearing's
investigations were documented, news com-
mentators and feature writers began to take
on a shamefaced, apologetic tone.
Sentimental word portraits were drawn, and
persons involved were quoted in expressions of
support and sympathy for Van Doren.
PUBLIC OPINION, it seems cannot resolve its
stand either to praise Van Doren or to
damn him. Both sides have points in their
favor.
.It could be argued that the American public
got what it paid for - entertainment- and
that this excuses the television industry from
blame, since entertainment is its stock in trade.
But this is cheating the audience. Van Doren
the paid performer might have gained atten-
tion and recognition from the public; he could
not have won its respect. His chief value as
television property lay in the cleverly con-
structed illusion that here was a man of honor
accumulating wealth through sheer exercise of
his imental resources.
IN THIS CONTEXT, commercialism doesn't
look cheap. With this gimmick, intellectual-
ism can be sold on the level of the average
viewer..
After the. hearing, the gimmick was de-
stroyed. True, Van Doren has retained the
qualities that made him pleasing to the pub-
lic - including the fine mind. Reporters de-
scribed his 90 minutes on the witness stand in
terms of a sensitive and moving performance.
In the light of this, press reaction seems to
ask, why vilify him? Why demand his resigna-
tion from the teaching staff? Yesterday a Uni-
versity professor declared that he would hire
Van Doren tomorrow, as aman who had under-
gone a period of' suffering and emerged a
"cleaner 'man."
But is this the issue? It is necessary to realize
that Van Doren is identified in the public's
mind with the American intellectual. He has
given the newspapers reason to assert that an
outstanding member of this group has con-
fessed to being "a liar, a cheat and a coward"
-motivated' by greed for money.
Whatever his attributes as an individual,
they cannot justify Charles Van Doren's fatu-
ous attempt to set himself up as a model on
false premises: a morally reprehensible act.
-JEAN SPENCER

'THE NAKED EYE" is a docum
the field of still photography
graphs of Edward Weston. Consi
tween the mediums of still andn
such a film must seem somewhat pa
Eye" is in every way a successfula
for anyone 'even remotely inter-
ested in photography.Iv
It begins by presenting a thumb-
nail sketch of . photb~graphic his-
tory (Da Vinci to Daguerre to
Brady to Eastman) and leads us
to the present day when two bil-
lion pictures are snapped annual-
ly by forty million undaunted,
amateur American photographers.
* THE HEART of the film con-
cerns itself with the life and work
of Edward Weston and traces the
progression of his various photo-
graphic philosophies -- from his
early, idealized commercial por-
traits, through the hard, clean-cut
lines of his- Cubist period, to his
final discovery of the world of
color.
There is nothing trite about this
film, unless it be the final minute'
or so when a weak voice invades
the sound-track with an anti-cli-
mactic, not very well sung song;
for the picture itself is nothing if
not a glowing, visual song. The
narration,,tby Raymond Massey,
never falters.
* * * .
THE .PARADOX I spoke of ear-
lier is really a speculative one, and
never apparent. Movement is' at-
tained by panning, and zooming-
in on, the photographs themselves.
The film evolves naturally, and
the limitations of' the respective
media of still and moving photog-
raphy enhance, rather than han-
dicap, each other.
Perhaps the most d y n a m ic
scene occurs when Weston is
shown entering his color period..
Previous to this, the film is black-
and-white, as are Weston's pho-
tographs. Suddenly, h o w e v e r,
there is; a transition to color, and:
the viewer is made to see; or feel,
what Weston himself, must have
felt.
Indeed, in the face of such a'
film, the weaknesses of mere ver-
bal description are made evident
with embarrassing force. "The
Naked Eye" was truly meant to
be seen. I urge you to do so.
, -Jim Forsht

Herblock is. away due to illness

COpvrlO& "195 The PUMier Pubflghaos c.
5S. Laubs PaolDspatcb

mentary film dealing generally with
y, and specifically with the photo-
dering the inherent differences be-
moving photography, the success of
aradoxical. Nevertheless, "The Naked
and wonderful film, and is a "must"
LETTERS
to theR
EDITOR

TWO-POINTERS PLUS:
The Merits of Being Mediocre

By AL YOUNG
Generation Co-Editor
T HERE is the four-point student
who puts nothing before his
studies, who never misses a class,
who begins each term paper no
sooner than the assignment is
made. He even sits up Friday and
Saturday nights poring over text-
books and notes, memorizing ev-
ery nuanceof his lesson to make
sure that he will be able to regur-
gitate accurately when the time
comes.
Then theie is the B student
who, t though his attempts are
furious, just can't seem to climb
out of that three-point rut over
into the honors cage.
And then there is the 2.5 stu-
dent, or perhaps he's carrying a
2.2 or just a plain, ordinary two-
point average. They're the ones
who go unnoticed Wathough they
out-number the Phi Beta Kappas
and the magna cum laude crowd
by a longshot.
The two-pointers fall into two
categories: (1) Those who cquldn't
do any better if they tried, and (2)
those who could do better but who
have found appealing interests
outside the realm of formal study.
* * *
IT IS THIS latter group that
fascinates me most.
Take, for example, the quaddies
who put 'classes aside to watch
ants and record their habits. One
of the men has already been dis-
missed from the University for
not coming up. to the required
academic standard, but others
still carry on this absorbing study.
Another student I know does

just enough schoolwork to leave
himself plenty of time to study
Arabic, Portuguese, Urdu and Chi-
nese ideograms. He studies with
native speakers whenever he can,
recording them on tape, asking for
reading supervision, and walking
around most of the time memoriz-
ing vocabularies and rules of
grammar. I once asked him what
he planned to do with so much
linguistic knowledge. He said, "I
just like languages. They're fun--
something like working out cross-
word puzzles."
* * *
ONE WILD-HAIRED fellow, a
mathematics major, who carries
a part-time schedule and supports
himself working as a soda jerk.
His pet project.is the reading of
James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake."
He has been studying it intensely
for almost three years, can recite
long passages from it by heart,
and probably knows as much
about the work as any of the pro-
fessional Joyce hounders.
Selma Sawaya, associate per-
sonnel director of The Daily,
dabbles seriously in news report-
ing, photography, silk-screen pro-
cessing, and music; she reads a
great deal of German literature
(in the original), studies the
Koran (in Arabic) and even finds
time to attend classes and put
herself through school. She is an.
English major with a 2.3 average.
I know C average peoplewho're
involved with such diverse acti-
vities as flying and repairing aero-
planes, developing chemical prod-
ucts, building musical instru-
ments, composing symphonies,
reading the complete Modern Li-

brary, gathering material for a
serious study of the sociological
aspects of jazz, studying Sanskrit,
writing novels and making films.
Real liberal education people, lad!
* * * '
VETERAN student "G e o r g e
Eliot" abandoned the University
years ago, before receiving his
B.A., to "pursue any number of
interests." He is a musician-com-
poser, writer, an engineer of sorts
whose interests include the-devil-
knows-what-all. He has no regrets
about discontinuing his formal
education. "In fact, I didn't start
learning anything until I struck
out on my own." He reads vora-
ciously, always prepared to learn
something new.
You rarely come across the
wandering American anymore, the
professional student, the erudite
roustabout. Generations ago, they
worked their way across to Europe
or put out a few dollars to board
a cattle boat and wallow about in
the South American mud. Winters
found them hanging around the
University of Hawaii or existing
in Greece on a dollar a day. The
war broke that up, and the Sea-
man's Union and the high cost
of living,
* * *
THEIR SPIRIT remains intact,
however, and you need only, look
around you. Of course, most
people seek thersecurity, of su-
perior grades for one reason or
another and would never think of
joining a campus club, much less
study anything on their own time.
But, as Joyce said in "Finnegan's
Wake," "One man's Mede is an-
other man's Persian."

DAILY,
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
official publication of The Univer-
city of Michigan for which The
Michigan. Daily assumes no edi-
torial responsibility. Notices should'-'
be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form fto
Room 3519 Administration Build-
ing, before 2 p.m. the day preceding .
publication. Notices for Sunday
Daily due at 2:00 p.m. Friday..
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1959
VOL. LXX, NO. 39'
General No tices
Today at 4:10 p.m., the Department
of Speech presents an admission-free
double bill in the' Trueblood Aud.,
Frieze Bldg. "Irouge Atomique by
Richard Nash and "The) Boor" by Chek-
hov will be performed.
Astronomy Dept. Visitors' Night. Fri.,
Nov. '6, 3:00 'p.m., 'Rm. 2003 Angel Hall.
Dr. Alan Barrett will speak on "Radio
Astronomy." After the lecture the Stu-
dent Observatory on 'the fifth floor of
Angell_ Hall will be open' for inspection'
and for telescopic 'observations of the
Moon and Double Star. Children wel-
comed, but must be accompanied by
adults.
Lecture Recital Postponed. The lec-
(Continued on Page 5)

Suggestion *0
To The Editor:
I WAS QUITE taken aback by
Mr. Nathan Pressman's letter of
November 3. In it, he stated, that
as regards Russia, "they do not
have; Socialism. As a matter of
fact, the system bears a close
similarity to capitalism.
On the first point, Mr. Nathan
has not entirely erred. But he must
define his 'terms when speaking
of ,socialism, for it, like tooth-
paste, comes in a myriad of brands
and flavors. The U.SS.R., in fact
is a form of State Authoritarian
Socialism, wherein all the means
of production (less the minor
crafts and some small sectors of
agriculture) are concentrated in
the hands of the State, and ad-
ministered by the State planning
organ known as GOSPLAN.
The U.S.S.R. is NOT a Utopian
Socialist State, nor is it consistent
with the philosophy of Liberal
Socialism. And, what is most im-
portant, (to the Russians) it is
NOT a capitalist State. Nor is it
"going capitalist." But, by dint
of the great 'primacy alloted o
the production of the so-called
"producers' goods," Eg., steel mills,
hydroelectric and atomic power
etc., it is a "capitalistic state."
Much of Russia's economic
growth, it is true, has been fo-
mented by the application of cer-
tain of the elements peculiar to
capitalist economies. These in-
clude wage differentials, cost-
profit considerations in produc-
tion, and some slight form of con-
sumer soverignity as regards what
goods 'should be produced by State-
owned enterprises. . . . HoW'ever,
this is NOT inconsistent with any
form of socialism, just because it
is native to all forms of capitalism.
I now submit that Mr. Pressman
read a good book on the very com-
plicated Soviet economy. I suggest
Harry Schwartz' (of the New York
Times) "Russia's Soviet Economy,"
or, if the writer prefers, he can
read "Soviet Economic Develop-
ment Since :1917," by Maurice
Robb. Mr. Dobb is not only an
economics Fellow at Cambridge,
but also, a dyed - in - the pink,'
Marxist.
I will never criticize anyone for
being a Socialist.' But I do sug-
gest that Socialists would do well
to acquaint themselves with their
own system, as well as the com-
plicated and sometimes-frustrat-
ing system of capitalism that they
so often chastize.
-Henry Solomon, 60
SGC Futile? . .,.
To The Editor:
THE OTHER evening, two of us
attended an SGC candidates'
meeting. Actually, we wanted to
ask an elusive candidate about
non-payment of a long-overdue
bill and we thought we might find
him there. As it turned out; there
were only three candidates, one
reporter, and one by-stander at
the meeting, and our delinquent
was absent.
We decided to meet and listen to
the views of the candidates who
were present. One told us only that
hie had been "misquoted" In The
Daily. He had no further reason
for claiming our vote. The other
two candidates talked to each
other and to the reporter, but de-
clined to bother meeting us. My
colleague and I finally decided to
leave, since the SC candidates
pres'ent were clearly uninterested
in talking with ordinary students.
Isn't the whole thing rather
futile? Do we really need to be
"represented" by such people?
Why not disband the whole thing
and save money?
--. B. Reid

r.
r
w
k
,

I

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1

U.S Fails in Cuba

'HE DIFFERENCE between a foreign policy
which plans ahead and one which waits for
ents to happen is the difference between mov-
g head first and being led by the tail. In
ba, among other places, the-present adminis-
ation is now suffering the' result of a "do-
thing' policy and Is being led..
[t is quite noticeable that to Americans the
age of Fidel Castro has changed from that
the magnificent liberator to that of the
utal tyrant. It is comforting for us to; thinlk
atCastro's violent policies are' getting him
eputation he deserves. But it should make us
I rather uneasy when we think about our
n Government's responsibility in Cuba's
licies.
LTHOUGH CUBA needed our help, none was,
 forthcoming. The task of building a new
rernment fell upon Castro, who had no ex-
ience in political administration. The system
large plantations (many under American
nership) had kept the populace near slavery
,els foryears.4
[his had to be abolished, but Castro had
le technical knowledge regarding land re-
ims. Could it be that the absence of tactical
erican offers to give Castro sound economic
I political advice was motivated by a selfish
ire to protect the interests of a handful of
erican sugar plantations? Or was it to
tect the American-owned gambling estab-
iments and oil companies?'
dore likely, it was just lack of foresight. And
en Castro, in desperate need$of financial
stance, offered a contract to supply the
ited States with all its sugar, why did the=
ited States (prompted by its own sugar
Business Staff

industries) flatly reject the offer? Does it not
seem reasonable that the richest nation in the
world might have offered to accommodate some
increase in sugar imports from its poorer
neighbor?
NO ONE CAN condone Castro's attacks upon
Urrutia and Matos. But the United States
has. not yet learned from the examples of
China, Egypt and Pakistan that poverty-
stricken countries rarely entertain the luxuries
of free criticism when the need for a bootstrap
/ operation is so great. While Castro seems able
to tolerate little criticism from within, he
might have been quite willing to accept counsel
from without, especially if the counsel were
offered tactfully and was accompanied by a
sprinkling of more tangible tokens of friend-
ship.
The United'States has managed to step on
sensitive Cuban toes in its handling of the air
dropped leaflets. If Algerian extremists were
using American airstrips to send leaflets aimed
at overthrowing de Gaulle, the French govern-
ment -would ,be in a rage. The United States
would respond with haste to repair the dam-
age.
Compare this policy to that of the United
States when faced with the use of American air-
strips to send anti-Castro leaflets. Our country
offers too little to the outraged Cubans when
it offers to turn the matter over to a committee
for 'investigation. If we place so little value
upon Cuban good-will, should we expect Cuba
to value the American example of democracy?,
Castro has refused to outlaw the Commu-
nists. In this refusal he shares the policy taken
by many nations of the free world. How strong
the Communists are within the new regime is
not clear. They must certainly be stronger now,
after nearly a year of United States coolness
than when Castro first came into power. Even-
tually, the number of Communists within the
Castro government may draw the United States
to the Cuban door-either financially or mili-
tai, -

,r

_-_

MAX LERNER:
General Kassem and the Rich Prize

THE NEAR-SUCCESS of the at-
tempt to kill General Abdul
Karem Kassem, head of the Iraqi
state, means that other attempts
will be made before long. Kassem
has now survived two major Arniy
revolts along with the try at as-
sassination. He is proving a hard
man to shoot dead, but the real
question is how tough are his
cause and state, and not just his
body.
Much as I detest the Commu-
nists, I don't think /you solve the
problem of Kassem by calling him
their stooge and cheering the
course of the bulletsaimed at him.
Kassem is, as interesting 'for the
enemies he has made as for the
friends. His bitterest and implac-
able enemy is Nasser, and while
the Communists might put a tem-
porary junta together if Kassem
were to die tomorrow, the real in-
heritor of the power of therHashe-
mite kings of Iraq-which Kassem
assumed so bloodily one July
morning in 1958, when he mur-
dered young King Feisal-would
in time be Nasser.
If the ruler of Egypt and Syria
fails in his attempts to kill Kassem
and overthrow his power, it will
not be his first failure. Young King
Hussein of Jordan managed to sur-

Hashemite Kings" (Pantheon): "a
delusively gentle, bright-eyed, mid-
dle-aged general; a Sandhurst-
trained soldier of respectable repu-
tation, with a soft tongue and a
curiously ascetic bearing, as
though he were' blinking his way
into the sunshine from the im-
penetrable cavern of his hermit-
age. . ..
In "The Hashemite Kings,"
James Morris' story runs from old
King Hussein of the Hejaz, who
made the first agreement with the
British ip World War I and in re-
turn was made King of the Arabs,
down the Jordanian line from
King Abdullah who had wisdom
and mellowness and was killed for
having treated with the Israelis,
through mad King Talal, to his
son the present Hussein; and
down the Iraqi line from Feisal I
who died in bed, and his playboy
son Ghazi, to Feisal II, who was
overthrown and shot by Kassem.
It is, a melancholy story, riddled
with violence, baleful betrayal,
and disillusionment, and fittingly
told in a strain of melancholy.
nostalgia.
WHEN TROUBLE broke out in
Lebanon in July 1958, Nuri sent
a crack division to the Jordan

Plans had been laid for a spon-
taneous mass demonstration which
unfortunately I had to miss. While
Westerners have a right to be
shocked at such deaths followed
by mock public trials, anyone read-
ing the history df the region may
find them part of the whole bloody
skein.running through it.
There are big stakes involved in
the three - cornered striggle in
Bagdhad, with rich Iraq as the
price. Having lost Egypt and Syria,
both of which seemed once almost
within their grasp, the Commu-
nists don't want to be ousted from
their current influence in Iraq.
They are following the Machia-
vellian rule that when you have
two major opponents you must
combine with the weaker (Kas-
sem) against the stronger (Nas-
ser), oust him, and then turn and
destroy your ally.
DOES KASSEM know this? He
is no fool, nor is he a madman,
despite the Nasser-inspired rumor
I heard in Beirut (that rumor ba-
zaar) that he has long been a
psychotic under shock therapy.
Without much knowledge of the
world web of Communism. he has

which he took over too hurriedly.
He fears Communism but cannot
overthrow it. But he must-and
perhaps he can-overthrow 'Kas-
sem, not because Kassem plays
with the Communists but because
he won't play with Nasser. To add
the oil of Iraq to the commerce
of Syria and the administrative
system of Egypt is a grand dream
about whose history some young
British traveler may one day write..

The 'Reign' of Apathy

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