PAGE FOUI ,
THE MICHIGAN,
D AILY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1929
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Published every morning except Monday
dnng the University year by the Board in
Control of Student Publications.
member of Western Conference Editorial
Association.
The Associated Press is exclusively en-1
titled to the use fo. republication of all news
1ispatche credited to it or not otherwiset
credited in this paper and the local news pub-,
fished herein.
Entered 'at te postoffce at An Arbor,'
Michigan, ss second class matter. Special rateI
of postag' granted by Third Assistant Post-1
master General.
Subsciption by carrier, $4.00; by mail,!
.5fcies: Ann Arbor Press Building, May.!
Bard Street.
Phones: Editorial, 492; Business, 21214.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Telephone 492
MANAGING EDITOR
KENNETH G. PATRICK
Editor...................Nelson j. Smith
City Editor.... ...... Stewart Hooker
News Editor...........Richard C. Kurvink
Sprta. Editor.............W. Morris Quinn
Women's Editor..............Sylvia S. Stone
Telegraph Editor ............George Stautet
Muic and Drama...............R. . Askren
Assistant City Editor.........Robert Silbar
Nigh'Editors
Tseph E. Howell Charles S. Monroe
Dlonad J. 'Klne Pice Rosenberg
Lawrence R. Kin George E. Simon
George C. Tilley
Repflrters
Paul L. Adams Donald E. Layman
Morris Alexanda? Charles A. Lewis
C. A.Ask en Marian McDonald
. erttam Askwit ' Uenr= Merry
Louise Behy e o Elizabeth Quaife
Arthur Bernste~a Victor Rabinowit
Seton C. Bovee Joseph A. Russell
Isabel Charles Anne Schell
. R. Chubb, Rachel Shearer
Frank t.' Cooper Howard Simon
4 elen Domine Robert L Sloss
MargAret Eckels Ruth Steadman
Douglas Edwards A. Stewart
Valborg Egeland Cadwell Swansen
Robert J. Feldman Jane Thayer
Marjorie Folmer Edith Thomas
William Gentry Beth Valentine
4 Ruth Geddes Gurney Willam
David B. Heuipte d Jr. Water Wilds
Richard ung '.George V. Wohgemuth
Charles R. Iaufnia Edward L. WarnerIr.
Ruth Kelsey Cleland Wyllie
BUSINESS STAFF
Telephone 21214
BUSNEsS MANAGER
~EDWARD L. HULSE
Assistant Manager-RAYMOND WACHTER
Department Managers
Advertising.D....... Alex K. Scherer
Advertising...........A. James Jordan
Advertising.............. Car W. Hamer
service.".................Herbert E. Varnum
Circulation.................George S. Bradley
Accounts...............Lawrence E. Walkley
Publications..............Ray M. Hofelich
e.istants
Mary Cae -Marion Kerr
Jeanette Dale Lillian Kovinsicy
" Vrnon. Davis' Bernard Larson
Bessie Egelwnd Hollister Mabley
Sally Faster I.A. Newman
Anna Goldberg Jack Rose
Kasper Halverson Carl F. Schemm
Gcorge Hamilton George Seater
J ckHorwichMShewod Upton
)ix Huraphrey Marie Wellstead
WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1929
Night Editor-FRANK E. COOPER
HONORING PRESIDENT LITTLE
Those students whose good for-
tune it has been to come in per-
sonal contact with President Little
have found his friendship a joy
and an inspiration. Wishing to
honor their friend now that he is
unfortunately about to leave, and
at the same time to enable others
in some small measure to know him,
they have conceived the idea of an;
all-student dinner dedicated to
him. It is peculiarly fitting that;
this event' is solely by and for that
student body which has been for
four years closest of all University
groups to President Littles sym-
pathy.
This tribute is little enough.
Despite his unpopular stand on au-
tomobiles and fraternities Presi-
dent Little has captured' the imag-
ination and won the hearts of
many students. He has typified1
the courage, brilliance, and good-'
fellowship of youth so unusual and
so fascinating to find in company
with the dignity, prestige, and re-
sponsibility of a university presi-
dent. And finally beaten down by
those same appealing attributes of
youth grating against the desires of1
older men, President Little has won
his way more than! ever to the ap-
preciation of his student body.
The proposed banquet affords a
limited number an opportunity to
pay a more personal tribute; to our'
departing chief executive than is
ordinarily possible in a large Uni-
versity where presidents are prone
to lose contact with student per-
sonalities A duty remains to those
who admire President Little to
make their response to this oppor-
tunity, as befits the man to whom
tribute is being paid, whole-heart-
ed and genuine.
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THE CASUAL X
Any movement on the campus
that involves a considerable group
and has a definite purpose is meat
for the desk of The Daily's editor.
It is in this spirit that we recog-
nize the political phenomena now
disturbing the campus and urge
one plea, though politics in gen-
eral we regard as a rather unsavory
excresence on student life in par-
ticular.
On the ballots today will be the
names of several gentlemen who
hono in honmo elehrities more or
There are, however, two positions
to which candidates will be elected
that are fraught with consequences
for the campus. These, it is gener-
ally recognized, are the presiden-
cies of the Student council and the
Union. The council president is in
a position, if vigorous, thoughtful,
and able, to accomplish much tow-
ard securing for the student body
greater autonomy in governing
their own affairs. With able lead-
ership the council may easily be-
come a representative power
charged with regulating student
functions and advising the ad-
ministration instead of a rather
pusillanimous assembly fearful of
tackling knotty problems and vot-
inga unanimous yes or no on a
flock of petty questions. Upon the
president of the Union devolves the
duty of securing the greatest pos-
sible return to students on the in-
vestment that the: valuable Union
plant represents. To do this he
must have executive ability, a
warm personality, and a faculty of
leading others to follow him, for
the Union presidency means the
leadership of a large social club
as well as a juicy political plum.
It is needless to point out this
morning that party lines have al-
ready been established. A small
army of politicians with no better
way to spend its time has told
practically every one of the 2,547
registered voters how to mark their
ballots. But we continue to hope
that a decisive bloc of those with-
out irons in the fire and not too
violently bigoted in favor of one
party or the other will pause a mo-
ment to weigh the respective mer-
its of the several'nominees before
inserting the casual X where indi-
cated.
"QUEST FOR GENIUS"
Thomas A. Edison's plan to se-
lect and educate a promising youth
cannot be strictly be termed a
"quest for genius," nor can' Johns
Hopkins proposed venture be call-
ed an institution for the education
of genius.
But Mr. Edison's plan will at-
tempt to provide a worthy suc
cessor to himself in order to carry
ion the remarkable creative work
he accomplished during his life.
There will be a committee in each
of the States which will choose
a boy who has shown ability in
school. To the forty-eight eligi-
bles he will submit a questionaire
and decide their respective values
for himself. Johns Hopkins, too,
will employ the selective method in
filling their special classes in sci-
ence.
In this way all drones, inferior
intellects, incorrigibles will be au-
tomatically eliminated, but the
weaness is that more will be elim-
inated than produced. It is diffi-
cult at best to select geniuses at
such an age, for their powers are
not yet ripened, their latent pos-
sibilities have had no opportunity
to come forth.
Society will, however, benefit by
the training given to these youths,
and perhaps once in awhile a gen-
ius will appear. But genius is un-
accountable anyway, and it is the
capacity for hard, earnest labor
that is a characteristic of produc-
tive genius. Mr. Edison's plan and
the Johns Hopkins plan are both
praiseworthy projects, so what is
the difference whether or not
prodigees'are discovered?
0-x-
The prevailing mode of student
conduct designated as "collegiate"
lends some color to a' current su-
perstition that the three R's have
become Rah! Rah ! Rah !
0
A hill-billy of Pennsylvania has
just revealed under pressure a
magic fluid eight drops of which
is equivalent to aging a gallon of
liquor one year. This seems to
take the point out of that aged
blind-pip quip, "Just a minute
while we age it."
Campus Opinion
Contributors are asked to he brief,
confiing themselves to less than 3o
words if possible. Anonymous com-
munications will be disregarded. The
names of communicants will, however,
be regarded as confidential, upon re-
quest. Letters published should not be
construed as expressing the editorial
opinion of the Daily.
MAY FESTIVAl MUSIC
To the Editor:
I heartily agree with Mr. Mor-
rissey's communication in today's
Daily regarding the inferiority of
most of the programs of the May
Festival. This applies especially to
the orchestra numbers. One ought
to expect to hear at least one solid
symphony during the course of the
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Music and Drama
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TONIGHT: Play Production presents "The Beggar on Horse-
back," by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, in the new
League Theater, beginning at 8:15 with the curtain at
8:30 sharp.
UNIVERSITY PLAYS
An innovation is nearly due up-
on this campus. The Division ofS
English is publishing the prize-
winning one act plays resulting
from the recent contest under its
sponsorship. The plan is to make
this an annual event-to have such
a contest each year and thus start
a continuity of student plays, the
best available. In this way rep-
resentative efforts will be publish-
ed, comparisons can be made and
improvements in university drama
and playwriting can be noted and
encouraged.
Advance proofs indicate that
this years' book will be a highly
attractive volume, it will contain
five plays, and will be illustrated
and bound to make an interesting
addition to anyone's library. There
will be an added interest in the
fact that it is the first in a series
and that some of the plays have
already been produced. Here is
something constructive, an effortl
to give voice to student expression,
a chance offered to every embryo
dramatist in the university to
gain recognition and the impetus
which might lead to a serious bid
for fame. Taken in such a way
one can see how this pioneer vol-I
ume must be valued as the begin-
ning of a growing movement to
develop student ingenuity and
freshness of approach instead of
the ordinary mimicry which now
prevails.
The Division of English is to be
highly commended for this first
step. It has meant a great deal of
work for those who have been
most active in the makeup and
organization, as well as a certain
amount of courage necessary to
start something new in the face of
conservative academic principles.
They have expended a great deal
of effort in producing what the
student body will be prone to take
for granted. Such extracuricular
effort is not required of them, it
has been done simply out of inter-
est in the growth of the Univer-
sity Theater. It is the crux of the
first weary years of effort to es-
tablish the theater on a laboratory
I basis, where expeiiments may be
dared and innovations in writing
given expression. It will have
faults, of course, but it should be
welcomed the first evidence, the
cornerstone of a worthy move-
ment.
L.P.1B.
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THIS NEW LEAGUE THEATER
Many kinds are needed
Some weeks ago a rumor was
quoted in this column. The pro-
phecy now seems to be coming
true. And when it does, actually,.a
monkey-wrench of considerable
size is thrown into the local dra-
matic situation, the effects of
which will probably reverberate
for a number of years.
The rumor quoted was to the
effect that an outside stock com-
pany would be imported to fill va-
cant weeks in the new League
Theater, Robert Henderson just
back from Pittsburgh, via New
York, is maturing plans in that
direction. For further information
see the news columns of this is-
sue. The size of this monkey-
wrench is in direct proportion to
the importance of Bob in campus
dramatics-or perhaps, the ratio is
inverted.
The reason behind this an-
nouncement of a short stock sea-
son seems to be mainly a financial
one for the directors of the League
destinies The management must
look to their beauty parlors, dining
rooms and what not-money mak-
ers-to keep the building open and
cut the debt. The $200 weekly
rental of the theater, for all Mimes'
$75 a night charge, is an im-
portant sum, and if no campus or-
ganization can be secured to pay
the rent an outside company is
fully justified. Financially, it be-
comes an indirect service t the
University to keep the theater
running; from an amusement point
of view, the same holds true.
But this indirect service to the
University has (another angle to
it that to a considerable extent
may be considered as cancelling
the benefit. If the League is to be
considered, at least indirectly, a
University building and its opera-
tion a University function, there
is a definite objection to the ex-
ploitation of its facilities by out-
side, non-University, agents.
In a recent [I'nterview on the
proposed University Theater, Mrs.
W. D. Henderson, Executive Sec-
retary of the Alumnae Council,
suggested the desirability of the
University's bringing to Ann Arbor
the best shows from the Detroit
season, so that Ann Arbor-bound
students may get the best plays
available off Broadway. The sug-
gestion is thoroughly sound, and
the University is already doing
this thing, only, in the lecture
field. At thee same time Mrs. Hen-
derson expressed the idea that it
would be an advantage to campus
amateurs if they could appear in
local productions with a nucleus
o professional actors to give them
the benefit of their experience.
This sort of production could be
put on in the League Theater,
whereas the Detroit importation
business could not be. The ques-
tion of advantage from amateur
acting with professionals is an
open one. But the present move
seems to be directly in line with
the suggestion.
Thereare a nn'mhpr nf ano'1a fnt
ing the theater pay its way in
rental. And yet this is true, that
the introduction of professional
stock into the local amusement
situation is a great unfairness to
amateur productions. This ques-
tion alone has numerous ramifi-
cations. ;But essentzlly it is a
minor one, because amateur pro-
ductions must and should be able
to stand a certain amount of rea-
sonabl. competition. The main
question is whether or not it is
justifiable to introduce profession-
al stock into University buildings
and to give such companies the
advantages that amateurs alone
deserve.
The trouble is that by this very
gift the achievement of a true Uni-
versity Theater has been postponed
almost indefinitely, while the the-
ater as it stands now is a University
gift, a symbol of the loyalty of
thousands of Michigan graduates,
which is run along commercial lines
without being directly under the
supervision and the control of the
University.
And now the immedlate question
arises of its use. If outside pro-
ducers are to be leased the theater
-and Bob Henderson can hardly
be called a University officer-the
benefit to the League is the rental.
The profits go to the producer. The
proposition would then seem on a
profit making basis, for the pro-
ducer, with all the advantages of
low rates and University prestige-
designed to help amateurs-thrown
in for nothing.
But if the Women's League
sponsor the production and take
the profit, maintaining Henderson
on a salary basis, then-"it's in a
good cause."'
But this does not seem to be the
case as matters now stand. The
publicity matter, on file yesterday
in this office, stresses the fact that;
"Bob Henderon Presents." It does
not seem to be a League matter at
all; purely one of Bob Henderson
presenting. If the facts which are
available permit this inference,
and there seems to be no other pos-
sible, then the presentation should
be stopped at once!
In all fairness to Mrs. Henderson,
in whose hands the theater is run-
ning at ptsent and who has earn.-
ed widespread respect for her abil-
ity and tireless perseverance in
raising the money for the League
and making the building an actual
fact for this year's graduating
class, a great deal of sympathy
must be given her. Undoubtedly
she has her family just as much
at heart as she has the interests of
the League, but the present action
in renting the theater to Bob gives
immense weight to the criticism
that loyal Michigan spirit was vic-
timized into donating a theaterical
"pied a terre" 'for the use of the
boy in his theatrical ambitions-a
criticism which should be prevent-
ed at once.
But the most important criticism
possible is that Mrs. Henderson
has been influenced by family ties
into permitting an outside pro-
cnr.or on dcrivPro n rnoi f f rnm
One man supervises the construction of
a new telephone line, a second is responsible
for cflcient service on that line, a third con-
ceives an idea for its greater scope and shows
the public how to use the service.,
Each is furthering an important side
of the many-sided business of rendering
reliable, uniform and economical tele-
phone service to every corner of the-nation.
Bell invented the telephone; Vail made it
a servant of every-day life. Today, the widely
different types of ability represented by those
two men are still essential.
What is more, as the Bell System develops
in complexity, opportunities for interesting
life-work become constantly more varied.
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BELL SYSTEM
4 nation-wide ryrtem of inter-connecting tep/:ones
.ATED
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"OUR
PIO N E E R I N G
WORK HAS
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AY FESTIVAL
4 Days - MAY 22,23,24,25,1929 -6 Concets
HILL AUDITORIUM - ANN ARBOR
EARL V. MOORE Musical Director
FREDERICK STOCK Orchestral Conductor
ERIC DELAMARTER Guest Conductor
JUVA HIGBEE Children's Conductor
Edith Mason Soprano
Chicago Civic Opera Company
Jeannette Vreeland Soprano
Distinguished American Artist
Sophie Braslau Contralto
Metropolitan Opera Company
Marion Telva Contralto
Metropolitan Opera Company
Richard Crooks Tenor
Premier American Concert Artist
Paul Althouse Tenor
Metropolitan Opera Company
Lawrence Tibbett Baritone
Metropolitan Opera Company
Richard Bonelli Baritone
Chicago Civic Opera Company
Barre Hill Baritone
Chicago Civic Opera Company
William Gustafson Bass
Metropolitan Opera Company
Josef Hofmann Pianist
Polish Virtuoso
Efrem Zimlaist Violinist
Hungarian Master
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The University Choral Union
Children's Festival Chorus
Samson and Delilah Saint Saens
The New Life Wolf-Ferrari
The Requiem Brahma
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