THE MI CIGAN DAIL Y SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 1929 Tublished every morning except Monday during the University year by the Board in Control of Student Publicatiois. Member of Western Conference Editorial Association. The Associated Press is exclusively en- titled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise redited in this paper and the local news pub- lished herein. Entered at the postoffice at Ann Arbor, Michigan, .s second class matter. Special rate of postage granted by Third Assistant Post- master General. Subscription by carrier, $4.00; by mail, $4.50. Offices: Ann Arbor Press Building, May- nard Street. Phones : Editoral, 4925; Business, 21214. EDITORIAL STAFF Telephone 4925 MANAGING EDITOR KENNETH G. PATRICK Editor...............Nelson J. Smith City Editor..... .... Stewart Hooker News Editor.........Richard C. Kurvink Sports Editor.... ......W. Morris Quinn Women's Editor..............Sylvia S. Stone Telegraph Editor............George Stauter Music and Drama............. R. L. Askren Assistant City Editor........... Robert Silhn' Night Editors S-C Al Cha.s S. Monroe oseph E.:Howe mnaid T. K~ine Lawrence R. le G eit Unarie a. m v Pierce Rosenberg ein GeorgeR . Simons :eorge C. Tilley Paul L. Adams Morris AlexandC C. A. Askren Bertram Askwi"' Louise Behyme Arthur 1ernste- LSeton C. Bovee Isabel Charles L. R. Chubb Frank E. Cooper Helen Domine Margaret Ekels Douglas Edwards Valborg Egeland Robert J. Feldman Marjorie Follmer William Gentry Ruth Geddes David B. HempsteadJ Richard Jung Charles R. Kaufman Ruth Kelsey eporters Donald E. Layman Charles A. Lewis Marian McDonald Henry Merry Elizabeth Quaife Victor Rabinowitz Joseph A. Russell Anne Schell Rachel Shearer Howard Simon Robert L. Sloss Ruth Steadnia.i A. Stewart Cadwell Swanson Jane Thayer Edith Thomas Beth Valentine Gurney Williams Jr. Walter Wilds Georged . Wohlgemuth Edward L. Warner Jr. Cleland Wyllie BUSINESS STAFF Telephone 21214 BUSINESS MANAGER EDWARD L. HULSE Assistant Manager-RAYMOND WACHTER Department Managers Advertising ........ Alex K. Scherer Advertising................A. James Jordan Advertising................Carl W. Hammer Service...................Herbert E. Varnum Circulation.................George S. Bradley Accounts............... Lawrence E. Walkley Publications................Ray M. Hofelich Assistants Mary Chase Marion Kerr Jeanette Dae Lillian Kovinsky Verno Davis Bernard Larson Bessie Egeland Hollister Mabley Sally Faster -I. A. Newman Anna Goldbet'g Jack Rose Kasper Halverson Carl . Schemm George Hamilton George Spater Jack Horwich Sherwood Upton Six Humphrey Marie Welistead Night Editor-JOSEPH E. HOWELL SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 1929 ACTIVITIES, FRESHMAN? Classwcrk for the first .semester' has ended, and with the second half but a few weeks away, students are already making resolves to bet- ter their grades and work next semester, in addition to enjoying themselves more fully. The Freshman class however, takes on itself an extra burden of thought and consideration, for the opening weeks of the second semes- ter'will open for the first time the chances to take part in campus activities. As before, there will be different reasons for taking part in the various activities. Desire to become B. M. o. C.'s, instilled by sitting at the knee of famous men on the Michigan campus, will play no small part. There, too, will be those men with serious intent seek- ing to find out more about various departments with a view of putting the information received into prac- tive when school is behind. From the ranks of the class of 1932 now battling its first finals will come the later managing edi- tors and business managers, the presidents and student officials, and managers. Grades play an all important part in progress in these lines of activity, and this word to the wise freshman should be suffi- cient for him to make the grades that will enable him to be eligible for activities next semester. Campus Opinion Contributors are asked to be brief, confining themselves to less than 3.0 words i possible. Anonymous corn- munications will be disregarded. The names of communicants will, however, be regarded as confidential, upon re- quest. Letters published should nut be construed as expressing the editorial opinion of the Daily. MICHIGAN'S CAMPUS THEATER Undergraduate dramatics at the University of Michigan during the past decade have undergone what, in terms of future progress, might be regarded as the interest on the part of the student body in various fields of dramatic endeavor has brought about a consciousness of the discouraging inadequacy of ex- isting facilities for the production of plays and musical comedies. Th arrival of 1929 finds the undertakings will be temporarily slowed down until such jointly- shared theater makes its bow to! the campus and Ann Arbor public. Mimes of the Michigan Union, the pioneer campus dramatic or- ganization, has long been justly famous for its annual musical comedies, and "Our Handsomestt Girls Are Men" has become a per- z manent phrase carrying with it a yearly substantiation to both the alumni and the student body of the University. Since 1906 the an- nual opera has been conceived, per-I fected, and produced within the antiquated walls of Mimes theaterl -noted among local theatergoers not for its architectural beauty nor its seating capacity, but for thee excellence of the infrequent dra- matic performances that have beent seen across the footlights of its stage. In addition to the "opera," which can be relied upon in the future to maintain its brilliant national rep- utation, the past few seasons atf Mimes theater have brought local audiences such works as "En-t gaged," "Seventh Heaven," "The Bad Man," "S. S. Glencairn," and "The Home Towners." Consensus of opinion on each of the plays given to date has embodied unstin- ted praise for the almost profes- sional finish with which the dra- matic undertakings of Mimes haveE been presented. At the present time "The Marquise" is in rehearsal, while "Loyalties" and "Jstice" have been selected for production7 during the coming season. Comedy Club, with "You and I," "Dulcy," and "Diplomacy" has like-, wise held high honors in campus, dramatic circles, and while denied= the production facilities available1 to similar organizations in other universities, several hits have been; scored, and group competition be-. tween campus societies has stim- ulated the pursuits for the achieve- ment of dramatic excellence. In the third dramatic organiza- tion on the Michigan campus are to be found several unique features, for Play Production, as it is known, is in reality an amateur theatrical laboratory sponsored under the University curriculm. Within this organization, plays are written, di- rected, produced, and acted by un- dergraduates themselves; under the supervision of a faculty direc- tor. As a result of both close har- mony between students and faculty, and the growing popularity of amateur dramatics as an under- graduate activity, six plays are now in, the process of laboratory pro- duction. The campus will be af- forded the opportunity of seeing three of these plays, which were judged to be the best out of thirty- one submitted in a recent competi- tion, sometime during the coming semester, when they will be pre- sented in their completed form. With several possible changes in the organization of these dramatic societies, a new theater, to be used jointly by the growing ranks of undergraduate drama participants with a more extensive and adequate means of activity and self-expres- sion. Although the "Campus The- Eter" has long been a hoped-for possibility, it still remains outside the bounds of realization, for exist- ing facilities in the production of undergraduate dramatics have pre- vented their being conducted on a paying financial basis. Neverthe- less, a consolidated theater so con- structed and large enough to ac- comodate 2,000 people, if properly financed, will have payed for it- self in the course of a few years time, and will stand as a monument and a tribute to those whose efforts have been responsible for making it a reality. To attain the distinction as leader of amateur dramatics in American universities, Michigan must have a new undergraduate theater. W. R. T., '29. Announcement of the results of the second elimination in the origi- nal one-act play contest brings nearer to completion what stands as an innovation in dramatic ac-1 tivities on this campus and has behind it a motivating idea that should not be lost to sight. The primary purpose of the contest was not to provide a new and very gratifying way of inflating student egos. The success with which the whole program was conducted and the obvious pleasure brought to an audience made up of eager friends should be a source of thorough gratification to all those connected with the production, but the whole affair, as it stands now and as it will result when the final elimina- tion is announced at the first pub- lic performance, is motivated by the central idea of bringing about a University theater. No one can say that such a the- ater would result in. the overdevel- opment of extra curricular activi- ties which would take the student into the primrose paths of the ex- panding ego. The theater is in- evitably the play-ground of the ego -more so than any other activity perhaps. But under the organizing influence of a department like Play Production, and with the guid- ing enthusiasm of Director Windt, exhibitionistic tendencies have been directed toward a degree of co- operative efficiency that is only at- tained, so we have been told, on the football field. The traditional view is that team work is only achieved in competetive sports. Big Ten stardom not being the lot of everyone, it would seem not un- reasonable to look for cooperating competition in other fields--of which dramatic activity presents a most striking example. Consider- ing that Play Production also func- tions as a part of the curriculum, there is an element of incongruous humor in contrasting the bored de- termination so evident in chemis- try or physics laboratories with the same experimental activities in the University Hall theater. An ideal that has been expressed in regard to the erection of a Uni- versity theater is to the effect that the theater should be made the center of a fine arts group of activ- ities. An active theater, experi- menting freely and producing widely, has use for the whole range of arts. It would seem a logical starting point for the correllation of fine arts. But in its educational capacity it cannot be guided by the commercial principles imposed on an endowed organization. An en- dowed theater would serve the pur- pose of objectifying on the stage, for students, classic examples in the history of dramatic literature, it would centralize and give outlet to experimentation and instruction in: the fine arts, it would provide valuable experience for those inter- ested in the drama from the pro- fessional point of view, and finally, in its general production activities, it would serve the very necessary purpose of educating an untheatri- cal student body to the stimulating influence of the legitimate drama. Thorough development of such j a theater would have some inter- esting effects on the local, extra- curricular groups like Mimes, with its Union-subsidized theater, Com- edy Club, with no theater at all, and the new Women's League the- ater which is, potentially at least, a nucleus for numerous other pro- ducing organizations. But whatever these re'sults, a University theater would place Michigan among the leaders of the movement that recognizes the the- ater as a strong force in the cul- tural development of national life. R. Leslie Askren. A COMMUNICATION A letter has come to hand via the personal correspondance of Manag- ing Editor Patrick. The memory of Robert B. Henderson lingering still strongly on this campus, his good fortune as an alumnus should be news to his friends: "You may have known that I have been working for the estima- ble W. H. Wright, stock company impressario par excellence and tied up with the Butterfield interests. I am leaving him, however, to play U.......................... A CULTURAL FORCE ----------- . Robert Henderson." "Goodman Theater, Chicago." * * , AN EMBARRASSING SURPLUS Friday night of last week, after the tumult and the shouting had died away from the production of original one-act plays presented by Play Production, an event of stag- gering importance took place. j In Play Production there is an advanced course for the instruc- I tion of directors. By the grace of God and the extraordinary munifi- cence of the University this class receives a subsidy in the form of hard cold dollars to carry on its work. The treasurer of this group, being an ingenious and frugal soul -as all good treasurers should be -a surplus was discovered in the treasury. Conceivably this might have something to do with the ever-present Prosperity myth, but dramatic economists, and there are such, prefer to consider the un- precedented state of solvency a di- I rect result of the aforementioned frugality. Friday night, in the reflected glare of an empty stage that badly needed the kindly ministrations of the janitor, 'a hushed group of' eager enthusiasts gathered, quiet- ly, respectfully, to witness the pre- sentation of the surplus. The cere- mony was strikingly effective. Simplicity, and fervor suppressed for the sake of the formalities, were the dominant notes as the check, totalling $21, was delivered to Director Windt for use by Play Production. The group broke, at a loss for words, when the Director's words of thanks were ended. Play Production is now faced with the problem of expending this sum. If the editor of this column may venture a suggestion it is to the general effect of rebuilding University Hall into a laboratory theater--which would not be so herculean a task, considering that Play Production has built a whole season of pleasant plays on a rela- tively smaller sum than $21. R. L. A. * * * AROUND AND ABOUT News comes, via the critical re- views in "Variety," that Saimmuel S. Bonnell, '28, and member of Comedy Club, is playing in "Street Scene" at Provincetown Playhouse, New York. "Variety" c(a le(I the hljow good. , Presentation of the remnaining four original one-act plays to the public early next semester will de- termine the general appeal of stu- dent playwrighting talent. Exploit- ing original talent might be the salvation of organizations like Comedy Club who are pestered, among other things, by royalty dif- ficulties, There seems to be no discover. able ulterior motive behind Mimes' announced revival of Galsworthy. "Justice" and "Loyalties" present the famous author of "The For- sythe Saga" at his social-criticism best. Relative to casting the three plays, "The Marquise," "Justice," and "Loyalties," Mimes issued an edict barring students from try- outs if they were connected with similar dramatic activities else- where on the campus. The ultima- tum recalls a time when it was a privilege to be invited to try out. * * * Local dram-addicts console tienm- selves over the loss of Pro . 0. J. Campbell to Harvard by the reflec- tion that it is only for one semes- ter. Prof. Campbell's interest in the drama is as near fanaticism as a gentleman allows himself I o get "Fake My Advice'' Comiiedy :tttII 11111l111111111ll 1111111iliitii liiii i 111111 . I i 11 Appropriate Footwear Styles FOR --J. HOP -EVENING - -OPERA -SPORTS ALWAYS AT ZIEFLE & NISSLE'S -Spring Styles of Shorts are Here -MAY WE SUGGEST YOUR EARLY SELECTION- -Gold, Silver, Satins, Suedes, Dull Kid, Patents, Browns. All ,heels, all widths-$6.00 to $8.00. Also cut steel, Rhine- stone, eaded,uces $1.00 to $4.00. MEN FOR FORMAL-Dull Calf or Patent Oxfords- $6.50. Our Down Town Price. FOR STREET OR SPORT--Imported Scotch Grain or Plain Calfskin Oxford $6.00 to $8.50- Think it Over Fellows Walk Down-Town and Save a Dollar or Two IEFLE NISSL Four Doors South of Liberty St.--on South Main Strings . .Supplies . . Repairs . for all Musical Instruments the lead (really, I happen to be just the type) in the new produe- h tion at the Goodman Memorial the- ater in Chicago. It is that beauti- MUSIC HOUSE ful new playhouse on MichiganMH Boulevard just behind the Art In- 110 S. Main St. stitute. The play, which is a new one. is called "Lizard Gap-a sleepy' si uimml t town in Oklahoma"; it is by Harry. Hamilton, a southerner; and opens -OPTICAL Feb. 12, to run at least a month, longer if it is a hit. I play the = DEPARTMENT part of Harrison Kipp and it is a Lenses and Frames made grand chance for me, both on ac- To Order count of the Chicago audiences, and more, on account of the Chi-Optcal Prescrptions s cago critics. Filled My best wishes, Yours, . 91111111111111111111111111111111If U11111111111111111111111fill III 1111111111111111111111111111111111111+x: ORATORICAL ASSOCIATION '..- Presents - . Sephen\ -Leacock - Noted Humorist Hill Auditorium FEBRUARY 12 TICKETS AT SLATER'S = "Read the Classified Ads Overcoats For this winter and next-now is the time to buy. Unusually large selec- tion at unusually low pricesC $ Quality Coats, $29.50O up WA VONE@&COMPAHY jI or n~~z~le1Kf4& I Editorial Comment i OUSTING THE LIBERALS The Daily Northwestern In the resignation of Dr. Clarence Cook Little from the presidency of the University of Michigan the edu- cational world has lost one of its most progressive and liberal lead- ers. Dr. Little, faced with the op- position and antagonism of the board of regents in the formulation and execution of poicies which hef believed to be for the good not only, of the Michigan student body but of the whole university system, felt compelled to tender his resignation. He will, of course, continue in sci-j that this policy would be carried through by his successor. Because he advocated birth-con- trol and other ideas quite at var- ance with "conservative Wolverine I