T RE MICHIGAN DAILY TUES
[ICHIGAN DAILY
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Published every morning except Monday during the
University year and Summer Session by the Board in
Control of Student Publications.
Member of the Western Conference Editorial Association
and the Big Ten News Service.
': 4sgsodiited Q o1tpirtc rts
_ = 1933 Atiio~wI - wvwi!) 1934.
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EDITORIAL STAFF
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MANAGING EDITOR.......THOMAS K. CONNELLAN
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR.............C. HART SCHAAF
CITY EDITOR ......................BAACKL.EY SHAW
SPORTS EDITOR.................ALBERT H. NEWMAN
WOMEN'S EDITOR.................CAROL J. HANAN
RIGHT EDITORS: A. Ellis Ball, Ralph G. Coulter. William
t. Ferris, John C, Healey, George Van Vleck, E. Jerome
Pettit.
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Kenneth Parker, William R. Reed. Robert S. Ruwitch,
Arthur S. Settle, Jacob C. Seidel, Marshall D. Silverman,
Arthur M. Taub.
Dorothy Glee, Jean Hanmer, Florence Harper, Eleanor
Johnson, Ruth Loebs, Josephine McLean, Marjorie Mor-
rison, Sally Place, Rosalie Resnick, Jane Schneider.
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Jackson, Louise Krause, Barbara Morgan, Margaret
Mustard, Betty Simonds.
FRESHMAN TRYOUTS: William Jackson, Louis Gold-
smith, David Schiffer, William Bardt, Jack Richardson,
Charles Parker, Robert Owen, Ted Wohlgemuth, Jerome
Grossman, Avncr, Kronenberger, Jim Horiskey, Tom
Clarke, Scott, Samuel Beckman, Homer Lathrop, Hall,
Ross Levin, Willy Tomlinson, Dean Asselin, Lyman
Bittman. John Park, Don Hutton, Allen Ulpson, Richard
Hardenbrook, Gordon Cohn.
NIGHT EDITOR: WILLIAM G. FERRIS
'Experts' Leave Sludge
In Ann Arbor Water*..
IF ANN ARBOR WATER was fil-
tered, enough sludge would be taken
out of the water from the Steere Farm wells every
three weeks to cover over a field one acre in area
with a layer three feet thick!
' This is sludge that is not at present removed
from the water which passes through Ann Arbor-
mains.
Although the water from the Barton well is not
as bad as this, and the Montgomery well is better
yet, Ann Arbor finds it necessary to use the water
from the Steere Farm wells, poor as it is, because
of the inadequacy of the present system of supply.
The Daily looks forward to seeing some action
on the question at the next Council meeting
Monday night,
We are in an absurd position. Faced with two
alternative methods of improving our water supply
system, we are kept from any improvement at
all because local legislators cannot decide which
of the two proposed methods is preferable.
We have been patient. Forced, in most homes
in the city, to install two systems of plumbing
because of the hardness of the city water, forced
to unnecessary expenditure in water-softeners and
repairs to plumbing corroded by the water, it is
remarkable that we have not been aroused to in-
sist upon action before.
About one year ago, Ann Arbor conducted a
loud campaign for a better water supply. Some
favored the plan for the use of the Huron River
as a source of supply. Others protested the un-
suitability of such a plan, asked for a softening
plant for the present system.
The loudest of the voices were those of laymen
who were not in a position to recommend either
system. But, basing ,their opinions upon popular
prejudice alone, these 'experts' prevented any ac-
tion at all from being taken, for without them the
council could have had the question decided solely
by technical expeyts.
After all, it makes little difference to Ann Arbor
citizens where their water is from, if the water is
of acceptable quality.
Let us not make this mistake again. We all agree
that we want and we need better water.
Let us agree to permit a technical body appointed
by the City Council decide how much im-
provement shall be made.
Musical Events
presence at his performance of these three great
Beethoven works has two aspects: You will hear a
true and devoted interpretation of the sonatas,
with the result that you will be a new person;
and you will be supporting a project that is de-
serving of your utmost approval as a citizen of the
campus, the Albert Lockwood Memorial Scholar-
ship, being raised in the interest of attracting
young musicians here for study.
The first. two sonatas are comparatively fa-
miliar. The Pathetique ws produced at the time
that Beethoven first realized hisadeafness. The
heart-filling melodies, comforting and reassuring,
that are found in both Pathetique and Appas-
sionata, embody a fundamental human need, con-
solation, reconciliation.
The Hammerklavier is "brilliant," and difficult
as a concerto . . . making demands upon instru-
ment ,performer and listener. We can savour to the
full the heroic strength and noble tenderness of
the opening movement . . . and can be seized anew
with the conviction that we are hearing Beethov-
en's most luscious piano scherzo." The Adagio typi-
fies "fearless resignation," says von Bulow. And
then comes the titanic 3-voice fugue. The problem
that arises in connection with the Hammerklavier,
casting aside that of technique, is the making the
extreme registers of the piano sound, without blur
or without shallowness. "Beethoven was too much
impressed by the new piano, which he could not
hear, to consider fully its limitations." This sonata
is seldom performed.
If you look in music for the equivalent of "I lift
mine eyes unto the hills, whence cometh my
strength," you will find it in Beethoven.
PIANO GRADUATION RECITAL
In Review
MARY SPAULDING put a good foot forward last
night in her graduation recital, proving her
hard-earned self control, her musical taste, her
agile technique, and her comprehension of what
she was doing. Her program was fortunately un-
hackneyed.
She has a comprehension of the whole, which
gives a continuity to her work; she was inclined to
be reserved rather than outpouring; she has a
felicitous sense of tempo, for the most part, pro-
ducing an effect of extra strength; her Chopin,
which, with the Bach, was highly successful, found
suavity and continuity in her interpretation. Her
audience gave her a well-deserved hand.
-S.P.
Campus Opinion
Letters published in this column should not be con-
strued as expressing the editorial opinion of The
Daily. Anonymous communications will be disregarded.
The names of communicants will, however, be re-
garded as confidential upon request. Contributors
are asked to be brief, confining themselves to less
than 500 words if possible.
COMEDY CLUB, "LITTLE LOVE,"
COURAGE, AND SUCCESS
To the Editor:
In a recent editorial you very generously con-
gratulated Comedy Club for taking Vincent Wall's
comedy, "Little Love," on the road during Spring
vacation. This, as you stated, was the first road
show to be put on by a Michigan organization in
five years. Beyond, that, it was the first such ven-
ture for Comedy Club, I believe. Let me join you
in congratulating the Club, for it was certainly an
experiment that warrants praise, and I was equally
gratified to hear that the trip was a financial suc-
cess. BUT - and I cannot be too insistent on this
point - your editorial did not do full justice to the
occasion. You ignore, or forget, perhaps, that it
was an original play written by a University stu-
dent and in producing it Comedy Club is fulfilling
something absolutely essential to playwriting, and
something that should be an established part of
every dramatic organization on campus.
Since the establishment of the Hopwood Awards
-and the prize money in the drama division is of
considerable proportion - the need for an experi-
mental division of the theatre has been evinced.
Both in and out of the playwriting courses of the
University, plays of importance are being written.
The publication of the Michigan Plays in book form
is another of many situations on the campus that
has stimulated those who write for the theatre.
Yet, and this has been the deplorable part, no
organization has thus far fulfilled what is essen-
tially a part of playwriting, and what should be an
integral part of all dramatic organizations, and
that is: the production of the original plays. On
this score Comedy Club is to be lauded for its pre-
sentation of Mr. Wall's "Little Love," which won a
major Hopwood Award last Spring.
The business of writing a play is never, can
never, be complete until the play is presented before
an audience. Until that time the playwright can-
not tell what situations are possible on the stage,
what lines the actors will be able to mouth, and
what happens to dialogue when it comes to life
and walks about the stage. So it becomes impera-
tive for the playwright to work hand and hand with
the theatre, for her is writing plays to be seen, and
not merely heard. Completion does not come until
his plays, brought to life by the actors, are pre-
sented to a group of people gathered for the specific
purpose of entertainment. I am assuming, of
course, that the play deserves production. The
empty fact that someone "has written a play" is
far from a good reason for producing it.
I am positive, from what I know of the script of
Mr. Wall's comedy, that it will afford an interest-
ing evening, as interesting as the witnessing of
creative work ever is, which is interesting! Shall
we join in congratulating Comedy Club for this
venture into the most vital and difficult phase of
the theatre. -A Playwright.
The Theatre
aS, - - --- --
"WITH BANNERS FLYING":
ITS BEARING ON THE FUTURE
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article will be
followed tomorrow with another writer's
opinion.
By JOHN W. PRITCHARD
HAVING CLOSED a five-day run, the Union
Opera committee is now sitting back and
counting the gate receipts, while the campus is
wondering what "With Banners Flying" was all
about, and how it tallied with the tradition of five
years ago that it sought to revive. Nobody sup-
poses that the opera was all bad, and many people
are vaguely under the impression that it was rather
good - especially the last three performances.
which almost reached the standard of mediocrity.
Nevertheless, it would be exceedingly difficult to
find anyone who would state flat-footedly that
"With Banners Flying" approached the excellence
that was to be expected, and most opinions would
place the show somewhere in the debit column.
My own judgment is that a single performance
of the opera started with a bang and ended with
scarcely a weak fizzle; and because I wanted to
see a swell show, uproarious enough and enter-
taining enough from all standpoints to set a
worthwhile tradition on the pinnacle where it
should be maintained, I am taking up The Daily's
space for this post-mortem.
Primarily it is to be pointed out that the original
conception was a good one, which might have
been elaborated into a show of whole value. Also,
the dialogue was well written, and individual roles
were handled with unexpected dexterity. The music
was somewhat bathetic, but one or two of the
numbers were received with great acclaim. There
were, however, five errors - and these were so
important that they upset the show and made
it - what it was. First and foremost, the direction
(courteously so called) was hopelessly incompetent,
and apparently lacking in sincerity of effort. Sec-
ond, the music was badly spaced. Third, the chor-
uses were scarcely trained at all. Fourth, the elab-
oration of the original conception lacked unity
and coherence. And finally, there was lacking that
intangible essence that is the height of necessity
in the revival of a tradition - spirit.
If I may, I shall elaborate for a few lines on
this matter of spirit, because it is a term easily
misunderstood. I do not mean the virtuous sort of
spirit, the idea that the dear old alma mater exacts
our all, which we should surrender with willing
hearts. I am speaking of the sort of spirit mani-
fested when a group of seniors get together and
say, "We haven't got a lot of talent, but we have
a good idea, and if we work like hell and stick
together on this thing we can put it over with an
explosion that will resound from here to any point
you want to specify." But there was (to appear-
ances, I insist) no suspicion of this sort of feeling.
Rather, those connected with the show intended,
it would seem, that the opera should be laughed
at, as well as the campus follies that the opera
satirized. Now, what should have been remembered
was that the opera is a tradition, and no vital
tradition has ever been known to coast along on its
name as such. It must be kept moving by recurring
impetus, newly applied during every moment of its
existence. Because this spirit appeared to be lack-
ing, "With Banners Flying" suffered.
The direction? It was an illustration of what
happens when a director doesn't know what he is
doing, and doesn't seem to care too much. Giving
Mr. Peterson credit for a normal amount of intel-
ligence - and I fancy he has rather more than
that --I presume that he understands, among
other things, the very elementary necessity of
keeping the background cast occupied in some
fashion, preferably in a focal manner, while the
primary actors are reading their lines. Yet, almost
nowhere in the show did the supers seem to know
what to do with themselves --or the leads, either,
when they weren't working. This was true both in
speaking and in musical sequences. The result
was an effect, not of moving comedy, but of drab
concert work; there was almost an impression that
the entire opera, instead of merely the first scene,
was satirizing an Honors Convocation. The rest of
the directoral errors can be passed over, for they
would occupy pages to chronicle; the fact that
there were good points in the opera dependent on
direction - for example, the excellent Union Ball-
room scene - somewhat mitigates the impression
of directoral weakness until the critic reflects that
even the good points were disjointed and had little
relation to the show as a whole.
Well, what does all this prove? Chiefly, it con-
clusively demonstrates that many fundamental
changes must be made in the method of organiz-
ing the Union Opera in order to make it worthy
of continuance. It should be recognized immediate-
ly that a group of college men, picked at random,
are unlikely to have the talent, or at any rate the
technical knowledge, to produce a good show with-
out aid from more experienced persons. The five-
year hiatus between operas makes the current re-
vival, in effect, a brand new project. May I sug-
gest that, for a few years at any rate, until the
opera gets on its feet as an established University
institution, the Mimes organization do its work in
close contact at every step with the University
Theatre Committee? Allow the Theatre Committee
to have almost omnipotent power in selecting
a director of capability. Yield to that body's advice
regarding the building-up of the show. Work ear-
nestly and intently on the project, with competent
guidance, and finally give the campus, in 1935, a
Union Opera that will require no ballyhoo to con-
vince audiences that the Opera is back again to
stay. For it is a tradition of importance in many
ways: it is a crystallizing point for alumni inter-
est; its success will contribute largely to focussing
state-wide attehtion on the value of dramatic en-
terprise at Michigan; and it will provide a source
of great entertainment, the high-spot in a year
of theatre perhaps, for all of the University and
Ann Arbor.
"Village Wooing," and "O0n the Rocks".
EUGENE O'NEIL: Ah, Wilderness. . ...
EUGENE O'NEIL: Days Without End...........
EUGENE O'NEIL: Nine Plays ..
LENNOx ROBINSON: Is Life Worth Living........
SIDNEY KINGSLEY: Men in White.... . . . . .
$2.50
2.50
2.50
4.00
1.25
2.00
1.75
2.00
1.50
1.00
1.00
O'CASEY: Within the Gates... . . . . . .
DON MARQUIS: Master of the Revels...........
KEITH WINTER: The Shining Hour... .
GERTRUDE STEIN: Four Saints in Three Acts.....
THOMAS: Uncle Tom's Cabin (A Dramatic Version)
WAHR'S OOKSTORES
State Street
Main Street
I'I IU
BOOKS--a few itles of the
BEST NEW PLAYS
BE~RNARD SHAW.- "~Three Plays," "'Too Trite to be Good,"
The LAST
MICNGANESIL
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o--f the Year!
TODAY and TOMORROW
Make Second and Third Payments at the
Student Publications Building NOW
11,11 lllljljj 11111 1 1 11 11 1 111 P O W -
Jg
Ahead of the Season?
We may be a bit ahead of the season, but
it's really time now to think of summer
and summer fashions. Of course, your
first consideration will be to feel com-
4
MAY DAY
To the Editor:
Tuesday, May 1st, 1934, is a challenge to all
students who are still American enough to demand
their civil rights.
....,....-, :.:. . .....:. :::3k.