THE M I CHIGAN DAILY

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1934



THE MICHIGAN DAILY

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The New Election System

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MON

COSSACK

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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.
M EMB~ER
Asocited ollegiate re5 s
=1034 GUoitEitgst jC 135
M.ADSON wsCOol
'IEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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EDITORIAL STAFF
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MANAGING EDITOR............WILLIAM G. FERRIS
CITY EDITOR...........................JOHN HEALEY
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ...........RALPH G. COULTER
SPORTS EDITOR................ARTUR CARSTENS
WOMEN'S EDITOR .....................ELEANOR BLUM
NIGHT EDITORS: Paul J. Elliott, John J. Flaherty, Thomas
E. Groehn, Thomas H. Kleene, David G. Macdonald,
John M. O'Connell, Robert S. Ruwitch, Arthur M. Taub.
SPORTS ASSISTANTS: Marjorie Western, Joel Newman,
Kenneth Parker, William Reed, Arthur Settle.
WOMEN'S ASSISTANTS: Barbara L. Bates, Dorothy Gies,
Florence Harper, Eleanor Johnson, Ruth Loebs, Jo-
sephine McLean, Margaret D. Phalan, Rosalie Resnick,
Jane Schneider, Marie Murphy.
REPORTERS: John H. Batdorff, Robert B. Brown, Richard
Clark, Clinton B. Conger, Sheldon M. Ellis, William H.
Fleming, Robert J. Freehling, Sherwin Gaines, Richard
Hershey, Ralph W. THrd, Jack Mitchell Fred W. Neal,
Melvin C. Oathout, Robert Pulver, Lloyd S. Reich, Mar-
shall Shulman, Donald Smith, Bernard Weissman, Jacob
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Robert Cummins, Fred DeLano, Robert J. Friedman,
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Betty Goldstein, Olive Griffith, Harriet Hathaway, Ma-
rion Holden, Lois King, Selma Levin, Elizabeth Miller,
Melba Morrison, Elsie Pierce, Charlotte Reuger, Dorothy
Shappell, Molly Solomon, Dorothy Vale, Laura Wino-
grad, Jewel Wuerfel
BUSINESS STAFF
Telephone 2-1214
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CREDIT MANAGER .................ROBERT S. WARD
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den; Service Department, Bernard Rosenthal; Contracts,
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BUSINESS ASSISTANTS: William Jackson, William
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dine Field, Betty Bowman, July Trosper.
NIGHT EDITOR: THOMAS H. KLEENE'
The State Turns
Out Citizens.
O NLY IN RAREST MOMENTS of
tranquility may thought be devoted
to such academic questions as why the state should
devote three to five million dollars a year sending
8,000 students from Michigan - and other states
- through the University.
The question is purely academic because neither
the rankest radical nor the veriest conservative
thinks to question the place of the state university
in the scheme of things. Every school boy knows
that education is a great thing, that it's a fine old
democratic institution, and that you can't have too
much of it. Education is a thing that must be
treated reverently: if you can't get it, you feel
righteous about helping some one else get it.
Supposedly, however, university education has
some better justification than the fact that millions
vaguely "feel" it to be a matter established by
divine right.
What the university does - or attempts to do
-may be fairly easily determined and analyzed.
First, it trains students to earn a living in a special-
ized field. Second, it teaches students to think
clearly, logically, and without prejudice on any
subject. Third, it offers a fuller appreciation of
life through the study of how other men have
lived and what they have thought. Lastly, it af-
fords an opportunity for social contacts and prac-

tical experimentation in group living. Just what
emphasis should be placed on each of these aims
and where one blends into another is not the
question here.
Granted that the university does all these fine
things, there is still the question of why. Simple,
you say. Education makes better citizens and better
citizens make a better state. Perhaps it would be
closer to the truth to say that education produces
"smarter" citizens, but that smarter citizens do
not always make a better state.
If college' so equips its students that they are
enabled to go out and prey more efficiently on their
fellow men for individual advancement, then edu-
cation is not giving us better citizens. Men may not
go out grimly determined to fleece widows and or-
phans of their last dollars, but they do graduate
with a frame of mind that, discounts much of the
idealism they have been exposed to. They grant
what a fine place the world might be if people acted
like they talk, but they are only more firmly con-
vinced that practical considerations make it neces-
sary for them to fight a hard and selfish battle.
It's not impossible to develop a sound and worth-
while philosophy of life in today's colleges; many

T:iE UNDERGRADUATE COUNCIL saw its op-
portunity and stood still. It didn't meet that
opportunity and it didn't run away. It hedged,
ccmpromised. The plan which it presented to the
student body yesterday morning was a hybrid, shot
try ough with indications of hasty and thoughtless
action.
In the first place, the composition of the student
section of the electoral board is an obvious joke.
Here is a group which its sponsors, with an almost
childlike naivete, claim "is representative of the
student body" and yet which makes no provision
for including independents. It includes the presi-
dent of the Interfraternity Council, who is always
a fraternity man, and the president of the Pan-
hellenic Association, who is always a sorority
woman. Its other members are the presidents
of the Union, the League, and the Undergraduate
Council, each of whom is almost always affiliated
with a Greek-letter society.
To call such a group "representative" of the stu-
dents" indicates a shocking lack of knowledge con-
cerning just who the -students are. This board
should be composed of an equal number of affiliat-
ed and unaffiliated men and women. Until it is, it
can hardly expect the respect of the major portion
- the independent portion -of the student body.
Second, the plan maintains the election system.
And in maintaining the system it also maintains
the evils.
Campus politics have produced multiple voting
by one person. He or she collects five or six regis-
tration cards or treasurer's receipts and, appearing
at the polls at intervals, votes five or six times.
Does the new system end this evil? Of course it
doesn't.

Campus politics have been characterized by job
promising for gaining blocs of votes. The new sys-
tem will shorten the period of job promising but
will not eliminate it. Let us assume, for instance,
that a Chi Psi has been nominated to oppose a
Psi Upsilon for the J-Hop post. Are we to suppose
that the members of these houses will not burn
the telephone wires all morning and afternoon pre-
ceding the election in order to promise jobs on the
J-Hop committee. for which they will get votes in
return? Such a supposition would be just plain
dumb.
Third, only a half-hearted effort was made to
rid the campus of useless offices. The secretary and
the treasury jobs were combined into one and that
was all. It is still ridiculous to contend that the
president of the sophomore or the vice-pr'esident of
the junior classes, or offices in other classes other
than the senior president, fulfill any worthwhile
function. They simply don't.
It is unfortunate that the Council's courage could
not have matched its speed. (And what amazing
speed it was! So much so that all the action was
taken while the president of the Union and the
managing editor of The Daily - who comprise two-
thirds of the executive committee of the Council
- were guests of the U. of M. Club in Detroit, and
neither had the slightest notion that this particular
measure was on the agenda.) If that courage had
been present, the Council would have swept away
elections and substituted the merit system entirely.
It would not nave indulged in a cheap compromise.
Either the Council will have to iron out these
painful errors at its next meeting or it can no
longer expect to command the respect and support
of the serious organizations on this campus.

R USSIAN CHORUS
CHORAL UNION SERIES
MONDAY, NOV. 19


8: 15 P.M. -in

-

HILL AUDITORIUM
"The Horsemen of the Steppes," consisting of
36 former officers of the late Czar's Imperial
Army, in a programof Soldier Songs, Church
Songs, and National Airs.

Tickets $1.00 - $1.50 - $2.00

Season Tickets
-SERGE
JAROFF

$5.00 - $7.00 - $8.50 - $10.00
(Eight Concerts)


.... .......

1.b

Campus Opinion

Letters published in this column should not be
construed as expressing the editorial opinion of The
Daily. Anonymous contributions will be disregarded.
The names of communicants will, however, be regarded
as confidential upon request. Contributors are asked to
be brief, the editor reserving the right to condense
all letters of over 300 words.
Rival Politicoes Evolve A Plan
To the Editor:
The Undergraduate Council handed down a de-
cision Thursday evening that probably never again
will be rivalled for its lack of far-sightedness.
Meeting with the express purpose in mind of
eliminating from campus elections all of the evils
that have sprung up in past years that body evolved
a weird plan that, in its absurd complexity, failed
to affect any of the evils at which it was aimed.
At best, the plan would hamper only to some slight
degree the malpractices of caucusing and job-
bartering, but the greatest objection to the present
system was absolutely untouched. That to which
we refer is the illegal voting that was rampant
Wednesday afternoon. The Council argued against
"dirty" politics and blindly accepted the first plan
that came to mind.I
It' is our opinion that class elections can be
cleaned up, and we have some private ideas on
practicable methods. Proceeding to a logical con-
clusion, the entire system is based on the fact
that there are a multitude of offices to be given
out, with the accompanying evils of patronage and
job-bartering. Striking at the basic principle of the
matter, we have revised the list of class offices to a
lower number. At present the majority of positions
are merely plums for the political "hanger-on,"
being functionless. Out of 77 appointive positions
we find only three that are necessary. These are
the offices which handle Senior Commencement.
We have cut the number of appointive positions
to a minimum as well as the elective offices. This
is the root of the matter. No more will John Ward-
heeler be able to say "you can have the .chairman-
ship of the finance committee if you will vote for
Frank." There simply won't be enough to go
around. So much for caucusing. And when there is
no caucus, where is the motive for illegal voting?
It has disappeared.
The entire plan is as follows:
1. The nominating board as named by the Un-
dergraduate Council shall remain in force. Petitions
shall be submitted to that board no earlier than
one week before election. Nominations shall be
made by that board no earlier than twenty-four
hours before election. The nominations shall be
made in the board meeting by sealed ballot. The
ballots shall be handed to T. Hawley Tapping
who shall examine the ballots for cases of ties.
In a case of a tie, reballoting shall occur. Other-
wise Mr. Tapping shall keep the ballot secret until
the hour of the election. This feature is to insure
that no leak be possible.
The board shall nominate not less than two and
not more than five persons for each office.
2. Elections shall be supervised by members of
the Undergraduate Council and the Union Execu-
tive Council. Cases of doubtful identification may
be settled only by the President of the Undergrad-
uate Council.
3. The following offices shall be chosen at the
elections:
CLASS OFFICERS
Literary 'College
Seniors: president, treasurer, secretary.
Junior class: president (to serve as treasurer).
Sophomoreand freshman; same as junior class.
The following dance committees shall be chosen
at elections:
DANCE COMMITTEES
Senior Ball
Even Years - Engineering College, chairman; Lit-
erary College, 2; Dental School, 1; Law School, 1.
Odd Years-Literary College, chairman; Literary
College, 1; Engineering College, 1; Medical
School, 1; Business Administration School, 1.
Junior Hop
Same as the Senior Ball.

Commencement. Other than this there will be no
appointive positions.
SUMMARY OF PRESENT AND PROPOSED
CONDITIONS
1. Former number of offices: Dance Committees
- Senior Ball, 17; Junior Hop, 16; Soph Prom, 13;
Frosh Frolic, 14. Officers - Senior, elective 4, ap-
pointive 41; Junior, elective 4, appointive 12; Soph,
elective 4, appointive 12; Frosh, elective 4, appoin-
tive 12.
Proposed number of offices: Dance Committees
- Senior Ball, 5; Junior Hop, 5; Soph Prom, 3;
Frosh Frolic, 3. Officers- Senior, elective 3, appoin-
tive 3; Junior, elective 1, appointive 0; Soph, elec-
(Continued on Page 6)

CO LLEGIlATE
OBSERVER

VA

i "

By BUD BERNARD
Here's a contribution coming from the Cam-
pus Scout of the University of Illinois:
THE DOPE ON BIG TEN BOYS
The men at Northwestern
Are made I surmise,
Of tab-collar shirts
And rabbit-hair ties.
The men at Chicago
Are made one declares,
Of lectures, vain hopes,
And superior airs.
The men at Wisconsin,
If I have the facts,
Are made out of steins
Plus off-color slacks.
THE MEN AT OLD MICHIGAN
(CAN YOU NOT TELL?)
ARE MADE OUT OF PLAYS
THAT DON'T WORK SO WELL.
The men at Purdue
Are confected it seems,
From contracts arranged
With the easiest teams.
At old Indiana
The men are all made
Of Riley and Tarkington,
Nathan and Ade.
The men at Ohio,
I piously write,
Are made at the parties
They go on at night.
The men out at Iowa
I believe, all
Are made out of corn
That's uncommonly tall.
At dear Minnesota
They're made, you'll admit,
Of corduroy, nails,
Power houses and grit.
The men at Urbana
With bits of above,
Are made of beer spiked
With two ounces ... and love.
Knitting, hitherto an exclusive occupation for
women, is being taken up by men at Columbia
University. A group of freshmen and sophomores,
convinced they are giving the school something to
talk about, have obtained permission from the dean
to form the Knita-nata-nu society.
The dean's statement on the matter, which was
made public yesterday, reads: "I think that all
students who want to should be allowed to knit.
This is part of the liberty for which Columbia
stands."
The dean declared however, that "knitting isn't
quite up my alley."

SENIORS
Do not wait until the last
week in November to have
oupr ictures taken for the
ic iganensian. Pictures
must be in by December 1.
Call one of the photogra
pers NOW,
Activities
The Fellowship of Hillel Foundation Zion Lutheran
Liberal Re igion Corner East University and Oakland Church
(UNITARIAN) Dr. Bernard Heller, Director Washington at Fifth Avenue
State and Huron Streets November 18, 1934 E. C. Stelihorn, Pastor
11:15 A.M.-Morning service in the
November 18, 1934 Michigan League Chapel. Sermon November 18, 1934
5:00 P.M.--Afternoon Service. "Is Communism the Cure 9:he0 AC ibn asach uren pic ,
"TOBACCO ROAD" for Anti-Semitism" Member."
Mr. Marley wi review the play 9:00 AMHarvest festival service in
by Jack Kirkland. the German language.
2:30 P.M. + Class on Jewish Ethics 10:30 A.M.-Service with sermon on,
will be omitted this week but will "WHY A HARVEST
be continued November 25.
7:30 P.M. - Student Discussion, The Hillel membership drive is FESTIVAL?"
now going on.
"The Greatest Problem Have you actively signed up with 5.30 P.M. -Student fellowship and
Before Youth Today" the foundation? suppe.
By rofssr Rleih cholin .8:00 P.M. - General meeting of the 6:45 P.M. - Reports on the recent
By Professor Raleigh Schorling organized independent Jewish stu- meeting of the Lutheran Student
of the School of Education dents. Conference at Columbus, Ohio.
First Methodist St. Paul's Lutheran
Episcopal Church Missouri Synod)
State aid Washington West Liberty and Third Sts,
Charles W. Brashares, Minister DO NOT Rev. C. A. Brauer, Pastor
November 18. 1934 November 18, 1934
9:45--College Age Class for young NEGLECT
menand women in the balconof 9:30 A.M.-Sunday School
the church auditorium. Dr. Roy 93 ..TeSriei emn
W. Burroughs is the teacher. 9:30 A.M.-The Service in German.
10:45-Morning Worship Service: Y U R 10:45 A.M.-The Morning Worship-
"A USE FOR TROUBLE" * m Sermon by the pastor:

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