100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Download this Issue

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

This collection, digitized in collaboration with the Michigan Daily and the Board for Student Publications, contains materials that are protected by copyright law. Access to these materials is provided for non-profit educational and research purposes. If you use an item from this collection, it is your responsibility to consider the work's copyright status and obtain any required permission.

December 14, 1934 - Image 4

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1934-12-14

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

T HE MICHIAN 1AILY

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1934

........,... .. -... r..............

The SOAP BOX

I

I

A Very Swell Letter
To the Editor:
Well, Mr. Editor, I don't claim to be one of
them there literary fellers what has had lots of
readin' 'n book learnin' on all sorts of things like
polytics 'nd soldialism, 'nd what is it these Russian
fellers calls themselves-Communists? But it
'pears as how Ebner 'n me 'n some o' th' boys down
here in Vine Center has been readin' in your paper
'bout why yer writin' should 'er shouldn't be agin
er fer th' Presidnet, 'er fer a feller named Ogden
Mills, and about sich as is to be had by slicin'
down the money belongin' to sich big fellers as
Uncle Andy Mellon, er a feller called Whitney,
somewheres up old York state way, and a divvyin'
up.
Now us boys, cain't make much heads ner tails
'bout which way things orta be done up by this
hyar governmin' o' ourn. Like as not, th' first thing
we perks up about is whether we'll get a rise in
price fer our hogs and corn, the last of which
there wern't any too much of this last summer.
But, shucks, we got congressmen elected who has
told us that th' like won't be nothin' fer them
to get us, just once they gits up to Lansing.
If them readin and literary fellers who writes
in the Campus Opinion part, and who 'pears to get
right low-down with a heap o' big words, which
Ebner 'n me and the boys down here in Vine
Center cain't quite make much use of - well, if
them fellers kin get us more money fer our hogs
- well, then we reckon it wouldn't do n harm to
jist give over most of the inside of yer paper
and maybe th' front page too, to their writin'.
But it 'pears to us, that your a-running your
paper 'bout like we run our farms. Got to make
all ends meet, and as a feller who called himself
one of them newspaper men fellers, told me onc't,
"Damn it, Lum, why can't you see that this is a
newspaper we get out, not an organ fer a bunch
of mugs who are almost sure that their particular
way of gettin' things done must be the right way.
This here newspaper guy went on, and kept a
tellin me, while I lit up my pipe, that "we are a
goin to print what the public likes to read. We
got a page (an editorial page, he called it,) that
is used fer expressin' the way the feller who runs
the paper thinks about things. Ya can read it er
leave it. But when a man picks up a newspaper over
his coffee in the morning he wants to get a good
picture of what's a happening, in the world, and
particular his part of the world, that meaning,
what's goin' on in his town."
Well, me and Ebner, 'nd th' boys, just figures
that this hyar feller wuz a runnin' his business,
way Thad Reynard runs his grocery store, er Jim
Bilkney runs his machine shop, and we reckon that
things'll just sorta go long gradual like in the
country without a whole lot of people getting very
much excited, all at one time.
But if them fellers what jumps up and down in
that there part of your paper called The Campus
Opinion, kin say a word 'bout our corn next time,
well, me 'n Ebner 'nd the boys, 'll shore feel a
heap grateful 'bout it, Mr. Editor..
-Lum Tinker.
Helping Hand Department
To the Editor:
I wonder if you would print something in The
Daily concerning m9y problem as stated below.
I am now a senior in the literary college here
at Michigan but will not be able to continue my
education unless I am able to obtain some money
soon. I. own some valuable property in the Ten-
nessee Valley which I am willing to sell reasonably
if I can get cash for it so as to finish my school
work. This property is right in the heart of the
great industrial and mineral developments of Ala-
bama (near Muscle Shoals) and will increase in
value as a result of the TVA.
If you feel that you can consistently print some-
thing about this in your paper, it might help me
considerably, and I would appreciate your effort.
I can be reached through telephone 6881 any
evening between 5:30 and 6:30.
-David A. Hultquist.
No Quarter For Page 5
To the Editor:
The Daily this year is in most respects a very

commendable paper, and the editorials and feature
articles in particular are so marked by appreciation
of what is really important in present-day life that
one can only believe that the editorial note on the
setter by Mr. Love et al. in today's (Wednesday's)
issue represents only the opinion of a minor staff
member. The "obvious nastiness" is to be found
not, in the letter but in the note.
Is is not rather farcical to pretend that every
lecture, concert or opening.~night of a play is so
important a social occasion and that students are
so well-provided with money that even those who
are campus "social lights" have bought new cloth-
ing for the occasion? Chances are that most of
the costumes which were "chosen" have been worn
a dozen times before. Furthermore, this pointing
out of a select few as being present is undemo-
cratic 'and encourages snobbery.
The situation of The Daily is not the same as
that of a city paper because the city paper is
devoting only two pages out of from 20 to 40 to
this type of article, while The Daily is using
one page out of six. And when there is a news
article on Page 1 and a review on Page 6 on the
Boston Symphony Orchestra concert, may we not
be spared a third account on Page 5?
May I suggest that The Daily take a poll of its
Editor's,.NoteI

readers to find out whether any substantial number
of them care for this type of material. If the vote
is adverse, as I am quite confident it would be,
The Daily will certainly be able to find more
important matter to fill its columns.
-A Long-Suffering Reader.
Is 'Give Us Rhythm' Dirty?
To the Editor:
After checking my own impressions of "Give Us
Rhythm" with those expressed in The Daily re-
view, I am astonished that the critic did not call
attention to the moral looseness displayed through-
out the production.
The "I Am A Good For Nothing Baby" number
is distinctly shady. When a common bawd plays
such an important part in a campus production,
it is surely the duty of The Daily's critic to bring
cut the unpleasant suggestiveness of such a sit-
uation.
In addition to this distinctly odoriferous scene
there are several other actions of the players that
are obviously mere sops thrown to the low-minded
element on the campus.
The relations between the masculine and fem-
inine characters, both portrayed by males, border
on the distasteful.
Whether or not the show has all the merits
attributed to it by The Daily's critic, why is it
that these other points that prove offensive are
not mentioned?
Surely The Daily does not cater to powerful
campus organizations. -A.E.S.
Cancel My Subscription!
To the Editor:
I wish to have my subscription to the Michigan
Daily cancelled at the end of this month. Please
send me the bill and I shall be glad to pay it.
Perhaps my reasons for dropping my subscrip-
tion would interest you. I have come to the con-
clusion that The. Michigan Daily is not a repre-
sentative of the students nor of their interests
and is therefore unworthy of support. I base this
conclusion on the evasive editorial policy and the
fact that your paper is a true representative of
the so-called "campus snobbery."
The issue of Dec. 11 proved this with very little
dcubt as to the truth of the above statement. I do
not know the men who wrote the letter, but in it
were presented specific issues which you failed
to answer.
I do not take issue with you on what you
use Page 5 for, I am, as a matter of fact, tolerant I
toward the present use of Page 5, for it often gives
me a good laugh whenever I feel like having one.
I only take issue with your method of dealing with
the matter presented. The fact that you pointed
them out as those who sought to get Ward included
in the Georgia Tech game line-up was much like
an appeal to a snob group. It was a warning,
"Don't have anything to do with them; they are
bad boys!"
I believe that the evasion of the issue as is-
played in this incident and other numerous in-
stances is resulting in a tendency to get away from
the realities of life. It is resulting in a failure to
present campus life as it is. It is resulting in
editorials built up with little or no regard for the
truth and completely devoid of substance or ade-
quate evaluation. I even remember an instance
this semester in which you printed an editorial that
stated too often an editor writes an editorial be-
cause he feels he must have something to say and
because people always expect editorials in their
regular columns every day. With all that goes on
in the world today, with fascism and war staring
us in the face all around; with 20 million people on
government relief and countless others on private
charity, if in spite of all this, The Daily editors
must find something to put in their editorial col-
umns, there is something radically wrong with The
Daily management.
Of course, my cancelling my subscription will
not improve The Daily, but I hope it will improve
the indigestion that grips me every time I read
a Daily editorial. I assure I shall not miss it.
-Marcus Laniado, '38.
P.S. You may print the above in Campus Opinion,

though I doubt very much as to whether you will
do so.
New Deal, Crooks, Newspapers
To the Editor:
The New Deal will come to Michigan when the
people of Michigan find a state organization they
can trust with the New Deal: Meanwhile the news-
papers of the state are marking time. Editorials on
governmental affairs and national issues are pre-
sented mostly from the standpoint of failures.
Warnings are phrased at length about the bad con-
dition of the country and against the officials 'en-
trusted with national affairs. Everything is wrong,
and they give their readers no encouraging facts.
To supplement editorials, some papers carry
serial articles, written by former high-lights in
politics. Such advertisements as Ambassador to
Italy or Secretary of State attract attention.
On its editorial page a Detroit newspaper has
printed a series of articles by Richard Washburn
Child. These articles begin mildly by giving advice
to President Roosevelt, in order to steer the Pres-
ident from his wrong course. Then follow threats
and warnings, and they end with a flood of con-
demnation.
These articles are directed at President Roosevelt
personally and are well paid for by the organized
opponents of the New Deal.

.q

,,

IA

.. _

I

1.!

40

I

I

Last Pre-Xmias
will be given thisweek-
end at the Michigan
Union. Why not plan to
drop in after the Opera
We're sure that you'll
enjoy both of them.
Dancing: 9 till 1 Friday;
and 9 till 12 on SaturdaV

Michigan Union P~aliroona

No.

A

40

I

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan