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