THE MICHIGAN DAILY m -____________________ Regulate Or To Break? Monopoly Poses This Dilemma To Government TODAY . WASHINGTON -by David Lawrence- .... 1 w + ,.. ._.. I You of M By Sec Terry DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN Publication in the Bulletin is constructive notice to all members of the University. Copy received at the office of the Assistant to the President until 3:30: 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. By ELLIOTT MARANISS T HE NEWS from Washington that the Department of Justice is on the trust-busting war-path again serves to bring into bold relief one of the most pertinent questions of our present national order. Although the entire subject of competition, monopoly and public 'regulation of business has become hopelessly, involved in large and meaningless words it is essential that intelligent Americans penetrate critically into this maze of platitudes and emo- tuons and help create a constructive policy of pro- cedure. Recent governmental complaints against the motion-picture companies, the aluminum trust and certain phases of the automobile industry are naturally alarming to all members of the middle-class, to all the small independent pro- ducers and retailers, to job-holders who still cherish the idea of having a little capital and "going into business for themselves" and to all Americans who see a fundamental incongruity between political democracy and financial con- centration. But do anti-trust suits against tle monopolies actually provide an answer to con- centration? Will the loud words of Mr. Arnold and Mr. Ickes actually halt the trend toward monopolization, or force the cartels and trade associations to dissolve? To understand the present revival of the trust-busting crusade initiated by Thurman Ar- nold some historical background is necessary. The American tradition of resistance against monopoly is a long and persistent one. It repre- sents the effort of the small business men and farmers, left behind in the struggle for the con- trol of the means of production, to retain for themselves some of the power it had in a more primitive society. 'Curse Of Bigness' As early as the eighteen-seventies Americans understood the full import of our economy of the tendency toward monopolization. So long as free land existed, however, the Americanheconomy was not a closed, complete system which might be expected to exhibit the social consequences of vesting a monopoly of the means of production in the hands' of one group. Consequently the resistance against monopoly could be only spas- modic and directed against the "bad trusts." In the halcyon days of progressive sentiment prior to the World War the spirit of reform surged through the land, and the ,battle against the m nopolies took on all the neo-romantic color- ings of the times. Theodore Roosevelt shook a big stick and gently asked the boys in Wall Street to mend their ways; Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats, the party of the Western farmers, Southern planters and the great league of con- sumers in the cities, inveighed agains thtrusts as a matter of course; Louis Brandeis denounced the "curse of bigness," and they all sighed long- ingly for the old and happy days of free and un- trammeled competition. But note this important qualification which gives meaning and importance to the earlier crusade: even though the free land had disap- peared, America was still a country of small comnmodity producers, notably farmers, right up to the thirties of this century. Work for wages didl not become the inescapable way of lift for the preponderant part of the population until very recently. The anti-monopolists and the trust-busters of the New Nationalism and the blew Freedom were not indulging in mere rhetor- ic, then, in their attacks and fulminations against the big, bad trusts. The memory of the great westward treks was still vivid in their minds, and ' E MICHIGAN DAILY the psychology of a small commodity producing nation was still the psychology of the nation as a whole. In America today a substantial amount of small commodity production persists, of course, but this fact attains significance only when it is realized, as President Hoover's committee on Recent Social Trends proved indisputably in 1932, that the number of these independents is declining sharply each year. To write and talk today as if small commodity production is the dominating force in our economy, to yearn in this age of large-scale production for a return to our simpler national past and the enforcement of an illusory free and unlimited competition, is naive. It follows quite logically then, that if trust-bust- ing could not work in the early years of the cen- tury another revival of the old riddle of 1912, a dusting off of the time-honored cliches and slogans with as much solemnity'as if nothing had happened in the past guarter of a century is also meaningless and foredoomed to failure. Policy Contradictory Examined in this light the monopoly policies emanating from Washington today seem to be not only contradictory, but also a complete re- jection of the principles of atomistic competition so essential for the operation of the classical price theory. And at first glance the charge of inconsistency appears to be a valid one. It is but four short years ago that the President lectured to the nation upon the necessity of raising prices, limiting production and generally regulat- ing trade; in writing these provisions into the NRA all the anti-monopoly provisions of the Sherman and Clayton Acts were suspended. Now the President appears as the protagonist of the anti-trust laws, the champion of low prices, the messiah who will lead the nation back to the never-never land of smallness and the open market. The contradiction however, is only a surface one. In our economy there are only three pos- sible lines of policy that government may adopt towardmonopoly; laissez-faire, trust-busting and regulation. Each represents a distinct line of procedure. But this fact mutt be remembered: the economic philosophy behind each of them is the same. The laissez-faire of Francois Quesnay and Adam Smith was a protest against monopoly and regulation, and the protest was directed against those two forces because they interfered with the "obvious and simple system of natural liberty," the system of free competition. Today we have the apparently anomalous spectacle of government being called upon, not to take hands off so that we may have competition, but to inter- fere in the interest of enforcing competition. There has been no change in philosophy, then, not even in the various periods of the New Deal, but a change in the circumstances under which the philosophy is applied. The object of trust- busting is the same as that of laissez-faire-the re-establishment of competitive conditions. Reg- ulations too, essentially constitutes the same thing, the objective of regulation being to main- tain such prices as would obtain under competi- tive conditions, to allow a "fair return" on "fair value." The only "inconsistency" in the New Deal approach is simply that it has tried both methods. Both, of course, have failed, but it is profoundly foolish to look for the explanation of that failure in the particular methods employed. The reason for the prevalence of large-scale monopoly en- terprise today is precisely the same as the reason for the prevalence of small-scale, competitive enterprise yesterday-the state of the industrial arts. Attempts to revive competitive conditions, therefore, are as fruitless as attempts to revive handicraft industry, and the reason that the twin Roosevelt policies of trust-busting and regulation have both failed is because they comprise a cul- tural anachronism. The entire problem is an enormous one but there is no use blinking our eyes to the true im- portance of its scope and the necessity of its being realistically met and solved. In this respect it is necessary, as Thortstein Veblen indicated, not to misconceive the true nature of government. Government is not a third party, something aloof from and independent of the social order in which it exists. Government in a community dominated by business enterprise is necessarily a business government, and battles between the two are only sham battles. Furthermore, the old question of competition against combination, as Berle and Means first maintained, has long since been swallowed up in the advance of the times. It has become nothing less than the whole problem of price policy, wage policy and produc- tion policy throughout the economy as a whole and the proper inter-relation of these policies. The Eitor Gts Told..,+ Maybe Farley Will Hit A Low ... My Dear Mr. Farley: It will be difficult for me to account for my failure to put Michigan in the Democratic column in the-recent election. I realize fully the embar- rassment which our beloved President has suf- fered as a result of my incompetence. In such a case I see no other course open to me but to tender my resignation. In my place I suggest that you appoint a State Chairman who has the supernatural ability to make it snow on election day every year. And when I say snow. I mean five feet of it, no WASHINGTON, Nov. 11-Twenty years have passed since the guns stopped firing on the Wes- tern Front, but the world has not become peace- ful. Instead, the two decades have witnessed civil wars and revolution, as well as exploitation of weaker states by larger powers. The phrase by which Woodrow Wilson epitomized the purposes of the European conflict of 1914-1918, namely, "a war to make the world safe' for democracy," has been scoffed at as futile, but the larger ob- jective has by no means disappeared as a chal- lenge to the democracies still remaining. To conquer an army or a government was thought twenty years ago a means of making peace, but it turns out that peoples are not con- quered and that an unjust peace or the imposi- tion of unbearable burdens of an economic char- acter operates .merely to sow the seeds of new wars and more bloodshed. Today Germany, the defeated nation of twenty years ago, has another government much more menacing to world peace than Kaiserism was in 1914. For the world-wide propaganda of Naz- ism has sunk its fangs in democratic countries, raising issues which have eaten like a cancer into the cultural as well as economic life of the other nations of the world. Our Peace Making Ineffective , The art of making peace in the manner of the Versailles Treaty has been proved to be without enduring quality. The nationalistic spirit which rose in France under Poincare and blinded the allies to the plight of the struggling German re- public was little understood in the post-war years, but today the mistakes of those times stand out clearly as a frustration of much of what was attempted by the soldiers who fought the battles of their governments. Looking back twenty years to the uncertain economic conditions which faced the returning armies, one sees in the insecurity of the present world situation some of the same worries which faced the generation of 1918. The principal cause of disturbance is again economic. This time, the unbalanced trade situation everywhere, the fight for self-sufficiency, the intensification of Nazi and Fascist restrictions on the one hand, and Communistic totalitarianism on the other, pre- sent threats which are on every side a source of uneasiness. Under such circumstances and in such times, it is natural that talk of war should be heard again. Likewise, it is inevitable that large arma- ment programs should be planned by our govern- ment. America's defense line now includes the North and South American continents. Against whom is this armament directed? There is no longer any doubt or secret about it. The alliance of Germany, Japan and Italy has become so pronounced that the trade war has been carried into Central and South America, and where there are trade wars the possibilities always prevail that other conflicts may ensue. But big armament, while preparing nations against sudden attack and enabling our govern- ment to use the language of force when talking to governments which themselves understand only that language, cannot be any more effec- tice in preserving peace than military defeat was devised to preserve peace and save democracy, and that is recognized now here as elsewhere in the world in the words "moral rearmament." Abroad, especially in England, a larger and larger group of prominent statesmen is beginning to see that a more responsible individualism must be built up and that justice to the other fellow must 'supplant violent hatred among classes and the cancers of resentment bred by selfishness and greed. New Spirit In World's Thinking When, as in Britain recently, men like Lord Baldwin, the former Prime Minister, speak pub- licly of the need of changing the lives bf individ- uals so that they regain for themselves and their families and their neighbors the spiritual values lost in an epoch of materialism, something really vital has come into the thinking of the world. As sentiments of this kind begin to be expressed concretely by public men, as the faith that men and women everywhere have in the power and wisdom of divine providence is renewed and re- vitalized by a willingness to look objectively at the complaints and injustices felt by other per- sons and other nations, something more durable may be built between peoples. Leadership in the crusade for better human relations in the world is more necessary today than it was when that misunderstood phrase of "a war to save democ- racy" was first uttered. Armistice Day has become a day of honor to deeds of 'the past, but, in the face of an uncertain future which threatens the peace of the whole world, it may become the great peace day of coming years, when nations everywhere will bow in silent prayer that they may find new ways and means to remove friction between govern- ments, and between peoples and, especially, be- tween classes within the democratic countries themselves.I Bangkok, Siam, when the next wave of sit-down strikes breaks out in Flint, Michigan. I suggest also that, in your capacity of Roast- master-Generai, you decree it illegal for any newspaper or chain of newspapers in the State to "roast" a Democratic gubernatorial candidate. This would at the same time nip in the bud that new anti-administration movement which has taken for its slogan: Roast well to beat Roosevelt in 1940. Yours sincerely, S. M. Low, '39 P.S. I don't. think any of us could sincerely believe thai we were living in a Democracy it' one party could win a Iih (-!cI" ion, ( x11 or he time. DEAR, SEC TERRY: The enclosed verses by Anon were received by Prof. Heber Curtis during the recent meeting on the campus of a national astronomical society. It should please the shade of Jane Taylor to see in your column that her brain-child has escaped from kindergarten and gone to college. Yours. his An X ON mark SCINTILLA PARVULA By Anon Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Lig'ht may tell us what you are, What makes your electrons go, In short, why you twinkle so. We poor travellers in the dark Seek to analyze your spark And conclude that you must be Full of radiant energy. Till our local star is cold Wershall pile up theories bold, Sturdy facts and, mixed with these, Nebulous hypotheses. Is light straight or does it bend? Has this ray another end? Has the moon an atmosphere? When is now and where is here? Our imagination runs Racing galaxies of suns And may end where it began: In the psalmist's "What is man?" Maybe in the future far Man himself will be a star Shining by internal light Guiding pilgrims through the night. , Y * ELMER Rice's "Counsellor-at-Law" went on the boards in Lydia Mendelssohn Thursday night, and with apologies to confrere Norman Kiell, we should like to report that it was amateur drama at its best. A blonde chatterbox yclept Miriam Brous found the role of a telephone operator meat-and-drink to her par- ticular talent. In a Play Production last year, we recall the young lady in a part which was distinctly displeas- ing, but she makes ample amends as Bessie, the switchboard susie. How- ever, the laurel wreath must go to Edward Jurist for his mature char- acterization of George Simon, thel ambitious East Side punk who became1 a big-time mouthpiece. This Jurist is a smooth thespian, who "felt"'his role. The best tribute to his acting, we believe, was the sustained audience silence which accompanied his lone presences several times during the play. Bridging those chasms grace-' fully requires a polish with which1 Jurist beamed. Most of the other actors skulked in1 the penumbra of Jurist's glittering performance, with one notable excep- tion-Arthur Klein, whose bombastic burst in Simon's office, when, as a communist victim of bluecoated ex- uberance, he voiced the complaint of his ilk, was superb. It was moving theater, and deserves an encomium. Mary Jordan as Regina Gordon, Sim- on's secretary, and Justine Silverblatt, as the young radical's -mother, were also excellently cast. * * * IN THE PUBLIC PRINTS: The Daily yesterday reported that Leo J. Wilkowski succeeded his brother An- thony J. Wilkowski, who spent his time in the Senate in the state prison of Southern Michigan for election re- count fraud (where is there a safer retreat from the constituency?) Dr. Hal F. Smith, of Indianapolis, as reported by INS: "The 'jitterbug' craze may go along with the other tempestuous outbursts of youth, but in its wake will follow millions of broken down feet as witness that the favorite song of rug cutters, "Flat- foot Floogie," was aptly, if ironically named." (Better than marching, eh Hans?) . . . One of the most macabre1 assignments of the season was re- ceived by a Chicago correspondent in Prague. His paper cabled him, on the day German bombers were expected to lay waste to Prague, to send a 500- word obituary of himself . . . Ken Magazine, the Paragon of anti-isms, forecasts that Neville Chamberlain will be succeeded by Sir Samuel Hoare within eight months . . * *4 4 SATURDAY, NOV. 12, 1938 VOL. XLIX. No. 42 Notices Smoking in University Buildiigs: Attention is called to the general rule that smoking is prohibited in Uni- versity buildings except in private of- fices and assigned smoking rooms where precautions can be taken and control exercised. This is neither a mnere arbitrary regulation nor an at- 6empt to meddle with anyone's per- sonal habits. It is established and enforced solely with the purpose of preventing fires. In the last five years, 15 of the total of 50 fires reported, or 30 per cent, were caused by cigarettes or lighted matches. To be effective, the rule must necessarily apply to bringing , lighted tobacco into or through University buildings and to the lighting of cigars, cigarettes, and pipes within buildings-including such lighting just previous to going outdoors. Within the last few years a serious fire was startedatthe exit from the Pharmacology building by the throwing of a still lighted match into refuse waiting removal at the doorway. If the rule is to be enforced at all its enforcement must begin at{ the building entrance. Further, it[ is impossible that the rule should be enforced with one class of persons if another class of persons disregards it. It is a disagreeable and thankless task to "enforce" almost any rule. This rule against the use of tobacco within buildings is perhaps the most thankless and difficult of all, unless it has the winning support of every- one concerned. An appeal is made to all persons using the University build- ings-staff members, students and others--to contribute individual co- operation to this effort to protect University buildings against fires. This statement is inserted at the request of the Conference of Deans. Shirley W. Smith. Women Students Attending the Ohio State game: Women students wishing to attend the Ohio State- Michigan football game are required to register in the Office of the Dean of Women. A letter of permission from parents must be in this office not later than Wednesday, Nov. 16. If the student does not go by train, spe- cial permission for another mode of travel must be included in the par- ent's letter. Graduate women are invited to register in this office. Guide Service from the Union from 9:30 until 12:00 Saturday morning to University buildings on the cam- pus. Visitors are invited to avail themselves of this service. Bowling: The Board of the Women's Athletic Association has created a' new sports manager's position--that of Bowling Manager. This girl will have charge of rthebowling tourna- ments, and will become a member of the W.A.A. Board. Any undergrad- uate interested should fill out a pe- sing, Director of the Public Library Administration of Denmark, will give a lecture on "Folk High Schools in Denmark" on Thursday, Nov. 17, at ,:5p.m. in the Natural Science Audi- torium under the auspicesof the GenerLibrary and thehDepartment of LibrarySciences. The public is cordially invited. University Lecture: Henri Seyrig, Director of the Department of An- tiquities in Syria, will give an il- lustrated lecture on "The Meeting of Greek and Iranian in the Civilization Iof Palmyra" at 4:15 p.m. on Wednes- day, Nov. 30, in the Rackham Amphi- theatre under the auspices of the Mu- seum of Classical Archaeology. The public is cordially invited. Coming Events German Table for Faculty Mem- bers: The regular luncheon meeting will be held Monday at 12:10 p.m. [n the Founders' Room of the Michi- gan Union. All faculty members in- terested in speaking German are cor- dially invited. There will be a brief informal talk -by Dean Edward H. Kraus on "Die Schmucksteinschleifer : von Idar-Oberstein," illustrated with lantern slides. Freshman Roundtable: Dean Alice Lloyd will discuss "The Potential Criminal-Whose Fault?" at Lane Hall, Sunday, 4 p.m. The Research Club will meet . on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 8 p.m., in the Amphitheatre of the Rackham Bldg. Program: Prof. Henry A. Sanders will speak on "A Latin Marriage Con- tract"; Prof. Ralph A. SawyerCwill speak on "The Spectograph in the Iron and Steel Industries." The Council will meet at 7:15 p.m. in the Assembly Hall. The Women's Research Club will meet Monday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Amphitheatre of the Rackham Building. Dr. Elzeda Clover and Miss Lois Jotter will speak on, the subject: "Nevills' Colorado River Expedition of 1938." Biological Chemistry Seminar, Mon- day, Nov. 14, 7-9 p.m., Room 319 West Medical Bldg. "The Detoxication of Benzoic Acid. Hippuric Acid Synthesis as :a' Test of Hepatic Function and in Mental Dis- ease" will be discussed. All interest- ed are invited. Physics Colloquium: Prof. L. '. Brockway of the Chemistry Depart- ment will speak on "Electron Diffrac- tion by Gas Molecules" at the Physics Colloquium on Monday, Nov. 14 at 4:15 p.m. in Room 1041 E. Physics Bldg. l Inter-Guild Rally: Howard Thur- man of Howard University, Wash- ington, D.C., will speak on ,"Peace?" at the Congregational Church, State tition, which may be obtained at thei and Williams, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. desk at the W.A.B., by Wednesday, International Relations Club: Meet- Nov. 16. ing at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, in the -- -- Henderson Room of the League. A cademic Notices . I 1141 .is ; AN , ! h. Economics 71: Exam Monday, Nov. 14. Bring 81/2x11 bluebook with 24 accounts ruled on a double page. A-E, N.S. Aud. F-L, 348 Eng. M-R, 25 A.H. S-Z, 1025 A.H. Graduate Students: Applications for degrees. Any graduate student who is reasonably certain of com- pleting degree requirements by the end of the first semester, should file a formal application for the degree in the office of the Graduate School. Dean. Women Debaters: First tryouts for Varsity debaters will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in Room 3209 Angell Hall. Speeches should be five- minute arguments on some phase of the question, "Resolved That the ec- onomic principles of the totalitarian state are desirable." Graduate Student Council: There will be a meeting of the Council at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 14, in the' west lounge on the second floor of the Rackham building. Both the new- ly elected members and those who I are retiring from office are requested to be present. *I 7I Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Published every morning except Monday during the University year and Summer Session. Member of the Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this newspaper. All riglhts of republicationdof all other matters herein also reserved... Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as seconid class mail matter. Subs'zription5 aduring regular school year by carrier, $4.00; by mail, $4.50. REPrESENTED FOR NATIONAL ADVSRTI14N HiY National Advertising Service, Inc. College Publishers Representative 420 MADISON AVE. NEW YORk, 14. Y. CHICAGO .BOSTON Los ANGELEs - SAN FRANcIsco Member, Associated Collegiate Press, 1938-39 Board of Editors A.S.M.E. Members: There will be a meeting of the Detroit Chapter of Carillon Recital. Percival Price, the A.S.M.E. on Tuesday, Nov. 15. guest carillonneur, will play a pro- 2 p.m., inspection of the Mistersky gram of spirituals, operatic selections,!Station of the Detroit Public Light- folk dances and Russian music, Sun- ing Commission. day afternoon, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m., on|' the Charles Baird Carillon. F .eult Cane* 'I t. MnhI I i. c1J R i1 a I t t Managing Editor Editorlal Director City Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor Book Editor . Women's Editor Sports Editor . Robert D. Mitchell. Albert P. May1o Horace W. Gilmore Robert 1. Fitzhenry S. R. Kleiman . Robert Perlman Earl Gilman William Elvin Joseph Freedman . Joseph Gies Dorothea Staebler Bud Benjamin racuu y oncert .la el noss nneaa, A -few days before Northwestern pianist, will appear in recital Sun- played Minnesota, some newspa- day afternoon, Nov. 13, at 4:15 p.m. perman asked Lynn Waldorf, the in Hill Auditorium. The general Wildcat coach, who he thought would public, with the exception of small win the game. "The team that wants children, is invited to attend, but is to win it most," was Waldorf's shrewd respectfully requested to be seated answer. Northwestern evidently want- on time, as the doors will be closed ed to win it most, then, for The Gold- during numbers. There is no ad- en Gopher toppled from its lofty mission charge. pedestal. Waldorf's remarks hold theI key to this afternoon's clash. In the Exhibitions word "desire" is wrapped the formula for countless success stories. Michigan The Ann Arbor Art Association pre- should have plenty of desire; a Big sents two exhibitions, water colors by Ten championship may hinge on the Jane Stanley, and Guatemalan tex- outcome. But as one of the Varsity tiles, in the galleries of Alumni Mem- coaches stated it, "Northwestern may orial Hall. Nov. 9 through 23, daily, have the attitude that someone has 2-5 p.m. got to pay for her loss to Wisconsin," in which case the Wildcat will to win Exhibition, College of Architecture: may surmount Michigan's. In the Drawings made by groups of students eleventh hour attitude, this Wildcat- in Architecture and Landscape Design Wolverine struggle will revolve. If at the University of Illinois, Ohio Michigan doesn't experience a psycho- State, Cincinnati, Michigan, Armour logical mishap, then . . Michigan 13, Institute, Iowa State College, in com- Northwestern 7 . . . 1eli ion for the Rv son Schoharshin 6 p.m., dinner meeting a't the 'Del- ray Plant of the Detroit Edison Co. Subject: Feedwater Treatment. Speaker: Mr. C. H. Fellow of the Detroit Edison Co. Sign up for transportation, at the Main M.E. Building bulletin board. The Christian Student Prayer Group will hold its regular meet- ing at 5 o'clock, Sunday afternoon, in the Michigan League. Please con- sult the bulletin board for the room. For an hour of quietness and devo- tion, you will enjoy the meeting of this group. Visitors are always wel- come. Monday Evening Dramatic Club: Women's Club, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Michigan Union. Van Zeeland Lecture: Tickets for this lecture are now available at Wahr's BookaStore. Patrons -are urged to secure tickets as early as possible. Cooperative Housing: Congress stu- lent we .Ifae committee meeting Tues- Jl:y, }ai5 7 .m. room 306 r x 5 li Ir r Business Department Business Manager Credit DManager A dvertising Manager. Women's Business Mamiagr women's service Managbr . Philip W. Buchen Leonard P. Siegelman William L .'Newnlan .c . Hlen Jean Dean ..Mar ian A. inaxter << ' I 15 0.. ..1f71cE~)'e I a l't I jy i ,, .,,fo I rj vcl II - I A *.~.. . :.. .: -- -- I?... I