Weather
Cloudy today and tomorrow;
light snow showers today.
Sir A
aiti
Editorial
apan -Power
Or Starvation.
.
VOL. L. No. 111
Z-323
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 1940
PRICE FIVE (
Grand Jury's
Action Indicts
W. C. Wilcox
Iin Bribe Case
Judge Ferguson Arraigns
Five Others On Charge
Of 'Obstructing Justice'
Accused Officials
Plead Innocence
DETROIT, March 5.-(P)-A grand
jury probing charges that law en-
forcement officers conspired with
law-breakers widened its scope today
to bring Sheriff Thomas C. Wilcox
into court as a defendant.
Wilcox, two of his aides and three
ot4ier public officials were indicted
arid arraigned by Circuit Judge Ho-
mer Ferguson, sitting as a ope-man
grand jury and as magistrate, on
charges of obstructing justice by
accepting bribes to protect gamblers.
Pleas of innocent were entered and
examinations set for March 14.r
Indictments Nane 39
The indictments named 39 .other
persons, said by Chester P. O'Hara,
special prosecutor for the grand jury,
to be gamblers, racketeers and keepers
of disorderly houses, accused of con-
spiring to obstruct justice by pay-
ing protection money.
Named with Wilcox were Prosecutor
Duncan C. McCrea of Wayne County
,andhis chief investigator Harry Col-
burn, already indicted on charges of
conspiring to operate and protect a
baseball pool; Chief Deputy Sheriff
Bernard E. McGrath; Carl J. Staeb-
ler, head of the civil division of the
sheriff's office, and Alfred J. Garska,
president of suburban Grosse Pointe
Park.
Hearing On March 26
Ouster proceedings against McCrea
have been instituted by the State,
with a hearing set for March 26. To-
morrow McCrea, Colburn and others
face an. examination' on the baseball
pool charge.
Today's indictments deal with
alleged graft in Wayne County out-
side of Detroit. Among the non-offi-
cials arrested are Gustav Pines, De-
troit investment broker accused of
being "an agent and employe" of Wil-
cox in handling of graft moneys;,
Charles Moceri and James Mbceri,
former operators of Club Ackmur
northwest of Detroit; Sam (Smoky)
Solbmon of Hamtramck; Clarence det
Wallett of Ecorse; Benjamin D.
Landsburg of Dearborn, former Ink-
ster chief of police, and Victor Otto
of Grosse Pointe Park.
Slosson Sees Danger
In Far East Conflict
Geographic Considerations Important,
Particularly In Pacific Area
By HOWARD A. GOLDGMAN
The Far-Eastern conflict offers
at the present time the most likely
possibilities for involving the United
States in war, Prof. Preston W. Slos-
son of the history department de-
clared yesterday in an interview.
Geographic considerations are of
prime importance in this question,
he explained, and they are especially
pertinent inthe Pacific area. Japan
and the United States can "get at"
each other, he noted, with only an
expanse of water between them. Na-
val warfare in the Pacific is a real
danger, he added.
Numerous recent incidents and sit-
uations have strained the relations
between the two countries, he ob-
served, making the war possibilities
more acute. He cited friction over
Japanese immigration to our West
Coast, Japan's conquest of Manchu-
ria and North China, Tokyo's denun-
ciation of the four-power naval lim-
itations pact-leading to an open
naval armaments race, and various
hostile "incidents"-such as the
sinking of the Panay.
Japanese Look To Philippines
Looking toward the future, Pro-
fessor Slosson pointed to the rising
Japanese ambition to possess the
Phillippines or the. Dutch East In-
dies. Either eventually would greatly
alarm opinion here, he added.
The background of sympathy in
this country is the same for all three
theatres of war, Professor Slosson
commented, in that it opposes Nazis,
Soviets and Japanese-thus equal-
izing emotional factors involved.
Next to the Far-Eastern war, Pro-
fessor Slosson pointed to the West-
ern European conflict as the mostA
likely to involve the United States.
That's such a big affair, he explain-
ed, that there's no telling how far
it will spread.
Of course our new Neutrality Act
will help prevent "incidents" suth
as the one involving the City of Flint,
he observed, and the general feeling
here regarding the failure of our
. 1917 adventure will act as a damper
on a recurrence.
Russia Can't 'Get At' Us
The Far-Northern War is least
likely to involve this country, Pro-
fessor Slosson declared. Here again
he added, geographic considerations
figure prominently. Russia simply
cannot "get at" us, and vice versa,
he remarked, because so few Amer-
icans are in the Soviet Union. And
history has shown, he recalled, that
a nation will not resort to war oil;
of sympathy alone.
"I don't think war is imminent,"
Professor Slosson said, "but numer-
ous possibilities certainly exist. Of
course, the entirerpicture would be
changed if any two or all three of
the present wars should combine."
Famed Author
WVill {Lecture
AboutPoetry
William L. Phelps To Talk
Here Today; Sponsored
By City Alumnae Groups
William Lyon Phelps, a professor-
emeritus who prefers to be called
"Billy," will lecture on "Truth and
Poetry" at 3:30 p.m. today in the
Rackham Building, under the aus-
pices of the Ann Arbor Alumnae Club
and the Alumnae Council.
An important cog in the Yale
tradition, Professor Phelps is an
alumnus of 1887. He had to use his
arch-rival, Harvard, however, as a
springboard from which he entered
the Yale faculty, on which he has
served for many years.
During these years at Yale he has
met and become intimate with a host
of American men of letters, of whom
he knows innumerable anecdotes. In
his latest book, "Autobiography with
Letters," he tells of his experiences
among'the leaders of literature dur-
ing the last half century.
Famed for his genial humor, Pro-
fessor Phelps is the author of more
than a score of books, is a regular
contributor to many periodicals and
a frequent guest on radio programs.
His books include: "Beginning of
the English Romantic Movement,"
"Essays on Modern Novelists," "What
I Like in Poetry," and the "William
Lyon Phelps Yearbook."
Tickets for the lecture are on sale
at the League, the Unionand at local
bookstores or may be purchased from
members of the Ann Arbor Alumnae
Club.
Ypsi Girls Win Debate
For Isolation! Hmmm.
Flames Ruin
La Guardia
FieldHangar
'Accidental' Blaze Inflicts
Million Dollar Damage
On HugeNew Building
'New York Mayor
Watches Disaster
NEW YORK, March 5-0P)-A
million-dollar fire late today swept
an incompletediblock-long hangar
at LaGuardia Field, the city's new
$40,000,000 municipal airport.
The hangar, valued at $1,250,000,
was under lease to Transcontinental
and Western Air and was to have
been put in operation late this
month. It was the center one of a
bank of three.
Early tonight, while red-hot steel
slabs from the roof and sides of the
vast sprawling building still were
crashing heavily to earth in thin
showers of sparks it appeared that
the initial peril to the two adjoining
hangars, of similar size and cost, had
been averted.
La Guardia At Hand
Among other officials at hand was
Mayor LaGuardia, who led the long
campaign for the construction of the
great airport, which was built by
WPA labor and is near the New York
World's Fair grounds, at North
Beach, Queens.
While an official statement as to
the cause of the fire awaited inves-
tigation, William H. Peters, a WPA
laborer, said it had sprung up as a
"small blaze" in a paint locker. Po-
lice Inspector John LaGarenne said
it appeared accidental.
Flames Destroy Steelwork
No airplanes were inside.
The flames apparently leaped di-
rectly from the paint locker to the
wood scaffolding which ringed and
criss-crossed the great building. The
bulk of, the damage was caused not
in the destruction of this superstruc-
ture Itself, but by the twisting of
steel work resulting from the heat.
The blaze at its height-accom-
panied by boilingback smoke from
burning tar which obscured much of
the immediatedarea-leaped up 100
feet, showing dull-red at great dis-
tances through the late afternoon
murk.
Airplanes continued to operate.
TWA announced that its service
would not be interrupted.
Jobin Lecture
Is On Romain
French Masterpiece Will
Be Analyzed Friday
Presenting his analysis of "'Les
Hommes de Bonne Volonte': Portrait
Moral de La France," Prof. Antoine
Jobin of the romance languages de-
partment will lecture on the master-
piece of Jules Romain at 4:15 p.m.
tomorrow (instead of today as previ-
ously announced) in Room 103, Ro-
mance Languages Building.
In the work of this prolific, contem-
porary writer Professor Jobin will
cite the sociological, political and his-
torical background of his eighteen-
volume novel dealing with French
society from 1908 to 1919. From this
cross-section of modern French life
he plans to present the panorama as
well as the types of indivduals of
World War France. Jules Romain is
also noted as the playwright of the
famous "Knock."
Season tickets for this and the four
remaining lectures sponsored by Le
Le Cercle Francais may be obtained
from the secretary of the romance
languages department or at the door.
With a small additional charge hold-
ers of these tickets will be admitted
also to the annual French play to be
given by the club May 3.
A. S. Aiton Discusses
U. S. Foreign Policy
In discussing the possibilities of
close Pan-American relations at a
forum last night on, "South Amer-
ica," sponsored by the Michigan An-
ti-War Committee, Prof. Arthur S.
Aiton, of the history department,
emphasized the fact that there were
great cultural centers in South
America when Boston and Philadel-
phia were still, "mere country vil-
lages."
Polish Pianist
Gives Recital
HereTonight
Artur Rubinstein, eminent Polish
pianist, will make his second appear-
ance in Ann Arbor, will give his
first full recital here, and close the
Choral Union's winter series tonight
in Hill Auditorium.
The recital will begin at 8:30 p.m.
Although a sell-out house is assured,
single tickets may still be obtained
at the School of Music office and at
the Auditorium box-office.
Mr. Rubinstein was first heard
here at the 138 May Festival, and so
enthusiastic was the acclaim fot his
rendition of Tschaikovsky's Piano
Concerto that a re-engagement was
inevitable. The piano virtuoso has
not made a tour in this country since
1938.
Mr. Rubinstein's program:
Toccata in C-major .. Bach-Busoni
Prelude, Chorale & Fugue .. Franck
Petrouchka ............ Stravinsky
Prelude in A minor;
Ondine...............Debussy
Scherzo in C-sharp; Ber-
ceuse; Two Mazurkas;
Polonaise in A-flat...... Chopin
Latest Technic
Offers Article
On Patent Law
Lighting Deficiency AgainI
Gets Editorial Stress,
CampaignIs Continued
Descriptions of frequency modula-
tion radio systems and patent laws
head the list of features presenteda
by the March issue of the Michigan;
Technic which goes on sale toda.s
Emphasized again in the editorial
section of the engineer's magazine
will be the deficiency of illumination
in University study halls and libra-]
ries, following last month's editorial
analysis of lighting conditions by J.
Anderson Ashburn, editor-in-chief.1
Patent laws will be summarized1
and analyzed by Charles H. Bear-t
sley, '26, a patent attorney, from thet
viewpoint of the practicing engineer.t
Written with a minimum of legal1
phraseology, the article outlines the
legal procedure of obtaining a pat-1
ent, who is entitled to a patent, andI
what can, in general, be patented.
Termed radio's greatest advance]
in several decades, the frequency
modulation system of broadcastingj
described by Charles Tieman, '40,
constitutes a radical change in thel
basic principles of radio theory and
has attracted the attention of radio
technicians because of its high-fidel-
ity reproduction of music.
Class Dues Compulsory
For All Junior Woment
Barbara Fischer, chairman of theI
finance committee for JGP, an-
nounced yesterday that class dues are
compulsory for all junior women,
whether or not they are participating1
in the play, and they must be paidt
by 5 p.m. Saturday.
Miss Fischer will be in the Under-
graduate Office of the League to re-j
ceive them from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to-
day, Friday, and Saturday.E
Five Italian Ships
Seized By Britain
In Coal Bloekad
To Speak Here
German Club
Hears Kraus
Dean Of Literary College,
Djscusses Minerals
Dean Edward H. Kraus delivered
an illustrated lecture on "Die Sch-
muckstein Schleiffer von Tdar-
Oberstein" before the Deutscher Ver-
ein meeting last night at the Union.
This talk, the third in a series
dealt with the gem cutting and
polishing industry in a region in
western Germany near the present
fighting zone. Dean Kraus, an au-
thority on minerals, showed slides
taken from the photographs he took
when he visited this area. He anal-
ysed the processes and pointed out
the contrast between the old and
new methods used.
He also brought a valuable colLec-
tion of agate stones to the meeting
and discussed their origin.
French Club alls
Tryouts For Play
Tryouts for the annual French play
produced by Le Cercle Francais will
continue through today from 3 to
5 p.m. in Room 408, Romance Lan-
guages Building.
All students who have dramatic tal-
ents and a pronunciation of French,
whether they have received their
training at the University or not, are
invited to tryout. If it is inconveni-
ent at the assigned time, arrange-
ments may be made by contacting
Prof. Rene Talamon, Prof. Charles
E. Koella or Mr. James C. O'Neill who
are conducting the tryouts. The tra-
ditional play will be given May 3.
"
l
4
771
J
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W
t
Rabbi S. S. Wise
Will Give Speech
In Rackham Hall
Presenting the Jewish viewpoint on
"The Existence and Nature of Reli-
gion," Rabbi Stephen S. Wise of the
Free Synagogue, New York, will de-
liver the concluding lecture in this
year's Student Religious Association
series at 8 p.m. Saturday in the
Rackham Lecture Hall..
Known throughout the world for
his religious, social and educational
activities, Dr. Wise follows in the
series spokesmen for atheism, Cathol-
icism and Protestantism.
Dr. Wise was one of the founders
of the Zionist movement and was,
himself, founder of the Zionist Or-
ganization of America. He has been
president of the group, and is now
vice-president.
Chairman of the United Palestine
Appeal, he is also president of the
American Jewish Congress. He was
a representative of the Zionist move-
ment at the Versailles Conference.
MAJ. GEORGE ELIOT
Major Eliot
Will Discuss
U. S. Defense
Military Expert To Give
Special Talk Tomorrow
In Oratorical Lecture
Major George Fielding Eliot, inter-
preter of the military scene, will ar-
rive in Ann Arbor tomorrow for a
special University Oratorical Asso-
ciation lecture.
Major Eliot's lecture, to be deliv-
ered at 8:15 p.m. tomorrow in Hill
Auditorium, is to deal with prob-
lems of U.S. national defense, "The
War and Us."
Single admissions for his talk will
be on sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
today, and from 10 a.m. to 8:15 p.m.
tomorrow in Hill Auditorium box-
office. Patrons will be. admitted with
tickets printed for the cancelled
Masaryk lecture.
Major Eliot will be introduced by
Dean Alfred Lovell of the College of
Engineering.
Born in the United States, Major
Eliot was reared in Australia and
served with the Austrialian Imperial
Force during the World War. Later
he joined the U.S. Army's Military
Intelligence Reserve.
Architects Take
First In Contest
A team from the College of Archi-
tecture and Design has been awarded
first mention in a contest sponsored
by the American Academy in Rome.
The members of the winning team
are John Kelly, '40A, architect,
James Neilson, '41A, painter, and
Barbara Bolton, '40A, sculptor. The
team was aided by a faculty group
consisting of Professor Roger Bailey,
who assisted Kelly, Professor Jean
P. Slusser, who helped with the
painting, and IHoward Whalen, who
advised Miss Bolton.
Soviets Move To Encircle
Viipuri; Finns Harass
Troops On Frozen Bay
Britain Announces i
Large War Loa
(By The Associated Press)
Great Britain answered Italy's pro
test against the British blockade o:
German coal by seizing five Italia
ships yesterday and simultaneously
accelerated the already-swift pace o:
her economic war on Germany.
At least two of the Italian vessel:
were known to be carrying Gernai
coal destined for Italy but Londor
sources merely said all five were be.
ing detained on suspicion they migh
be carrying coal.
In Finland, the Finns bombed and
machine-gunned Red Army soldier
attempting to crawl over the froze
Gulf of Finland in a move to encircle
beeaguered Viipuri, ancient Finnc;
port.
Soviet Troops Down
Unofficial sources said large num-
bers of Soviet troops drowned and
several tanks sank when Ice cracked
under the Finnish blows.
Fighting for Viipurl still is in pro.
gress. The Finns said Russian troope
had not entered the city proper but
that the battle had reached the city's
outskirts.
Britain's detention of the five Itall.
an ships was received silently in
Rome, although the governmen
voiced its sharp protest on Monday,
No reply had been received from tha
London foreign office.
On other fronts, the British Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Si-
mon, announced a £300,000,000 (about
$1,200,000,000) war loan, subscriptions
to be limited to £10 and £1,000 ($40
and $4,000) per person, and the board
of trade' president, Sir Andrew Raw'
Duncan, disclosed that Britain short-
ly would seek to develop more,fuly
her markets in the United States and
South America.
German Raiders (t ptred
On the Western Front, the first
communique issued by the British Ex-
peditionary Force since it arrived on
an active sector reported that Ger-
man raiders captured British prison-
ers yesterday when they seized a Bri-
tish outpost.
"The post was captured and the
enemy retired, leaving one dead," the
communique said. "Two British
soldiers were killed and one wound-
ed."t
Difficulty for Britain in long-
trotlbled Palestine "ontinued.De-
tails of large-scale disturbances last
week, in which British cavalry report-
edly charged Jewish demonstrators at
Tel Aviv and scores of Jews and Bri-
tish police were injured, were dis-
closed by an informed source.
Governor Declares
R eligious Reliefs
In Magazine Here
A statement of religious beliefs b
Gov. Luren D. Dickinson headlines
the new issue of the Religious Forum,
magazine of the Student Religiou
Association, just published,
The state's aged chief executive,
who has recently hinted that he
might seek a second term, writes,
"From childhood I have looked upon
a person professing religion as one
who has had his life changed throug.
belief in the Bible and interpreted b)
the teachings of Jesus Christ."
Religion, Governor Dickinson holds
"eliminates questionable social de-
sires, prevents dishonesty in business
and trickery in politics and encour.
ages due consideration for rights."
Dues Are Collected
In Three School
Senior class dues will be collected
this week in three schools.
Seniors in the School of Music
are asked to pay their dues at the
tower or Music school tomorrow and
Friday. Collections will be made al
both places 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. to-
morrow and 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday,
School of Education senior dues
Ypsi girls proved their worth last
night when the audience voted the
Wodesa Club debate team from the
Michigan State Normal a unanimous
decision in their contest with a fresh-
man squad from Sigma Rho Tau, en-
gineering speech society, on the isola-
tion question.
Opera Cast Revealed; Eastern
Professional Designs Costumes
i .. ri. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ i iii rr w
Nc
Cast for "Abduction from the Har-
em," Mozart, opera which opens a
three-day run tomorrow at the Lydia
Mendelssohn Theatre, was announced
yesterday by Prof. Valentine B.
Windt, director of the production.
Warren Foster, Grad., as Belmont,
plays opposite Carolyn I. Rayburn,
'40, as Constance; John Schwarzwai-
der, '40, has the part of Osmin, the
villain; Robert Reeves, Grad., is cast
as Pedrillo, and Burnette Staebler,
Grad., as Blonda; Arthur Klein,
Grad., plays the Bashaw Selim; Alex-
ander G. Miller, '40SM, as the Black
Mute, completes the list of principal
characters.
The complete cast of about 35 in-
cludes a ballet of 12, under the direc-
tion of Ruth Bloomer of the physi-
cal education department.
"Abduction from the Harem" con-
cerns a young lady who has been
captured and placed in a Turkish
Selim's harem, and a hero who fol-
lows and tries to rescue her. (P.S.
The onera does have a hanny end-
"Abduction from the Harem" is the
first she has done in 18th Century
Turkish style. Some historical re-
search has been done on this type of
costume, she remarked, but much of
the costuming has been imaginatively
created. The opera itself, she ex-
plained, is purely fantastic. Conven-
tional 18th century European cos-
tumes have been injected into the
opera, she added, in order to accentu-
ate the Oriental-Occidental contrast.
Miss Cohen called special atten-
tion to the huge hoopskirts utilized
in the play. They're doubtless the
largest ever seen on the Lydia Men-
delssohn stage, she observed.
The opera also calls for very elabor-
ate wigs, Miss Cohen explained. The
leading lady's wig, for example, she
said, measures two and one-half feet
in height.
The Selim's turban deserves special
mention, she remarked. It's about
two feet in diameter, she laughed,
and when you drape that thing over
the six-foot, two-inch frame of Arthur
Pre
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'W Dormitories Win Official.
A royal In President's Report
sident Ruthven's administrative port, covering the 1938-1939 school
rs joined with him yesterday in year:
ort of approval for the new Uni- From Vice-President Shirley W.
y dormitories. Smith: "It is to be regretted that fi-
e Dean of Students, the Director nancial conditions have forced the
esidence Halls, and Vice-Presi- abandonment for the time being of
Shirley W. Smith made similar the old-age retirement plan discussed
ts, declaring that the new resi- hopefully in previous reports."
halls are providing new stu- From Dr. James D. Bruce, of the
with "comfortable living quar- University Hospital: "Beginning pro-
and furnishing them with ample grams in post-graduate medicine have
rtunity to enrich their personali- grown from 42 registrations in the
and to receive training in the first year to 2,392 registrations in all
ess of living." courses given in 1938-1939."
sident Ruthven's , report for From Lewis M. Gram, director of
40 was released here officially the National Youth Administration:
rday. An extract of his personal "NYA projects at the University last
age was made public several days year expended $115,031.47, of which
The complete report, including the University contributed 3.1 for
aries of activities from every administration."
3rsity department ,is contained From Dean of Students Joseph E.
420 page volume. ' Bursley: "During the past year the
educational planning commis- demand for student loans was the
to coordinate activities of the largest in the history of the funds."
us schools and colleges was sug- From Edward H. Kraus, dean of the
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