THE MICHIGAN DAILY sUNDA

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

1

MAY FESTIVAL

Is The Health Service Inefficient?
The DailyInvestigates The Facts

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Editorial Staff
Carl Petersen Managing Edior
Elliott Maranis Editorial Directo
Stan M. Swinton City Editor
Morton L. Linder Associate Editor
Norman A. Schorr .. .. . Associate Edto
ienns Flanagan Associate Editor
John N. Canavan.. Associate Editor
Ann vicary Women's Editor
Mel Fineberg . . . Sports Editor
Business Staff
Business Manager . . . . Paul R. Park
Asst. Business Mgr., Credit Manager Ganson P. Taggart
Women's Business Manager w Zenovia Skoratko
Women's Advertising Manager Jane Mowes
Publications Manager . Harriet S. Levy
NIGHT EDITOR: ALVIN SARASOHN
The editorials published in The Michigan
Daily are written by members of The Daily
staff and represent the views of the writers
only.
Italy, Europe's
Horsetrader .. .
TALY'S DROP from ruler of the
world in 180 A.D. to "street-walker
of Europe" in 1915 was actually more of a cycle
than a steady decline. In 1915 Italy was on a
rebound that began in the middle of the 19th
. century. And since a nation's reconstruction is
often much slower than its destruction, there
should be little wonder that after 25 years Italy
has not progressed beyond the point of again
offering herself to the highest bidder.'
Recently Mussolini asserted that Italy had
no intention of entering the war on Germany's
side at present. He added that he "would regret"
any attempt to shove Italy into the war, and
dispatched the Rex to America as a bond for
his good intentions. But simultaneously the
Fascist newspapers continued gutteral mum-
blings about "marching when the right moment
comes."
WHY DOES Mussolini suddenly think a re-
affirmation of his neutrality necessary?
The answers are several. In the last two weeks
German and Italian military missions were
again exchanged. Subjected Albania received
an infiltration of 50,000 burly Italian "civilians."
Spring maneuvers of the Italian fleet in the
eastern Mediterranean began unusually early
this year. Demonstrations against the Allies
were reported in Italian cities, press attacks
against the democracies continued more strong-
ly, and a crisis was implied by the falling of
Italian stock exchanges. Count Ciano actually
declared that Italy could not stay out of the war
indefinitely, adding that "the bugles will soon
sound."
If these indications are as ominous as they
appear, Mussolini may have finally decided to
leap in for Hitler. But why? First, there is
Mussolini's intense loathing of Britain and
France. In the post-war peace of the last war
'the Allies double-crossed Italy by not paying
the promised price for her double-crossing of
Germany. This lack of integrity permanently
wounded the Italian sense of international
honor.
SECOND, a German victory would likely be
more fruitful to Italy than an Allied one.
Mussolini would have a better chance of ac-
quiring the coveted Mediterranean possessions
of France. He itches for a chunk of southeastern

France, eastern and northern Africa, all o&
Corsica, and an interest in the Suez Canal.
Hitler ,may let him have these-for a while.
And Mussolini realizes that his security as a
dictator is closely bound to Hitler.
Such advantages should be heavily counter-
balanced to cause Mussolini hesitation, and they
are: Italy is smaller in area (including adjacent
islands) than New Mexico, and has the most
vulnerable coastline of any major nation except
Japan. Her colonies are so scattered that pro-
tection of all is practically impossible. Although
she is nearly 90% agricultural, she cannot feed
herself; and raw materials such as cotton, wool,
coal, iron, copper and oil are almost entirely
imported.
An Italian alliance with the Allies seems in-
conceivable at present, but one must remember
that few foresaw the 1915 shift of alliance. Now,
as then, Italy vwill go to the highest bidder. If
the Allies reach a point where a little menace
can be used in getting rid of a big one, they
may see fit to offer Italy a tempting price.
Italy walks the streets of Europe once again.
This time. however, she bargains not only with

By JOHN SCHWARZWALDER
(Program notes for Friday Evening Concert)
A varied and unusual program is Friday
night's contribution to the progress of the May
Festival. It includes everything except musical
glasses and some of us would not be surprised
if those were added. Corelli's Suite for Strings,
Opus 5, presents three of the old dances in
polyphonic splendour. These are a Sarabande,
a Gigue, and the Badinerie. Corelli was one of
the most famous virtuosi of his age and was
influenced greatly by the new concepts of lyric
beauty prevalent in the early Renaissance. The
suite is graceful, ingratikting and charming.
Next follow two arias by the present day
queen of coloraturas, Miss Lily Pons. Miss Pons
plays always to sold out houses so it is prob-
ably no time for us to carp at her impeccable
vocal production or the musical and emotional
lacks of coloraturas as a breed. She sings an
aria from Il Seraglio and later one from Il Re
Pastore by Mozart and the better known Caro
Nome from Rigoletto and the Bell Song from
Lakme which Delibes wrote for the titillation
of unthinking minds. That Miss Pons is un-
questionably the best of coloraturas is no longer
open to doubt. Our only question is whether
such singing properly falls into the general
classification of music.
The. concert also brings forth the unique,
talents of one of the world's finest violinists,
Mr. Joseph Szigetti. Mr. Szigetti will play the
well known Poeme, Opus 25 of Chausson. Chaus-
son was one of the prize pupils of Cesar Franck
and the Poeme is among his best known works.
In addition to the technical difficulties the
audience comes to hear surmounted, the, work
has unusual musical values. The simplicity and
melancholy distinction of the composition evoke
a -mood all too rare in quasi-modern music. The

delicacy and restraint of approach are also un-
usual in music written for the virtuoso.
The great Fran k D minor Symphony closes
the program. If, like us, you would prefer to
hear this p rticular symphony to almost any
other now in orchestral repertoires no more
need be said. For iiose who are not fully
acquainted with it a few notes may be in order.
The symphony is built, as all great art must
be built, out of the certainyi that is in the
artist's mind that he has found a basic truth
or approach to truth. This was. in Franck's
case a deeply reliious attitude that found ex-
pression in the mot beautiful life any musician
ever was able to live. Upon this sureness Franck
built a symphonic structure that was revolu-
tionary in its technics and in its bold experi-
mentation.
The greatest experiment in this work is that
of the so-called "plastic theme," by which is
meant a series of inter-related themes capable
of a homogenous development. If you don't
follow that you will probably understand it
when you hear the symphony. It is all one
piece of goods, perfectly integrated and more
than that, it seems to grow as one listens to
it. Emotionally, the work exposits a serene
beauty and a peculiar sort of spirituality. We
envy those who will be privileged to hear it for
the first time, and we envy more those who,
hearing it again and again, are educated to a
higher appreciation., Skip Miss Pons if you
must but by all means hear the Philadelphia
Orchestra play Franck. The string section was
made for the symphony might have been com-
posed for it so subtly does it correct the fault
of that organization, an over-glib facility of
execution. This performance should be one of
perhaps three high spots of the Festival. Don't
miss it if you have to slug a doorman.

(Editor's Note: This is the second
of two articles in which The Daily
summarizes the result of a two-month
investigation in which it attempted
to determine' the authenticity of
charges against the Health Service.)
By RICHARD HARMEL
In investigating the charges against
the Health Service, The Daily was
confronted with the peculiar fact
that a few stories in particular were
the talebearer's stock - in - trade.
These stories were not worded in
vague generalities. These were the
stories which were accepted at all
times because they cited well-known
names, specific times and definite
places.
The most striking example of this
type incorporates the tendency noted
in yesterday's Daily to "pep up" a
story. This is the stale of a student
who came writhing into the Health
Service complaining of severe ab-
dominal pains in the region of his
appendix. After the boy had ex-
plained his symptoms, the doctor
probably ventured an opinion before
examining the area by saying "That
sounds like appendicitis." The boy
laughed and replied that his appen-
dix had been removed two years
before. His dispensary card, accord-:
ingly, reveals no diagnosis of appen-
dicitis.
But this patient who had joked
with the doctor only a few moments
before returned to his fraternity
house and startled the brothers with
a fanciful tale about the blundering
Health Service doctor who had diag-
nosed his ailment as appendicitis . .
That individual was striving for
an effect, little realizin that what
he thought would make a momen-
tary impression would turn into a
malicious story.
Chosen at random from the file
is a report that a recently graduated
BWOC achieved a dubious martyr-
dom because of the Health Service's
treatment of her impetigo of the
face.
THE STORY still circulating about
the campus--and these stories
hang on for years-tells of how this
very attractive girl sought aid at the
Health Service for a minor skin in-
fection on the face. The diagnosis
was impetigo with complications and
the story tells of how the girl had
to go to class and walk on campus
with her face marred by unsightly
silver nitrate paste.
After a few days of treatment, ac-
cording to the story, the original
diagnosis was considered incorrect
and the mortification which the girl

had to endure was deemed unneces- Most recent of the rumors malign-
sary after the new course of treat- Jing the Health Service is one that
mini-

Her Health Service dispensary
card tells a different story. The day'
on which the incorrect diagnosis
was supposedly given has an entry
showing an impetigo diagnosis. Sub-
sequent entries disclose that a nor-
mal course of treatment without the
use of the silver nitrate paste was
administered and the infection ran1
its course with no untoward develop-
ments.
Most specific of the cases The
Daily chooses to cite is one in which
The Daily has an important part. Aa
student unable to curb his resent-'
ment against the Health Service,
wrote a stinging letter of rebuke to
The Daily in which he said "we are'
given no attention whatsoever and'
are fed a very poor substitute for the
kind of food an invalid should get."
The bulk of this letter outlined
the case of his friend who had re-
ceived a head injury while wrestling.
This boy had gone to the Health
Service after the technicians had
gone home and had been examined
by a doctor who sent him to the
infirmary where he spent "a sleep-
less and painful night" before X-rays
were taken.
T HE LETTER continued by saying
that "this is just one instance
that I know of the many that have
happened. I know of others who
have suffered the same inefficient
treatment at the hands of this in-
competent institution."
Publication of the letter in the
Nov. 19, 1939 issue of The Daily was
the first indication the Health Ser-
vice had of the complaint. The,
enormity of the charge and its far
reaching implications forced Dr.
Warren E. Forsythe, director of the
Health Service, to call in the author
for an explanation.
The interview was fruitful in its
results. The student, even though
depreciating the food of the Health
Service, had never had a meal there.
His friend who had spent the "sleep-
less and painful night" had been
reported by the doctor in charge as
sleeping comfortably.
The upshot of the letter was a
public retraction in The Daily with
the student writing "I proceeded to
make some very rash statements
which were founded purely on imag-
ination. I neither inquired into the
situation nor did I do any research
work with which I could back up my
remarks." In other words, his letter
written in a moment of passion.was
completely unfounded.

had its birth less than a week ago.
A student had a tonsilectomy and
suffered hemorrhages afterwards.
The story says that while still weak
and miserable, he was ordered to
leave the infirmary by noon of the
second day following the operation.
The records agree essentially with
the story, but their interpretation
of the facts is different.
IN tonsil operations, according to
Dr. Forsythe, hemorrhages are
not an unusual occurence, but they
are eventualities which must be pre-
pared for. Accordingly, the Health
Service keeps all students having
such operations 24 hours after sur-
gery in order to better cope with
such hemorrhages if they do take
place.
The student in the story was kept
in the Health Service in accordance
with the accepted routine. After
the usual period, the operating doc-
tor, one of Dean Furstenberg's top
assistants in the opthalmology de-
partment. examined the patient,
discovered his condition to be com-
pletely satisfactory and not at all
unusual and told him he could be
discharged by noon of the following
day. The boy was discharged at 8
a.m. at his own request. If he had
wanted to stay, Dr. Forsythe said,
all he needed to do was ask because
there were beds available.
Case after case of similar stories
can be cited, but these few outlined-
the campus story and the official
record-should serve to indicate that
we should be chary about accepting
gossip taking the for n of a one-sided
rumor. Not only shoild we be guard-
ed in our gullibility to stories about
the Health Service, but we should
also be guarded in regard to the
continual stream of information to
which we are exposed.
But the results of this investiga-
tion are highly significant. No story
of which we have any record stood
up when compared to the official
records. We have no doubt than all
these stories had honest enough be-
ginnings, but cpnstant repetition has
found them becoming more and more
colored.
But we do know that every charge
has been refuted. The Daily is firm-
ly convinced as a result-and it
hopes that those "Doubting Thom-
ases" among you are too--that the
Health Service deserves its reputa-
tion as one of the finest and most
efficient of the student services of
its kind in the nation.

St. John's College Program Arouses
Controversy Among U.S. Educators

LITTLE St. John's College has quickly become
the center 6f an exciting educational con-
troversy. Its program, featured by the com-
prehensive study of one hundred great books,
has attracted both enthusiastic praise and
slightly derisive deprecation. One of its ar-
ticulate supporters has been Mr. Walter Lipp-
mann, who with perhaps excessive exuberance
called St. John's the potential "seed-bed of the
American Renaissance." Others, however, have
seen a possible reversion to the medieval trivium
and quadrivium in St. John's renewed emphasis
on the liberal arts. Still others lament the fact
that St. John's tends to divorce itself from the
mainstreams of American life.
With the recent publication of How To Read
a Book by Mortimer J. Adler, of the University
of Chicago, the challenge which St. John's
represents to American education has been co-
gently restated. The Adler-Hutchins-Barr group
are asking pertinent questions about the present
educational system and its effectiveness in cre-
ating an intelligent, critical democracy. These
questions deserve serious consideration and an
ultimate answer, for they strike at the very
base of educational practice.
Dr. Adler's ostensible purpose in writing How
To Read a Book was to present clearly and con-
cisely the rules for reading-not mere passive
reading, but reading conceived as a rigorously
intellectual discipline. Do not be deceived by
the beguiling title. This is not one of these
absurdly pretentious books purporting to offer
one magnificent cure-all for the problems of
modern life. Dr. Adler does not attempt to
rmagnify the basic importance of literacy, and
he does not minimize the difficulty of reading
according to his definition.
IJE EMPHASIZES reading for understanding,
which will require a painstaking analysis
of the book's structure, a careful interpretation
of its contents, and a rational criticism of the
book as a communication of knowledge. This
understanding can be achieved only by the most
thorough and intense intellectual operations.
For the present dearth of this degree of under-
standing, Dr. Adler blames the failure of the
schools to teach this type of reading. And yet
all normally intelligent persons can approximate
this desirable understanding. The formula: fol-
low conscientiously the rules which Dr. Adler'
promulgates, and apply them to the great books
of the Western tradition.
To Dr. Adler these so-called classics are mod-
els of exposition which offer the best possible
means of practice in this particular type of
reading (he is chiefly concerned with the non-
fiction classics, and these include the major
works of the nineteenth century.) Nor is this
their sole value. Persons, joining together in
thecriticalreading of the great books would
thereby gain a community of intellectual in-
terests centering about all the main issues of
our time, a kind of intellectual camaraderie all
too uncommon in modern America. This judg-
ment is based upon Dr. Adler's belief that the
great books are always contemporary, that they
are devoted to the "persistently unsolved prob-
lems of human life."
H1E PROVES this observation of contempor-
aneity rather neatly be describing a hypo-
thetic political discussion. A 'Nazi in the group
might quote Hitler's Mein Kampf. The conver-
sation, shifting to Fascism, might be inter-
spersed with references to Nietzche's The Will
to Power, Hegel's The Philosophy of Right, and
Kant's Philosophy of Law, which are frequently
among the sources of political writers in 1940.
An ardent Communist, joining the group, would
be likely to mention Marx' Das Kapital, which he
might nmnren and contrast with Adam Smith's

exists in a vacuum, that all cultures are the
sum total of a hundred conflicting and converg-
ing influences, a veritable flux of ever-young
intellectual ideas. In this way the great books,
besides serving as exemplary models for the
perpetuation of genuine reading skills, are also
the key to a more complete understanding of
the multiform sources of modern life. Santayana
put it this way:
"Even the native classics have to be reap-
prehended by every reader. It is this con-
tinual digestion of the substance supplied by
the past that alone renders the insights of
the past still potent in the present and for
the future. Living criticism, genuine appre-
ciation is the interest we draw from year
to year on the recoverable capital of human
genius."
AND WHAT IS the final objective of reading
the great books? Dr. Adler considers the
process to be a means of achieving "decent
human life, the life of a free man and a free
citizen," in short, the life of Reason. Reading,
as defined by Dr. Adler, is supposedly an in-
valuable and necessary discipline for those who
are to form the component parts of a vital,
informed democracy, intelligent followers as
well as intelligent leaders.
What are the implications of the Adler thesis
for American education? It is probably true
that the elective system as currently practiced
in many institutions of higher learning has led
to superficiality, to the acquiring of mere "snip-
pets of information," with little or no concerted
attempt being made to integrate those "snip-
pets" into a harmoniously meaningful whole
adaptable to the thousand confusing pressures
of modern society. Extreme vocationalism, too,
has tended to ignore the broader functions of
education in and for a democracy. Perhaps the
program of Dr. Adler, as expressed in his recent
book and also in the already instituted curricu-
lum at St .John's, offers a partil solution, Prob-
ably no one will deny the obvious value of highly
trained reading skills in the detection of propa-
ganda always common in a democracy. But
how complete is the Adler program?
HIS PROPOSALS seem curiously remote from
ther pecific problems of the twentieth cen-
tury, The world is('cacking up at our very feet,
Chaos and confusion and destruction are every-
where rampant. We are "huddling together,
nervously loquacious, at the edge of an abyss."
Something besides the reading of the great
books is clearly necessary, if the pressing imme-
diacy of complicated social problems such as
war and unemployment is to be lessened,
One of the dangers inherent in excessive em-
phasis upon the reading of the great books lies
in the tendency to pursue "knowledge for know-
ledge's sake." Those who engage in such a study
are likely to become dilettantes, involving them-
selves in seemingly endless pedantic disputes
which are patently irrelevant to the more im-
portant practicalities of life.
THE SKILLS of communication, ol course,
deserve serious attention. However, these
should be mastered in the pre-college school
years; if that is currently impossible, then re-
form measures should be centered upon elemen-
tary and high schools. The liberal arts college
should be able to devote itself to a mature con-
sideration, realistically conducted, of the various
segments of human life. One of the chief fea-
tures of this study would be the critical reval-
uation of our existing social structure, in order
to see if it satisfied what Robert Staughton
Lynd in Knowledge For What? calls the "basic
cravings of the human personality."
This then would seem to be the real challenge


DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN


(Continued from Page 2)

versity buildings, doors, or other
locks, contrary to the provisions re-
cided above, should promptly sur-
render the same to the Key Clerk at
the office of the Department of
Buildings and Grounds.
SHIRLEY W. SMITH
Faculty, School of Education: The
regular luncheon meeting of the fac-
ulty will be held Monday noon, May
6, at the Michigan Union.
To the Members of the Faculty of
the College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts: The seventh regular
meeting of the Faculty of the College
of Literature, Science, and the Arts
for the academic session of 1939-1940
will be held in Room 1025 Angell
Hall, Monday, May 6, at 4:10 p.m.
The reports of the several com-
mittees, instead of being read orally
at the meeting, have been prepared
in advance and are included with
this call to the meeting. They should
be retained in your files as part of
the minutes of the May meeting.
Edward H. Kraus
AGENDA:
1. Consideration of the minutes of
the meeting of April 1, 1940 (pp.
626-629), which were distributed by
campus mail.
2. Consideration of the reports sub-
mitted with the call to the meeting:
a. Executive Committee, Professor
P. S. Welch. b. University Council,
Professor O. S. Duffendack. c. Ex-
ecutive Board of the Graduate
School, Professor E. F. Barker. d.
Senate Advisory Committee on Uni-
versity Affairs, Professor C. F. Re-
mer. e. Deans' Conference, Dean E.
H. Kraus.
3. Teacher education, Professor J.
W. Bradshaw.
4. Evaluation of faculty services.
5. New business.
Attention Seniors: Senior Com-
mencement Booklets and Announce-
ments are now on sale in all colleges
and schools of the University. Seniors
are urged to cooperate with their
class committees by placing their or-
ders without delay. Information as
to time and place of sale should be
on the bulletin boards in the vani-

meet in the auditorium of the Uni-
versity High School. The examina-
tion will consume about four hours'
time; promptness is therefore essen-
tial.
June Candidates for the Teacher's
Certificate: The Comprehensive ex-
amination in Education will be given
on Saturday, May 18, from 9 to 12
o'clock (and also from 2 to 5 o'clock)
in the auditorium of the University
High School. Students having Sat-
urday morning classes may take the
examination in the afternoon. Print-
ed information regarding the exam-
ination may be secured in the School
of Education office.
School of Education Convocation:
The fifch annual Convocation of un-
dergraduate and graduate students
who are candidates for the Teach-
er's Certificate during the academic
year will be held in the Lydia Men-
delssohn Theatre on Tuesday, May
7, at 4:15 o'clock. This Convoca-
tion is sponsored by the School of
Education; members of other facul-
ties, students, and the general pub-
lic are cordially invited. Students
who are candidates for the Teach-
er's Certificate are urged, but not
required, to wear academic costume.
President Ruthven will preside at
the Convocation and Dean Harold
Benjamin of the University of Mary-
land will give the address.
May Festival Tickets: A limited
number of tickets for individual May
Festival concerts are available at the
office of the School of Music, May-
nard Street, as follows:
Wednesday evening: $1.50 and
$1.00.
Thursday evening : $1.50 and $1.00.
Friday afternoon: $2.00, $1.50 and
$1.00.
Friday evening is sold out.
Saturday afternoon: $1.50 and
$1.00.
Saturday evening: $1.00.
A limited number of standing room
tickets for all concerts will be on
sale at $1.50 and $1.00 each.
Through Tuesday afternoon in-
quiries for tickets, etc., may be made
at the School of Music officeon
Maynard Street. Beginning Wed-

seniors or graduate students who are
interested in sales work. Anyone in-
terested may call the Bureau, Ext.
371, for an appointment.
Doctoral Examination of David Wil-
lis Holmes will be held at 2:00 p.m.,
Monday, May 6, in 309 Chemistry
Bldg. Mr. Holmes' department of
specialization is Chemistry. The title
of his thesis is "The Synthesis of
Compounds Related to the Female
Sex Hormones."
Dr. W. E. Bachmann, as chairman
of the committee, will conduct the
examination. By direction of the Ex-
ecutive Board, the chairman has the
privilege of inviting members of the
faculty and advanced doctoral candi-
dates to attend the exam ination and
to grant permission to others who
might wish to be present.
C. S. Yoakum
Doctoral Examination of Helen
Vandervort Smith will be held at
9:00 a.m., Monday, May 6, in 1129
NS. Mrs. Smith's department of
specialization is Botany. The title
of her thesis is "A Miocene Flora
from Thorn Creek, Idaho."
Professor H. H. Bartlett, as chair-
man of the committee, will conduct
the examination. By direction of the
Executive Board, the chairman has
the privilege of inviting members of
the faculty and advanced doctoral
candidates to attend the examination
and to grant permission to others
who might wish to be present.
C. S. Yoakum
Doctoral Examination of Sherman
Anderson Hoslett will be held at 9:00
a.m., Tuesday, May 7 in 3089 N.S.
Mr. Hoslett's department of speciali-
zation is Zoology. The title of his
thesis is "The Ecological Distribution
of Mammals in Northeastern Iowa."
Dr. L. R. Dice, as chairman of the
committee, will conduct the exami-
nation. By direction of the Execu-
tive Board, the chairman has the
privilege of inviting members of the
faculty and advanced doctoral can-
didates to attend the examination and
to grant permission to others who
might wish to be present.
. C. S. Yoakum
Commencement Announcements
mav h nrrred through Friday. May