THE MICHIGAN DAILY [ICHIGAN DAILY Fencing Revival OnTrial *71 ' .----_-; wa fTHE P. 9E orSIN PR p4 SwA~~M~ cdited and managed by students .of the University of higan under the authority of the Board in Control of ident Publications. ublisbed every morning except Monday during the versity year and Summer Session. Member of the Associated Press 'he Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the for republication of all news dispatches credited to or not otherwise credited in this newspaper. All its of republication of all other matters herein also erved. ntered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as and class mail matter. ubscriptions during regular school year by carrier, 0; by mail, $4.50. REPRESENTED FOR NATIONAL. ADVEiSING BY National Advertising.Service, Inc. College Publishers Representative 420 MADISON AVE. NEW YORK, N. Y. CHICAGO * BOSTON * Los ANGELis - SAN FRANCISCO ember, Associated Collegiate Press, 1939-40 Petersen tt Maraniss M. Swinton on L. Linder aan A. Schorr is Flanagan t N. Canavan Vicary Fineberg Editorial Staff . . . . Business Staff Managing Editor Editorial Director . City Editor . Associate Editor . Associate Editor Associate Editor *Associate Editor . Women's Editor . Sports Editor Manager. . ness Mgr., Credit Manager Business Manager nr Advertising Manager ns Manager . . . Paul R. Park Ganson P. Taggart Zenovia Skoratlto . Jane Mowers . Harriet S. Levy NIGHT EDITOR: KARL KESSLER The editorials published in The Michigan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writers only. Sales Taxes An d The Por.. iOME OF US PAY that extra penny JOr two which is demanded of us from the man behind the counter with a great deal of mental protest. Others complacently de- . rive a feeling of satisfaction from the payment of the sales tax, being under the impression that the tax benefits the poor. k :Who is contributnig more towards the poor, Mr. Smith who earns $1,000 a year and pays $18 Q of this for sales tax, or Mr. Van Smythe who earns a million dollars a year and only pays about .130 cents on each thousand dollars? This is the sigficant fact of the sales tax; the less a man 1 earns, the greater proportion of his income is taken by the tax. Statistics on the subject col- lected by Business Week report that a laborer with an income of $1,000 a year spends 60.9 per cent of it for commodities under which the sales tax falls. In fact, getting back to Mr. Smith, we find that the only important article free from a t sales tax in his expenditures is the rent. At the opposite extreme, his friend on the other side of the tracks spends only one per cent of his million dollars on taxable articles. The rich of course spend much of their income on wages and serv- ices, but a tax that penalizes the poor 60.9 times as much as it does the rich seems to be counter to all theories of graduated taxatn. The percentage of income spent upon taxable articles is only part of the injustice of the sales tax. Grocers say that the average sale in grocery stores amounts to 23 cents. This is brought about by the fact that the poor, especially the unemployed, must necessarily purchase in small amounts: ten cents to the baker, 15 cents to the grocer, 25 cents to the druggist. The sales tax therefore inevitably falls on the poor many more 'times than it does on the wealthier members of our society who can purchase in large quantities. The poor man's wife makes her dollar bill go a long way by spending it on five separate articles, and as a result is paying five cents on the dollar for sales tax. But the better situated housewife, who can afford to make dollar purchases, pays only three cents on each dollar. This would seem to be a case of "soaking the poor to benefit the poor." What do small business men think of the tax? With the exception of some merchants who make ,the sales box an auxiliary cash register, the merchants, by and large, oppose the tax. They do this because they realize that the tax reduces purchasing power and also increases their ac- counting costs. Efficient as our government may seem to be in collecting taxes, no one can possibly know just what amount of the sales tax money collect- c ed from the public is actually turned over to the State, since the state is unable to maintain a large enough staff to check up on every business establishment. When the small grocer's net profit on a single sale is often less than one- half per cent, the assessment of a three per cent sales tax on the customer puts a strain on the honesty of the grocer. And when a grocer has only $50 left for himself, after having paid his rent, wages and overhead, and has collected $300 for the state, would it not be too much to as- sume that the state is going to see all of that $300? Taxing for relief has become a necessary func- tion of modern government. This taxation should not, however, place the burden of the support of the unemployed on the wage and salary earn- AS THE BOARD in Control of Physi- cal Education considers the petition of a varsity fencing team, it should bear in mind that there stands behind that petition a deter- mined group of young men with whom rests the fate of a team that will surely bring credit to the University.- These fencers have bided their time in re- questing a varsity team. They forbore petition- ing while the University struggled through the worst depression years. They kept silently JtA their art-for fencing is an art-and at last, under the leadership of Scimitar, the national honorary fencing organization, have found themselves prepared to revive the fencing team. Michigan fencers before 1932 always stood at the top or near the top of Big Ten standingg They earned the respect of all the teams they faced-and there is no reason why they should, not now. Scimitar and the intramural organization have the men to make a fencing team. Gentle- men of the Board in Control of Physical Educa- tion: Why not give it to them? -Richard Harmel OffALLThings. . . ..JBylorty-Q , WE HEARD a young man express the idea the other day that he would just as soon spend his life here in Ann Arbor, that is, providing he was able to secure a decent sort of job, one that would give him a livable security. And his companion argued with him, pointing out that he was entirely lacking in ambition and didn't he want to go out and make a name for himself in the world and make a lot of money. This second young man just couldn't understand anyone wanting to stick around this little town, where nothing ever happens and where there is limited opportunity to; become a millionaire. So then the "ambitionless" young man tried to explain his stand and it went something like this: the cultural facilities here are-as good as any large city, with plays, concerts, lectures, art, exhibits and so forth; it is a pretty little town, with an appealing quietness and restfulness; there is always access to libraries and class- rooms and many other University functions; and, it is an ideal place to develop a level per- spective on life itself, setting-up real values and a humanitarian outlook. The other young man, of course, couldn't see this. Brought up in a society where warped ideals and values had led him to measure suc- cess in terms of dollars, and where it was im- pressed upon him that material wealth far out- ranked humane values in importance, he could not understand how any intelligent person could even think about not leaving Ann Arbor to make his fortune in the world. O MR. Q., this overheard conversation sym- bolizes the fundamental nature of the dilem- ma in which we find the world today. In every conceivable aspect, true ideals and precepts, actually based on a desire to live a happy, peace- ful, useful life, have been thrown over or forgot- ten in the mad rush to get rich. And a person, like the young man crazy enough to want to live in Ann Arbor, who attempts to re-discover these lost concepts of goodness, finds himself quite alone in a sordid world-a world that has for- gotten that the easiest way of life is to live. This, Mr. Q. supposes, is very lofty-sounding and quite philosophic. But to bring it down to a specific point and one quite familiar, consider our present-day educational system. In the first place, secondary schools provide a most in- adequate preparation for a college program so that a high school graduate just isn't fit to really take advantage of university courses. Nor is he mentally disciplined to the point where he can exercise any amount of discretion in learning. In high school, knowledge is held ove the students' heads as a threat, and the teacher is nothing more than a policeman. No effort is made to regard this first step in education as an important, fundamental process where the student may well form useful learning habits in- stead of thinking up ways to skip school. QO, in this first place, our elementary schools are inadequate and waste valuable resources. But, it is when the student gets to the university that he really runs into trouble. Here he finds old-fashioned minds, reliving the glories of the Renaissance period, who are teaching old- fashioned courses in old-fashioned ways. In very few cases has an attempt been made to step up teaching methods to the modern tempo, and, in very few cases, has the material been tied in with contemporary problems. It is just as if a university education was a marvelous thing per se with no correlation to what has come to be known as the outside world. So this unpre- pared student comes to college, is stuck on the assemblyline for four years, given a shining coat of varnish and a diploma, which means he is a graduate and has a license to "go out in the world" and make barrels of money. And when he gets through, he has no more idea of what real knowledge is than when he came; in fact, he is worse off because he has had so much uncorrelated material tossed at him he doesn't know what to accept or reject. And when he leaves, he finds he has been conditioned to one major motive in life: make a success of yourself by becoming rich. Colleges in America have become, in line with the hurry-up, efficiency-crazed mode of the whole people; nothing more than big businesses: factories. And the emphasis is being placed on, not how good a student body can be turned out, but how large. Nowhere is there a true spirit of learning and applying this learning to humane mUSIC By RICHARD BENNETT S. Prokofie ffs Scores Again Twenty-one years have gone by since the last world war, twenty-one years that we now look upon as no more than a brief respite during which each belligerent nation has recollected its forces to carry on once again the imperial holo- caust. Though we are not fatalists, and though we know full well that there is nothing 'written in the books' that says this state of affairs must necessarily continue now for all time, yet it is with a feeling of profound sorrow that we wit- ness this latest Armageddon. The reasons offered for the present struggle may be one or mani- fold, but whatever the premise upon which the explanation is founded the acuteness of the tragedy is in no way lessened, and the shedding of a brother's blood is still a source of deepest bitterness. Now the consciousness of the disruption of Western culture is by no means alien to con- temporary Soviet composers. No artist, whatever may be his peculiar ideology, can function as a voice of our times and yet remain insensitive to the malignity of carnage and waste. The mor- bidity and pessimism that characterize so much of American and West European post-war music. are not found in, or at least are not character- istic of, the work of the newer loviet com- posers. There is, to be sure, often an undue emphasis upon satire, mockery, and atavism, but there are also a buoyancy, an originality, and an optimism that are foreign to the great mass of our own music. Perhaps Soviet composers have in their blood the will toward a society which denies the claims of war. Perhaps they have witnessed an era of dynamic construction and moral reevaluation -(in whatever direction you please) which has confirmed their faith in the vast potentialities of man. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: the art and music of the Soviet Union are some- thing to watch, for they will stand alone or fall alone. By her present extraordinary foreign policy the Russian government has placed Soviet art and music in a critical position before the judgment of many. Few are willing to suspend final verdict until the issues involved are clearer than at present. This is a plea for tolerance and sanity. 'By their fruits shall ye know them.' Let us seek to evaluate all things in their proper sphere and with their own purposes in mind. In this spirit, then, consider Prokofieff's score for the recent Russian film Alexander Nevsky. In comparing this with Alfred Newman's com- petent, but characteristic, score for the Holly- wood film, Beau Geste, certain important differ- ences may be noted. ,Both composers have merged their music with the motion of camera and acting, but while the Newman music remains almost entirely atmos- pheric Prokofieff's becomes an integral part of the action, as though it were another character in the drama.- Both scores are thick with pseudo-leit-motifs. But whereas the death motif of the Hollywood film serves the single purpose of binding -the picture together, the Song of Peace-the main motif of the Prokofieff film-goes clean beyond mere technical utility and acts as commentator, in much the same way as does the Chorus in Sophocles' Agamemnon. Again: while the Newman score is devoid of musical interest as such, Prokofieff's score can well stand as an autonomous piece of musical literature. Newman's music is unprogressive (despite his great admiration for Arnold Schoen- berg), disgustingly sentimental at times, invar- iably dull and vapid: Prokofieff's is thoroughly modern, amazingly cosmopolitan '(for all its heavy Russian flavor), robust, and chuck full of diverse rhythms and new harmonic devices. All in all, if the two pictures were to stand or fall by the merit of their musical scores, the Soviet film would be a milestone in film history, while Beau Geste would be a second-rate 'filler' for the By-street theatre. Neither is the case. AS OTHERS- ghe Drew Pearso Robert S.AIMef WASHINGTON-It will probably be denied, but within a few days after the arms embargo is lifted there will begin a series of the greatest mass transoceanic flights in aviation his- tory. Each flight will consist of new, twin-engined bombing and patrol planes, made in the United States and destined for England and France. Over $100,000,000 worth of planes are awaiting export to Europe. Sty- mied in delivery by the embargo, they have been jamming storage facilities on the Pacific Coast and near Balti- more. Confident that Congrees is set to repeal the embargo, British and French authorities have been rush- ing arrangements for getting the planes overseas. Taking them over "on the wing" was decided on as the safest way to avoid heavy losses. A torpedoed ship would mean the loss of 20 or 30 planes at one time, while the danger of loss during flight from Newfound- land-1900 miles across the Atlan- tic-is estimated at much less-per- haps a ratio of 1 to 20. Moreover, the British have a pow- erful radio guide at Botwood, New- foundland. With its help and the great speed of the ships, their pass- age across the Atlantic will not be such a hazardous venture. How many British and French pi- lots and crews have been assembled at Botwood is not known, but confi- dential reports indicate that already there are several hundred. Botwood is one of tike greatest land and sea- plane bases in this hemisphere and probably was constructed by Britain with this very purpose in mind. Five of the largest plane manufac- turers are making ships for the Al- lies-Lockheed, Douglas, Curtiss Martin and North American. The three have big contracts for twin-mo- tored bombers, the other two for pur- suit and attack planes. The latter could not be flown to Europe, as their sustained flight range is only a few hours.. Note-Mayor Ellenstein of Newark, N. J., recently refused permission to store 60 Lockheed bombers at the giant Newark airport. Ellenstein claimed there was 'no moreroom,'' but insiders say he feared sabotage attempts and didn't wanti to take the responsibility for guarding the shops. Ex-Wage-Hour Administrator El- mer Andrews' interview with Federal Loans Administrator Jesse Jones, when he went to see him about get- ting an RFC job, was a shock to both of them. When the White House notified Andrews he was being replaced as Wage-Hour boss, he was also offered the choice of several other jobs, one of them with the RFC. Andrews fi- nally decided to look the RFC over and asked for an appointment with Jones. Jones received him cordially, but seemed mystified. "Where have you worked, Mr. An- drews?" he asked. "I am with the.Wage-Hour Admin- istration." "Oh, yes," said Jesse, "and just what do you do there?" Note--With not uncommon inef- ficiency, the White House staff had forgotten to inform Jones about the offer of an RFC job to Andrews. The secret plans of AFL moguls to retire Secretary-Treasurer Frank Morrison at the recent convention were very nearly upset by the white- thatched veteran himself. The at- tendant rumpus also gave Harry Bates, jut-jawed boss of the brick- layers, a chance to scuttle a scheme to elect Dick Ornburn, chief of the union label trades department, as Morrison's successor. Last summer the inner clique de-j cided among themselves to shelve the 80-year-old Morrison, but when The Washington Merry-Go-Round re- vealed the plan it was hotly denied by the AFL publicity agent on orders from above. This official refutation, plus Morrison's 40 years of service in the AFL, convinced him he need not worry. But at the convention he soon learned better. He was told he would be retired, but with his full pay of $10,000 a year. This tempting con- cession, however, did not appease Morrison. But Morrison quickly discovered that the personal popularity he was counting on to save him wasn't enough. pense of children's hearts and lungs and limbs." Michigan is such a community. Our "economy-minded" legislature must recognize that the appropriations for the crippled and afflicted children are criminally deficient and needless- ly penurious. Restoratioh of the bud- get cut will permit these unfortunates to receive adequate medical and hos- pital treatment and, further, Michi- (Continued from Page 2) class will meet on Monday evening in 3217 A.H. Botany I Make-up Final Exam for students who were absent from the examination in June will be givenj Monday, October 23, at 7:00 P.M. in Room 2004 N.S. Exhibitions' Exhibition by Ann Arbor artists,, under the auspices of the Ann Arbor Art Association. Alumni Memorial Hall, open until October 26 on Sun- day afternoon, 2-5 p.m., Oct. 22. Lectures f University Lecture: Dr. Maximo M. Kalaw, member of the Philippine Na- tional Assembly, will lecture on1 "American-Phillippine Relations and. the Present Crisis" in the National Science Auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 4:15 p.m. Today's Events Sphinx: There will be a meeting of Sphinx this evening at 6 o'clock in the Crofoot Room of the Union. Scalp and Blade will hold its first fall smoker at the Michigan Union today at 5 p.m. All Buffalo men are- cordially, invited. The Michigan Christian Fellowship will meetat Lane Hall, todayat 4 p.m., one half hour earlier than usual. Mr. Stacey Woods, General Secretary of the Inter-Varsity Fel- lowship will be the speaker. The Lutheran Student Club will meet at Zion Parish Hall today at 5:30 p.m. There will be a fellow- ship hour from 5:30 until 6 p.m. when a dinner prepared by the ladies of the church will be served. Dr. Rockey from Detroit, who has been very ac- tive in student work, will address the group. American Student Union: The ex- ecutive committee of the American Student Union will meet today at 11:00 A.M. in the Michigan Union. Hillel Foundation: Avukah, stu- dent Zionist organization, will hold its monthly social meeting and fire- side discussion, to be led by Mr. L.. W. Crohn, Zionist leader of Detroit, to- ninht at 8:15 p.m. Coming Events Physics Colloquium: Dr. James L. Lawson will speak on "The Deter- mination of the Energies of Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Rays," at the Physics Colloquium on Monday af- ternoon, Oct. 23, at 4:15 in Room 1041 E. Physics Bldg. English Journal Club: First meet- ing of the year. Professor C. D. Thorpe will talk on, "Some Aspects of Thomas Hobbes' Aesthetic Theory," on Monday evening, Oct. 23, at 8 o'clock in the Men's lounge, Rack- ham Building. The public is invited to this opening meeting. Freshmen and Transfer Engineer- ing Students: A smoker for freshmen and transfer engineering students will be held Wednesday evening, Oc- tober 25, at 7:30 in the Union ball- room. Movies will be shown and re- freshments will be served. Members of the College of Enginnering facul- ty are also cordially invited. Tau Beta Pi: Very important meet- ing Wednesday, Oct. 25. Dinner will be served promptly at 5:45 p.m. in the Michigan Union. Please note change of date. Biological Chemistry Seminar: The seminar in Biological Chemistry will meet in. Room 319 West Medical Building, at 7 P.M., Wednesday, Oc- tober 25. The subject to be discussed is "Iodine Studies-Blood, Thyroid, Other Tissues." All interested are in- vited to attend. Seminar in Bacteriology will meet in Room 1564 East Medical Building Monday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. Subject: "Bacterial Metabolism." German Table for Faculty Members: The regular luncheon meeting-will be held Monday at 12:10 p.m. in the Founders' Room of the Michigan. Union. All faculty members interest- ed in speaking German are cordially invited. There will be a brief in- formal talk by Mr. James S. Edwards on "Der Begriff des Meisters bei Ste- fan George." Economics Club: The first meeting will be held Monday, Oct. 23, at 7:45 p.m. in the Amphitheatre of the Rackham Building. Prof. C. F. Re- mer, who has recently returned from Europe, will speak on the topic, "Re- search At Geneva." Graduate stu- dents in Economics and Business Ad- ministration are cordially invited. International Center: An Exhibi- stration program of these early American dances will be given by fifty young people from the dancing classes at Dearborn. Attendance is strictly limited. Admission is free but. by ticket only, the tickets to be secured in advance inthe office of the Center. Foreign Studentsand those actively participating in the activities of the Center must secure their tickets not later than Thursday, October 26, at 5 P.M. After that American students may secure tick- ets through Miss McCormick at the Michigan League. Freshman Girls' Glee Club: Re- hearsal Monday evening at 7:15 in the Game Room of the League for all women who have been notified of their acceptance into the Club. Rifle Team: First practice' for rifle team tryouts on Monday, Oct. 23, 3-5 p.m. It Is important that all old team members be present. Mathematics Short Course on the "Theory of Representation" to be given by Dr. Nesbitt, will have its first meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 3 o'clock in Room 3201 A.H. Ar- rangements of hours for future meet- ings will be made at this time. The course will meet three times a week for five weeks. Ann Arbor Independents: There will be an important meeting Tues- day, at 4:30 in the League. We will be working on the Ruthven Dinner Project Monday from 3. to 5 in Room 5 of the League. Come and help if you have the time. Math. 370, Seminar in Continued Fractions. Will meet Tuesday at 4 o'clock in 3201 A. H. Mr. Kazarinoff will speak on "Geometric and Num- ber Theoretical Applications of C. F." Churches Disciples Guild (Church of Christ: 10:45 a.m. Morning worship. Pro- fessor Bennett Weaver will deliver the sermon in the absence of the pas- tor. 6:30 p.m., The Students' Guild will meet at the Guild House, 438 May- nard Street, instead of the church. William Muehl of the Anti War Com- mittee will speak on "Propaganda, A Major Cause of War." First Congregational Church, State and William. Rev. Leonard A. Parr. 10:45 a.m. Public worship. Dr. Parr will preach on "Prepare for 'Battle!" 6 p.m. The Student Fellowship will meet at the church for supper. 7 p.m. Dr. Charles A. Sink, presi- dent of the School of Music, will speak on "Reminiscences of Musical Cele- brities." First Church of Christ, Scientist, 409 S. Division St. Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. Sub- ject, "Probation After Death." Sunday school at 11:45 a.m. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sunday school and dis- cussion group 9:30 a.m. Chapel, Wom- en's League. First Baptist Church, 512 E. Huron. Rev. C. H. Lpucks, Minister. 10:45, Morning worship. Sermon topic, "Our Daily Bread." 12 noon, Student Round Table. Discussion topic, "What Can We Be- lieve About Ourselves?" 6:15, Roger Williams Guild, Guild House, 503 E. Huron. Prof. Bennett Weaver of the De- partment of English will talk on "Student Goals." A social hour will follow the address. Student Evangelical Chapel: Stu- dents and friends interested in evan- gelical Christianity are cordially in- vited to the Sunday worship services conducted by Dr. G. Goris in - The Michigan League Bldg. The topic for the sermon of the 10:30 a.m. service will be "Reverence." At the 7:30 p.m. service Dr. Goris will speak on "A Challenging Evaluation." This stu- dent group also sponsors social and recreational programs every Friday evening in the Fireside room at Lane Hall. Anyone interested is welcome. First Methodist Church: Morning worship service at 10:40 a.m. Dr. C. W. -Brashares will preach on "Church Programs Toward Peace." Stalker Hall: 9:45 a.m. Class for students led by Mr. Lawrence Vrede- voogd. 6 p.m. Bishop Blake will speak at the Wesleyan Guild Meet- ing at the church on the topic "Amnerica and War." I Fellowship hour and supper following the meet- ing. Trinity Lutheran Church, Williams 'and Fifth, will hold its worship services Sunday morning at 10:30. Rev. H. 0. Yoder will deliver the sermon. The Zion Lutheran Church, Wash- ington at Fifth, will hold worship services Sunday morning at 10:30. 1 'I ,1 I DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN SEE IT 4 4 4 To the Editor: For sixty years sick indigent children of Michigan have received medical services in a manner unparalleled by any other state. But this is no longer true. Thousands of crippled and afflicted children have been let down as a re- sult of action taken by the legislature in Lan- sing. The reduced appropriations for service to the sick indigent children represents a startling repudiation of a responsibility assumed by our state in 1881. Michigan no longer leads all other states in providing adequate medical services and hospitalization for disabled and paralyzed chil"- dren. The people of Michigan must insist that this deplorable situation be changed. There are two obvious advantages to be gained by restoring the shockingtand drastic sixty percent reduction in treatment of sick needy children. In the first place thousands of crippled and afflicted children will get the type of care they urgently need through the most advanced state system of public medical service. Maraniss, in his excellent editorial yesterday, pointed out the second advantage to be gained by gearing our local health program to the immediate needs of our people. When the Wagner Health bill be- comes law next year (if Congress adopts it), the states will be able to secure federal funds for the purpose of expanding their health services. Funds will be given out on a matching basis. ThapfrP he-,f~fP +ac n nn rn nn- ~i-infai