PAGN CSIX, ff, E4: MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, MAY 18,194t THI H GA.A L _JTAiAY1,14 rPed. ro The V oder' To Perform At Demonstration Thursday Amazing Talking Machine Can Originate Speech, Imitate Many Sounds By CHARLES THATCHER "Pedro the Voder," the amazing machine that can imitate anything from the human voice in any pitch, language or inflection to a locomotive whistle, an airplane engine or even a woodpecker, is coming to Ann Arbor! Quite immodest and with no signs whatsoever of stage fright, he'll an- swer questions, sing, recite poetry, give imitations or follow any of the other whims of his operator when he appears at a free lecture-demonstra- tion here Thursday. Pedro is really quite a remarkable fellow - if he may be called such. He hasn't any vocal cords, any larynx or any tongue, yet he whispers or shouts, talks like a man, woman or child and speaks in any language - albeit with a slight electrical ac- cent - with the proper manipulation of the keyboard by his operator. Variety of Sounds Twenty-three different sounds are possible for Pedro, but the number used depends on the dexterity of the operators, who were selected after extensive tests and subjected to a year of training before they could make Pedro talk. The various sounds of speech are created by the proper combination of some of the thirteen black and white keys controlling vowels and consonants on the keyboard, an arm- rest bar being used to transfer from one to the other. But the operator's worries don't end there. Volume must be determined through the use of a side key, the pitch is fixed by a control knob and a foot pedal creates the changes in inflection which keep Pedro from sounding too monotonous. Demonstrates Speech Sounds Designed for the ; world's fairs in New York and San Francisco, Pedro has and is providing quite education- al, as he demonstrates the formation of the different speech sounds and may prove quite helpful in bringing speech to those born dumb. With the exception of the afore- mentioned electrical accent, Pedro's speech is quite perfect, though he does have trouble with his "l's." Such words as "hasenpfeffer" or "comment allez-vous" give him no trouble what- ever, but "Bell telephone" comes out something like "Behrw tehwephone." Other Sounds, Too Not content merely to speak, Pedro can, without too much coaxing, be made to give forth miraculously ac- curate imitation of bleating sheep, lowing cattle, grunting pigs and even the tat-tat-tat of a woodpecker. The name "Pedro" came from the Brazilian emperor Don Pedro, who heard a voice come over Alexander Bell's first telephone and exclaimed, "My God, it talks!" The "voder" is merely a contraction for "voice opera- tion demonstrator." Brought here through the courtesy of Bell Telephone and under the aus- pices of the electrical engineering de- partment, Pedro will be the main at- traction of Thursday's lecture, "Arti- ficial Creation of Speech," by Dr. J. O. Perrine of the American Telephone and Telegraph. Seger To Give Lecture Here Ex-Member Of Reicbstag Will SpeakWednesday Gerhart Seger, former member of the German Reichstag and. vigorous opponent of Hitler, will give a public lecture on "What Confronts Ameri- ca" at 4:15 p.m. Wednesday in the Rackham Lecture Hall under the auspices of the Committee To De- fend America By Aiding The Allies. Seger, now editor of the Neuevolk- zeitung, spoke here last autumn on "Why Hitler Will Not Win the War" and "The German Fifth Column." His political career ended when he was placed ina Nazi concentration camp, Seger escaped first to Eng- land and then to the United States' He is now a United States citizen and has continued his fight against fasc- ism both as a writer and a lecturer. Haber, Williams To Talk On War Consequences The third and last of the Sunday morning May Forums will be present- ed this morning at 11 a.m. in the Uni- tarian Church when Prof. William Haber and Prof. Mentor Williams will discuss "Consequences of War.' Professor Haber will speak on the consequences to populations, while Professor Williams will speak on the consequences to art and literature. This is the sixth year of the May Forums, which have been designed to supplant the usual church service. Rev. H. P. Marley will act as chair- man of the meeting and will con- duct the question period. Architectural Group Reveals Prize Winners Annual Awards Presented, To Students For Best Design Work Of Year Design awards in the College of Architecture given by the Architec- tural Society each year for the best, designs in every department of the! college were announced yesterday by the Architectural Council. ' In class one of architecture which includes courses eight, nine and ten,I Ralph D. Peterson, '41A, won first' prize for his dining club design inI architecture eight. In class twol (courses five, six and seven) James H. McKeown, '43A, received the prize for his subdivision development in architecture five. The best decorative design was by Dale C. Foster, '43A. A design of the grounds for at small house by Allen Phelps took honors in landscape and architecture. Charles M. Shaw, '41A, was named winner in the advertising division with his design for a direct mail folder. In ceramics Lois A. McDonald, 42A, gained recognition for her glazed fruit dish. The industrial de- sign award went to Emily M. Root, '42A, for a pewter dish.{ The prizes given are a year's sub- scription to a magazine. Each winner receives a subscription to the most outstanding magazine in his respec- tive field. Polonia Society will hold its 2nd annual picnic today at the organ- ization's customary place. All members are invited to attend and are asked to meet at 2:30 at the Carillon Tower. Engineer To Visit ROTC A representative of the Chief of Engineers' Office, Captain William W. Brotherton, will visit the engi-1 neering unit of the ROTC tomorrow1 and Tuesday. Final Technic Offers Special Subscriptions Offering a special 1941-42 sub- scription to graduating. seniors, with delivery guaranteed "if we have to follow them around the world," the final issue of the Michigan Technic S peech Group To Pay Honor To Members Winners Of Detroit Contest Will Receive Recognition During Tung Oil Banquet New Light Shed On Charges Against School Superintendent go on sale Tu--sd--y.--In addition to the coveted Cooley wil go d tnssaseTuesday. Cane and Tung Oil Crown awards, in tis issues an- the number of smaller special awards ner articles is "Riding Comfort," by will be given to members of Sigma Prof. Walter E. Lay of the automo- tive engineering department. A num- Rho Tau, engineering speech society, ber of local pictures will add to the at the organization's annual Tung interest of the story. Oil Banquet to be held Wednesday . ;, . .in the Union-. "Cellulose Acetate" by Blame Kuist, As first place winners in the na- '41E, is the second feature story, while tional speaking competitions held in "Motion Study and Its Relation to Detroit a week ago, Norman Taylor, Machine Design" by Guy J. Bates, '42E, S. Che Tang, '42E, Harry Reed, maste'r mechanic, completes the list '41BAd, and John Hammelef, '42E, will receive the bronze Sigma Rho of atractions.Tau Stump. Of more local interest-and again A second place winner as well, backed up by a wealth of pictures- Hammelef will also receive the Sigma are "Open House Highlights," "Glass Rho Tau gavel. The stump and gavel. Plant Inspection Trip," by Arthur W. awards will also be presented to first C. Dobson, '42E, and Gordon C. Oster- and second-place winners in the local strom, '43E, an article on engineerig elimination contests held prior to the professional and honor societies and national competitions. the editorial, "Award for Service." Runners-up for the honor of re- Containing 36 pages instead of the ceiving the Cooley Cane will be given usual 28, the issue will be on sale the gavel citation. The Cane is an- Tuesday through Thursday over ththenually awarded to the organizations Engineering Arch, in the East Engin- most outstanding senior. Last year's peering Building lobby and in front of winner, Henry C. Billings, will return the secretary's office, second floor of to Ann Arbor for the presentation. the West Engineering Building. Faculty speakers at the banquet will vie with each other for the Tung Pistol Instruction Given Oil Crown, presented to the man mak- At Ypsilanti For Cadets ing the best impromptu speech for the occasion. A party of 35 Signal Corps cadets Winner of the crown last year, Prof. under Capt. B. H. Vollrath spent A. D. Moore of the electrical engineer- ing department will return this year yesterday at the range of the 32nd to confer the honor on one of his col- Signal Company at Ypsilanti in in- leagues. Topics which have been used formal pistol instruction. in the past and might give an idea Under the tutelage of Staff Sergt. of what can be expected are "Which Bonnewell, D.E.M.L., the ROTC men is the butt end of a goat?" or "Which fired the regular qualification course is more important - the button or with the cal. .45 automatic. the button-hole?" Coffee and hot dogs cooked in the Tickets are available to anyone in- I field served to relieve the effects of terested in attending, and may be 1 a rather chilly wind which interfered obtained from Sigma Rho Tau offi- only slightly with the accuracy of cers or at the conference room above I trigger-fingers. the Engineering Arch. By MORTON MINTZ and HOMER SWANDER New light was shed yesterday on the charge that Superintendent of Ann Arbor schools Otto Haisley, dis- missed Wednesday, had "protected" a former School Board treasurer, Grove Ray, who 15 years ago misappropri- ated $12,000 of school funds. C. C. Crawford, assistant Superin- tendent, revealed yesterday that at the time of the embezzlement there was a dual accounting system under which Ray was responsible only toj the Board itself and not to Haisley. This fact was brought out in con-j nection with the disclosure that the misappropriation was not discovered until after an audit demanded by Haisley had been taken. New Budget System Crawford maintained that under the budget system inaugurated by Haisley such laxness with funds would not be possible. "Our present budget system, insti- tuted by Haisley with the best advice, of Ann Arbor financial experts," Crawford asserted, "has rigid control measures, such as appropriation led- gers, which are so efficient as to de- stroy any chance of misappropria- tions such as the Ray incident." This statement was supported by Dr. Lee Thurston, Professor of Edu- cational Administration at the Uni- versity of Pittsburgh, who has com- mended the Ann Arbor system as "one of the best" in the country and who each year uses the system's annual report and budget in his classes. Budget 'Far Advanced' Features of the education budget, said by Crawford to be "far ad- vanced," 'are that it is "made up in more minute detail than any other budget I have ever seen," and that everyone affected by the budget- janitors, teachers, principals-are all consulted about the allocations and are given opportunity to indicate their needs. Crawford pointed out that "no teachers' salaries, bonds or financial promises had ever been defaulted." Board member George Sidwell, an official of the Michigan Municipal League who voted to retain Haisley, backed Crawford's contentions with this assertion: "As a Municipal League official I have found that the Ann Arbor school budgeting plan compares more favorably with the best in the state." ~~ Add4 a floral ssr Soyou-r We have prints ireal colors to blend with each costume. They M vt are just the thing to "top" off your play clothes. A vcay s reaso n ab ly p rice d" GAGE LINEN SOP C 10 NICKELS ARCADE f .3 *1 t "Lr ic'4 t ( y Play Tmdress ,' Lci)u~u m/ r 5.95 Made,,oiselle's words for this pretty- as-a-picture pinafore. Of posy-print- ed sateen-finished chintz, wear it with a frou-frou blouse for classes or dates. Pale green, blue, yellow, white. Matching parasol, 2.00. w *VVy,... ~ A., e,,,, :4 : : * SA~i- .- 'C . yy 'W It's PLAY TIME! 3 r ~g K witl clothes for your specific spor' from Jacobson's. Swiimming, fishing, golfing, gardekbing,wieycling, or teeiis clothes with all the splash and colr that typifies playtime. A galaxy of colprs and sizes - all pleasingly priced! k C i}' 4 . .«rd: ,. XG : Y .,, ". r s Nh. I RMNOW -mow ;ti',f . } - lit t./: \, , // ,: r fr" I I Have it, too, if you like, in a brilli- I I I I I I II I