THE MICHIGAN DAILY

.WEDNESDlAY,



Fifty-Fifth Year

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND:
Why the Nazis Broke Through

Letters to the Editor

' -w

i1l

Edited and managed by students of the University
of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control
of Student Publications..

Evelyn Phillips
Stan Wallace
Ray Dixon
Hank Mantho
Dave Loewenberg
Mavis Kennedy

Editorial Staff
. . . . . Managing Editor
* . .City Editor
. . . . .Associate Editor
. . . . . Sports Editor
. . . Associate Sports Editor
Women's Editor
Business Staff

Lee Amer. Business Manager
BarbaraChadwick . . Associate Business Mgr.
June Pomering . . . Associate Business Mgr.
Telephone 23-24-1
Member of The Associated Press
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use
for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or
otherwise credited in this newspaper. All rights of re-
publication of all other matters herein also reserved.
Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as
second-class mail matter.
Subscriptions during the regular school year by car-
rier, $4.50, by mail, $5.25.
Member, Associated Collegiate Press, 1943-44
REPRESENTED FOR NATIONAL DVERTaING BY
National Advertising Service, inc.
Cllege Publishers Representative
420 MADISON AVE. NEW YORK. N.Y.
CHICAGO * BOSTON . LO ANGELES . SAN FRANCISCO
NIGHT EDITOR: RAY SHINN
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
Book Exchange
What the University of Michigan needs is a
student book exchange, a place where students
may sell texts no longer needed and receive
more than a nominal sum in exchange, a place
where students may come and purchase a seme-
ster's supply of books without feeling that they
had just parted with their shirts.
Such a Student Book Exchange had been
operated by the staff of the Michigan Union
and an excellent indication of its need and
soundness as a financial venture may' easily be
surmised from the following statistics revealed
in the inclusive report of its operation during
the summer and fall of 1942.
319 students brought in books to be sold;
286 students had at least some of their books
sold;
891 books were sold;
The refund of book sales to the 286 stu-
dents totaled $1,166.33;
Books were sold to approximately 300 stu-
dents.
Total receipts ...................$1,415.42
Net gain........................114.56
The soundness of the principle of a Student
Book Exchange is indisputable. The princi-
ple was clearly stated by former officers of the
Union staff in these words, "the central theme
has been the idea of a better price both
in selling and buying, "no middle-man's profit"
-in other words, the idea that the Student
Book Exchange is a service, and exists for
no other purpose." Or another, "The Student
Book Exchange is not only financially sound,
but does have a definite service value to the
students of the University."
The need for the revival of the Student
Book Exchange is pressing, especially when
we regard the high cost of living in wartime.
Need of revival has been voiced by student
officers and staff members of the Union for
many months. No action has thus far been
forthcoming. The talk-and, better yet, let-
ters to the student officers of the Union and
the League-must become a flow. Perhaps
then "the need for a square deal in disposing
of used books" will be satisfied.
-Arthur J. Kraft

By DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3-Those close up to the
war picture are convinced that aside from
faulty intelligence, there was no one single
military error which brought on the swift and
disastrous German break-through.
Undoubtedly some intelligence officers will be
disciplined or broken for failing to evaluate the
concentration of German troops opposite the
First Aimy about a week beforehand.
But there were other factors contributing to
the reverse, none of which can be laid at the
doorstep of a single commander.
Basically they are factors which only Gen.
Eisenhower and Gen. Marshall themselves' could
properly evaluate and act on.
Here are some of the basic factors involved:
1-Gen. Marshall himself ordered the United
States offensive which began Nov. 8, and which
continued with battering-ram tactics until Von
Rundstedt turned the tide against us.
Marshall, visiting the battlefront in October,
believed that during the winter the Germans
could mobilize 100 new divisions, so it was wise
for us to clear them off the west bank of the
Rhine before winter closed in.
2-There was and is no disposition to
doubt the wisdom of Gen. Marshall's deci-
sion.
However, these battering-ram tactics cost
men, also tire men out. The American system
is to keep divisions on the front line, bringing
up fresh men only for replacements. ,
Thus the divisions now at the front have been
fighting steadily since the landing in Normandy
last June-with, of course, a lot of men coming
up as replacements.
Germans Rested Troops.,,.
3-This is considered an excellent system and
gets results.
However, the Germans immediately took out
their battle troops after Normandy and sent
them to rest behind the lines.
The Nazi boys and old men we encountered
in the Siegfried Line. made us think the Ger-
man Army was shot to pieces, but it wasn't.
The experienced battle troops, now refreshed
after a long rest, are taking the offensive against
us.
4-The War Department itself was responsible
for a lot of the favorable news which gave the
public a general feeling of over-confidence.
One of its most important indications was
that some 800,000 German troops were killed or
taken prisoners during the clean-up of France,
making a sizeable hole in the Nazi, army.
Of these, however, about 400,000 were Rus-
sian-Ukrainian labor battalions.
Thus the American public had reasons to
believe that a large slice of the German Army
was deciraated.
5-Germany's new Royal Tiger tank is super-
ior to ours and we have known it. It is extremely
difficult to knock out of commission.
However, we thought the war was going to be
over soon and that we could finish up the job
with the tanks already on hand-of which we
had tremendous quantities.
More recently, however, we have started
building a big tank which can equal or better
the Royal Tiger.
Robots Beat Airplanes .. .
6-Robot bombs and rocket bombs can fly in
any weather whereas airplanes can't. Also they
don't require men.
Thus the Germans have been able to bomb
us from, the air-by robots and rockets-
while because of the weather we couldn't bomb
them.
7-The German system is to attack suddenly
with tremendous force and heavy armor in one
small area.
If they sat behind the Siegfried Line they
were sure to lose the war eventually, so they
could afford to gamble.
8-However, it remains a fact that we had
advance information of great Nazi activity for
about a week before the attack came, though
apparently we sized it up as preparation for
retreat rather than attack.

Weather Note...
When the House Military Affairs Committee
took off from Washington on its trip to Europe,
members had been told they'd fly the northern
route to England, with a stop at Newfoundland,
so they dressed in their heaviest underwear.
A card game started, some of the members
began to read and one or two went to sleep.
Among those who chose sleep was Bolivar
BARNABY

Pagan, commissioner for Puerto Rico. Pagan
slept through the pilot's announcement after the
plane had been in the air about half an hour
that the plans had been changed, that they
would fly the southern route with a Bermuda
stop.
As the plane, pulled in to tropical Bermuda,
only a few hundred miles from Pagan's home-
land, Pagan awakened and started to dig out
his wraps. He put on a sweater under his suit
coat, a muffler, a heavy overcoat, a hat, gloves
and spats. Those of his colleagues who noticed,
decided to say nothing.
They sat by and watched. When the plane
landed Pagan, with amazement written on his
face, marveled at the mildness of the midwinter
climate of Newfoundland.
"I never heard of such a thing," he said.
"Why, you'd think we were way down south."
(Copyright 1944, Bell Syndicate)
I'D RATHER BE RIGHT:
Intelligence Work
NEW YORK, Jan. 3--Everybody is talking
about the need for "better intelligence
work." This is the new hobby horse on which
a number of commentators have perched them-
selves, and on which they will rock their way
for the next few weeks across the trackless
spaces of history.
It is said that if we had had better intelli-
gence work, the Germans would not have pene-
trated into the Ardennes Forest; if our State
Department had better intelligence officials, we
would be able to solve the political problems of
Europe; and it is remarked that if Mr. Chur-
chill had had better intelligence reports, he
would not have made so many errors in Greece,
etc., etc.
So, for a while, all of our ills will be blamed
on poor intelligence operations. These fads
run their courses in the field of public com-
ment, and nothing can be done about them.
"Poor intelligence work" makes a fine issue
because it is so beautifully unfundamental. It
indicates that there is nothing wrong with us
that a little administrative tinkering won't cor-
rect. It is certainly a comfortable view of af-
fairs, to believe that if Jack, instead of Jim,
had been handling the news from the Ardennes
Forest, or from Athens, the Germans would
not have broken through, and the Greeks would
not have become embroiled in civil war.
It is a comfortable theory ,but hardly a correct
one. We tend to forget that there are two
persons involved in every intelligence report; the
official who writes it, and the leader who reads
it, and that the leader wlil almost always tend to
read into an intelligence report what he wants
to find in it.
Mr. Churchill made his error in Greece, not
because he was wrongly informed that the
E. L. A. S. was a "band of mountain brigands"
but because it was necessary for the purposes
of his policy that the E. L. A. S. should consist
of mountain brigands.
In exactly the same way, if some brilliant
intelligence worker had reported to Mr. Cham-
berlain, early in 1939, that the Nazis were
planning to conquer Europe, and that it was
immediately necessary for the British to form
an alliance with Russia, Mr. Chamberlain
would not have considered that to be very
good intelligence work; he would have thrown
out the report and fired its author. He wanted
reports telling him that the Nazis were trust-
worthy, and he obtained them.
A political leader will almost always choose
intelligence workers in his own image, and in
the image of his policy; men whom he trusts,
which is to say, men who agree with him.
In the case of the German breakthrough, per-
haps the soundest explanation is not that we
failed to outguess the Nazis, but that we failed
to outplan them. They broke through because
the Allies, for whatever sound reasons of weath-
er and supply, were not keeping them sufficient-
ly busy to keep them off balance.
Intelligence work almost always seems bad
when the other side has the initiative; Ger-
many's intelligence officers looked like lum-
moxes while we were tearing through France
last summer. It is always well to seek for ex-
planations in terms of high policy, and not to

miniaturize downward to small and accidental
factors.
1 have never believed the story that for
want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of
the shoe the horse was lost, and for want of
the horse the kingdom was lost. Any king-
dom that can be lost for want of a nail is too
far gone to be saved by a nail.
(Copyright, 1944, New York Post Syndicate)

War Aims , ...
It was hard for me to believe what
I saw when I read Ray Shinn's edit-
orial in Saturday's Daily. In all
frankness to Mr. Shinn, it seems tot
me that he is sincere, but thatx
does not change the fact that he isz
wrong in a great many of his state-1
ments and opinions.
Mr. Shinn is quite correct in be-
lieving that there are "more than a
few persons who believe that the aim
of the war is to defeat Germany."
I am one of these, and so are the
greater majority of all Europeans,
British, and, I hope, Americans. The
author is arbitrary when he re-
marks that "they believe that be-
cause Germany has been instru-
mental in fomenting the last two
major wars, ipso facto Germany is
the source." I do not reason that
"ipso facto" Germany is to be blam-
ed for all wars, but I say that she
is to be blamed, directly or indirect-
ly, for enough of our modern strug-i
gles to account for the desire of
"more than a few persons" to stop
at least that menace to our peace,
Mr. Shinn's next paragraph is even1
more amazing. The author says1
that "They fail to realize that the
war is only a means to an end-the
end of restoring Germany to itsE
rightful place as an equal-even aj
leader-among nations." Now, this,
might be looked at from two angles:
1. Mr. Shinn says this from the
point of view of the Germans. And
that makes his statement correct.
The Germans are fighting a war
to restore Germany to what they
consider her rightful place: The
Leader of the World. And I don't
think that we fail to realize that,
or else we wouldn't be fighting to
prevent it. Or does Mr. Shinn{
want this to be prevented?
2. Mr. Shinn intimates that we1
are fighting to restore Germany as
an "equal-even a leader-among
nations," and I venture the state-
ment that he is quite mistaken. It
would have been much easier to
achieve that aim by just letting
the Germans grab what they want-
ed. We are not fighting to restore
Germany to a fighting trim, we are
fighting to destroy Germany's ego,
her belief that she is the nation
who should rule the world. I do
not believe that this war is being
fought so that Germany can be-
come a leader of Central Europe.
It would be quite amusing, in a
gruesome sort of way, to have the
Allies rebuild Germany as a lead-
er, so that she would be able to
"lead" Austria, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Yugoslavia, Denmark,
and even Poland. I say that the
war is not being fought to achieve
that.
"Their heroes" (the Germans')
"Their heroes are embodied in men
like Schiller, Goethe, Thomas Mann."
Here again, the author is arbitrar-
ily assigning beliefs to groups of-
people. Wheredid he get the right
to say that Schiller, Goethe, and
Thomas Mann represent German
ideals better than Von Clausewitz
are Nietsche? "It is difficult to
imagine that the German people,
will ask for or accept similar trage-
dies a third time." It was difficult
for us to imagine that the German
people would ask for or accept a
similar tragedy a second time, and
yet they did. There is a point after
which it does not become difficult to
imagine anything. Mr. Shinn says
that "there are social democratic
forces in Germany today. They may
not be strong now-we may not even
hear of them until Hitler's col-
lapse." For a moment, after read-
ing this, I thought that Mr. Shinn
was attempting subtle satire. I could
not believe that he did not see the
gaping hole in his argument, for by
saying "they may not be strong now
-we may not even hear of them un-
til Hitler's collapse" he defeats the

meaning of his statement that there
are social democratic forces in Ger-
many today. What he does indicate,
is that, when the Germans will be
defeated, there will promptly spring
up numerous "democrats" who, "of
course" couldn't o anything and/or
had been misled, but now were will-
ing to do'all they could to establish
democracy in Germany. In other
words. Germans suddenly turn dem-
By Crockett Johnson

ocratic when the wind blows that
way.
"Nothing humanitarian will be ac-
complished" if we are rude to the
Germans, says the author. Some-
thing humanitarian will be accom-
plished-humanitarian towards the
rest of the world no longer involved
in bloody wars with Germany.
Mr. Shinn then bows his head in
sorrow, and mutters "Germany has
lost, her prestige among nations."
Is it not a rather mild way of put-
ting it? I should say that the
setniments of the war-torn coun-
tries, of the families with their
beloved killed, is a bit stronger
than that. And, while I do not=
want to be nasty, I would like to
remark that I am sure that Ger-
many is glad that it has not lost
her prestige with Mr. Ray Shinn,
of the Daily staff.
;-Fay Ajzenberg, '46E
On Second Thought
By RAY DIXON
If you're still suffering from a
New Year's eve hangover, it might
please you to know that FDR (wh
conceived the idea of two Thanksgiv-
ings a few years ago) is jealous a,
the dickens because Michigan wa:
first to think of having two New
Year's eves.
On Saturday students hollered
happy new year in Unionison and
on Sunday night the same stu-
dents sung a chorus of Auld League
Syne.
So many predictions went wrong
during 1944 that newspaper editor.
and radio commentators all over th(
country were afraid to come right out
and say that this new year is going
to be a happy one. It seems the
best we can do is hope.
Cutting cross campus yesterday,a
we heard one shivering sailor tell
another that Ann Arbor is the only
place in the world where polar
bears sit by the stove to keep warm.
Wise Words
~ APANESE militarists industriousl3
foster the myth that the Mikadc
knows everything, is divinely in-
spired, infallible in judgment and
never makes a mistake.
So now ...the Emperor opens the
Diet with a rescript containing this
sentence: "The war situation is be-
coming more critical."
Many other utterances of the Sor
of Heaven are going to be refuted.
but there's a mouthful with all the
authority of divine inspiration and
infallible judgment behind it.
-St. Louis Post-Dispatch

retary's Office, Rm. 1006 Rackham
Building, Telephone 372.
The last day of interviewing for
Orientation Advisors will be Thurs-
day. Jan. 4, from 3.to 5.
Lectures
Mr. J. 0. Almen of the General
Motors Research Laboratory will be
here to give a lecture on "Fatigue
in Machine Parts," on Thursday,
Jan. 4, in Rm. 311, West Engineering
Building, at 3:45 p.m.
This meeting is open to anyone
interested, but should especially be
of interest to graduate students, sen-
iors and faculty.
Academic Notices
Candidates for the Teacher's Cer-
tificate for February: Please call at
the office of the School of Education,
1437 University Elementary School,
today, between 1:30 and 4:30 to take
the Teacher's Oath. This is a re-
quirement for the certificate.
Biological Chemistry Seminar will
be held this afternoon at 4:15 in
Rm. 2033, Kellogg Building. Dr.
Philip Jay, Associate Professor of
Dentistry, will discuss various fac-
tors, including nutritional, in "den-
tal caries." Please note change in
location.
Speeded Reading Course: The
speeded reading course will resume
at 5. All who registered for this
course are expected to be in atten-
dance for the remaining sessions.
Admission to School of Business
administration Spring Term: Appli-
,ations should be submitted prior to
Tan. 15. Application blanks available
in Rm. 108 Tappan Hall.
Concerts
Faculty Concert: The first faculty
c'oncert of the season will be given at
8:30 Sunday evening, Jan. 7, in Lydia
Hendelssohn Theater. The program
will consist of compositions by
Brahms and will feature Professors
Beserkirsky, Hackett, Okkelberg and
Brinkman. pbl ted
Te general public is invite.

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Pe trillo

N ONE of the corrupt newspapers
smearing the President for ask-
ing Petrillo to lift the ban on record
making states the main fact: the law
is on Petrillo's side; he has been up-
held in his position in every court
Ex-NAMzi employee Geo Sokolsk
says FDR was "on his knees" before
Petrillo; Herald Tribune referred tc
"abject appeal." These are samples
of irresponsible journalism.
In Fact
DAILYOFFICIAL
]BULLE TIN
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 3, 1945
VOL. LV, No. 48
Publication in the Daily Official Bul-
letin is constructive notice to all mem-
bers of the University. Notices for the
Bulletin should be sent in typewritten
form to the Assistant to the President,
1021 Ange1 Hall, by 3:30 p. m. of the day
preceding publication (11:30 a. m. Sat-
urdays).
Notices
Faculty, College of Literature, Sci-
ence, and the Arts: Midsemester re-
ports are due not later than Satur-
day, Jan. 6.
Reports cards are being distributed
to all departmental offices. Green
cards are being provided for fresh-
men reports; they should be returned
to the office of the Academic Coun-
selors, 108 Mason Hall. White cards
for reporting sophomores, juniors.
and seniors should be returned tc
1220 Angell hall.
Midsemester reports should name.
those students, freshmen and upper-
class, whose standing at midsemester
is D or E, not merely those who re-
ceive D or E in so-called midsemestei
examinations.
Students electing our courses, butj
registered in other schools or colleges
of the University should be reported
to the school or college in which then
are registered.
Additional cards may be had at 108
Mason Hall or at 1220 Angell Hall.
Applications in Support of Research
.arnii4g. mrT uiv Reenah nmmit-

Events- Today
Chemistry Colloquium will meet at
4:15 p.m. in Rm. 303 Chemistry Buil-
cling. Harry Freund will speak on
"Separation of Hafnium and Zircon-
ium bytFractional Precipitation." All
interested are invited.
The Veterans Organization. of the
University of Michigan will meet this
evening at 7 p.m., in the Basement
Lecture Room of Lane Hall. In
addition to regular business, affilia-
tion with Veterans In College Inc., a
national organization of veterans in
college will be discussed. All veterans
are urged to attend.
Mortar Board will meet tonight at
7:15 in the League. All members
must be present.
U.S.O. Meeting: There will be a
meeting of the Junior Hostesses of
Regiment X, tonight at 7:30 at the
LISO. Please notify if unable to
attend.
Coming Events
The Romance Languages Journal
Club will meet on Thursday after-
noon, Jan. 4, at 4:15 in the West
conference Room of the Rackham
Building.
Dr. Abraham Herman will discuss
some phases of the recently, pub-
lished "Survey of Language Classes
in the ASTP." Professor Michael S.
Pargment will speak "On Learning a
Foreign Language."
Graduate students and all who
are interested are cordially invited.
At the regular Seminar meeting of
the Department of Chemical and
Metallurgical Engineering on Thurs-
day, Jan. 4, at 4 p.m. in Rm. 3201,
East Engineering Building, Mr. L. E.
3rownell will speak on "Electric
Strain Gauges;" followed by Mr.
D. V. Doane on the subject "Stresses
in Surface Hardened Steels." Any-
one interested is cordially invited to
attend.
The A.I.E.E. will meet Thursday
evening, Jan. 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Rm.
246 West Engineering Building, Mr.
J. S. Needle, instructor in Electrical
Engineering, will discuss "Induction
Heating." The talk will be supple-
mented with demonstrations. Re-
freshments will be served.
Alpha Phi Omega service fratern-
ity will hold its first membership
meeting in the Michigan Union,
Thursday, Jan. 4 at 7:30 p.m. All
members are reques'ted to be present.
All students who have had Scouting
experience and are interested in
joining Alpha Phi Omega are cord-
ially invited to this meeting. Alpha
Phi Omega also extends a special
invitation to the meeting to any
faculty member who is desirous of
becoming a faculty advisor of the
fraternity.
The Executive Board of the Inter-
Racial Association will meet Thurs-
day at 7:30 p.m. in the Union.
Permission has been granted by

,,.


Reactionaries

P RIME MINISTER Churchill's actions of the
past weeks seem to indicate an unfortunate
trend. Granted that Mr. Churchill's aim is to
preserve the predominant position of the Brit-
ish Empire in world politics, it is nevertheless
highly deplorable that he is doing so in this
manner.
By supporting factions who represent at best,
the Catholic Church and other groups in the
self-styled center, at worst "former" fascist reac-
tionaries, Churchill is sacrificing the hopes and
help of democratic and liberal elements to that
oft-invoked god of the alibiest, Expediency.
President Roosevelt's present evasive attitude
in answering newsmens questions regarding
American foreign policy in the Mediterranean
area only adds to the confusion and distrust
prevalent among sincere democrats. Unless
FDR is carrying on American foreign affairs
single-handedly it seems obvious that he is
repeating the error of avoiding committments

Good old Orion' Saying
he was giving up hunting'
Then jamming the trading
pos that niht with f urs-
ROBBERS
hid those
furs there'
2-30

'I

I'll tell the cops. They've
been asking Pop where all
the rest of the furs are-
Robbers2 C
Cushlamochre
'0

ops?
e,

But-the cops searched that
shed. Why didn't they find-
t liquidated the
trading post early
in the morning
0r
5 1 I

Itf

_

So I moved the other furs--
Exhausting task, too. I could
carry only a few at a time-
To what seemed a safe place.
Your father's cellar?
0
Copyght 144 54 l Pbhation -
I've read all the cases on the
shelf in the drugstore, and-
Mr (YAMalleuv The







Your old Fairy Godfather
will find a way to absolve
your dad, Barnaby. Mmm.
- _ . _ 1 !_ , . _!.. - r _. ,

'i

Warn him to say nothing.
Until l bring a battery of
competent counselors, who,
, ,.-a

Every GOOD lawyer limits his
lucrative practice exclusively
to the defense of comely young
u.r - .m r#ar :. nna e -n A

E

II

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