THlE MICHIGAN DlAILY SUNDAY. MAUIf i M~h ---W r e .1 04 1 w f 1e1 a LL il N .l (P !D F c . Slanted Radio News "G ENL.MACARTHUR is a great man who believes in Christianity and our way of life, who if called upon to be our president would become one of the greatest leaders and crusaders of all times, etc. Get this over. Again and again and again." This is a memorandum which G. A. Rich- ards, owner of Radio Station WJR in Detroit sent to newscasters at his Los Angeles sta- tion, KMPC. This station, along with WJR, and WGAR, in Cleveland, also a Richards station, will soon be investigated by the FCC for slanting of the news broadcasts. Two former KMPC news chiefs recently made public Richards' written orders to slant news ccpy against Jews, Communists, the Roosevelt family, the Democratic Ad- ministration, and a whole flock of individual New Dealers, One of Richards' letters to Robert Lewin, one of the newsmen, ordered him to "keep hammering at the Jews, who are all Com- munists." Another letter ordered that "news- casts of Palestine situation be discontinued because such newscasts would give aid and comfort to Jews and Communists." Editorials published in The Michigan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writers only. NIGHT EDITOR: BEN ZWERLING At the same time, and directly against FCC regulations prohibiting editorializing radio news, Richards demanded, according to the newsmen, newscasters boost MacArthur, Dewey, and Eisenhower (how did Ike get there?). So far, in this area, no official complaints have been leveled against WJR, and Rich- ards recently stated, while in Detroit, that "WJR has been under this management (Richards') for 21 years. We have been broadcasting news many times every day. Our record speaks for itself." That it does, Mr. Richards . . . but not the way you mean. The objective listener to WJR has only to tune in any of the non-sponsored newscasts to prove for himself that Richards' orders have also reached Detroit. No better example could be cited than the report of the WJR midnight newscaster the night of the Eisler incident on campus, when he asserted that "2,000 red-blooded Americans at the Univer- sity of Michigan joined tonight in attacking the Communist Gerhardt Eisler." We think that the upcoming FCC investi- gation will uncover plenty of proof of de- liberate slanting of the news in direct viola- tion of FCC regulations, and that Mr. Rich- ards loudly boasted "record" will not prove as spotless as he claims. -Russell B. Clanahan and Mary Stein. Protest Counter-Proposal THE COOLNESS with which a small group of students last Wednesday responded to a protest on Czech academic freedom was the outcome, not of the usual campus wave of apathy, but of a two-way tempest of antipathy and over-enthusiasm that now threatens to smash the teapot in which it was brewed. In the planning stages of the rally, MYDA's curt refusal to pay any attention to the evidence of violence against students presented by SLID, and the equally curt re- fusal of the latter to consider the evidence that MYDA presented, split the conference in two from the start. MYDA, which didn't want the rally in the first place, was unof- ficially but firmly requested to leave. Neither side's version of the situation was substantially justified by evidence later pre- sented; but by that time the planning com- mittee of the conference had taken on a violently partisan character. Leaders of the rally itself wisely eliminated most of the more aggressively anti-Red overtones that permeated some of the early sessions, but most of the harm had already been done. The meeting and the document that came out of it reflect only one side of the split that threatens not only Europe but the whole world. It is one of the larger politi- cal tides that drown all smaller considera- ios-like the academic concept of aca- demic freedom. Students, not just in Czechoslovakia, but throughout the world are losing their free- dom to think as they please. Arrests, dis- missals, and sometimes shootings have oc- curred in Europe, both Eastern and Western, and in nearly every country in the world- even in the United States. From this angle, the divisive effect of the conference is likely to produce just the opposite of freedom. Served up the bland disl of "academic freedom" too highly sea- soned with Hearstian anti-Red pepper, most campus organizations were slow either to accept or reject the proposed rally. We can expect equal reluctance in accepting the resolution passed by 200 students attending thYe rally. Against those that don't back the proposal, some will use this kind of logic: "We are for Academic Freedom. You are against us. Therefore, you don't like Academic Freedom, and you ought to be banned!" That's talking in circles. As an alterna- tive, we suggest that at the earliest oppor- tunity, an organization such as the Com- mittee for Academic Freedom draw up a blanket condemnation of violation of aca- demic freedom, without any strings attach- ed: Such a proposal might well be the starting point for a world-wide charter of academic freedom to be applied wherever violations occurred. But even that charter would remain im- perfect as long as anyone can use it as a lever for destroying the freedom of a group that doesn't see eye to eye with his own outlook. -John Morris Lured to Crime AT LEAST partially responsible for the oppressive censorship under which the radio industry labors is the perennial com- plaint of parents and youth organizations that children are being led to crime by radio programs. Usually these complaints are so far- fetched as to merit a liberal pinch of salt. Most radio programs dealing with crime go to great, sometimes ridiculous lengths to show that law breakers inevitably receive their just deserts. Criminals are portrayed unsympathetically and their plots, however ingeniou, are always shown as being fatally weak in some respect. It has been the contention of the com- plaining groups that familiarizing children with some of the basic procedures of burg- lary, extortion, robbery and the like leads to attempts on their part to succeed where the radio villains fail. Leaving aside the question of whether or not a well-adjusted youngster would try burglary, no matter how well versed in the art, it would appear that this contention possesses a certain validity. The recent $30,000 extortion attempt by a 15-year-old boy in Detroit is a case in point. The boy was arrested by police after send- ing two threatening notes to a business man. When interviewed by detectives he said that a network program depicting the activities of the FBI had given him the idea. "The program," he said, "told of a boy my age who tried to get money that way. At the end of the program, it listed the mistakes he made. I thought I could do it without making the mistakes." This same program had been blamed by a 14-year-old for his attempt to hold u a hat shop the week before. Such incidents offer excellent ammuni- tion for those who think that radio censor- ship should be tightened. If radio is sincere in its oft-expressed desire for greater freedom, it had better watch its P's and Q's a bit more closely- not to mention its FBI's. -Ivan Kelley Major Error POLITICIANS are wont to blunder, we know, but when they start handing out laurels for sheer stupidity, we'll take Taft every time. His latest vote-getting maneuver is really a masterpiece of folly. At Taft's insistence, the Senate is now reconsidering the Fed- eral-aid-to-education bill. That, in itself, is a good thing, but Mr. Taft has apparent- ly forgotten that the bulk of benefits un- der the measure as it now stands will go to the Democratic South. The South may not be solidly behind Truman, but that is certainly no assurance that it would sup- port Taft. The bill will not even get support from more socially conscious voters who favor the principle of Federal-aid-to-education, because it is loaded down with provisions designed to appease racial and religious minorities. The measure directly recognizes the policy of racial segregation by providing that in states where separate public schools are maintained for minority races, the distri- bution of Federal grants shall be on the same proportionate basis as was practiced in the allotment of state and local funds during 1947. In an attempt to placate the fears en- gendered in Catholic and other religious sects by the recent Supreme Court ruling on religious instruction in public schools, the Taft-supported bill stipulates that "no Fed- eral functionary shall exercise any direction, supervision or control" over any school, public or private, affected by the act. In one stroke, Taft has managed to alie- nate voters on three different fronts. We'd hate to be his campaign manager. -Pat James Charge BachfirISes DESPERATELY hoping to stave off an anti-poll-tax bill now being considered by the Senate Rules Committee, Southern state officials and legislators have called the proposed act "unconstitutional" and "Communistic." Their appeal to unreasoning emotion will undoubtedly backfire right into their own laps. The principles of conservative, white supremacy and government by the few that they uphold fit better their own name- calling. Poll taxes are just one of the many meth- ods used in the South to see that the right people vote. Similarly, Communists use un- democratic methods to see that the right people vote. Adjustments of voting pro- cedure made in Czechoslovakia after the Communist coup show how they go about achieving the same end as Southern politi- cians. Czech Communist Minister of the Interior, Vaclav Nosek, has announced that not all citizens will vote. All those who "oppose the interests of the Republic and the people's democracy" will be disenfranchised, he announced. Through an unconstitutional poll-tax, Southern politicians get the same results as the Communists, as proved by the unchang- ing political stand taken since 1880. Perhaps, if Stalin gets tired of rewriting voting regulations or carrying out blood purges, he could take a hint from some of Difference Between Browning and Tennyson DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN For Students of Victorian and Regency Literature Letters to the Editor +BOOKS + Publication in The Daily Official Bulletin is constructive notice to all members of the University. Notices for the Bulletin should be sent in typewritten form to the office of the Assistant to the President, Room 1021 Angell Hall, by 3:00 p.m. on the day preceding publication (11:00 a.m. Saturdays). Notices SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 1948 VOL.'LVIII, No. 126 Faculty, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts: All stu- dents in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts who have from 45 to 59 hours of academic credit, inclusive, are required to take a series of examinations on April 20. These examinations are of value to the students and to their advisers, and in order to give them at all it will be necessary to excuse these students from their classes on that day. Additional details concerning the testing pro- gram will be given at the April faculty meeting. Summer Jobs: Mr. Lear, Ferry- Morse Seed Co., will be at the Bureau of Appointments on Tues., March 30, 4 p.m., to meet with men interested in dealer contact work for the coming summer. Men must be at least 23 years old. Car, expenses furnished; salary about $150 per mo. For further infor- mation call at 201 Mason Hall. University Community Center, Willow Run Village. Tues., March 30, 8 p.m., Wives' Club meeting. Mr. Kenneth Cav- anaugh, General Housing Man- ager at the Village, will speak on 'Why Willow Run.''Everyone invited. The Community Center will be open as usual during spring va- cation. Lecture University Lecture: Theodore Roethke, American poet, reading from his poems at 4:15 p.m., Tues., March 30, Rackham Amphithe- ater; auspices of the Department of English Language and Liter- ature. The public is invited. Academic Notices Speech 176 will meet at the us- ual time on Monday, March 29, at the University Speech Clinic. Events Today Radio Programs: 9:15-9:45 a.m., WJR, Hymns of Freedom-Donald Plott, music di- rector. 6:30-6:45 p.m., WPAG Your Money-Prof. M. H. Waterman- "Probable Reductions in Taxa- tion." Michiga Sailing Club: Meet 9 a.m., Michigan Union, for Whit- more Lake. U. of M. Hot Record Society: Jelly Roll Morton will be inter- viewed at 8 p.m., Grand Rapids Room, Michigan League. Every- one invited. United World Federalists in- vites all foreign students to a discussion on world government at 6:30 er. NIGHTSHADE. A novel by Jay Mc- Cormick. Doubleday & Co., Inc. 1948. 284 pages. $3.00. BACK in December, 1940, a Perspectives understaffman named Jay McCormick sat staring for a long time at a blank sheet of paper rolled in a typewriter. He was try- ing to get started on a review of Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. The book had excited and impressed him deeply, but he didn't know how to begin writing about it. Finally, impatient and desperate, he punched the typewriter keys, suddenly in a hurry to counter the first charge which he thought would be made against the book-that it was just "more of the pro- letariat." And now another reviewer struggles with another blank sheet of paper in another typewriter and this time it is Jay McCor- hnick's own book which poses the problem of what to say and how to begin saying it. And McCormick's initial attack, or counter-at- tack, suggests itself once more, for McCor- mick was more or less unconsciously wrest- ling with that peculiarity of contemporary criticism-the need to designate immediately what kind of a book one is talking about. Thus having stuck my foot in the water, I plunge-Nightshade is not just another "psychological novel," catering with pseudo- authenticity to the public's current fascina- MANY PEOPLE seem to have forgotten that the letters ERP stand for Euro- pean Recovery Plan and are beginning to consider them as meaning Erase the Russian Peril. That seems to be a dangerous mis- direction of thinking which could easily lead to the misdirection of resources in carrying out the plan. Naturally we hope that one result of ERP will be to create conditions in Eurone less conducive than nresent ones to p.m., International Cent-I tion for mental crack-ups. Baldly stated, the plot might deserve such a dismissal. The story is about a jealously obsessed matriarch who drives her neurotic grandson to insanity. But the book rises above the run-of-the-mill level of mere probing, stereotyped analysis and diagnosis. It is the consideration of mor- al issues and decisions which gives the book a greater significance and worth, together with a number of technical excellencies: a tightly complex structure, a poetically sensi- tive style, and a sense of dramatic intensity in scene-setting and dialogue. Red Tierney, immediately likable and mo- derately successful young writer, precipi- tates the action by deciding against a purely physical affair with Rachel Drake in favor of marriage with Barbara Flanagan. Spurned and furious, Rachel is used as a tool by old Mrs. Ferguson to bring about the final des- truction of Hugh Mallory, her grandson and Red's best friend. Red's indirect responsibil- ity for Hugh's end is over-shadowed by the machinations of Mrs. Ferguson, who, in her fanatic determination to maintain her dom- ination over Hugh, is really responsible. McCormick's treatment of this wicked old lady is one of the most interesting of the characterizations, perhaps because of the curious parallelism between her and Hem- ingway's Pilar, as McCormick saw the latter in the afore-mentioned review. He might al- most have been talking about the character he was to create eight years later, when he wrote "Pilar carries the honors away from everyone, but realize she is not a type, not in the strict sense of the word, a woman. She is strange, but real as Hemingway has done her. What makes her real is her desire and her jealousy, revealed briefly but import- antly. Otherwise she would be freakish." This is not to say that Mrs. Ferguson is another Pilar, but the fact remains that, like Pilar, she is not a type, and not unreal and freakish as McCormick "has done her." Student Religious Groups: Congregational-Disciples Guild: Buffet supper, 6 p.m., Congrega- tional church. Evening program of singing. Lutheran Student Association: 5:30 p.m., Zion LutheranParish Hall. Supper meeting, 6 p.m., fol- lowed by a worship service with special Easter music by the choir. Roger Williams Guild: 6 p.m., supper meeting. 8 p.m., presenta- tion of the pageant, "The Dawn- ing," by Guild members. Mem- bers of the other Guilds invited. Unitarian Student Group: 6:30 p.m., special meeting in the ser- ies, "The Scientific Approach to Social Action." Willow Village Church Fellow- ship: Easter Sunday Communion Service at 8:45 a.m. with Divine Worship at 10:45 a.m. Nursery and Primary Church school at the church hour. Coming Events Four One-Act Plays: presented Tuesday, 8 p.m., Lydia Mendels- sohn Theatre, by students in the speech department who are taking advanced courses in theatre. Ad- mission free to the public and no tickets required. Laboratory bill in- cludes: "The Intruder," by Maur- ice Maeterlinck; "The Florist Shop," by Hawkridge; "Neighbors,"' by Zona Gale, and 'Corridors of the Soul," by Evrenov. Theatre doors open at 7:15 and closed at 7:55. Film:'The V-2 Rocket in the United States," 7:30 p.m., March 30, Rackham Amphitheater. This film covering operations at the White Sands Proving Ground, is co-sponsored by the American Or- dnance Association and the Engi- neering council. The public is in- vited. Motion Picture: The Depar ment of Speech will present for speech students and others in- terested a showing of a special 35 mm. sound-track film depicting representative types of current British and American speakers at 5 p.m., Monday, Lydia Mendels- sohn Theatre. Eta Kappa Nu: Dinner and elec- tions meeting 6 p.m., March 30, Faculty Dining Room, Michigan Union. Delta Phi Epsilon, national pro - fessional foreign trade fraternity: Tues., March 30, 4 p.m., Michigan Union. All men interested in for- eign trade and foreign cultural re- lations are invited. Program of fu- ture round-table leaders to be con- sidered. Pre-Medical Society: Organiza- tional meeting, 7:30 p.m., Mon., March 29, Rm. 305, Michigan Un- ion. Speaker: Dr. Gordon K. Moe. Acolytes: Panel Discussion: "Should Philosophy Bake Bread?"' 7:30 p.m., March 29, West Con- ference Room, Rackham Bldg. Open to public. Willow Village AVC: Mon., March 29, 8 p.m., West Lodge. Op- en meeting. rheDaily accords its readers thet privilege of subnttiiig letters for pubicat ion in this column Subject to space limitat ions, the general pol- icy is to. publish in the order in which they are received all letters bearing the w riter's signature and address. Letl ers exceeding :300 words, repeti- tiouis letters and letters o a defamra-C tor 'character or such letters which1 for any other reason are not in good taste will not be published The editors reserve the priviege of on- t densing letters. * * * Once (I Year To the editor: rRADITIONALLY speaking, the Union Open House, like Sadie1 Hawkins Day, ocurs once a year. The latter affords unfortunates of the fairer sex the opportunity to overtake and capture helplessE males in a cross-country race, whereas the former gives Michigan damsels the sacred privilege of walking through, not the side, but the very front doors of the Michi- gan Union. This is true despite the fact thatt the University of Michigan is al recognizQd co-educational schooll and that women are given free andl easy access to all classrooms, li-1 braries, and auditoriums. This is true notwithstanding the fact that the University of Illinois and the University of Wisconsin,t big nine schools,allow their wo- men to walk through the front doors not just one day but every day... This is true even though thej University of Michigan student body is supposedly in favor of pro- gress and advancement as against reaction, prejudice, and discrimin- ation of race, color, and sex. What is the Union defense? Of- ficials there claim that the Union1 is a men's club and consequently women can not be given the same1 rights and privileges as the men.1 However, the Union's three maint sources of income, throughout the year, derive from the Union hotel, cafeteria, and main dining room- all three of which can be attended by non-Union members without' extra charge. Thus, we see the Un- ion two-faced policy of declaring1 that the Union is a men's club to1 deny women the right to enter the front doors but allowing male non- members to frequent the Union soE that they can benefit financially. Unlike one recent Daily letter- to-the-editor, I firmly believe that Michigan co-eds can enter the Un- ion front doors without falling,t tripping, or slipping, no matter1 how long their skirts get. Don't1 you? -Elliot Ashare 1 Nuremnberg ' Its To the Editor: VOUR ARTICLE in the Daily1 Saturday, March 20, entitled "Foolish Attacks" brings up the subject of Nuremberg trials. We haven't had very much authentic material about them in. this coun- try's press and this causes us to distrust the project of course. The involved procedures necessary to dispense real justice are seldom appreciated. I've just received an advertisement from the govern- ment printing office, sent along with pamphlets. I've purchased, to the effect that for $50.00 you can obtain thirty seven volumes print- ed in English entitled "Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (Actual Trial Proceedings)". These books are being published in Nur- emberg and shipped to this coun- try volume as they are finished. Our reference librarian says they will be indexed when they get here, as follows: D804642I64. --Thure Rosene Antswers Slosson To the Editor: IN HIS LETTER Professor Slos- son raised some questions which I would like .to answer. . "Was there," he asks, "a Com- munist or non-Communist prime minister at the time of the coup d'etat?'' Klement Gottwald, a Commun- ist, has been prime minister since Sigma Rho Tau, Engineering Stump Speakers' Society; Meeting. Tues., March 30, 7 p.m., Michigan Union. Preliminary impromptu contest, circle training, and gen- eral meeting. Debaters must be on, time. Toledo Club: Tues., March 30, 7:30 p.m., Hussey Room, Michigan League. Plan Toledo luncheon and election of officers. La p'tite causette: Mon., March 29, 3:30 p.m., Michigan League. the free elections of 1946 when the Communists became the largest party. ".Was the immediate cause of the crisis," he asks next, "a de- mand to eliminate all Communists or non-Communists from the po- lice?" The crisis was caused by the at- tempt of certain elements to re- move the Communists from the cabinet. Jan Masaryk said this in a statement which I quoted in a previous letter. Thirdly he inquires if there was "a large Russian army or large American army in the neighbor- hood and in a position to inter- vene?" Both! The American and Rus- sian zones of Germany border on Czechoslovakia. 'Was it a Russian high official or an American one whose arrival gave the signal for the coup?" Professor Slosson asks text. Laurence Steinhardt, the Ameri- can ambassador, arrived in Prague February 19. The crisis started February 20. On that day he issued a statement expressing hope that Czechoslovakia join the Marshall Plan. Henry Wallace said that this statement was provocative. Lastly Professor Slosson in- quires if it was "before or after the coup that the liberty of the press was suspended, a rigid censorship instituted, the frontier was closed to immigration and emigration, the university purged of non-con- formist professors?" During the crisis "a clear and present danger" existed. If strong measure had not been taken, Czechoslovakia today would be another Spain. Jan Masaryk said: "Such changes which we have ex- perienced usually cause civil wars-. This change was carried out without bloodshed, and our people is and will remain demo- cratic-." -Ed Shaffer A group of thoughtful people in Switzerland, acting privately, have accomplished a badly needed act of postwar justice. Their act was to provide for the care and edu- cation in Switzerland of a group of 50 children of German generals and private citizens who were ex- ecuted for their part in the at- tempt to assassinate Hitler in July, 1944. The attempt was brave. Had it been successful, it might have terminated the war some months before it did end. As it was, the bombing was a blow to German morale, and a boon to the morale of the Allies. If their fathers were "traitors" to Hitler, they were benefactors of mankind. The Swiss are trying to pay this debt to the anti-Hitler heroes by kindness to their chil- dren. -St. Louis Post Dispatch £id4Egan Fifty-Eighth Year I Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Editorial Staff John Campbell .......Managing Editor Dick Maloy...............City Editor Harriett Friedman .. Editorial Director Lida Dailes...........Associate Editor Joan Katz...........Associate Editor Fred Schott......... Associate Editor Dick Kraus ..............Sports Editor Bob Lent...Associate Sports Editor Joyce Johnson.......Women's Editor Jean Whitney Associate Women's Editor Bess Hayes ................. Librarian Business Staff Nancy Helmick......General Manage[ Jeanne Swendeman.......Ad. Manager Edwin Schneider .. F'aeance Manager Dick Halt....... Circulation Manager Telephone 23-24.1 Member of The Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for re-publicatluva of all news dispatched credited to it oc otherwise credited in this newspaper. All rights of re-publication of all other mtesherein are also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as second-class mail matter. Subscription during the regular school year by carrier, $5.00, by mall, $6.00. Member A sociated Collegiate rews .1947-48 BARNABY. rYour ideas sound splendid, Mr. Blatus. But ri'm not sure that a Your uncle will be delighted when / present x"T