THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Whipping Democracy
rHERE'S MORE THAN one way to kill
a democracy, and the leaders of our
present House of Representatives seem to be
exhausting all means to kill {the same Amer-
ican democracy to which they give lip
service.
Current Exhibit A of their apparent atti-
tude is the approval by the House Rules
Committee this week of a bill which would
jail any newspaper reporter or government
official who made public information
deemed "confidential" by a committee of
Congress. The bill would also force execu-
tive departments to hand over any informa-
tion or documents which any Congressional
committee desired.,
If, by some magic, someone could be
chosen of lily white purity and integrity,
possessing also an omniscient political
knowledge, perhaps the scheme would work
well, for it can scarcely be denied that
a few widely scattered news leaks of truly
confidential information have occurred
through the newspapers.
Putting aside the possibility of such an
elysian situation in the near future, a very
significant fact immediately appears--
the all-knowing high priests who would
establish themselves as judges of what
should be made public and what kept
secret are supposedly responsible to their
home constituents, who base their choices
in the next congressional election almost
exclusively on newspaper reports from
Washington.
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
ire written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: ROBERT WHITE
O GET THEORETICAL for a moment,
let us suppose that a certain Congress-
man, who might be called J. Parnell Smith,
has occasion to deal with many confidential
files. At the same time, Congressman Smith
fervently believes in his ability to separate
what he considers "Americans" from "Com-
munists" and "dangerous elements." He
further maintains that he has the right
to hide behind his Congressional immunity
from libel suits to smear the unfortunate
objects of his current wrath.
Now, let us suppose that Citizen A, who is
smeared with unfounded charges, happens
to be a member of an opposite political
party, and holds different views on the
rights of the individual, or perhaps on the
draft, from those of Congressman Smith.
After Smith accuses him of being "un-
American," he seeks to prove his loyalty
by citing favorable reports already made
on him by government investigators. Under
the pro.ected law, Smith could blandly de-
clare the documents "confidential," and the
case would be closed, with the same citizen
ending up in jail for contempt of Congress,
or at least with a blackened name.
Fantastic? Can't happen in America?
Don't bother answering, because it has al-
ready happened, when Dr. Edward U.
Condon was smeared by charges of "un-
American"-~-charges never substantiated.
All men like "Congressman Smith" need
to complete the cycle detailed above is
the confidential information law soon to
appear on the floor of the House.
Will it be passed? That depends on the
vigilance of an informed public opinion, and
of newspapers willing to fight against this
brazen attack on a free press.
I'D RATHER BE RIGHT:
Booms Bloom
By SAMUEL GRAFTON
DURING THE WAR we had a war boom,
after the war we had a scarcity boom,
and today we have what might be called a
foreign policy boom. The price decline which
started in February has apparently been
arrested; prices are on the rise again. We
have been waiting, man and boy, ever since
the war ended for natural processes to come
along and bring prices down. But something
always happens to balk natural processes.
Last year it was the poor corn crop; this
year it is a combination of tax reductions,
the Marshall Plan, and, most important of
all, rearmament prospects.
Poor old natural process! We keep calling
on it to come quick and save us from high
prices, but every time it shows up we find
some way to dissemble our love and kick
it downstairs.
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--Russell B. Clanahan.
Abuse of Power
LL YOU HAVE TO DO is ask a southern
"liberal" about progress to end dis-
crimination in the South and he will tell
you that we must proceed slowly, not hurry
things, and perhaps in some future genera-
tion we shall achieve equality.
Ignoring the fact that this "evolutionary"
approach dooms the generation living and
those unborn to life as second-class citizens,
the argument falls down because prejudice
tends, perversely, to perpetuate itself, and
largely for economic reasons.
As long as there is no enforceable re-
straint on vigilanteism and terrorism to
limit rights, unscrupulous racists will pursue
these infamous tactics to foster economic
exploitation.
Following in the good Adam Smith tradi-
tion, the racists will not give up voluntarily
what has proved to be a profitable bus-
iness.
The unwelcome truth the "liberals" must
recognize is that as long as Negro can be
pitted against poor white and the groups
made to compete against each other for jobs,
we can look for resistance to anti-discrim-
ination laws. One wonders whether the
highly profitable system of slavery fcould
ever have been abolished without the Civil
War.
In order to enforce the pattern, state
and local governments have for years en-
acted segregation laws, like the Birming-
ham, Alabama ordinance under which
United States Senator Glen Taylor was
arrested. Senator Taylor, it appears, does
not approve of segregation laws and when
asked to appear at an inter-racial meet-
ing of the Southern Negro Youth Con-
gress, he insisted on entering the door
set aside for Negroes.
With characteristic dispatch, Senator
Taylor was arrested, taken to jail, finger-
printed and released on bond. The police
chief, Floyd Eddins has made it clear that
Taylor was not charged with violating seg-
regation laws, which the Supreme Court
ruled unenforceable in inter-state commerce
in Morgan vs. Virginia. He emphasized that
Taylor was guilty of disorderly conduct.
It made no difference that Senator
Taylor was harming no one, causing no
disturbance; he was attacking the system
at its roots, and therefore he was dis-
orderly.
When a United States senator is man-
handled by police and convicted on so neg-
ligible a pretext, there is a definite abuse
of police powers granted to maintain the
public welfare.
Local authorities, however, have demon-
strated their inability to promote the public
welfare, when their economic interests are
at stake. Only Congress can effectively cope
with this national disgrace. But somehow,
the kind of un-American activities which
the Birmingham police were upholding when
they arrested Senator Taylor never get the
attention of J. Parnell Thomas.
--Jake Hurwitz.
The present boom is the least pretty of
them all, if it be possible to choose among
booms on this ground. It is the most spec-
ulative and the most psychological of our
three recent booms, in the sense that there
are not, actually, hordes of customers with
thick wads of bills in their hands fighting
savagely for whatever is offered for sale.
Prices remain high, not because of de-
mand so much, nor because of scarcities, but
because costs are high, and also out of
habit and hope; there is an objective feel-
ing that prices ought to be high because
of the foreign aid and rearmament pro-
grams which lie ahead. Thus a boom based
on future prospects is being carried forward
in an atmosphere of really straitened cir-
cumstances for millions of Americans.
This boom sounds hollower than its prede-
cessors when you rap on it. And it is a boom
marked by a real decline in orderly think-
ing. For almost the first time you see even
labor pressing for higher prices, for anything
that will allow a wage increase, as in the
New York City subway fare raise situation.
It is as if we could no longer afford the
luxury of integrated economic thinking. It
is just too hard to buy the week's food;
there isn't enough left over after you have
bought it to support a philosophy; and
labor, like other interests, increasingly
catches at an edge or a corner, hoping for
nothing more than to get by.
ANOTHER POINT about the current boom
is that it rests on the world's insecurity.
We are, in a sense, having a boom because
there is no peace, for the boom leans on
the world's sad need for economic aid and
on our own defense program. It might al-
most be fair to say that things wouldn't be
so good if things were good.
It hasn't been planned that way by
anybody, but it remains operationally true,
and this fact raises a small buzzing horde
of paradoxes. We are searching for -se-
curity in this world while leaning, in the
economic sense, on insecurity. And of the
two insecurity is much closer to being
the objective reality, woven into the fab-
ric of our daily living, into support of the
price level, into all our speculations and
predictions about our economic futures.
Not only does our program for security
in this world fail to give us security, but
it is actually characterized by a kind of
built-in pessimism, that seems not at all
a temporary installation.
Here again one senses the critical differ-
ences between a direct, aggressive and posi-
tive search for peace, and the rather side-
long approach to peace which we have de-
cided to make through aid programs and
arms programs. The differences show up in
the very taste and feel of all our days. We
are told we will get there all right in the
end, but it is a little hard to believe that two
roads so very different can really lead to
the same place.
(Copyright, 1948, New York Post Corporation)
Sham Battle
WHEN THE HISTORIANS of a yet-un-
born generation look back on the post
World War II era in the United States, they
will have a strange political enigma to solve.
They will see a nation that professes to
believe in the principles of democracy in a
great world-wide struggle with the Commu-
nist ideology. They will know who won.
All we know is that the fight is a cold war
between the forces of government directed
economic determination and free-economic
determination. Both the United States and
Russia firmly believe they are right and
hope, more or less, to force or persuade the
rest of the world to accept their political
systems.
But in the Unted States, we have Com-
munists-people who believe in the Russian
form of determinism and who are working
towards that end here.
How do they operate? They insist on
their Constitutional rights of freedom of
speech and action. They accept our
doctrines of freedom to pursue the end
of dictatorship and governmental deter-
mination.
How do we attack them? We get up
Callahan and Thomas committees and
literally persecute them and others we
suspect of holding beliefs near Commu-
nism. In other words, we accept the
Russian totalitarian concepts to safeguard
nur. dmnrati concipt of ivine'.
; ,
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
(continued from Page 3)
sitions: Vocational School Super-
visor Class 1 and Class 2. Closing
date for applications, May 12.
Examinations are being given for
Veterans Vocational Education
Supervisor Class 3 and 4. Closing
date for applications May 19.
The Corning Glass Works,
Corning, New York, will have a
representative here on Monday,
May 10, to interview mechanical,
industrial, and chemical engi-
neers. There are also a few open-
ings for elecrical engineers.
The Curtiss-Wright Corpora-
tion, Propeller Division, Caldwell,
New Jersey, will have a repre-
sentative here on Tuesday and
Wednesday, May 11 and 12, to in-
metallurgical, and aeronautical
engineers.
Revere Copper and Brass, Inc.,
Rome, New York, will have a rep-
resentative here on Tuesday, May
11, metallurgical and chemical en-
gineers for mill methods and tech-
nical control with a possible fu-
ture in supervision or sales. They
also have openings for mechani-
cal engineers for mill mainte-
nance, design, and layout.
Summer Work: Handyman-
gardener. Opportunity for man
with transportation to work as
handyman-gardener on estate
about 3 miles from Ann Arbor.
Full time during summer, part-
time during next school year.
For further information call at
201 Mason Hall or call Extension
371.
Lectures.
University Lecture: Stephen
Spender, American poet, will
speak on the subject "Modern
Poetry in the Modern World" at
4:15 p.m., Thurs., May 6, Rack-
ham Lecture Hall; auspices of the
Department of English Language
and Literature. The public is in-
vited.
University Lecture on Post-War
Biological Research in Europe by
Jean G. Baer, Professor of Zool-
ogy, University of Neutchatel.
Switzerland. 8 p.m., Friday, May
7, Kellogg Auditorium. Public in-
vited.
Wood Technology Lecture: 10 a.m.
Fri., May 7, East Lecture Room,
Rackham Bldg. Mr. H. F. Nixdorf
of the No-Sag Spring Co. will talk
on "Recent Developments in Fur-
niture Construction."
Wood Technology students are
expected to attend. Other stu-
dents and faculty members are in-
vited.
Academic Notices
Doctoral Examination for Max
Atkin Woodbury, Mathematics;
thesis: "Probability and Expected
Values," 3:30 p.m., Thurs., May
6, East Council Room, Rackham
Bldg. Chairman, A. H. Copeland.
Applied Mathematics Seminar:
Thursday, May 6, Room 247 W.
Engineering Bldg. Prof. N. Coburn
will speak on "General Non-
Steady Flows of a Compressible
Fluid."
Engineering Mechanics Semi-
nar: 4 p.m., Thurs., May 6, Room
101, W. Engineering Bldg. Prof. F.
L. Everett and Mr. K. Parsons will
discuss "Modern Photoelasticity."
Orientation Seminar: Thurs., 1
p.m., Room 3001, Angell Hall. Mr.
Kenneth Fowler will talk on
"P-adic Numbers."
Concerts
Corrections: The Men's Glee
Club Concert, conducted by Philip
A. Duey, will be presented at 8:15
p.m., Sat., May 8, Hill Audito-
rium, instead of 8:30 as previous-
ly announced. Also, the program
on Sunday, May 9, Hill Audito-
rium, by the Symphonic Swing
Orchestra, will begin at 8 p.m., in-
stead of 8:30.
Carillon Recital: Percival Price,
University Carillonneur, will be
heard in another program in the
spring series, at 7:15 p.m., Thurs.,
May 6, in a group of compositions
and arrangements for carillon by
Kamiel Lefevere. The program
will open with the Minuet from
the E-flat Symphony by Mozart,
Prelude 4, and Giga, by Corelli,
followed by Lefevere's Allegro, Al-
fred Bells, Intermezzo, and Ma-
zurka.
Student Recital: Betty Louise
Lumby, Pianist, will be heard at
8:30 p.m., Fri., May 7, Rackham
Assembly Hall. Program: compo-
sitions by Mozart, Franck, Bach
and Ravel. A pupil of Joseph
Brinkman, Miss Lumby will pre-
sent the recital in partial fulfill-
ment of the requirements fir the
degree of Master of Music. Open
to the public.
Exhibition
Archit ecture Building: Photog-
raphy by Roger and Patti Hollen-
beck; through May 28.
Events Today
Radio Program:
5:45 p.m. WPAG - Campus
News.
Political Science Round Table:
East Conference Room, Rackham
Bldg., 7:30 p.m. Program: Prob-
lems of Political Theory.
International Center weekly tea:
4:30-5:30 p.m., Thurs. Hostesses:
Miss Edith J. Smith and Miss
Alice J. Russell.
Art Cinema League will present
Jean Vigo's L'ATLANTE with Mi-
ment of the requirements of the
ched Simon and ZERO DE CON-
DUITE, French dialogue, English
(Continued on Page 5)
ThegDaily accords its readers the
privilege of submitting letters for
publication in this column. Subject
to space limitations, the general pol-
icy is to publish in the order in which
they are received all letters bearing
the writer's signature and address.
Letters exceeding 300 words, repeti-
tious letters and letters of a defama-
tory character or such letters which
for any other reason are not in good
taste will not be published. The
editors reserve the privilege of con-
densing letters.
* *,
Legislature Complaints
To the Editor:
I WOULD LIKE to suggest that
letters concerning University
policies and reactions to those pol-
icies be turned over to members
of thebStudent Legislature, when
they warrant such attention.
These members could obtain any
information necessary for clar-
ification, and institute needed ac-
tion where possible. The results
of their immediate investigation
should be published in your reg-
ular column above their names
and along with the precipitating
letter. I feel this would establish
a sounder basis for student par-
ticipation in University affairs
and would create a greater faith
of the student body in the ef-
fectiveness of their elected repre-
sentatives. By delegating the va-
rious investigations throughout
the Legislature, some of the un-
desirable factionalism, which ap-
pears to be entering our student
government, may be elimiiated
The attendant publicity should be
well worth any extra endeavor on
the part of the individual repre-
sentatives.
-Robert W. Baker.
* * *
Glee Club
To the Editor:
SHOW ME THE MAN or woman
who doesn't like to hear glor-
ious male voices raised in song!
The students of Michigan are in
for a treat this Saturday night
if they will attend the annual
Varsity Glee Club concert at Hill
Auditorium.
The club recently completed a
1,600 mile tour of all the impor-
tant cities of the East and won
acclaim not only from enthusias-
tic and loyal alumni, but also the
music critics of the newspapers in
these towns.
The Glee Club is outstanding
this year and their program is a
varied one that includes some-
thing for everyone. There are pop-
ular songs, classics, comedy, bar-
bershop harmonies and a group of
Michigan's own songs, features of
the Union operas of yesteryear.
Best of all, alums paid up five
dollars to hear the glee club .
here is your chance to hear them
on your campus FOR FREE!
-Harold F. Puff.
* * *
Expediency
To the Editor:
WITHOUT TAKING SIDES in
the critical Palestine situa-
tion, I wish to use a recent article
of Roger Shaw's to point out the
one-sidedness and perhaps even
prejudice which governs a great
deal of the recent comment on
this situation . . .
Mr. Shaw made the following
statement for which he has abso-
lutely no proof: "To the men whc
control our foreign policy, peace i
secondary." Again, "the situation
would not be so tragic, nor so de-
plorable if our Palestine action
served and protected our national
interests." Statements such as
these cannot be backed up by
facts, only by speculation.
In the first instance, does Mr
Shaw actually think that every
member of the Cabinet and every
official in the State Dept. isa
traior t hiscountry' security
and peace? In the second instance,
does Mr. Shaw believe that . .
our position in Palestine serves
only the oil interests and the Wall
Street bankers? Such conclusions
cannot be accepted if one views
the whole situation from a se-
curity standpoint. Up until now
all the Arab states have beer
friendly toward us. In view of
the tense situation with the So-
viet Union does it seem that our
best national interest in the
Middle East lies in making en-
emies of the Arabs by forcing
them to cede land which has been
theirs for two thousand years and
take the chance that they will
turn to the Sovi'et Union for
friendship and protection?
In normal times I am certainly
in favor of giving the Jews a
homeland in Palestine. Most peo-
ple do. But the point to remem-
ber is that we are not living in
normal times and that our first
consideration in dealing with in-
ternational problems must be
that which is best for our security
in case of war. Whether we like
the Arabs or Turks or even Greeks
is at . . . this time immaterial;
for if the Soviet Union were to
extend her influence over these
countries as she has over all of
Eastern Europe, our security in
case of war would be greatly dam-
aged. In time of crisis you look
for friends; you don't turn against
those you already have.
-Don Nuechterlein,
* * *
Jewish Aid
To the Editor:
[ZFA IS LAUNCHING a drive to
collect clothing for the army
of the Hagana, which is now
fighting in Palestine to maintain
the United Nations mandate. The
army of the Hagana is fighting
without proper equipment, arms,
and clothing. Urgently needed are
such items as khaki, O.D.'s, f a-
tigues, coveralls, shirts, jackets,
etc.
May 16 is the day of Jewish In-
dependence. Let us commemorate
this event by aiding the Hagana
in its fight for liberty and peace.
Please gather together your G:I.
stuff and let it again fight for
democracy-call Hillel, 26585, and
donate your fighting clothes for
a fighting cause.
-Eddie Yellin, Chairman,
IZFA Clothing Drive
t
.I
Fifty-Eighth Year
1
MATTER OF FACT:
Heart of Our Defense
By JOSEPH ALSOP
HE CONGRESS SEEMS increasingly cer-
tain to flout the President and Secre-
tary of Defense Forrestal in the matter of
the 70-Group Air Force. But the important
point is that the decision of Congress will
not genuinely settle anything. The real dif-
ficulty, only indirectly reflected in the
squabble over the correct size of the Air
Force, is the continuing failure of the
services to agree on any unified strategic
concept.
The difficulty grows more acute, more-
over, as the time draws near for concerting
security plans with the western European
union. American production cannot easily
be stretched to provide arms for France,
Britain and Benelux while peace among
the services is expensively (and unsuccess-
fully) bought by "balanced" investment
among air, naval and ground forces.
The apple of discord is a single, simple
question: "Who shall have the main role in
striking the knockout blow?" With 'Varying
degrees of reluctance or enthusiasm, the
services accept two points of doctrine. First,
another long war would bring ruin to the
victor as well as to the vanquished. Second,
the creation of absolute weapons, such as
the atomic bomb, makes it probable, al-
though by no means certain, that another
war can be shortened by striking an initial
knockout blow. It is therefore a good gamble
to plan on the basis of a minimum security
force, plus a striking force which would
deliver the knockout blow.
Obviously, until long-r:ange guided missiles
can be perfected, atomic bombs must be
carried to their targets by aircraft. The
trouble is that in the minds of the Navy,
ing task force will cost one billion or so
more. No tactical answer has yet been found
for the German long-range, high-speed
radar-proof submarine, which is the core
of Soviet naval strength. Nor have weapons
yet been devised to protect the costly car-
riers against really powerful air attack.
None the less, the investment in the Naval
.Air Arm is currently almost as great as the
investment in the Air Force itself.
The Army, whose corporate interests are
less endangered th\an the Navy's, takes a
position closer to that of the Air Force.
The Army demands that planning include
provision for offensive effort on the ground
to take and hold air bases, on the North
African coast for example.
Finally the Air Force asserts that after
war begins, the knockout need involve
neither powerful naval forces, nor even
ground forces on any great scale. What are
wanted, according to the Air Force, are
prepared and provisioned air bases, suf-
ficiently distant to be unreachable by enemy
armies for a few weeks at the most.
Such are the conflicting concepts. Cur-
iously enough they have been roughly re-
conciled on the lower levels, even among
the planners of the joint Chiefs of Staff.
At the top, however, the leaders of the
services are so conscious of the corporate
interests they represent that there has
been no real agreement. But +since the
country has neither the funds nor the
productive resources to allow each service
to implement its own concept to the
full, what we get is simply a half-worthless
compromise.
The fact of the compromise in turn par-
alyzes other essential efforts. Not nearly
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 .. Fr'ance Manager
Dick Halt....... Circulation Manager
Telephone 23-24-1
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of all newsdispatched credited to it ca
otherwise credited in this newspape.t
All rights of re-publication of all other
matters herein 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. byrmall
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Member
dssociated Collegiate Press
1947-48
4
BARNABY...
I
f
The records the studio gave us were of a.
r'b program some wags made for fun on a
dull afternoon. One of those burlesques
a bored bunch of radio people put together
sometimes. And we got it by mistake ... .
cant figure any other explanation for it.
rOh,'no, C,
II
I played it for Mr. Blofus. Yes. And you've
got to find out who those actors were. . . No,
no! We didn't lose the Blatus account. No!
Blatus wants to sponsor that show!
But that was
Mr. O'Malley's
radio show-
I
Barnaby, stop bothering Uncle Ralph.
He's phoning his advertising agency-
Yes, find
out who
made it-
But, Mom, it
was my Fairy c
Godfather-.
He made it!
I
Uncle
Ralph-
s-3
I
y~~2:
C Wit. y
1 guess I'm nf
advertisingI
ot the type for the
business, Ellen. I'm (
Except I've already written a letter turning
it down. The advertising agency is willing
It only pays $2400 a year.
It's too late now anyway-
T
Ii