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. i i 'r .a i e sky j ,; rr , . a , ,: . X }:' : :_.>: - - x \j MAYBE THAT'LL HELP ' Letters to the Editor... , Y h D O ~'". !. , i Q Y"" r. , 4-, ~ 4 . . .,,, ~ r' l Yik Y' '£ rr y.: 1. ,.' f ,Y1 ' t , t""e ! R Y . * * * ( --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 Member of The Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for re-publication 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 $6.00. 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