PAGE FOUR
THlE MICHIGAN DAILY
TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1949
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Luck and Pluck
r THIS WEEK the nation is commemorating
the 115th anniversary of the birth of
Horatio Alger.
But today, only a half-century after the
death of this well known American writer,
the youth of this country is already in a
miserable state of ignorance concerning the
tried and true road to success celebrated by
Alger in the "Luck and Pluck" series.
Modern boys and girls are just too am-
bitious, according to a report by the
counseling and employment service of
the Children's Aid Society.
a
In their rush to get to the top, they are
a unwilling to start in "less glamorous jobs
such as their fathers often hold," the re-
port declares.
The Aid Society has the touchy job of"
convincing youthful job-seekers that the
surest route to "plush offices and a battery
of telephones" is to dig in as a clerk, mes-
senger, stenographer or office boy and
work up in the American tradition.
Perhaps it is the insidious intrusion of
the flashier editions of "Nancy Drew" and
"The Bobbsey Twins" which has relegated
-the Alger stories to a back shelf in juv-
enile libraries.
But it does not seem that our youth can
afford to miss the valuable lessons Alger
instilled in young Americans fifty years
* ago in his "Tattered Tom" and "Ragged
Dick."
Surely some public-spirited editor can be
convinced to revise and revive the Alger
stories.
A knowledge of Alger should make
youthful job-seekers ready and willing to
start at the bottom.
If such steps were taken, the Aid Society
and employers would be spared the trying
task of shocking our modern teen-agers
with the "revelation that they cannot earn
$5,000 a year one month after graduation
from high school."
-Jo Misner.
Editorials pnulished in The Michigan Daily
are written by imernbers of The Daily -staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: AL BLUMROSEN
I'D RATHER BE RIGHT:
Then and Now
By SAMUEL GRAFTON
TWENTY YEARS AGO: Just for fun, af-
ter reading Mr. Truman's message to
Congress, I went back to the clippings of
twenty years ago, and read what Mr. Hoov-
er had had to say in 1929 on the State of the
Union. I will not try to break it to you
gently that the messages are quite different.
After his inauguration in March, un-
der the old Federal time-table, Mr. Hoov-
er called a special session. This was lim-
ited to two purposes, tariff revision, gen-
erally upward (ouch!) and farm relief.
Farm relief took the form largely of a
Federal Farm Board, to work with farm
organizations on a voluntary basis for the
improvement of marketing procedures.
Mr. Hoover did not deliver a general mes-
sage until December, well after the great
stock market crash. He reported, with pleas-
ure, that confidence had been re-established
and that unemployment had been pretty
well "prevented."
It was a mild, almost an amiable mes-
sage. The chief feeling one has on reading
it now is that it seems remote and with-
drawn, that it in no way reflected the
crisis we were already in, or touched on
the real fears of a people soon to be in
desperate straits.
AND NOW IN 1949: I notice that some Re-
publican critics of Mr. Truman's mes-
sage of last week refer to it bitterly as "so-
cialistic." I have a funny feeling about that.
I think that if Mr. Truman's message had
been delivered in 1930, a year after the
Hoover message mentioned above, these
critics would have been right. I think the
message really would have seemed social-
ist, coming right after the previous one,
and demanding that the government build
houses for the people, give labor more
rights, end discrimination, provide compul-
sory health insurance, etc.
ON WHERE YOU STAND: In saying this,
I am not at all criticising the President,
or suggesting that he has forgotten the lib-
eral promises of his campaign. He has
abundantly and vigorously fulfilled them. I
am speaking, rather, of those conservatives
who would like to apply to '49 standards
of '29. It can't be done.
Sure, it would have been a shocker in
1929. But then, in 1929, Mr. Hoover's mes-
sage didn't seem terribly conservative to
many of us. It has come to seem more and
more conservative since. And the same
kind of relative change has taken place in
the other direction, too, so that if we judge
Mr. Truman's program by the conditions of
the year in w4ich we live, there is nothing
startling in it.
In the jazzed-up universe of this atomic
age the President's message, as a matter of
fact, offers a useful means for determing
the individual time schedule by which each
of us lives. If, after looking around you at a
Credit for Honesty
InvestigAtion
WE GOT a quick look at a letter to the
College of Literature, Science and the
Arts department, yesterday, which makes us
feel quite dissatisfied with the testing
system in that school.
The letter, evidently the result of a
faculty meeting, dealt with the time-worn
question of honesty. It purports to warn
the professors of the ways in which those
dishonest little rascals in lit school crib
on an exam.
Your instructor is warned to have all text
books, notes, extra blue books and such de-
posited at the front of the room. It even
suggests that blotters can be used as cribs,
although it doesn't tell the instructor how
to go about getting your test pages dry if
you're deprived of that mopping up instru-
ment.
But the grounds on which most stu-
dents are resentful, and rightfully, is the
number of proctors that dominate the
testing room to a point where they dis-
tract a student from his thinking pro-
cesses. We don't seem to do our best work
knowing that the eye of suspicion is on us
from half a dozen sides. The college sug-
gests one proctor for every 50 students as
adequate to keep us in line.
A great many lit school students consider
it a challenge to their ingenuity to see how
much they CAN get away with under these
surroundings.
We would like to challenge the facts which
have led to the conclusion that the students
of this college are more dishonest than their
comrades in Engineering. As most of us
know, the Engineers have had an effective
honor system in operation which has the
support of the faculty of that college.
The question comes to mind whether
the present lit school situation isn't more
due to the doubts in the minds of some
professors concerning their own ability to
get the knowledge across to their proteges
than it is to any inherent dishonesty
among the students.
Let's give college-age students, most of
whom are certainly mature enough, the
benefit of the doubt and get rid of this an-
tiquated Inquisition-type method of exami-
nation.
-Don McNeil
11//
uMi 0A <K=
Letters to the Editor.
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CURRENT MOVIES
At the Michigan ..
WHEN MY BABY SMIES AT ME, with
Betty Grable and Dan Dailey.
BETTY GRABLE and Dan Daily make a
very charming couple. It is not undue
exaggeration to point out that she has
caused many a masculine sigh, and that
Mr. Daily has talent and personality of
sorts. Yes, they are a charming couple,
and may they be very happy through the
many technicolor variations of their
hugging and hoofing that 20th Century Fox
seems determined to foist upon us.
Meanwhile, if you saw "Mother Wore
Tights" or any other recent technicolor
musical on show business, you have prac-
tically been there already. Nonetheless,
"When My Baby Smiles at Me" is a mildly
entertaining bit of color, costume, song,
and flesh.
It has about as much plot as the title
implies, although the split-up of Betty and
Dan is more drastic and dramatic than
usual. Mr. Daily gives a rather noteworthy
portrayal of a blossoming alcoholic, and I
think it speaks of the audience's, rather
than his, inadequacies that they seem to
find some of his serious scenes so hilarious.
Miss Grable is in good form (if you will
pardon the pun) and Jack Oakie, June Hav-
oc and James Gleason do nice things with
the supporting roles. No matter how you
slice it, a Grable musical is just that,
but if you like the dish, this is a reasonably
palatable piece.
-Gloria Hunter.
At the State..."
A SOUTHERN YANKEE, with Red Skel-
ton, Brian Donlevy, and Arlene Dahl.
WE ALMOST fell out of our chair with
laughter several times during the course
of this picture.
Similarly, there were times when we suf-
fered from acute boredom.
That's the kind of picture it is. Red'
Skelton is undoubtedly very, very funny.
Through nearly all of his scenes we were
reduced to helpless, hysterical laughter.
The hell of it is-he doesn't have all the
scenes.
We'll grant Hollywood that some semb-
lance of a plot is essential to the movement
of a picture. But, as usual, the plot here is
much too complicated for comfort, and
much old-fashioned comedy is undoubtedly
sacrificed at the altar of cinema tradition.
Skelton is cast as a spy in the civil war,
So far, so good. However-Hollywood felt
compelled to tell us what messages he was
carrying, where lie was carrying them,
why he was carrying them, etc., etc., ad
nauseaum.
Thus, it is not very frequently that True
Hilarity rears her pretty head through the
sludge of complications.
If you're in a mood to laugh-which is
not very likely at this academic juncture-
then this is probably your meat.
In any event, Arlene Dahl was balm for
these tired old eyes.
-Bob White '
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
The Daily 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.
Outrageous
To the Editor:
R ECENTLY your paper pub-
lished an outrageous advertise-
ment which seemed in very bad
taste. I refer to the picture of 'the
three monkeys in the Wildroot
Cream-Oil Hair Tonic ad.
In deference to the families of
all the poor people who have been
bitten by monkeys, I believe it is
your duty and the duty of the
Wildro t company to apologize for
this poor humor.
-Charles Fuler
OnBingay Talk.
To the Editor:
THE WOULD-BE autocrat of
Detroit's breakfast table spoke
to a group of college journalists
recently.
Malcolm Bingay, author of the
Free Press' "Good Morning" col-
umn, spoke in what seemed to be
quotations from his forthcoming
book appropriately titled Of Me I
sons interested in working on the
promotions committee of the
Michigan Union Opera to be held
March 23, 24 and 25, Michigan
Theatre. The work will include
contact work with radio stations,
newspapers, students, alumni, and
other interested groups and peo-
ple.
Ski Patrol For Winter Carnival:
Students with some experience in
first aid and/or skiing are needed
to assist with the ski patrol (first
aid patrol) for Winter Carnival.
Members of the ski patrol will
work in conjunction with Health
Service on Wed., Feb. 2, from 1:30
to 5:30 p.m. Ski patrol work will
not eliminate a student from car-
nival competition. Students in-
terested in this work should call
Gwen Sperlich at 2-2569 or Terry
Headington at 2-4591.
MATTER OF FACT:
Acheson and His Job
By STEWART ALSOP
WASHINGTON-In the American govern-
ment, a new appointment as important
as that of Secretary of State is like the
introduction of a new and powerful chem-
ical into a complicated and delicately bal-
anced formula. All sorts of subsidiary reac-
tions are bound to take place. The most in-
teresting and important of the reactions to
the appointment of Dean G. Acheson will be
its effect on the White House and on the
Congress.
Acheson is distinctly the personal choice
of President Harry S. Truman for Secre-
tary of State. In part, of course, the ap-
pointment was aconsequence of a process
of elimination-the choice of Chief Justice
Fred M. Vinson or of Justice William 0.
Douglas would have disrupted the Supreme
Court, and W. Averill Harriman's Wall
Street background was thought to be a po-
litical disadvantage. In part, too, the ob-
jective conclusion was reached that Ache-
son, by experience and ability, was pre-
eminently fitted for the past.
But an even more compelling reason, ac-
cording to those who should know, was
simply that the President likes Acheson
very much personally, admires him greatly,
and is certain that he can work with him
closely and successfully. This in itself sug-
gests one change which is likely to take
place in the relationship between the White
House and the State Department.
Until now, Truman's role in the making of
foreign policy has been with few excep-
tions confined to an almost automatic ap-
proval of what his Secretary of State was
doing. This will be so no longer. Truman
has no intention of becoming his own Sec-
retary of State. But he does intend that
the final authority should be definitely and
clearly his. And it was largely for this reason
that he appointed as secretary a man with
whom he was certain that a successful
working relationship could be established..
This does not mean, of course, that the
basic direction of American policy will be
altered. Aside from Truman's own testimony
and the appointment, of Acheson, himself
one of the chief architects of the policy of
firmness toward the Soviet Union, the most
pulsiveness. For Acheson has a deep and
hard-earned understanding of the real na-
ture of the conflict between the Soviet Un-
ion and the western world. The President
occasionally seems tempted to believe that
he can resolve the conflict by pulling a
rabbit out of his hat. Acheson knows that
he cannot, and the President is pretty cer-
tain to rely on Acheson's judgment,
Bi-partisanship has also -Deen weakened
by the small-minded action of the Senate
Democrats in reducing the Republican rep-
resentation on the Senate Foreign Affairs
Committee. This has caused the Republicans
angrily to suspect that the Administration
has decided since the election to freeze
them out of foreign policy. In fact, it can
be said with assurance that Truman has
no such intention, and that the White House
had absolutely nothing to do with the
Foreign Affairs Committee action. Even so,
Acheson will certainly need all his energy
and ability to rebuild and preserve the
structure of bi-partisanship which has been
one of the major achievements of those
great public servants, George C. Marshall,
Robert A. Lovett and Arthur Vandenberg.
(Copyright, 1949, New York Herald Tribune)
Looking Back
50 YEARS AGO TODAY:
Seating capacity at the law school was in-
creased to accommodate 224 students at a
time at the tables.
The "Southern Trade Journal" cited
Michigan as the best University in the
country for southern students. Said an edi-
torial writer, "no other University combines
the general excellence, social requirements
and technical training as does Michigan."
30 YEARS AGO TODAY:
General John Smuts of Great Britain
published a pamph let advocating "A League
of Nations, a programf or the Peace Con-
ference.
A Daily editorial criticized the change
of policy in Martha Cook which transformed
the dormitory into a residence for upper
r,s s w xmm nnlhj
(Continued from Page 2)
Latin-American Social Systems
(Miner), will be given at 11, MWF,
4082 N S, in the Spring Semester,
1948-49, and not at 10, 307 H H, as1
is indicated on page 4 of the Timet
Schedule.
Reading Course in Latin Ameri-
can Studies, 194, Spring Semester,
3 hours credit.1
This course will meet Mon.,
Wed. and Fri., at 4 p.m. in 406 Li-
brary. Choice of registration is by}
department, Anthropology, Eco-
nomics, History, Geography, Ro-
mance Languages, and Sociology.
General registration for the1
course will be made in 118 Haven
Hall through the Chairman, Prof.
Arthur S. Aiton.
Bacteriology III: First class Mon.,
Jan. 31. Election by Non-Medi-'
cal Students, strictly limited and
only with permission of Dr. Soule.
Geometry Seminar: 3 p.m.,
Wed., Jan. 12, 3001 Angell Hall.,
Dr. K. B. Leisenring and Mr. D. K.
Kazarinoff will speak.
Mathematics Club and Mathe-
matics Colloquium: Meet in a joint
session, 8 p.m., Tues., Jan. 11, West
Conference Room, Rackham Bldg.;
Prof. E. Stiefel of the Swiss Fed-
eral Institute of Technology, Zur-
ich. will speak on "Old and New
Applications of Cartan's Polyhe-
dron in the Theory of Closed Lie
Groups."
Sociology 110, The Rural Com-
munity, will be given the Second
Semester as scheduled, despite the
death of Prof. Holmes.
Graduate Students who were
not able to take the Graduate Ap-
titude Examination on Dec. 8
should report for the make-up ex-
amination on Jan. 13, 7-10 p.m.,
25 Angell Hall. Tickets for the ex-
amination should be purchased
from the Cashier's Office by noon
Jan. 12.
Concerts
University of Michigan Concert
Band, William D. Revelli, conduc-
tor, will play its annual mid-win-
ter program at 8 p.m.. Tues., Jan.
11, in Hill Auditorium. Program
Overture to "1 Matrimonio Segre-
to" by Cimarosa; Siegfried's Rhine
Journey from "Die Gotterdam-
merung" by Wagner, Symphony
No. 1 in B-flat by Fauchet, Toc-
cata and Fugue in D minor by
Bach; March for Americans by
Grofe, Sequoia by La Gassey, the
Finale from Shostakovich's Fifth
Symphony, the first performance
of Skyscraper by Phillips. The
program will close with five Michi-
gan songs. The public is invited.
Lecture-Recital by Vielle Trio,
assisted by Du Bose Robertson,
Tenor, 8 p.m., Wed., Jan. 12,
Rackham Lecture Hall. Music of
the Middle Ages and the Renais-
sance. Open to the general pub-
lic.
Events Today
Mathematics: A meeting to dis-
cuss preliminary Examinations
for the Ph.D. degree and the
Summaries, 4:10 p.m., 3201 An-
gell Hall. All interested persons
invited.
Gilbert and Sullivan Society:
Final meeting of the semester, 7
p.m., Michigan League. Election
of officers. Final chance to order
pictures, hear the recordings of
the show, and obtain refunds.
sing. Had he been content to re-
main in the realm of Bingay-lore,
his audience could have enjoyed
an innocuous and pleasant eve-
ning laughing at and even with
him.
Such, unfortuately, was not the
case. Mr. Bingay has a healthy
disdain for education, particularly
for journalism departments. From
his remarks, this appears to stem,
from the fact that he was ejected
from school at an early age and
forged his own path up to the edi-
torial directorship of his paper
without being hampered by aca-
demic experience.
Consequently, his well-oiled
cliches about the ineptitude of
journalism students could be an-
ticipated and were in keeping with
the occasion.
Mr. Bingay departed from good
taste, however, long enough to
single out the University of Michi-
gan's Department of Journalism
and its former chairman by name
for personal abuse. His unwar-
ranted remarks indicated his to-
tal lack of knowledge about the
scope, methods or philosophy of
instruction at the University- and
left them stamped with personal
bias.
The suggestion made afterwards
that it might be well to present
both sides of the controversy on
his edit page was swept aside with
the air of an impatient public
opinion-molding prophet (who
appeared to be still hurt because
the people violently disagreed
with him recently).
Is it strange that my strongest
recollection of his speech is of a
little commentary on reporters
who, never let their knowledge of
the facts interfere with their
writing?
It increases one's faith in de-
mocracy to realize that while in-
dividuals like tris can hold high
position in the press, they do not
and cannot control the people.
As to Mr. Bingay, if he had had
the opporunity to study at this or
any other responsible school, he
might have a better idea of what
he speaks about.
--Tom Walsh
*':* *
No Majority
To the Editor:
WHY the dickens do the Messrs.
Shaffer, Yellin and Carter, in
their resignation from AVC, point
to the "democratic principles lof
our Party" as a basis for their
obeying the will of the majority?
That, to me, seems as absurd as a
church council member explaining
this submission to a majority de-
cision on church affairs on the
grounds that he is a Republican.
Is it possible that abiding by the
majority decisions was foreign
to- the gentlemen before they em-
braced the democratic principles
of their party?
-Arthur Graham
Graduate Education Club pro-
gram: 4 p.m., Student Lounge,
University Elementary School.
Dr. Purdom and Dr. Curtis will
discuss "Job Opportunities." All
students and faculty members in
the School of Education are in-
vited.
Polonia Club: Meeting, 7:30
p.m., International Center. Stu-.
dents of Polish descent welcome.
Tau Beta Pi Photograph for the
Ensian will be taken at 7:15 p.m.,
Michigan Union.
Association of Independent
Men: Council meeting, 7 p.m., Rm.
3C. Michigan Union. All inter-
ested independent men are in-
vited.
Christian Science Organization:
Testimonial meeting, 7:30 p.m.,
Upper Room, Lane Hall.
Square Dance Group: 7 p.m.,
Lane Hall.
Hillel Foundation Central Drives
Committee: Meeting 4:15 p.m.,
Rm. 3A, Michigan Union, for all
members and other interested stu-
dents.
U. of M. Dames: General meet-
ing, 8 p.m., Assembly Room, Rack-
ham Bldg. Guest speaker: Miss
Marjorie Sanger, Director of Mer-
rill-Palmer School of Detroit.
Topic: "What Is Good Disci-
pline?"
Committee for Displaced Stu-
dents: 7:30 p.m., Ann Arbor Room,
Michigan League.
Agenda: Report on placement
of first student; Preparation for
arrival of students on Jan. 13;
Placement of extra student; Ad-
ministration of finances of each
sponsoring organization.
Coming Events
"The Tragical history of Doc-
tor Faustus," by Christopher
Marlowe, will be presented tomor -
row through Saturday in Lydia
Mendelssohn Theatre by the de-
partment of speech. All perform-
ance will start at 8 p.m. Tickets
are now on sale at the theatre box
office, phone 6300. A special rate
for students will be granted for
Wednesday and Thursday night.
Motion Pictures, auspices of the
1udio-Vi lal Education Center.
Mental Hygiene: Emotional;
Health, Feeling of Rejection. 5:10
p.m., Wed., Jan. 12, Kellogg Au-
ditorium.
f1
Delta Sigma Pi, Professional
Business Fraternity: Open meet-
ing, Wed., Jan. 12, 8 p.m., 130
Business Administration. A job
panel discussion by five recent
graduates of the School of Busi-
ness Administration in the fields
of accounting, management, in-
dustrial marketing, business pol-
icy, and retailing. All interested
students are invited.
ASCE: Meeting, 7 p.m., Wed.,
Jan. 12, Rm. 3-KLMN, Michigan
Union. Election of Officers. En-
sian picture will be taken. Speak-
er: Mr. G. C. Dailey, U. S. Gypsum
Co. Topic and Movies (color):
"Gypsum as a Building Material."
American Institute of Electrical
Engineers and Institute of Radio
Engineers, Joint Student Branch:
Mr. M. H. Fisher of the Westing-
house Electric Corp. will speak or
"Industrial Applications of Roto-
trol Regulators," Wed., Jan. 12
7:30 p.m., Michigan Union. The
Ensian picture will be taken.
Sigma Gamma Epsilon: 12:15
p.m., Wed., Jan. 12, 3055 Natural
Science. Mr. John C. Ferm will
speak on "Cyclothems in Penn-
sylvania."
Graduate History Club. Meet-
ing, 8 p.m., Wed., Jan. 12, Clem-
ents Library. Prof. Leslie White,
Chairman of the Department 01
Anthropology, will speak. All
graduate History students are in-
vited.
Ullr Ski Club: 7:30 p.m., Wed.,
12, 35 Angell Hall. Short meeting
to make plans and reservations for
between semesters' trip.
Religion and Life Committee
Meeting: Executive Committe(
and Committee Chairmen are
asked to be present, Wed., Jan. 12,
7:30 p.m., Lane Hall.
United World Federalists: Gen-
eral Meeting, 7:30 p.m., Wed., Jan
12, Michigan Union. Election of
officers. All members are urged t(
attend.
Women of the University Fac-
ulty: Tea, 4-6 p.m., Wed, Jan. 12
Club room, Room D, Michigar
League.
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Fifty-Ninth Year
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Edited and managed by stuaenta of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Harriett Friedman ...Managing Editot
Dick Maloy..... .....City Editor
Naomi Stern .........Editorial Director
Alegra Pasqualetti .... Associate Editoz
Arthur Higbee .......Associate Editor
Murray Grant..........Sports Editor
Bud Weidenthal ..Associate Sports Ed.
Bev Bussey ......Sports Feature Writer
Audrey Buttery........Women's Editor
Bess Hayes ................Librariani
Business Staff
Richard Halt .......Business Manager
Jean Leonard ....Advertising Managet
William Culrman.....Finance Manager
Cole Christian ....Circulation Manager
Telephone 23-24-1
Member of The Associated Press
The Associated Press is exclusivel3
entitled to the use for republication
of all news dispatches credited to it oz
otherwise credited to this newspaper.
All rights of republication 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, by mall,
$6.00.
Sigma XI: 8 p.m., Wed., Jan. 12,
Rackham Amphitheatre. Speak-
ers: Prof. William S. Steere, De-
partment of Botany, University of
Michigan.
Subject: "Botanical Studies in
the Port Radium Region of Great
Bear Lake, N.W.T., (illustrated).
Open to the Public.
Michigan Union Opera: Meet-
ing, 4 p.m., Wed., Jan. 12, Rm.
3N, Michigan Union, for all per-
BARNABY
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No doubt at all, is there, Barnaby?
About my ability to make it snow- e
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