THE -MICHIGAN D A1LY~ Union Proposals A T A GENERAL MEETING Tuesday, in- terested members of the Union will con- sider an amendment (X,b) to the Michigan Union Constitution which proposes direct election of the organization's President and Recording Secretary. If passed, the amendment would trans- fer this electing power from the Union Selections Committee to the 15,000 Un- ion members and result in substantially weakening the Union. The Board of Directors is charged "with full power to supervise and control all Un- ion activities" and in this capacity forms the heart of. the Union. Composed of six elected student vice-presidents, two Union alumni, three faculty members, and one Regent, this group is ultimately responsible for the election of the President and Re- cording Secretary under the present system. Direct election of these officers, whose du- ties are mainly administrative, would diffuse and considerably weaken the policy-making power of the Board. Secondly, direct elections would substan- tially endanger the opportunity for the most able men to take office. The Union member would be faced with four candi- dates, nominated by the Selections Commit- tee and all qualified by their experience, primarily on the Union Executive Council. In theory, the voter is best-fitted to choose the two top men. In practice, how- ever, confronted in the All-campus elec- tions with numerous SL candidates, class officers, Board in Control candidates, and Union vice-presidents, very few voters are in a position to make the choice pri- marily on merit. On the other hand, the Selections Com- mittee, closely associated with the candi- dates and in possession of their Union ca- reer records, is more qualified to make this important decision primarily on merit. Thirdly, the representative power of the elected student vice-presidents would be severely decreased by action which would place the President and Recording Secretary beyond the veeps' jurisdiction. In contrast to this, Amendment IX would strengthen significantly the posi- tion of the Union vice-presidents. This is a wise move. If the amendment is pass- ed, veep membership on the seven man Selection Committee would be increased from three to five. If the veep is to represent his particular electorate completely, his power must con- tinue to entail final censure or approval of these Union officers. -Pete Thorpe III ON THE Washington Merry- Go -Round WITH DREW PEARSON W ASHINGTON - One of the most signi- ficant primaries in the country takes place in Pennsylvania next week. And long- range political observers believe it may help to decide three things: 1. Whether the Republicans can cast off the old-fashioned leadership which lost them five straight presidential elections. 2. Whether the Republicans can elect a president in 1952. 3. And to some extent the Pennsylvania primary may help to pick a presidential nominee for 1952. The issue in Pennsylvania is not whether Jim Duff, scrappy, red-headed, liberal governor, will get the senatorial nomina- tion. Of that he is almost certain. The real issue is whether the famed Grundy machine and the Pennsylvania Manufac- turers Association, which for years have exploited the state's natural resources and the state's political vote, can be unseated. That's what GOP leaders in other stalA will be watching. For if Grundyism is defr initely and categorically defeated in Penn- sylvania, then it may mean a contagious, progressive turning point in the Republican Party. * * * Grundyism got a terrific jolt, however, when a Democrat, George Earle, was swept into office in 1934 and when the secretary of the United Mine Workers, Tom Ken- n e d y, became lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania. This was the first Democratic regime to rule rock-ribbed Pennsylvania in half a cen- tury, and it put across sweeping social and economic reforms. Significantly, Republican legislatures which followed did not remove any of those reforms. And Governor Duff, a progressive Republican, has now gone fur- ther than the Democrats by voting $50,000,- 000 to clean up the polluted Schuylkill River, by planning new bridges across the Dela- ware, reforming the state's overcrowded in- sane asylums, and in making Pennsylvania's teachers the second highest paid in the U.S.A. * * * Esperan to .ESPERANTISTS JOHN Van Der Weele and David Firestone have jumped to the defense of the "international language", Esperanto. (In letters column). These gen- tlemen claim that Esperanto, contrary to a story which appeared in The Daily Sat- urday, is still very much alive. To prove this, they point to a UN petition which has been circulating for the past five years, Esperanto congresses and conventions and the practical value of the language. In spite of their protestations, I still say Esperanto is dead. I set out to garner information about Es- peranto with all good intentions of making note of current Esperantist activities. Maybe I give up easily, but, after con- tacting twelve professors of English, lan- guage and political science, inspecting the library files, scanning in vain through so- cial science indexes, magazine indexes, in- ternational congresses and convention in- dexes, and news of the year reviews, among others, for news of Esperanto doings, I changed my mind. Of the professors contacted, three claimed some scanty knowledge of the subject, and only one thought he could tell me anything at all about the Esper- anto movement itself. The indexes led me to one (1) two-page article in a small 1909 literary review ad- vocating the language's adoption. Since the early 1900's, the Esperanto conventions have not been deemed im- portant enough to be noted in the inter- national convention lists. The few Es- peranto books in the library are dated 1929 or earlier, As for the practicability of Esperanto, pig latin has its practical uses, too. But to be a living language, a tongue must be accept- ed and used by innumerable persons, not just a few interested students. Esperanto alive? Ixnay. -Donna Hendleman CilNIEMA At Architecture Aud.. . THE LONG VOYAGE HOME, with Thomas Mitchell, John Wayne, Ian Hunt- er. THE SEA and the men it creates, courtesy Eugene O'Neil, appear to great advant- age in "The Long Voyage Home." Four O'Neil plays, blended, tell the story of the men on the British merchant ship Glen- cairn on an early war crossing from the West Indies to England. Although' the main action revolves around four of the crewmen, the inter- action among the characters gives th impression of a group picture rather than individual portraits. Humor and tragedy rise from the characters themselves, not so much from the situations sea life thrusts them into. A shipboard brawl, storm at sea, shore leave and personal hostilities furnish the main plot mater- ials. Each incident gives the overall effect of the lives of merchant seamen while dealing with the story of one of the crew- men. Expressive acting by the whole cast reaches a peak in scenes depicting the death of one of the sailors, the humiliation of another, the drunken lust of the group, so that dialogue becomes secondary. Emotions as well as action is conveyed superbly by facial expression and body movements. No- body in "The Long Voyage Home" talks much about the thraldom of the sea, but the terrifying ambivalence of their attitudes toward their life comes through in every movement, every gesture. -Fredrica Winters Grades WHILE Chuck Elliott's editorial advocat- ing a grading system for individual courses on a 0.0 to 4.0 scale makes a sound point in that such a system might make for more accurate grading, it fails to men- tion some drawbacks of the system. Perhaps the most important would be that the system, instead of being "a .. . step . . . . toward the eventual abolition of grading," would throw more emphasia on grades than ever, both from the stu- dent's and instructor's point of view. The student, for whom grades are pre- sumably an incentive, would not only have to worry about getting a B but would have his prestige depend, say, on whether lie got a 3.1 or a 3.2. Every student, instead of falling into a broad range, would be "typed" in an individual class as, say, not a C stu- dent but a 2.3 student. And the instructor would have to fit his students into a scale of 40 possible grades rather than five. He might better spend the additional time this would require in pre- paring a better lesson or writing his next book. The new system would, further, be very cumbersome in classes where the grading tends to be subjective. In these cases the grading would be difficult, and in many cases rather innacurate, to have to mark on so fine a scale. Further, it is questionable whether the r 4 .. . gYER n I1/ d t a wr6 2>8: ICI DUFF FIGHTS GRUNDY'S HEYDAY XetteA/' TO THE EDITOR The Daily welcomes communications from its readers on matters of general interest, and will publish all letters which are signed by the writer and in good taste. Letters exceeding 300 words in length, defamatory or libelous letters, and letters which for any reason are not in good taste will be condensed edited or withheld from publication at the discretion of the editors. "Hey-I Vote Too, You Know,, JOE GRUNDY himself, 86 years old and a staunch advocate of the old GOP theory that high tariff will cure everything, is now only a symbol. But he is a powerful symbol of Pennsylvania's industrial heyday when factories polluted rivers, railroads ran the legislature, mine operators refused to keep props in coal shafts and the streets of coal- mining cities caved in as a result of the public-be-damned attitude of the Grundy group. Editorials published in The Michigan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writers only., NIGHT EDITOR: PETER HOTTON FURTHERMORE, Duff made the Grundy-' ites gnash their teeth and howl to the high heavens by plumping for special taxes on cigarettes, and soft drinks. And in the primary next week, they have no great objection to sending Duff to Wash- ington as a Senator, where he will be out of the way and can't meddle too much with the state of Pennsylvania. But what they do ob- ject to is nominating Duff's friend and rue'- ning-mate, Judge John S. Fine, to be the new Republican governor. This is the real battle to be decided next Tuesday. Note-Whoever the Republicans nominate will face a stiff run-off with the Democrats in November. For seldom has the Democra- tic ticket been stronger. Sen. Francis Myers, Democrat, and popular with many Republicans, is running for re-election; while the Democratic candidate for Gover- nor is Philadelphia's "treasurer Hugh Dil- worth, who will also have Republican sup- port. Whatever happens, Pennsylvania will be an interesting political state to watch between now and November. (Copyright, 1950, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) Modern Art... To the Editor: HAVING inspected the current exhibit in Alumni Memorial Hall at some length (albeit due more to grim determination than to appreciation). I feel constrained to inquire how to set about get- ting twentieth-century "artists" to admit that we are living in a dark- age of art. Our attitude toward art has become warped. The artists themselves, being unable even to approach the excellence of the masters of by-gone eras, set up their own feeble standards, com- pare their work to these, and con- clude they are on a pinnacle of ar- tistic achievement. In this psycho- logical maneuver, the so-called ar- tists have been accompanied. and even encouraged by non-artistic souls who are the patrons and ad- mirers of the results. That these artists are talented cannot be denied; they are per- haps our most skillful salesmen. How they pass off their vague and grotesque creations onto the gullible public, leaving them nod- ding in agreement like the apes in the fable, is indeed a wonder. "Ah, yes - Profound! - Deeply moving!" . . . Paleolithic poppy- cock, I say! From where we stand in his- tory, it is easy to perceive the "golden-ages" of sculpture, paint- ing, orchestral music and vocal, and of the various forms of liter- ature. We may likewise ascertain where were the dark depths in both are and, for example, tech- nology. Seeing ourselves riding the wave of technological ad- vancement, we have, in our in- finite modesty, said to ourselves: "We are in the golden-age of scientific achievement, ergo we must also be in the golden-age of everything else cultural." And, since art has reached a new peak, we must be uncultured, indeed, not to accept and approve it. And so it is, while "artists" are groping for new ways of wrenching beauty all out of shape, the "pa- trons of the arts" are groping for more and more obscure ways of describing the great depth of feeling and profound emotion in these ridiculous dabblings. It is high-time these artists con- ceded they are lost in the shadow of the gorge our civilization is now in, as far as the arts are con- cerned. We must stop saying dark is light (because of false stan- dards), and work to encourage that dark shall become less dark. As long as the public continues to accept confusion as art, the sales- men will continue to manufacture chaos. -George W. Byers * * * South Quad.. .. To the Editor: URING the past semester there has been interest in the overall picture of the strength, weakness- es, and possibilities of the Michi- gan Residence House Plan. The projected opening of the South Quad has quickened in this field, and there have been several plans proposed in which the new Quad would become an all-freshman dorm, leaving the other Residence "Units to Upperclassmen. In this way it is hoped that some life can be pumped into the veins of a system that is rapidly becoming moribund, and is failingto serve its purposes. That the system has possibilities of attaining its desired end of pro- viding a medium for both social and academic activity is obvious. The dorms have the advantage of the inclusion of students of vary- ing backgrounds, personalities, and abilities in one unit, thus afford- ing opportunity for any student to broaden his interest and views. That the system is inadequate is equally obvious, as evidenced by the tremendous turn-over to be found in the personnel of almost every residence unit. While no one can be positive as to the exact causes of the sys- tem's failure so far, a few excel- lent surmises can be put forth. First there is the crowding, and over-large units that result. Then, and more pertinently there is the inertia, built up over many semes- ters, that greets the entering Freshman and effectively stiffles any interest he might have in the house. In the South Quad, there are none of these drawbacks to start with, and the University had, and still might have the opportunity of trying an experiment that might lead to a solution of the Residence Hall problem. The New Quad, in all eventualities will be heavily loaded with Freshmen, plus a sizeable number of upper class- men in addition. The University could determine now the number of Upperclassmen to be housed in the new Quad, and bring together in a type of council those who would be interested in setting up an ideal house system. From these men, and any others who might be interested in the future of the Residence Halls, a nucleus could be built which would plan and or- ganize plans of operation for the new houses, along the lines found to be advantageous through pre- vious experience ... The experience of the first se- mester makes the most lasting im- pression on a student, and if he finds himself in an exciting, co- operative, enterprising a t m o s- phere, it is very likely he will keep this spirit, and transfer it on to to the next group of men coming up. In such a manner a real "House" might be built that will satisfy all the needs of any Dor- mitory system. If the University is interested enough in its Residence Halls, this plan, or a similar one, could be instituted, and I'm equally sure that the possible rewards far ex- cel the effort that might be neces- sary. -Robert Bard, '53LSA * * * Debate Con. To the Editor: IT is extremely unfortunate that that the University student body -reared as it has been, under the influence of capitalism-is to be denied the dubious privilege of hearing ex-Professor Herbert J. Phillips set forth the values of Communism on this campus. It might be well for those who, in the words of Mr. Reifel, SL Cabinet member, "want to know what we are fighting for," to ex- amine the Manifests of The Com- muniist Party. This document pro- mulgates, more fully than ex-Pro- fessor Phillips could conceal, the basic tenets of Red Fascism. Its most skeptical reader will have no difficulty in concluding that this Red Fascism is a power essen- tially atheistic, militaristic and to- talitarian. The prositution, by So- viet Russia, of the little ideal good in Marxism is one of the greatest hoaxes ever perpetuated upon an ignorant population. It makes even Hitler seem second-rate. Despite the pseudo-intellectual- ism of our campus rabble-rousers, I am convinced of the inherent worth of our democratic govern- ment. It is guilty of minor injus- tices, but what human institution is not? With time and the peaceful means at hand, these defects may be remedied. I see no need for the imposition of a minority's will upon the majority, just as I see no need for an advocate of Red Fas- cism to practice his sophistries at an American institution of learn- ing dedicated to the freedoms upon which our government is based. -James R. Andreach 'I * * Debate . . To the Editor: MR. MUNCY and Mr. Reid both raise some excellent points. May I point out, however, to Mr. Muncy, that economists define "capitalism" as including private property and freedom of contract, both of which are absent from the Russian scene? And to Mr. Reid that I did debate against Gerald L. K. Smith in 1942 in a public platform in Detroit. -Preston Slosson Critics . To the Editor: U NWIITTINGLY the Daily pro- vided the casual reader of May Festival reviews with some high comedy, the casual reader being one who patiently struggles to dis- cover the reviewers' meaning. Sometimes he agrees with the paid (or unpaid) fashioners of campus taste. He is willing, with Mr. Harris Crohn, to give no small credit, in the Rachmaninoff Con- certo, to Mr. Ormandy, "who was there with the orchestra just pre- cisely when needed." The thought of what would have happened if Mr. Ormandy "and orchestra had not been there is appalling. The audience, wild at the end of the concert, would have been even wilder, one may be sure. Our casual reader notes with pleasure, too, that Mr. Crohn apt- ly describes the Choral Union when he says of Conductor John- son that "his control of the vast forces required was admirable in- deed . . . " (Saturday review). How true, the vast forces of the Choral Union required every May! How true, .the vast forces required to control the vast forces required every May! In Buxte- hude's time it was a thrilling dis- covery that an orchestra could play both loud and soft. Perhaps we in the twentieth century someday may anticipate that dis- covery about the Choral Union; more likely not. Our reader, again, is amazed and amused that, in Friday's con- cert, James Wolfe's "playing of the important piano part in the superb second movemenf (Bran- denburg Concerto) was responsi- ble for never letting the tempo waver." He feels that Mr. Wolfe could have played the bass drum with cymbal solo interludes if all he was doing was keeping the tempo steady. Or the orchestra could have counted time vocally and let Mr. Wolfe take a breather. Or maybe omitted the score com- pletely. Or anything! Down with piano parts in second movements! Miss -Oates, in her own right, provided some comic relief, but Miss Goss (curses), is a straight- faced critic. -Louis L. Orlin hill Auditorium,... To the Editor: was most amused by George P. Moskoff's "factual" letter to the Daily which appeared last Sunday. Let me point out a few errors in his position. (1) Hill ,Auditorium was don- ated with the proviso that its facilities ;be unavailable for pure- ly political speakers. Communists are purely political speakers, and that was why the recent debate was not 'scheduled for Hill. (2) Hill Auditorium is not available only for Republicans such as Stassen, Vandenberg, and Dewey. Mrs. Roosevelt spoke there a while back, remember? (3) Senator Vandenberg, while a Republican, occupied Hill Au- ditorium not because he was a political speaker, but because he, one of the most eminent men in the United States Senate, was be- ing granted an honorary degree. He appeared on a program recog- nizing the centennial of Dutch settlements in Michigan, and shared billing with the Ambassa- dor of The Netherlands. That is hardly bias, is it, Mr. Moskoff? (4) Captain Stassen spoke in Hill Auditorium because he is the president of a great university. He is not running for public office. His appearance was not consider- ed as being patently political, in the opinion of the authorities. Why, Mr. Moskoff, do you so per- sistently contradict the facts? (5) When Dr. Stassen appeared in Hill Auditourium, he was not using facilities maintained exclu- sively at public expense. For Mr. Moskoff's benefit, I might add that a fair and sizeable sum was charged for the use of the audi- torium. In other words, Mr. Moskoff does not know what he is talking about and really ought to keep his silence. I was surprised to find no Editor's Note beneath the letter straightening out Mr. Moskoff's pitiful delusions. J. B. Reid Treasurer, Young Republican Club Union . , To the Editor: AN ARTICLE in The Daily of May 5, 1950 stated that out- going Union President Bill Wise predicted that a proposed amend- ment to the Union Constitution, to elect directly the President and Recording Secretary, would "'toss out the window' the idea of train- ing and experience for senior of- ficers .. " It will be recalled, however, by those who read the D.O.B. a few days earlier, that this particular amendment is not the only one on which action will be taken May 16. The fifth amendment to be voted upon reads: only, past or present members of the Union Executive Council are eligible for the offices of President and Re- cording Secretary of the Union. The intelligent voter, feeling that direct election has merits, but fearing that unqualified outsiders will be candidates, can without compromise vote "YES" for both these amendments. Unlike several of the other pro- posed amendments, this fifth one was not accompanied by a state- ment of effect. Certainly, under the existing system, there is no need to include in the Constitution criteria that past and present members of the Selections Com- mittee (who now appoint the President and Secretary) will nev- er claim have been forgotten. These criteria are obviously train- ing and' experience. And what if the voter says "YES"'to direct election and "NO" to this fifth amendment. An outsider could not petition for the office-the mech- anism is no where stated in the present or the proposed systems. Further, .even if an outsider could petition, since the Selections Committee, under the proposed system, could nominate not more (Continued on Page 5) ejj .' 4 k ,; CUR E1NT MOVIES At The State ... FREE FOR ALL, with Robert Cum- mings, Ann Blyth, Percy Kilbride and Ray Collins. Production and screenplay by Robert Buckner. THIS FILM is another in what may loosely be termed "the tradition" of such films as Twentieth's excellent "Everybody Does It," and not quite so excellent "It Happeis Every Spring." Just take a gander at the basic situation, and if you're familiar with either of the other two films, you'll see what I mean: A young and rather hickish chemist comes to Washington with some pills he has made. These pills will turn water into a combust- ible fuel. What happens to him? Plenty, of course. First off he starts boarding in a house inhabited by frustrated inventors, who have their mechanical abortions running all over, the place. There is also, naturally enough-for the movies, anyway-a beautiful wench in resi- dence in the residence. But that's not all. Before this mad fling is over, our chemist has run afoul of evil machinations, plotted mainly by a big bad Western type oil man, afraid of his business At The Michigan 0 0 PERFECT STRANGERS' starring Gin- ger Rogers and Dennis Morgan. S MANY movies picture the jury in their courtroom scenes as backdrops for a murder trial that it was refreshing to have crime take a backseat in this one and give the twelve people answering the call of duty a break. Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan are the two strangers in the title who answer the call of the wild for the few weeks that they are locked up together as jurors and fall in love. And they answer it adequat.2.. The fact that they are both married and that Morgan has a couple of kiddies waiting at home only complicates matters. Morgan's part doesn't let him act too much like a married man carrying on a love af- fair. He goes out of his way not to hide it, But Ginger (the way she continues to fas- cinate her second generation of fans with that eternal beauty amazes me) is more practical and works out an acceptable John- ston Office solution. The rest of the twelve are a little more 11r51ia th.an ,, - ea tnrnaatri Fifty-Ninth Year Edited and managel by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Editorial Staff Leon Jaroff.........Managing Editor Al Blumrosen.............. City Editor Philip Dawson......Editorial Director Don McNeil............ Feature' Editor MaryStein..........Associate Editor Jo Misner...........Associate Editor George Walker........Associate Editor Wally Barth.......Photography Editor Pres Holmes.........Sports Co-Editor Merle Levin...........Sports Co-Editor Roger Goelz.... Associate Sports Editor Lee Kaltenbach......Women's Editor Barbara Smith..Associate Women's l. Business Staff Roger Wellington.....Business Manager Dee Nelson, Associate Business Manager Jim Dangl.. ...Advertising Manager Bernie Aidinoff.......FPinance Manager Bob Daniels.......Circulation Manager Telephone 23-24-1 Member of The Associated Press The Associated 'Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches cerdited to it or otherwise credited to this newspaper. All rights of republication of all ot er matters hereintare also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at An Arbor, Michigan, as second-class mail matter. Subscription during regular school year by carrier, $5.00, by mall, $6.00. AlS *1 BARNABY I"- I There won't be time to send to Washington for the regular I know the sort of thing the government wants-Do you keep Oh yes, I'll need proper identification, 1 | too. Fetch your Fairy Godfather that nice Ii