TIlII MICHIGAN DAILY MMaAY, WAY 19, 195W, _____________________________________ ___________________________________ a Birth of IN DECIDING to sponsor a showing of Birth of a Nation, the Student Legisla- ture has taken a courageous stand on an issue which is vitally important to a univ- versitey community. Coming as it did in the midst of mount- ing campus controversy over the showing of the film, SL's action forcefully demon- strated its confidence in the ability of stu- dents to see, -hear and properly evaluate all viewpoints-those of the extreme right as well as the extreme left. Although very few students on campus have seen the picture, which in part de- picts the Negro during the Reconstruction Period, it is a commonly accepted fact that it is filled with racism and anti- Negro bias in its most despicable and in- sulting form. For this reason, a group of students and faculty members are violently opposed to the showing of the film on campus. They believe that Birth of a Nation would not only slander the Negro people, but would also stimulate "inherent racial antagon- isms." * * * * B UT AS MUCH as The Daily senior staff abhors racial prejudice, we believe thatl the harm done by suppressing the film would outweigh any possible injury to the Editorials published in The Michigan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writers only. NIGHT EDITOR: PAmL BRENTLINGER a Nation' feelings of individual students if the film were shown. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that the banning of films and speakers has re- sulted in a greater public desire to see and hear them. Such has been the case with Birth of a Nation. Because of the protests of the student- faculty "committee" and the resulting de- cision of the speech department to cancel showing of the film, interest on campus has risen to a high pitch. If students are prevented from seeing the film on campus, they will probably make every effort to see it at home during the summer when it is to be re-released in theatres all over the country. Certainly it is preferable to see the film in an academic atmosphere where the fal- lacies of the production can be adequately exposed. and explained. * * * * IT IS OF INTEREST to note that the strongest protests against the showing of Birth of a Nation come from many of those who, with The Daily, violently opposed the banning of the Phillips debate-suppos- edly not because they agreed with Phillips' political philosophy, but because they in- sisted on the student's right to investigate his viewpoint. But now these same "pseudo-liberals" have decided that students should be denied the right to examine the propagandistic, historical and technical aspects of an ad- mittedly significant film. The inconsistency and insincerity of their actions is obvious. -The Senior Editors DREW PEARSON: "Wait A Minute, Fellas - Don't Go Yet" Viet Nam Civil Strife EDITOR'S NOTE -, This is the second in a series of three editorials on the present-day situ- ation in Southeastern Asia, and the policies of Russia and the United States in that area. THE hottest sector of the cold war battle front in Southeastern Asia is Indo-China. It is also the best place to see the failure of the Western powers and the success of the Communists in winning popular support in this area. Indo-China in name was, and in fact 'still is, a part of the French colonial sys- tem. After the last war, the French agreed to give the most important section of that land, Viet Nam, its "freedom" in the French Union. The people of Viet Nam hoped this meant dominion status such as Canada has. But in reality it meant nothing more than having a puppet ruler, Boa Dal, set up as emporer, and a con- tinuation of a French colonial policy. Boa's strongest and most successful op- position comes from naotile Communists ender the leadership of Moscow trained Ho Chi Minh. Much of their success stems from the strong desire of Ho's followers to be free of French domiation rather than from any appeal of the Communist doctrine. And the obstinate policy of the French in hanging on to an outdated colonial system has aided the Communists more than hindered them. The Communists have capitalized on the new spirit of nationalism prevelent in Indo- China. The people follow Ho and his aides with the promise of eventual freedom. Ho himself is partially responsible for this new movement. He kindled the flame of nationalism, which had never before greatly existed, in 1942 when he formed a guerilla group to drive the Japanese out of the land. Ho, who had gained the support of the Chinese government, had such a foothold in Viet Nam by the war's end that he was a large factor in forcing the French to agree to Viet Nam's freedom. But the long run re- sult was the establishment of the farcical Boa regime. President Roosevelt long opposed continu- ation of French rule in Indo-China and call- ed for the UN to set the area up as a trustee- ship after the war. But with his death the United States assumed a policy of hesitancy. We 'feared that if we aided the French to fight Ho's Communists, who were receiving full support from Russia, we would strength- en France's hold over the territory. But we did not demand that the French clear out and take the unpopular Boa with them.' So native Communists went on opposed by a government that was unsupported by the people. Now the State Department has decided to send financial and military aid to Indo- China. We feel that we have gotten around the French bloc by giving the aid equally to France and the Indo-Chinese states. But some of the experts are saying that we have waited too long to wipe out the Communists now. It is apparent that aid to the disfavored Boa will not further what little chance we have of beating Russia out of Indo- China unless he can capture the national- ist spirit, which seems unlikely. As it is, our policy and French stubborness have no doubt lost the critical area of Indo- China for the West. And if this policy is not changed, the whole of Southeast Asia may go alse. (Next: The change needed in American policy in Southeastern Asia.) -Vernon Emerson Washington Merry-Go-Round WASHINGTON-Civil rights is the rock on which Abraham Lincoln founded the Republican Party. Yet Senator Taft of Ohio, who is Mr. Republican himself, has just made a cold-blooded deal with southern Democrats to help them defeat civil rights. Taft has promised to hold back enough Republican votes to prevent cloture - in other words, prevent the Senate from breaking the civil rights filibuster. In re- turn, Taft got southern votes 'to support him in blocking the proposed Truman- Herbert Hoover reorganization of the Na- tional Labor Relations Board. Under present rules it requires 64 votes to break the filibuster - which means that every available northern Democrat and Re- publican must be present and vote for clo- ture. Therefore, if Taft can keep only four or five Republicans from voting, southern Senators will be able to talk civil rights to death. This is exactly the deal which the Senator from Ohio made with Sen. Dick Russell .of Georgia, the astute southern spokesman. The agreement has been kept a top political secret, and undoubtedly will be denied. How- ever, other senators were in on it, and this column has carefully confirmed the 'facts. Taft not only estimated that he could keep at least six GOP Senators from voting to end the filibuster, but he actually named them. They are: Senators Milliken of Color- ado, Malone of Nevada, Bridges of New Hampshire, Gurney of South Dakota, Young of North Dakota and Hickenlooper of Iowa -and two or three others might also be persuaded, Taft said. However, the six GOP Senators whom Taft has said ne would de ive: to the southern Democrats have already expressed their views privately as against cloture. This is probably something which Taft did not tell Senator Russell. For, in secret Republican councils, the above-mentioned six had argued against the rrinciple of srtting off senate debate. in fact, Taft had little to do with wooing them over to the other side. Meanwhile, it is significant that Taft has been noticeably uncooperative in rounding up Republican votes against the filibuster, thci:gh fellow republicans havs not sus- peted the reason, Senator Wherry of Nc- braska. on the other hand, has been *uue s- ive CIINEMA At Architecture A.d... CARMEN DE LA TRIANA, in Spanish HE SEDUCTIVE gypsy girl Carmen, hav- ing her genesis in Prosper Merimee's short story, has appeared in practically every other art medium, and always she was rec- ognizable by her brazen flirting, heartless in difference to cast-off lovers and complete self-centeredness. It has remained for the movies to show that under her decollete gown lurks a lov- ing heart, and in doing it they have di- luted the peculiar charm that makes every man desire Carmen and every woman want to be like her. From the deadly feline she has become a little kitten who can love one man sincerely and be tolerably fond of another. Of course she still flirts, but generally to attain some favor, not for the sheer joy of flirting. If you can forget that this is sup- posed to be Carmen, however, the film is redeemed by skilfull acting and a generous helping of enchanting Spanish folk music and dancing. -Fredrica Winters T""- A 7ir Xetter4 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 naingo ,,and IL~r - xe neui,.n .,,.. .oras-in iengrn A-V------r or and in good taste. Letters exceeding libelous letters, and letters which for be condensed edited or withheld fron editors. "Birth of a Nation" . 0 I- Weekend In Town To the Editor: THE banning of "Birth of a Na- tion" raises an issue of free speech not dissimilar to that in- volved in the Slosson-Phillips af- fair. I joined those who protested showing the film without proper orientation to its racism and his- torical bias, but objected to the attempt to prohibit its exhibition which followed when the Speech Department accepted partially the demand for an orientation session. It might be noted that the film now contains, in addi- tion, a prologue and an epilogue appealing for the brotherhood of man. Agreed that racism is an abso- lute evil. But so is Communist to- talitarianism. Yet when the Phil- lips debate was banned students protested this insult to their ma- turity and judgment. The ban- ning of this film is a similar in- sult, especially when the movie's vicious nature was to be discussed at the time of showing. !There is no "clear and present danger" of incitement to riot or to the denial of minorities' civil rights attendant upon exhibiting "Birth of a Nation" on this cam- pus-as there would have been if the locale were one with high racial tensions. If democratic at- titudes at Michigan are as weak as the advocates of the ban have tacitly and openly assumed, then we are far worse off than I and many others believe to be the case. To assume "clear and pres- ent danger" in this situation is to extend that doctrine over a dan- gerously wide area, amounting to over-use of censorship. The showing of this. film could be an event of the greatest ed- ucational value to those interest- ed in the techniques of successful propaganda and racial stereotyp- ing, quite apart from its unques- tioned technical excellence. To ar- gue that a Mchigan audience, es- pecially one armed with an oaien- tation, would not benefit .rom seeing "Birth of a Nation" i to demonstrate the same lack of faith in students manifested by the ban on Phillips. If students are not permitted to ingest a little moral roughage along with the strictly pure diet prescribed by our so- ciety's best thought, our ability to understand and deal with anti- democratic philosophies will be weakened. Banning has never worked in the long run. Every author expects additional royalties when his book is banned in Boston. Writers plac- ed on Rome's Index nonetheless thrive. The Church's ban of Vol- taire increased his popularity enormously. "Birth of a Nation" is now be- ing released nationally. Students will be all the more anxious to see it elsewhere now that it has been declared verboten for them on campus. The technique of the out- right ban is self-defeating Censorship-it is where there is no clear and present danger, no matter how sincere and el-in- tentioned the censors, is a grave threat to traditional fraedoms of expression and self-decision. I therefore urge that "Birth of a Nation" be displayed on campus DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN" {." ( CAPIOL - MOATR h Y ~i g 300 words in length, defamatory or any reason are not in good taste will n publication at the discretion of the Sunder circumstances which will be of benefit both to Lhe cause of free speech and to students wish- ing to prepaie themselves as able defenders of democracy: -Allan Silver "Birth of a Nation" . . To the Editor: AM AWARE of the fact that "Birth of A Nation" has been accused, with considerable legi- timacy, of portraying one of our racial minorities in an unfavor- able light. It was also related to the revival ofrthe K.K.K. after the first World War. But this iniversity is an educational in- stitution. I am one of Professor Dumond's students in his course "Roosevelt to Roosevelt," and would enjoy seeing it from the standpoint of its relation to that period of history. The student- faculty group objecting to its showing has also been incapable of distinguishing between its ar- tistic and educational value and its "questionable content." Might this be because they ar2 over- conscious of discrimination them- selves? Would University students be likely to criticize "All the King's Men" as divorced from its realis- tic, dramatic and artistic qualities, because it depicted American poli- tics in an unfavorable manner - and referred to hicks? As one of the students who heard Herby Phillips in the in- terest of both education and aca- demic freedom, and who con- structed a resolution criticizing the lecture committee for their stand on the matter, I would like to suggest to the Ad Hoc commit- tee that they show "Birth of a Nation" in Miller's Restaurant. -Lyle Thumme. Reply to Greene .. . To the Editor: IN response to Mr. Saul I. Greene's letter of May 16, 1950: Mr. Green, have you ever heard of Santa Claus? When one is young his parents weave fine and lovely tales about his gifts and presents and love. When one grows older, however, his parents give him the real "low down" on this fellow. It is clearly evident that you have not yet been given the "lowdown" on this "inevitable day" of which you speak. That day, Santa Claus in this analogy, will never bring the fine and love- ly gifts you predict. I dread to think of the legacies he will bring! Concerning this "Great Depres- sion," it was, indeed, a terrible catastrophe. But I am glad to say that we were able to have it. In that country of the world which you clearly revere, there is not enough money to be able to have one! Yes, we have thou- sands of unemployed-and so does your lover-state. But there is a tremendous difference. Your un- employed are locked in prisons and salt mines-"for political di- vergences " At least our unem- ployed have a freedom to do as they choose, not pace a wired cell or swing a pick against a solid wall of salt. I am proud to say we have a Taft-Hartley Law also. For that shows our workers do have the (Continued from Page 3) Delta Tau Delta Eta Kappa Nu Greene House Helen Newberry Residence Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Kappa Gamma Lambda Chi Alpha Lloyd House Phi Sigma Delta Phi Sigma Kappa Pre-Medical Society Sigma Delta Tau Sigma Phi Theta Chi Trigon Tyler House Wenley House Zeta Psi Sunday, May 21 Fletcher Hall Hayden House B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation Jordan Hall Fulbright Grants for Teaching and Advanced Research in Egypt, India and Iran are available for the next academic year. Appli- cations must be filed with the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils, 2101 Constitu- tion Avenue, Washington 25, D.C. before June 15, 1950. Further in- formation on these awards is available at the office of the Graduate School. Counselor Interviews: Representative of Camp Penda- louan (boys), Holton, Michigan, will be at Bureau of Appointments Friday afternoon to interview can- didates for, positions of Nature Counselor and Canoe Trip counsel- ors. For appointment call at 3528 Administration Building or call extension 2614. Interviews: A representative of The Kawn- eer Conipany of Niles, Michigan will be at the Bureauof Appoint- ments on Tues., May 23, and inter- ested in interviewing June grad- uates taking a degree in Indust- rial-Mechanical Engineering. They will also talk to any engineers in- terested in Design, Product De- velopment or sales. right to strike-as our recent rail- road strike proves. You, and I speak collectively, do not have such a law, it is true. Why? Because your, again collectively, workers cannot strike. And now the Marshall Plan. At any rate it is going through the motions of helping the torn countries of Europe. Is your, still speaking collectively of course, "Marshall Plan" the Iron Cur- tain, arresting of key diplomats, closingrof foreign embassies, and the Berlin Blockade? I prefer to hold to the U.S. Marshall Plan. These "fruits of labor" you speak of lastly-are you sure they are not the fruit Adma and Eve tasted in the Garden of Eden? I fear they are. I eagerly await your reply- -Ted Heyliger Reply to Slosson.. . Ti the Editor: N his letter to the Editors Pub- lished May 12, 1850 Professor Slosson contends that Russia is not typical of a capitalist economy. Likewise, I contended that Russia is not representative of Commu- nism, bie. Socialism. Hence, as I stated previously, the issue of Communism (Socialism) vs. Cap- talism was not debated by Profes- sors Slosson and Phillips. Professor Slosson has, by letter to me dated May 6, 1950, agreed to debate a representative of the Socialist Labor Party of America on the question of Socialism vs. Capitalism. If the "Daily" Editors are desirous of preserving academ- ic freedom at the University of Mchigan, they will support ef- forts now being made to have this debate held on campus. -Ralph W. Muncey * * * "Birth of a Nation" . . To the Editor: I'VE GOT ten bucks that say the stalwart souls who leaped into the breach to denounce the fla- grant violation of all our dear civil liberties in the Phillips debate ban are the same self-less defenders of the-public mores who are res- ponsible for the 'suppression of "Birth of a Nation." But, of course, THIS IS SOME- THING DIFFERENT! It sure is. This incident shows just how disgustingly petty our campus pseudo-intellectuals can be. I, for one, am fed up with having a loud-mouthed group of self- styled liberals telling me what is wrong with the world and what I should or should not believe. -Kenneth K. Bay For further information and a pointments call The Bureau of Ap- pointments, Ext. 371. The Dearborn Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan will be at the Bureau of Appointments on Mon.;, May 22, to interview accounting majors. Foradditional information and appointments, call at the Bureau of Appointments, 3528 Adminis- tration Bldg. Civil Service Examinations: The United States Civil Service Commission announces an exani- nation for Chief, Test Develop- ment Section, U.S. Civil Service Commission. Closing date July 5. The State of Michigan Civil Ser- vice Commission announces the following examinations: Bacteri- ologist, Institution Chaplain, and Game Farm Manager. Closing date,; June 7. For further information call at the Bureau of Appointments, 3528 Administration Bldg. Lectures University Lecture. "The Mecha- nism of Fat Absorption." Alastai9 C. Frazer, M.D., Ph.D., M.R.C.P., Professor of Pharmacology, Uni- versity of Birmingham, England; auspices of the Departments of Bacteriology, Biological Chemistry, and Pharmacology. 4:15 p.m., Fri., May 19, Kellogg Auditorium, Academic Notices Actuarial Examinations: Parts I, II, and III, Fri., May 19, 140 Busi- ness Administration Bldg. History Language Examinations. A list of people passing the lan- guage examinations has been post- ed in 119 Haven Hall. Doctoral Examination for John Johnson Craighead, Forestry and Conservation; thesis: "The Ecolo- gy of Raptor Predation in Spring and Summer," Fri., May 19, 204 Natural Science Bldg., 2 p.m, Chairman, S. A. Graham. Doctoral Examination for Don- old John Lewis, Mathematics; thesis: "Cubic Homogeneous Poly- nomials Over a Padic Number Field," Sat., May 20, 3003 Angell Hall, 9:30 a.m. Chairman, R. Brau- er. Doctoral Examination for Rich- ard Allen Carroll, English Lang. and Lit.; thesis: "Johnson's 'Lives of the Poets' and Currents of Eng- lish Criticism, 1750-1779," Sat., May 20, East Council Room, Rack- ham Bldg., 2 p.m. Chairman, L. I. Bredvold. Concerts Collegium Musicum, in collabor- ation with the Department of Speech and the Museum of Art, will present a program at 8:30 p.m., May 21, Main Concourse, of Alumni Memorial Hall. It has been (Continued on Page 6) i t ta " k. 4 E VENTS OF INTEREST around campus and town this weekend: DANCE FESTIVAL FESTIVAL OF DANCE, by the Inter-Arts nion and Women's Physical Education De- partment, 8:30 p.m. today at Pattengill Au- ditorium. DUDLEY-MASLOW-BALES Dance Trio at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. A dance exhibit will be at the Rackham Galleries all week. DANCING UN ON- DANCE, with Frank Tinker and his oreastra, Saturday night, plus various girl-bid dorm and sorority dances. OPERA AND DRAMA HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HISTORY of Opera and Drama, presented by the Colleg- ium Musicum, Department of Speech and Museum of Art, at 8:30 p.m. Sunday at Alumni Memorial Hall, Main Concourse. SPORTS FINAL SPRING FOOTBALL Scrimmage open to anyone at the stadium at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. DRAMA THE TEMPEST, Shakespeare's play about the wind and monsters, with Arnold Moss and Vera Zorina, neither of whom are mon- sters, at 8:30 p.m. today and Saturday at Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. MOVIES THE RED SHOES, at regular prices through Sunday at the Orpheum, continu- ous from 1 p.m. CARMEN DE LA TRIANA, a film in Span- ish, at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. today and tomor- row at Architecture Auditorium, sponsored by Art Cinema League and Sociedad His- panica. See review on this page. PAID IN FULL, at the State, advertised 0. CURREt 7MVE At The State ... PAID IN FULL with Lizabeth Scott, Ro- bert Cummings, Diana Lynn and Eve Ar- den. THE LAST time I can remember Lizabeth Scott as good girl was in the first picture she made. It must have been about five years go. Since that time she's been the bad girl of the movies. In her latest film, "Paid in Full" she reverts back to her old form and as a result is on the raw end of a raw deal. The story is concerned with the old- fashioned love triangle but, this time, with a new twist. Lizabeth falls madly in love with Robert Cummings, a business associate, but the feeling isn't mutual (for a while, that is). To make the triangle complete, Cummings falls for Diana Lynn, Lizabeth's sister and a spoiled brat. Cummings and Lynn marry while Scott watches from the background like the over-joyed sister. From this point on, complication upon complica- tion arises until, finally, the picture resolves itself to an unhappy ending. All of the acting is good. The principals behave somewhat as people would under the At The Michigan... CONSPIRATOR - with Elizabeth Tay- lor and Robert Taylor THIS PICTURE had all the usual elements of interest; a love affair, a Communist spy, an attempted murder and a suicide. All were mixed together to produce the most boring picture to reach Ann Arbor in many many months. The movie opens at the scene of a dance where two wallflowers sit deserted. One of the wallflowers is that male's delight, ta- lented Elizabeth Taylor. Our heroine is just becoming disgusted with life when in walks her prince charming (Robert-of course). He marries her shortly afterward. Just to keep the movies dragged out an- other hour, the audience is led to believe that Robert is engaged in exciting spy ac- tivities. Take my word for it; they aren't exciting. After discovering the awful truth, Liz asks Robert to give it all up for her. Poor Liz! Her heart nearly broke when she learn- ed her husband was a spy. And her blood almost flowed when Robert decided to give Fifty-Ninth Year Edited and managel by studeltS 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 Mary Stein..........Associate Edito Jo Misner............Associate Editor George Walker........Associate Editor Wally Barth......Photography Editor Pres Holmes...........Sports Co-Editor Merle Levin..... .. .Sports Co-Editor Roger noe... .Associate Sports Editor Lee Kaltenbach ....... Women's Editor Barbara Smith..Associate Women's 3d. Business Staff Roger Wellington.....Business Manaor Dee Nelson, Associate Business Manager Jim Dangl........ Advertising Manager Bernie Aidinoff......Finance 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 other matters herein are also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as second-class rail matter. Subscription during regular school year by carrier. $5.00. by mal. $6.00. BARNABY If I'm to complete my census . No, bL ut here comes a likelyl I'm too tired. I'm terribly I I