THE MICHIGAN DAILY
T~kSDA~F1~V '~T9W~77
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ODAY AND tomorrow students will have
the opportunity to evaluate not only
the courses they are taking but their in-
structors as well. As most students realize,
this reversal of form is a fairly recent, and
important, addition to college life. For,
through this program, the Student Legisla-
ture has provided the means for students to a
exercise greater voice in matters pertaining
to their own education.
Last year, Michigan was one of the first'
large universities to employ a system of fac-l
ailty evaluation by students., Other schools
soon adopted the idea, in part because of
the success that it met with here. Whether
this type of program is successful or not, of
course, depends entirely on the student body.
If the students are not willing to accept this
responsibility in a serious vein, then there
is little purpose in conducting the program.
For the most part, though, student re-
action to this program has been quite fa-
vorable. Those in charge of the program
last year - and especially, the faculty
members, who stand to gain much by a
careful analysis of the results - claimed
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: NANCY BYLAN
valzation
that the survey was highly informative.
Most- faculty members thought the com-
ments added at the end, in particular,
were very helpful and worth considera-
tion.
Regarding this week's program, however,
it might be well for students to keep in mind
the spirit in which this survey is being car-
ried on. For although the program does not
officially start until today, some sections
which do not meet on Thursday or Friday
have already completed their questionnaires.
And again, in the main, students assumed
the responsibility seriously.
In some classes, however, a few indivi-
duals have been rather flippant, about the
whole matter.
Although these instances are the ex-
ception rather than the rule, there is no
excuse for any student to be lax in filling
these blanks out. A half hour has been
alotted in each class for the specific pur-
pose of completing the questionnaires. It
follows, therefore, that the more students
who participate sincerely in a program
which the University has supported so
strongly, the more value it will have.
It rests with the student body, therefore,
to utilize this opportunity: for the main
purpose of the program is to make the class
period a more meaningful and profitable one
for each individual.
-Larry Rothman
IT SO HAPPENS.
4 Tap pin' Oak
Initiation .Statistics .
UNDERNEATH the oak of Tappan, ONE OF our enterprising reporters, always
At the scene of bloody murder, on the look-out for the "facts" has come
iesa e see ofo durdas e rup with the news that there are exactly 138
Lies a mess of wood and ashes steps from the street in front to the roof
That is scarcely to our credit, of Angell Hall.
* * * He challenges anyone doubting his sta-
tistics to count for hunself.
LET us build' a fence around it- * * ,
Souvenir of Our Best People-
And allow slow oxidation In Spring . .
To return it to its atoms. WE WERE made suddenly aware yester-
day of the disasterous effects on per-
* *ennial spring romances that the approach
RCHELOGISTS will find there of final exams can wrought.
Strolling hand in hand with the boy
Nascopie, friend, a coed suddenly broke her hold and
Cherokee, or Magdalenian, challenged him indignantly, "Eddie, I'm
And will run a correlation flunking that course, and you don't seem
With the ashes at Pompeii. to care."
Twelve Nation
Fighting Force
IN A MOMENTOUS and unprecedented de-
cision, the Western Foreign Ministers have
agreed to merge their nations' military re-
sources into a 12-power fighting force. The
obvious and immediate purpose of this iP
ternational military machine will be to pro-
vide defense against Russian aggression But
its potentialities extend far into the future.
The Foreign Ministers' new plan for
collective defense is a direct outgrowth of
the Atlantic Pact, in which the same 12
nations agreed "that an armed attack
against one or more of them in Europe or
North America shall be considered an at-'
tack against them all." The signers are
the United States, Canada, Britain,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lux-
embourg, Denmark, Norway, Portugal,
Italy and Iceland.
The total power of the 12 Western Na-
tions is roughly equal to that of Russia and
her satellites, excluding Red China. We
maintain armies of 2,008,000 men, whereas
the Soviet bloc has about 3,718,000. However,
the Western Nations are vastly superior in
naval power, and are stronger in numbers of
aircraft and in aviation skills. We have
5,852,000 tons of shipping, as compared to
only 453,000 for the Communists. Our air-
craft outnumber theirs by 37,380 to 25,715.
In the atomic arms race, it is believed that
the United States is ahead of Russia.
So far, however, the Western Nations
have been severely handicapped in two
ways. First, our strength is not concen-
trated. Much of our military, industrial
and financial power is in the United
States, 3,000 miles from Europe. Second,
our military systems are organized on an
individual basis. The cost of maintaining
these separate establishments is much
greater than that of a single armed force
like Russia's.
It is to overcome these handicaps that
the Foreign Ministers have taken three rad-
ical steps toward collective defense. They
created a permanent 12-nation Strategy
Board of deputy 'foreign ministers to steer
the entire program; proposed a single 12-
nation military force to replace the old sys-
tem of individual national forces; took mea-
sures to reduce the cost of the defense pro-
gram.
The Strategy Board will be located in
London, and will be responsible forcarry-
ing out policies of the Council of Foreign
Ministers when that group is not meeting.
The board is intended to speed up defense
planning.
The basis of the combined military force
plan is a belief that much wasteful dupli-
cation and confusion results when each
nation maintains its own army, navy and
air force. Under the new international plan,
the Atlantic Countries are to agree on a
"division of function" by which each coun-
try will contribute to Western defense in
the ways in which it is most suited to do so.
Because Western Europe is struggling to
regain a sound financial status after the
economicdisaster of the last war, the cost
of the international defense plan is a vital
matter. The Foreign Ministers agreed that,
if the plan is properly caried through, it
can be successful without overburdening any
country. The 12 nations will split the cost
according to their individual resources.
The plan faces a number of difficulties.
It will require some abridgement of each
nation's sovereignty. And many military
leaders will probably resist having their
commands dissolved or placed in inferior
positions.
It remains for each nation to give its con-
sent to the decisions of the Foreign Minis-
ters. Because of the critical world situation,
it is likely that the necessary content will
be given by all 12 countries.
The prospect of an international armed
force isboth frightening and reassuring.
It points up, more dramatically than ever,
the widening fissure between Russia and
the Western Powers. It is likely to spur Rus-
sia in her own military preparations. And
it puts on the United States a tremendous
responsibility, for the Atlantic Powers na-
turally expect us to assume the leadership
in this gigantic military pool, because of
our superior strength and wealth. For in-
stance, it is taken for granted that the head
of the strategy board will be an American.
On the hopeful side, it is likely that only
a quick show of armed might can prevent
Russia from the aggressive expansion
which Hitler was allowed to continue be-
cause of Allied weakness and division.
Furthermore, should war come, a skilfully
integrated fighting force will be our best
defense.
And lastly, the new unification of the
Western Nations is an admission that the
common welfare is best served when coun-
tries work together. .
It is unfortunate that this new unity
only extends to half the world. It is doubly
unfortunate that it is caused by a threat
to the safety of the nations involved. But
it is, nevertheless, a step in the direction
of international cooperation.
l l
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Xetei/ 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 wards 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.
"Never Mind The Atoms.
Will They Put This Through?"
EDITOR'S NOTE-With the pub-
lication of the following letters
discussing the showing of "Birth of
a Nation" in today's column, The
Daily will close correspnndence
on this topic. By now, all sides
of the issue have been presented,
and additional letters would only
be repetitious. Exception to this will
be made only in the case of corre-
spondence expressing a new view-
point on the subject.
* * *
Ca
THOMAS L. STOKES:
Progressive Re publicans
WASHINGTON. - A Jim Duff in Penn-
sylvania and a Wayne Morse in Oregon
do not, of course, mean a new Republican
party all of a sudden.
But there is more than mere encour-
agement to the modern and moderate ele-
ment of the party in the successive vic-
tories within a week of Governor James
H. Duff, who won the Republican Sena-
torial nomination over the long-entrench-
ed Joe Grundy machine with its high-
tariff, business-domination-of-government
philosophy, and of Senator Morse who
was renominated over GOP Old Guard
elements within his state.
There is, in fact, real sustenance for
those who are seeking to rejuvenate the
party. Their overwhelming triumphs in two
widely separated states that offer a good
cross-section of rank and file Republicans
seem to indicate that many Republicans are
seeking to cast off the old smug crustiness
and are searching for a new and more flexi-
ble party code and, if inferences may be
drawn, new types of leadership.
* * *
GOVERNOR Duff is of more conservative
mould on national issues than Repub-
licans such as Senators Morse, Aiken of
Vermont and Tobey of New Hampshire. But
he. recognizes the trend and needs of the
times. He performed a notable service for
his party by smacking down Grundyism
which, though it should have disappeared
a long time ago, has risen every four years
to intrude into the high councils on Repub-
lican party policy at national conventions
which select candidates and write platforms.
His victory means that the frontier of
moderate Republicanism has been pushed
Test of Truth
W HENMEN have realized that time has
upset many fighting faiths, they may
come to believe even more than they believe
the very foundations of their own conduct
that the ultimate good desired is better
reached by free trade in ideas - that the
best test of truth is the power of the thought
tn iort itslf aecented in the comoetition of
forwarda bit further. It plainly strength-
ens that party element embraced general-
ly in the East, New England, the North-
west and the Pacific Coast in the con-
tinual battle with the more conservative,
more nationalistic Middle West.
Pennsylvania, with its 70 convention votes,
now is added in this inter-party struggle to
New York, where Governor Thomas E. De-
wey exemplifies a progressive viewpoint;
New Jersey, where Governor Alfred E. Dris-
coll's re-election last year was a victory for
Republican progressivism, and to New Eng-'
land, with Senators Lodge and Saltonstall
of Massachusetts; Aiken and Flanders of
Vermont, Tobey of New Hampshire, and Mrs.
Margaret Smith of Maine.
* * *
SENATOR Morse's victory, likewise, is an
index of the continued hold of progres-
sivism along the West Coast as exemplified
regionally in Governor Earl Warren of Cal-
ifornia, and in the Middle Northwest fron-
tier there are Governors Luther Youngdahl
of Minnesota and Fred G. Aandahl of North
Dakota among its symbols.
In recent years, this element of the
party has been generally successful in
national conventions on candidates and
platforms, though always with com-
promises; but the Midwest conservatives
have held the upper hand in Congress
where the party record is made. This con-
trol in Congress is due in large part to
operation of the seniority rule, which
favors those from the normally Republi-
can Midwest where succession in office is
more certain, just as it favors Southerners
in the Democratic party.
Strengthening of the progressive element
should make compromise less necessary
hereafter at national conventions and give
the party a more solid progressive front. Re-
cent compromises include Governor Dewey's
acceptance in 1944 of then Governor John
W. Bricker of Ohio, now Senator, as his
running mate and, in 1948, his alliance with
Joe Grundy that netted a batch of dele-
gates to start his bandwagon rolling.
Revitalizing of the party along more pro-
gressive lines might very well have another
effect relating to candidates. It might start
a search for some new figure who might
"Birth of a Nation" .. .
To the Editor:
THE MAY 19 editorial on "Birth
of a Nation" stated, "it is
commonly accepted fact that (the
movie) is filled with racism and
anti-Negro bias in its most des-
picable and insulting form." How
then can the showing of this film
be notonly condoned but des-
cribed as an act of courage?
The confusion centers on the
concept of "free speech." It is a
little too simple to regard freedom
ideally and without further anal-
ysis, for freedoms are not always
compatible. Protection of people
from blackmail is, after all, an in-
fringement on the freedom of
blackmailers; prohibition of slav-
ery is a denial of the "right" to
own slaves. In this case advocating
the showing of a film which dis-
torts history for the malicious pur-
pose of villifying fifteen million
Americans means denying to the
Negro people their right to be free
from slander, humiliation and out-
rage,.; Ifwe look beyond vague
words about liberalism and ask:
since the excercise of freedom re-
quires -a choice, with whose free-
dom must we be concerned, there
can be little doubt as to the over-
whelming feeling of the campus
community.
Norman and Courtney Cazden
"Birth of a Nation" .. .
To the Editor:
AM DEEPLY saddened. In the
course of the last week, the
academic world has witnessed a'
most grotesque and perverted in-
terpretation of the meaning of
freedom. We have once again
tasted the sterilefruits of intel-
lectual self-glorification. We have
seen in our midst the product of
an educational system that is all
too remote from the brutal reali-
ties of society. Some well inten-
tioned liberals have, once again
thrown in their lot with the enemy
and have unwittingly assured the
perpetuation of the very anti-lib-
eral force that would destroy them
and their beloved ideals. This is
nothing less than naked tragedy.
It has been admitted by all that
the film, "Birth of a Nation" is
a distortation, a libel and a posi-
tive force for evil in this country.
We have only to read the history
of this film to see the rottenness
and filth that it presents. We
know that the film is being re-
leased nationally as well as on an
academic level. We are also aware
from our study of history that the
film has been and is a powerful
propaganda weapon for racism.
We have been told in Social Psy-
chology that none of us in Amer-
ica is immune to racial prejudice,
intellectuals included. We know
all these facts and still some of
us have the crudeness to suggest
that, in spite of the nation-wide
danger of this film; in spite of
the "possible injury to the feel-
ings of individual students"; in
spite of the doubt we have in our
minds as to the effect of this film
"even" on this campus; in spite
of all these considerations, some
suggest that there is an ideal in-
volved in insisting upon the film's
being shown.
We demolish and ignore the
ideals of human decency, sensitiv-
ity and compassion in the name
of "Freedom of Expression." And
what "is" this expression that they
are defending? What is it that
motivates such an unexpected
stand on the part of one-third of
the SL; the Senior Daily Staff and
Allen Silver? Lies and trash! Lib-
erals have actually defended Klan
propaganda beneath the banner of
Education and Enlightenment. The
Ann Arbor Negro community will
just have to endure the pain and
disgrace of seeing their mortal
enemy glorified in the esoteric
circles of white intellectuals. The
southern Negro will have to bolt
his door against the hooded terror
without one thought of considera-
tion from our Absolute Liberal.
When presented with the oppor-
tunity of taking an active part in
the now rising movement to. stop
the public showing of the "Birth
of a Nation" once and for all,
some liberals have decided that
they are intellectuals first and
citizens last. "The "ideal" must be
preserved - at any cost!, The
ironic fact remains that aid and
comfort has been given to the ene-
my of freedom itself - by default.
I am hurt and shocked. I am
deeply fearful for America's fu-
ture if this is what our liberal
youth does when confronted with
a moral problem. The heart has
become numb, the senses dulled
and the mentality, confused. What
form of irresponsible mockery is
this? I only thank God that some
of us are not too obsessed with
our own self-righteousness to see
evil as it is; recognize -ideals in
their concrete reality, and will
fight the enemy squarely, honest-
ly and with deep moral indigna-
tion.
-Arthur K. Buchbinder, '51
* * *
"Birth of a Nation" *. *
To the Editor:
"THE BIRTH OF A NATION"
must not be shown on the
University campus. This racist
film degrades and slanders the
Negro people and is a hideous dis-
tortion of American history. For
over thirty years the NAACP and
many other groups have protested
against this vile film. Even at
this very moment the NAACP and
others are picketing the movie
which is being shown in New York
City.
How is it that a group of sup-
posedly intelligent students, in the
name of "free speech" or under
the guise of "objectivity," can
supportthe showing of a fascist
movie? Did they know that this
movie, during one of its early per-
formances, resulted in a riot which
caused the death of three Negroes?
This movie, which glorified the
KKK as heroes, adds to the in-
creasing white supremacist at-
tacks against the Negro people, all
in support of the war drive ofI
American; remtion.i
"The i1rt1h of a Nation" ad-I
vances th fascist poison of "ra-
cial inferiority." To consider this
facist theory debatable is to com-t
pletely ignore history, manifested
in the anti-fascist struggle of mil-I
lions of people for their freedom.
This theory has no foundation sci-
entifically and: higtoriclly has
resulted - not in The Birth of a
Nation - but in the degradation
and death of nations (e.g. fascist
Germany, Italy and Japan.)
The YPA calls on all students to
voice their protest against this!
movie. The decision of the Student
Legislature must be reversed! The
movie must not only be bannedt
from this campus but must be com-
pletely destroyed, once and for all.
-Michigan State Staff, YPA;
Stephen Perry, Chairman;
Calvin Lippit, Exec. Sec.;
Mayme Dunnigan, Member-
ship director; Al Fishiman,1
Student director; Fran Bar-j
rett, Teen-age director.
"Birthof a Nation" .
To the Editor:
HAVE NOTICED one character-
istic of all individuals who fa-
vor banning books, movies, lec-
turers, debates, etc. It is not that
they fear:the consequences of such
things for their own sakes, but
rather for their effects on others.
They will never admit that they
could belong to the class of people
who "need"protection and whom
they are trying to shelter and
screen fromundesirable intellec-
tual and erniotional influences. Us-
ually they characterize the "rest
of the people" as not having been
properly educated, as being mere
masses, (uiOally engineers when
the subject.is discussed on cam-
pus), orthdey are too young, or
too old, orsome other equally
feeble excse. I have never yet
met or heard of an individual who
would adiit that he himself was
not fully prepared to defend him-
self against Communists, or what
have you,: I might include that my
observations range from Lecture
Committees and self styled Purity
Legions to the "commonest" sort
of day-laborers.
I think it is an unwarranted as-
sumption of virtue for any group
therefore t o make decisions for
other people as to what movies
they may attend, lectures they
may hear and books they may read,
except where the legal merits of
such a position have been clearly
demonstrated in a court of law.
Think it over: Do you believe
that you are capable of protecting
yourself from false ideologies and
plays on your emotions? Do you
believe that you are capable of
sifting the truth from the lie? If
you do, perhaps you will agree that
others have the same idea, and
that at least in an academic com-
munity, they shouldbe given the
opportunity to do so. And if they
can't learn here, I'm sure I don't
know where they will.
-Carter Zeleznik
"Birth of a Nation" . .
To the Editor:
IDIOTS and infants have been
flooding the letter-column of
the Daily for many years (doubt-
less some will consider us among
them!). But few have been as dan-
gerous and acutely symptomatic as
those currently writing about
"Birth of a Nation."
There is 'a vast difference be-
tween Professor Phillips and
"Birth of a Nation." Phillips is a
presumably intelligent man, a for
mer univerty professor, wishing
to expound a political idealogy, a
social system, in which he appa-
rently beliies. He is known neither
as a rabb.lef-ouser, like Gerald L.
K. Smith, nor as a slanderer like
"Birth of a Nation." There is cer-
tainly a chasm of reason separat-
ing an honest exposition, on the
one han,aid a vicious vilifica-
tion of our country's minorities,
on the other.
Few of us have any real know-
ledge of "what Phillips intended to
say; and all but a few could have
somehow profited by listening to
him, whatever our political and so-
cial contentions. But enough peo-
ple have attested to the content
of "Birth of a Nation" as pro-
pounding values which we will all
admit, tacitly or otherwise, are a
major human evil.
Furthermore, the present plan
is to show the movie as a public
performance, with a standard ad-
mission charge and appropriate
advertisement. This is quite a far
cry from showing it to a speech
class as a didactic instrument, and
necessarily admitsmof rather dif-
ferent intentions.
And finally, those who argue
that would-be banners of "Birth
of a Nation" would soon and in-
evitably be rent asunder by a pol-
itical-ethical boomerang, and find
their owrr freedoms curtailed, be-
sides arguing something that is
logically quite beside the point, are
ignoring considerably important
points: there cannot ever, be a
complete and universal freedom.
You cannot give some men free-
dom to hold slaves without limit-
ing the freedom of the slaves.
Every law is in actuality a curbing
of freedoms. And courts are every
day* upholding libel suits. These
are operations based on very fun-
damental moral concepts. And the
attempts to bae "Birth of a Na-
tion" are of exactly the same gen-
us. You certainly can ,with com-
plete moral justification, forbid
the public showing of a film like
the "Birth of a Nation," and at
the same time insist on an au-
dience for speakers like Phillips.
We have to decide what we will
consider a basically undesirable
human evil, what must be con-
strained; and we must avoid the
gigantic danger of recklessly con-
fusing such ideals and such mo-
tives with those which legitimate-
ly merit the protection and fer-
tilization of freedom.
-Gloria and Arthur Ross
"Birth of a Nation"
To the Editor:
HE CRITIC'S of SL's decision
to show "Birth of a Nation"
are missing one point which is
to be expected because it has been
badly played down in news cover-
age thus far.
Michigan Forum members I
talked with assured me that the
film will not only be preceeded
by a discussion by a social scien-
tist of the techniques of dispens-
ing bigotry used but that it would
be followed by an audience dis-
cussion and evaluation of the
film and its discriminatory tech-
niques.
The basic question here then be-
comes, how do you best fight prop-
aganda of the nature of this film.
Many of us who are democrats
with small d's believe that expos-
ing Michigan students to the prop-
aganda clearly labeled as such so
that they can understand and rec-
ognize these tactics which, I ven-
ture to suggest, they will run into
in community life.
I voted for the SL showing of
the film because I believe that
showing it in the setting suggest-
ed above is the most constructive
method of combating this type of
propaganda. This issue, I suggest,
is whether we have faith in the
intelligence and critical judgment
of Michigan students.
--Tom Walsh
SL Member
"Birth of a Nation".
To the Editor:
WE HEAR with dismay of the
recent Student Legislature
decision to show "Birth of a Na-
tion." The Legislators have evi-
dently taken the protests against
the earlier proposed showings as
a kind of censorship - a denial
of the rights of free assembly and
free speech.
There is a grave misunderstand-
ing and misinterpretation here.
Free speech has never meant the
(Continued on Page 5)
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Fifty-Ninth Year
Edited and managed 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 Editot
Philip Dawson....... Editorial Director
Don McNeil............Feature Editor
Mary Stein...........Associate Editor
Jo Misner............Associate Editor
George Walker.........Associate Editot
Wally Barth.......Photography Editor
Pres Holmes .......... Sports Co-Editor
Merle Levin..........Sports Co-Editor
Roger -.... .Associate Sports Editor
Lee Kaltenbach ....... Women's Editor
Barbara Smith.. Associate Women's Ed.
Business Staf
Roger Wellington..Business Manager
Dee Nelson, Associate Business Manager
Jim Dangi.......Advertising Manager
Bernie Aidinoff.......Finance Manager
Bob Daniels.......Circulation Manager
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BARNABY
Mom, my Fairy Godfather wout I
tike a targe piece of wrapping
--Why you have to pretend thot
non-existent Mr O'Moley is
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It't lust cs well they think I'm noii.t f~fe.
I'll be operating behind the scene-'he