I I
PAGE FOUR
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, DECEMBER8, 1949
..
yh 7A4
CORNER...
E OF THE less successful educational
units in a modern university is likely to
be its college of engineering. This fact finds
recognition in the numerous tales about en-
gineering students who can't read or write
or understand anything except a diagram.
The trouble with the ordinary engineer-
ing college is not that it doesn't teach stu-
dents anything, but that it teaches them
too much about engineering and not
enough about anything else.
The professional training of the engi-
neer is so narrow and limiting that it is only
the unusual engineering student who is able
to discuss anything but sine functions, elec-
tron beams, stress, and torque.
* * *
WHISMAY NOT SEEM important to the
moguls of the engineering profession. An
engineer, after all, is a specialized worker:
there is no necessity for him to be able to
engage in light conversation-or any con-
versation, for that matter.
But an engineer is also a professional
worker, a public servant. Even if he is only
after profits, he has a responsibility to
other people which he cannot meet ade-
quately with the aid of specialized knowl-
edge alone.
Furthermore, an engineer, like anyone
else, ought to be able to enjoy life on some-
thing more than the animal level, and en-
gipeering colleges generally fail to provide
for this need.
THE ENGINEERING college, in short, is a
generation or more behind the times.
Around the turn of the century, it was
possible to go directly from high school to
law or medical school. Since then the ten-
dency has been to lengthen the period of
training for these professions so that four
years of general college work intervene
between high school and the specialized
school.
Engineering colleges, largely ignoring this
trend, continue to admit students directly
from high school, and to prepare them only
for their vacations, a procedure which most
often results in good, old-fashioned ignor-
ance of everything else.
-Philip Dawson
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
"In Two Words, Yes And No"
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
I
WASHINGTON-Most interesting fact in
the Army record of the mysterious Maj.
George Racey Jordan, who now claims ura-
nium secrets were shipped to Russia during
the war, is that it was the Russian comman-
der who urged Jordan's promotion.
Two letters are in the Army files from
Col. Anatole Kotikov, commanding officer
of the Russian Lend-Lease staff at Great
Falls, Mont., praising Jordan and asking
that he be promoted from the rank of
captain to major. And when the gold-
leaf cluster of major was finally given to
Jordan, it was pinned on by no less than
Kotikov himself.
All the official records on Major Jordan's
background so far scrutinized indicate that
he was on the friendliest terms with the Rus-
sians and at one time complained because
Russian officials were being held up too
long on the border by customs and immi-
gration regulations.
*, * *
N MARCH 1944, Jordan reported that he
was confused as to the scope of his duties
regarding shipment of mail and cargo pass-
ing through Great Falls for Russia. He
asked whether he should inspect it and espe-
cially wanted to know whether it had diplo-
matic immunity.
The only report the Army has that he
might have been suspicious of Russian ship-
ments was at this time, when Jordan said
he thought the volume was unusually large
but said the bulk of it was mail. He told a
counterintelligence agent at the time that
he had no experience with diplomatic mail
and was unable to know how to handle it.
Jordan pointed out, however, that the
bulk of the mail was chiefly American
newspapers and periodicals. The only
government reports he mentioned were
not regarding uranium, but regarding
U.S. shipping rates and methods of load-
ing cattle and horses. The Russians had
picked up a Department of Agriculture
bulletin on loading livestock into freight
cars.
At no time did Major Jordan make any
reference to Harry Hopkins, Henry Wallace,
uranium, bomb powder, or secret documents.
He gave no indication he had broken into
any pouches, crates, or suitcases. He did
comment that Russian packages were well-
guarded around the clock. The whole tenor
of Jordan's report and his conduct at Great
Falls was friendly to the Russians and Army
files indicate that after he left the service
he made a speech before a civil club in New
York praising "our gallant allies," the Rus-
sians.
* * *
JORDAN IS NO amateur at peddling sto-
ries to the newspapers. In fact, he has
spent most of his life in the public rela-
tions field. From 1919 to 1933, he was an ad-
vertising representative for McGraw-Hill.
During the 'thirties, he worked as a public
relations expert for various brewing com-
panies, including Schaefers, 1933-34, for the
Brewing Corporation of America, 1934-35,
and for Ruppert, 1938-39. Between brewer-
ies, 1935-37, he did odd jobs as a free-lance
public relations man in New York City. The
last job he held before going into the Army
was as publicity man for the Luckenbach
Steamship Company in Bremerton, Wash.
It is interesting to note that Jordan was
not concerned enough about his story
to report it to the FBI. On the contrary,
the FBI came to him, after he had tried
to give the story to Time magazine and a
representative of Walter Winchell. Time
magazine incidentally rejected his story
after examining his diary.
After his discharge from the Air Force,
Jordan stayed around Washington as an ex-
pediter, otherwise known as a five percenter.
That's how he eased in to his present job.
(Copyright, 1949, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
(Continued from Page 3) a
plications must be filed by Dec. 10.
For further information call at the
Bureau of Appointments.
Overseas Teaching Positions:
ThesNear East CollegeAssocia-
tion is looking for teachers for
schools and colleges in Greece,
Turkey, and Lebanon. Positions
start in September, 1950. Con-
tracts are for three years. Single
persons are required for most of
the positions. Vacancies exist in
English, Mathematics, Sciences,
Piano, Psychology, Philosophy, Po-
litical Science, and Physical Edu-
cation for Women. Experience is
required for many of these posi-
tions. For further information call
the Bureau of Appointments, Ext.
489.
Academic Notices
Algebra Discussion Group: 8
p.m., Thurs., Dec. 8, 3201 Angell
Hall. Prof. Harvey Cohn, Wayne
University, will speak on Critical
Lattices.
Astronomy 30: Examination of
11 o'clock section on Fri., Dec. 9,
will be held in 205 Mason Hall.
Transfinite Numbers Seminar:
3 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 8, 2014 Angell
Hall. Mr. Joseph Shoenfield will
continue his talk on "Solutions of
a Certain Type of Ordinal Equa-
tion."
Events Today
Student Science Society: 7 p.m.,
1300 Chemistry.°Trip to the ob-
servatory.
American Society of Civil Engi-
neers: Meeting, 7:15 p.m., Rm.
3KLM, Union. The chapter pic-
ture will be taken; officers will be
elected; Movie.
Polonia Club: Meeting, 7:30
p.m.. International Center. Films
about Poland. Interested students
are urged to attend.
American Chemical Society: Dr.
Gordon K. Moe will speak on "The
Pharmacological Action of Some
Quaternary Ammonium Salts," 8
p.m., Thurs., 1300 Chemistry An-
nual business meeting.
Student-Faculty Hour: Honor-
ing the Germanic and Classic Lan-
guage Departments, 4-5 p.m.,
Grand Rapids Room, League.
U. of M. Hostel Club: Meeting,
7:30 p.m., Lane Hall. Election of
new president. Prof. Allen will
show slides on trail riding. Re-
freshments.
International Center Weekly
(Continued on Page 5)
M
t1
ettteP4 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.
Mythical Man .
. .
MATTER OF FACT
by STEWART ALSOP
I
NIGHT EDITOR: JANET WATTS
Snowballers
IT IS GENERALLY assumed, that by the
time students reach the college level that
it no longer ought to be necessary to discuss
the proper time and place for snowballing.
Unfortunately, however, it was made
apparent following Tuesday night's bas-
ketball game that some students have not
reached the maturity expected of them,
as many college 'men' and even fur-coat-
ed coeds joined high school boys in harass-
Ing the crowd with snowballing.
There is absolutely no reason for the
throwing of snowballs into a crowd of peo-
ple, and this exhibition either shows gross
immaturity or a perverted sehse of humor.
Many of those firing snowballs along State
Street claim that they were not aiming at the
crowd but at specific individuals who were
throwing them back. If these snowballers
are such good marksmen that they can hit
those people they are aiming at in a crowd
of about 4,000 people, they should be on one
of the athletic teams where their skill could
be used more advantageously.
Tuesday night's snowballers not only
displayed immaturity but also poor sports-
manship as they annoyed, inconvenienced,
and endangered their fellow students and
the adults present at the game. However
much some people may hate to admit it,
snowballs have caused permanent injuries
sometimes resulting in the loss of an eye
or impairment of one's hearing.
The temptation to throw snowballs is great
but people in college should be able to real-
ize that snowball fights should be reserved
for backyards or at best among small groups
where no innocent bystanders may be af-
fected.
-Harold Tanner
"ONE OF THE first actions of a truly in-
telligent government would be a law
disqualifying university graduates from elec-
tion to public bodies and particularly from
teaching."
* * * -
"I want to be thoroughly used up when
I die, for the harder I work the more I live.
I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is
no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid
torch which I have got hold of for the
moment and I want to make it burn as
brightly as possible before handing it on to
future generations."
-Georfe Bernard Shaw
WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense
Louis Johnson's statement that "the
United States has no intention of rearming
Germany" may be true-for the present.
But the fact should be noted that Johnson's
statement flies flat in the face of the pro-
fessional assessment of the Western mili-
tary chiefs, including the French.
German rearmament has been generally
regarded as a wicked project of the American
and British military men. But the fact is
that both French general staff chief Georges
Revers and Western union ground comman-
der de Lattre de Tassigny, who bitterly dis-
agree on everything else, agree on purely
military grounds that there must be some
degree of German rearmament. Both recent-
ly said as much to a leading American Sena-
tor with close French connections. De Tas-
signy's view, moreover, presumably reflects
the assessment of Field Marshal Bernard
Montgomery's Western union staff.
* * *
THE FACT IS that all the Western mili-
tary chiefs are convinced that the de-
fense of Western Europe is likely to prove
enormously difficult in case of war, without
German ground troops. They are wholly
convinced that the defense of Germany it-
self is totally impossible without German
troops. This conviction is underlined by the
news that the Russians are now preparing to
build a German army of their own in their
zone of Germany.
This military assessment has obvious po-
litical implications. The Germans them-
selves are quite as conscious as the western
military men that in case of war they
simply cannot be defended from the East
German army and the Red Army itself by
the Western nations. As long as the Ger-
mans know that they are totally exposed,
there is an obvious danger, which will
grow rather than decrease with time. This
is that the Germans will try to make a
deal, at whatever price, with their future
conquerors.
A Germany controlled by or allied to the
Soviet Union would be a catastrophe which
could result only in war or a surrender by
the West. The informed French are as
aware of this as their British and American
colleagues. Yet it is French opinion which
makes the alternative-some degree of Ger-
man rearmament-impossible "at this time."
Indeed, Johnson's statement was obviously
designed primarily for French consumption.
Here the dilemma of Western military plan-
ning comes full circle.
* * *
THE FRENCH attitude springs not only
from a traditional-and natural-fear
of Germany. It springs also from fear of
Russia. While the Russians have been pre-
paring to build their own German army,
they have been carrying on an effective psy-
chological offensive. Their satellite diplo-
mats have been hinting widely that rearma-
ment of Germany by the West would be con-
sidered a casus belli by the Soviet Union.
Try to rearm Germany, the line has been,
and the Red Army will sweep to the Atlantic.
This psychological offensive has been
effective for a simple reason. The Red
Army is still quite capable of sweeping to
the Atlantic, and every Frenchman knows
it. Moreover no Frenchman is yet con-
vinced that the United States really in-
tends to help make the defense of the
continent feasible, or really intends to
join in the defense of the continent. The
French military chiefs themselves believe
that in case of war the British will make
for Dunkirk, and the Americans, if they
ever arrive at all, for Cherbourg or an-
other port.
This French defeatism has in turn under-
mined the attempt to build a defense for
Western Europe, to which the French must
clearly contribute the bulk of the ground
troops-probably at least thirty divisions.
And this is why the American government
has recently been approached at the highest
level, with requests for an informal but firm
commitment to the French. This commit-
ment would be that the American strategic
concept calls for the defense of the conti-
nent, and that American Forces will partici-
pate in that defense.
THE FACT is that the question of rearm-
ing the Germans is ,only a part of the
larger question of defending the Western
world as a whole-including the United
States. Tt is quite obvious that it would be
suicidally dangerous to rearm the Germans
while the other European nations are pa-
thetically feeble and the United States is
gutting its defense program. All the military
experts are agreed that the first priority
must be given to building real military
strength in the United States and among its
European allies.
But no really serious effort to do this is
being made. And because not enough is be-
ing done to give the French military reassur-
ance, it is necessary to make political con-
cessions to the French. And these conces-
sions are in turn dangerous. For it may in
the end become a hard necessity to include
some measure of German rearmament, with-
in the larger framework of the Western mili-
tary structures, and under firm western con-
trol. This is certainly at best a dark and
dangerous prospect. But the plain fact is
that Russian rearmament of Eastern Ger-
many will probably leave us in the end no
alternative to arming Western Germany.
And it is about time some plain facts were
faced.
(Copyright, 1949, New York Herald Tribune, Inc.)
To the Editor:
I THINK John Davies is all wet.
He says, "The Michigan Man's
life is moral, no doubt, but prob-
ably not a full one." And from his
article, no doubt, one can infer
that the Joe College dizzy days of
yesterday were immoral and full.
Full of what, I'd like to ask. Be-
cause the average college man of
today is much too busy thinking
and studying the grave problems
facing society today than to fool
away all his time in a tux or in
a frat that excludes other races
or creeds, does that mean that he
is living a cloistered, narrow
life? Because he isn't the kind of
guy who is wasting his father's
money or his own precious time
putting on fancy "skid row" par-
ties and the like, does that mean
that in the future he isn't going to
be able to serve his country in the
honest, efficient, sincere manner
it deserves, having placed higher
education at his disposal?
The founders of this country
would be glad to know that the
"Mythical Man" of Michigan has
been replaced by the thinking stu-
dent . . . eager to prepare to re-
adjust the wrongs in a world
where former Mythical Men, ham-
pered by the perverted, sophisti-
cated (call it social if you must)
dizzy days in their own college
careers, are in no position to help.
Mr. Davies' full life seems to be
synonomous with a selfish one.
-Jim Hemming
* * ",
The CED will continue with or
without the help of the AIM whose
motives in regard to the elimina-
tion of discrimination have now
become suspect. It seems that the
AIM was using discrimination in
the frat system as a political
football with which they could
gain support from the sympathetic
student body to put AIM candi-
dates in the SL. The election over,
the AIM attacks that very organi-
zation that first raised and
brought to the fore the question
of discrimination.
Belin calls CED a splinter group.
CED represents over 20 campus
organizations. Who does Belin re-
present? Who actually does the
AIM represent? Let's find out who
the SL represents and in what
ways it can make this representa-
tion.
Their most disturbing remarks
were charges of extremism in CED
and of the need for a more moder-
ate, rational policy which only
the SL could provide. These gen-
tlemen should not be surprised to
find the most diehard proponents
of discrimination giving them
voluble support on this.
Speak up for the record, Belin
and Hansen. How has the CED
been too extreme? What are these
ultra-left 'tendencies you have
observed? What is your more
"moderate" and "rational" point
of view? Is it possible youcannot
meet CED's demand of more than
lip service?
The CED is a coalition commit-
tee that invites representatives
and cooperation from all campus
groups, SL included.
The Daily should take credit for
some lousy journalism, headlin-
ing the article as it did. The AIM
has neither the power nor the
ability to "disband" the CED.
--Jerry Green
tion becomes one of how do we
eliminate discrimination on this
campus without interfering with
the civil rights of those who can-
not recognize the equality of min-
ority groups.
To us, the solution appears sim-
ple. If, in the interests of this
greater idealism, the university
would step forward and assume
the burden of systematically re-
fusing admittance to all except
white Gentiles, the problem would
be solved. Or to state this in a
positive fashion, if Negroes, Jews,
and Orientals were denied admit-
tance, racial and religious prejud-
ice would be only a memory on
this campus.
-Richard Y. Nakamura,
Marvin B. Greenfeld,
William O. Cain,
Teodoriro Bensang,
J. D. D. A. Dickson,
James B. Rusin.
On Slosson . .
To the Editor:
PROFESSOR SLOSSON in his
Saturday review of education
reveals how discouraged any pro-
fessor becomes in lecturing to "an
inert mass of tired receptivity."
Arousing from my intellectual tor-
por, I would like to suggest there
is nothing so intellectually stulti-
fying as being lectured to Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, week after
week. Perhaps it would be fair to
state that both professor and stu-
dent are bored with each other,
not so much because of their indi-
vidual natures, but by the lecture
method in which they meet. Stu-
dent responses and "explosions'
so yearned for by all professors
evolve from a classroom rapport
not usually in evidence on this
campus. To establish classroom
harmony among students them-
selves and between students and
professors would entail according
to Professor Slosson "small class-
es . . . . doubled teaching staff
.. ..heavy taxes to the Michigan
public." This action being obvious-
ly utopian, the professor imme-
diately dismisses the lecture prob-
lem and turns to the time-honored
problems of cheating, examina-
tions, and grades.
Before resuming my habitual
role as part of the "inert mass",,
I would like to venture a comment
to discouraged professors. It does-
n't cost a nickel, nor does it re-
quire the addition of a single
member to the faculty. Instead of
lecturing to the end of the hour
in every lecture period in every;
week, have you ever tried cuttingj
some lectures short by 15 minutes,
and dividing your audience into
small discussion groups? Each
group to discuss a question or
problem posed by your lecture. At
the end of the allotted time, the
viewpoints reached in each group
could be presented to the entire3
body as it reconvenes. If your
lectures are at all provocative and
adequately presented, you may be
surprised by the reactions from
"inert mass." In my opinion, such
discussions if staged intelligently,
will tend to break down the an-
onymity of classroom. relation-
ships, stimulate learning through<
self-expression, and by estabilsh-1
ing an informal rapport bring out:
"explosions" suppressed under thee
traditional passive lecture method.
-Allen Hurd
'Romeo.. .
To the Editor:
FOR THE FIRST TIME, I feel
very sincere in complimenting
one of the best performances I
have ever seen put on by students.
I am referring to the play pre-
sented Saturday night, Romeo and
Juliet. Never before have I seen
students put their heart and soul
in acting out parts attempted by
professionals so perfectly and I'm
sure that many in the audience
felt the same way.
But the audience was rude and
unappreciative. T h e y expected
something more elaborate and
professional, as they have been
accustomed to seeing in the mov-
ies.
To each and every one of those
actors and actresses I wish to
say, with little authority as I
have, that they were great!
--George Kadian
Headline ,
To the Editor:
T UESDAY'S Daily runs a front-
page headline, "UN Votes for
Atom Count, Reds Refuse." As we
read on, we find that not only
did the UN vote against the atom
count, but the "Reds" were the
ones who proposed it and virtually
the only ones who voted for it.
Was this a pure slip or purpose-
ful distortion?
-Hazel Tulecke.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This was a
pure slip, for which we apologize
to readers.)
l~rljj4r iI
Atr~tgn Dail
5
Lip Service
. 0
To the Editor:
LAST TUESDAY'S DAILY gave
prominence to some inane re-
marks by representatives Belin
and Hansen of the AIM.I
These people suggest that the
CED be disbanded and supplanted
by a sub-committee of the Student
Legislature "because it alone is
the representative body of the
entire campus." The same logic
would suggest that the Republi-
can Party, of which Belin is so
shining a member, the Democratic
Party, and all other politically
and socially oriented organizations
on the American scene should dis-
band inasmuch as the present
Congress, to paraphrase Belin, is
alone the representative body of
the American people. His logic
would suggest that the NAACP,
the Negro people and their or-
ganizations, interested c h u r c h
groups, the Civil Liberties Union,
the Civil Rights Congress, etc., dis-
band their cooperative efforts and
defer initiative and action on
civil rights to Congress. They'd
wait till hell froze over before such
action would occur. Thank God,
they know better. The fight for
civil rights is of concern to all the
American people. The fight
against discrimination here on
,ampus is the concern of all stu-
dents and campus organizations,
notwithstanding Belin, Hansen
and company to the contrary.
It is warming to see how many
have responded by joining with
qED in routing discrimination.
(The Daily might print a list of
these organizations.)
CED & SL
. . 0
To the Editor:
THE PRESENT dissension in the
CED is full testimony to the
complex problem which besets the
society in which we live. It is
apparent to all of us that discrim-
ination is much more than a word
-that it is a thrombosis that
threatens to stop all the palpita-
tions which indicate that society
is alive and thriving.
But to recognize that there is
a disease endangering your life
is only a step in a direction which
should culminate in a cure. If the
doctor has difficulties, what then
is our opportunity to effect a cure
to the disease of bigotry? Legisla-
tion, though effective in other
fields, is of no more avail to the
forces of liberalism, than would be
a law abolishing love. No, the only
answer lies in education-in the
hope that enough people will rec-
ognize that there is a brotherhood
of man and apply its principles.
And where is a better place to
educate than in a university? Eli-
minating discrimination on a
world-wide or even a nation-wide
basis is an affair difficult of solu-
tion. But here in a university
community, it is possible to create
an oasis of justice which could
spread and engulf its neighbors
with its truth. So then, the ques-
Edited Fifty-Ninth Year
Edtdand managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Leon Jarof............Managing Editor
Al Blumrosen.........i......City Editor
Philip Dawson...Editorial Director
Mary Stein ..........Associate Editor
Jo Misner...........Associate Editor
George Walker.......Associate Editor
Don McNeil ..........Associate Editor
Alex Lmanian......Photography Editor
Pres Holmes........Sports Co-Editor
Merie Levin .......... Sports Co-Editor
Roger Goelz..... Associate Sports Editor
Miriam Cady......... Women's Editor
Lee Kaltenbach..Associate Women's Ed.
Joan King ................Librarian
Allan Clamage.. Assistant Librarian
Business Stiaff
Roger Weilington... .Business Manager
Dee Nelson.. Associate Business Manager
Jim Dangi......Advertising Manager
Bernie Aidinoff...Finance Manager
Ralph Ziegler..Circulation Manage
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BARNABY
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