TiiE MICHIGAN DAILY
Needed:* An SRA Revamp
LAST WEEK was Brotherhood Week, and
it was plenty weak. Most of the students
hardly knew or cared. In its own programs,
;he campus Student Religious Association
ias been running into the same sort of
tudent apathy for a long time.
On Sunday SRA held a timely meeting.
It seems that SRA was getting as little
attention as the by-passed Brotherhood
Week. SRA leaders were overtly troubled
by student apathy-and even antipathy--
towards the organization. x
In the past, with great determination and
Iltruism SRA had undertaken what was
supposed to be an all-encompassing pro-
gram. This included student recreation at
bane Hall, discussion groups, field work, and
a variety of other activities. But unfortunate-
y, these activities were not all-encompass-
ng The student body remains disinterested.
Sunday's meeting, then, was to determine
where and how SRA is falling down in its
obligations to the student body. No doubt
hese obligations exist; SRA could normally
oe a dynamic factor in campus life.
Perhaps the cardinal problem SRA faces
oday is the prevailing sentiment of a rather
rreligious, skeptical, don't-give-a-damn stu-
lent body. Any attempts to rejuvenate SRA
nust consider this prevailing attitude, and
SRA's activities must synchronize with this"
attitude.
The most obvious solution is to capital-
ize on this skeptical attitude. Doubting
persons are also likely to be searching-
in quest of an answer to their many ques-
tions. Consequently, if SRA could bring
a variety of controversial religious leaders
to campus for a series of lectures or de-
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: DAVIS CRIPPEN
bates, it would give both the campus and
SRA a shot in the arm. Reinhold Niebuhr,
Rabbi Irving Miller, Cardinal Spellman,
Duncan Littlefair are good examples. And
even a few atheists here and there might
enliven things.
At the same time, SRA could discontinue
putting so much emphasis upon harmony
between the various member guilds. Tol-
erance is fine, but not tolerance to the ex-
tent that it produces narrow-mindedness.
Of course, the members of each guild are
quite complacent with their respective re-
ligions. But the point is: the rest of the
campus (a huge majority) is still in the
searching stage. An enlightening program of
polemics might help the rest of us find a
few needed answers.
A sprinkling of philosophy professors and
political leaders, if brought on an objective
basis, would also serve to bolster interest in
SRA functions. Ideally, the organization
should not take sides in any such program.
But there are some matters in which
SRA cannot afford to remain inadvertent.
Nothing should prevent SRA from publicly
throwing its weight behind the objectives
of the Committee to End Discrimination,
objectives which are so fundamentally of
religious import that they can't be dis-
regarded.
Greater emphasis on field work-in and
around Ann Arbor-would probably attract
the large numbers of University students
concentrating in social work.
Finally, as was suggested, a liaison be-
tween other campus organizations and
the newly-created President's Conference
would keep SRA in continual contact with
the student body.
These suggestions were mentioned at Sun-
day's meeting, along with several others.
SRA leaders might do well to ponder over
them if they are really interested in making
their organization an intrinsic part of Uni-
versity life.
-Cal Samra.
11
N
MATrRO F A CT
By JOSEPH and STEWART ALSOP
AS OF MARCH 1
WASHINGTON-Tomorrow these report-
ers will separate again for some months,
one to make an expedition of inquiry in
Western Europe, the other to hold the fort
in this dreary city. It seems a good time to
try to take stock-to observe the flight of
starlings over the capital, to trace the vein-
ing of the luncheon calves' liver, to consult
the bunion that foretells bad weather, and
by these sooth-sayers' devices, to answer
the great question, "doom or no doom, war
or peace?"
Two things are clear about the last
three months. On the one hand, it is
clear that in December the masters of the
Kremlin were actively preparing new ag-
gressions, both in the Far East and in
Europe. The physical preparations for at-
tacks on Indo-China by a "liberation
army," and on Yugoslavia by the sur-
rounding satellites, were being pushed
forward with all haste. The logical con-
clusion, glumly reached by the leaders of
most of the Western governments, was
that attacks on Yugoslavia and Indo-
China were planned and would shortly
be launched.
On the other hand, the situation has not
developed in quite this simple manner. The
tempo of preparation has slackened, al-
though the Kremlin only needs to give the
signal for both Yugoslav and Indo-Chinese
operations to begin. Certain other decidedly
ominous signs have been given-for exam-
ple, the heavy reinforcement of the Soviet
garrison on Sakhalin island, combined with
the remarks on the Korean war in Stalin's
interview, can quite possibly mean that the
Kremlin intends to rescue its Chinese vas-
sals from their difficulties in Korea by di-
rectly intervening in the war in the Far
East.
* * *
AT THE SAME TIME, the Western lead-
ership has not been so idle as one might
have expected from the condition of paraly-
sis and division that prevailed in December.
Lieutenant General Ridgway and his men
have decisively turned the balance of the
Korean fighting-at least unless and until
the Soviets intervene. Strong diplomatic
measures have been taken by London and
Washington, to show the Kremlin that
Yugoslavia cannot be attacked with im-
punity.
Above all the great military asset of
the West, the American atomic stockpile,
has at least been un-frozen. All sorts of
steps have been taken to convince the
of immediate destruction of Russia's vital
centers.
Over-all, despite the ominous new signs
above mentioned, the present atmosphere is
decidedly less tense, distinctly more hope-
ful, than it was in December. The wave of
despair that engulfed the leadership in
Washington (and in most other Western
capitals) after the. Chinese intervention in
Korea, has at least subsided. The hope that
the deterrents which are being so carefully
paraded may actually do their work, is now
rather generally held.
, , ,
IF IT IS permissible to make a guess-and
one can only guess-the masters of the
Kremlin seriously intended to launch the
Yugoslav and Indo-Chinese operations when
the preparations for these attacks were first
noted. December, after all, was their good
time, when it was natural for them to plan
boldly. If one may guess further, the de-
velopments in the interval have persuaded
them that the game is not worth the candle,
and they have therefore adopted new tac-
tics.
The first installment of these tactics is
now only too visible. All the signs suggest
that the Conference of Foreign Ministers of
the Big Four, which has been the subject of
so long an exchange of notes, is to be the
scene of a final, grandiose/ attempt to split
the Western alliance. No one can say how
far the Kremlin will be willing to gamble
the positions it now holds in Germany and
elsewhere in order to divide Britain, France
and the United States. Equally, no one can
say whether the United States, Britain and
France may not be able to turn the Krem-
lin's gamble to good diplomatic advantage.
But while no one can foresee the Soviet
methods, the Soviet aim is perfectly. plain
-split the West for good and all, and thus
achieve the great objective, which is to halt
Western rearmament.
Perhaps the Soviets may attain this ob-
jective, by the follies of the Western lead-
ership. If the Soviets fail, we must certain-
ly expect another interlude of acute and
imminent danger this summer. A Spring
Conference of Foreign Ministers that does
not satisfy the Kremlin can all too easily
be transformed into the prelude to a Sum-
mer attack all along the line. Stalin has
told us in his interview, "War is not inevi-
table unless these dreadful people persist
in trying to defend themselves from us, and
continue to refuse to give our Chinese al-
lies everything they want." That sounds, at
least, like stage-setting for the Foreign
Ministers' meeting.
Then, if we get through this summer, a
new and very different time of danger
will begin within another twelve-months,
when the Soviet Union will have accumu-
lated a large enough stock of atomic wea-
pons to make a crippling surprise attack
on the United States. And if this danger,
which is universally underrated, does not
in the end materialize, there will be ano-
ther long period of political raids and
jockeyings and pressures on obvious soft-
spots like the Middle East, which will also
be very perilous.
In peering forward down this bleak vista,
however, there is no reason to lose heart.
The point to remember is that we have ex-
perienced many other great perils, from the
DORIS FLEESON:
Congressional
Telecasting
WASHINGTON-The St. Louis betting.
commissioner who defied a congression-
al committee to make him testify before
television cameras will doubtless get con-
siderable sympathy from others who have
sweated under the combination of hot lights
and heated questions.
But sympathy is all he'll end up with
in the opinion of the administration's le-
gal lights and of others expert in the col-
lateral questions raised by the novel chal-
lenge to congressional authority.
Their conclusion is that television itself
is the novelty but a merely mechanical no-
velty in this instance. The telecast, which is
what the witness actually complained of, is
regarded as an extension of communica-
tions, its most modern version certainly but
still a version covered by the freedom of the
press concept.
* * *
JAMES J. CARROLL, nationally known ex-
pert on betting, when called before the
Kefauver crime committee in St. Louis,
called attention to the television cameras
and repeatedly refused to answer Senator
Kefauver's questions. He argued that tele-
vision violated hisconstitutional right of
privacy and held him up to ridicule and
embarrassment. The Senator said he would
ask congress to cite Mr. Carroll for con-
tempt.
Solicitor General Philip Perlman is the
government's principal lawyer and not pri-
vileged to offer public legal advice. But he
did make these general observations:
All that the constitutional privilege of
privacy consists of is the right not to in-
criminate one's self. Article' 5 of the Bill
of Rights states: "No person shall be
compelled to be a witness against him-
self."
The Kefauver investigation is not a crim-
inal case, of course, but it could sometimes
be that if it was furnishing links to present
or future criminal cases. Thus Nyitnesses
might conceivably have the right to refuse
to answer certain questions. But Mr. Car-
roll would answer none.
* * *
The Federal Communications Commis-
sion bowed out of the controversy. Com-
missioner Frieda Hennock said FCC's only
power was the grant of television licenses in
the public interest. Obviously a television
station cooperating with a congressional
committee could claim to be serving the
public interest.
Miss Hennock added that section 326 of
the communications act specifically prohi-
bited FCC from censorship.
An experienced criminal lawyer, Miss
Hennock suggested that in some situations
television could be turned by a witness
against harsh inquisitors or a hostile judge.
What better way to prove injustice on ap-
peal, she said, than to offer in evidence a
telecast showing expressions, inflections,
innuendoes, In a manner words cannot con-
vey.
Others agreed with her that actual
damage would first have to be shown, not
predicted, by the witness. It was gener-
ally felt that the real question was the
gontempt. Was the witness looking for
reasons not to answer or did he try to find
himself unable to combat the cameras?
Like the American people, Congress loves
television. Its most important members are
rarely too busy to give the folks the benefit
of their dramatic talents. They can be ex-
pected to deal sternly with Mr. Carroll.
(Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
At The Michigan .. .
VENDETTA, with Faith Domergue and
George Dolzel.
A SCREEN PLAY by W. R. Burnett of
The Asphalt Jungle, direction by Actor
Mel Ferrer, and emoting by "new discovery",
Faith Domergue, manage to record little
more than a fairly near miss for Howard
Hughes' latest production.
Remote to begin with in its setting,
Corsica of 1825, it never succeeds in quite
persuading that its people are anything
more than characters moving in a dream.
Excessive underplaying and consciously
murky photography, it seems, can make
even a well-plotted blood feud have little
more than a detached interest.
At that, within these considerable limitt,
the conflict is believable and the characters
consistent once they are safely past a shaky
beginning in which even a funereal nar-
rator is introduced to give explanations, and
by implication, apologies for the stiffness
and pretension. These scenes set a tone,
however, which constantly adds to the re-
mote quality of the material instead of com-
batting it. Even a single good, healthy clinch
is lacking. Hughes should bow his head in
shame.
George Dolzel, as the confused idealist
caught in the web of tradition, is fine
"I'll Be Glad When The Great Debate Is Over"
.a~
0-
- R
ON THE
Washington Merry-Go-Round
with DREW PEARSON
WASHINGTON - Drew Pearson, departing for a news survey of
gathering European war clouds, left the following instructions for
his staff:
To the Staff:
I shall be traveling in Europe and countries adjacent to the Iron
Curtain for the next two or three weeks. During that time you may
have to write an occasional emergency column in case I get too far
away from a cable office or the going gets tough.
In writing such columns please bear in mind the following:
Don't hesitate to admit an error. Double and triple check in
order to avoid errors, but if you find you are wrong, say so. It is
only fair to the man you have wronged, in addition to which the
public will respect you for being fair.
If you are sure you are right, however, stick to your guns and if
necessary we will battle it out.
Never bear grudges. If a president or a senator calls you a name,
don't call one back. Write facts; don't go in for name-calling. Any
scrivener can fill a column with abuse. Epithets can be culled from
any dollar dictionary, but it takes good journalism to ferret out graft
or the backstage doings of diplomats or the income-tax cheaters-
and then make what you say stand up in court.
REMEMBER that it is part of your job to right some of the news-
wrongs of the capital. The big newspaper chains can be ruthless,
their newsmen in a hurry. It is your job to probe deeper than the
handout or the official statement. You. are to pick up where the spot-
news men, rushing for the telephone or grabbing for the headline,
leave off. Frequently the best part of the story is after the spot-news
cream has been skimmed.
Remember also that ever since politicians became politicians,
the thing the public was not supposed to know has taken place in
the private lobbies and the smoke-filled rooms. Yet what is
hidden from the public is usually what the public is most entitled
to know about, and the job of a good newspaperman to report.
Remember that in our system of government by checks and
balances, it is your job to help in the checking. Government is so
intricate and detailed today that congress no longer can do all the
checking. Furthermore, congressmen themselves have to be checked.
Most congressmen are honest and reasonably conscientious, but it is
your job to smoke out the Parnell Thomases, the Andy Mays and the
"Doc" Brehms, and report the facts about them-even if it means a
tough battle.C
However, it is also important to remember that the government
is neither all good nor all bad. There are bureaucrats who are woe-
fully inefficient, and bureaucrats who are a credit to mankind. It is
your job to discriminate.
Government is only as good as the men in it. And since men
are human, they are subject to all the frailties that make up man-
kind-laziness, inefficiency, greed, graft, temptation.
But they are also subject to great effort, sacrifice, inspiration.
It is your job as a newspaperman to spur the lazy, watch the
weak, expose the corrupt. You must be the eyes, ears and nose of
the American people. Yes, the nose too, is important. For no matter
how much stench you may be exposed to, never lose your sense of smell.
But likewise remember that there are scores of underpaid gov-
ernment servants dedicated to the cause of good government whom
the public never hears of. It is your job to encourage them. It is also
your job to let the public know that these men are working for them.
For the public must never lose confidence in its government.
Should it ever take seriously the scoldings of some of my competitors
and lose confidence in our form of government, then the principle we
are fighting for would be no more.
REMEMBER also that it's the little fellow who usually gets kicked
around. It's the little businessman, the G.I., the guy in the lower-
bracket incomes who needs a friend. He has few friends in high places,
no big politicians to pull wires, no one to speak for him on interlocking
boards of directors. He has only the American public's strong sense of
right and wrong to back him-and it's your job to spell out those
rights and wrongs so the public can know what cooks.
This applies to minority groups as well as little people. Sometimes
these groups need a little more encouragement than the folks who are
doing all right anyway.
Finally, remember that though the world moves slowly toward
its two great goals-peace and the brotherhood of man-it is your
job when possible to help accelerate the pace.
Sometimes it is better not to report a delicate diplomatic negotiation.
Sometimes the cause of peace is best served by sacrificing a news story
until a difficult diplomatic hurdle is over.
But if the diplomats fumble, if they betray their trust, then it is
your job to be ruthless in exposing that betrayal. You must be their
watchdog. You must let them know what the publicity penalty is-
if they fail.
Finally, when you write anything, remember that the fewer words
you say it in, the better.
These are the goals of the Washington Merry-Go-Round which
I have not lived up to. Perhaps you can.
(Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
t B st g t o.G ,
q m rMCW*:.W..Icroa 1pa ,
Dear Dean Walter:
THANK YOU for your good letter of January fourth.
You admonished me to "preach a bit longer." While I am not-an
authority on international relations, I am obliged to admit there is a
viewpoint of detached austerity associated with an APO number on
the other side of the world. At an APO you are removed from the day
to day argument, discussion, and passion of events in the United
States. But-to preach a bit:
As a lawyer, it seems to me a person's ability to walk a dark
alley alone is dependent upon the Law and Order of the society in
which he lives. A bully lurking in the dark alley takes note of that
Law and Order.
If you lived in a lawless society, you would have to take certain
steps in order to walk that dark alley without fear of the bully-
First, you would have to be strong enough to beat him up.
Second, you would have to convince him that you could do it,
Third, you would have to let him know what act of his would
cause you to fight.,
It seems to me, the United States is now walking the dark alley
of international trouble. At least one bully (and possibly more) lurks
in that dark alley. The United States must take the same steps to
protect itself that you would take. In short, it must be strong; others
must know it is strong; it must announce what it will fight for (speci-
fically: It can not disclaim interest in Korea and then be surprised if
the bully moves in). Moreover, it would seem prudent for the United
States to gather whatever allies it can find to help it on its travels.
In walking an alley of peril the United States would be better off
with an old ally (e.g. Chiang)-than without.
I am glad to be able to relate to you that in a limited way Ameri-
ca is ready to fight.
In June of 1948 the United States Air Force organized five tacti-
cal air support wings. One of these was located in Southern Califor-
nia. This was the 452nd Bombardment Wing (L), commanded by
Brigadier General Luther W. Sweetser, Jr. With a maximum of ten
days notice (and in many cases individuals reported on the same day
they received their notices) the 452nd was ordered to active duty in
the middle of the Mojave Desert. Approximately three thousand civil-
ians gathered in that desert. They lacked the 75,000 odd pieces of
equipment they were soon to acquire; they lacked clothing; innocula-
tions; dog tags; identification cards; and all the fiddle-faddle that
is required for American combat troops. It is interesting to recall that
on that first morning there were only nine cooks. Most of the bar-
racks were nailed shut. Beds were stacked in neat piles. General
Sweetser had only a desk and chair; and could not offer his staff a
place to confer.
Suffice to say that within sixty days the 452nd Bombardment
Wing had ninety-two percent (92%) of its 75,000 odd pieces of equip-
ment. Every man had a full issue of clothing, including three khaki
uniforms, one blue uniform, one OD uniform, together with heavy
shoes, overcoat, gloves, and all of his field equipment which in turn
included two blankets and a sleeping bag. A movement order was re-
ceived. T'he wing then moved by bus, plane, truck, train, and ship a
distance of seven thousand miles without loss of a single piece of
equipment or injury to a man. Seventy-seven days after the 452nd was
recalled to active duty it hit the enemy for the first time.
At this writing the 452nd has flown over seven thousand combat
hours. It has hit the enemy with over fourteen hundred sorties. It
has bombed, machine-gunned, rocketed, and napalmed the enemy
with observed satisfaction.
Perhaps, in a small measure, the 452nd (led by an officer corps
which is ninety-seven percent reserve and manned by enlisted per-
sonnel who are seventy percent reservists) is indicative of the poten-
tial of the United States.-
This potential is further exemplified by the continued support
the 452nd receives. For each combat mission of forty planes there is
required a freight train of twenty-four ten-ton railroad cars. The
cars supply only gasoline and ordnance. Fidrther, daily trainloads of
food, equipment, supplies and clothing are required.
It is interesting to note the combat record has been achieved in
spite of a confused and conflicting policy at home. Individually, the
men of the 452nd are not enthused about fighting and dying on the
Asiatic mainland. They receive daily letters inquiring why they came
and what they are doing. Due probably to home-front pressure, those
having four dependents have been permitted to go home (without
replacement). No more airmen will be called who do not volunteer for
duty. In short, the men of the 452nd are fighting what is to them an
all-out war (for no matter how small the theatre of shooting-it's
all-out) with confusion, doubt and uncertainty at home.
If the nation must continue to walk the dark alleys of the world,
let's hope we shall be able to produce an unlimited number of these
reserve wings. "-Voney F. Morin APO 75 'Unit 1
'1
'(4
r
4.
Letter from Korea
~~1
New Amendment . .
To the Editor:
THE XXII Amendment has
been ratified and become part
of our Constitution officially, and
not as at one time, by precedent
only. While it may have originat-
ed as a smear against Roosevelt, it
does contain a recognition of the
type of labor required of our pre-
sidents.
The office of President is a
man-killer. In our last two wars
it has broken down or killed the
incumbent. Two terms are as
much as the human frame can
stand in dealing with the multipli-
city of problems confronting our
chief executive. After that it is
time for a fresh man with a new
viewpoint.
No man is indispensible. There
are always good men available to
take over if a wise choice is made.
This may not seem true at any
one particular time, such as 1944,
but nevertheless holdsgood. Presi-
dents are elected for four years
and they should be fresh enough
to finish their terms. The people
are the ones to suffer if they
don't.
-Ralph L. Christensen
America's Promise
THE UNITED STATES is the
richest, and, both actually and
potentially, the most powerful
state on the globe. She has much
to give the world; indeed, to her
hands is chiefly entrusted the
shaping of the future. If democ-
racy in the broadest and truest
sense is to survive, it will be main-
ly because of her guardianship.-
-Lord Tweedsmuir
i
t
Sixty-First Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under'the
authority of the Board in Control od
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Jim Brown.. .... . .Managing Editor
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Bill Connolly........... Sports Editor
Bob Sandell.... Associate Sports Editor
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I'
'I
Kremlin that any new
where will carry with it
aggression any-
the terrible risk
1
Looking Back
35 YEARS AGO
TWO-HUNDRED canvassers crowded the
campus seeking to enlist the first Union
life-members. With their goal set at 3,000
student life-members the soliciters sought to
pin-down men in the fraternities and dorms.
BARNABY
My entire ['i deduct the cost of new sheets
wardrobe! from the $99,987 retainer fee l'i
Vanished! returning to those laundry thieves
who misrepresented themselves, Gus.
ti
Cushlamochree! This is serious!
Even though your mother merely
meant to do poor Gus's laundry
as a favor to him, your household
Yes, Gus, nobody relishes the idea of a
long legal wrangle. .Barnaby, your old
Fairy God father will try to discover an
amicable resolution of this dispute. Let
Engineers were asked to answer a ques-
I
El
I
''