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THE MICHIGAN DAILY

WEDNESDAY, MAY2, 151



;



Truman
KRIES) OF profiles of Harry Truman
.tly running in the New' Yorker ma-
are worthwhile reading for the presi-
supporters and denouncers as well as
e casual interested observer.
thor John Hersey concentrates on
aying this man in the position of
dent by following him through a
ty of personal and official scenes.
he first four of what may well be an
ss series, Hersey has accompanied
?resident on an early morning walk,
rved a 10 o'clock morning staff con-
ice, taken Truman through two fully
ed office days, and followed him
gh a reminiscing tour of the half-
vated White House.
1 although anyone who has read a few
school history books and kept an eye:
e headlines since Truman took office
ind nothing new or startling in Her-
often overly-detailed side glance at the
lent, the series is enlightening and in-
ing as a graphic illustration of the
all-encompassing tasks and know-
requited of a president, and as an ob-
e but compassionate picture of Tru-
onsciously tackling the job.
s is a country which makes peculiar
often contradictory demands on the
ials publisled in The Michigan Daily
ritten by members of The Daily staff
epresent the views of the writers only.

Profile.
President. We proclaim that anyone can be
President, at the same time making the job
such that it demands a man of high and
special calibre. It is here that Truman es-
pecially has run into difficulties. Most of
the criticism against the President has char-
ges that he does not have outstanding qual-
ities of leadership or that he would not qua-
lify for membership in a hall of the world's
greatest men. He has been both admired and
admonished for that spunkiness which
showed itself in Truman's fighting election
campaign and also in his nefarious series of
letters. It is this quality more than any other
which makes the President a colorful per-
sonality, but also causes concern about the
dignity and prestige of the office.
Hersey takes this and other aspects of
Truman's personality and illustrates them
by letting the President do his own talking.
And in a rambling, home-spun fashion, the
quotes from Truman show him as a man
who, although he may lack qualities of
greatness, still brings to his job the drive,
determination and hard work which it needs.
One point which Hersey repeatedly em-
phasizes, and which Truman critics would
do well to consider, is the President's con-
scientiousness in his approach to all prob-
lems. Although it requires untold hours of
lost sleep, the President has, for instance,
consistently been aware of any situation or
problem about which governmental offi-
cials or private citizens consult him. The
quantity of reading required is just one
indication of the often unrealized amount
of work facing the President.
In printing this series, the New Yorker
is giving its readers a sympathetically-drawn
picture of the man holding down the most
taxing job in this country and some addi-
tional and needed understanding of just
what a heavy load is placed on the forth-
right shoulders of the man from Missouri.
-Roma Lipsky

Student
Advisors

"Guess You Thought We'd Forgotten You."


Xet/eP 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.

THE LITERARY COLLEGE'S Student Ad-
visors Program, which was initiated last
Thursday under the sponsorship of SL, un-
fortunately didn't turn out too well.
In fact, it approached being a total fi-
asco. Representatives from 22 depart-
ments expected a big turn-out, but were
left waiting.
Undoubtedly, many Universitg officials
and student advisors were a little embarrass-
ed, if not chagrined. And' of course, there
were quite a few moans from militant Stu-
dent Legislators. Their complaints were not
unjustified.
For certainly the program-designed td
supply students with first-hand information
about various departmental courses-is a
dent Legislators. Their complaints were not
opportunity to reorientate themselves and
choose wisely.
Toward this end, well-qualified student
counselors have been chosen to deliver the
first-hand scoop on various and sundry
courses. u
Many top University officials have en-
dorsed the program. Assistant Dean of the
literary college, James Robertson, has ex-
plained that the program should aid stu-
dents not only in choosing their majors but
also in making discreet selections of elec-
tions.
Indeed, the Student Advisors Program is
an invaluable supplement to the Univer-
sity's counseling system. It should become a
permanent program.
And if enough students turn out tomor-
row (from 3 to 5 p.m. in Angell Hall), the
program might be perpeuated.
It should be well worth the time for many
students, who are yet uncertain of their
curricula, to show up and discuss their
elections.
-Cal Samra

J
t

ON THE
Washington Merry-Go-Round
with DREW PEARSON

r EDITOR: CAL SAMRA

Phone Systems
ITH ALL THE TALK about dormitory
food, dormitory expenses, and the re-
'ement of dormitory bonds, nothing has
en said about the dormitory phone system.
This system is without a doubt one of
he biggest personal headaches of students
I 0 live in the University's Residence
Falls. Nonatter how important the call,
here are many times when it is practi-
ally impossible for the student to get his
wn switchboard, an outside line, the
wtchboard he is calling, or the person
.e is calling.
At the beginning of the year, there were
any complaints about this problem, and, as
result, a few more phones were added. But
th these additions, the switchboards be-
me so crowded that it often takes as long
half-an-hour to reach the operator.
Although the University has plans for
zanging the phone systems of the East
id West Quadrangles, and for installing a
one in every room of the South Quad-
ngle, there are no present plans for im-
oving the women's phones.
There are several ways that the Univer-
y could solve the problem. Either they
uld add a new switchboard to those al-
ady in the New Women's Dorm, or they
uld, over a period of time. put in a sys-
m of phones each on its own extension.
This system of having a separate ex-
ension for each phone has been used by
he University faculty and administration
ffices, and also in the dorms of other
olleges such as Cornell. To operate such
hones, the individual has only to dial a
ertain number-9 in the University ex-
hange-and he has an outside line. To
each some one who is also on the same
change, he has onlyto give the opera-
or the number of the extension. 1
These suggestions are only a few possible
lutions the University could use to solve
e problem. Whichever solution is chosen,
r University must recognize the need for
lproement. With increased rates, the stu-
nts have as much aright to an improved
one system as they !have to slightly bet-
rfood.
-Harriet Tepperman
Et TuBrute
'HE JUNIOR CLASS of the architecture
college at long last has a bevy of real, live
ficers. And since almost every other self-
specting class on the campus has seen fit
outfit themselves with all the trappings
the democratic process, it seems high time
at the junior class of the architecture
llege got in step with the times.
For this reason, if no other, a hitherto
bscure architecture junior named Dave
auer deserves a generous round of ap-
lause from all those interested in this
ort of thing. In these times it takes no
nall amount of courage to step forward
Ad play the role of the man of the hour.
Courage and the ability to sacrifice one-
f for a grand and perilous cause has
ely become associated solely with braid-
avy caps and open shirt collars. Lauer
s demonstrated conclusively that this is
>t not so.
Also praiseworthy was his Caesar-like re-
al to don an architecture diadem. Even


'Freedom of the Press'

Madrid...
FOR SOME STRANGE reason the dictators
of the world refuse to go along with
pretense that they ar'e not dictators.
Juan Peron of Argentina,, for instance,
has blasted the case of all those who would
like to insist that he really isn't such a bad
sort after all. He did it by closing down the
great newspaper La Prensa, throttling frees
dom of the press in Argentina. Now Gen-
eralissimo Franco in Spain seems intent on
following the Peron pattern.
Franco's government has just with-
drawn the press credentials of the New
York Times' correspondent Sam Pope. The
allegation was that Pope was filing inac-j
curate dispatches. Yet on challenge the
Spanish press chiefs admitted they could
cite no instance of a false report. Madrid
observers have concluded that the move
against Pope is simply part of a campaign
to rid Spain of the seven American report-
ers who are still there.
Signs of such a campaign have showed
before. Censorship is officially abolished in
Spain. But when correspondents recently
tried to tell the facts of a strike in Barce-
lona, their copy was mangled before trans-
mission. Censorship, unofficial but still as
brutal as ever, was 'back. Now that censor-
ship apparently is moving toward an actual
ouster of foreign correspondents, a ringing
down of a made-in-Madrid iron curtain.
This is the action of a dictatorship, of
course, for a dictator can never stand a free'
press.
--St. Louis Star-Times

* # 4

Prague ..
THE SOVIET EMPIRE seems bent upon
making its Iron Curtain wholly impene-
trable. In Czechoslovakia which, for a while,
afforded a window to the Western World
half a dozen Western correspondents have
been expelled during the past year and a
half; very few now remain. And now one
of them, William N. Oatis, a highly respect-
ed newspaperman representing the Associ-
ated Press, has been arrested and imprison-
ed on charges so vague that their real pur-
port cannot be determined, yet so familiar
in this context that they seem patently ar-
tificial. These insulting charges came on top
of the intolerable injury of denying to his
associates and even to the American Embas-
sy in Prague any knowledge of his where-
abouts for four days.
Mr. Oatis has been accused of "activities
hostile to the state," of "'gathering and
disseminating information considered se-
cret" and of "spreading malicious infor-
mation regarding the Czech state." The
government of Czechoslovakia has an in-
dubitable right, of course, to prosecute
and punish any resident of the country
who violates its laws. But it can scarcely
expect other sovereign governments to ac-
cept supinely a brazen trumping of charg-
es against their nationals for propaganda
purposes.
Mr. Oatis' colleagues of the free press hove
expressed full confidence in his integrity and
in his observance of his professional obliga-
tions. He should and undoubtedly will, have
the most vigorous backing of the United
States Government.
-Washington Post

TASHINGTON-There has been a significant and sincere difference
1 opinion regarding full and open hearings for the MacArthur
testimony beginning tomorrow.
Sen. Dick Russell of Georgia has been anxious not to have any-'
thing come out of the hearings that would in any way give aid and
comfort to the enemy. Everyone else agrees with him on this.
Not in agreement, however, are all the military men in the Pen-
tagon. Some of them feel that such a hearing would start an extremely
bad precedent in making public military mistakes of the past. This
feeling is not shared by all. Gen. Omar Bradley, for instance, has
believed in putting the cards on the table no matter whose errors
it shows up, including his own.
However, it has been a traditional policy among the military
for 100 years or so never to make public the battle errors of war.
For instance, the files on the mistakes of World War I never have
been open to Congress or the public, nor of the Spanish-American
war, nor even the Civil War. This is because it is definite military
policy that the tragic blunders of the top brass should not be
publicized. It is considered bad for the prestige of the service.
General Bradley has come nearest to publicizing these blunders
in his current biography in which he tells of the failure of Gen. John-
ny ("Court House") Lee to keep the Normandy invasion supplied with
munitions. He also tells of Lee's insatiable desire for grabbing swank
hotels for his officers while- the G.I.s slept where they could. I re-
ported part of this story during the war-namely, how General Lee
had taken over the swank George V Hotel in Paris for himself, and
how his supply lines got so snarled up tha Gen. Thomas Larkin was
ordered to make a special investigation. However, the official reports
of the War Department have never told this story and probably never
will.
- KOREA'S ERRORS -
LIKEWISE, THE TRAGIC mistakes of the Korean war never have
have been told officially. It has never been disclosed, for instance,
that when Gen. Edward Almond and the late Gen. "Johnny" Walker
were racing toward the Yalu river just before our tragic December
defeat, there was no battle liaison between them.
This failure was considered so dangerous by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff in Washington that a special warning was cabled General Mac-
Arthur to set up communications between his two field commanders.
However, he never heeded the warning.
The two commanders continued to operate, in effect, without
speaking to each other.
Possible explanation was that General Walker was a Lieuten-
ant General in command of the 8th Army, and outranked Al-
mond who was only a Major General. However, General Almond
was MacArthur's Chief of Staff in Tokyo, had been quite close to
him, and was sent from Tokyo to command the 10th Corps, which,
although not actually an army, was almost of equivalent size.
And for reasons best known to MacArthur, Almond was not placed
under the direct command of his superior, General Walker. Instead, he
reported back to Tokyo. This would not have been so serious, had' not
Walker's forces started off at a northwest angle toward the Yalu
River, while Almond's forces started almost straight north.
And as they fanned out in two different directions with no com-
munications between, the Chinese adopted the obvious and easy tactic
of advancing into the vacuum.
Once the Chinese got on our flanks and partly behind our lines,
the position of both the 8th Army and the 10th Corps became unten-
able. This was one of the inside reasons for the disastrous retreat of
last November-December.
* * * *
- POOR INTELLIGENCE -
THE 8th ARMY retreated 120 miles pell-mell without making a stop.
In some cases, it unhitched heavy artillery, leaving them to the
enemy without even a pretense of a fight. This was no reflection on
our men. The error was with the command. No prepared positions had
been set up in the rear, perhaps because there was not the slightest
expectation the Chinese would intervene.
Furthermore our troops were not overwhelmed by superior
numbers, as played up in the headlines at that time. While Gen-
eral MacArthur was issuing press communiques about a Chinese
force of 1,000,000 men, his own dispatches to the Pentagon esti-
mated Chinese strength at only 285,000 men, plus 150,000 North
Koreans.
Another serious error the military doesn't like to talk about now
was the failure to spot Chinese troops building up on both sides of
the Yalu River last November. Five thousand horses were brought
across the river, which should have been fairly easy for army intelli-
gence to spot, but MacArthur's intelligence failed to report them.
(Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)

Iranian Oil
To the Editor:
THE DISEASE which has been
for so long the cause of oppres-
sion, poverty, misery, and hunger1
for the Iranian people is now inl
the process of being exterminated.1
What is this disease which has
kept Iran poverty-ridden and
without economic stability for so
many years. that has suppressed
any real social reforms, and that
causes the persecution of racial
and religious minorities? The
Iranians are not suffering because
their country is devoid of natural
resources and thus the lack of in-
ternal wealth. On the contrary,
Iran because of its oil alone is one
of the richest countries on earth.
But where does the wealth from
those resources go to? Certainly
not to the people. The wealth of
this nation is controlled by British
interests whose income from oil
alone is a hundred times the total
amount of Iran's national income.
Because of her imperialistic policy,
Britain is interested only in the
continuation of the tremendous
income which she is sapping from
Iran and the sanctionng of a
policy put forth by the authorities
of this country destined to keep
the condition of the people at this
low subjugated level.
Now the spark of protest has
been ignited and a tremendous
fire of nationalism is burning in
the hearts of the people to mobi-
lize their efforts in order to gain
their freedom from oppression
and corruption, to gain food for
their starving children, to gain
proper living conditions and other
economic reforms, to share in the
wealth of a nation that is right-
fully theirs and not one that sub-
mits to the imperialistic policies
of an outsider, and finally to gain
the rights and privileges of other
democratic societies, which they
have been denied for so long.
-Arthur Rose
U' Parking . *
To the Editor:
THE UNIVERSITY might well
alleviate part of its severe
parking problem by constructing
a multi-level parking structure
comparable to the downtown mu-
nicipal parking structure in the
area behind Health Service and
Dent School. I'm sure that those
of us who have driven miles vainly
searching for an available park-
ing space would be glad to pay a
small sum for the assurance of
finding a space within walking
distance of classes or campus em-
ployment. With the completion
of the new Angell Hall addition,
the temporary class buildings now
partially taking up this site could
be (and probably will be) cleared
away. The subsequent conversion
of this area into a multi-level
parking structure, for which it is
topographically and geographic-
ally well suited, would not only
be a boon to local drivers but also
it would be an aesthetic improve-
ment.
-Mrs. Priscilla Duenfeld
* * *
Mac for Michigan .. .
To the Editor:
WHEN ONE thinks of great uni-
versities, one thinks immedi-
ately of the University of Michi-
gan.
It follows therefore that it is
only fitting and proper that this
splendid institution should have
as its president, a man who has
not only proven himself a great
and loyal American, but one' who
is firm in his convictions, and hs
and will continue to speak out
valiantly in support of these con-
victions.
We believe that there is such a
Man!
His name is General Douglas

MacArthur.
We are all familiar with His
courageous exploits during the
two great wars in which this na-
tion was engaged. Nothing more
need be said on this point.
In the present time of crisis,
General MacArthur has demon-
strated a keen presence of mind in
his usual magnificent manner.
His flair for rapid, correct deci-
sions is a vital factor to consider
in the move to have the General
as the leader of this vast student
body.
Regardless of the position of the
reader in the present controversy,
all of us must agree that General
MacArthur has exhibited an al-
most super-human determination
to follow the dictates of his con-
science, in an effort to fulfill the
prophecy that he is a Man of Des-
tiny. This University needs a man
of His force, vigor, and will to do!

The General defied the explicit
orders of his popularly elected su-
perior, but needless to add, His
theories have been completely
vindicated by the American peo-
ple. The tumultuous welcome He
has received in the great metro-
polises of this nation indicates
clearly that the feelings and Sen-
timents of the masses are in per-
feet accord with His patriotic
enunciations.
We firmly believe that the uni-
versal charismatic qualities of
General Douglas MacArthur can
be directly transferred from the
military to the academic.
This University cannot afford
not to have Him as President!
The Regents must be pressured
by every right-thinking student to
invite, in a spirit of humbleness,
General Douglas MacArthur to* act
as the leader of this great insti-
tution.
It is the responsibility of every
one of us to make certain that He
does not just Fade Away.
-Lawrence B. Hulack, '5
George Witt, '51
DAILY
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
(Continued from Page 2)
Deutscher Verein will show the fea-
ture length movie "Waltz by Strauss"
(German dialog). Admission free. All
interested students and faculty invited.
A brief business meeting to elect offi-
cers for 1951-52 will follow. 1025 An-
gel Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Delta Sigma Pi: Business meeting,
7:30 p.m., Chapter House, 1212 Hill
Street.
Coming Events
Canterbury Club: Thurs., May 3, As-
cension Day. 7 a.m., Holy Copmmunion;
breakfast.
Sailing Club: Meeting and shore
school, Thurs., May 3, 311 W. Engineer-
ing Bldg., 7:30 p.m.
Polonia Club: Meeting, 7:30 pn.m.
Thurs., May 3, International Center.
Hostel Club: Au Sable Weekend Canoe
Trip, May 11-13. Call Jack Young,
2-7958.
International Center Weekly Tea, for
foreign students and American friends,
4:30-6 p.m., Thurs., May 3.
Rho Chi Society, National Honorary
Pharmaceutical Society; Annual Initia-
tion and Banquet, Thurs., May 3, 6:30
p.m., Union. Dr. Lauren Woods, De-
partment of Pharmacology guest Speak-
er.
U. of M. Soaring Club: Meeting
Thurs., May 3, 7:30 p.m., 1042E . En-
gineering Bldg. Plans for a new two
car and schedules for week-end flying
will be discussed. All members are urged
to attend and all who are interested
are welcome.

,,_ . .

9

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..': t-.

ti ,,


INTERPRETING THE NEWS:
Iranian Tempest,

By J. M. ROBERTS, JR.
AP Foreign Affairs Analyst
ANTI-BRITISH nationalists in Iran, tak-
ing the bit in their teeth and supported
by the underground Communist party, are
creating a s situation in the Middle East
which may prove even more dangerous to
world peace than Korea.
Anglo-American hopes of a few weeks
ago for a mutually beneficial compro-
mise of Iran's desire to nationalize the
great oil fields have gone by the boards.
The Nationalists not only have pushed
through their nationalization program
without regard for their country's long-
term agreement with the Anglo-Iranian
Oil Company. Their agitation has proved
so popular that their leader has become
Wage Trends
PERHAPS THERE'S a certain trend afoot
in Washington. Certainly it's to be hop-
ed so.
Only recently former Governor M. E.
Thompson of Georgia stepped out of a plush
job with the Office of Price Stabilization.

premier, and the program becomes one
to drive out all western influence.
Nationalist-Communist strikes and dem-
onstrations have created such a serious sit-
uation that a British fleet has been gather-
ed in the Persian gulf, ostensibly as a safe-
guard for British lives. The traditional role
of the British fleet has been for protection
of British property as well as lives, how-
ever. The oil fields, under British interpre-
tation of the agreement, certainly represent
British property.
London, of course, is in an embarrassing
situation, since the government there has
not hesitated to nationalize the businesses
of its own people.
The facts of life, however, not social prin-
ciples, rule international politics. The la-
test Iranian moves threaten at the least to
place operation of the oil wells in inexperi-
enced hands and to dry up the flow to Bri-
tain's fleet and for other vital allied needs>
At the worst the hurriedly-mapped Iranian
plan might disrupt the country's entire eco-
nomy, opening the door to Russian influence.
The blackest part of the whole picture,
however, lies in the fact that any British
attempt to protect their rights by force
would be an invitation to action by Rus-
sia. The Kremlin might not take a British

Sixty-First Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Jim Brown..........Managing Editor
Paul Brentlinger ...........City Editor
Roma Lipsky.......Editorial Director'
Dave Thomas ..........Feature Editor
Janet Watts ...........Associate Editor
Nancy Bylan .........Associate Editor
James Gregory.......Associate Editor
Bill Connolly...........Sports Editor
Bob Sandell ....Associate Sports Editor
Bill Brenton ....Associate Sports Editor
Barbara Jans .......,.Women's Editor
Pat Brownson Associate Women's Editor
Business Staff
Bob Daniels........Business Manager
Walter Shapero Assoc. Business Manager
Paul Schaible .....Advertising Manager
Sally Fish ........... Finance Manager
Bob Miller.......Circulation Manager
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