I THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, MAY 27, 1951 ERPRETING THE NEWS: Korean Peace Rumors By J. M. ROBERTS, JR. Associated Press News Analyst UNITED NATIONS forces regain the nitiative in Korea the New York head- ers is buzzing with talk of peace and 'rs of Russian feelers, but there is no test evidence of anything concrete. ne little incident about three weeks , which had no touch of the official ut it, may have provided the basis for it of the talk which has been going on h at the UN and in Washington. This evidently prompted Secretary Ache- ' statement, with subsequent backing a the President, that he knew of no rtures. miebody without official standing in ia wrote to a friend, who turned the r over to the foreign office of a non- ,erent country, suggesting that Russia the UN allies should start peace talks. .e Russians at the UN, who enjoy seeing little bypasses, merely said "No com- ," a device which frequently serves to hten speculation. .e letter did come to the UN to the good >rials published in The Michigan Daily written by members of The Daily staff represent the views of the writers only. HT EDITOR: ZANDER HOLLANDER offices committee, but constant inquiry has failed to produce anyone who takes it serious. There is an air of expectancy around the UN, probably based on the often-expressed hope of Washington officials that a Chinese defeat in their spring offensive would create a situation in which negotiation would be possible. But there is not the slightest in- dication that either side has made a move. The next few days may, of course, give us some evidence on, which to base an evalua- tion of the whole Washington idea that China might become convinced of the fu- tility of its war effort and be willing to stop it. Much will depend, of course, upon Russian-Chinese reasons for continuing the war after North Korean forces were defeated. If China's main incentive was the clearing of Allied troops from Korea, then she might give it up as a bad job. But if, as seems more likely, the broad Communist intention is now to keep the United States tied up in Korea and there- by weaken her hand elsewhere, the Com- munist leaders, Russian and Chinese, will not worry much about their battle casual- ties. It would not seem reasonable from the Russian standpoint to relieve pressure on the Allies in Korea now, for instance, while Britain and the United States are trying to stabilize their position in Japan. DORIS FLEESON: Nominations WASHINGTON-A Senator from the deep south broke into an old-hymn tune when told that Harry C.Butcher, World War II aide to General Eisenhower, had written that "President Truman himself might sug- gest his (Ike's) name to the Democratic Convention." "Oh happy day that fixed my choice," caroled this member of the Russell Commit- tee which is exploring the case of General MacArthur. Many Democratic politicians feel that Mr. Butcher has offered the ideal solution. It would put their retiring President in an attractive light before the country and it would fulfill every condition that General Eisenhower has laid down for his own can- didacy. The truth is that a number of them had been wondering how to plant the idea at the White House that the way for Mr. Truman really to insure the con- tinuation of his policies was to kidnap Ike himself personally. Democrats appear genuinely satisfied that the MacArthur fracas and the increasingly firm attitudes struck by Senator Taft with respect to his party's foreign policy have effectively ended General !Eisenhower's chances for the Republican nomination. They are not quite sure that Senator Taft can be nominated; though, for public consumption, they talk as if they were. They think Taft could and would veto Ike. They also predict that if General Mac- Arthur reads himself out of the Republican nomination he will do it in such a way as to bar Ike also; that is, he will say that profes- sional soldiers shouldn't try to be president. Not too many are prepared to say that Gen- eral MacArthur is really out of it; they are positive that, if he is, he will want company. The first reports from the Denver meet- ina of the TDemocratic National Committee The Week's News IN RETROSPECT ettet 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. I I - -- k A6 y ,i MA OTE H AO FA By JOSEPH ALSOP LONDON-Although the American and $ritilsh policy makers are plainly a bit vague about it, the evidence is overwhelming that the Kremlin is now using a most pro- mising new gambit in its gigantic program of world conquest. In brief, the Iranian oil dispute is to serve as the fuse which will blow up the whole explosive Middle East. When and if the explosion occurs, Britain will be fear- fully awakened. Britain and America will be angrily divided. The Western alliance will be demoralized. And the worst danger to the Soviet Union, the vital strategic airbases in the eastern Mediterranean, will be partly or wholly neutralized. Then will be' the time for the Kremlin to snake its next move.The upset in the world balance of power that now threatens in the Middle East will paralyze the Western alli- ance. And the risk of resistance to a well- planned new aggression, against Yugoslavia f z example, will thus be reduced almost to the vanishing point. This is the glittering opportunity for which the Kremlin is now waiting. It should be understood, moreover, that the masters of the Kremlin have labored with unusual astuteness to create this opportun- ity. For a year and a half, they have done hll in their power to make the more irre- sponsible Iranian nationalists forget the Russian danger to the north, and to drive them onward in their wild career. * * * * FOR EXAMPLE, after the murder of Gen. Rahmara and the first nationalization vote, the order was given for the Communist Tudeh party to lead a wave of "anti-British" strikes all over Iran. The strikes precipitated an internal crisis. The >crisis brought to power the totally irrational extremist, Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh. Mossadegh's tri- umph ended all hope of reasonable settle- mnent of the, oil dispute by negotiation. Whereat the Soviet AmbassadornSadchikov went to Mossadegh, to promise that the Rus- sians would not move into northern Iran, CURRENT MOVIES At The Michigan.. .. GO FOR BROKE, with Van Johnson. ROBERT PIROSH, who wrote "Battle- ground," the best picture about the last war, has been given another crack at the genre, this time taking over the director's duties as well. It cannot be said that he has made the most of his opportunity, largely because he is apparently much too con- scious that he is offering a tribute instead of telling a story about men in combat. The recipients of the tribute here are the members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, made up exclusively of Japanese-Am- ericans whose fine war record in Europe has heretofore never been given its rightful no- tice. Commendable as Mr. Pirosh's purpose is, however, the roles created to bring the story to life are heavily typed, played by diligent but limited amateurs, and co- sequently fail to hold any real interest. In comedy episodes where the artless natural- ness of the men is an asset, Pirosh scores at times, but by and large, these scores are pale and familiar imitations of their prototypes in "Battleground." Worse, however, the depth of feeling and 'a even if the British landed troops in the south. This was the subtle final touch, here dis- closed for the first time. The much dis- cussed 1921 treaty theoretically gives Moscow the right to send forces into Iran when any other power does so. The fear of a Russian invasion, touched off by a British landing, formerly haunted even Mossadegh. Sadchikov's extraordinary as- surance was precisely what was needed to make Mossadegh throw caution to the winds. And thus was produced the pres- ent desperate situation. As these words are written, there is only one ray of light. Some signs in Teheran sug- gest that the effort to replace the Mossa- degh government with a more reasonable administration is not quite so hopeless as it appeared a few days ago, when the Shah was refusing to tackle the problem. A new government with which reasonable nego- tiations can be carried on in a reasonable way is the only cheap way out. It is to be hoped that American influence has been joined with British influence to attain this end. * 4 4 * THERE is nothing cheap at all about the other supposedly cheap way out that some personalities in both the State Depart- ment and the Foreign Office are now mumb- ling about. This is the plan to "bring the Persians to their senses" by cutting off the Iranian government's oil revenues. Anyone who has met the leading per- sonalities and smelled the peculiar air of Teheran knows that this plan will almost certainly work in reverse. With the oil revenues cut off, the army and civil ser- vice will no longer be paid. Dr. Mossadegh may seek to meet the emergency by mak- ing Kerensky-like speeches, until the authority of the government simply dis- solves and the Tudeh party takes over. Or more probably, he will go to Moscow for the loan Sadchikov has already hinted about; and he will get it on terms that will open the way for Tudeh. In short, the betting is nine to one that this supposedly easy way will enid with the Tudeh party in power in all of Iran, and with the vital oil resources thus under Soviet control at last. Yet there is grave danger that the Foreign Office and the State Department will flab- bily drift into this foolish course. The State Department is said to have delusions on the subject. Here in London, the precedent is set, since the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company has already suspended revenue payments to the Iranian treasury. The British can hard- ly fail to retaliate if the Iranians expropriate their oil. They can hardly consider a landing without American moral support. And so, the more you examine the situation, the bigger, the heavier, the more grave the American responsibility appears. (Copyright, 1951, New York Herald Tribune, Inc.) 1U indicate that the party leaders through the country are not too cast down by the Presi- dent's low estate. They are said to have still the confidence born of 1948 that he can fight his way back with the people. Whether they are whistling in the dark or not, they have certainly learned that if a President wants renomination, he'll get it. That is why pro-Eisenhower Senators have been wondering how to induce Mr. Tru- man to plan an Eisenhower coup on his own motion. (Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) Italian Elect ions By The Associated Press ROME-Italy's Communist Party - the largest outside of Russia-will get its first ballot box test in three years at the nation's municipal elections starting today. In all, voters in almost 5,000 cities and towns with a combined population of 27,- 576,572 will pick municipal councils today and on June 10. At the same time, pro- vincial councils will be elected in 58 of the country's 19 provinces. The elections will be an all-out battle be- tween forces of Premior Alcide De Gasperi, head of Italy's Christian Democrat majority party, and the 2,500,000-member Communist Party under Moscow-trained Palmiro Tog- liatti and its ally, the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) headed by Pietro Nenni. Normally, municipal elections would de- pend largely on local issues, but Premior De Gasperi appears to have determined upon making the balloting a kind of national referendum. For one thing, he evidently believes pros- pects for luccess are sufficiently good that the Communists will suffer a further blow to their prestige nationally. For another, his government is concerned about the role Communist administrations in towns and cities could play in dividing the country in case of war. Mario Scelba, Christian Democrat Min- ister of Interior, says the Communist gov- ernments in power in one-third of the country's municipalities, with a total pop- ulation of 20,000,000, are tools for Italy's Red leaders. In an early campaign speech he sounded the government's campaign goal: return these communities "to the Italians" Campaign issues were summed up in "Europeo," one of Italy's leading indepen- dent weeklies, as "Russia or America, Com- munism or Democracy, Togliatti or De Gas- peri." The first of three rounds of municipal elections will be held tomorrow in 2,743 cities and towns in 28 provinces. On June 10, vot- ing will take place in 2,151 communities in 30 provines. Elections in the remainder of Italy's 7,408 municipalities are expected in the fall. The Communist-Socialist combine now holds sway in about 1,200 of the 2,743 cities and towns in the 28 provinces to vote on May 27. They are scattered from Trent, along the Austrian border, and San Remo, on the French frontier, to Florence in the heart of Tuscany and Venice and Ancona on the Adriatic coast. Italian observers generally give the De Gasperi forces the edge in the voting. Some Christian Democrat writers boast that 1,000 communities will be wrested from the Com- munists. A strategic cluster of provinces where -Daily-Bill Hampton "I could swear I creamed that exam." DRAFT TEST-About 1500 hopeful 'U' students scribbled fran- tically yesterday morning on the nation-wide draft aptitude test, the spector of service in the "new army" breathing inspiration into every healthy male. NEW PRESIDENT-Two men held the campus spotlight this' week. One achieved University fame overnight; the other had gained the respect and affection of the students and faculty through 22 years of devoted service. In its most momentous decision in almost a quarter of a century, the Board of Regents named Harlan H. Hatcher, vice-president of Ohio State University, as successor to President Alexander G. Ruthven. While speculation experts ate crow, the campus received the news with mixed emotions. Although the fact that President Ruthven was going to retire had been known for sometime, its real meaning for the University had not been fully realized. But, as the administration and the student body were absorbing the shock of the imminent loss of President Ruthven, they knew that the Regents had made a wise choice for his successor. Hatcher, 52-year-old author and administrator, is one of Ohio's outstanding citizens and ranks among the nation's top scholars. He came to Ohio State in 1922 as an English instructor, was appointed full professor in 1932 and served as dean from 1944-48. In 1948, he became vice-president in charge of faculties and curriculum. While the University prepared to roll out the welcome mat when Hatcher takes office September 1, for 16,000 students it was "Ruthven Week." Tuesday night, in spite of an early evening drizzle, a wildly cheering crowd of close to 3,000 students turned out to pay tribute to the president and Mrs. Ruthven for their long period of leadership in campus affairs. A surprise serenade, featuring the presentation of a scroll from the student body to the University's first couple, was held in front of the Ruthven home. The president was visibly moved as his favorite songs were sung amidst loud cheering and applause. The State Legislature also paid homage to the president in adopt- ing a resolution citing him as responsible for building the University into "an educational institution recognized throughout the world." And the Michigauma braves added their gratitude to "Peace- maker" Ruthven's friendly guidance during the most turbulent period that the University had ever known. In an impressive ceremony Friday at Tappan Oak, the president, complete with feathers and his famous smile, accepted a golden arrow from the tribe. But it was clear that the end of the summer would not mark the end of the Ruthven Era. The president said he was "retiring in the University" and would keep The Daily letters column lively with his comments on the affairs of college. A grateful university gave its heart to the man who will soon em- bark on a new role as Michigan's elder statesman. UNIVERSITY APPROPRIATIONS-After a record 30 hour ses- sion lasting into yesterday afternoon, the State Legislature passed a $14,845,000 appropriation for the University. This represented a cut of only about $400,000 from the amount requested by the University, in contrast to last year, when economy-minded Republicans butchered several millions from the 'U' budget. National .. . WHEAT FOR INDIA-Campus do-gooders congratulated them- selves on another victory, as the House at last passed with minor re- visions the Senate wheat-for-India bill. A joint committee will iron out the differences of the $190,000,000 wheat loan bills. MACARTHUR WOES--Gen. Douglas MacArthur took it on the chin this week before the joint Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. Chiefs-of-Staff Omar Bradley and J. Lawton Collins took turns in blasting the General for his insubordination. Collins declared that MacArthur went against the strong advice of the Joint Chiefs by sending UN troops to the Manchurian border, while Bradley revealed that the Pentagon had repeatedly warned the General about the gap between the Eighth and Tenth Armies which led to the disastrous November defeat. * * * * . - Around the World ... ROUND TWO WON-This was a week of success for United Nations forces in Korea. The second round of the Chinese spring offensive became a smashing Allied victory. Repeated Chinese thrusts on the eastern front were met, contained, then by week's end, hurled back across the 38th parallel. Lt. Gen. Van Fleet was jubilant as.he declared his Eighth Army would go wherever necessary to "kill more Reds." 60,000 Communists faced encirclement and annihilation as the UN forces pounded ahead into North Korea. It was clear that the Red spring offensive was doomed to catastrophic failure. Would Peiping now be ready to negotiate a settlement to the bloody little war? * * * * IRAN SEETHES-Tension' reached the boiling point this week in oily Iran, as the crisis headed for a possible blow-up. 4000 British paratroopers. were rushed to nearby Cyprus Island, as Iranian premier Mohammed Mossadegh tearfully told reporters that Iran would fight for oil nationalization. Meanwhile, ominous hints came seeping out of the Kremlin that Russia would oppose with force any foreign inter- vention in Iran. -Crawford Young Dorm Study Halls To the Editor: AS a University student I view with great concern the in- creasing attitude of hostility dis- played by the residence halls towards "outsiders" of any kind. I specifically refer to one recently adopted policy. In many quadrangle study halls there are signs hung on the walls, requesting any student to immedi- ately report to his resident advisor any other person in the room who is not a member of the house. Now these study halls are often quite empty, and to exclude a student from such facilities merely be- cause he is not a resident of the quad seems to be quite a juvenile attitude The entire purpose of a Univer- sity is to furnish a person with the stimulus and atmosphere towards the attainment of knowledge and learning. The residence halls, be- ing an intrinsic part of our Uni- versity, should certainly not adopt a hostile attitude towards a sup- posed "non-member." We are all students and we are all here "to learn. To tell an affiliated stu- dent seeking study to "go back where you came from" is about as undemocratic and immature as countering any seemingly radical or new idea with the feeble "why don't you go to Russia." It is a well known fact that many frater- nities have poor study facilities. But is this to be regarded as a punishment for going fraternity? Is it so very presumptuous for such a student to seek a place to study? Many students can neither af- ford to' join a fraternity nor live in a quadrangle. They must live out in rooms which are entirely inadequate for work of any kind. After ten o'clock all officially, sponsored places of study such as our library are closed, and on Sundays they are shut down all day. For a serious student to quietly sit down at a table with a book certainly constitutes no en- croachments u p o n anybody's rights, and to allow such a facility is not merely being tolerant-it is being just and is giving a student an even break. --Charles Browne * -* * murdering his opposition and ter- rorizing his foes, simply because of certain leftist, tendancies. He has never had a fair trial. This poor unfortunate is being slander- ed and libeled day by day without a chance to defend himself against such atrocious, unmitigated, yel. low-dog defamations of character. Therefore, I urge all true liber- als to unite and write. Petition the President, Congress and the Supreme Court to step in and see that the Cincinnati Nine is ex- onerated so that the rest of the world will see that we are making some progress towards the goals set by our great friends and war- time allies. Write or wire today! -Morton T. Eldridge, '53L * * * Book Burning .. . To the Editor: THE PRESENT controversy sur- rounding Birth of a' Nation would seem more appropriate to a book banning in Boston than to the presumably enlightened lib- eralism of a university. The issues of both types of controversy involve a moral question; the sincerity of both parties in each case is hardly to be doubted; and the end to which each aspires is truly laud- able. But one wonders in either case whether the moral problem at hand is really relevant to the sub- ject. N Is moral 'criticism germane to the esthetic? One can easily ans- wer this affirmatively, but in so doing, he is seriously circumscrib- ing all art to that which conforms to criteria other than esthetic. Moral objections to art are rele- vant insofar as an esthetic experi- ence or attitudeT is precluded by the materials employed. Stag films, "eight-page novels" and other such pornographia may be properly ex- cluded since they are manufac- tured for a response which is In- tended to be erotic and toward which it is impossible to assume an esthetic attitude in our culture at the present time. Most of the moral criticism of art in the present and past has' been by those whose capacity to appreciate a wrk of art is limited to its conformity to their moral at- titudes. The effect this has had and can have on art scarcely needs to be elaborated. Objections to movies like The Miracle, Oliver Twist and to artists like Ezra Pound, D. H. Lawrence, Diego Ri- viera, Walter Gieseking and Kir- sten Flagstad have tended to im- poverish rather than enrich our art experiences. If Birth of a Na- tion must be censored because it Is contrary to our attitudes toward racial equality, how then can we .deplore the Politburo's criticism of Prokofiev and Shostakovitch for writing bourgeois music? -R.W. Secombe, '53L i .5 A Birth of a Nation 0 . To the Editor:. I O FAR no one seems to have "'pointed out that "Birth of a Nation," in addition to being an historical document, is also a ma- jor land mark in the development of the film in the United States. Regardless of the content of the work it represents D. W. Griffith when he was at the height of his creative powers. The film has been described as the first modern. movie, and the work of Griffith during its period (c. 1915) has been described by British and French critics as an American masterpiece. One soviet director in a letter to Griffith in 1936 hailed him as the father and teacher of that Russian school of film-making led by Eisenstein and Potemkin. That the content of the film is pernicious I do not deny; I also feel that the subjects of a good many of Durer's Apocalypse etch- ings are'false and pernicious, but their superb form and technique is reason enough for their preser- vation and wide distribution. In the same way, it seems to me, that "Birth of a Nation," in spite of its subject matter, will continue to be regarded as a masterpiece in its own medium. --Clayton Bredt Neptune Film Society Seventh Place .. . To the Editor: N READING the recent pro- testations in defense of the Trenton Six, I was appalled at the seeming callousness of these same liberals in not defending a group much more maligned and discrimi- nated against. This group, of course, is the famous or infamous Cincinnati. Nine. The rash, un- warranted charges, insults unima- ginable and outright violence that have been showered on these un- fortunates is certainly a black eye for America in its fight for demo- cracy. Day after day and night aft- er night the label "Reds" has been slapped on this group with abso- lutely no proof of any kind forth- coming to indicate their leftist leanings. One of their number, a seeming- ly affable Pole by the name of Kluszewski, has been charged with A Sixty-First Year Edited and managed by students et the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. 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Michigan as second-class mail matter. Subscription during regular school year: by carrier, $6.00; by'mail, $7.00. T Looking Back FIVE YEARS AGO THE NATIONWIDE railroad strike ended minutes before the House passed Presi- dent Truman's bill to permit drafting of men for industrial emergencies and penaliz- ing strikes against government seized prop- erties. * * *' FIFTEEN YEARS AGO f"HINA moved for a "lasting peace" with kA-. BARNABY n _ t' . . _ _ ._.5 . 1 1 n_ t J_ __t L..1t,.__[.. E A.,4 FlniIanrcte6 n" Uo M I I, .