THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 152
Anti-Red Referendum
* * * * * *
AFTER AN existence of only five months, WITHIN THE past week, tw
the Civil Liberties Committee has reached ganization, the Civil Libe
the critical question which so many liberal tee and the Students for Dem
organiza.ions must ask themselve3 today. have faced a problem which is
is it necessary for a liberal o
Can an organization work effectively to pre- take a firm stand against Con
serve civil liberties, while, at the same time, Fascists and if so, how?
permit those who seek destruction of those Tuesday night the SDA gro
liberties to remain within its r.nks? constitution which specificall
the club rejects any asso
At a meeting this coming Thursday, the "Communists, fascists or oth
CLC will vote on an amendment to .:s con- lans."
stitution, which, because c.° its clarity and Tonight the CLC will vote
directness needs littje explanation. The tution amendment which stir
amendment reads as follows stand on civil liberties must
"While the Civil Liberties Committee does and that the group feels th
not make any test of opinion on political Communists and Fascists ino
or economic questions a condition of mem- the concept of civil liberties.
bership, and makes no distinction in de- Many see such constitution
fending the right to hold and utter any opin- liberal organizations as illiber
ion; its membership, nevertheless, is proper- They argue that "In a libera
ly subject to the test of consistency in the everyone should be allowed
defense of civil liberties in all aspects and matter what his views are."
all places. . But this does not follow."
reacon why a political groupn
"That consistency is inevitably compro- political instrument to those
mised by persons who champion civil liberties pare diametrically opposed to
in the United States, and yet who justify the group.
the denial of civil liberties by dictatorships
abroad. Such a dual position makes it de- However as a liberal group,
sirable that the Civil Liberties Committee must be willing to protect ther
makes its position unmistakably clear, political enemies to form the
cal instruments.
"The Civil Liberties Committee therefore Thus, a liberal group is per
holds it inappropriate for any person to in denying Communists memb
be a member of this organization, who is a the same time justifies its own
member of any other organization which protecting the civil rights of C
supports totalitarian aspects of any coun- In the CLC objection to the
try, or who by his public declarations in- which would make this dis
dicates his support of such a principle, or taken three forms. First, s
who' belongs to any native organizations group refuse to take a stand
with obvious anti-democratic objectives or Communist's inconsistency re
practices. liberties. Second, many eel
'o campus or-
rties Commit-
aoratic Action,
nationide-
rganization to
mmunists and
oup passed a
y stated that
ciation with
her totalitar-
on a consti-
pulates that a
be consistent,
he position of
onsistent with
nal policies of
al themselves.
i organization
to speak, no
There is no
must open its
whose ideals
the ideals of
the members
rights of their
ir own politi-
fectly justified
bership, but at
,n existence by
Communists,
amendment,
tinction, has
some in the
d against the
garding civil
that such a
Speaker's Ban
ABNER Greene and Arthur McPhauL, the
two speakers tentatively banned by the
University Lecture Committee, have both
r,,fused to state whether or not they were
or have been Communists.
McPha1 commented that he was up-
holding ;he constitution by not answering
and Greene refused to submit to the "in-
timidation and ignoring of rights" that
the question represented to him. Signifi-
cantly, however, they were both willing
to say :hat they did not "advocate the
overthrow of the government."
The public still wonders, though, about the
Communist issue. They surmise that because'
Greene and McPiaul will not answer this
question, they are Communists. They can-
not see why a person will not defend him-
self of the charge of Communism. This
wording is intentional, because Communism
is a charge against a person. It is important
to consider that today the American people
feel that the act of >eing a Communist is
synonomous with desiring the overthrow of
the American government by whatever
methods Russia and the Communist Party
are able to use.
One may charge that this is an illiberal
attitude; a violation of civil rights-of the
concept that a man is not guilty until
proven so, but the public is not in a mood
for any such debate. They see a Communist
threat. They see it in Russia, in Communist
China, in North Korea, in all the intrigue
that has gone into making Eastern Europe
a Red satellite. And now they see it in alb-
leged Communist front organizations, in
activities of Alger Hiss and William Reming-
ton, and in the growing revelations of Com-
munist activities throughout the country.
This attitude of the American public is
reflected in lecture committees and loyalty
oaths. It is reflected in the University Lec-
Lure Committee's action in barring these
men from campus until more is known
about their speaking plans. The public does
not want the University to become a sound-
ing board for every organization which is
formed to propagandize against American
institutions.
With Greene a member of two organi-
zations branded Communist fronts by the
Attorney General and having spent six
months in jail for contempt of court in a
Communist case, it would be naive to as-
sume without further evidence that his
speech would not be subversive. The same
holds true for McPhaul who is also a mem-
ber of one of the groups on the Attorney
General's list and who refused to answer
questions or produce requested records in
Un-American Activities Committee hear-
ings in Detroit.
As long as people see the threat of Com-
munism around them, as long as they realize
that their civil liberties are imperiled by
those who hide under the civil liberties
issue, as long as they understand that inter-
nal vigilance as well as strong armies are
necessary for the defense of America, they
will reject the Red fronts and people who
back them as being unfit to exist in America.
They will not be hoodwinked by subversives
who hide behind "liberalism" to poison
America.
-Harry Lunn
*. Z tteP3 tO th~ 6it[or
"We regard any regime whatever its
form as totalitarian if it denies such basic
freedoms as: freedom of speech, of press,
of religion, of voluntary association, and the
other liberties guaranteed under the consti-
tution of the United States, or which permits
arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, or punish-
ment without a fair ahd open trial.
"We recognize that these liberties have
been endangered in all countries including
our own (in fact that is the very reason for
our existence as an organization) but in non-
totalitarian countries these rights can be op-
enly championed against attack. Experience
has shown that under any form of dictator-
ship, no matter how disguised and no matter
what its variety, these rights cannot be in-
dicated or maintained."
By disregarding the need for such a posi-
tive statement as this the CLC will in-
evitably take the path of other liberal or-
ganizations who have sought to distin-
guish between the tyranny of communism
and fascism; a path that has but two des-
tinations-inconsistency in purpose and
infiltration by Communists.
It is urgent that all members of the Civil
Liberties Committee come to its next meeting
to insure that the group take a stand that
will make its position as clear and forthright
as the above amendment permits.
clause would only add to the hysteria and
"witch hunting" and third, that such a
provision would mean little since it can-
not be enforced.
The first group can easily be disputed if
we define civil liberties as freedom of speech,
press, assembly, choice in politics-freedoms
which must exist for all in all places. There
is little doubt that a dictatorship, whether
it be in Spain or Russia, denies these very
basic human rights. One who fights for
civil liberties in this country, but justifies
the existence of a dictatorship elsewhere
can hardly be called a consisten liberal.
The charges of "witch hunting" and "un-
enforceable" are more reasonable. If a policy
of rejecting totalitarians were to be enforced
by "purging" the membership it would in-
deed be falling into the hands of the "witch
hunters." Thus, the policy can not be en-
forced by the technique of explusion.
Therefore the only "teeth" in such state-
ments is that they become a firm declara-
tion of belief and impose on prospective
members the resolution that the group
takes as axiomatic its members disbelief.
in any form of totalitarianism.
If the CLC is to be an effective liberal
organization it must take a calm but firm
stand against Fascists and Communists, and
pass the amendment tonight.
-Alice Bogdonoff
Both Sides . .
To the Editor:
ARE WE insecure of our demo-
cratic principles? Insecure
people try to suppress that which
doesn't fit in their nice and simple
pattern of living. It is insecurity
which motivates people in respon-
sible positions to "hear no evil, see
no evil, and think no evil."
Trying to maintain an open
viewpoint in these times is diffi-
cult, for many, like the recruit on
his first guard-duty detail, see
Communists lurking behind every
tree, while others martyr any cause
which is backed by the "reaction-
aries," no matter how justifiable
the case. I am anxious to avoid
both extremes of the. political pen-
dulum thus preventing the totali-
tarianism of both communism and
fascism.
Our greatest danger today was
Germany's danger in the Twenties
and early Thirties. The Sparti-
cists, Marxists with violent de-
signs toward government, threat-
ened the security of the nation al-
ready shaken by economic distress.
The backdoor was left open for a
small group of terrorists who
claimed they were for an economi-
cally secure Germany free from
the Red Menace as well as the
Cartel Interests, both characteriz-
ed through vile propaganda as the
Jewish element. Thus by centering
public hostility toward one ficti-
tious group, Communist-Capital-
ists Jews, Hitler was able to turn
the public's attention away from
his design of capturingthe reins
of government, which he did by
using the constitutional emergency
powers granted to the executive by
the Weimar Constitution, actually
a most democratic document.
Hence we must watch both our
front and back doors. Treason and
espionage must be conclusively
proved and action should then be
taken. Hysterical accusations take
our attention away from those
throwing the accusations. In con-
clusion, let us hear all arguments
without fearing a breakdown in
our democratic system. Our prin-
ciples are valid, flexible and worthy
enough to stand up against any
idealistic jargon as long as open
thinking minds can weigh both
sides.
-Paul Reznolph
Explanations .. .
To the Editor:
THE FACTS about Abner Green
disagree with a number of
statements made in the editorial:
"The Speakers and the Commit-
tee."
First, the article states Green's
"contribution to the campus scene
would be dubious." Actually, Green
could make a definite contribution
to the campus. The fact that the
State Department is attempting to
denaturalize 1200 citizens, and at-
tempting to deport 3400 foreign-
born residents, is of concern to ev-
eryone.
Secondly, the article states that
the invitation to Green "was rail-
roaded through the CLC." Actu-
ally, there was quite a bit of dis-
cussion, and the general sentiment
was that the CLC should not hesi-
tate to ask Green to speak on the
rights of the foreign-born, inas-
much as this subject came under
the sphere of interest of the CLC.
The invitation was approved by a
large majority.
Thirdly, the article states Green
"is a member of two organizations
branded subversive by the Attor-
ney General." The Attorney Gen-
eral's list of so-called subversive
organizations, however, has been
declared illegal by the Supreme
Court in The Joint Anti-Fascist
Refugee Committee versus Mc-
Grath, 341 US 123. The Court in-
dicated that the list was made in
violation of democratic procedure.
Fourthly, the article states that
there is doubt whether Green is
an author, lecturer, and lawyer.
Green is not a lawyer, but secures
lawyers for the foreign-born. The
person who prepared the CLC pe-
tition to the Lecture Committee
was misinformed on this fact.
Green is an author, having pub-
lish" ed "The Deportation Terror"
in 1950, and "The Deportation
Drive" in 1951. He publishes a
weekly column called "This Week"
in many national language papers,
such as the Armenian Tribune, the
Greek Tribune, Vilnis (Lithuani-
an), Glosludowy (Polish), etc.
Green is also a lecturer, and has
spoken in Cleveland, Detroit, Chi-
cago, St. Louis, Duluth, New York,
etc. He is now on a nation-wide
speaking tour.
-Ethel Schechtman
Un-AAC must go...
To the Editor:
"EMOTIONAL, emotional," mut-
ters Barnes Connable on the
editorial page of Sunday's Daily.
rrl~i, ;. Af rn s-- o- c- vto
n// -.- - - .-. 'S __§
-. Cc-;
,w e±.
-Bernard Backhaut
CIINIEMA
At The Orpheui .. .
THE BROWNING VERSION starring
Michael Redgrave.
IT MUST be said about this film that no
play could ask for a better screen trans-
lation. "The Browning Version," however,
while top-notch in technical achievement
(and by this I mean acting, directing and
general production, as well as strictly "tech-
nical" aspects) suffers basically from faults
inherent in the story itself.
Describing the spiritual regeneration of
Mr. Crocker-Harris (Michael Redgrave),
a hardened, semi-human classics instruc-
tor in an English boarding school, the
picture just barely misses a stark impres-
siveness. Through 15 years of teaching
Crocker-Harris had been withdrawing
more and more inside himself, driven by
the flippant unresponsiveness of his stu-
dents and the malicious hatred of his wife,
until, as he put it, "my soul is dead."
I must admit, though the picture left me
somewhat unsatisfied, it was overall of such
a high caliber that the faults must be con-
sidered on the same plane. For about the
first half, I was not yet sure who the pro-
tagonist was to be; by the time this was
made clear, and the character of Mrs.
Crocker-Harris disclosed, there were several
auxiliary conflicts holding prominent posi-
tions in the plot. These conflicts, and the
persons involved in them, never received the
attention which they seemed to demand.
While Crocker-'Harris was more interest-
ing, pcrhaps because of his enigmatic per-
sonality. I feii some resentment at having
everything work out so painlessly between
his wife and. her lover and, as a matter of
fact, for the old fellow himself. His reas-
sertion came too easily, too promptly and
happily after the rigid ingrowth posited at
the t-'ginning. The final moments of the
* Net Much Change
In Temperature.. ."
A ~O Dj A . - ASSAAA
LAST NIGHT at Lydia Mendelssohn
Mozart's effervescent "Don Giovanni"
completely captured a capacity house with
its tragi-comic richness and fullness.
After a ragged performance of the over-
ture, which threatened a shaky produc-
tion, the soloists and orchestra picked up the
spirit of fun and maintained it throughout
the rest of the evening. The orchestra
seemed to lack precision, failing to convey
the foreboding quality of the opening strains.
The capable cast relaxed after the initial
first-scene stiffness, acting and singing out
Mozart's exciting music. The Department of
Speech and School of Music managed ex-
bellently to stage this rather complex and
difficult opera, producing an overall impres-
sion of dramatic integration. To meet the
problem of ten rapid scene changes the
stage crew expertly employed effective cut-
out drops and low levels.
John Wiles, with a gusty smile and Don
Juan leer, was every bit the romantic
deceiver he should have been in the lead-
ing role of Don Giovanni. His false tender-
ness in the second scene duet (La ci darem
in the original Italian) seduced both the
innocent peasant Zerlina and the recep-
tive audience. He was equally convincing
switching to a mood of terror as he de-{
scended to the fiery depths of hell in the
final scene.
His firm reliable baritone voice remained
* Strategy
of *A ttrtion
WAR IS A grm business. Its object is al-
ways to destroy the enemies will and
ability to fight. In today's "cold war" terms:
to destroy an aggressor's will and ability to
commit aggression.,
In conventional war the grimness is some-
times toned down for the home front. For
its ebb and flow are reported largely in terms
strong throughout and kept up the swift
pace of the fabulous lover's adventures.
Wiles' generally faultless intonation and
poise rescued Mozart's occasional over-
drawn passages.
Although the acting of Grace Ravesloot
and Frank Porretta, as Donna Anna and
Don Ottavio, was frequently stilted, their
flexible voices more than made up for this.
Miss Ravesloot's vocal performance was the
most impressive of any of the soloists'. Her
sheer purity of tone and pitch enabled her
to handle easily even the most trying arias.
Porretta, who shows amazing promise,
had these same qualities, and capably por-
trayed Anna's sincere lover. His lyric tenor
voice was aptly suited to Ottavio's melo-
dious arias.
Leporello, Giovanni's mischievous servant,
was sung by Dale Thompson. In contrast
to Miss Ravesloot and Porretta, his acting
was unsurpasesd; but unfortunately his
voice lacked the comic richness which the
role demands. This was perhaps most evi-
dent in the catalogue aria, in which he ad-
mirably caught the humor of the scene but
failed to add the necessary musical fullness.
However, the total effect of his efforts pro-
duced one of the most enjoyable characters
in the opera.
In perhaps one of the most difficult roles,
Suzanne Hendrian effectively assumed the
role of the rejected love Donna Elvira. Betty
Ohlheiser and James Fudge as Zerlina and
Masetto, the peasant bridal couple, were
charming and delightful.
By clever lighting .nd unusual staging the
last scene assumed the proper climactic pro-
portions, heightening the impact of the hor-
ror of Giovanni's fall. This grand and im-
pressive finale was weakened considerably
by the anticlimax of the last episode when
the soloists returned to the front of the
stage and proclaimed the story's moral.
In spite of these few weaknesses, in total
the production did justice to Mozart's elo-
quence and genius.
AARss -.
jobs; it has done all it could to
outlaw, bynon-judicial means, a.
political party. What actions of
Mr. McPhaul's disturbed Mr. Con-
nable? Mr. McPhaul objected
strenuously to the Committee.
Come now, Mr. Connable. You,
like Mr. McPhaul, have under-
stood the great danger of the
Committee. If you want to sug-
gest better ways than his to op-
pose it, go ahead! Let's have
them! I'm on your side; Mr. Mc-
Phaul is on your side; a good-sized
portion of the population of Mich-
igan is on your side.
When we see the Committee
doing its best to destroy freedom
of conscience and political action
in the state-that's the time for
united protest. It's no time to be
afraid to be forceful. It's no time
to sit around grumbling feebly
that one's allies are saying the
right thing with ungentlemanly
vehemence.
Say what has to be said: The
Committee is a menace. The Com-
mittee must go.i
-H.L. Durant
* * *
Fight Fire With .. .
To the Editor:
FACETIOUSLY I cannot help
but wonder if recruitment of-
ficers of the local Communist
"cells" have not paid visits to the
authors of recent articles appear-
ing in The Daily condemning the
House Un - American Activities
Committee, and their recent visit
to Detroit. There is no doubt ,mn
my mind that any such offers of
membership would have been
readily repelled by the respective
writers, but in all seriousness I do
not consider the current remarks
made by the opposition to the
Committee's investigations as be-
ing in the best sense of loyalty or
logic
The opposition to this commit-
tee's work is a prototype of the
attempted debunking of Senator
Joe McCarthy. In all reality, this
gentleman has probably stepped
on a few innocent toes, but in all
fairness we must conclude that he
has brought to the limelight the
seriousness of the domestic Com-
munist threat, and has done so in
such a way that few of us can
deny our concern for the Com-
munist problem.
For those who condemn the
House Un - American Activities
Committee, for their possible in-
fringement on the rights of privacy
and testimony guaranteed under
the First and Fifth Amendments
to the Constitution, only let me
say that . . . the judicial process
is not perfect; we all agree to that;
but would it be better to abolish it
for its few mistakes and let all
criminals go free, for fear that
prosecution would occasionally
harm a few who were innocent? ...
I doubt very seriously that any
completely innocent man or wom-
an has yet been accused as a Com-
munist Party member by the Com-
mittee. I am confident that Rep.
Potter of Michigan would not
knowingly accuse a person of such
dealings, with forged documents
or puppet testimony.
As more and more testimony
comes through the Committee
hearings, I too fear that some in-
nocent person is eventually liable
to injury. It is my firm conviction
however, that the same Statesmen
who framed the Constitution in
1787, would be the first today to
step forward and bypass it slight-
ly in these emergency conditions;
to fight fire with fire; to expose
the very people who would abolish
the righlts which today protect
them.
V7
lence." Quite so. But the question
is a rather academic one, as no
speaker is likely to do that to a
university audience and, if he did,
he might need the protection of
the police! It is a very different
thing to say that no one shall
speak on other topics who belongs
to an organization which has ever
advocated such action. Shelley,
Godwin, Tolstoy and Nietzsche
were all anarchists; some anarch-
ists have been assassins; would we
not like to have heard one of
those four discuss some literary or
philosophic topic? Why should
not a Communist talk on race re-
lations or Marxian economics or
peace with Russia? ,
Second, students will be led
away into communism. That is to
imply either that the communist
doctrine is so strong that no one
must be allowed to hear it, or that,
students are so weak that they
have no power of resistance even
to the most fallacious arguments.
Frankly, I believe that the com-
munist arguments are weak and
that the students are mentally
much stronger. The proper answer
to false propaganda is simply the
statement of the truth.
Third, that the university might
be disgraced by charlatans, dema-
gogues, mountebanks, who would
be advertised as having spoken on
the Michigan campus. That could
happen. But it gives such persons
fifty times the advertisement to
be barred from the Michigan cam-
pus, and the resulting publicity
has never been of advantage to the
university. The university may
well 6e careful as to whom it in-
vites under its official auspices:
but merely talking to a student
group on the campus is a very dif-
ferent matter. One is like an edi-
torial in a newspaper or magazine,
an official declaration; the other
is like a letter to the editor to
which the paper merely allows
space. No sane person holds the
Detroit Free Press or News respon-
sible for every crackpot letter that
appears in its columns. On the
whole, the "prestige risk" of bar-
ring speakers is much greater than
that of letting them appear.
-Preston 'Slosson
* * *
SL Solution...
To the Editor:
LET ,US examine Crawford
Young's major thesis, that
in the future we are likely to have
a mediocre SL, lacking in dynamic
leadership.
Crawford might be right. Yet
his view apes that of the oldster
who since civilization got under-
way looked around him and con-
cluded that "the younger genera-
tion has gone to the dogs."
I confess that during some
semesters during my five years on
SL I viewed with some appre-
hension the election of new offi-
cers and SL's prospects for the
future. On each occasion it was
rewarding to watch our members
rise admirably to their responsi-
bilities in SL and carry forward
its development and expansion.
It is true, as the editorial points
out, that the veterans and their
influence on the campus have
largely departed and SL members
are younger and less experienced
than those of a few years ago.
The solution, I submit, is not
only to encourage the best quali-
fied people to run for SL but to
also give those members the tools
to work with.
To correct the weaknesses he
foresees for the future, Crawford
Young might encourage SL to do
the following:
1. Codify its present functions
Group Dynamics on the campus,
as a regular part of the Univer-
sity structure marks, in my opin-
ion, probably the greatest failure
of those of us on SL in prior years.
The stimulus of the training in
effective group membership which
such a program could provide
would be of inestimable value to
SL and the campus; perhaps our
best safeguard against Crawford's
anticipated mediocrity.
-Tom Walsh
* * *
To the Editor:
THAT periodical room in the
Library could be ever so much
more effective if 'twere easily ac-
cessible. There ought to be a
"glass tent" or one story building
for periodicals. It could straddle
several walks which would pass
through it in arcades. Such a
place where you could drop in or
leave with little formality.
As to cost-it is merely a mat-
ter of comparing the storing of
relatively unread material or of
having to replace our periodicals
because they get worn out through
perusal.
-Thure Rosene
UMT...
To the Editor:
LITLE campus mention has
been given to Universal Mili-
tary Training legislation now be-
fore Congress. A vote is expected
this week and if students are to
effectively protest, it must.be done
now. Some of the facts of the bill
as reported in The Christian Cen-
tury are:
1) All 18 year-olds are to re-
ceive 6 months of military train-
ing.
2) Seven and one-half more
years in the active reserve.
3) Refresher course for two
weeks each year.
4) Eight hundred thousand
youths turning 18 to be included.
5) Cost of UMT for the first
year is in excess of 4 billion dol-
lars; thereafter 2 billions annu-
ally. (Four billion dollars is almost
as much as is being spent for all
primary and secondary education
for everyone between the ages of
5 .and 17 in the entire United
States.)'
UMT is pregnant with danger.
It will give our generals their most
cherished goal. It will give rise to
a powerful peacetime military
class. Heretofore our military
leaders have been insignificant
during peacetime because their
power was limited. UMT is not
geared to the present "emergency",
but is a long range p'rogram. Give
our youth to the military and the
hand of the military is strength-
ened.
Look at those countries which
have UMT!
I suggest that interested stu-
dents immediately communicate
with their senators and congress-
men.
-Gordon MacDougall
* * *
No List .. .
To the Editor:
I N ANSWER TO Mr. Hodge's
letter on "Stockwell's List",
we feel it necessary to bring his
attention the fact that no list of
offenders will be posted. However,
if that idea had been followed,
he may rest assured that the
names would not have been post-
ed for his benefit. We are quite
sure that most Michigan men can
find their dates in some other
manner.
-Jacqueline Altman
-Ann Bandler,
-Elinor Dunn
-Karen Epstein
t~t~ t~t tt
Sixty-Second Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board of Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Chuck Elliott ........Managing Editor
Bob Keith ..................City Editor
Leonard Greenbaum, Editorial Director
Vern Emerson ..........Feature Editor
Ron Watts........... .Associate Editor
Bob Vaughn ..........Associate Editor
Ted Papes ...............Sports Editor
George Flint ....Associate Sports Editor
Jim Parker .....Associate Sports Editor
Jan James............Women's Editor
Jo Keteihut, Associate Women's Editor
Business Staiff
Bob Miller.........Business Manager
Gene Kuthy, Assoc. Business Manager
Charles Cuson ....Advertising Manager
Milt Goetz......Circulation Manager
I