THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SATURDAY, MARCU 29, 1952
Athletic Board
MATTER OF PACT
By JOSEPH and STEWART ALSOP
"Gee Thanks"
D ISCRIMINATION IS not a good thing,
whether it's directed towards a racial
:roup or the poor, currently down-trodden
:ollege athlete.
Yet, the Student Legislature can per-
form a distinct service for its constituents
by prohibiting varsity athletes from run-
ning for the Board in Control of Intercol-
legiate Athletics. Though such action
might appear an abridgement of their
rights as student citizens, it would render
immediate benefit to the campus body.
The two elective positions on the Board
were created with the intention of allowing
he students' views of the huge Michigan
athletic system to be expressed in a favor-
able environment. That is where the ath-
ete-representative falls down.
To be sure, the athlete is a student, but
his is not a students' outlook in athletic
natters. He is so enmeshed in the athletic
etup that he is, in effect, a "company
nan." On any controversial issue, he must
tring along with the party line or face the
onsequences.
What athlete will campaign for betterw
student seating at football games or for
more rigid scholastic requirements for
themselves and their colleagues? What
athlete would make an inquiry concern-
ing the outstandingly high price of foot-
ball programs? The answer is obvious--
none would.
It is true that the athlete has a certain
inherent advantage over the non-athlete
candidate inasmuch as he is familiar with
collegiate athletic activity. But even the
most non-informed student could pick up
enough "sports knowledge" to be an able
representative within a few weeks, given
the proper incentive.
At the present time both student repre-
sentatives are athletes, and judging from
a look at the list of candidates running
for the open post this coming election,
only athletes will continue to represent
the student body.
Though it is too late to make changes be-
fore the coming election, the Student Legis-
lature would do well to investigate the situ-
ation and legislate to correct it in the fu-
ture. -John Jenks
Ik
4 xc
tette'4 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.
TWO RELUCTANT DRAGONS
Liberties .. .
WASHINGTON-Recent visitors to Key
West strongly -suspect that the Presi-
dential mind, which was pretty well made
up until very recently, has now been un-
made again. They are also beginning to be-
lieve, as one Key West pilgrim put it, that
"this may be 1940 all over again." In short,
the feeling is growing that President Tru-
man, contrary to previous expectations, will
not announce his future course for a long
time, and perhaps not until just before the
Democratic convention in July.
Trying to read the President's mind is,
of course, an exceedingly risky business.
But it is at least true that a subtle but
significant change in the President's atti-
tude is reported from Key West. Before
going to Florida, Truman gave those close
to him good reason to believe that he
would announce his course soon-April 12
was one date specifically mentioned.
Aside from the fact that April 12 is the
seventh anniversary of Truman's taking of-
fice, this date has another significance. It
is four days after the primary in Illinois, in
which Gov. Adlai Stevenson is expected to
be renominated. Thus Stevenson could
thereafter become a Presidential candidate
and still retain the power to influence the
choice of his successor as Governor, if need
be. And there were plenty of other indica-
tions that Truman planned to withdraw and
promote a Stevenson candidacy.
1TERPRETING THE NEWS:
Ike's Return
By J. M. ROBERTS, JR.
Associated Press News Analyst
GENERAL EISENHOWER will make an
exhaustive report Tuesday on the pro-
gress of European defense in the past year,
and it probably will be his swan song as
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
in Europe.
Soon after that the General is expected
to ask for relief from that post to become
Dwight D. Eisenhower, candidate for the
Republican presidential nomination.
Not that he will resign his commission un-
less and until he is actually nominated. But
he is known to be very earnest about his.
belief that politics and the army should not
get mixed up, and that he should set no
example which might lead to the practice of
army officers "bucking" for positions which
would attract political attention. To enter
even the pre-convention campaign he must
devise some means of making this position
clear. He may try to do it when he writes
the President about his relief from SHAPE.
Just when this may come is still the Gen-
eral's secret, but the voluntary leaders of
the campaign for him in this country are
confidently expectant that he will get home
in time to make two or three speeches. The
middle of May now is the target date on
which they are basing their hopes.
DORIS FLEESON:
The matter of timing may be settled at
conferences in Paris soon between Eisen-
hower and one or more of his campaign
leaders who may go there in the next two
or three days.
If Eisenhower acts now, the President
would have time to confer with the Euro-
pean governments and get the matter of
succession settled in four or five weeks.
Thus the General has progressed through
several stages of thinking about politics.
When someone suggested the presidency for
him after the African campaign in 1943 he
brushed it aside with a disinterest amount-
ing almost to aversion.
In 1948 he brushed off both Democrats
and Republicans-and important ones, too
-with his contention that the military
should keep itself sharply divided from
politics. Then the volunteers began boost-
ing him for 1952, and he let them go
ahead, but without his active participa-
tion. Evidence of widespread popular sup-
port in the recent primaries, on top of
the long-standing assurances of his poli-
tical backers, added to what has now, by
all outside evidence, become a strong de-,
sire.
The changed attitude is expected to be
made publicly manifest within the next few
days.
* * *
Political Military
WfASHINGTON-Two great-name gener-
als are major participants in the tense
and increasingly embittered pre-convention
presidential campaign. Another famous gen-
eral and an admiral are also prominently in-
volved.
General Eisenhower is an avowed and
General MacArthur an implicit candidate
for the Republican nomination for presi-
dent.
Itieut. Gen. Albert Wedemeyer retired)
has just acceded to a macedonian cry from
Senator Taft to go into the General's na-
tive Nebraska and help the Senator in that
state's primary against General Eisenhower.
Adm. Louis Denfeld, whose retirement as
chief of naval operations was forced by the
unification fight, is seeking election to the
convention as a Taft delegate from Massa-
chusetts.
BACH'S "St. Matthew Passion" was first
performed in 1729 with scarcely two
dozen singers participating; it was given its
first Ann Arbor performance last night with
a total chorus of about seventy-five times
that number.
Unfortunately, such gradiose tactics for
the most part don't mix well with the
intricate, deeply expressive music Bach has
written into his monumental work. This is
not to say that the 1,500 voice Chorale Choir
was not effective. The numerous chorales
interspersed throughout the Passion demand
the volume and solidity achieved by a con-
gregational choir-in fact, they were written
for participation purposes.
Maynard Klein must be credited for con-
ceiving the idea of accomplishing this mass
effect through the use of a combined high
school chorus. Though the singers were un-
rehearsed as a group, they evidently had
been uniformly trained as individual chor-
uses. Simple crescendo and diminuendo ef-
fects and studied phrasing are certainly the
most basic requirements of choral conduct-
ing, but in the Bach chorales, which stand
by themselves as simple yet powerful pieces
of music, a straightforward presentation is
entirely sufficient.
But the more difficult choruses and
most of the orchestral passages demand
intense study if any semblance of techni-
cal clarity, let alone interpretive profun-
dity, is to be reached. In spite of the
continuity Harold Haugh's masterfully
executed recitatives provided, and in spite
All this in a presidential campaign
whose major issue is the foreign policy
the military is supposed to execute after
the civilian authority has formulated it.
The situation is frankly frightening to the
defense establishment. The career services
hate it and are deeply resentful. To the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and their principal
aides it represents another weight added to
the heavy burden of promoting their defense
budgets before a deeply political congress
this election year.
The campaigning generals and admiral
were not citizen soldiers. The generals were
educated at West Point, the admiral at An-
napolis; all four have enjoyed high posi-
tions of unusual trust.
General Wedemeyer and Admiral Denfeld
are in a somewhat different position than
their colleagues contending for the highest
place. Both are retired, drawing only the
pensions they richly earned. Thus they can
claim full civilian status.
Nevertheless, they too have been in the
thick of the violent arguments which have
involved the country's military leadership
including unification and Asian policy.
Their colleagues grant them technical
clearance but would be happier if they
stood aloof.
The two five-star generals by act of con-
gress, cannot retire. They are drawing full
pay and allowances for the rest of their
lives plus three service aides and office space
paid by the taxpayer. General Eisenhower in
addition has his NATO command.
Admittedly all this was a free-will offer-
ing to the top commanders of World War
II. It was done by statute which the two
generals have no power to repeal even if
they wished.
It remains a fact that the principal poli-
tical news, day in, day out, centers around
two men in the uniform of a five-star Am-
erican general. Thoughtful civilians could-
n't possibly like it less than the career mili-
tary..
They expect it to get worse instead of bet-
ter as it becomes increasingly clear that ev-
ery backward step Senator Taft takes will be
countered with a forward step by General
MacArthur. General MacArthur, as fre-
ported here long ago, does not intend to let
either Harry Truman or Dwight Eisenhower
be president if he has to make the sacrifice
himself.
General MacArthur has been publicly
criticized for wearing his uniform when
delivering his intemperate political dia-
tribes. General Eisenhower is getting some
tactful hints too that the uniform and
happy primary returns don't go together.
He is nrobably much more influenced by
EFORE GOING to Key West, for ex-
ample, Truman even had reports pre-
pared for him, analyzing such matters as
Stevenson's probable state-by-state political
strength and the political impact of his di-
vorce. Yet the new atmosphere at Key West
has thrown some doubt on the obvious im-
plication that Truman was preparing to
withdraw soon, in plenty of time for a Ste-
venson boom to get under way.
Truman still talks to intimates in a
way which clearly suggests that he does
not want to run. But he has brushed aside
suggestions that he might give the faith-
ful at least a broad hint at the Jefferson-
Jackson dinner on March 29, or soon
thereafter. As for Stevenson, when his
name is mentioned these days, Truman is
apt to react either rather caustically or
not at all. And although they may be
dead wrong, those in the best position to
judge will now be surprised if Truman an-
nounces his plans in the near future, or
indeed for many weeks to come.
It is possible to make a reasonable, al-
though necessarily tentative, guess about
what all this means. In the first place, it
is almost certainly true that Truman does
genuinely want to withdraw. But he natur-
ally also wants to have a decisive hand in
choosing his successor. And when he turned
to Stevenson, after Chief Justice Fred Vin-
son refused to run, Truman was surprised,
puzzled and probably increasingly irritated
by Stevenson's reaction.
For if Stevenson has not actually slam-
med the door in the President's face, he
has certainly not held it open with en-
thusiasm. Not only privately but as pub-
licly as possible, Stevenson has displayed
an obvious reluctance, saying again and
again that he is "running for Governor,
and nothing else."
Stevenson's reluctance is both honest and
understandable, but it has left the President
in a painful dilemma. For various reasons,
none of the other potential candidates, Sen.
Robert Kerr, of Oklahoma, Sen. Estes Ke-
fauver, of Tennessee, or Sen. Richard Rus-
sell, of Georgia, is acceptable to Truman.
So, other than run again himself, what is
Truman to do?
&~ ~
ON THE
Washington Merry-Go-Round
with DREW PEARSON
(EDITOR'S NOTE-As the presidential campaign gets hotter, Drew Pearson
today brings a series of columns dissecting the Democratic candidates for
President. The first is Sen. Robert Kerr of Oklahoma, who next week faces
his first primary test in Nebraska. Mr. Pearson is also conducting a poll of
his readers on the Democratic candidates. You can participate by addressing
a postcard to Box 1952, Washington, D. C.)
WASHINGTON-Three years ago if anyone had told Senate old-
timers that two freshman senators, Kerr of Oklahoma and Ke-
fauver of Tennessee, would be battling it out for the presidency in
1952, the prediction would have been called ridiculous.
Yet that's exactly what is happening in Nebraska next Tuesday.
Furthermore, in view of the need of new blood in the Democratic
party, it's a healthy development. And since the Senator from Ten-
nessee has been more publicized than the Senator from Oklahoma,
here is a bird's-eye view of the likable, Bible-pounding Bob Kerr who
now aspires to the presidency of the United States.
Senator Kerr combines a number of rare attributes. He is at
one and the same time the most pious, one of the most powerful,
the most genial, and probably the wealthiest member of the Uni-
ted States Senate. He also has a lot of courage-though some peo-
ple call it gall.
Whether you agree with Bob Kerr or not, you can't help liking
him. You also have to respect his piety. The fact that he teaches a
Baptist Sunday School is not mere political window-dressing. He takes
his religion seriously. He also takes prohibition seriously, and is one
of the few senators who never serves alcoholic beverages at his table.
* * * *
--UNETHICAL CONDUCT-
BUT THOUGH RELIGION also implies high ethical standards, the
Sunday-School-teaching senator from Oklahoma has brazenly
flouted the Senate's standards of ethics and good conduct.
Senate rule 12 was set up by senators in order to disqualify any
member who has a direct pecuniary interest in a piece of legislation.
Though the rule is not compulsory, precedent has made it customary.
And, according to the Senate parliamentarian, it has been followed
consistently for many years. Thus, Sen. Warren Austin of Vermont,
now Ambassador to the United Nations, disqualified himself from
voting on a TALC bill because he had investments in TALC.
Senator Kerr, on the other hand, not only introduced the Kerr
bill which would have had the effect of increasing the price of
natural gas carried in interstate pipelines, but became its No. 1
lobbyist. He buttonholed senaors, urged, cajoled and demanded
that they vote for a bill which stood to make his company several
hundred thousand dollars.
Finally, after the bill was vetoed by his friend, the President,
'Kerr and the attorney for Phillips Petroleum, ex-White House Coun-
sel Clark Clifford, managed to lobby a ruling through the Federal
Power Commission which accomplished the same price-hiking ends
as the Kerr bill.
-KERR'S WEALTH-
YET THE SENATOR from Oklahoma had several million dollars of
pecuniary interest directly tied up in his bill to remove the Federal
Power Commission's control over the price of natural gas.
Kerr owns oil and gas lands valued at a total of around one
hundred million dollars. On this, he and his partner, who operate
the Kerr-McGee Oil Industries Co., officially reported a 1949 gross
income of $14,930,150 with a net income of $1,218,627. In 1948,
their gross income was $12,538,058, on which was paid an income
tax of only $29,053-due to the generous oil depletion benefits
given the oil companies under the federal tax laws.
Kerr's company also has at least four contracts to sell natural
gas in interstate commerce, thus immediately benefiting from the law
he battled through Congress. One is with Texas Gas Transmission Co.,
one with Southern Natural Gas, one with Trunkline Gas Supply, and
one with El Paso Natural Gas.
These records are all on file with the Federal Power Com-
mission. Yet during Senate debate, none of his colleagues challeng-
ed the Senator from Oklahoma regarding the ethics of his con-
duct in lobbying for a bill which meant a small fortune to his
company, and which would cost northern housewives an estimated
$506,000,000 a year in increased gas bills.
Kerr shook his finger under colleagues' noses, demanded that they
vote "right," and made himself something of a nuisance; yet none of
them asked why he did not abide by Senate rule 12 and abstain from
voting for his own pocketbook.
* * . * *
-KERR'S RFC BROTHEL-
BOB KERR operates on the theory that if you keep quoting from the
Bible often enough and have money and power enough, people
will forget certain other things.
And this is pretty much what has happened. When the RFC
scandals were investigated last year, the public heard much about a
mink coat but nothing about Senator Kerr's brother, Aubrey. Bob
Kerr was sworn in as a U.S. senator in January 1949 and didn't wit
long to put his brother in the job of handling RFC law business in
Oklahoma. Brother Aubrey took over in February 1949-just one
month later.
Senators investigating the RFC last year turned V Pvarars
interesting pieces of patronage, but considerately overlooked--or
failed to remember-the RFC plum handed thy Kerr family.
Even President Truman has a kindly memory as far as the genial
Senator from Oklahoma is concerned. The President said not a word
To the Editor:
A VERY HEALTHY thing has
been taking place on this cam-
pus-the question of civil liberties,
especially free speech, has become
an important issue, and all of us
are being obligated to form a
coherent and responsible opinion
on the subject.
In this process of "soul-search-
ing" - and I believe it is soul
searching because civil liberties
extends ultimately to one's reli-
gious and humanitarian ideas of
man-I think we might do well to
examine the tradition of our coun-
try for certain values to keep in
mind.
The tradition of America, I be-
lieve, teaches us at least four very
basic principles:
(1) It is an absolutely funda-
mental principle that liberty is
inalienable; it is inherent in men
as men. Government neither con-
fers nor takes away liberty; it
tells us not how much, but where
limitations must be imposed.
(2) An equally fundamental
principle is that order is not an
end in itself; it is a means to an
end. Orderly society is a point of
departure to make possible the
goals society aims at.
(3) A third, common-sense
principle is that neither liberty
nor order should be pushed to a
logical or even verbal extreme;
complete liberty, means anarchy,
and complete order means tyranny
and stagnation.
(4) Liberty is not only good in
itself but the vital prerequisite
for anything else. Science, educa-
tion, art, loyalty, or any endeavor
one might conceive of can only be'
reached by free thought, free dis-
cussion.
Thus in forming our opinions we
would do well to bear in mind the
words of one who was not a
"radical" with his own axe to
grind, who was also not an ivory-
tower enthusiast, but was face to
face with real concrete issues on
which he, as a member of the
court, had to take a responsible
stand-Justice Holmes. He writes:
"(Our constitutional) .. . is an
experiment, as all life is an ex-
periment . . . While that experi-
ment is part of our system I think
that we should be eternally vig-
ilant against all attempts to check'
the expression of opinions that
we loathe and believe to be
fraught with death, unless they
so imminently threaten immediate
interference with the lawful and
pressing purposes of the law that
an immediate check is required
to save the country."
-Leonard Sandweiss
* * *
Cheer the Dance.,,.
To the Editor:
CHEERS TO Levine for her
splendid editorial deploring the
lack of attention shown to the
Dance in the University curric-
ulum.
However, let me make one very
strong point which she failed to
mention and which emphasizes
how lamentable the situation is:
for a period of about three years
the University had on its faculty
a very famous name in Modern
Dance. Juana de Laban was not
only an inspiring teacher, scholar,
and personality, but, more im-
portant, a true artist. Dr. Laban
is a great dancer still in her prime,
who danced for her classes and
in programs, thereby providing
the all-important visual images,
accompanied by aesthetic im-
pressions, which are in effect the
best teachers of the Dance.
Bringing Juana de Laban here
was a tour de force. After three
years, with no positive steps being
taken by the University authori-
ties to create a Dance department
here, she left the University to
go to a small Arts College in New
York with a smaller salary. This
is commentary enough on the
attitude of the University toward
the Dance. What her personal
feelings were one can well
imagine. She must have felt that,
insofar as her art was concerned,
her three years here were spent
in futility and stagnation. One
person, even as dynamic and in-
defatigable as Dr. de Laban, could
not overcome the University's
apathy toward an art form which
synthesizes literature, painting,
drama, and music.
Anmindependent dance depart-
ment, in accordance with the
scheme Miss Levine suggests is
definitely in order. Moreover, it
should be staffed and designed
for the benefit of students who
might wish to become dancers or
teachers of the Dance, just as
Ik ier more fortunate students
come to this University to become
mu.&C s e n gQt patEft
writers, or actors.
Until such a time, if the Dance
is to exist in Ann Arbor, those
who are interested should take
heart and be grateful for the ex-
it does not follow that "in a relig-
ious association that exists to pro-
mote' inter-faith understanding,
we must first recognize that a
religion is a way of orientating
man's life to his surroundings,
and, if need be, modifying the
surroundings to facilitate this".
It only follows that we must make
an attempt towards understand-
ing the various faiths. Mr. Phillips'
definition of religion only indicates
with what prejudice and pre-con-
ceived notions he approaches the
problem of understanding another
man's faith.
Religion has traditionally been
regarded as forming a bond be-
tween God and man. Social con-
tracts form the bonds between
men. Moreover, the morality of an
action does not depend on the
proper etiquette of society, nor on
a sincere desire for the betterment
of human society. Philanthropic
is the most that can be said of
actions that arise from such mo-
tives. The mora"lity of an action
can be judged only in so far as it
can be related to some absolute
law laid down by an Absolute
Being. This law has been summed
up by Christ in two ways. "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with
thy whole heart, etc." and "Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thy-
self." Also, Christ said, "Render
therefore to Caesar the things that
are Caesar's, and to God the,
things that are God's." This is
the essence of morality.
On the basis of what I have
said, then, I feel quite justified
in charging that Mr. Phillips does
not "understand the Newman
Club's position." All he knows is
that.an opposition has been made
to a proposal made in S. R. A. He
does not understand the reason
for the opposition.
Further, quite gratuitously, Mr.
Phillips asserts that "authoritar-
ianism in Church and social order
subvert religion." If this is so, and
if religion is merely a means of
"orientating man's life to his sur-
roundings", why should we have
police forces, jails, death cham-
bers? These seem to me evidences
of some sort of authoritarianism.
Should they be abolished as sub-
versive elements?
-Chester Patrick
Vote Yes...
To the Editor:
BECAUSE the Kelsey House
Council is an organization of
students on campus, and because
whatever affects the basio in-
terests of the students should
enter into its consideration, the
Kelsey House Council passes the
following resolution:
We publicly state our opposition
to the existance of any University
ruling which restricts any recog-
nized campus organization in its
choice of speakers or subjects.
The Kelsey House Council main-
tains that the basic function of a
University is to inform students
on the basic problems of society.
This is necessary, we feel, so that
students can develop a philosophy
which will cope with these prob-
lems in a mature and responsible
manner. To achieve this goal all
views and all sides of these views
must compete in the free and open
market of ideas. The Kelsey House
Council therefore opposes any
University ruling which in effect
hinders the intellectual and
spiritual development of the stu-
dent.
-Charles Weber
President, Kelsey House Council
South Quadrangle
A
I
* * *
* * *
A
F HE WITHDREW now or in the near
future, and Stevenson refused to make
the race, Truman's power to influence the
course of events at the Chicago convention
might be destroyed, by the rule that a iset-
ting sun gives forth little heat. A candidate
wholly unacceptable to Truman might then
be chosen. Thus it may well seem to the
President that he has no choice but to keep
silent and hope that something will turn up.
This interpretation, of course, may be
upset by events. Stevenson and Truman
are sure to meet again, during the Jeffer-
son-Jackson celebrations this weekend,
and a meeting of minds may take place
between the two men. Indeed, at least one
shrewd professional politician, who is ac-
tively working for Stevenson, is convinced
that such a meeting of minds has already
taken place. He believes that the Presi-
dent's silence and Stevenson's reluctance
are a matter of political tactics, to bridge
over the time before the Illinois primaries.
Yet the bulk of the evidence pretty clearly
suggests that Truman and Stevenson (per-
haps with the growing strength of General
of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in mind)
are both reluctant dragons, as one in not
wanting to run. If this interpretation is cor-
rect, this is one of the oddest situations in
American political hstory, with the President
quite honestly in search of an heir, and
quite honestly unable to find a man to
whom he can in good conscience hand on
i
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 Ketelhut, Associate Women's Editor
B sine s S"17
Bob Miller..........Busine w Manager
Gene Kuthy, Assoc. Business Manager
Charles Cuson ....Advertising Manager
Milt Goetz... .....Circulation Manager