T.
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SUNDAY, MARCH-30, 1952
I I
Speaker Referendum
* * *
Vote Yes .. .
W~ITHOUTr GOING INTO high sounding
theories of education, and democracy,
we can easily see why the Regents by-law
which enables the lecture committee to ban
speakers is both superfluous and ridiculous.
There are two provisions in the ruling.
One is directed against those who would
use state property to advocate the over-
throw of the government. The second
concerns political speakers who can not
use state property to further their own
plitieal cause. However, some vague line
is drawn in the latter case, and a political
speaker may lecture if his speech is of an
"educational value."
The firstdpertaining to "subversives" is
superfluous because there isalready arstate
law which prohibits use of state property to
advocate the violent overthrow of the gov-
ernment.
This by-law, in addition to being unneces-
sary, is also vague and subject to various
damaging interpretations. When Abner
Green and Arthur McPhaul were banned-
two weeks ago, their case set a new prece-
dent in interpretation of the ruling. Neither
are avowed Communists and neither had
planned to advocate the overthrow of the
government.
Those who are afraid that Communist
speakers will be influential on campus
must have a profound lack of faith in the.
virtues of our democratic system. Others
who argue that Communist speakers will
cause the Universitysbad publicity should
realize that a ban causes much more
publicity than if the speaker came here
quietly, spoke, and left.
The second part of the Regents' ruling is
gain vague, unnecessary, and inconsistent
with the title, University.
It is impossible to separate education and
politics. In view of the coming election,
what could be of more educational value
to the student' body than to hear various
candidates give their political platforms?
As in the first case, the ruling is open to
many,.interpretations. Though Sen. Taft,
who is coming to speak in April, was advised
to keep istrict politics out of his talk, the
lecture committee approved an Eisenhower
rally in Hill Auditorium at which Senator,
Morse and Arthur Vandenburg Jr. were to
campaign for the General.
Such inconsistencies clearly show that few
actually understand the meaning of the
by-law, or, perhaps, that it has no meaning.
Again the argument that the University's
name will be hurt falls flat. If there were
no speakers' ban there would be a constant
flow of speakers of every political nature.
It is rather absurd to think that, if Taft
speaks here one week the University will
be labeled, "Republican" and If Norman
Thomas came the next, the label would
switch to "Socialist."
Those students who are interested in lift-
ing a regulation which is vague, inconsistent,
and which hinders their freedom as students~,
should take this opportunity for protest of.
fered by the referendum and-Vote Yes!
--Alice Dogdonof
* * *
Vote No.. .
THE ACTION of the University Lecture
Committee, long a source of agitation on
campus, has finally resulted in the forming
of a referendum movement urging that the
Lecture committee be disbanded.
The groups sponsoring this referendum
have represented the Comittee as threat-
ening the basic principles of free speech
on campus. This is not the case. The
University has not stopped anyone from
bringing speakers to Ann Arbor, nor have
they stopped the students of the Univer-
sity from listening to them. What they
have done is 'to refuse certain speakers
the right to use University facilities. In
other words, if therYP or the CLC had
felt like going to the time and expense,
they could have still brought their speakers
here.
Many students grant that the lecture com-
mittee's practices are not in themselves
violations of freedom of speech, but still de-
plore the way the committee decides who
shallor shall not speak. However, according
to the Regents' bylaws the committee must
deny campus facilities to anyone who urges,
"the destruction or modification of govern-
ment by violence or other unlawful meth-
ods." Since the Regents have failed to define
more specifically this clause, the committee
must use its own discretion in the matter.
Several things are taken into considera-
tion in deciding if a speaker should be al-
lowed to use University property. The most
important is whether or not the speaker is
an admitted Communist. The. Committee
considers this prima facie evidence of intent
to overthrow the government by force. If
there is no clear cut evidence of a speaker's
party membership, other things are con-
sidered. One factor is whether or not the
proposed speaker has been a recent leader
in an organization known to the Committee
to be a Communist front. The Committee
usesits own experience and knowledge in
Sdetermining what groups fall under this
category and no so-called "subversive or-
ganizations" list. Questions answered or not
answered by the proposed speaker nbefore
the Un-American Activities Committee are
also considered. The committee weighs all
of these in making its decision.
When it is decided that a speaker should
be. banned it is not done to deny the stu-
dents the right of hearing the speaker.
It is done to make sure a speaker does not
say that the University agrees with what
he stands for. A clever person could twist
his speaking here until it would appear
that he was actually sponsored by the
University.
Professor C. G. Brandt, secretary of the
Lecture Committee said recently, "I do not
believe that there is any speaker that the
students of the University of Michigan arej
not mature enough to hear. The Regents'
bylaws concern the use of University prop-
erty and not control of ideas." The Lecture
Committee is fulfilling a necessary service
by protecting the University's reputation.
Vote no on the forthcoming referendum and
give the Committee a vote of confidence.
--Milton Pryor
DREW PEARSON:
Washington
Merry-Go-RoundI
WASHINGTON-Pat McCarran, the sena-
tor who rules the Senate Judiciary
Committee with the same highhandedness
that marks his domination of the State of
Nevada, has developed a new technique for
browbeating the press.
If a newspaperman fails to agree with
him or dares criticise his dictatorial tech-
niques, McCarran proceeds to investigate
that newspaperman for violation of the
Espionage Act.
Such an investigation of two newspaper
columnists, Joseph and Stewart Alsop, is
now being conducted by MCarran through
his Internal Security Committee because
the Alsop brothers dared criticise McCar-
ran's high-handed methods.
The Espionage Act, originally passed in
1917, during the height of the World War I
hysteria against Germany, is so broad that
the press associations and even the staid old
New York Times unwittingly violate its
letter-though not its spirit-probably once
or twice a month.
It is quite certain that the Alsop brothers
have gone no further than such a technical
violation. However, it is certain that they
have had the courageto do what few other
newsmen have done in challenging Senator
McCarran. td
Joe Alsop, who served in China during
the war and knows far more about its
problems than any member of the M-
Carran committee, had this to say about
McCarran's tactics in cross-examining
John Carter Vincent, U.S. diplomatic ad-
viser to Vice President Henry Wallace on
hisumission to China:
"Vincent all but had a light shined in his
eyes and was beaten by a rubber hose.
the central issue was almost completely ig-
nored..
"The main upshot of the Wallace mission
to China, in which Vincent participated,
was a recommendation to dismiss the pro-
Chinese-Communist Gen. Joseph Stilwell,
and to replace him with sturdy anti-Com-
munist Gen. Albert Wedemeyer ... Under
the circumstances you might have supposed
that this central issue would have been ex-
amined by the senators at some length.
"Had you done so, however, you would
have gravely misjudged Sen. Pat McCarran
of Nevada ... Instead, Sen. McCarran and
friends concentrated on trying to show that
Vincent had somewhat misjudged the Chi-
nese situationein the crucial late war and
post-war years."
In ranother column the Alsop brothers
questioned the veracity of Louis Budenz,
former editor of the Daily Worker.
"Sen. Pat McCarran's Internal Security
Subcommittee .. ." they wrote, "has just
finished beating John Carter Vincent over
the head with its verbal substitutes for a
rubber hose.
'In all the brutal questioning of this high
State Department official not one word was
said about the veracity of Vincent's sole
accuser, the professional ex - Communist,
Louis Budenz."
The column continued with a penetrat-
ing diagnosis of the peculiar manner in
which Budenz had failed to mention Vin-
cent's name during months of testimony
and thousands of hours of conferences
with the FBI-until at the last minute it
seemed convenient to have him substan-
tiate Senator McCarthy.
McCarran's answer to the Asop brothers'
criticism wvas not given on the floor of the
Senate in the traditional form of American
debate. It came in the form of an investiga-
tion of the columnists' writings in An effort
to nail them with a violation of the Espion-
age Act.
PHANTOM WAR WITH MEXICO
FOR ABOUT two hours last week, the
highest executives of the U.S. govern-
ment were trying to stave off possible "war"
between the United States and Mexico.
Secretary of Defense Lovett was on the
telephone with Secretary of State Acheson,
then in touch with the Chief of Naval
Operations, Adm. William Fechteler, to
head off an attack on the Mexican coast
by a band of Florida shrimp fishermen.
The tip on the forthcoming attack on
Mexico came from acting secretary of the
Navy Francis Whitehair who had received
a phone call from Florida that 20 shrimp
fishermen had been detained by Mexican
authorities for fishing in the Gulf of Mexico,
and that other Florida shrimp fishermen
were determined to rescue their comrades.
Armed fishermen from Punta Gorda, it
was reported, were setting sail fQr the Mexi-
can coast to shoot up the Mexicans who
held their comrades.
Reverberations of the 1917 attack by
the U.S. Navy on Tampico were immed-
iately remembered in the State Depart-
ment.
So, after some quick consultatioi, Secre-
tary of Defense Lovett ordered a, Coast
Guard vessel to stand by in the Gulf of
Mexico to ward off the invading Florida
shrimp fishermen-only to find that Mexico
had already released the other shrimp fish-
ermen and there was nothing to get steamed
up about after all.
* * *
CUBAN EMBASSY REVOLT
TT SELDOM HAPPENS that revolution
~w
THE WEEK'S NEWS
. IN RETROSPECT .
~ICHARD KING Thomas, Daily half the state's delegates. He suf-
A~editorial writer, broke into fered a severe set-back earlier in
world-wideinfamy last week when themweek when, after withdrawing
the Moscow "Literary Gazette" from the New Jersey primary he
hailed one of his editorials as "a -k*~ was forced to stay in because ofp
slanderous attack" on the USSR state Superior Court decision.
The Reds didn't like the way a U. Meanwhile, both Gov. Earl War-
Thomas "killed the President of V ren and Harold Stassen were busy
the United States in a recent promising voters that a ballot cast
editorial. The editorial, which was for them would be a vote for
painfully an obvious satire on ter- st Eisenhower, who is not officially
tin hate articles appearing in entered.
Colliers and Esquire, was a bit T * d
too horrifi even for Russian taste. JOE, AGAIN - A two-million
The Gazette issued a sharp denial dollar "libel, slander and con-
that "I Killed the President" had spiracy suit was filed against Sen.
appeared in "Krashdna Sovietsk- Benton (~D-Conn.) by Sen. Joseph
ski," a fictitious Russian magazinehMcurtsy- Yt wa- eheresultof
inveed by Th oms. SadWl ~M~rthy, It ws the resto
invetedby homs. Sid all: yBenton's demanding McCarthy's
Street tool Thomas: 'I'm flattered dr ouster from the Senate after is-
but insulted," as he cranked the s. J> suing a 30,000 word statement ac-
starter of his Model T cusing him of perjury, fraud and
j "calculated deception of the Amer-
Loeal. kd-* *k tican people." McCarthy's attor-
APPROPRIATIONS-The 1952-ey? W Joe hmel
53 University operating budget- I U E FINAL TOTALS-The death toll
totalling $16,936,650-was passed resulting from the tornado that
by the State House of Representa- p hit the South and Central U.S.
tives Friday without a murmur in I early last week was revised to
Lansing but with some grumbling-208. While the Red Cross con-
in Ann Arbor. The amount repre- rti k he i te . tinued their relief work, President
sents a slash of more than $1500,- b B r m n Truman ordered a federal survey
000 from the original $18,575,000 of the damage.
requested by the University. h A
Though University Vice-president H'N
Marvin L. te iehuss warned that roe st e when rgton
cithe oe m ontt "siscusedwe rickteqa ppl-toPeien rmn h a i-lted hadt de emnctatoonhs
th rpsd mut"s eo ° Al Capp, after 18 years, married
that needed to support adequately k off his comic strip hero, Lirl Abner
the services of the University," itt ideeDas Mae..
looedleUBivdgstyn officials rAnd its for real, Capp promised.
might have to be satisfied with the$,, ad nChUpeH dmdsedg
figure. As a rule, the-Senate does s-Daily-Bill Kmamptonn h
not change the amount estab- "You Wall-Streeter, You" International .
lished by the House.
A ET*tnd nsnRIOTSg-Mobs stole the interna-
the individual houses before actual avoid an April 8 strike in the na- tional scene last week in Trieste,
SICK HOSPITAL - An ailing payment is made. tion's steel industry were slowed Italy and South Africa. Demon-
University Hospital looked for- * * * last week with talks between the strators in the free territory of
ward hopefully to a long-range IFC SNUBBED-The Joint Quad CIO and employers breaking down. Trieste and Italy demanded the
$5,000,000 rehabilitation and ex- Council rejected an IFC request Mobilization chief Charles E. Wil- return of the city to Italian con-
pansion program slated to be fi- to permit fraternity representa- son also Balled off a meeting of trol. The situation turned into a
nanced by the State Legislature. tives to enter the quads during his to paides to discuss the situa- bloody anti-American affair in
Prospects were brightening for a orientation week and the official tion after branding the Wage Rome as police quelled student
restoration of a $650,000 Univer- IFC rushing period. Eager IFC of- Stabilization Board's recommen- rioters with clubs and gun-fire.
sity request to begin the program, ficials saw in this plan a solution dations inflationary. In several South African cities,
previously thumbed down by the to the "deplorable relations" be- Sinlaeintewkththe obsoudfrtersgain
Senate Finance Committee. In a tween Greeks and quadders. What wolSigsputtr tehay ek tturdoembsofuPimeMiniste aeangfterith
later huddle with University off i-they also saw, but didn't' say, waswtolPedsdeTrmabunehov in- PlateMhad sderMand fthatthe
cials, the Committee also discussed a pipe-line into the quad popula- yokPeetTtrtlanwocedpowlatersf heaspemnecourthbe
possible rehabilitation programs tion..,laoreth a -maage a rent pmae wcriledtbeauem a ecte
for the Natural Science and Ar- * * lbradmngmn omk utie eas thdrjce
chitecture Bldgs. The proposed UNION SHOP-Union officials arrangements for new talks. his discrimninatory Apartheid Vo-
library addition and new medical released details of the planned A byproduct of the controversy: ter's Act.
science bldg., however, fell by the $2,750,000 addition to the Union, The House decided to investigate * *
wayside when the House Ways and designed to provide additional fa- the WSB. ON AND ON -- The scene in
Means. Committee cut these items cilities and more space to the pres- * * * Korea remained about the same
earlier in the week. ently cramped structure. Though WISCONSIN TEST - As the throughout the week with little
* * the expanded and remodeled cafe- April 1 primary date neared, presi- ground action, some air battles
'RIOT' AFTERMATH - The teria might be opened to coeds, dential hopefuls canvassed the and dragged on talks over minor
combined dormitory councils de- the contemplated wing will pro- state making last promises and issues. There were hints, however,
tided to make restitution to the vide f acilities. strictly for men. new attacks. Sen. Robert Taft, that the UN may give in to Coin-
University for the $180 in damages * * fighting for his political life as munist demands that Russia be,,
inflicted during the hectic student Nain l the Eisenhower bandwagon gath- included among the truce super-'
"riot" a week and a half ago. The '-'"'flC S ered speed, issued a confident pre- visory powers.'
plan will have to be accepted by STEFL DEADLOCK-Efforts to diction that he would captude over -Cal Samra and Jerry Heiman
's
to ihtt6di too'.the0
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Athletic Board
N AN EDITORIAL yesterday, sports staffer
John Jenks righteously proclaimed, "Dis-
crimination is not a good thing." He then
went on to make an unjustifiable exception
to the rule in demanding that the Student
Legislature move to bar athletic representa-
tives from candidacy for the Athletic
Board.
Actually, SL has already taken action to
correct injustices in the present Board elec-
toral set-up, but in a more realistic manner
than Jenks proposes.
A Legislature resolution is now in the
hands of the Regents which seeks the re-
quirement of the petitioning method for
attaining candidacy by all students.
Current practice, as provided in a Re-
gents' by-law, is for the athletic Managers
Club to nominate two candidates while
others get into the race by the petitioning
method. SL has attempted to eliminate this
form of discrimination.
But it has not proposed a reverse and
more drastic barrier which would keep ath-
letes off the Board. Such a move would be
directly contradictory to the philosophy
which SL embodied in its set of proposals--
that women, non-athletes, and athletes--
in fact, any eligible student should be able
to vote and hold office.
Although Jenks is correct' in stating- that
there are at present two athletes on the
Board, this is only because of the recent
ineligibility of the non-athlete member. If
he regains academic favor, he will be rein-
stated in his position next fqll.
And, contrary to Jenks' speculation,
there is a good chance that no athletes
will occupy Board posts next year, what
with a strong non-athlete candidate run-
ning in the April elections.
But the most unfortunate part about
Jenks' erroneous piece is the assumption
that an athlete is automaticallysa "com-
pany man." It should be pointed out that
last semester the "athletic representative,"
Don McEwen, and the "students' represen-
tative," Bob Perry, consistently voted to-
gether. It is particularly important to note
that McEwen, "in spite of" being an athlete,
was at all times acting in the student inter-
est, as have many of his letter-holding
predecessors.
If the student body wishes to elect "party
liners," it may find them among both ath-
letes and non-athletes. The same is true if
the electorate is interested in intelligent
representation.
The voters are certainly capable of pro-
moting their interests by balloting on the
basis of competence, not labels.
-Barnes Connable
Tax Levy...
To the Editor:
AS THE income tax laws stand
now, a person loses his status
as financial dependent after he
has earned six hundred dollars in
one year. .It has been recently
suggested in Congress that this
level be raised to one thousand
dollars. I feel that such a change
would directly affect many, if not
most of us, and that we should
express our opinions thereon, as
voters, prospective voters, and
sons and daughters of voters.
Flagrant injustices because of
the present level have lately come
to my attention, but I introduce
the subject to you only as it
affects you, as college students.
Most of us are gainfully em-
ployed during the summer months.
During this time we can earn
seven or eight hundred tollars-
just enough so that we become
"financially independent", accord-
ing to the income tax laws. Ob-
viously, we are not independent,
and must receive further support
from somewhere to carry us
through the school year. Yet
father must pay one hundred to
one hundred and fifty dollars more
income tax because he can no
longer claim as dependent his
student children, to whom he
probably sends a goodly sum dur-
ing the year.
Considering this from the fam-
ily-pool angle, it is not worth
your while to earn over six hun-
dred dollars in a summer, unless
you plan to work throughout the
year. Father loses money, no mat-
ter which way you look at it. For
those of us who must carry at
least part of our financial bur-
dens, it would be of direct ad-
vantage to raise the dependency
level to one thousand dollars per
year.
Most of you are undoubtedly
familiar with the problem, so I
will leave it for you to sleep ,on.
If vnu decide. as I have. that the
the speaker's ban has been in-
correctly called an SRA-Newman
Club dispute. Such is not the case.
Newman Club is a part of SRA
and SRA does not stand-opposed
to its own member groups. Any
disagreement was intra-group, not
inter-group.
It may also be of interest to
note that there was no clear split
of opinion. The motion we passed
was a compromise and was
accepted as such. A breakdown of
the voting shows seven primary
groups in favor, three abstaining
and one opposed. On discovering
how deep was the Apposition of
the Newman Club to a stand
against the speaker's ban, the
executive committee recommended'
that the council rescind its ac-
tion. A council vote of only seven
to six defeated this proposal.
Our job on campus is, as has
been stated, "to promote inter-
faith understanding", and as such
must be carried on within its in-
herent limitations. If a member
group feels its position is such in
opposition to an SRA stand that
it cannot stay within the organiza-
tion, it is time for the SRA, in the
light of its basic principle of
unity, to re-examine the action
and try to chart its future course
with a deeper knowledge and
understanding of all the groups
within.
In closing, I would like to share
a thought that has become an in-
tegral part of SRA. "We agree
to disagree, we resolve to love, we
unite to serve."
-Ann Cotton
President, SRA
Birth of a CLC .
To the Editor:
YOU WRITE to the Daily to get
across your point of view and
you live your life fighting for your
nmint nf view ---and vnirnnint
of a Nation" and it tellsyou that
C. L. C. should approve of its be-
ing shown here. And you agree be-
cause it is what you believe. But'
the letter implies that if C. L. C.
does not approve, it is composed
of undesirable (and even, Reds?)
And you do not agree, because
you know that your point of view
is not the only one, and that those;
who oppose it might be as liberal
as you.
And you look behind the letter
to see what it is attempting to do.
You tee its author trying to purge
those who might oppose, because
they don't hold his, point of view.
And you see another philisophi-
cal split coming.
And you ask yourself: "What
are civil liberties groups for?" And
you answer, simply, "To fight for
civil liberties."
You know a group can fight for
nothing when it fights itself. And
you know a group is good for noth-
ing when someone forces his point
of view. And you know a group
cannot act when it distrusts it-
self.
You know all this and it makes
you sick.
-Mark Reader
* * 6
Poetic Ode .. .
To the Editor:
IN HIS sarcastic congr tulations
to the Michigan State Legisla-
ture for designating Edgar Guest
"Poet Laureate for Michigan"
Chuck Elliott shows a good deal
more wit than wisdom. I hope
that other members of the so-
called "University" English De-
partment (there is no such depart-
ment) will join me in protesting
against Mr. Elliott's attempt to
implicate us in a stand which is
snobbish and which involves faulty
criticism.
I am not myself one of Guest's
great admirers, but it seems to
me that if we must have a poet
laureate named by a state legis-
lines from Guest's Work. No poet
is immune from such an attack.
What, for example, would be
Wordsworth's reputation today, if
it rested on such bits of "Divine
Poesy" as the lines on a pool of
water which I quote from mem-
ory:
I've measured it from side to
side.
'Tis five feet long and three
feet wide.
-Joshua McClennen
English Department
College of Engineering
o
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A
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CURREINT MQ~v/iz
t The State ...
QUO VADIS, with Robert
Deborah Kerr.
Taylor and
FOR SHEER SPECTACLE there will prob-
ably never be anything to surpass these
three technicolor hours. We will have to
doff our caps to MGM at least for the
amount of time and money that went into it.
But there is more to a good movie than
thousands of screaming people and a burn-
to try a little harder to find a story and
actors worthy of their effort.
Peter Ustinov does a good job of making
a clown of the emperor Nero, apparently
what the story called for; Leo Genn is a
convincing Petronius, adviser to the em-
peror. Beyond that there isn't much to be
said for the innumerable Romans, slaves,
hostages, lions, et al.
Since the story is about the martyrdom
and glory of the early Christians. it doesn't
Sixty-Second Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in 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
Brstness Staff
Bob Miller ...........BusineS Manager
Gene Kuthy, Assoc. Business Manager
Charles Cuson ....Advertising Manager
Milt Goetz.......Circulation Manager
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