4 4 TIHE MICHIGAN DAILY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1952 I _______________________________________________________ U Brotherho -Two V T SEEMS that Brotherhood Week isn'ta causing too much excitement here in Ann Arbor. But the disk jockies seem to have gotten into the spirit of the thing. I happened to turn on the radio this morning to be greeted with a mellow baritone crooning: "You start living When you start giving, That's the brotherhood way." The voice then continued to tell a little story about how brotherhood is bursting out all over Levittown, New York. Levit- town is a lower-income housing project built right after the war mainly for vet- erans and their families. Cooperation is the key word there and extends to all phases of everyday community living. One of the problems which confronted the families was what to do with the kiddies when the parents went to church, since teen- age baby sitters just didn't exist in the com- munity. A solution was soon devised by the young couples whereby the Jewish families "sat" while the Christian families went to their churches on Sunday and the Christian families did the same on Friday night when the Jewish families went to their synagogues. This solution indicated quite clearly that un- derstanding between different faiths can be constructively accomplished. I think it's a pretty nice story. But I wish; crooning disk jockies weren't the only peo-; ple discussing the spirit of brotherhood. -Jan Winn, Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily are written by members of The Daily staff and represent the views of the writer only. This must be noted in all reprints. NIGHT EDITOR: CAL SAMRA )od Week iews - * THIS WEEK has been set aside as Nation- al Brotherhood Week-a fact which is just as significant as National Doughnut Week. Throughout the country people will be listening to speeches made by upstanding citizens stating democratic platitudes. Colorful posters vainly trying to put across the idea of brotherhood with pictures of smiling people of all races and nationali- ties arm in arm will stare at shoppers and bus riders. Unfortunately, on the whole, these efforts are a complete waste of time and money. Prejudice and bigotry will never be con- verted into fraternity and equality by the meaningless ceremony and publicity that goes with Brotherhood Week. The activities of Brotherhood Week are attended by those who do not need to be reminded that all men are entitled to equal opportunities. The anti-Negroes, the anit-semites and the rest of the antis are not budged one inch from their biased convictions. It is doubtful whether a specific week is necessary to highlight the evident need for the improvement of interested ethnic group relations, for those who are actively inter- ested in the problem need no reminder as to the work that must be done. There are or- ganizations which strive all year round to institute such changes as the Fair Employ- ment Practices Act or a civil liberties bill. However, as long as such a week exists, it should not consist of "love thy neighbor" speeches but should focus attention on the deplorable exampies of prejudice that pre- vail and definite methods by which society can work, toward remedies. All too often people may be impressed by the brotherhood speeches, but are not enlisted as active fighters in the war against bigotry. Perhaps if action instead of words were emphasized during Brotherhood Week, it might become a contributing factor toward the goal of equality for all men. -Helene Simon v-- -_ . DRAMA . THE UNUSUAL clash of two theatrical styles has produced a strange but power- ful child in the Arts Theater production of Bertolt Brecht's A Man Equals a Man. On the one side is the now familiar theater in the round while on the other is the unfami- liar Epic Theater developed in Germany be- tween World War I and. the rise of Hitler. MATTER OF FACT' By JOSEPH and STEWART ALSOP WASHINGTON-The movement of events there days is a little like the movement of a glacier, grinding, sluggish and all but imperceptible until the next avalanche is started by the remorseless ice. Today, the glacier does not seem to move. Yet there are signs of movement for- the careful eye to see; and one such is a new plan for carrying ; the Korean war. to the Chinese mainland, when and if there seems to be no other choice. The plan, which has been placed before the Joint Chiefs of Staff by the Air Staff, has no resemblance to Gen. Douglas Mac- Arthur's scheme for bombing in Man- churia. In fact it is a plan for not bomb- ing in Manchuria, since Manchuria now contains a powerful concentration of Russo-Chinese air power, and it is also a plan for not bombing the Chinese ci- ties and industrial centers, which con- tribute so infinitely less to Chinese mili- tary power than the cities and industrial centers of the Soviet Union. The basis of the plan Is simple enough. For such a huge country, China is held to- gether by a remarkably slender network of communications. The Yellow River and the Yangtse, the Grand Canal, and two or three railroads are the main arteries, and there are no lesser arteries and capillaries to take the traffic, if the main arteries are cut. IN THIS respect, the Chinese Communists are no different from earlier Chinese empire builders. Meanwhile, however, the arteries of communication have become im- measurably more vulnerable to external at- tack. Mine the Yangste and Yellow Rivers, for example, and the North-Western prov- inces and the rich kingdom within a king- dom of Szechuan will simply be cut off from the rest of the country. Bomb out the railraods and mine the Grand Canal, and South China will be severed from North China. These are, in fact, the devices now con- templated. They have two obvious vir- tues. First, they will do infinitely more damage to the Communist regime than any other form of attack, without arous- ing the violent emotions inherent in the bombing of great cities. Second, they will follow the rule of "hitting them where they ain't," forcing the Chinese to spread out the air power now concentrated in Manchuria. in a honnee Affnrt in defend Everything that is unique about a thea- ter in the round production runs contrary to Brecht's Epic theory. Round theater is intimate with extreme audience identi- fication. It is therefore emotional and absorbing. Brecht, however, believes in a theater removed from an audience which should remain observers, accepting the action without involvement. Round the- ater leans on a few characters acting within a limited area. Epic, in this play, calls for large numbers moving quickly in a large area that is constantly changing scenes. The Round is a theater of imagi- nation and symbolism. Epic, though more dependent on symbolism leaves nothing to the imagination. Brecht, its most ardent exponent and disputed founder, has written the theoreti- cal commandments for Epic. The world, he states, is an everchanging place, and the play is an active force to change the world rather than to just tell about it or to im- mortalize one of its eternal truths. The play exists primarily for the time in which it is written, the time it is seeking to change. The plot should be clear at all points, each scene existing for its own sake as well as for the whole. Titles, written and spoken, musical addresses, soliloquies should be used to point up the meaning, to tell where the play is. Epic theater has used screen pro- jections on the backdrops in order to sharp- en its meaning. And to assure that nothing meaningful will be lost in action or emo- tion, the Epic detaches the audience from the play and the actors from one another. [t tells them to act as if they knew the ending, gesturing and interpreting but not losing themselves in the part. The empha- sis is always on emotional separation in the theater and physical change in the world. Understanding Brecht's objective and thi, principles he uses to reach them, there is an appreciation of the victories and defeats of an Epic in the Round. The story of any man being molded into a killer to serve a morally defunct order cannot be accepted on its face value. Its historical position, politically and theatrically, is as important as its plot. Even to an audience accustomed to the experimentation of the Arts Theater Club, the Brecht play offers disturbing innova- tions. The desire to fully identify is frus- trated, the symbolic characters lack full human personalization, the stage is crowded, a complex geometric folding box is used for the sudden on stage scene changes, the same actors take several parts, the equation that a man is a man is laboriously repeated. These are all ex- plained, however, in terms of Brecht's theory which we can accept or reject as we will. At the same time the obviously positive aspects are the moments of intimacy that Brecht, himself to the contrary, writes, and that theater in the Round naturally pro- duces. There are the humorous high points that Brecht believes must be included if the audience is to be entertained as well as Basic Illness pERHAPS THE most valuable of the many "corruption exposes" is the revelation that there is more involved in the scandals than the "wicked" behavior of certain in- dividuals. This becomes obvious when one consid- ers how the racketeering and cheating runs through almost every level of our society -the administration, congress, big busi- *ness, state and local government, educa- tional institutions, athletics and private enterprise.j It seems then that an investigation of our culture as a whole will yield the only satis- factory explanation to what has been called, "the racket stage of our society." On the whole, our society is an aquisitive one. The goal is to "get ahead" in terms of money and position. The theory of "freedom of the indivi- dual" is constantly confused with that of "free enterprise." Free enterprise has often taken the form of freedom for only those with financial power. Though not representative of the entire society, this anti-social theory of "every- man-for-himself" is certainly the dominant characteristic of our American life. If ther.e were a general social attitude of personal and group integrity and less em- phasis on material welfare, young basket- ball players would see no point in taking bribes, and a mink coat and deep freeze would lose their value. If one realizes that it is part of our social structure which generates the mone- tary power drive, it becomes impossible to wholly blame the "little man" who sets his own code of ethics. He is part of our "grasping" culture and is frustrated be- cause someone has "grasped" sooner and faster than he. His set of values is deter- mined by those above him, whose position of power he would like to have. And until our capitalistic society sets up a new sys- tem of values and personal incentives men will continue to "cheat" and set their own anti-social code of ethics. However this reordering of our society's goals and aims can not be effected by one small group in society. It must come from a social awareness and be accomplished by democratic methods towards democratic ends. For this reason the theories of fascism and communism become totally ineffective and undesirable. But as in the case of individual psychology, the recognition of illness must proceed ther- apy. That is, the. patient must make a basic concession to begin with-there is something wrong and I heed treatment. The same principle holds true on the level of society. But how many Americans are willing to make this basic concession. True, everyone in the United States is excited about cor- ruption, but few are willing to view this so- cial malaise realistically. The Republicans continue to damn the "corrupt administration" and cry "a new broom sweeps clean." This is just so much political rhetoric. The Democrats, to meet the political demands of the GOP oppo- sition will continue to "pass the buck" and promise the American voters that if reelected they will fight for "good clean government." Congress will continue to set up Kefauver and La Follette commit- tees which, while motivated by sincere drive to clean up the rackets, skirt the real problem by dealing only with the for- mal aspects of government procedure and personnel. The American voter, assaulted by so much political propaganda, will become increasing- ly suspicious of the "evil bureaucracy" in Washington and will allow his subjective moral indignation to hold the reins of rea- son and objectivity. Until these groups recognize that the wide- spread corruption is a symptom of a social disease, nothing will be accomplished by condemning the man who "cheats" to stay ahead. -Alice Bogdonoff Frats &Dorms DOES A FRATERNITY offer so much to a "poor Quad man?" Is it the only way to{ live? These days all are being rushed into the idea that there is nothing wrong withj them. Fraternity men, if they could, would eliminate the Quad altogether. Sure, a Fra- ternity is fine, but is it the only way to live? No, since all men do not join, some must live in other ways. To say the Independent man does not live is a fallacy. To some people the kind of "fellowship" that a fraternity offers is not for them. As far as food goes the Quad food is not as bad as the pledge master makes out it is. The chances are that he ate the food himself and is still living. So then the fraternity offers a "home." It's a funny family. * The campus would be dull without the fraternities. But you can't put all the men in them. Let's be honest about this thing and say that while some men like them there are others who do not and that these are a large and important part of the life at Michigan. g-William Riley New Books at the Library Arm, Walter-Pay-Off. New York, Apple- SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH-Lately I did some research on "creepingt socialism" and its benefits to certain states and business groups.t Here are the results: f * * * * U.S. STEEL CORPORATION-Biggest boon to Utah has been the operation of a steel mill at Geneva. Governor Lee told me thisc greatly increased the population of Salt Lake City and the sur-r rounding area and contributed generously to local prosperity.t However, the U.S. Steel Corp. at first opposed the production of steel in Utah. Judge Elbert Gary, former head of U.S. Steel, scoffedI at the idea when I interviewed him many years ago, and his successorsV continued to scoff-even after Pearl Harbor. In fact, they were so op-f posed to western steel production that the federal government had to take the initiative itself for the Geneva plant. Uncle Sam took all the risk and after proving that the steel in-r dustry in the far West could be successful, then U.S. Steel, supported1 by some astute lobbying by ex-Gov. Herbert Maw of Utah and ex- Sen. Abe Murdoch, got the federal government to sell the Genevat plant to U.S. Steel for about 20 cents on the dollar. The steel plant cost the taxpayers $191,326,000. It was soldt to U.S. Steel for $47,175,000. Direct subsidy to U.S. Steel and theI State of Utah was $144,151,000. FORT DOUGLAS, UTAH-On the foothills just above Salt Lake City stands Fort Douglas, an important army installation. After the war, a large hunk of the fort's territory, plus important buildings,t were turned over to Governor Lee's State of Utah, and are now a part1 of the University of Utah. AIRLINES SUBSIDIES-Utah, an inland state, benefits from1 quick airline transportation. Most people don't realize it, but the air-I lines, though now big business, get an annual subsidy of $95,000,000 through "creeping socialism." On top of this they get the advantagei of 70,000 miles of air lanes serviced by radio range stations, beacons1 and traffic controls, all paid for by the federal government. The rail-1 roads have to pay for their own signals, telegraph and upkeep of their1 tracks, while the airlines get like services free. In addition, the air- planes get the use of airports, usually supplied by municipalities, tax- free. The railroads pay taxes on their property. In 1951 the taxpayers shelled out $21,361,040 to construct new towers, beacons, and radar for the airways, plus another $73,931,- '733 for personnel to operate these safety aids, plus another $37,- 000,000 for runways and construction work at airports. The airlines are now big business. I agree with Governor Lee that' this is "creeping socialism." But he'll find that big business will be the first to howl if it's stopped. SHIPPING SUBSIDIES-Also the first to yell if we stop "creep- ing socialism" will be another big-business 'group, the shipping lines. American shipowners get $30,000,000 annually in operating subsidies. On top of this the United States Lines last year got a construction subsidy of $18,225,000 plus an indirect subsidy of $24,061,000 for na- tional defense in building the new vessel, the United States. American Export Lines is due to get a $26,000,000 subsidy for the Independence and the Constitution, but after Controller Gen- eral Lindsay Warren objected to "creeping socialism" and propos- ed curtailing subsidies, the American Export Lines threatened to dump the ships in the lap of Uncle Sam. PUBLIC ROADS-Another form of creeping socialism is the gov- ernment's annual subsidy to the states to build highways. This costs the federal taxpayers about half a billion dollars a year and is allo- cated to Governor Lee of Utah and the other 47 states. If this were curtailed every bus line, trucking company, and many private motorists would be at the door of Congress in about 24 hours demanding that "creeping socialism" for the highways be reinstated. DOCTOR'S SUBSIDIES-In Utah, Sen. Elbert Thomas was defeated partly because he favored a public health bill. The doc- tors rose up in arms against him, called him an exponent of .creepihg socialism. What the public doesn't realize, however, is that the doctors got their own direct subsidy in the form of $39,578,000 from the federal government last year, much of it going to medical institutions for re- search. However, this money is largely in the form of gifts so that the doctors control it once they get it from the government. The tax- payers have no means of checking as to how efficiently it is spent. These medical grants are made necessary because the public and the doctors have been so backward in contributing to free-enterprise research instead of creeping-socialism research. Thus, Walter Win- chell, who has done an outstanding job of money raising for cancer work, has been able to raise only $5,000,000 in five years, whereas the federal government has contributed as much as $15,000,000 in a single year for cancer research. (Copyright, 1952, by The Bell Syndicate, Inc.) (. _;; ; - ' ., + 8- --.sa !.. 9ri '4M6 .k4SN t ora yrofY ao. Yes - You Were Saying--" 4 Lq d IIj r 7 r s f I; t t r, a i r. a s c a v y e ON THE Washington Merry-Go-Round with DREW PEARSONv etteP 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. Correction A LETTER published in yes- terday's Daily under the title Say How & When and signed with the name of W. W. Kimbrough III was not writ- ten by Mr. Kimbrough. Heaven on Earth.. .. To the Editor: THE two reasons set forth by Mr. Lunn in his editorial Sunday perhaps explain the rea- son why 35% of the men not in fraternities do not pledge, name- ly, finances or some prejudice. However, Mr. Lunn overlooked the major reason, which explains the other 65%. This is that the men are quite happy where they are. People select the kind of hous- ing faciilties which they feel are most suitable to them as individu- als. When this is taken into con- sideration, the three advantages of fraternities stated can be easily answered by any one of the 65% who is quite satisfied. 1. Fellowship. Anyone who is willing to look at a situation ob- jectively will see that as close and enduring friendships are made in the residence halls as in any fra- ternity. Witness the one house in the residence halls as in any fraternity. Witness the one house in the residence hall system which has acquired the reputation of the only "independent frater- nity on campus." In my own house that friendship can be with a student from Denmark, Germany, Africa, and even a Negro from the Bronx or Alabama. Such contacts are not usually found within a fraternity. 2. Ever since the South Quad was completed, fraternities have raised their cry of "superior liv- ing conditions." A "big hotel" at- mosphere is only present when the the men want it that way, and the esprit de corps of the men in the new building puts the lie to the fact that it is a big, cold im- personal place. Apparently Mr. Lunn does not want to look too closely. 3. Self government is entirely what the individuals within the house want 'to make it. Most of the houses have a number of good leaders, who fully control the activities of the house without any sign of this nebulous authori- tarianism that is upsetting Mr. Lunn. I do'not consider myself a dyed- in-the-wool independent. So far the residence hall has suited my individual tastes and needs satis- factorily, and that is all I desire. These tastes may change, and when they do I feel I can adjust to them without Mr. Lunn's prod- ding. A word about food. This seems to be ote of the favorite attacks on the dormitory system. How- ever, in spite of Mr. Lunn's state- ment of the fraternity's "excel- lent food well prepared", I have heard a number of fraternity men griping about their food and "damn cooks." Butehaving "lib- erated" themselves, they can hardly gripe publicly. In every case, it is up to the individual to decide what is best for him. To say that residence halls and fraternities are ips facto Hell and Heaven on Earth respectively, is the height of narrow-minded prejudice, of which Mr. Lunn accuses mosi non-fraternity men. Bert Braun * * * IFC Reply . To the Editor: based on superficial investigation are not consistent with quality news coverage. Facts such as the minimum membership needed to keep the fraternity financially solvent, the support expected from alumni in maintaining the chap- ter, and the results of Spring Rushing were disregarded. Admittedly, rushing is crucial for fraternities, as always. But to' predict failure so heartily for five houses is unjustified. Was the "news story" accurate? A quote from Spider Webb, IFC Enforcement Committee chair- man, set the absolute minimum fraternity pledge quota at 3501 men. This figure is not accurate. The correct figure is confidential to the IFC Rushing Committee and is well below the rumor quot- ed by Webb. AlthoughWebb's work on the Enforcement Committee marks him as outstanding, such figures as the minimum pledge quota could be released only through the Rushing Committee or IFC officers. Another misconception appears in the statement by the Daily reporter that "many residents of South Quad expressed doubt that their present living conditions could be improved upon in .fra- ternities." Yet, 1/3 of the men registered for rushing are from South Quad-more in relation to South Quad enrollment than from any other resident group. Why is this "news" story so important to the entire campus? It is a glaring example of a com- mon fault-much that is written and said about fraternities is not entirely true. The best policy, as always, is to see for yourself. -'Pete Thorpe IFC Rushing Chairman * * * YR Resolution . .. To the Editor: IN view of the fact that this is the month in which Abe Lincoln was born, I felt that it was only proper to introduce the following resolution in the Young Republican meeting held on Feb. 13: "We do encourage and urge the immediate enactment by the Michigan State Legislature of a Fair Employment Practices Act which would give the F.E.P. Com- mission thus created sufficient legal power to carry out its recom- mendations and rulings." The resolution thus stated was adopted unanimously and rededi- cated at least this portion of the G.O.P. to a continued fight for the rights of the colored people and to a constant and continuing bat- tle for their economic imrprove- ment. -David Cargo * 41 Al '; { 'y ',ti , ,: NO oone-whether independent oraffiliated-can overlook the "news story" entitled "Rush- ing Crucial for Fraternities" which appeared in Tuesday's Daily. Was it true? The Daily reporter stated "there are five houses on campus which face imminent fail- ure and another six with danger- ously few members," supporting these statements with "statistics compiled from past pledge lists." How was this done? By counting the pledges each house accepted during the last two years, the re- porter found that 11 houses were on the bottom. "Obviously," the reporter must have reasoned, "the lowest five are doomed to 'immi- nent failure' and the next six lowest have 'dangerously few members.'" Such arbitrary conclusions Sixty-Second Year Edited and managedby 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 Ven Emerson.........Feature Editor Rich Thomas ......... Associate 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 Business Staff Bob Miller ...........Business Manager Gene Kuthy, Assoc. Business Manager Charles Cuson i...Advertising Manager Sally Fish ..... ,. ....Finance Manager Circulation Manager.......Milt Goetz Telephone 23-24-1 Member of The Associated Press The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or otherwise credited to this newspaper. All rights of republication of all other matters herein are also reserved. Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor. Michigan, as second-class mail matter. Subscription during regular school year: by carrier, $6.00; by mail. $7.00. 4 r i x -r, b .' 'F , BARNABY 1' Good! Barnaby blew out all the candles! Where's 411- +tea .:, I'm six years old now, Jane. So I guess Mr. O'Malley, my Fairy Godfaher, wentw nvrn; mA .___._. cy.,, C o° 4So Barnaby!...Your F and on invisible Le 2.1.,..lb.swkq& W-4*8+-16 OtIta airy Godfather prechaun and I )x