PAGE FOUR THE MICHIGAN DAILY SUNDAY, MAY 3 1953 PAGE FOUR SUNDAY, MAY 3,1953 'Operation rainwashing' WITH A GREAT DEAL of seriousness and secrecy the Army is now in the process of pulling off what appears to be one of the most incredible schemes in years-op- eration brainwashing." This operation revolves around those repatriated POW's whom the army has termed "victims of Communist propagan- da." Sixty-two in number, these men are being sent'to Valley Forge Hospital, Phila- delphia, for "reorientation" and psychia- tric treatment. Because the operation has been shrouded in such secrecy, it appears on the surface that the men are being isolated and detain- ed like lepers who might transmit their deadly disease to others. However, it is safe to assume that the press has misrepresented and sensational- ized the news and that the Army has more in mind than a full-scale cleansing of the grey matter. Quite probably these men underwent ter- rific mental detioration and are now in a condition of emotional instability. If this is so, then army psyciatrists have the same type of rehabilitation job to perform in this case as they do in any case of war neurosis. However, in light of the present cold war, the Army might feel the men require some sort of political as well as psychiatric readjustment. This raises some rather intriguing ques- tions. The first concerns the right of the government to impose counter-indoctrina- tion. If some of the veterans are not men- tally ill but have accepted the Communist doctrine on the basis of past beliefs and what they saw and experienced, then it seems highly dubious that the Army has a right to re-convert them to the current trends of American thought. Another point which rises out of the question of political treatment is that of what the Army will consider proper re- orientation or re-Americanization. While It is highly doubtful that the Army will fall prey to McCarthy's rigid, absolute standards of "Americanism," there is al- ways the possibility that a political re- orientation would involve a certain stan- dard of orthodoxy. This is repugnant to the American concept of free thought. It is absurd and frightening to conceive of a formal governmental organization tak- ing upon itself the remodeling of a man's mind. Certainly, it is hoped, the army will realize this and detain these returned POW's only as long as they still require strictly medical-psychiatric help. -Alice Bogdonoff IT WAS chestnut time yesterday afternoon as the Hill Auditorium circus continued along its merry way. The stellar attraction was violinist Zino Francescatti who per- formed the Beethoven concerto, probably the most revered work in that part of the violin repertory designated time-worn. Francescatt delighted the pageantry seeking audience, playing the difficult cadenzas energetically and with facile command of his instrument. In the lyric passages his intense tone on the low strings and tight, stringent tone on the E string complimented the dramatic tenor of his approach. His playing is anything but austere; he is the Italian opera singer of the violin. The entertainment opened quite auspi- ciously with Rossini's overture, "L'Italiana in Algeri." It was performed precisely and briskly, and with some excellent woodwind solos. Unfortunately this fine interpreta- tion foreshadowed an orchestral excellence which never came. Just before intermission Tschaikovsky's Overture-Fantasia, "Romeo and Juliet," occupied the center ring. It was a per- formance ferociously emphasizing the feud between the Capulets and Montagues; something to which an audience should never be subjected, no matter what the circumstances may be. UNIFORMED DIPLOMACY: Uncle Sam Pays Expenses Of Bad-Will Ambassadors "We'll Import From Anywhere But Abroad" .. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Gayle Green spent ten months in a tour of western Europe last year. Below she records, her impressions of the U.S. soldier in Europe.) A LARGE GROUP of American men and women are now on European jaunts, financed by Uncle Sam. They wear uniforms, spend a good deal of their time playing war and their leisure hours acting as bad-will ambassadors. They are an influential proportion of our armed forces. There are men who would have made that Grand Tour in grey flannels instead of khaki, if the draftboard hadn't caught them first. There are men who have dreamed and talked of "Europe" for years but might never have been able to afford it otherwise. Some of them never heard of a world out- side of Tennessee and think Europe is a place to come to America from, not to go from America to; some never even specu- lated on the possibility of travel there. So there they are-with all-expenses paid, a monthly allowance and quite a bit of leave time to see the world. Yet a large per- centage of them never leave the camp. Leave time comes and they don't know where to go or what to do when they get there, Since they don't dare travel anywhere alone (some won't even venture to a coke machine without a buddy as escort), they have to find someone to go along with. When they finally do reach Paris or Rome or Vienna, they can't speak the country's language. They spend all their money in a few nights of drink and de- bauchery in typical tourist hotspots, then, sometimes, pass the rest of the leave penitently looking at monuments or mu- seums or bored by a travel agency's or- ganized tour. And it isn't rare to find the bored, homesick-for-Texas-or-Kalamazoo- G.I. back to camp a few days before his leave expires. Back with the boys his complaints run: "These foreigners hate cha'," "Everyone was out to get me for all I'm worth." Frog, Wop, Kraut and good old four letter army talk punctuate the conversation. Of course every once in a while someone comes home raving about New Amsterdam or some large city in Switzerland. "Just like home," he'll say. They walk the streets of the American tourist quarters in Paris, eat in restaurants where scrambled eggs anl milk shakes are the specialty, haunt the American Express and speak in that confident, loud, uncon- scious tone of "no-one speaks English in this darn foreign country anyway so we can say whatever we feel like" As AN OCCASION, an institutional event, the May Festival is depressing. The streets are clogged with depraved motorists and plump ladies in long white gloves. I have been the victim of two unprovoked assaults by homicidal automobilists who, crazed by music, have apparently lost all self-control and seem capable of any excess. If the desire for, and experience of music leads, as Lady Bracknell would say, to ex- cesses worse than those of the French Revo- lution, I suggest we revalue the writings of those Puritan divines who held that art constituted a grave moral danger. But there are worse things than murderous motorists and dowagers: prices at the State movie house have risen thirty cents, and it's im- possible to get into a State Street soda saloon. Whenever people swarm together for culture, it's ever thus-and one feels sor- ry for them: they seem to suffer so. And one suffers in Hill Auditorium: the seats are too narrow, and they have a nervous tendency to spring up behind with a clat- ter. For one with legs longer than To- louse-Lautrec's, it's absolute agony to sit in the balcony seats allocated to Daily Reviewers. The ventilation is awful, and the acoustics have uncertain qualities-- especially to fading and blasting. The re- sult is confusion; at first one sits in the Delphic Oracle, the next minute in a rather large padded tomato can. Despite my environmental unhappiness, I enjoyed yesterday evening's performances. The program was interesting, and the per- formances were exciting. Don Juan blazed with appropriate passion,> though what should have been lust often sounded like simple prurience: the oboist played his solo with more rubato than Strauss intended. The same romantic overemphasis marred The Entombment section of Mathis der Mahler; where the music should have been bleak, cruel, cold, it was warm and full. But in the last movement of Mathis the orches- tra howled, screamed, blasted with all the fury of St. Anthony's vision. Trilling devils, foul smells, all the sounds and sights of the Inferno were evoked; no music of our time makes quite the impression this does. The soloist was Cesare Siepi, a tall, handsome young man endowed with an exceptional physique, and a fine, expres- sive voice. The expressiveness was not' particularly outstanding in the Mozart concert aria. Mentre ti lascio, o figlia; he In the eight passenger compartments of European trains their barracks-type ver- nacular is bandied back and forth and for- eigners are teased and taunted. There is no such thing, however, as language difficulties. If a German store- keeper doesn't understand English, just repeat the sentence several times, a little louder, he'll catch on. If a dancing part- ner in a Spanish nightclub doesn't speak American, you can say anything you want as long as you smile. She'll never know you're telling her to "drop dead." "Fun, isn't it, these stupid foreigners!" Two years in Germany affords most G.I.'s a knowledge of the language that starts and ends with "mox nix." The same in France, results in an Americanized "wheee" and "cum ca." These able ambassadors of American goodwill can't understand the scrawled in- vitations, chalked on French and German walls: Go Home U.S. "Don't they like us?" they ask. Even worse, their prejudices and intoler- ances that could better have been left at home are magnified overseas. In countries where Negroes are treated like anyone else instead of with special tolerance, the racial disturbances among our enlisted men are particularly discour- aging. At Orly Air Field, just outside Paris a group of non-icommissioned officers sat around a table in their club house drinking beer on a particularly hot day last July. "Too bad there isn't a swimmin' pool right in the middle of the floor," one mused. "Couldn't have a swimming pool here," another reminded him with a rather odd in- flection. "Never could tell who'd decide to take a swim in it' The others nodded assent. At a large army post in a small German town about 90 kilometers from Stuttgart, anti-Negro feeling flared up one evening last November and resulted in a knifing. Dances are restricted on this post be- cause a substantial number of G.I.'s object to seeing German girls dancing with Ne- groes. Bigotry can't regulate dating rela- tions off post however. When a Negro soldier walked into a cafe with a German girl whom a white G.I. had been dating, some nasty comments were tossed about the room. The next night the soldiers in town were divided into two tense, groups, waiting for the straw that would set off a fight. Some minor incident did. A soldier was knifed and lay in the hospital for several days in critical condition; others were the victims of jagged bottles used as clubs. Court martial threats smothered further action but friction and tension aren't stop- ped by court martials. Nor could all the propaganda machines and U. S. information services working over- time and on Sundays too, eliminate the sus- picion, mistrust or just plain dislike that many Europeans hold for Americans. A great many G.I.'s are doing every- thing possible to be respected, intelligent human beings, to wipe out the impression that the ignorant, bigoted ones have created. It is difficult to tell whether the am- bassadors of bad will outnumber these few sincere, earnest ones, or whether evil is al- ways more ostentatious than good. - -Gayle Greene [CURRENT MOVIES] At the Orpheum .. . THE BRAVE DON'T CRY, with Fulton McKay and Meg Buchanan. COAL-MINING and its attendant disasters have a long history and a powerful tra- dition in the British Isles. A special kind of courage, not unmixed with stoicism, is perhaps the force which takes the miners into the pits each day and sustains their families up on top after a disaster has oc- curred. But they are first of all men and women, and this John Grierson movie about such a disaster embodies their humanity as well as their unique kind of fortitude. The movie's style is almost documentary. In relating the story of the rescue of some thirty men trapped by a cave-in, the emphasis is not on flamboyant, dar- ing gestures, but on men who are simply doing their job and doing it well. In keeping with this, the movie maintains a level-headed kind of intensity. Very skillfully, the picture focuses on the group, rather than on any individual or a single conflict, without becoming dry and reportorial. One gets to know a great many characters in the course of two hours. In the. pit with the trapped men, personalities and tensions emerge which, taken all to- gether, create the effect of a tremendous anxiety. There is an old man, pessimistic about the possibility of escape; a boy who, even though terribly scared, is worried about losing his pay at tick-tack-toe; the foreman, lacking imagination, but keeping order amid the rising panic of his men. The men in the pit are irresistably authen- tic. But outside, in an attempt to symbolize the struggle for escape, the picture has less success. The freedom of racing pigeons in their airy blue element is somewhat too in- a,',' 0 ietter4' 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. A Challenge . . To the Editor: IT IS ONLY natural that most dormitory residents are sympa- thetic towards the striking bus- boys in the West Quad. Every dorm resident has seen the arbi- trary nature of the actions of the Residence Halls' Business Office as illustrated by the recent rent increase. I therefore urge the striking busboys to join with me in DE- MANDING a complete account of all dorm finances from Mr. Shiel, the business manager. Since IHC has miserably failed in these in- vestigations because of its lack of courage, I propose that the fight be carried on by those who have the strength to apply their con- victions. I would challenge the business office to prove that the income to be derived from next year's in- ,reased number of dorm residents was anticipated and. accounted for in the rent increase. If, as I believe, it was NOT included, the rent increase was double the amount it should have been! In any case, it is the uncooperative- ness of the administration in giv- ing us information that has led students like myself to question their methods and decisions. -Bob Perry Korean Truce.. To the Editor: THE RATHER stupid statement by our truce team that we would not agree to any Asiatic nation as the nation to hold the Korean War prisoners because they "might be subjected to Com- munistic military, economic, or political influence" indicates once again that we no longer have a responsible State Department. What will bed India's reaction to this statement. India has been strong enough to not only reject Communist pressures, but also those pressures of our own. India has probably less contact with the Communist countries than Swit- zerland. What beautiful propa- ganda the communists can make out of this. The Republicans say they want to strengthen our case in Asia, but does this? Besides, this may block the truce negotia- tion and we would for the first time be responsible for the stop. page. Oh well, Dulles could not be bothered with this matter as he had to appear before one of the 8 investigating committees inves- tigating the State Department. We do not have a responsible StatedDepartment thanks to Mc- Carthy, Jenner, Velde, and the rest of the "wrecking crew." -Blue Carstenson t i ' 4 , 1 I ON THE WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND WITr DREW PEARSON Ii x WASHINGTON-It's a distressing matter to publish, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff are so alarmed over sagging officer morale that Gen. Omar Bradley has written a solemn, secret report on "this worsening situation" to Secretary of Defense Wilson. "We have been unable to attract and hold the high-type career officer which is needed to maintain the high standards of our army, navy and marine corps and air force," wrote the nation's No. 1 soldier. He blamed Congress for "changing the rules in the middle of the game" and some Congressmen for habitually "slurring" the officer corps. "The primary reason for this growing lack of confidence in the military services as a career stems from the feeling that the gov- ernment has broken its contract with military personnel and has changed the rules in the middle of the game," Bradley stated. "Mili- tary personnel feel that the government should keep its part of the contract and abide by the rules with the same degree of conscientious- ness as it demands from them. "To support this contention," Bradley's report continued, "mili- tary personnel point to the Van Zandt amendment which denies re- tirement benefits except when personnel are forced out of the service with the stigma of non-selection; the Davis amendment, the immed- iate result of which is to deny earned promotions to thousands of junior officers and to require the reducfion of many others to the next lowest grade; the reduction of weight allowances in shipping household goods overseas and suddenly finding that part of their shipping allowances to return them to the U.S. has been withdrawn; and also the gradual 'whittling away' of fringe benefits such as com- missary and exchange privileges and medical and dental care for dependents." --- UNFAIR ATTACKS - GENERAL BRADLEY also complained against the "progressive low- ering of the standards of living of officer personnel" and the "increas~ingly frequent periods of family separation due to lack of dependent housing in overseas areas." "Aside from the material causes which have reduced the attractiveness of the military services as a career," he added, "the habitual slurring of the officer corps by some members of con- gress and some elements of the press ... has served to aggravate this serious situation. "Concerning unfair and malicious attacks made upon the military services,' the Bradley memo went on, "there is the tendency to accept this criticism without any attempt to keep the record straight. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff feel, however, that much can be done to counteract this worsening situation and that- it is our duty and responsibility to take corrective action," General Bradley concluded. Note: Instead of improving the situation, however, Wilson's right-hand man, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kyes, delivered a speech charging that the Defense Department "has only a handful of men whose abilities, knowledge and experience approach the re- quirements" of leadership. These remarks have plunged Pentagon morale to an all-time low. - HOLLYWOOD ABROAD - .S. MOTION PICTURES have done a far better job telling the American story abroad than the public realizes. This was the consensus of most members of a Senate Foreign Relations Subcom- mittee now investigating American propaganda in foreign countries. Senators were particularly impressed with the testimony of Eric Johnston, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, who gave a no-holds-barred description of foreign reaction to U.S. films. Johnston pointed out, among other things, that "Grapes of Wrath," depicting the life of migrant farmers in California, was touted in Communist countries as "the paradise that is America." It was expected to be a terrific blow to the U.S.A. However, it boomeranged and was quickly withdrawn from Com- munist theatres. Reason was that "Grapes of Wrath" shows American migrant farmers driving in automobiles. In Europe, a laborer owning an automobile is a plutocrat. "The strength of our motion pictures," Johnston told the Sena- tors, "is that they show the bad along with the good. People quickly catch on to propaganda. The Russian pictures are technically excel- lent productions, but they have never caught on. They show only the good side of Russia. That's why in European cities people stand in line to see American pictures, while Russian-film theaters are empty." Johnston pointed out that some films aren't shown in certain countries, such as "Going My Way," featuring a Catholic priest, which would not be popular in Protestant Scandinavia. Likewise, "Stars in My Crown," featuring a Protestant clergyman, would not run well in Southern Italy. Producers also have to be careful about showing kissing in India, where public love-making is frowned upon. - MONEY-GO-ROUND - TWO REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN almost got into a fistfight the other day when one accused the other of selling out to the private power interests. The clash took place behind closed doors of the House Appropriations Committee. Congressman Andresen of Min- nesota didn't like the way Congressman Jensen of Iowa had cut public power projects out of the budget. In fact, Andresen almost sounded like a Democrat as he angrily accused Jensen of "selling out" tn the nrivate utility cnmnnnie The hig Iowan turned an angrv DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN 11 I (Continued from Page 2) gram: Haydn Symphony No. 7; Barber Second Essay for Orchestra; Ravel's "La Valse"; and arias-Beethoven "Ah, perfdo"; Verdi "Pace, pace" from "For- za del destino"; and Verdi "Ritorna Vincitor" from "Aida." Tickets are on sale at the box office in Hill Auditorium. Librettos will be on sale preceding each concert in the lobby. The public is requested to arrive suf- ficiently early as to be seated on time, since doors will be closed during per- formance of numbers. Composers Forum, Monday eveni'ng, May 4, 8:30, Rackham Assembly Hall. The program is as follows: Sonata for Horn and Piano by Leslie Bassett; Dance Suite by William Doppmann; String Trio by Reginald Hall; Piano Sonata by Don-David Lusterman; String Trio by Jerome Jelinek, and Sonata for Cello and Piano by George Wilsm. The works will be performed by Ted Evans, horn; Darlene Rhodus, flute; Robert Onofrey, clarinet: Rolv Yttrehus, tim- pani; Unto Erkkila, violin; David Ire- land, viola; Jerome Jelinek and Camil- Ia.Heller cello; Wilbur Perrynand Wil- iam Doppmann, piano. The general public is invited. Student Recital. Russell Christopher, baritone, will be heard in a recital at 8:30 Tuesday evening, May 5 in Adi- torium A, Angell tiall, in partial ful- fillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Music. His pro- gram will include works by Monteverdi, Legrenzi, Rosa, Scarlatti, Handel, Of- fenbach, Thomas, Schubert, Brahms, and a group of English songs. Mr. Christopher studies voice with Philip Duey and the recital will be open to the general public. Exhibitions Museum of Art, Alumni Memorial Hall. Student Exhibition, College of Ar- chitecture and Design. Open through May 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on week- days; from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The .public is invited, Events Today. Roger Williams Guild. 9:45 a.m., Bible Class features "Psalms." 7 p.m., Guild meeting. Speaker: Mr. John W. Thom- as, Associate Director of the Ministers and Missionaries Board of New York. Evangelical and Reformed Guild: Lane Hall, 7 p.m. Discussion: "Budd- hism, Mohammedanism and Christian- ity." Leaders: Niel Cords, "Buddhism"; Mr. Bos, "Mohammedanism." Young Friends. Meet at home of Sylvia Colt, 1132 Prospect Street, 7 p.m. to discuss: "What Is a Liberal Education?" Westminster Guild: Bible Seminar, 10:30 a.m. Coffee served in Church So- cial Hall, 10:15. 6:30 p.n., Guild meet- ing with Mr. Douglas Williams of Dun- bar Center speaking on "Human Re- lations." Social hour follows. Wesleyan Guild. 9:30 a.m., Discus- sion Class: Worship and the Sacra- ments. 5:30 p.m., Fellowship Supper. 6:45 p.m., Worship and program: Miss Doris Reed, Protestant Counselor to In- ternational Students, will speak on "One Out of Seventeen.' 8:30 p.m., Bi- ble Study: Philippians. Michigan Christian Fellowship. Prof. Kenneth Pike, Assoc. Prof. of Lingu- istics, will speak on "Some Problems in Christian Philosophy," 4 p.m., Fire- side Room, Lane Hall. Everyone wel- come. Refreshments. Unitarian Student Group. Picnip at the Island. Meet at Lane Hall, 4:30 p.m. Transportation will be provided. Lutheran Student association: 7 p.m., Student Panel Discussion: Should the Church Be Involved in Social Action?" Gamma Delta, Lutheran Student Club. Supper program, 5:30 p.m. Bible Study and Discussion. Congregational Disciples Guild. Dr. East by W. D. Schorger,.Anthropology . and Near Eastern Studies. Clinical Use of Blood Volume Deter- minations by P. E. Hodgson, Surgery. Election of Officers. Economics Club. Dr. Leo Tornquest, Professor of Statistics, University of Helsinki, will speak on "Concept of De- cision-Making" at 8 p.m., Mon., May 4, Rackham Amphitheater. He is sub- stituting for Prof. Gottfried Haberler, who is unable to be here on account of illness. All staff members and students in Economics and Business Adminis- tration are invited. Others who are in- terested will be welcome at the meet- ing. Pre-Medical Society will present Pro- fessor Bruno Meinecke and a panel of four medical students in a discussion of premedical problems and the needs and experiences of the medical student, at their next meeting, Tues., May 5 at 7:30 p.m., in Auditorium D, Angell Hall. A business meeting will follow, at which time there will be an election of officers for next year. All pre-medical students are invited to the meeting. Phi Epsilon Kappa is sponsoring a movie, entitled "Physical Education in the Cincinnati Public Schools" (in col- or). Following the movie there will be reports from the Spring Picnic commit- tees, and the election of next year's of- ficers. The movie is open to the pub- lic. Time: Mon., May 4, 7:45 p.m., Room 3-B, at the Michigan Union. Senior Ball Committee will meet on Tues., May 5, 4:15 p.m. In the League.- Motion Picture. Ten-minute film (col- or) "Forest Conservation," shown Mon. through Sat. at 10:30, 12:30,. 3, and 4 o'clock and on Sun. at 3 and 4 o'clock only, 4th floor, University Museums Building. La Petite Causette will meet tomor- row from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the North Cafeteria, Union. All interested students invited. Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Monday night dress rehearsal at Ann Arbor High School, 6 p.m. Young Democrats. Meeting, Tues., May 5, 7:30 p.m., Union. Mr. Warren E. Miller, Assistant Director of the In- stitute for Survey Research, will speak on "Visible Trends of the 1952 Elec- tion." All interested persons are in- vited. 1 4 J, i !' C The tympanist played too loud, the cym- bal player hardly at all. The brass even delivered a staccato passage legato. Recal- citrance is never pleasant; Tschaikovsky never intended his music to be a battle- ground. After the overture the stage was turned over to the Festival Youth Chorus and their trainer Marguerite Hood. They sang a Suite of Songs by the British composer, Benjamin Britten, which were orchestrated by Marion E. McArtor. The orchestrator's problem here is providing suitable accompaniments to keep the chil- dren on pitch and still leave room for interesting instrumental timbres. Mr. McArcor was quite successful in doing this. In the fourth song, "Jazz-Man," the texture was involved but constructed so neatly as to make seemingly no problem for the children and also give humour to the piece. Miss Hood has again drilled them admirably, and she is to be given credit for the vitality they possessed. They gave a comic touch to the afternoon and Sixty-Third Yea? Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Editorial Staff Crawtord Young....... Managing Editor Barnes Connable .....,... ...City Editor Cal Samra. ...........Editorial Director Zander Hollander......Feature Editor Sid Klaus.......Associate City Editor Harland Britz...... ...Associate Editor Donna Hendleman ....Associate Editor Ed Whipple............... Sports'Editor John Jenke...... Associate Sports Editor Dick Sewell. .Associate Sports Editor Lorraine Butler........Women's Editor Mary Jane Mills, Assoc. Women's Editor Don Campbell.......Chief Photographer Business Staff Al Green..............Business Manager Miit Goetz........ Advertising Manager Diane Johnstn....Assoc. Business Mgr. Judy Loehnberg.......Finance Manager ',/ }