Via; PAGE FOUR TIME NNICHAdiAN km -,&mmw I.- i. - -, - k" - - , , I ..- aAGI FOUR 11- 1 V.l .\ tP l U.L t UFlU U1. 4txa. Ulntlnk i r1 ]4 1, 1J: t t; Two Views on the Float Should've Known ... 'TWO PEOPJE can look at the same thing and see, or think they see, two very dif- ferent things. This is not amazing. Be- cause of diverse backgrounds, deep-seated prejudices and strong convictions, it is quite natural for them to find opposite meanings in the same event. Thus It seems to us quite natural that, although the Delta Kappa Epsilon float at the Michigras parade was meant to be harmless, it was taken by some to be in poor taste. It has been stated that the float was meant to be entertaining, and it was taken as such by many who viewed the parade; these people took it at its face value." However, there were others who took the entire episode as an insult. These people looked deeper into its meaning and saw a superficial attempt at humor, with an un- derlying connotation of Negro inferiority. On a comparatively liberal campus such as this, where prejudices are-on the whole -looked down upon, the merest inference at racial discrimination is caught immedi- ately and, in many cases, magnified. This fact must be realized. Good taste to one person may be poor taste to others. There was never a joke so funny that everyone who heard it laughed'at it. A lot depends upon the audi- ence. Since the general feelings of the Univer- sity community were known ahead of time, it seems that a less touchy subject could have been chosen. The results would have been less offensive to some and more entertain- ing to all. -Louise Tyor New Books at the Library Fowler, Gene-Minutes of the Last Meet- ing; New York, Viking, 1954. Hammond-Innes, Ralph - The Naked Land; New York, Knopf, 1954. Leavitt, Robert K.-The Chip on Grand- ma's Shoulder; Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1954. Sheean, Vincent-Lily; New York, Ran- dom House, 1954. + MU At Hill Auditorium .. . Philadelphia Orchestra, Thor Johnson, guest conductor, with Lois Marshall, so- prano, Blanche Thebom, contralto, Leon- ard Rose, violoncellist and University Choral Union Vivaldi-Casella: Gloria, for soloists, chor- us, orchestra; Dvorak: Concerto for Vio- loncello and Orchestra; Chavez: Corrido de "El Sol" for chorus and orchestra THE SECOND concert of this year's May Festival brought to Ann Arbor two young soloists new to our audiences, but with con- siderable reputation from music circles else- Where. The gifted cellist, Leonard Rose, was soloist in the Dvorak concerto, and his art- istry, combining fluent technique and a big, round tone, was of the highest musical calibre. The work itself is full of melodies which lay expressively for the cello; Rose let them speak with all the lyric power the instrument has. The accompaniments of Thor Johnson were precise, to the point, and a beautiful example of how to follow and yet guide the soloist. The young Canadian soprano, Lois Marshall, has a clear, sonorous voice, even Humor Needed ... T HIS IS NOT meant as an excuse for the Delta Kappa Epsilon Michigras float. It seemed to me that the float was a very fun- ny one. The children on it did not seem to "degrade themselves": the smiles on each one that went from ear to ear proved that. The float, the scene, would have been the same were non-Negro children aboard. In recent days the Letters to the Editor columns contained letters concerning the float. The writers stated their abhorrence of the float and what they see as it's sig- nificance. They also made mention of the embarassment they and their neighbors felt as it went by. No-one can categorically say that they may not have felt embarrassment. But isn't a lot of this embarassment due to sensitivi- ty? The University as a whole is a liberal one, more so than many othei. And no matter how people may close their eyes to it, there is an underlying current of prejudice in cer- tain areas. These areas can ill be battled head-long and this is what is being attempt- ed now by decrying the intent of the Deke's contribution to the parade. Minorities are sensitive as their posi- tion is sensitive. However, hyper-sensitivity makes their position precarious as well. When people lose their sense of humor what have they left? This whole incident (which has now become infamous) could have passed away if it would have been laughed off. Many people who did not think the float intended anything unkind or sala- cious now are up in arms. Hyper-sensitiveness seldom helps, oft- en hinders. When the English film, "Oli- ver Twist" opened in New York City, many forces were inscensed by the character or Fagin, the Jew. Since it was only a charac- terization and hardly an attack, there should have been nothing, especially since the film was a good one. If the Deke float were taken on its face value, a laugh would have passed it off, just as laughter makes- so many other things passable. -Harry Strauss in pitch, and communicative in all ranges. Combining with Blanche Thebom, whose voice has been so eagerly welcomed in past Festivals, the solo parts of Vivadli's Gloria were excitingly brought to life. The Choral Union and conductor Johnson also did well by the work, but performing a work so basically lyric with so many partici- pants as are in the Choral Union tends to obscure the melody in favor of drama, and the drama could be evoked with less. It is, however, an elegant piece of choral writ- ing and is able to speak regardless the size of choir. Corrido de "El Sol" of Carlos Chavez the dean of contemporary Mexican composers, is a tense, rhythmic, and colorful work. It speaks immediately with moods that are both theatrically explicit and dramatically implicit, when given to the gigantic chorus. Its melodies were simple, with folk flavor, yet colorfully adorned with complex rhythms, imaginative orchestration, and powerful, rich choral sonorities. A tour-de-force for both conductor and chorus, its performance was excellent in every way. Conductor John- son was the brilliant commander 4f all the orchestral and choral forces, and the mu- sical treat was of no slight proportion. -Donald Harris DREW PEARSON: Washington Merry-Go-Round WASHINGTON - Senator McCarthy has complained during the Cohn-Schine hearings, that I was responsible for putting the bee pn G. David Schine's draft status and causing him to be grabbed by the Army. Now I would hate to think that draft boards sat around waiting for newspaper- men to finger someone who was unfairly deferred and only then drafted them, as Senator McCarthy infers. However, I ad-'. mit it was simultaneous with a Merry- Go-Round column of July 17 that McCar- thy began frantically trying to get a com- mission for Schine from the Army. On looking through various notes on Pri- vate Schine in preparation for a recent TV program, however, I find that for space reasons I had to omit some interesting facts on G. David from the July 17 column. And since Joe McCarthy is already complaining, he might just as well have the whole works. About a year ago Mr. Schine was queried by telephone regarding some of the high- lights of his life. He acknowledged modest- ly that he was only trying to serve his country on the McCarthy committee, said he was seeking no publicity, but hastily be- Xan recounting the record of his life. -SCHINE'S RECORD-- He had interrupted his Harvard education, he said, to serve in the Army Transport Service in 1946-47. "Were you in the Army?" he asked. "We carried army supplies." "Were you a merchant seaman or an army enlisted man?" "No, I wasn't a merchant seaman." "Were you in the Army?" "I had an assimiliated rank," he explain- I .. oeE~r°6 o te d~or.. 'U' Discrimination . . . "What's Our Firm, Unswerving Asia Policy This Week?" To the Editor: A NUMBER of letters to the Michigan Daily have voiced sharp criticism of the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" float in the Michi- gras parade. In general, they have correctly characterized it as a ra- cist stereotype, insulting to the! Negro people. A letter also appeared over the name of (Dean) Walter B. Rea, which offered congratulations to{ "ALL" who participated in Michi- gras (Dean Rea's capitalization.) I hope this does not mean Dean Rae condones the racist stereotype in question. A Jarification would be in order. Since the question of respect for the dignity and rights of Negroj students has been raised by this; incident, it would also be approp- rate for the Administration and the Regents to make a policy state- ment on the following issues: I A. The handling of discrimina- tory housing and job listings byI the University. B. Discrimination in University employment, including faculty hir- ing. C. Access to the use of Univer- sity facilities by any group which discriminates. The Regents at the University of Wisconsin a few years ago made --- - - 4 :.):.STT a -f' - 7- k ;~ vnravy ~ aifddYl (To " , ..-. _ , .. ' , w A, air: ed. "What was your rank?" "Army lieutenant." "What kind of work did you do?" "Customs, immigration, payroll, person- nel," he explained. ' "Technically, you belonged to the Mer- chant Marine, didn't you? " "I imagine so. I really haven't thought about it. I wish you wouldn't make this one of those personal stories. What is the value of writing about me? Roy Cohn would make a much better story." Schine hurried on to tell how he went back to Harvard, was graduated in 1949, then ran radio station WPTR in Albany. -HOTEL-THEATER MOGUL- "Is this owned by your father?" "I wouldn't say the company is owned by us. We are only stock-holders," he explain- ed. However, young Schine didn't stay in the radio business long. At the age of 24 he became vice president and general manager of the Schine hotels, which in- clude the Ambassador in Los Angeles, the Roney Plaza, Boco Raton, Gulfstream and McAllister in Florida; the Ritz-Carlton in Atlantic City; the Ten Eyck in Albany; and the Northampton Inn & Old Wiggins Tavern in Massachusetts. His father, he admitted was chairman of the board. This is the hotel chain that got involved in the Kefauver crime investigation when Meyer Schine, father of David, admitted he received 45,000 from Frank Erickson for a three-months gambling concession at the Roney Plaza Hotel in Miami. He was also paid by Erickson for the right to make book at the Boca Raton. In August 1950, G. David, still only 24, also branched out in the theater business and became executive vice president of the Schine Theaters, largest independent theatrical chain in the nation. Incidental- ly, Meyer Schine and his chain has re- cently been indicted criminally by the Jus- tice Department for willfully violating an anti-trust order to which they had agreed. - MY FRIEND ROY - Earlier, in 1949, young Schine said he had become interested in government serv- ice when he devised a psychological war-, fare plan and wrote a definition of com- munism. "One of the reasons I am on the McCarthy committee," he said modestly, "is because I am supposed to know something about this stuff." Asked how he got the job, he said: "I got on through friends." Roy Cohn, he acknowledged, was one of the friends. He also acknowledged that he had vacationed with Cohn in Europe the previous summer. "Did you pay his way?" he was asked. "Why do you ask a question like that?" G. David wanted to know. A newspaper reporter, he was told, has to ask disagreeable questions as well as agreeable ones, "I can't see why you are interested in knowing whether I paid his way or not," Schine insisted. "I have taken several trips to Europe." "We are interested in this trip because it was your relationship to Cohn that helped get you on this committee," Schine was told. "I paid for mine ancl he paid for his. That is the way it would automatically be," Schine finally replied. "Were you ever called for an Army physi- cal?" "I don't think so," he answered vaguely, his voice trailing off like a witness before the McCarthy Committee. "But the fact is that you were called for a physical at Governor's Island and you were ciassifid 1-A "Schine was remind- a policy statement against the but, in our opinion, this letter was different status of the Negro today handling of jobs and rooms listed not to be overlooked.. by seeing the children. 3) As to the on a discriminatory basis (see the It seems to be a bitter reaction danger of stereotype (I do not deny article entitled "For Equality in to an insult where no insult was its existence,) by the same rea- Education," in the current issue of intended, an accusation against soning as use'd in many interpre- New Foundations, p. 27). calloused prejudice when prejudice tations of the "message" of the This sets an excellent precedent was not the question, float, it would appear to me that for the Regents at the U. of M. In the first place, the float, a Marian Anderson contributes to a --Mike Sharpe, Chairman take-off on Uncle Tom's Cabin, stereotype by singing spirituals Labor Youth League corresponded to parade require- born of slavery. Should they, too, S* * ments by representing a book, in be forgotten? Mrs. Stowe's Book . . . this case, one of the great books I do not read such adverse To the Editor: of history. The presentation, meaning into the incident and I E whether great art or not, did not doubt if very many other people DID THE members of DKE read scorn or ridicule the book as far do. I am somewhat concerned at Uncle Tom's Cabin before they as we can see. Therefore Hayes the immediate irrational accept- planned their float? If so, did they and Stone must feel contempt for ance of adverse meaning by some understand it? the book itself, one of the most viewers and I must conclude that, Harriet Beecher Stowe's work famous indictments against slav- indeed, some hyper-sensitivity is not an idealization of slavery ery ever written. This we cannot I does exist. filled with contented slaves. Mrs. understand. -Ralph A. Graham Stowe, who had studied conditions In the second place, we fail to * * * in the South, was an ardent op- comprehend the resentment ex- i IDe ice Exp lantion ponent of slavery. In her book the pressed against the enjoyment of I brutal and depraved Simon Legree the onlookers at such a float. The To the Editors: treats his slaves like animals. Even group presenting it can usually be on the plantation of Mr. and Mrs. relied upon for good entertain- 1ECENTLY our fraternity enter- Shelby, where conditions are far ment, and the arrival of their float ed a float in the Michigras: better, the slaves suffer from their was happily anticipated. The ap- parade depicting a novel which position. The children of Uncle pearance of a structure of remark- was an outstanding pro-emanci- Tom are not contented when the able simplicity, (the cabin) sur- pation force in our American his- 'exigencies of a slave economy rounded by so many small child- tory. Just previous to the begin- force Mr. Shelby to sell their fath- ren having such an obviously hil- ning of the parade an elementary er. The sensitive and religious Mrs. arious time could not help but school was let out for the day, and, Shelby realizes that all her efforts create an equally hilarious reac- as we all know, a university trait of to be "a good and just master" tion. Our first feelings were of de- young children is that they love a are meaningless when the slave light in the fact that so many parade. A natural result was that system itself relentlessly and un- children were able to get into the the children began asking if they morally destroys family relations parade. as it appeared that every could ride on the floats next to among the Ngroes. child there was exerting all of his the school, and everyone knows the And Uncle Tom? He is very pa- sometimes diabolical powers to re- appeal of children's pleas. It should bent and obedient and so has main right in the middle of things. be no surprise that some of the since become the symbol of the Finally, we ,are particularly dis- members soon issued an invitation "contented slave." But in the book tressed by the reference to the to climb aboard. The last thing there are limits to his docility. The newspaper picture of a Negro child that entered their heads was to Uncle Tom's Cabin, Daphne Price, et al. I am writing to protest the printing of the picture in Wednes- days Daily which featured a horse. Evidently some of the Editors of the Daily seems to feel that there is something newsworthy about the fact that a modern day Uni- corn made an appearance in the sanctuary of the Hutchins Hall coutryard. Perhaps there was a certain amount of humour involv- ed in the situation. Be that as it may, I nevertheless stand oppos- ed to any publicity being furnished for this prank. Obviously some misguided and juvenile law student taxed his lim- ited mental capabilities to the hilt to perpetrate this hoax. Is such a feat worthy of a picture in your paper? Why do you pump this young rascal's over-inflated ego with indirect praise? Who knows what your coverage may do to spur him on to further deeds of small meaning? The University of Michigan Law School has long shared a reputa- tion with Harvard University as the top legal institution in the land. As such, we stand in a posi- tion which commands respect and demands a comparable duty from the students. Such acts do not, needless to say, add to this reputa- tion. The school has suffered from this act and your resulting public- ity; the whole legal dignity requir- ed of the profession has been shat- tered. What serious student faced with choosing his school would consider Michigan after reading of the "Unicorn in the Garden" af- fair. I direct my criticism to your editors on the grounds that they were actually accomplices after the fact. By your poor choice of what is news, you have added to the rash of poorly planned activity which seems to have swept through the Law School as of late. Viewed in a serious light, and regardless of the fact that it was placed there to promote Crease Ball (which I shall not attend), the whole incident is deploraole and should be ignored by all seri- ous students and all self respect- ing newspapers. In my eyes you have breached a duty to your Uni- versity. -Ted W. Swift * * * Be ulHorse. . To the Editor: IT SEEMS that almost everybody wants peace at Geneva, almost everybody sees that it might be a good idea to consult Asians abolit Asian problems. Since some of the glorious muscle-flexing solutions to the Indochina war proposed in America depend on the willingness of Asians to fight their brothers, it may turn out they would not enjoy that. We could ask them. Senators are uneasy over a war. i i c 3 1 rrnrrl mocto7" Q+ rq1 vn is "nncrnr7 . + "4 -i " - --- - -. 1 -- - -- I - --- goon matLer 6t are is peeved at eating watermelon. This we can I "use" these chicdren, and I can Uncle Tom's joy when promised hardly accept as being in "pain- only say that the float was enter- freedom. Uncle Tom explains "It's fully bad taste." Objectively speak-. ed in the spirit of festivity and not bein' a free man! That's what I'm ing, a Negro child tends to be ex- bigotry. That our float should of- joyin' for ... I'd rather have poor tremely photogenic by merit of his fend anyone, however, means that clothes, poor house, poor every- dusky skin and expressive eyes. we were guilty of an oversight. On thing and have 'em mine than Also, any picture of a child enjoy- behalf of the Dekes may I express have the best, and have 'em any ing such simple amusement as our apologies. man's else . . ." Uncle Tom finally eating watermelon has a tremend- --Pete Dow, President, DKE dies at the hands of Simon Le- I out appeal to the American public. gree rather than betray the where- -Catherine Wilson CP Anse, abouts of two escaped slave wo- Mary Jo Gibbs men. * * * To the Editor: A float truly in the spirit of Mrs. Stowe's book would have been far 4oe Oi rot . . t WE THE members of the N. A. different and far closer to the To the Editor: A. C. P. accept DKE's apology. truth than the DKE's float was. WE wish to thank all who have What is offensive is not the refer- THE FOLLOWING possibilities written letters in support of our ence to slavery but the unhistori- occur to me concerning the is- cause (even though we realize cal idealization of slavery as "the sue of the 'float' depicting Uncle some have not been sincerely in- good old days." Tom's Cabin. 1) The theme might terested in the Negro.) -Natalie Davis be legitimate and in good taste. -Willie Hackett, N. A. A. C. P. * * It is not a pro-slavery book. The ( tocalfctr hsue, we end correspondence on the NoInul .Inot be denied any more than the, subject of the Uncle Tony's Cabin To the Editor: fact of Indian mal-treatment or loat.) JT WAS with distress and amaze- the Japanese-American treatment * * * ment that we read the letter during World War II. 2) The man- No Horses, Please. from readers Hayes and Stone ner in which the float was pre- Every day someone urges caution; Kennedy (Mass.), Johnson (Colo.), Mansfield (Mont.). The Senate refused the other day secretly to bind itself o any plan of Mr. Dul- Iles in advance of Geneva. If (when?) he returns from a shat- tered Geneva with a call to guns, how then will Congress resist him? This is a time when the people will make a difference. Mail to Washington is not heavy, yet it could mean peace. Anyone with the price of a few airmail letters, and a good stout heart, can make himself a seat at Geneva as surely as if he were there. You can lead the horse to the armory, you can tell him guns are really the nicest oats ip the world. But you can't make him fight if he will not do it. We can be that horse. -Bill Livant t e .4 +* ifI+ ru RREN'( MOV/IE At the Orpheum . . . LURE OF THE SILA, with Silvana Man- ganG. THE MOST alluring object in this film is an eight-year-old girl who appears brief- ly at the beginning of the first reel. From that point the progression is steadily down- ward, until, somewhere just north of rock- bottom, the whole thing stops. It is quite short, but you can't tell unless you're wear- ing a watch; it seems rather endless. Bad pictures may be played so as to- produce moments of hilarity, but "Lure of th6 Sila" is subtly bad. There are few laughs, and these, I suspect, are merely spontaneous mass reactions to the over- whelming boredom which settles like a noxious cloud early in the film. But enough of this morbid stuff: on to the parties responsible. Silvana Mangano ("back in her new Ametican language hit") grows T MAY BE argued, and it is true enough, that the gap between French and Amer- ican views about Indochina is by no means the only crack at present appearing across the free world. indeed, the uproar caused by the hydrogen bomb, the danger of Mr. Molotov's Trojan horse tactics against more sordid with each screen appearance. She hasn't the talent to wave herself about like Marilyn Monroe; she just relies on ex- posing large areas of flesh and leaves the rest to the imagination. Her 'co-stars do an- admirable job of catching Signorina Manga- no's mood, producing an effect of great uni- ty. If there is any "American language" used in the film it is strictly from this side of the Atlantic. Dubbing speeches is an old trick, sometimes rather unobtrusive, but when the whole tenor of the film thus dubbed is such that we secretly may sus- pect the whole thing was shot in Califor- nia (though the credits tell us otherwise) and perhaps dubbed in New York, the busi- ness is only annoying. We need not wor- ry about this film being a great hit in Italy; it was certainly not made for the Italian audience. The story, for all it matters, is about a girl who swears revenge on the family responsible for the death of her mother and brother (the latter is Vittorio Gassman, who appears long enough to get shot). The poor homeless orphan snares both the father and son of the guilty family, produces the desired schism, and they all live happily ever after- ward. concerning the Michigras float in sented was not necessarily objec- To the Editor: The Michigan Daily of Tuesday, tionable, nor was it particularly April 27th. Having read the "Let- distorted.. The Negro children on N VIEW OF the really serious Sixty-Fourth Year ters to the Editor" column for sev- the float were not insulted. They matters which your editorial Edited and managed by students of eral years, we have developed a were happy, seemingly well-fed page has featured this week, I the University of Michigan under the rather comfortable immunity to and clothed, and probably equally; hesitate in submitting this letter.I authority of the Board in Control of diverse political opinions and the j1as educated as the other children My subject ranks as puny when Student, Publications. infinite views on fraternities and on the float. It is possible that one compared with the tremendous is- sororities and the driving ban, etc., might be convinced of the totally sues involved in matters Sharpe, Editorial Staff Harry Lunn............Managing Editor Eric vetter...............City Editor virginia Voss.........Editorial Director liii (I l VFIC I A 1F T'rUrL L-E TINMike Wolff.......Associate City Editor j.'AlLY u'FF ICIAJL UI L1TNAlice B. Silver. .Assoc. Editorial Director Diane D. AuetWerter. , . .Associate Editor Helene Simon. ... ,Associate Editor ______________________________________________________________________ Ivan Kaye........ ......Sports Editor Paul Greenberg ..,.Assoc. Sports Editor (Continued from Page 2) m box office daily, and one hour Co i, E ?nMarilynCampbell.. Women's Editor -- - --u Ky- preceding each performance.ComingEvents Kathy Zeisler. ..Assoc. Women's Editor va Youth Chorus in Brahms Songs Women's Research Club. Annual din- Chuck Kelsey ......Chief Photographer Marguerite Hood, conducting, Events Today ner meeting and election of officers Mon., May 3, at 6:30 p.m. in the Michi- Saturday, May 1, $:30 p.m. (4th con- ! gan Union. Dean Deborah Bacon will Business Staff I cert). Zinka Milanov, soprano, and Kurt Baum, tenor, soloists, in arias and du- ets. -Eugene Ormandy, Conductor. Or-{ chestral numbers: Wagner Overture to "Die Meistersinger" Hindemith Concert Music for String Orchestra and Brass Instruments" and Yardumian's Armen- ian Suite. (first time at these concerts). Newman Cub will sponsor a spring dance Sat., May 1, from 9 until 12 in the Father Richard Center. Entitled "Spring Whirl." the dance will feature the music of Gerry Linehan's Band, The dress is optional semi-formal, formals, or dressy dresses. There will be a skit by some of the club's outstanding tal- ent:* alsorefreschme'nts will be serv.r~ speak on "A Psychological Study of Thomas Treeger.....Business Manager Nonsense Literature."William Kaufman Advertising Manager Harlean Hankin....Assoc. Business Mgr. Dartmouth College Alumni and other Aniam Siemn., Circulaion Manager interested people are invited to a spec- AiaSgsud.rclto Mnge ial preview of the film My First Week at Dartmouth, which will be held onTN Mon., May 3, at 4 p.m., at the University Telephone NO 23-24-l