PAGE TWO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
SATURDAY MAY 22, 1954
PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1954
0
The Segregation Decision:
Important Footnotes
THE DECISION which the Supreme Court
handed down is not one which may be
read and understood in a headline. Neither
is it to be comprehended in a news story or
analysis. The full meaning of the decision
will surely not be realized until the court
gains "assistance of the parties in formu-
lating decrees."
This much however, can be gathered
from looking at the text of the decision
and the editorial pages of the newspapers
of the nation. It is a wise move. It is espe-
cially wise that the court added the final
paragraphs stating that the cases will be
restored to the dockets for rearguments.
The footnotes to the decision specify pre-
cisely what are the questions to be re-
argued. In footnote thirteen of the deci-
sion, the court asks, assuming that segre-
gation in the public schools is in violation
of the fourteenth amendment, then does it
necessarily follow that the court, in use of
its equity powers, may "permit an effective
gradual adjustment to be brought about
from existing segregated systems to a
system not based on color distinctions?"
Then, the text goes on to say, on the
assumption that the court will use its equity
power in the described manner, should the
court "formulate detailed decrees in these
cases?"
The inclusion of those last paragraphs
and the explanatory footnotes soften the
blow of the decision and pave the way for
workable solutions.
The cases themselves are from the states
of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and
Delaware. Undoubtedly, however, all states
which have laws requiring segregation will
be included. There are seventeen of these
and the District of Columbia.
The decision, as everyone by now knows,
does away with the "separate but equal"
doctrine in education. This is the key to
the greatness and full meaning of the de-
cision. There is, however, a long history
behind the decision. It did not come about
simply because nine men thought it the
right thing to do. Included in the text are
several decisions which obviously affected
the thinking of the men who made the
decision.
The court found it necessary to review
several cases, and among them, Plessy v.
Ferguson (1896) is the most famous. This
was the case which established the separate
but equal doctrine. Applying not to educa-
tion ,but to transportation, the court stated
that segregation in railroad trains was not
unconstitutional if equal facilities were pro-
vided for Negro and white passengers.
A half century later in Sweatt v. Painter,
in which a Negro student had been denied
entrance to the University of Texas Law
School, the court found that by not allow-
ing the school to accept Negroes the state
was depriving Negroes of "those qualities
which are incapable of objective measure-
ment but which make for greatness in a law
school."
In 1950, in McLaurin v. Oklahoma State
Regents the court, in requiring that a Negro
student admitted to a white graduate school
be treated like other students, cited certain
"intangible" considerations, which were
mentioned in the present court's decision,
and evidently laid the ground for the thought
which finds intangible as well as physical
elements being withheld from the Negro in
segregated schools. The deprivation of these
opportunities from Negro students detracts
from "his ability to study, engage in discus-
sions and exchange views with other stu-
dents, and in general to learn his profes-
sion."
These are the later cases and the ones
which demonstrated a progressive move-
ment on the part of the Court. Others how-
ever, dating all the way back to the period
previous to the Emancipation Proclama-
tion, provide a trace of the climate of the
opinion of the people of the nation.
In 1862, slavery in the District of Colum-
bia was abolished. A year later the first anti-
segregation bill concerning transportation
was passed by the congress. It amended the
constitution of the Alexandria and Wash-
ington railroad and stated that segregation
in street cars was to be abolished.
1865 saw the passage of a bill which said,
in essence that no person should be "ex-
cluded from any car on account of color."
Concerning education, the Dallas v. Fosdick
case in 1869 saw a New York court sustain
the validity of a provision of the charter of
the City of Buffalo requiring separate schools
on the grounds that there is no "right" to
education.
The Plessy v. Ferguson case is the next
great one, and created a new doctrine for
the South to cling to and they have done
so until this historic decision, and prob-
ably will for a number of years before the
implementation of the decision can be
effectively and peaceably realized.
History brought us slowly to the present
climate of opinion and the resulting decision.
The decision, it seems is not entirely a ju-
dicial interpretation of the Constitutionality
of a certain act, but rather, an estimate of
the thought of the day ,and the trend of
public opinion. For with this decision will
come the disappearance of a social system.
Chief Justice Warren and the other eight
men seated on the bench evidently feel that
the time is ripe for the change. The court
sites the McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Re-
gents case, and states that the considerations
which affect th student's ability to study,
etc., apply "with added force to children in
grade and high schools. To separate them
from others of similar age and qualifications
solely because of their race generates a feel-
ing of inferiority as to their status in the
community that may effect their hearts and
minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone."
Those are indeed beautiful words, and
express a truth which has long been evad-
ed. It will not, and cannot be expected,
however, to bring immediate results. There
must be a cooling-off period after this de-
cision and then a re-opening of the cases
for further inquiry.
The south is not, as some northerners have
said, a land of people blind to reason who
hate through ignorance. There is a deep-
seeded social system there, and a great deal
of time is necessary before any attempt at
implementation of a plan such as this one
could be made. The Baltimore Sun, in an
editorial on the morning after the announce-
ment of the decision, stated that although
there would be "painful implications to many
Marylanders" the court was right, but added
that it was one thing to say that segrega-
tion is unlawful and quite another to say
how it shall be abandoned. "Accordingly,"
says the Sun paper, "there will be further
arguments and presumably further decisions
on the various difficulties as they arise."
A Negro paper, The Chicago Defender,
went overboard on the decision, claiming
that the atom bomb will never be as mean-
ingful as the unanimous decision of the
court. This leads us to another point. The
unanimous decision is another of the amaz-
ing implications of the importance of the
decision. That these nine men could sup-
press their political and sociological beliefs
and come up with a decision as momentous
as this is an indication of the need which
they felt for unanimous decision. Three of
the justices are from a southern background.
A college newspaper, The Cavalier Daily
of the University of Virginia, writes that
the south is justified for their bitterness
since to many people this is contrary to
a way of life."
So it appears that a social system may be
on its way out. Once the court discovers a
way to begin the gradual breakdown of the
barrier, then progress will improve, for if
the children of the nation are taught that
color lines are not causes for difference be-
tween men, then the problem will be well on
the way to solution.
-LEW HAMBURGER
ART
AS HAS BECOME the custom, the Uni-
versity Museum of Art is closing its
season with the annual exhibition of stu-
dent work, gotten up in conjunction with
the Architecture and Design School. All
three galleries are given over to the show,
which continues through May 26th.
Bear in mind, as you circle the rooms,
that many of the things displayed are
not only specific problems with limitations
set by the instructors, but fledgling efforts
as well. There are examples of work done
on every course-level, and even though
the best has presumably been culled from
each class, the clearly discernible com-
petence shown by the students speaks well
for their instructors.
Since the appreciation of architecturalj
plans and drawings requires a certain
amount of technical knowledge that few of
us possess, the North and South Galleries
which house these displays will probably not
hold your interest for long. Except for two
species of endeavor-Visual Fundamentals
and Spatial Dynamics-I find myself pretty
much at a loss for opinions.
The West Gallery contains a wide variety,
including samples of Product Design, Infor-
mation Design, and Lettering, none of them
indigenous to art galleries, and all of them
the more interesting on that account. All of
the projects in the three areas are basic, our
work of this sort is responsible for most of
the tasteful magazine and album covers,
brochures, and whatnot, that, happily, have
begun to infest our daily life. It is even con-
ceivable that the public, always resistant to
new forms and styles in art, may eventually
come to appreciate modern art through ac-
quiring a taste for good design at this level.
It is perhaps idle-but interesting to me-
to speculate on the chances of the contribu-
tors to student showings of developing their
talents so far as to eventually gain favorable
recognition from art critics and patrons. It's
a difficult career, and one can quite under-
stand why potential artists burn out their
ardor after a few years, find a means of
subsistence, and practise their art as a side-
line, if at all. Apparently, art either doesn't
pay enough by itself, or too much.
From my vantage point at the end of
the limb, I rate Jack Lardis, John Good-
year, and Stu Ross as the three most like-
ly to succeed, aesthetically, though not
necessarily commercially. As one of themI
said of himself, "I'm still groping; no two
of my paintings are alike." This is gener-
ally true of all three, and I hope they
never "find" themselves, in the sense that
they stop groping, experimenting, reach-
ing out further. It is this spirit that has
kept art alive and rejuvenates it from
time to time, as required. There is no
answer to the problem of aesthetic ex-
pression, and if the temptation to exploit
a single, momentarily satisfactory solution
for the sake of material success can be
resisted, so much the better for art. Dufy
is an example of a talented, prolific, facile
artist who found such a solution, and be-
labored it ever after; but one can't blame
him for wishing to live comfortably.
At any rate, I particularly recommend
Lardis' oils, one a blue and pink man, the
other a "scratchy" bird, which I covet above
anything else in the gallery. Ross' "Three
Men on a Horse," his sculptures, and Good-
year's prints are scarcely less worthy. And
making proper allowance for the limitations
necessarily attending such an exhibit as
this, your tour of the galleries should prove
rewarding. I sincerely rgeret my unwarrant-
ed delay in calling it to your attention.
-Siegfried Feller
-
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/etteP4 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.
Just
To Tb
SEX,
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tions
and t
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TODAY AND TOMORROW:
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e Mounting Criss where
SEX.
The
In Education "sex s
the ty
the pu.
By WALTER LIPPMANN anima
bauch
IN THE AFTERMATH of the Civil War three amendments to the But
Constitution were adopted. On Feb. 1, 1865 Congress submitted to tising
the states an amendment to prohibit slavery. It was adopted by the oughl:
following December and is now the Thirteenth Amendment. Several encou
months later Congress submitted to the states the Fourteenth Amend- the d
ment which, among other things, forbids any state, to "deny to any strikin
person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This high,1
amendment was adopted on July 28, 1868. About eight months later, read
on Feb. 27, 1869 Congress submitted the Fifteenth Amendment for- which
bidding any state to deny or abridge the right of citizens of the minut
Te
United States to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition Th
of servitude." This amendment was adopted on March 30, 1870. Chri
These amendments were designed to abolish slavery and also I quot
the recognition in the laws of the land of what it woulr be proper "The
to call a system of legal castes. The amendments, which followed band
the great war between the states, were designed to institute a Four
revolutionary change in the legal position of the emancipated Dog,'
slaves and their descendants. I he
* * * audito
NEARLY NINETY YEARS have passed. The abolition of legal slavery he's u
was completed early but the other object of the amendments- tising
the dissolution of the legal system of castes-has been a long process. I will
The decision of the Supreme Court carries that dissolution of legal
castes into the public schools. In striking down the state laws which
provide for schools segregated on -the principle of an inherent differ- Qua
ence between Negro and White citizens, the court struck down the To TI
most important legal institution, though not the only one, which still HA
comes down to us from the time of chattel slavery. cop
gan's
This is the heart of the decision. In 1896 the court had held in and I
the famous case of Plessy v. Ferguson that states could require legal amus
segregation of Negroes and whites if the separate facilities were equal. book
The Plessy doctrine dealt, as a matter'of fact, with separate but equal which
facilities in transportation. But the doctrine was carried over to the by.
public schools. Do
The Plessy doctrine came thirty years after the Civil War and it ally b
tainec
was far from the spirit or the letter of the Fourteenth Amendment. humo
But in the light of the actual conditions in which the emancipated quart
Negro population of the south were then living, the Plessy decision set dents
a practical standard which eventually produced large.practical reforms. tained
In the next generation a general movement got under way to equalize this is
in fact the educational opportunities of Negroes and whites. Much HaN
has been done to reduce the gap, and the Southern states which are lege1
at the bottom of the list in the per capita income of their citizens are have,
in the upper half of the list in the percentage of their personal incomes ed an
spent on public schools. I b
for a
Yet, though the gap has been reduced, it is the fact that sixty ent e
years after the Plessy decision, the schools are not only separated
but for the most part they are unequal. (The facts about this and
a background of the whole problem can be found in a report by
Henry S. Ashmore on "The Negro and the Schools." This report
has been published by the University of North Carolina Press. This
study and the report were financed by the Fund for the Advance-
ment of Education, which is a subsidiary of the Ford Foundation.
I should say for the sake of the record that I am a member of the
board of the fund, of which former Justice Owen J. Roberts is
the chairman.)
As a statistical illustration of the situation of the separate but The
equal doctrine, let us take expenditures per pupil for white and Negro offici
of M
children in the thirteen Southern states. In 1940 the expenditure for Daily
Negro pupils was 43 per cent of the expenditures for white pupils; ten bility
years later the expenditures for the Negro pupils had been raised to tive
70 per cent. This reflects a substantial progress but it shows also that TYPE
the progress toward equal facilities has been slow and that there is still Admi
a big way to go. the d
11 a.
The Supreme Court decision overthrows the Plessy doctrine on the
ground that even if the facilities were eventually made equal, segrega-
tion itself is a denial of the equal protection of the laws. It is a denial
because it recognizes the principle of a legal caste system. This is the
everlasting truth, and in declaring it the Court has declared what has
now become the conscience of the country. All
* * * * must
Two Rabbits? ..* *
e Editor:
according to Christianity, is
ant to be pure and whole-
In its place, it can be beau-
and personally fulfilling to
hristian individual. Its func-
are to propagate the race
o provide a pleasant means
ressing mutual love and af-
n between married people.
n this sense, gets my full sup-
retably and universally and
tuously, sex is given another
asis. It is placed on the level,
ight expect among the ani-
pure carnality with no soul
ed. Examples of this in our
day are numberless, Throb-
blood-red words of sex strike
from all directions: from the
ards of national product ad-
ers, from the marquees of
nema and of the bawdy hous-
downtown Detroit and else-,
SEX, SEX, AND MORE
advertisers have found that
ells." Hurray for them! But
pe of sex that "sells" is not
re, wholesome kind: it is the
1 kind, the degraded and de-
ed kind.
successful as these adver-.
tactics seem, I was thor-
y surprised this morning to
nter a number of signs in
ormitory with the .word SEX
ng my eye-in large, inch-
block letters-before I could
any of the rest of the sign,'
was printed in the relatively
e letters of pica type.
sign was advertising a beer
in the Arb? No. A talk on
stianity and SEX" by (and
te verbatim from the poster)
Rev. Wilbur Schutze; Hus-
of: One Wife; Father of:
Children; Provider for: One
Two Rabbits?? (sic)."
ope the reverend gets many
ors. He certainly ought to:
sing the most modern adver-
methods. But by the way,
not be there.
-Bruce Jay Compton
* * *
rterback . * .
he Editor:
VE just finished reading my
y of the Gargoyle, Michi-
so called "humor" magazine,
swear that I have been more
ed by passages in the Hand-
of Chemistry and Physics,
I have never been amused
the editors of that rag actu-
elieve that anyone is enter-
I by their sad attempts at
r? Or are they just after the
ers of poor, illusioned stu-
like myself who are sus-
d by the belief that maybe
ssue won't be quite so bad?
ve they ever read other col-
humor publications? If they
they certainly haven't learn-
ything from them!
elieve that the Garg is due
house-cleaning; bar the pres-
ditorial staff from office, and
DAILY
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
e Daily Official Bulletin is an
al publication of the University
ichigan for which the Michigan
assumes no editorial responsi-
. Publication in it is construc-
notice to all members of the
ersity.eNotices should bebsent in
EWRITTEN form to Room 2552
Inistration Building before 3 p.m.
lay preceding publication (before
.m, on Saturday.
SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1954
VOL. LXV, No. 164
IT1) f~
if no one shows up to take its
place, then shut the Garg down
and save me my quarter.
-Thomas H. Engle
* * *
Understanding . .
To The Editor:
FREDDI LOEWENBERGS edi-
torial on segregation in The
Daily on May 18, 1954, reveals
thorough understanding of the
South and its viewpoint. Particu-
larly the statement "The problems
of the South run deeper than any
person in the North can under-
stand. She fails to understand that
the average southerner does not
hate the Negro, that he is not seg-
regated because of any bitter or
mean feelings, but because the
social system has been a way of
life for generations past," makes
the most sense.
If every individual, before he
takes a stand against segregation,
could spend at least a few years
in the South his biased attitude
would be far less vehement.
Another statement, "The South-
erner is aware that he has a prob-
lem to overcome, but he wants to
overcome it himself without feel-
ing pressured by any group from
another section of the country,"
sums up perfectly why there will
be unhappiness in the South over
the Supreme Court's ruling for
many decades to come.
-Earl L. Hastings, Grad.
* * *
Review Was Right .. *
To the Editor:
IF DR. GOLDMAN read David
Tice's review of last Tuesday's
Michigan Band concert "with a
feeling of sympathy," I read his
reply to Mr. Tice with profound
regret that a well-known figure
should place himself before the
campus in this fashion; comm-
ting the errors of which he accuses
another. To say that Mr. Tice
knows nothing of band music is
an irrelevant assumption; to
charge him with stupidity is p
personal affront. Those who know
Mr. Tice personally can testify to
his excellent musicianship, while
those who know him only through
his reviews have never disagreed
with him to the extent of written
protest. His review of the concert
contained more praise than con-
demnation, though Dr. Goldman's
letter suggests otherwise.
After some years of playing, con-
ducting, and arranging band mu-
sic, I believe that I speak as one
who knows "something" of it. Mr.
Tice's opinions of the music played
last Tuesday are in exact agree-
ment with my own. A weak point
of the band field has always been
its repertoire. The encouraging of
band composition by leading com-
posers promises improvement, but
not always works reflecting the
composer's best effort. Such works
as Creston's "Legend" add very
little of quality to the band litera-
ture, regardless of the prominence
of their composers. By comparison
with such unpretentious but well-
written works as Vaughn Williams'
"Folk Song Suite," which the band
also performed, Creston fares
poorly indeed.
Finally, if modern bands are to
perform high-quality music with
serious intent, they deserve to be
evaluated with the same,standards
by which any serious performance
is judged. As an excellent musician,
Mr. Tice should be an excellent
judge; as one who does not have
the myopic view characteristic of
so many band music enthusiasts,
he is probably the best judge of
all. I believe that he was entirely
correct in criticizing last Tuesday's
concert for its considerable mu-
sical mediocrity.
-Richard Thurston
,£
t
IF~~I
i
t
4]
At the State'..
PARATROOPER, with Alan Ladd and Leo
Genn.
IT HAS apparently been decided somewhere
that we have forgetten, after fifteen years,
just what went on in the early years of the
most recent European wax; we are now, I
fear, to be served up a number of indigesti-
ble little dishes like "Paratrooper," films
which make very little pretense at realism,
surrealism, naturalism, or any -ism except
pseudo-. "Paratrooper," in short, is a movie
which takes it upon itself to rewrite a few
pages of facts in an attempt to produce for
Alan Ladd his "greatest thrill role."
Mr. Ladd, who has done little since (and
for that matter, even less before) "Shane,"
shines forth in all his single-toned single-
expressioned glory, and the resulting per-
formance is hardly worth mentioning. He
portrays an American who, because of pri-
vate difficulties, enlists in the paratroop
division of the British army. He is magnif-
cently brave, a study in cool determination,
and, it would appear, manages to rescue
film, has little to offer the great unseen au-
dience, so she will undoubtedly go far.
Leo Genn, who is cast as a commanding
officer, ought to be ashamed. He can do a
little more than this.
There are assorted other things wrong with
the movie-its photography, its bit actors,
its dialogue, and its music. But all these
seem rather insignificant next to the gener-
al blunder which gave birth to the whole
thing.
An interesting Bugs Bunny is at least re-
laxing.
-Tom Arp
At the Orpim. . .
THE RED SHOES
SINCE ITS initial release in 1948, The
Red Shoes ,has become a kind of screen
classic for ballet lovers. It rightfully de-
serves such recognition, for it is perhaps
the best cinematic blend of drama, music,
dance and color ever produced.
The film's title relates to a ballet in the
picture, based upon the Hans Christian
.+-- of 1, . - n om A r.r
in the vein of romantic fantasy, creating,
instead of ridiculousness, a lyric beauty
which few films can boast.
What The Red Shoes resembles most
is a painting with movement. It has been
put together with an artist's feeling for
color, and the beauty of motion found
in the ballet. One particular scene, a
buggy-ride taken by the lovers, is filmed
in deep blue-green tones which convey the
feeling of quiet, lonely love with great
success. Mood is always established with-
out the aid of blaring background music,
giving the film a dream-like quality.
The Red Shoes ballet, the first ballet com-
posed and choreographed entirely for the
screen, has been created with full use of the
unlimited confines of motion picture danc-
ing. Starting on a stage, the dance soon
winds through tunnels and space as it ex-
plores the consciousness of the ballerina's
mind. Decor and choreography are excel-
lent-fresh, original and infinitely beauti-
ful.
The Red Shoes is one of those films that
improves with repeated viewings.
-Ernest Theodossin
Art Print Loan Collection pictures
be returned to Room 510 Adinin-
EVERY ONE HAS recognized the statesmanlike manner in which istration Bldg. during the wees of May
24 to May 28 between the hours of 9-12
the Court under its big Chief Justice is dealing with the practical a.m. and 1:30-5 p.m. A fine will be
application of the principle it has laid down. We need not doubt that charged for overdue Pictures. Holders of
the states will accept loyally the principle of the law. But the whole pictures still unreturned by Thursday,
June 3, will be placed automatically on
nation, not merely the people in the states where there are segregated the Hold Credit List.
schools, can afford to have no illusions about the magnitude of the
efforts which will be needed to apply the ruling efficiently and suc- Late permission for women students
who attended the performance of Ver-
cessfully. di's Requiem on Thursday, May 20, will
We shall find, when we sit down to the hard realities, that be no later than 10:50 p.m.
the task of ending segregation will become merged with, will
Late Permission.BeasofteSnr
aggravate and will precipitate, what is already a grave and mount- Ball, all women students will have a 1:30
ing crisis in American education. Unless ending segregation is to late permission on Sat., May 22. Wom-
mean lowering the level of the white schools, if it is to mean en's residences will be open until 1:25,
raising the level of Negro education to that of the whites, very am.
large expenditures will be required. It is hard to see how the Resort Employment. Mr. Bert Shoo-
poorer Southern states will be able to afford it. maker, of Pleasant View Hotel, Clarks
But, as a matter of fact, our whole educational system is in Union Interviewing girls for waitress
trouble because the increase of the school and college population has positions and men for general resort
out-run by far our educational facilities-which means teachers and duties, on Mon., May 24, from 5 to 7 p.m.
the buildings and the other appurtenances. The level of education is For further information, interested per-
sons may contact Bureau of Appoint-
falling because our schools, lacking adequate resources, are being ments, Ext. 2614.
compelled to depreciate the quality of their teaching. They are being
Seniors and Graduate Students who
compelled to teach less to more and more pupils. The tragic conse- have ordered Caps and Gowns. You may
Sixty-Fourth Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigan under the
authority of the Board in Control of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
Harry Lunn...........Managing Editor
Eric Vetter.. .......... City Editor
Virginia Voss........Editorial Director
Mike Wolff........Associate City Editor
Alice B. Silver. Assoc. Editorial Director
Diane D. AuWerter....Associate Editor
Halene Simon..... Associate Editor
Ivan Kaye.. ............. Sports Editor
Paul Greenberg.... Assoc. Sports Editor
Marilyn Campbell . Women's Editor
Kathy Zeisler .Assoc. Women's Editor
Chuck Kelsey Chief Photographer
Business Staff
Thomas Treeger ....Business Manager
William Kaufman Advertising Manager
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William Selden .. Finance Manager
Anita Sigesmund. Circulation Manager
Tplphhnn, NO 3-24-1
(4
I