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PAGE TWO

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1954

SUNDifAY- NOVEMBRI 21, 1954

THE MICHIGAN DAILY


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SCHWEITZER, THOREAU:
Intellectual Escapism: Einstein as Plumber

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By ROY AKERS,
THE OTHER day we happened to
.be sitting in a local beanery,
one of the more elegant of the
Midwestern eating places, inhaling
steaming cups of dee-licious coffee
with Harry who happens to be a
plumber friend of ours.
The two of us were huddled to-
gether reading the same newspa-
per. We always take turns about
buying the paper. One day Harry
puts in four cents and we put in
three, and the next day vice versa.
Our eyes had glimpsed a front
page news feature concerning the
expressed, reflective desire of Dr.
Albert Einstein to the effect that
if he had it to do all over again
be would become a plumber.
We pointed to the article with a
coffee-soaked doughnut stub, "di-
verting Harry's attention from the
racing results on the sports page.
"How would you like him," we ask-
ed of Harry, "for a helper?"
Harry scanned the head quickly
and then, clamping his teeth re-
flectively around a chunk of apple

pie, studied the startling news
thoroughly, stroking the pipe
wrench on his lap all the while for
composure. He finished reading,
glanced over at us, and took a des-
perate, half-cup sipful of scalding
coffee, before remembering that
he had forgotten to swallow the
pie.
"Well?" we asked.
"He probably ain't had no ex-
perience," Harry sputtered through
a glob of percolating pie crust,
"but he might do. He could prob-
ably count up job estintates pretty
quick and, with a little training,
maybe even learn to fix faucets."
Harry's eyes brightened. "He
might be able to figure me out
some doozies of tips on the horses.
And I'm pretty sure, continued
Harry pointing at himself, "that
he could understand me. But how
could I ever understand him?"
ARRY HAD posed a universal
question.
And he had posed it around a
universal, human figure. For of all

--Daily-Dick Gaskill
SEATED HERMES-A bronze replica of the famous 5th Cen-
tury Greek work in the Museum of Archeology. The original
is in the National Museum of Naples.

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Short, Enchanting

Evening Story ...
The Black Formal

the men living today Dr. Albert
Einstein is one of the best known
and the most loved.
Few men in any human epoch
can come out of space and remain
transfixed in time. The greatness
of immortality is an elusive cloak.
In the recent century of a few
eternal seconds some men have
neared the goal. There was Thor-
eau at Walden but. Thoreau's
greatness was a lonely thing, dedi-
cated to a man who had put him-
self apart from other men.
His was not a selfish kind of
greatness, though, for it express-
ed the courage of a man looking
inward with detachment at his
naked soul. But it was easier in
Thoreau's day, than in our own,
to find a Walden Pond.
And Dr. Albert Schweitzer has
perhaps, more than any other, per-
sonified the man dedicated to his
fellow men. It is for this dedica-
tion: his humanity and his humil.
ity, that Schweitzer will be remem-
bered most. For Schweitzer's in-
terest is in man living and being
let live, and not in the natural
laws that govern men's lives.
It is in these natural laws that
Einstein has been interested most
and he, probably more than any
man living or dead, has come clos-
est to the realm of infipite know.
ledge.
He has done this with humility,
and he has done it while living
with his fellow man. And, although
his fellow men may regard him
with shyness and awe they look
upon him, too, as one of their own.
For his greatness has not evaded
them in remoteness, and in his
grandest moments he has not left
their side.
IN OUR short life we have come
to know a great many of the
laboring people, the type that
might be called the common man.
They have not differed in many
respects from Harry, our plumber
friend. But what has always struck
us most has been their uncommon,
intuitive judgment of people and
things that are rather out of their
realm.
In wading the grotesque symbol-
ism of evil which Faulkner can
pile deep with a master's touch
our friend Harry, for instance, did
not miss the reflection of distort-
ed, if lost, goodness.
He did not fail to see that Pop-
eye was imprisoned in a perverted
world not really of his own mak-
ing, or that Temple Drake was en-
cased in a body, and motivated by
emotions, not of her own choosing.
But, then, "Sanctuary" was writ
ten as Faulkner pushed a wheel
barrow in a powerhouse on the
night shift and symbolism, per-
haps, is not as far removed from
the mind of the common man as
one might think.
And if Harry feels that Faulkner
in dealing with evil has touched
goodness then, one has the idea
that Harry might also suspect that
Dr. Einstein in dealing with space
has fingered the intricasies of
heaven. For it wasn't anything
that Harry said about Einstein
that touched us, you see, it was
just the way he unmindfully boiled
that chunk of pie in his mouth
with the hot coffee.
By now Dr. Einstein has been
sent a plumber's card. We don't
know whether he will make use of
it at this late phase in his life, but
we can only hope that he doesn't.
Even more than Harry needs those
racing tips our world needs know.
ledge. And at a time when know.
ledge has come to be looked upon
as something evil it is good to
have men of courage for scholars.
Thoreau and Schweitzer went to
the woods and the jungle. It is
zperhaps a commentary upon our
contemporary hour that Dr. Albert
Einstein has expressed the overt,

reflective desire of becoming a
plumber, The only happy light in
the gloom is that the common man
offered him a plumber's card if he
wanted one. We wonder if our"
government would offer him clear.
ance to the classified material he
must already carry around in his
head

Items were sketched in local
Anne Boegehold, '5 5A made the i
work. For the past three years, s
The Grand Rapids Herald. Elain<
articles below.

*

*

Formal Wear Highlights Fashion
Velvets, Cummerbunds Featured


By ROZ SHLIMOVITZ
Daily Women's Editor
HOLIDAY formal wear is de-
signed to make every coed the
belle of the ball and every man the
toast of the town.
Local stores are showing an
abundance of bouffant, short-
length formals, shorter than ever,
and single-breasted tuxedos com-
plete with plaid cummerbunds and
matching bow ties.
Touches of Velvet
Touches of velvet are seen on
formals everywhere, emphasizing
the bodice, detailing the waist and
encircling the skirt. The material
also has been selected for many
accessories such as stoles and
purses.
According to a local saleswoman,
white and red are leading the col-
or parade once again, with black
a close third. Champagne and pas-
tel pinks and greens are also pop-
ular with coeds. She added, how-
ever, that pastel blue is not a good
color for evening wear because it
looks too much like grey.
Nylon Chiffon
Nylon chiffon, most pliable of
soft materials, makes a strong bid
for year-around wear in the holi-
day collection. One store is °show-
ing a chiffon gown which resem-
bles the Grecian look trimmed with
fur around the neckline.
Brocaded fabrics are also mak-
ing a strong bid along with satins,
lace and the ever-popular nets
and taffetas.
The amazing feature of many
new gowns is the price-one that

ed tuxedo with the satin shawl la- g
pel will be the trend for the com- c
ing holiday festivities. ri
In one shop, the manager indi- t
cated that the midnight blue out- d
fit is being replaced by the more
conservative black.
Adding a bright note to the at- a
tire are gay cummerbunds and
matching ties in a variety of stripes
and plaids. A special touch in keep-
ing with the Christmas spirit is t
the bright red and green combina- f
tion accessories.
The newest thing in cufflinks and
studs carry through the plaid h
theme, matching the colorful ties
and waist bands. Also good for
formal wear is the smoked pearl
and the more traditional gold jew- t
elry.
Especially of interest is the va-
riety of new, light-weight fabrics
in tuxedos. Ranging from tropical
all-wool imported worsteds to pure
silks, the suits are designed for
comfort in formal attire. Tuxedoes
in one store are priced beginning
at $39.95.
Lower left -- Cummervests are
supplementing cummerbunds for
men's formal wear.
Left-Tiered panels of Alencon
Lace alternating with fine nylon
marquisette make up the skirt of
the short-length gown. An off-
white satin underskirt shows
through the upper panel while a
wide velvet belt, climaxed with a
bow in back, fashions the waist-
line. The black formal may be
worn with tiny velvet straps or
strapless.
Center-An overskirt dotted with

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can fit in a coed's budget. White
nylon net formulas with halter or
strapless necklines are selling for
$21.98 at one store. Iridescent se-
quins dot the bodice while skirts
are fashioned with scalloped ruf-
fles. Other gowns are priced be-
tween $35 and $40.
Separates in Holiday Spirit
Separates made for each other
Join the holiday collections. One
outfit features the long waistline,
v-neck and a skirt belling out from
a hip yoke.
For the' sophisticate, a black

velvet halter with a slim skirt pro-
vides a stunning outfit. The top
may lead a double life when worn
with a billowing net or taffeta
skirt.
Borrowing from the man's fash-
ion world, womenhare wearing
cummerbunds with their formal
separates. A bright taffeta or
crushed velveteen band shows a
pretty waist off to best advantage.
Trend for Men
A cross section of local men's
stores agrees that the single breast-