PAGE E+OU THE MCHIGAN DAILY PAGE FOUR THE MICHIGAN DAILY . . IT'S A SECRET: Some Campus Organizations Pursue Strange Policy BEHIND THE recent revelation of facts about the potential danger in fall out from hydro- gen bomb explosions lies a great difference of opinion on exactly what is secret and how much the American people have a right to know. Of course this is not the first case of withholding information from the public: the press must continually struggle to have its members ad- mitted to even the most harmless committee meetings in Congress and other governmental bodies across the nation. Only recently, for example, the Board of Regents recognized the right of accredited cor- respondents to attend their meetings. The press is not entirely selfish in its motives. While they realize that much "hot news" is discussed behind closed doors, they also believe firmly that the, people can make the wisest de- cisions for their own governing if they are well informed. AT THE University level, the atmosphere should lend itself to greater freedom of discussion than any other place. Yet, the situ- ation is just the opposite. The most recent instance we can cite is the closing of discussion to a Daily reporter by the Student Legislature Executive Cabinet when they were planning how to dispose of some $5,000 in their accounts before the transition is made to Student Government Council. The $5,000 came from the pockets of a good many students in the campus community: they rightfully should be able to read some account of how those funds were disposed of. The next offender against freedom of infor- mation would appear to be Joint Judiciary Council. Joint Judic has continually refused to open their meetings or parts of them to Daily reporters or other students. The secret trial and sentencing of violaters of University regulations is vaguely reminiscent of Star chamber pro- ceedings. THE COUNCIL would probably plead, at this point, that the offender would prefer to remain anonymous at such a proceeding, but an option should be given to the violater to choose whether he wanted his trial in the open or not. The Inter-fraternity Council has an ingen- uous plan to keep certain discussion "off the record." At their meetings, a portion of the gathering is set aside as "house president's time." Although the rest of the meeting is open, this house presidents' time is closed to Daily reporters. Anything the IFC decides to discuss in private may be postponed until the doors are carefully locked and guarded. At least one major group on campus-Inter House Council-rates a gold star on their chart for keeping their discussions open. They sel- dom pull the curtain of secrecy between their meetings and Daily representatives. IT IS puzzling as to why some of these organi- zations-Student Legislature in particular -should attempt to withhold information from the people they supposedly represent. If SL expects to gain the support of those people, they must be able to account fully and openly for their actions. However, SL's moves at their Wednesday meeting to open up financial discussions to the press and public deserve commendation, if they are carried out in good faith. After all, $5,000 ain't hay. --Wally Eberhard "What Happened --- Was There A Dissenting Opinion?" a i y{ - - -' +6 ', OYFj ~~ ,'- HADRIAN'S MEMOIRS: History Unexhausted Mine for the Novelist "Hadrian's Memoirs" by Marguerite Yourcenar. Farrar, Strauss, and Young, New York City, 1954. "HADRIAN'S MEMOIRS," Marguerite Yourcenar's novel shows that even if History has been the novelists' most heavily worked mine in recent years, it is still unexhausted. A disappointing assay has shock- ed readers in many samples, revealed fool's gold in others. Wise read- ers, after experience with tarnished goods, have learned to test the product with acid of skepticism. Mine. Yourcenar is more resourceful' than most literary prospec- tors, and a better craftsman; she chose new territory, and worked with conscious discipline toward a definite end. Her ore, when puri- fied, revealed considerable ductility. "Hadrian's \Memoirs," if not gold filigree, has at least the handsome, lasting value of well-wrought silver. History Known helped Mme. Yourcenar in writing her novel, but History Unknown was undoubtedly a greater spur to her creativity. What western historians can say conclusively about Hadrian's life is little more than a catalogue of dates, names, and inscriptions, which T ,r r "" 0-1, -*t+ RL .O 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, Radio Free Europe Beams Truth Through Iron Curtain AMONG THE many agencies which seek to sustain the hope of Communist-dominated people and inform them of the true state of world affairs, none does a more effective job than Radio Free Europe. Working through Cru- sade for Freedom, it attempts to enlist the sup- port, moral and financial, of the American people, Pres. Eisenhower, a staunch supporter of Radio Free Europe, declared it "essential to each free nation that it support freedom in others where freedom still lives." "The Com- munists," he continued, "have told an infinite number of lies to make their people hate Am- ericans. Therefore, the primary purpose of Cru- sade for Freedom is to fight the big lie with the big truth." The "big truth" is being beamed twenty-four hours a day to an audience composed of Poles, Czechs, Slovaks,' Hungarians, Rumanians, Bul- garians, Russians and other East Europeans. Ironically enough, Munich, once the apple of Hitler's eye and predestined by him to be the capital of a Nazi Europe, has become the head- quarters of this campaign to keep the hope of freedom alive in the Soviet 'empire'. Russia has continually tried to "jam" the air- waves, but Radio Free Europe beams all 22 of its transmitters into one country at a time. EMPLOYEES NUMBER more than 1,100 of whom about 200 are Americans. Many of the others are distinguished European intel. lectuals-writers, artists, musicians, editors- or just plain people who have managed in the mosts extraordinary ways to escape from bon,- dage and live now to convince their less for- tunate compatriots that they are not forgotten. None of the stations encourages listeners to escape, much less to engage in attempts at re- bellion. A political advisor in Radio Free Eu- rope declared that one object of the radio campaign was to prevent futile action-to de- ter rather than incite patriots from hopeless gestures of revolt. A study made by Foreign News Service, at the request of the U.S. State Department, re- vealed that news is what the Iron Curtain in- habitants want most of all to hear. They also like stories of refugees' experiences, commen- taries on current events, political satires (par- ticularly jokes about the Communists), des- criptions of life in the West, and broadcasts keyed to special groups (i.e. farmers, miners, technical workers). However, they are allergic to propaganda, which they are able to spot. very easily.r T HE DAY'S NEWS is broadcast every hour on the hour and summarized again in the nightly commentaries. Its round-the-clock op- eration enables more people to listen since hard work and the secret police make it hard for these people to get near a radio. Voice of America, the British Broadcasting Company, and Radio Liberation are not as ef- fective as Radio Free Europe because they can only transmit an hour or two a day. Also, the first two are government-controlled agencies, limited in what they can do. Radio Free Europe, on the other hand, is a project to enable Poles to speak to Poles as the voice of free Poland, Czechs to Czechs, and so on. CRUSADE FOR FREEDOM is a private Am- erican organization, begun in 1950 and supported by voluntary contributions. It in turn financially supports RFE in the hope that voices of freedom, in a particular country's own lan- guage, are as valuable as fighting planes. The entire. project is worth more than it costs be- cause, if nothing else, it stops the aggression of the Communist mind. ,The outlined mission of Radio Free Europe is: 1. To sustain hope 2. To provide accurate information on the International situation 3. To maintain ties between the captive peo- ples and the free world. ITS TOTAL EFFECT can be seen in the smug- gled letters of listeners, statements of re- fugees and Russia's desperate attempts to "jam" RFE's wave-lengths. But probably the best evidence can be found in the fact that the Communist press is constantly defending the regime it represents against accusations made nowhere but in radio broadcasts. Soviet authorities have been obliged in many instances to punish local functionaries to ap- pease a public opinion aroused by broadcasts about local scandals. One of the most successful broadcasts con- cerned the brutality used by guards at a prison in Recsk, Hungary. Radio Free Europe receiv- ed detailed information from an escaped pris- oner; and for two weeks emphasized the Recsk camp situation, naming names and giving cir- cumstances of incidents of brutality. The in- sistent publicity resulted in the dismissal of the guards, reduction of prisoners' working hours and production norms, and improvement in their treatment and food. RADIO FREE EUROPE'S effectiveness in bringing "the big truth" to Communist- dominated peoples certainly merits greater sup- port than ever before. For every dollar, 100 words can be broadcast-100 symbols of demo- cratic freedom. "Truth dollars" are being raised this week by Crusade for Freedom to continue the opera- tions of Radio Free Europe. Contributions can be mailed to: Crusade for Freedom, % Post- master. --Merle Mayerstein LYL Registration ... To the Editor: HE DECISION of the McCar- ran Board to "register" the Labor Youth League as a "Com- munist front" carries political per- secution to a group of organized youth for the first time in the his- tory of our country. It would be folly to think, with such a step- ping-stone laid down, that any other youth organization with any guts, imagination or ideals, pos- sesses immunity from similar treatment just because it is not a "Communist front." Neither is the League a "Com- munist front." But the League (1) favors international control of A and H bombs; (2) opposes UMT and the McCarran Act; (3) fav- ored a cease-fire in Korea during that war. What is unusual about such ideas? Just thif: these and other counts are the basis on which the League was found to be a "Com- munist front." Why? Because the Communist Party stood on the same side of these issues as the League. But millions of Americans, in- cluding most youth organizations, stand on the same side of these issues as the McCarran Act is so dangereous: it contains a built-in verdict of "guilty" against any or- ganization any of whose ideas- "parallel" those of the Communist Party. The decision of the McCarran Board, if upheld by the Courts, means not only outlawing the 1YL, but also outlawing the ideas which it and millions of other Americans adhere to. There is no better way for demagogues to cap- ture the mind of America than by turning over to them the power to outlaw ideas. The dangers of the McCarran Law, which, according to Truman's veto message, "put the Govern- ment of the United States in the thought control business," are real, not imaginary; immediate, not far-off. The League will appeal the decision; but only the most out- spoken liberal and progressive comment can counter the aura of fear and make a just result pos- sible. -Mike Sharpe Labor Youth League Incongruity .. To the Editor: MISS ROELOFS' sympathy for the professor who is faced with teaching inadequately pre- pared freshman is well placed. And if the high schools are failing to properly prepare students for col- lege, then, certainly, a good share of the blame must go to the high school teacher. But to name the schools of education of the vari- ous colleges and universities as the one great cause for the poor qual- ity of high school teaching is in- congruous. Our writer forgets that the prospective secondary school teacher spends about seven-eighths of his time in the literary college and only about one-eighth in the School of Education. It would be more just therefore, if the Uni- versities must be blamed for poor high school teaching, to lay seven- eighths of the fault at the doors of the literary college. This done, the Education School will be only too happy to assume its share. Given time for reflection, perhaps Miss Roelofs would have wished" to state that "the poor prepara- tion of college freshman stems from poor training the freshman's high school teachers have received (in their departments of speciali- zation) ." But her implication is quite right, the cycle can be vicious. Perhaps the freshmen who come to the well-meaning professor of history represent a multifold re- turn of the bread which said pro- fessor has cast upon the waters in the form of poorly trained high school history teachers. But then, poetic justice is something without which no reputable literary col- lege should be. Denton May even largely interpreted would fill only a few pages, a few chapters at most. Here History Known stops; here Mme Yourcenar began. Her work was far more com- plicated than the writing of His- tory only would have been since she had to present Hadrian as Hadrian appeared to himself, if she were to insure artistic integ- rity. It was necessary for her to encompass, in a scholarly way, an enormous mass of collateral ma- terial and then imagine her way into the very self of one of Rome's most complex and gifted men. This is her finest achievement; Mie. Yourcenar sensed what most novelists have not: If one is to write well of the early Christian era, then it must be done from the point of view of non-Christians. This may sound simple, but men were not labeled atheists until there was a God to disbelieve. The most difficult thing for any Occi- dental to conceive is the West without Christianity and all its myriad ramifications. Such a world cannot be imagined, and this is not to lbass a value judg- ment on Christianity, much less on the inadequacy of western imaginations: It seems incontro- vertible fact. (How many novelists, with var- ious axes to grind, possessing little to ostensibly enormous talents, have, in writing of the first cen- turies after Christ, presented "pa- gen" characters resembling fallen- away Christians who need only hear the Sheperd's voice to return to the flock and commence a monosyllabic confession of in- nate, childlike virtue. Slave girls jumping into pits with a "saved" light in their eyes and a prayer to the One True God on their lips, trying to save their lovers who are slain anyway, are the stereotypes which come to mind. (Actually, of course, it never has been the business of a Christian to become a martyr unless all other means of preserving con- science are removed. And these writers have, it seems to me, done little more than sustain in wat- ered measure the idiotic myth of Rousseau's noble savage whose crude exterior conceals a simple child of nature possessed of every imaginable virtue.) HADRIAN as he thought he was: Historians have agreed upon enough so that all but plausible legends may be eliminated. Gib- bon says Englishmen would have enjoyed life most under Hadrian of all the emperors, suggesting that Rome and the Empire were pleasant, well-ordered civilized places with considerable empha- sis laid upon exercise of reason. They were that-nearly a quarter- century of peace and enormous advancement in every direction: law and the legal system, art and architecture, tactics and military reform, imperial economy and trade; Pax Romana, indeed. But Gibbon-and other writers corro- borate-says that Hadrian was by turns a gentle, fatherly emperor and a harsh tyrant, and in either turn possessed of great restive- ness. Hadrian visited every prov- ince in his imperial capacity at least once, some several times, while his successor never bestirred himself from Rome and its con- fines during his twenty-three year reign. Hadrian the Emperor comes from Mme. Yourcenar's book as a more civilized, nobler Tudor who lacked none of their miraculous sense of knowing how to make agents do their bidding and of just how much the public would bear without becoming surly and discontented. He was more refined and sophisticated of mind and spirit than any Tudor, but he, like them, had tenuous claim to throne which he was anxious to secure. The wise monarch is not necessarily brilliant; the wise monarch gives his people what they need: Peace, trade, markets, and, for good measure, an imper- ial show that will sooner or later convince them of his indispensa- bility, conditions the Tudors and Hadrian nurtured carefully, to the ultimate satisfaction of all. One reviewer says that Mme. Yourcenar's literary predecessor is tachment of his problems." The "Memoirs" are written as a letter to Marcus Aurelius, a private epis- tle by an old man who knows death nears and is, indeed, detached. A civilized man writing to his son and imperial heir can reasonably assume that his instructions and advice will be better taken if they are dispassionately expressed. The shouting was, over, for Hadrian, and neither he nor Marcus would have permitted themselves to be guilty of intellectual immodera- tion: Eccentricity, perhaps, but immoderation, never. H ADRIAN does not apologize for his mistakes, but he does ex- pound upon them; his hindsight is no obsession, but a' guide for Marcus' foresight. He admits he- has been a pleasure-seeker, a man who not only enjoyed living but who sought to embellish each of. the arts, including statecraft, that he touched. He was capable of great love and his confession of love for Antinous makes one feel self-conscious, caught in a mael- strom of guilt, Freudianism, sins, and damnation, because his words are so much more nakedly pagan than it is now possible to be. Rightly so: Hadrian would not have regarded himself as homo- sexual as the word is now used with its overlay of legal, religious, and social dissanction. Mme. Yourcenar's attitude to- ward Hadrian's love is expository. The fact of its existence is estab- lished; to ask Why? or Was it morally Right? is neither helpful or important. Hadrian, in retro- spect, says of his love for Antin- ous: "Halcyon seasons, solstice of my days . . Far from embellishing my .. . happiness, I must struggle against too weak a portrayal; even now the recollection overpowers me. More sincere than most mel I can freely admit the secret cause of this felicity: that calm so propi- ;ious for work and for discipline of the mind seems to me one of the richest results of love. And it puzzles me that these joys, so pre- carious atbest, and so rarely per- fect in the course of human life, however we may have sought or received them, should be regarded with such mistrust by the so-called wise, who denounce the danger of habit and excess in sensuous de- light, instead of fearing its absence or its loss; in tyrannizing over their senses they pass time which would be better occupied in put- ting their souls to rights, or em- bellishing them." THIS approach to Hadrian's love for Antinous could be appraised as "modern," which, however en- lightened, it is not. It is a sane approach, but every institution forbids, and no contemporary em- peror, however absolute, would risk the inevitable censure of openly avowing love for another man. The treatment is modern, then, only in the sense that Alcibades' attitudes are modern, which is to say they are without age, and that the greatest lover is really Socra- tes or the Socratic part of any man. The sexual aspect is a mat- ter of conscience between the lov- ers, and between each of them and whatever Higher Authority he chooses to admit as tribunal. To carp otherwise will prove nothing save human inhumanity and hy- pocrisy. Hadrian emerges, in the end, as an enormous, triumphant, and de- feated man, a fitter object for re- flection than a mere historical montage, because he becomes whole. As a novelist's product he is almost unique because he stands so tall; contemporary novelists have presented so many mean, "un- have presented so many mean "unspeakably insignificant mor- tals" from one ghastly county in Mississippi or another that one may be somewhat surprised to dis- cover 'the concept of the super- human has not altogether wither- ed from the artistic consciousness. "Novelists," Desmond McCarthy once wrote, "may be said to en- joy a first-rate prestige when their works both delight the many and satisfy the discriminating few." Mme. Yourcenar's first novel may not bring her that first-rate pres- FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1955 DAILY OFFICIAL BULLE TIN (Continued from Page 2) three bound copies of their disserta- tions in the office of the Graduate School by Fri., April 29. The report of the doctoral committee on the final oral examination must be filed with the Recorder of the Graduate School to- gether with two copies of the thesis, which is ready in all respects for pubu- cation, not later than Mon., May 23. Engineers: "Employment Interview- ing" will be discussed by Prof. John G. Young at a meeting sponsored by the College of Engineering Fri., Feb. 18, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 311, W. Engineer- ing. All students who expect to inter- view this semester are urged to attend. Fri., Feb. 18 is the last dy for stu- dents in the College of Architecture and Design to add courses to their elec- tions.S Law School Admission Test: candil dates taking the Law School Admission Test Sat., Feb. 19 are requested to re- port to Room 100, Hutchins H1ll at 8:45 a.m. Aeronautical Engineering Colloquium Fri., Feb. 18, 4:00 p.m., in Room 1504 East Engineering Bldg. Eugene Turner will discuss "The Theory of Luminous Shock wave." Feb. 25, Mr. Turner will give a second colloquium on. "The Experimental Results obtained on the Luminous Shock wave." Logic seminar will meet Fri., Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m. in 3010 Angell Hall. Dr. Buchi will continue to discuss "Defina- bility in Formal Systems."' LS&A Students: No course may be added to your original elections after Fri., Feb. 18. Scholarships for Engineers. Applica- tions from undergraduate engineers for the 1955-56 Scholarship Awards are now being received. All applications must be in by Fri., March 11. Blanks may be obtained in the Secretary's office, 263 West Engineering Building. Doctoral Examination for Howard Melvin Dess, Chemistry; thesis: "The Preparation and Properties of Complex Fluoroarsenate Compounds," Sat., Feb. 19, 3003 Chemistry Bldg., at 10:00 a.m. Chairman, R. W. Parry. INTERPRETING THE NEWS Concerts The Budapest String Quartet-Josef Roismann and Alexander Schneider, vi- oiins; Boris Kroyt, viola ,and Mischa Schneider, cello; will perform in the three concerts of the 15th Annual Chamber Music Festival Fri. and Sat. nights,and Sun. afternoon, Feb. 18, 19 20. At the Sun. afternoon concert the group will be assisted by Robert Courte, violist in two quintets. The programs to be heard are as fol- lows: Fri., Feb. 18, 8:30 p.m.-Haydn Quar- tet in G, No. 1; Lees Quartet No. 1; and tile Schubert in A minor, op. 29. Sat., Feb. 19, 8:30 p.m.-Mozart Quar- tet in D, K. 499; William Denny's Quar- tet No. 2; and the Quartet in E minor, No. 2 by Beethoven. Sun., Feb. 20, 2:30 p.m.-Beethoven Quintet in C major; Bartok Quartet No. 1; and the Brahms Quintet in G major, Op. li- Tickets are on sale at the offices of the University Musical Society in Bur- ton Tower; and will also be on sale an hour before each concert in the lobby of the Rackhm Building, Events Today Ukranian Students Club, Meeting will be held Fri., Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Men's Union, Room 3G. Members and guests are cordially invited. Westminster Student Fellowship Ice Skating Party and Taffy-Pull. Fri., Feb. 18. Meet at the Student Center of the Presbyterian Church at ' :30 p.m. to go to the Coliseum as a group. Bring your ID. Return to the church at 10:30 p.m. for a taffy-pull. Episcopal Student Foundation. Can- terbury Coffee Cltch at 4:00 p.m., Fri., Feb. 18, at Canterbury House, adjourn- ing at 5:00 p.m. to attend the Lane Hall International Coffee Hour. Canterbury Campus Series: Dr Harvey Spencer, Psychiatrist, University Health Service, will discuss "The Interpretation of Psy- chology," 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 18, at Canterbury House. Economics Club-Fri., Feb. 18, at 8:00 p.m. Rackham Amphitheater. Mr. Judd Polk, Council on Foreign Relations, will speak on, "Problems of the Present Sterling System." All staff members and graduate students in Economics and Business Administration are especial- ly urged to attend. (Mr. Polk will speak on the night originally assigned to Prof. S. Chesterfield Oppenheim of the Law School. We hope to hav.: Prof. Op- penheim speak before the Economics Club at a later date.). Hillel: Fri. evening services 7:15 p.m. Conducted by Sigma Alpha Mu Frater- nity. The International Tea will b'e spon- sored by Inter-Guild in the Lane Han Library from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Fri., Feb. 18. The Congregational-Disciples Guild: 8:30 p.m., Fri., Feb. 18. Guild party in Pilgrim Hall of the Congregational Church (State and William Streets). First Baptist Church. Fri., Feb. 18. 8:00 p.m. Guild Party. Acolytes meeting Fri., Feb. 18 at 8:00 p.m. in East Conference Room, Rackham Building. David Luce will read a paper on, "An Alternative to the verifiability Theory of Meaning. Refreshments. . Married Lutheran Student Group, Fri. evening. Meet at the Center. The Rev. Richard Knudsen of Detroit, pastor of an inter-racial church, will speak. Corner of Hill St. and Forest Ave. Dr. Richard A. Musgrave of the Economics Department will lead a panel discussion on "Economic De- velopment in Burma," at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Feb. 18, at the International Cen- I. By J. M. ROBERTS, JR. Associated Press News Analyst , THE AMERICAN decision not to urge the Chinese Nationalists to evacuate any more islands has upset Britain. From her own standpoint, Brit- ain has gone a good way in sup- Sixty-Fifth Year Edited and managed by students of, the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Editorial Staff Eugene Hartwig ......Managing Editor Dorothy Myers............ity Editor Jon Sobeloff ........Editorial Director Pat Roelofs ......Associate City Editor Becky Conrad .........Associate Editor Nan Swinehart .......Associate Editor Dave Livingston .........Sports Editor Hanley Gurwin ....Assoc. Sports Editor Warren Wertheimer ..............nAssociate Sports Editor Roz Shlimovitz.........Women's Editor Janet Smith .Associate Women's Editor John Hirtzel......Chief Photographer Business Staff Lois Pollak. ....Business Manager Phil Bruuskill, Assoc. Business Manager Bill Wise .........Advertising Manager Mary Jean Monkoski .Finance Manager Telehhone NO 23-24-1 Meame porting Washington's firm atti- tude about the defense of Formosa. She recognizes the Peiping regime as the government of China, and remembers, despite Churchill's statement that it is outdated, the Cairo agreement that the islands belong to China. If it were not for Hong Kong, for which the Chinese, both Na- tionalist and Red, have long been presenting claims, it is doubtful if London would have gone even as far as she has. When the latest crisis developed, Britain agreed to the defense of Formosa and government leaders firmly defended it against strong opposition in the House of Com- mons. At the same time, however, they approached Russia for help in per- suading Peiping to rely on politi- cal rather than military action, and devised the idea that Nation- alist-held islands immediately off- shore should be surrendered for the sake of establishing a blue water moat between the contend- ers. Now the United States, through Secretary Dulles' speech in New York Wednesday, has turned that down. In addition, Dulles expressed no hope for the Anglo-Russign ne- gotiations, although the British still maintain hope themselves. Britain is still working for an agreed cease-fire. Dulles express- ed respect for United Nations ne- gotiations hut America's real ex- ...That is the Question WE WONDER . . *WHY RESIDENCE halls students must strain their already over-burdened budgets to pay for a new quadrangle while the athletic administration department is wondering where to build its next swimming pool . . . . S* * * WHY WE bother to have registration since everyone changes their elections the first week of school anyway ... * * * * W HETHER THE Bermuda shorts ban will be lifted when the knee-length garments be- come popular on campus this spring ... WHAT POLITICAL science courses would do without the Sunday New York Times .e. . WHY THE Literary College doesn't institute some type of program which would help its students plan for future careers while tak- ing "cultural" courses . 1