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THE MICHIGAN DAILAMY
WEDNESDAY, J
The MichiganDaily
Established 1890
- ""t P~ $
America; the room, the old furniture, the jour-
nal that tells him that today, October twenty-
third, was the day that the cousin and suitor
i came for his first visit, all ,these are in Peter
Standish's mind. There is a peal of thunder,
the lights go out, he leaves the present and
joins the copipany of another century.
ICa mu Opi ion
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us u F - rr k," AAr~hJiOC
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1'0,. ' G~unl'c! rntM
Published every morning except Monday during the
University year and Summer Session by the Board in
Control of Student Publications.
Member of the Western Conference Editorial Associa-
tion and the Big Ten News Service.
MEMBEROF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Te Aociated Press is exclusively entitled to the use
for rep1lieation of all news dispatches credited to it or
not otherwise credited in this paper and the local news
published herein. All rights of republication of special
dispatches are reserved.
Entered at the Post Office at Ann Arbor, Michigan, as
second class matter. Special rate of postage 'granted by
Third Assistant Postmaster General.
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$1.50. During regular school year by carrier, $4.00; by
Offices: Student Publications Building, Maynard Street,
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Phone: 2-1214.
Representatives:Litteil-Murray-R~litsky, Inc., 40 East
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Boston, Mass.; 612 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Ofice Hjous: 2-12 P.M.
Edaitorial Director......... .....Beach Conger, Jr.
City Editor.. .... ..... ..... .....Carl S. Forsyt~he
State Editor ..........................Dai . Nichol
This setting brings one of the most unusual
situations in the modern theatre. The author has
played a trick with time and space, and permits
the hero to see the past with the eyes of the
present. Peter Standish is unable to completely
readjust fimself to his new life: his knowledge
of what the future has in store for each person
that he meets; his knowledge of the inventions
that are going to revolutionize their lives, inad-
vertantly slip into his conversations, and he is
regarded with mingled emotions of fear and awe.
When he meets Kate Pettycrew he knows that
she is the girl that history says he is to marry;
he knows that one of their children will die from
small-pox at the age of seven years; he knows
of their future unhappiness.
He dazzles a statesman by saying that the sun
never sets on the British Empire, and he amazes
the Duchess of Devonshire with a few epigrams
culled from Oscar Wilde. But despite his success
he is really not at home. There is much in the
habits and customs of the people that annoys
him. He returns to the present carrying with him
new feelings and thoughts of the past.
Editorial Comment
News Editor..........................Denton Kunze
ata Thomas Connelan
Bp Editor............ .......C. H. Beukem
'gUSIJ $SS TAFF
Office sour 9-12 2-5 except Saturdays
sVar.................Charles T. Kline
Bff itss Manager. ........Norris P. Joinn
Q culatipn ZNaner ..................Clinton 13. Cqnger
WEDNESDAY, JtJLY 20, 1932
Abolishing The
" Wr ere*'...
A Wickersham report, not so famous as that
on the 18th amendnent but probably containing
apre information and sound&t conclusions, point-
e out that in many large cities, the "third de-
gree" was being used almost constantly to obtain
confessions and evidence. Police in the cities thus
accused were quick to deny any charges of vio-
ImnWe in examining prisoners,.ti
Shortly afterwards, one of the persons ques-
tioned in the Lindbergh kidnaping caSe was so
brutally treated by the police that she committed
,g~cide r ther than have to submit to another in-
human grilling after she had already told all she
Ianew. And this week, Associated Press reports
carry the story. of a prisoner beaten to death by
police in an effort to obtain a confession of a
Police are only retarding their own cause when
they resort to such methods. Their actions tend
to create a distrust of such agents of the law
where there should be implicit faith in their abil-
ijy ti protect the people. But ivhen an eagerness
for conviction, or failure to capture or convict
those known to be criminals, drives the guardians
of the law to beating confessions out of probably
innocent people, we shall soon have to refuse to
recognize them as the protectors of the general
welfare and defense of the people, but rather as
political factions seeking a record-breaking num-
ber of convictions to present to the people in
place on convictions or arrests of those actually
" responsible for many crimes, those controlling
" gs and rackets, who have made themselves
immune through bribery and corruption.
The "third degree'.' is but a subterfuge to cover
up the inefficiency of police methods and the
ability of real criminals to escape the clutches
cf the law, either through bribery or 'pull.' So
many eitizens have tieard of the infamous "third-
degree" that when' a signed confession is repudi-
dted in court, whether the pla is genuine or not,
the average jury will decline to convict out of
sympathy for the accused.
To the argument that "third-degree" is the
bnly answer to the ruthless manner in which
gafgs and rackets rule our cities today, the only
answer is increased efficiency of the police and
*o-operation agencies. "Third degree" methods
admit nothing but failure, and when they lead
to "accidental deaths," something must be
changed.*
A Preview
" erlkeley Square"-one of the most widely-
discussed and highly entertaining plays to be
pr)oduced in this country during the past few
yWars-is, the current offering of the Michigan
Repertory Players at the Lydia Mendelssohn
thetre opening tonight. No Broadway play of
the past few seasons has been more enthusiasti-
pally received by the public and more widely ac-
claimed by the critics. It is theatre entertain-
ujent at its best.
The plot was suggested by Henry James' post-
" hunlous fragment, "A Sense of the Past." A
ya4ng American, who, at about the same time,
had written an architectural booklet and made
friends with an aged English cousin, has been
left the family house in Berkeley Square. There
he has immured himself, studying old letters ard
<_4aries and records, facinated by the antiquities,
the eighteenth century, the farilys past, the
ynolds portrait of his ancestor, Peter Standish,
*, looks exactly like his ancestor, repeats his
name, and like him has come from America to
the family seat.
The mndrn Peter Standish is engaged to
OFF TO THE RACES
(Daily Illini)1
The barrier is sprung and the horses, figura-1
tively speaking, are off down the stretch for the<
political honors of the nation. The two major;
parties -have begun the fireworks by taking up
good oratorical technique and time in mud-sling-
ing at the other party, while the third and what-
ever other parties may exist are maling the most
of the magnificant target furnished by the two
big parties.
One party crawls all over the other najor con-
tingent for not having relief plans, and, in veiled
language and high insinuation, the slander group
fights back with a counter-charge amounting to
the same thing. We cannot help but try and sur-
press a slight chuckle, even though it be prema-
ture, at the political antics of these organiza-
tions. The questions of the day are so apparent
and need relief in the worst way that it is really
humorous to see two parties vieing with each
other in side-stepping the issues. Each party is
afraid that it may say something that will cause
it to take a definite stand on some question.
Taking a stand in politics is nothing more or less
than political suibide. No party can exist by tak-
ing an outspoken viewpoint on any subject as
that will inevitably lose votes for them from a
minority that does not favor the idea. This min-
ority may be powerful enough to ruin the chances
of the, organization at the polls.
We do hot deplore this situation. The techni-
que of evasion is interesting to say the least, and
it is certainly entertaining to ayone who has a
sense of humor to appreciate it fully. We appre-
ciate it to a certain extent, but when the serious-
ness of the national situation impresses itself
upon us, we are forced to admit that our own
sense of hum'or becomes a little bit dulled and
tarnished under the wear and tear of contempla-
tion of the future. Surely our viewpoint will ad-
just itgelf to the situation and not let us down
in this instance as it has held us up before, but
the idea that two parties-and as many others
as you care to mention-have the chance to do
the country such a great amount of favors and
prove the worth of the representative democracy
that is American is stupenduous in contempla-
tion and even more collsal in actuality.
First we will take up briefly-very briefly-the
prohibition question. There is no reason why the
parties cannot, without straddling the whole
plank on this question, take up a definite view-
point. The main question seems to be one of
method rather than of difference in opinion. Most
of the thinking people of the country have ad-
mitted that something is wrong with the present
system, so why can't the two parties at least get
together on the prospect of change? This would
simplify matters much more for the voters, and
there would be a reasonable certainty of some
concrete results benig gained from such stands
on the part of both parties.
Far from indulging in such precarious political
practices as taking a definite stand on this, the
parties are intent on making promises to all
groups. It is an art, this business of interpreta-
tion, to get any one who reads or hears a plat-
form expounded to believe that the platform
was especially tailormade for those holding the
same viewpoint as himself. That is what organi-
zation is for, however, and the political spellbin-
ders are hired for exactly that purpose. Convince
those in doubt 'that we are for them, and the job
is done, according to political speakers. They do
not especially care what they have to stand for
temporarily. As Will Rogers said at the Demo-
cratic convention, what difference does it make
anyway, the whole thing will be forgotten in two
woks. The only trouble with Will's forecast was
that the ideas seldom last two weeks.
Relief in its various phases must receive the
utmost consideration any party can give it at this
time. All those interested in the future success of
the national government must realize that some-
thing must be done to ameliorate the present ex-
isting economic conditions. The present adminis-
tration can not, under any pretence of justifica-
tion, be blamed for the economic condition any
more than they can be blamed for the Mississippi
floods. That is something that, due to our eco-
nomic structure, was inevitable and had to come
about. The job of those who get power now is
to prevet the recurrence as much as possible of
such a condition. In doing this the first 'move
will necessarily be the relief of the present sit-
uation.
As a instance of the prime necessity of im-
mediate relief and help for the entire country
let us cite Chicago's deplorable financial situa-
tion, the Bonus Expeditionary forces, the labor
troubles in Ohio and other states, and the re-
cent St. Louis riots by the mob which was plan-
ning on rushing the city hall.
The recent veto of the relief bill presented to
the President by Congress, was another instance
of the futility of hoping for speed in the face of
political considerations, but in his veto President
Hoover probably saved the nation from one of
the worst financial mix-ups imaginable. He ve-
toed the measure immediately and put forth his
reasons as to the one clause providing for loans
to individuals by the Reconstruction Finance,
corporation. This bill may be reframed and
sneedily nassed so that the country will get the
Letters published in this column should not be
construed as expressing the editorial opinion of The
Daily. Anonymous communications will be dire-
garded. The names of communicants will, how-
ever, be regarded as confidential upon request.
Contributors are asked to be brief, confining them-
selves to less than 300 words if possible.
BLAU-BKAH AND BLACK MAGQ
To The Editor:
The writer of the letter, The Socialists Made
A Mistake, in the Daily Sunday, July 17th, 1932
appears to be an individual of the average Ameri-
can type who is primarily interested in infantile
record-breaking activities, such as Comrade
More's promise for breaking the worlds blah-blah
record. He remained for that alone, that, and
his primitive interest in magic. The general tenor
of the evening's program, injustice, was second-
ary to the above interest I ask you how in the
world would it be possible to bring anything
home to an individual of the above type? An ap-
peal for 9 lives, for a man we feel unjustly sent
to prison, means as little to the above individual
as it does to those who wish to take the Negroes'
lives and who sent Mooney to prison.
The writer admits Pr.ofessor Carr gave some
facts. Thef motive behind the prosecution of
Moonrey is a conclusion after the facts are p e-
sented, and perhaps as to what Mooney testified
to was not touched upon. We did not say we
would give all the facts. We did feel that by giv-
ing a few facts, and dwelling upon other injus-
tices, that a large part of the audience would be
interested in finding out the remaining facts, and
that the university students present would ask
Professor Carr to present all the facts as he did
on the campus last spring if they were intellectu-
ally interested. But the above individual did not
even have an interest created, because he did
not wish it to be stimulated, for More was a Com-
munist, which naturally inhibited everything he
said from entering the writer's mind, leaving
only the faint residue of a record in blah-blah
and black magic.
To contin e further in your letter you ask if
I thought the audience Believed for the reason
they remained. You speak of scientifically facing
the facts and in the same breath speak of Be-
lief-which is perhaps natural as Belief and
Magic are synonymous. We wanted to give some
facts, some emotional appeal, that which would
interest the audience in gathering all the facts
which our time prevented us in giving. After that
it is enough to speak of Belief. I wish everyone
to realize that our Club scorns Belief. We wish
to give facts, create interest, analyse the estab-
lished order and the so-called great men. To do
this with freedom is the ideal we cheerish.
The writer appears to understand one side. He
admits he knew nothing -of the Scottsboro and
Mooney cases or the activities and the ideals of
our Club. It is apparent that he knows nothing
of the History of socialism, communism, the labor
movement, or the part radicals have played in
the past in giving us what progress we have to-
day. He does not understand such terms as legal
lynching, santa claus yarns, and mass mind, yet
he critizes that which he does not understand.
He does not ask if the present courts are com-
petent, just, and free from putrid graft, no, he
says they must administer our present laws, so
why the mass mind. We say we get no injustice
in some of our courts, and when radicals make
statements they must have evidence with which
to back them, for it is most difficult to get along
even when we have facts. Read and inquire into
our side. We cannot aid you in one evening. Do
not expect us to tell you all in a short period
of time. Do not judge from brief appearances.
Radical means to go to the roots I ask you to.
that is what I mean by facing the facts.
I also maliciously ask why do not the writers
of letters sign their names to what they write.
Of course it is not necessary, yet I can see no
reason why anyone, would not care to except
through fear! and it is that fear I hold before
all of you as the real state of conditions in this
country. Champion any other cause except the
established order and see where you land; wheth-
er fou work at Fords (and the school board of
this city fears Ford because they gave the Ann
Arbor branch of the Detroit Civil Liberties their
high school auditorium for the Ford Riot meeting
and now Ford will no longer hire Ann Arbor res-
idences), whether you teach in the University of
Michigan or publish a free-lance Socialist news-
paper (for the American Freeman has had its
circulation confiscated by the Post Office Depart-
ment twice in the past month-a newspaper with
a 55,000 circulation). Those of you who fight
for the established order are not fighting at all,
no wonder you have the cream of intelligence
with you; for us it is more than a fight, it is a
life and death struggle, and the intellectuals we
draw are proportionally small, that is why
DAVID M. NICHOL'S ARTICLE ON THE FRONT
PAGE OF SUNDAY'S DAILY COULD BE POS-
SIBLE.
T wish to admit my error in directing my letter
of July 8th, 1932, to the Daily instead of the Free
Press. The entire editorial comment was taken
from the Free Press, and the last paragraph was
not a Daily comment as I had understood it
to be.
0. H. Bridge
"DEW AND SUNSHINE" RADICALS
i
L
ir
s Our Chief
Concern
If yog are not satifliedi with your present laucnder-
ing arrangements-if your clothes are wrinkled
anl missy from going through the mail or if
your homeQlaunderingQsoeS not produce the
spotless and wrinkleless appearance which you
desire, remenber that the Varsity has specialized
in satisfying the laundering needs of University
students for over thirty years and understands
them fuly.
This has required the most modern
and expensive equipment at all times and the
use of IVORY SOAP exclusively, and we find
J
that our customers are well satisfied.
That is
why more and more people are turning to the
Varsity with their laundering needs.
ir
Fifth (it Liberty
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Buai
Boy t
A~m
41;
Suppol tk Fr h Ai Cam
JulyI2
To The Editor:
I have become greatly interested in the pen
battle being carried on in this column concerning
everything from the Depression to the Mooney
Case and would appreciate an opportunity to
point ot a few so-called issues which seem -to
me to be quite beside the point.
Our communistic friends on i he campus held
a meeting the other night at which the Mooney
case was to be the chief subject for debate, and
it seenos to me that their scathing denunciations
Sof the United States which have appeared since
then could only be classed in the category of
gross asininity. Granted that Mr. Mooney may
have all manner of injustices which they claim
have been poured out of the over-fBowing cup
upon his head, yet I fail to see through what
channels of reasoning they have reached a point
where they can logically attack the life and ac-
complishments of Lincoln or the ideals of Wilson.
Mr. Bridge made the cryptic comment that when
he graduated from high school he held these men
in high esteem, but that since he came under the
influence of "myths .:. fed to us by .money bar-
ons who control our primary and secondary sys-
tems of education" he has- seen a light and has
virtually led himself out of the maze. Isn't it re-
markable that one like said Mr. Bridge is able
to distort the facts to the extent that he would
s
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