THE MICHIGAN DAILY TURDAY,A
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Official Publication of the Summer Session
The Theatre
A STAGE MANAGER
REMINISCES
_.F,
III
Published every morning except Monday during the
University yearrand Summer Session by the Board in
Control of Student Publications.
Member of the Western Conference Editorial Association
and the Big Ten News Service.
oZrciattd Oolkgoate $ tacs
19__ 9a$NATIO vmvea 1934
By Larry Levy
"THE SHOW MUST GO ON" and "Anything
Can Happen" ame two well-known platitudes of the
theatre. In my limited experience, I've seen these
two sayings come true time after time. It is
quite obvious why the show must go on. When
one considers the myriad of little things and big
things, mechanical or otherwise, that make up that
harmonious combination known as a good show, it I
is equally evident that anything can happen. Some-
times mishaps occur backstage, never known to the
audience, which lend an exciting element to the
theatre far above the actual exultation in taking
part in a show. I have had nearly everything hap-
pen to me while acting or working in a show, all
the way from two bats flying across the stage dur-
ing a performance to a fuse blowing out and
throwing the stage in complete darkness in the
middle of a scene.
M4EMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
* * *
*
The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use
for republication 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.
Subscription during summer by carrier, $1.25; by mail,
$1.50. During regular school year by carrier, $3.75; by
mail, $4.25.
Offices: Student Publications Building, Maynard Street,
Ann Arbor, Michigan. Phone: 2-1214.
Representatives: College Publications Representatives,
Inc., 40 East Thirty-Fourth Street, New York City; 80
Boylston Street, Boston; 612 North Michigan Avenue,
Chicago.;
EDITORIAL STAFF
Phone 4625
MAN4GING EDITOR ..............E. JEROME PETTIT
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR .... BRACKLEY SHAW
WOMEN'S EDITOR .................ELEANOR JOHNSON
ASSOCIATE EDITORS: Charles A. Baird, Clinton B. Con-
ger, Paul J. Elliott, Thomas E. Groehn, Thomas H.
Kleene. William R. Reed, Robert S. Ruwitch.
REPORTERS: Barbara Bates, C. H. Beukgma, Donald R.
Bird, Ralph Danhoff, Frances English, Elsie Pierce, Vir-
ginia Scott, Bernard H. Fried.
BUSINESS STAFF
Office Hours: 9-12, 1-5. Phone 2-1214
BUSINESS MANAGER......BERNARD E. SCUNACKE
4SET. BUSINESS MANAGER ......W. GRAFTON SHARP
IRCULATION MANAGER ........CLINTON B. CONGER
I CAN REMEMBER the opening night of one
show which was a failure and on its way to be a
"flop" until near the end of the long first act. The
action called for a maid to light a candle on one
side of a darkened stage. A spotlight aimed at her
was supposed to glow on at the same moment that
she struck the match. The electrician confidently
pulled a switch at that point of the show and the
audience burst into loud laughter and guffaws.
Imagine the electrician's surprise when he glanced
on the stage and saw the maid standing in com-
plete shadow, holding the lit candle while the other
side of the stage was bathed in brilliant light. The
mistake woke the audience from its lethargy and
inspired the actors to redeem the show. After that
the audience was in a more receptive mood and the
performance went on successfully because the
wrong switch had been pulled.
* * * *
As time passed the island became more and
more a personification of things sinister and a
place to be avoided. Schooners passing through the
channel between the island and the mainland dur-
ing a storm were never seen again. The island
shoals were well marked, and veteran Great Lakes
sailors shook their heads when asked to explain
the disappearance of so many boats in the channel.
Had the waves, the sandy beaches or the tall
pines been able to speak, the terrible fate of the
men in the missing ships would have been dis-
closed.
They would have told of the dark nights and
of the rain pelting down as if in a puny effort
to level churning, gale-lashed seas. They would
have told of the ships' valiant struggles against
pounding waves - struggles that were successful
until -suddenly a shock and a quiver in the bow
brought to the doomed sailors the awful realization
that buoys had been shifted and that they were
aground in treacherous shallows.
It wouldn't have been necessary for them to
tell any more. Any sailor could picture the break-
ing up of the ship, hear the despairing cries of
doomed men, see the bloated and decomposed
bodies on the beach. It would remain for the waves,
the pines and the beach to complete the story -
to tell of the ghoulish visits of Strang's men to the
shore, the looting of the wreckage and the robbing
of dead bodies.
Such rebellion against the laws of God and man
must have an early end, and it was just and fitting
that one of Strang's own men should have put an
end to a nefarious existence for a petty grievance.
Deprived of their leader, the islanders were grad-
ually driven out and their places taken by fisher-
men and lumbermen. Today the island's population
is made up of Germans and Irish who are en-
gaged in fishing and lumbering. In the summer
time resorters come to spend two months swimming
and fishing, and the once notorious marine grave-
yard has a quiet and peaceful appearance.
Two factions, however, have grown up on the
island in recent years, and hostility has been rife
among the two groups. Those who would remain
neutral are frowned on by both groups until they,
affiliate with one or the other. Feeling between the
clans broke out in open fighting a few years ago
when a sawmill operated by one faction was
destroyed by fire of an incendiary origin, and there
are those who trace the trouble back to the days of
King Strang, believing that the evil of his reign
will always cast a shadow over the island.
Campus Opinion
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN'
Publication in the Bulletin is constructive notice to all mmbers of the
Univcrsity. Copy received at the Summer Session office until 3:30; 11:30
Saturday.
To All Students Having Library T
Books:
1. Students having in their posses-
sion books drawn from the University
Library are notified that such books ,
are due Monday, August 13, before'
the impending examinations.ed
2. Students who have special need 1
for certain books after August 13 may
retain such books if renewed at the
Charging Desk.
3. The names of all students who
have not cleared their records at the
Library by Wednesday, August 15,
will be sent to the Recorder's Office,
where their summer's credits will be
held up until such time as said rec-
ords are cleared, in compliance with
the regulations of the Regents.
S. W. McAllister,
Associate Librarian
A special announcement relating to
late Friday afternoon and Saturday
morning classes to be offered by the
School of Education next year is now
ready for distribution. Copies may
be secured in the office of the School
of Education or in the libraries of the
University High School and Elemen-
tary School.
Attention of All Concerned: Name-
ly faculty, administrative and clerical
staff members and students, is re-
spectfully called to the following ac-
tion by the Regents.
Students shall pay in acceptable
funds (which shall not include notes
unless the same are bankable) all
amounts due the University before
they can be admitted to the final ex-
aminations at the end of either se-
mester or of the Summer Session. No
office in the University is authorized
to make any exception to this rule.
Any specific questions that can be
foreseen arising in this connection
should be taken up with the proper
authorities at the earliest possible mo-
ment.
Shirley W. Smith
University Women: The lists of ap-
proved residences for 1934-35 are
now available at the Office of the
Dean of Women.
Publiity And
Propaganda.. .
URING the past two years publicity
and propaganda have made up a
large part of the average American's diet of read-
ing and amusement. This is true mainly because a
revolution in government has been taking place in
our country. Partisanship, strengthened by the
change in control of our federal government, and
class consciousness, aroused by the possibility of a
like change in our social life, have been struggling
together, and the noise of their battle emerges as
publicity and propaganda.
The Democrats, the liberals, and the laborers are
trying to hold the ground they have gained. The
Republicans, the conservatives, and the capitalists
are seeking to recover, what they have lost. The
man who has no strong party allegiance, who is
liberal in some things and conservative in others,
who hasn't made up his mind about labor prob-
lems, is the object of the struggle.
He ..goes serenely on his way, not struggling,
yielding a little when a particularly effective wave
of propaganda strikes, swaying back to the other
side when the counter-attack is launched. The
average man, in between any two opposing camps,
is not trying to make up his mind; he does not
realize that the fight concerns him
Propaganda on both sides of almost all important
questions has been appearing in our motion pic-
tures; it flows from the irresponsible lips of radio
comedians; it is appearing in the fiction of our
most widely read magazines. Less propaganda, but
much more publicity, has appeared in the news-
papers. Propaganda, defined as publicity emanat-
ing from an irresponsible or concealed source, has
not emerged in the newspapers as much as in other
publicity organs, but the newspapers have also
taken sides.
Much of the current publicity and propaganda is
unintentional. The people who originate this mate-
rial are so thoroughly saturated with the dogma
of their side of a question that they really don't
see the arguments of the other side. A liberal gen-
erally thinks that the conservatives are selfish.
unjust, and foolish. A conservative thinks the
liberals are unwashed envoys of Moscow who will
cut throats if allowed to gain power, and who are
entirely lacking in logic and even ii common'sense.
The fact that the man who is on no side, who is
between the lines and affected by the thrusts -of
each, wavers and sways between the two camps
and sees logic in both and selfishness and stubborn-
ness in both, demonstrates that neither side of
most questions is entirely right.
Instead of wasting time and energy in issuing
publicity and propaganda, the opposing sides
should get together, agree on the facts involved,
consider each other's interpretations logically, and
make a decision. An agreement dan usually be
reached on any question, no matter how contro-
versial.
At present the publicity of each side of most
questions balances with that of the other side.
Neither side can move forward, and the man in the
center can move to neither side. If we can stop
blind arguments, we may be able to agree on a
road and all go forward together.
AsOthers See It
IN DEFENSE OF WOMEN
A man's women folk, whatever their -outward
show of respect for his merit and authority, always
regard him secretly as an ass, and with something
akin to pity. His most gaudy sayings and doings
seldom deceive them; they see the actual man
wlthin, and know him for a shallow and pathetic
fellow.
T +hi fat nerhans li nnne of the hst nroofs
THE REALISTIC portrayal of a telephone con-
versation on the stage requires capable acting and
great concentration because stage telephones are
dummies. A certain stock company was blessed
with a practical joker, a creature who can be
annoying in ordinary life but when found behind
the footlights is a fatal menace. This particular
culprit, one evening, conceived the brilliant plan
of making the telephone a practical one. The play
was progressing at its normal fashion up to the
point where the death of a beloved relative was
to be reported over the telephone. The phone rang,
and the dramatic lead crossed the stage to answer
it. He was prepared, of course, to give his usual
monologue to the dummy phone. He lifted the
receiver to his ear and heard a nonsensical and
personal conversation directed at him. This almost
resulted in the actor 'blowing up' in his lines. He
was able, however, to carry it off with the audiencE
none the wiser.
AT ONE PERFORMANCE of "Journey's End,"
an overly enthusiastic artilleryman, who was beat-
ing a kettle drum, suddenly hit too hard and the
stick went right through the drumhead. From the
audience, it sounded as- though someone had fallen
into a bathtub. The surprise attack of the army was
very weak until the man in charge of effects sud-
denly pushed two sticks into the hands of the
drummer and told him to be a machine-gun. The
audience suddenly heard a sound similar to a small
child running along a fence and hitting the pickets
with a stick. Being gullible, however, and fooled
by the setting, the situation, and the actors, the au-
dience was firmly convinced that they were hear-
ing a heavy barrage of machine-gun fire.
* * *
*
SCENERY comes in sections called "flats,"
which arq lashed to one another with rope similar
to heavy clothes line. On one show, of which I was
stage-manager, two of these lash cords snapped
and there wasn't time to put new ropes in the
flats. I delegated four of my stage-crew to hold
these flats for the act. For nearly three-quarters
of an hour those men stood there holding in place
the side wall of an extremely good looking living
room set. The audience never knew that anything
had happened back stage.
Summec.r Camps
BEAVER ISLAND
By Arthur Gallager
It's only a little island, hardly more than a
speck on the map, but its sandy shores, now gently
laved by Lake Michigan's waves, now eaten away
by stormy seas, have felt the tread of historic feet,
borne silent witness to deeds of love and hate.
Shut off from the rest of the world by miles
of water, this little fragment of a great continent
jealously guards secrets that might be turned into
masterpieces of art or literature under the brush
or the pen of the journalist. On maps it is desig-
nated as Beaver Island; in history it should be
known as King Strang's empire.
Years and years ago, when America's west was
young and the roar of the Pacific surf sounded the
call of opportunity, Brigham Young and his band
of Mormon followers left the intolerance of the
east to seek new fields in the unsurveyed territory
west of the Mississippi. Young took.the main body
of his followers to a site later to become Salt Lake
City, but dissension in the ranks caused the sepa-
ration of a small band under a Mormon leader
known as "King Strang."
Seeking a place where he might lead his group
along lines of conduct which he deemed desirable,
Strang hit upon a group of small islands in north-
ern Lake Michigan and selected the largest one of
the group as the site for the establishment of his
colony.
The few historians who have included the story
of Strang's empire in their treatises have described
the Mormon leader as a murderer, a personality,
a religious fanatic and a pirate, but whether or
not all of these characterizations are applicable,
it is now known that he was a murderer and that
he engaged in piracy on a large scale.
Soon after Strang's castle, some ruins of which
Letters published in this column should not be con- 1
strued as expressing the editorial opinion of The
Daily. Anonymous communications will be disregarded.,
The names of communicants will, however, be re-
garded as confidential upon request. Contributors
are asked to be brief, confining themselves to less
than 500 words if possible,
WE RESENTE
THAT, SUH!t
To the Editor:1
Being a Southerner, I naturally read your
editorial, "Race Prejudice -The Negro," with
more interest than I show your usual space-filling
comments.f
Of course, it would be absurd to deny that the
Negro is not given economic and political equality1
with the whites in the South. But your phrase, "To-j
day, in the South, the Negro is the 'hated man',"
is one that cannot go unchallenged. It is a typical
expression of the so-called observer who gains his1
entire knowledge of the situation from books, or
from a superficial investigation made during some1
pleasure trip, or the like.
The Negroes, as a class, are not a hated race
below the Mason-Dixon Line. A large number of
them are treated with much more cordiality and
reverence than the average Northerner exhibits
toward his immediate neighbors. Many white peo-
ple place far more trust -in them than they do
in their fellow whites. This becomes obvious imme-
diately to anyone who makes even a semi-thor-
ough study of Southern social conditions.
In spite of the shameful Scottsboro Case and
the civil inequality it revealed, let me say that we
still look upon the Negro as an individual, in the
normal course of affairs.
We realize that there are good Negroes, and bad
Negroes, just as there are good Yankees and bad
Yankees that come South and tell us 'how to run
our own private affairs.
In conclusion, may I respectfully suggest that, in
the future, your editorial writers refrain from
making generalizations that have no factual foun-
dation, especially when they reflect upon the cul-
ture of a certain section of our country.
-A Southerner.
Screen Reflections
Four stars means extraordinary; three stars very
good; two stars good; one star just another picture;
no stars keep away from it.
AT THE MAJESTIC TODAY
"HERE COMES THE NAVY"
With a navy picture still showing at the Mich-
igan, the Majestic, just to be different, presents
James (Tough Guy) Cagney in another tale of
Uncle Sam's jack-tars afloat, "Here Comes the
Navy," today.
Jimmy is co-starred with Pat O'Brien, Frank
McHugh and three thousand gobs who take active
part in the picture.
Cagney and O'Brien, two seamen, are the bit-
terest of enemies, Jimmy having joined the navy.
just to get even with O'Brien who has knocked
him cold in a fistic encounter and stolen his
girl, Dorothy ,Tree.
To add fuel to their hatred Jimmy falls in love
with Gloria Stuart, who turns out to be his hated
enemy's sister.
The whole Pacific fleet is seen in the picture,
many of the scenes having been taken aboard the.
Arizona, where Warner Bros. spent three weeks
under production.
Scenes were also taken at the navy dirigible
base at Sunnydale, Calif., aboard the U.S.S. Dirig-
ible Macon, at the Naval Training station at
San Diego, and at the navy yards at Bremerton,
Wash.
Social Directors; Sorority Chaper- t
ons; Ifouseheads; University Wom-
en: All residents of approved Uni-
versity houses, dormitories, sorority t
houses, and League houses, must be
out of their rooms by Saturday noon,
August 18.
Riding -- Women Students: Anyone
wishing to ride on Saturday is asked
to call 7418.
Michigan Dames: There will be a
final meeting of the Michigan Dames
for the summer on Monday evening,
August 13, at 8 o'clock, in the Michi-
gan League. The evening will be en-
tirely social with both auction and
contract bridge and other games on
the program for those desiring to play.
Refreshments will be served during
the evening. Wives of all students
and of internes in the University Hos-
pital are cordially invited. A small
fee will be collected to defray the ex-
penses of the evening.
Professor Hollister will read from
Tennyson, Browning, and recent
poets, for students in Speech 44 and
any others who may be interested, on
I
Greater Movie AIC/ IGAL* Greater Movie
Season . . . . l . . . Season
ENDS TONIGHT
CHESTER MORRIS MAE CLARKE
"LET'S TALK IT OVER"
TOMORROW -°
JEAN HARLOW LIONEL BARRYMORE FRANCHOT TONE
'The Girl Froms r
matinee & Evening MAJESTIC ATTEND
in Balcony 25c . . . . . . . + COOL MATINEES
Join the World and See the Navy!
"Here COmes eNaiyr
JAMES CAGNEY PAT O'BRIEN
Glria Stuart - Frank McHugh - and the U. S. Fleet
"ALLEZ-OOP" Comedy LATEST METRO NEWS