THE MICHIGAN DATLY
FRIDAY, JULY 15,1949
Picketing
ACCORDING TO THE posters the big
three-ring circus is supposed to be in
Detroit. Last night it seems that the clowns
took a bus-man's holiday and frolicked
about the Rackham Building. They hoote
and they howled, they flipped and they
dipped. And they carried signs which dem-
onstrated beyond a doubt that they learned
their school lessons well-none of the words
were misspelled.
Yes, indeed, the Young Progressives
were out in boorish force to greet Governor
Williams and to caterwaul an adieu. As
is their wont they heaped upon one man's
shoulders the responsibility for every polit-
ioal, economic, social, ethical etc., evil in
Christendom-and Marxdom.
Their antics can only operate to help
bury liberal measures. Every time the YP
begins to bubble and decides to come out
for some idea, that idea has one more big,
muddy ditch to hurdle before it can cap-
ture the people's mind.
Unfortunately the mental process most
employed in political issues is that of la-
beling, pigeon-holing, and forgetting.
When the Progressives put their stamp
onto something, the red flag is run up,
and to many individuals the issue is as
dead as the great prophet himself. The
remarkable record of the Progressive
Party in following the policies of that par-
adise on earth, the Soviet Union, is enough
to explain this.
It's kind of a conditioned reflex (discov-
ered, of course, by a Russian) and it takes
heroic efforts to "de-condition" the people
about a sound liberal policy after the stamp
of approval or kiss of death or stab in the
back. Some ulterior motive lurks behind
most of their endorsements, and this is im-
puted to the measure itself-or so popular
belief would have it. Popular belief is not
always wrong.
Only the most significant issues can es-
cape relatively unsullied after the YP en-
dorsement. It is the other lesser known issues
that start gasping for air in the YP embrace.
Though they may be deserving-though they
may be important, too often the pure noise
of the YP is all that identifies them in the
popular mind and so the liberals these sad
days must not only fight off the narrow-
mindedness of the groups ranged on the
right, but also the bear in sheep's clothing
... they work, paw in trunk.
-George Vetter.
CINIEMA
A STAR IS BORN, with Fredric March,
Janet Gaynor, Adolphe Menjou, Andy De-
vine, May Hobson and Edgar Kennedy.
In Color.
MAYBE A STAR was born once, but it's
kind of old now. Thirteen years is a long
time. And this movie has not stood time
well.
Its biggest value is historical, and people
who like to reminisce nostalgically over the
good old times should enjoy it. That is not
to say that others can't enjoy it, but the
soap-opera quality of the story, the world-
out sound track and the primitive color
photography are handicaps.
Fortunately, as a sort of compensation,
the story is told in a reasonable way and
rather simple, just as it might have hap-
pened (it couldn't!!). There are nof lash-
backs, big fade-outs, and thep resenta-
tion is no more schmaltzy than Max Stein-
er's musical score.
The story is probably too well known to
discuss in detail. Janet Gaynor, a sweet am-
bitious young farm girl, goes to Hollywood
where she quietly starves until movie star
Norman Maine- played by Fredric March-
comes along and opens her way to stardom,
which seems to come very quickly to her.
Meanwhile'Maine's name nas vecome mud
around the studios and around the country
because of his antics and his Lost-Weekend
behavior. But Vicki Lester-as the new star
is named-marries him, and remains a loyal
and faithful wife even after his death which
is caused by drowning.
Some of the comedy, I'm afraid, has
gone very stale, and even the late Edgar
Kennedy and Adolphe Menjou cannot
create the gaiety that is supposed to be
found in the picture. The few jokes and
the satire may have been very funny
once, but so many pictures along the
same lines have been filmed since, and
audiences have become more sophisticated.
The most memorable character is the pub-
licity agent, played by Lionel Stander.
Maine's downfall is caused chiefly by chronic
alcoholism and suppressed jealousy over his
wife's phenomenal success, but the press;
agent is enough to drive anyone out to sea.
But what Maine does not realize is taht
he's simply getting too old for romantic
parts, and that if audiences want Vicki
Lester, it's because she has youth and
s-e-x. For my money, Fredric March is
still the star, as far as acting is concerned.
He makes the best of a tough role.
-John Neufeld.
Devil---Deep Blue Sea
HARRY TRUMAN is caught between the
devil and the deep blue sea.
The devil is the impending walkout of the
steel workers. The deep blue sea is the in-
junction provision of the Taft-Hartley law.
After trying so hard to please labor by
attempting to get rid of the injunction in
the new labor bill, the President would
certainly be embarrassed if he used that
very same provision to halt this strike.
And yet he must realize that now, just
as our economy is settling down, another
round of wage increases would start the
spiral up again. Similarly, an extended steel
strike would slow down our mass production
machinery almost as soon as it stopped
worrying about where and when its next ton
of steel was coming from.
Frankly, Mr. President, I wouldn't like to
be in your shoes. But if I were, I would not
try to eliminate the one way we can control
strikes in the basic industries.
The havoc in Australia is but one ex-
ample of what no control means. That
country, which is now in mid-winter, is
without coal due to a long strike. Indus-
tries have shut down and people are shiv-
ering in their heatless homes.
It is true that the use of an injunction
means curtailment of personal freedom. But
in the past, in all national emergencies, it
has been necessary for the government to
step in in the interest of the public wel-
fare.
Strikes in the basic industries at any
time, and particularly in a critical point of
our dynamic economy constitutes a national
emergency.
The discriminant use of the injunction
will avoid such situations.
All politicking aside, Mr. President, don't
we need the injunction?
-Don Sigman.
"C r T' i'ng1 We Cani Switch To Ini Case Of
A Thaw?"
Letters to the Editor-
r"
Mice Will Play
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY, the mice will
play!
This seems to be the case in light of the
position to ban fraternities, sororities and
other student buildings from single family
residential zones (Double A) which has re-
cently been submitted to the Ann Arbor City
Council.
Last February, after a bitter fight, the
City Council defeated a similar measure
on zoning student buildings by a six to
five vote. But now that most fraternities
and other student organizations are in-
active for the summer, it appears as if
another effort is being made to pass this
zoning law.
Perhaps, with campus resistance low, cer-
tain factions are again trying to put some-
thing over. But fortunately, the City Coun-
cil has, for the time being, referred the peti-
tion to committee without debate.
Now what's behind a measure that would
make 129 families out of the 136 who com-
pose the Double A (single family residential)
zone ask for a law to limit student building
in their area.
Fraternity and sorority houses, as well
as other buildings which house students
can at times be quite noisy. But this seems
a minor complaint.
A group of students walking home after a
big evening can also be "quite noisy." Per-
haps some other group of local citizens
would like to suggest closing up the Ann
Arbor streets at ten o'clock by imposing an
early curfew on the entire student body.
However, this petition, which primarily
is aimed at preventing the expansion of stu-
dent building has one very strange clause.
The 129 Ann Arbor families have also re-
quested the banning of "organizations where
the accessory or secondary use thereof is re-
ligious in character."
With a few religious organizations
planning expansion in the near future,
could this clause be aimed at keeping the
zone free of "undesirable" influences.
Of course, this implication may be entirely
erroneous, but such a proposal appears to be
aimed at something deeper than preserva-
tion of noise or any effect that these organi-
zations might have on property values.
If another battle about banning student
buildings from certain areas is to ensue, let's
hope the City Council acts fairly and waits
until the fall before taking up the zoning
measure.
After all, students are a part of Ann
Arbor too!
-Herb Kravitz.
u RvIE_
At the State...
BIG JACK, with Wallace Beery, Marjorie
Main, Richard Conte and Edward Arnold.
LUDICROUS FARCE and complete serious-
ness are combined in this film in such
a way that the patron hardly knows how
to take it.
The mixture is so unique that it actually
creates a certain amount of interest during
the course of the action.
A complete surrender to the forces of
farce would have been more desirable,
I think, than the resulting hodge-podge.
Wallace Beery and Marjorie MNin cavort-
ed through the film as an old-tiae frontier
gangster and his moll. Needless say hese
two had no trouble supplying the farce, and
they did a very good job of it.
Seriousness reared its ugly head in the
form of Richard Conte, who played the role
of a brilliant, dashing young doctor who was
burning with the desire to bring SCIENCE
to backwoods medicine.
Conte's complete seriousness of pur-
pose, his lack of humor, and his use of
big words made him appear completely
ridiculous before the backwopds bandit
Beery and his crew, whos eemed reason-
ably realistic.
The doctor stole corpses from graves in
order to carry on his scientific experiments.
He became entangled with Beery's mob, and
suffered a delay in his research.
Needless to say, virtue, and medical science
as learned from the stolen corpses tri-
umphed in the end. The doctor saved the
life of the heroine's sister, thanks to the
help of bad-man-turned-good Beery.
An excellent March of Time on the traffic
problem, a hackneyed and sticky cartoon,
and a militaristic newsreel rounded out the
program.
-Paul Brentlinger.
At the Michigna...
MORNING BECOMES ELECTRA, with
Rosalind Russell, Michael Redgrave, Ray-
mond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn,
Kirk Douglas; from a play by Eugene
O'Neill.
A STAR-STUDDED cast and a potentially
great story have been combined here
to produce one of the worst movies in a
long, long time.
The intention apparently was to tell a
deeply tragic story of a family consumed
by hatred that reproduces itself in one form
or another until it has destroyed every mem-
ber of the family.
In a Civil War setting, the Freudian sym-
bols of Electra and Oedipus are used to ex-
plain the hatred between daughter Rosalind
Russell and mother Katina Paxinou, and
the abnormal devotion of the son, Michael
Redgrave, to his mother. The sinister emo-
tional relationships also involve the father,
of the Mannon family, Raymond Massey,
and Leo Genn, whose arrival on the scene
digs up an old family skeleton.
Soon the various loves and hates lead
to overt crime, and from that point on the
family is doomed.
This could have been a moving and a
memorable story. Instead, it has been ruined
somewhere in the process of translation from
idea to film.
The sustained note of high tragedy is at
best unusual movie fare. Here it has been
pushed over the borderline into farce by the
exaggerated, flowery dialogue and the melo-
dramatic posturing of the actors.
One and all, they overplay their parts.
Drama becomes melodrama as they gasp,
hide their faces in their hands, and faint
dead away at crucial points.
The dialogue is so violent, so outspoken
as to be absolutely unrealistic.
A breath of normalcy is introduced into
these theatrical goings-on by Kirk Douglas,
who very convincingly plays Miss Russell's
suitor, a sane, sensible young man com-
pletely confused by the incredible happen-
ings around him.
Douglas' performance is not enough, how-
ever, to counteract the flow of violent emo-
tion and violent action which became tedious
to the audience long before the end of this
r' ' r
a--
DREW PEARSON
ON
y l h WASHINGTON
____EY6O-ROUND
WASHINGTON-A bill vitally affecting small-business men came
within a hair's breadth of being passed in Congress the other day.
The law was so technical that it was difficult for Senators and Rep-
resentatives to catch its full significance-let alone the poor public.
Also, some Congressmen were thrown off guard by the fact
that two trusted liberals fronted for the bill. They were: Sen. Joe
O'Mahoney of Wyoming and Rep. Emmanuel Celler of New York,
Democrats.
However, two alert freshman Senators and one sophomore Rep-
resentative intervened. Their amendments should save small bus-
iness from legalized cuttthroat competition by which the big trusts
could bleed them to death. The three interveners were Kefauver
of Tennessee, Long of Louisiana (son of the famed Huey), with Rep.
John Carroll of Denver-all Democrats.
Chain of Events--Here are the facts in the complicated legislative
battle which might have wrecked many small-business men.
For two decades and more, certain well-organized groups, such as
the cement and steel industries, sold under the basing-point system.
This meant that the price of cement was the same in every part
of the U.S.A. A cement company in Allentown, Pa., for instance, could
absorb the freight costs in shipping to New Orleans, thus selling in
Louisiana for the same price it sold in Pennsylvania.
Finally the Supreme Court intervened, decreed the basing-point
system illegal. The cement and other industries could not absorb
freight rates in order to fix a standard price in all parts of the
country, the Supreme Court ruled.
RESPECTED JOE MAHONEY
At this point, two former champions of little business appeared to
reverse themselves.
Champion No. 1-One of the most respected members of the
U.S. Senate is sandy-haired, blue-eyed Joe O'Mahoney of Wyoming.
Beginning as secretary to the late Senator Kendrick of Wyoming, Joe
got to know government backward and forward, usually fights for
the little fellow-except when it comes to wool. And on wool Joe
does an A-1 job for the big sheepmen of his state.
Back in the New Deal days, O'Mahoney was the trust-busting
chairman of the temporary National Economic Committee which had
this to say:
"Extensive hearings on basing-point systems showed that they
are used in many industries as an effective device for eliminating
price competition . . . We therefore recommend that the Congress
enact legislation declaring such price systems to be illegal."
This was in 1941. Seven years later the U.S. Supreme Court caught
up with Joe O'Mahoney and followed his advice. Whereupon, in
1949, Joe turned around and introduced a bill which partly nullified
the Supreme Court.
Senator O'Mahoney explained that his bill was only clarifying
the law. Admittedly the law needed clarifying. For, under the new
Supreme Court ruling, a cement company in Birmingham, Ala.,
could not absorb freight rates to compete in such an earby market
as New Orleans.
But tucked away in O'Mahoney's bill were these little noticed,
but highly significant words: That it should be legal "to absorb
freight to meet the equally low price of a competitor in good faith."
Note-Joe's Senate colleagues say he has been under terrific
pressure from the sugar-beet interests back home to legalize the
basing-point system, with the Wyco Trona Development Co., of Green
River, Wyo. ,especially on his neck.
CONGRESSMAN'S LAW FIRM
Old Champion No. 2-Another former champion of little business
has been Rep. "Manny" Celler, vigorous New York Democrat, now
head of the potent House Judiciary Committee, which processed the
new O'Mahoney basing-point bill on the House side of Congress.
Celler is also a member of the Manhattan law firm of Weisman,
Celler, Quinn, Allan and Spett. This firm handles accident cases for
the giant A&P chain grocery stores.
A&P is one of the chains hit by the Supreme Court decision. In
fact, A & P was specifically mentioned in the Morton Salt case, where
it was shown that A&P was actually able to sell salt retail for less
than the neighborhood grocers could buy it wholesale. Thus the
independent grocer didn't have a chance of competing.
Whatever Manny Celler's motives, he acted strangely out of
character in regard to the basing-point bill.
New Champions of Little Business-Realizing what the O'Mahoney
basing-point bill meant to little business, Kefauver in the Senate and
Carroll in the House tacked on amendments aimed to prevent further
price-fixing.
But this got no support from Rep. Celler. To the New York
Journal of Commerce he warned that he hoped to change the wording
of the Carroll Amendment when the bill came before him in judiciary
conference.
Later, Manny denied this statement; also got his dander up when
this columnist challenged his position.
"Never have I been opposed to the Carroll and Kefauver Amend-
ments," he fumed. "I have been for them."
Later, the Congressional Record was read to the Congressman
over the telephone to remind him of what he had said to his
DAILY
OFFICIAL
BULLETIN
The Daily accords its readers the
privilege of submitting letters for
publication In this column. Subject
to space limitations, the general pol-
icy is to publish in the order in which
they are received all letters bearing
the writer's signature and address.
Letters exceeding 300 words, repeti-
tious letters and letters of a defama-
tory character or suchletters which
for any other reason are not in good
taste will not be published. The
editors reserve the privilege of con-
densing letters.
Carnival . .
To the Editors:
We have worked very hard. The
little ice cream social Guild we're
going to put on to raise money for
a displaced person has somehow
grown into an all-campus Carni-
val with square dancing and the
works, starting at seven o'clock,
lasting five solid hours, and run-
ning not only Friday night, but
Saturday night too. That "some-
how grown" is composed in equal
parts of sweat, blood and tears.
Perhaps that is why we are a lit-
tle touchy on this subject of dis-
placed persons.
It was the little man who came
by while we were working on the
banner for State Street who did it.
The others hadn'tbeen so bad.
They had just said "Don't be suck-
ers." They were so crude somehow
that they hardly seemed to make
an impression. But the little man
with the black hat was different.
There was something about the
way he wore it that made you
think he was trying to cover up a
pair of horns. Strange how easily
you get to thinking things.
Well anyway he said he hated
to see young people putting in .so
much misdirected effort. Waste-
ful he said. If we could only see
it from his more mature viewpoint
-of course it was too bad about
Europe-oh yes, no onehwas more
painfully aware than he of the
bad time over there, but we should
let those D.P.'s gain the strength
of soul that comes from working
out their own problems - facing
aardships is education in the class-
room of life. We really do those
D.P.'s very little good by spoon
feeding them.
Just then something snapped. I
am afraid we said some unkind
words. The little man has not
come back. We are very sorry.
I spent last summer with a
p.
D.P. roommate in Paris where he
was earning just enough for room
and potatoes. I ate with him un-
til I got sick from it. He didn't
have a prayer of going to school
without some sort of help from
outside. Nice future. He had a
girl . . . of course he could prom-
ise to provide for her with love I
suppose. Funny, but it looked kind
of black to me. I guess I haven't
had enough education in the class-
room of life. Probably have a
pretty twisted point of view. We
have a feeling there are some
other people with twisted points
of view too-lots of them. We'll
see when the Carnival opens Fri-
day night.
-Wym Price,
Secretary Congregational
Disciples Guild
Cool Lydia . ..
To the Editor:
The large crowds attending the
Department of Speech's Summer
plays are a fitting tribute to the
high quality of the productions
which the University community
has had the privilege of attend-
ing this summer.
That the playgoers return on
succeeding weeks in spite of the
fact that the temperature inside
of the theatre during the hot
weather was at least several de-
grees above the sweltering temp-
erature outside should be consid-
ered an additional commendation.
Certainly we can agree that
what is a "good" performance to
the fellow with a moist shirt, wilt-
ing collar and a mind that wan-
ders to the far-off coke machine
would be an "extraordinary" per-
formance to one in a more com-
fortable situation.
This hotbox situation is un-
fortunate and perhaps unneces-
sary.
I understand on very reliable
authority that the Lydia Mendel-
ssohn Theatre has in the past been
cooled considerably by the rela-
tively simple expedient of putting
cakes of ice in the air ventilating
system.
If the weather gets very warm
again I suggest that re-instituting
this would be a most valuable pub-
lic service.
* * *
(On the political scene, I prom-
ise my Republican critics an an-
swer next week.)
-Tom Walsh
Color Hunt .. .
To the Editor:
W E ARE RAPIDLYhentering the
final stage of the color hunt
(red, pink, flesh-color, etc.). The
last vestiges of the much vaunted
"American Individualism" are go-
ing by the board without as much
as a chirp of dismay from the us-
ual protagonists of this philosophy.
The most recent attempt to
stifle any non-conformist thought
has been made by Detroit Mayor
Van Antwerp, who, like the fabu-
lous Hitler of 1933, ordered an
attack on "suspected" Communists
in the Civil Service. The Mayor
also requested the Governor to
outlaw the Communist Party in
this state.
In exactly this same way Rep.
Nixon (that staunch American
Defender who voted "NO" on anti-
discriminatory housing) declared
that legal technicalities should not
hinder actions such as the outlaw-
ing of a legal party. We can well
imagine what would happen if the
jury in NYC found the 11 Com-
munist leaders "Not Guilty," mere-
ly from observing the reaction to
the Hiss Trial. As in the Hiss trial,
the FBI would probably investigate
the jurors who voted for acquittal
and condemn them all as tools of
international plotters. Even the
poor judge, trying his best to aid
the prosecution, would probably be
censured.
How long are men like Nixon
and Antwerp going to revere and
eulogize July 4, 1776, while re-
questing the complete destruction
of trial by jury and a democratic
way of life that was born on that
day.
-Hy Bershad.
I J
(Continued from Page 3)
Hall. Weekdays, 9-5, Sundays, 2-5.
The public is invited.
Events Today
Come and get your DP Dip at
the Ice Cream Carnival sponsored
by the Congregational-Disciples
and E&R Guild! All benefits go
toward the sponsoring of our DP
at Michigan. Cowe join the fun
and fellowship on the Congrega-
tional Church lawn, State and
William Street, from 7 to 12 Fri-
day and Saturday. Square dancing
for everybody!
Canterbury Club, 218 N. Div.
St. 4-6 p.m. Tea and open house
for all students and their friends.
Lutheran Student A~soc ation
Party-Friday evening at 8:00 at
the Student Center, 1304 Hill St.
Classical Studies: The regular
weekly coffee-hour will be held on
Friday, July 15, at 4:00 p.m. in
the West Conference Room of
he Rackham Building. Professor
Ward will speak informally.
German Coffee Hour: Friday,
3:00-4:30 p.m., Russian Tea Rm.
All interested students and fac-
ulty members are invited.
"The Glass Menagerie," Ten-
nessee Williams' remarkable
"memory play" will have only two
more performances at the Lydia
Mendelssohn Theatre, tonight and
Saturday. Curtain time is 8 o'clock.
Tickets are on sale at the Theatre
box office from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Coming Events
U. of Mich. Hostel Club Square
dancing every Saturday evening
from 8:00-11:00 at Women's Ath-
letic Building. Refreshments and
intermission entertainment. Spon-
sored by the Hostel Club for every-
one who likes square dancing.
Pi Lambda Theta will meet
Monday evening, July 18, at 7:30
in the East Conference Room at
Rackham. Edith Kovach will show
slides and speak about her summer
in Rome.
The Graduate Outing Club will
meet jointly with the A.V.C. 2:15
Sunday, July 17, at the Northwest
Entrance of the Rackham Build-
ing, for swimming, baseball and a
steak roast. All those planning to
attend must sign list at the Rack-
PERHAPS it is good that the principles of
freedom are assailed from time to time.
The attacks always bring brilliant defenders
to the support of liberty.
-St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Editorials published in The Michigan Daily
are written by members of The Daily staff
and represent the views of the writers only.
NIGHT EDITOR: B. S. BROWN
1
I -E
over-long picture.
"A nutty show,"
left the theatre.
someone remarked as he
-Virginia Von Schon.
,..
Fifty-Ninth Year
Edited and managed by students of
the University of Michigyn uder the
authority of the Board in Cantrol of
Student Publications.
Editorial Staff
B. S. Brown ......Co-Managing Editor
Craig Wilson .Co-Managing Editor
Merle Levin...........Sports Editor
Mariyn one....... women's Editor
Bess Young.................Librarian
BARNABY
Run and ask your mother
if I may use her kitchen.
We'll have a nice clam bisque.
. And roast a few in the oven.
Mrs. Van Ess doesn't like
to be alone. She's very
+' Y49 .Cx'n[ .k. N I. t'Sf Pa, ,IlI..
I
I said Mrs. Van Ess is very nervous-
I
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