PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY 1?RIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1953 U ________________________________________________________________________________ Paradox Of Specialization SPECIALIZATION is the paradox of our society. It has led to the proliferation of Western man, and also led to the mass medi- ocracy that is the singular mark of our so- ciety. Economically, specialization has meant the amassing of great wealth through the cate- gorization of individual talents. The sum of these talents has resulted in more and better material comforts. But the price of all this has been high. The ultimate cost being re- flected in the "self-satisfied" man. Society takes a person with average abilities and de- velops his most outstanding talents. This av- erage man is now a specialist in his field. Whereas before his knowledge of all things was limited and incomplete, it is now more inadequate then ever. .But the paradox of the situation arises when this mediocre specialist who knows about a little attempts to dominate fields outside his scope. The AMA on health in- surance might be sighted as an example of this mental myopia. The immediate result of this unbalanced specialization has resulted in more "scien- tist" and less "cultured" men then ever be- fore. But the greatest danger lies in the distant future .when our fund of facts will have reached such amazing proportions that the segregated mind will no longer be able to comprehend its potentialities in terms of hu- man needs. The only anwser to this paradox is a re- turn to the liberal education which empha- sizes the over-all approach to the ingath- ering of knowledge. But the curse of speciali- zation is not only a thing of the past but also of the present and of the future if edu- cational trends today are indications of what tomorrow may bring. The "cultured" man is relegated to the junk heap as obso- lete. "He knows too little about a lot of things" Instead the streamlined automan of materialism is pushed to the fore. He knows much about a little; thus logically he must know a lot about everything else, at least he will learn in time. During his period of learning and experimentation, however, he may drive himself to extinction. But this is the age of experimentation. Therefore with callous disregard for the lessons of the past the "satisfied" specialist plunges to his dis- truction, oblivious of his heritage. It is a tru- ism that only the ignorant feel intelectually satisfied. But this is the paradox of our age. -Dick Wolf OPERA AT LYDIA MENDELSSOHN TALES OF- HOFFMANN, by Offenbach; with Mary Ann Tinkham, Joan Rossi, Ruth Orr, Charles Green, David Mur- ray; conducted by Josef Blatt; presented by the School of Music and Department of Speech; direction, Valentine Winot; scenery, Jack E. Bender; costumes, Phyl- lis Pletcher; dance, Esther Pease SLOING OUT the summer fare at Lydia Mendelssohn is Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann, a good opera but not a great one. This qualification is because of the music, which while tuneful and singable, is not comparable to Mozart or Verdi. The opera's main charm is in its libretto which prescribes pageantry, satire, fantasy, and abounds in all sorts of theatricality. The production by the School of Music and Speech Department was successful and crit- icisms are only suggestions of what could have been done to make it more successful. The burden of the show is on tenor Charles Green who sang the role of the poetic Hoffmann. His stage presence was natural. He has a big tenor voice which is without softness and has a hard quality. Its lustre is of the trumpet more than cello. Singing with romantic finesse, he admir- ably transformed his vocal tones into words of love and compassion, giving the melodic lines a clarity and rounded phrasing to son- orously define their lyric character. But the show stopper last night was. Ruth Orr who sang Antonia, the symbol of art and things beautiful who dies. Miss Orr's voice was rich, full, and her phrasing and articulation precise. The continuous intense dramatic mood that was required left her without quite enough power at the end, but this was forgotten by her acting. If her voice is not yet ready for the Met, her coun- tenance was. She told her story by her face, which was plaintive, longing, freightened, discouraged, whatever the libretto required. Her eyes did the main expressing leaving the song to come forth as a natural accompanying ex- pression. The animated doll, Olympia, who comes - to life as the deceiving image of the phy- sicist and those who make machines, was sung by Mary Ann Tinkham. A toy doll she was, with all her gestures seemingly engineered by a mechanical apparatus. Vocally she was made to sing virtuoso trills and scales which she sang with ease. The way she was so mechanically inhuman in comparison to Hoffman's apparently real proposals gave the scene its comical, sa- tirical tinge, something the characteriza- tions of her two inventors failed to do. Respectively played by William Zakariasen and David Murray, Spalanzani and Coppe- lius, the inventors were too general in their ludicrous portrayals to be really convincing. If they had specified their conceptions of the physicist and vendor to actual mimicry of such people rather than mimicry of what could be any ridiculous person, the satirical effect of the scene would have been more pungent. Lloyd Evans was a properly funny stuttering Cochenille. David Murray also played Dapurtutto, the villain, and Doctor Miracle, another form of Mephistopheles. His voice while soft in his aria as Dapurtutto, still had a lyric quality showing he could do straight vocal singing. But as Dr. Miracle, he took on a stylized voice of stage effect which loses too much of vocal color in sacrificing to theatricality. The role of the harlot, Giulietta, and the singing of the Barcarolle belonged to Joan Rossi. She sang with lovely tones, but she jwas poorly directed. Harlots do not prac- tice their art standing up, and the director was at fault for not giving her the props to adequately perform her duties. The sup- porting roles in her scene were not ade- quate to portray the malicious inconti- nence and rudeness of the world of love, which is what the scene sets out to do. A couch and a Hoffmann able to take .suitable positions for her to practice her suggestive enticements were desperately needed. Margaret Avsharian, Nicklausse, Hoff- mann's faithful servant, was convincing as a singer, though perhaps a little too inno- cent in her acting for the knowledge and foresight she was supposed to have. The production's pace was excellent. Josef Blatt kept its motion spirited. The orchestra was quite efficient, flaws in the strings were compensated for in the winds. The opening scene with the chorus was rousing and brisk, giving the show a flour- ish at the beginning. The chorus, well-train- ed by Richmond McCluer, sang with good tone and phrasing even though a little lack- ing in volume. Scenery ran the gamut from very good to very bad. The prologue had the proper effect of a tavern, and subsequently Spalanzani's house was simple enough to allow room for all the action that had to take place. But the act three set was hideous and make- shift. A couch and something I supposed to be a harpsichord or piano, were out of place with the rest of the decor and detracted from the effectiveness of the scene. Just as the second act needed the air of lust and the sensual life, this act needed things beau- tiful to compliment the meaning of Antonia. The second act scene was more reserved than need be. The dancing was too brief, the first bal- let barely noticeable. The second dance was effective in the way movement was created by arms placed diagonally. But as a pageant there should have been much more dance throughout. Costumes were for the most part in char- acter. The buffoons, especially in the first act could have looked more that way. But the evil hunchback in the second act and the gowns for the Ball were elegant. Elsewhere in the cast Mary Mattfeld, the mother; Alfred Neumann, Frantz; Andrew Brockema, Schlemil, all turned in respect- able performances, as did William Taylor, who sneaks in more often than Alfred Hitchcock..--Donald Harris MATTER OF FACT: The Reign of Stupidity . By STEWART ALSOP BONN-This city is a peculiarly depress- ing place, and for a peculiarly American reason. It is odd that this should be so. There is an almost unbelievable contrast between the bustling prosperity of Western Germany, and the weary, angry stagnation of the Soviet zone, which is so visible from. Berlin. Logically, this contrast should fill Ameri- cans with renewed confidence in the future. Yet one very soon realizes that Americans here are, instead, rapidly losing their confi- dence in themselves and their country. This in turn has led to a sort of paralysis where the great issues of policy are con- cerned, for people who have lost their confi- dence naturally tend to substitute dogma for policy and the official line for serious, original thought. The chief policy advisers here were un- til recently three very able professional foreign service officers - John Davies, Charles Thayer, and Samuel Reber. As one official here remarked, "They held the whole thing together." Now all three are gone, at least two of them victims of McLeodism, the State Department's duti- ful imitation of McCarthyism. There have been, of course, plenty of other victims- designate, some well known, others purged under cover of the reduction-in-force pro- gram, others still waiting for the axe to fall. It is hardly surprising that the survivors have adopted "Don't stick your neck out" as their guiding rule. The Germans, of course, derive a special pleasure from talk- ing about the "American Gestapo," and from comparing America today with Germany twenty years ago. This is nonsense. There is no Buchenwald for American officials who have incurred official disfavor. Instead, there is a steady pressure for dull conform- ity, in an oddly ridiculous atmosphere of cloak-and-dagger. The flavor of this at- mosphere is best conveyed by the sort of minor incident which has become the small change of private conversation among Americans here. THERE WAS, for example, the official who . happened to step on his balcony, and saw a shadowy figure clambering over the railing. He called in the German couple who serve him, and asked who this mysterious intruder might be. They replied calmly that it was doubtless the American secret service fellow who had several times interrogated them about the official's dinner table conversation and other aspects of his private life. Or there was the series of secret in- terrogations to discover the identity of those who attended the farewell party for Theodore Kaghan, the able public af- fairs official who was one of the State Department's recent blood sacrifices to Senator McCarthy. What made this in- vestigation silly was the fact that the party was attended by High Commission- er James B. Conant himself. What made it even sillier was the further fact that the busy gumshoes needed only to tele- phone te public affairs division, which had arranged the party, to obtain a com- plete list of those present. What is going on here, in short, is less a reign of terror than a reign of stupidity. One official recently received a "suitability re- port" on an able subordinate. The "de- rogatory information" in this report consist- ed entirely of the charge that the subor- dinate was "super-deniocratic" and "intel- lectually curious." Stupid and silly as this sort of thing seems, it has its deadly seri- ous side. "TAKE THIS matter of food shipments to EastGermany," remarked one respon- sible official. "I'f I'd been all for it, I could have been roasted alive for wanting to send food to a lot of Communists. If I'd been all against it, I could have been roasted alive for opposing a great psychological stroke against the Communists. So in the end I said nothing." When a past error of political judgement can be interpreted as disloyalty (as in the case of John Davies) saying nothing becomes, obviously, the better part of wisdom. And when stupidity reigns, bold, imaginative policy-making is hardly to be expected. A serious effort is now being made, it should be said, to end the reign of stu- pidity. Stringent orders have been issued limiting such practices as wire-tapping, and the use of German nationals as in- formers against American officials. More important, High Commissioner Conant after a natural initial period of uncertain- ty, has let it be known that he is prepared to back loyal subordinates to the hilt. Yet an almost incalculable amount of damage has already been done. The United States has been made to look ridiculous by such incidents as the book-burning mess and the Cohn-Schine spy-hunt. Many of the abler officials have been eliminated or disgraced, and others are thinking seriously of leaving before they meet the same fate. In a reign of stupidity, the safely stupid flourish, and the key positions here are be- ginning to fill up with amiable nonentities. What is almost worst of all, the old, easy, free-spoken, free-wheeling confidence in themselves and their country, which used to mark Americans off from all others, and which always impressed and encouraged the American travelling in Eurnno is alnost 4' TrRANiS t. DECO -~ (~'4~~;i INTEKPI LVw S ~ s M- -, - - c X;' '+1 s 4- ~ fLATI~OK PRETATIOA EF. "It Says N-yes And Nyet" DAILY OFFICIAL BULLEIIN '4 ######-, t ./{;t q ( WASHINGTON-Senator Byrd of Virginia, supporter of General Eisenhower for election but vigorous opponent of President Eis- enhower regarding debt increase, sat upstairs in the White House one day last week twiddling his fingers. Downstairs at the breakfast table, the man he had helped put in the White House was arguing with congressmen. Ike and Secretary of the Treasury Humphrey were using their most persuasive charm on key congressmen in order to rush a $15,000,000,000 debt-limit in- crease through congress. Finally the President rose, explained that Senator Byrd was waiting upstairs, and joined the Senator from Virginia. They talked for one hour and a half. To fellow senators afterward, Byrd summarized that long con- versation as follows: "I told him: 'Mr. President, I'm going to put the squeeze on you. I'm going to see if you mean what you say. You talked a lot about balancing the budget and getting us on a sound, businesslike basis. But every time things get tight, you yield. "Now if we give you this fifteen billion debt increase, I know what will happen,' Senator Byrd continued. 'It will be spent. But if we don't give it to you, you'll be under pressure to put things on a businesslike basis. So we're going to pressure you." Byrd also told the President that it wasn't the Democrats, but the Republicans who were blocking the debt rise, "For example, Senator Malone of Nevada said he wouldn't vote for it if God himself told him to," Byrd told Ike. He expected to get a laugh from the President, but Eisenhower remained stony-faced and glum. SENATORS GOT SORE CHIEF REASON for senatorial ire over the debt-increase request was its timing. "The Treasury thought they would pull a B-B-D-and-O stunt," said one senator, referring to the advertising firm so frequently a butt of Roosevelt gibes. "They consulted the public-relations ex- perts who told them the time to hit congress was just before we ad- journed when we would have to surrender. Instead of surrendering, everyone got sore." Another thing irking senators is the way the Treasury has increased the interest rates on government bonds. This will counter-balance part of the current economizing. Though the budget is being reduced, the Treasury has boosted interest rates to the point where it will eventually cost the taxpayers about $3,000,000,000 more annually. The Treasury official in charge of increasing rates is Randolph Burgess, formerly of the National City Bank of New York. And the groups which chiefly profit from higher interest rates on government bonds are the big banks, including National City. . Again, what makes senators sore is that Burgess, who upped the interest rates, was never confirmed by the Senate. Not wanting to relinquish his pension and holdings in National City Bank, he took an advisory position with the Treasury. However, his power over U.S. debt policy is just the same whether confirmed by the Senate or not. * * * * REED EMULATES RHEE HERE IS THE inside story on how the President held up his social- security message to congress for four days trying to placate 78- year-old Uncle Dan Reed, the Syngman Rhee of the Republican Party. Right up to the closing hours of Congress, Ike tried to woo Reed. The powerful New York congressman has been as grouchy as an old- man-with-the-gout ever since the administration steamrollered the excess-profits tax over his defiant body. Ike invited him to the White House, consulted with him on every single move. Each new overture was spurned. When the White House asked Reed to introduce its social- security reforms, he grumpily refused. So Eisenhower turned to his staunch supporter on the Ways and Means Committee, Con- gressman Robert Kean of New Jersey, asked him to introduce the bill extending social-security benefits to 10,500,000 more peo- ple. Kean agreed. Then at the last minute the White House decided to try again to pacify Reed, give him one more chance to introduce the bill. The obstinate New Yorker, however, wouldn't be pacified. When the bill arrived on his desk, he pushed it aside. "I don't want to see it," he snorted. "I don't want to see it!" UNCLE DAN RELENTS-A BIT CHIEF CLERK RUSS TRAIN pleaded with the old man, arguing that it would be a smart political move to promote more social security. Finally, Reed picked up the bill he had angrily cast aside, fingered it for a minute and agreed to introduce the bill "on request." In this way he would make it clear he wasn't endorsing the bill, simply opening the way for hearings on it. This would also spite congressman Kean, whose loyalty to Eisenhower instead of Reed had made the old man furious. . Meanwhile, Kean had already done much of the preliminary work on the bill which, in fact, was patterned largely after his original ideas. When Kean was notified that Chairman Reed would introduce the bill, he agreed to back out of the picture for the sake of political harmony. However, his friends persuaded him to introduce the bill any- how-after Reed did--ndi give it a. strong endorsement since Reed 4-I f~ The Daily Official Bulletin is an7 official publication of the University of Michigan for which the Michigan Daily assumes no editorial respon- bility. Publication in it is construc- tive notice to all members of the University. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3510 Administration Building before 3 p.m. the day preceeding publication (be- fore 11 a.m. on Saturday). FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 1953 VOL. LXIII, No. 34-S Notices "Law School Admission Test: Candi- dates taking the Law School Admission Test on August 8, are requested tore- port to Room 100, Hutchins Hal at 8:45 a.m., Saturday. The session will last until 1:00 p.m." Teachers for Ankara, Turkey: Teach- ers are needed in the fields of mathe- matics, general science, biology, and physics for the High-School-Junior Col- lege, Ankara, Turkey. Instruction is in English. Interested persons contact the Bureau of Appointments, Room 3528 Administration Building extension 2614 for additional information. Recommendations for Departmental Honors: Teaching departments wishing to recommend tentative August gradu- ates from the College of Literature, Sci, ence, and the Arts, and the School of Education for departmental honors should recommend such students in a letter to be sent to the Registrar's Of- fice, Room 1513 Administration Build- ing before August 20. The informal Spanish conversation meetings which are held every Tuesday and Thursday in the North wing of the Michigan Union Cafeteria will now take place at 3:00 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. Attention August Graduates: College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, School of Education, School of Music, School of Public Health: Students are advised not to request grades of I or X in August. When such grades are absolutely imperative, the work must be made up in time to allow your instructor to report the make-up grade not later than 11 a.m., August 20.; Grades received after that time may de- fer the student's graduation until a la- ter date. Personal Requests Libbey-Owens-Ford Glass Co, Pas- kon Division, Toledo, Ohio, has released a listing of current technical and sales openings Men graduates with degrees in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Forestry are eligible to apply. The Kimberly-Clark Corp. is looking for a grduate to fill the position of' Male Personnel Understudy in, Mem- phis, Tenn. Graduates in the field of Personnel, such as Industrial Relations, Industrial Management, Personnel Man- agement, Economics, Public Speaking, Sociology, and Psychology, may apply. The Atlantic Refining Co. in Phila- delphia, Pa., is seeking a man to fill the position of Jr. Sanitary Engineer in the Waste Control Dept. of their Phil- adelphia refinery. The Michigan Civil Service Commis- sion has announced examinations for positions in the fields of Psychiatry, Medicine, Dentistry, and Public Health. For additional information about these and other openings, contact the ,Xe ttef4 TO THE EDITOR Education Problem . .. To the Editor: HAVE BEEN interested in the Daily's "Snead Letters" reveal- ing as they have, an appreciation of the complexity of the problems of public education not always shared by the self-appointed cri- tics in the slick magazines. A few brief comments on Gayle Greene's perceptive column (August 4) from the professional angle might not be out of place. 1. The selective service data are disappointing, but few women were included in this sampling of a pro- fession that is predominantly made up of women; and while there are able men in the profes- sion, in these times many quite understandably choose to prepare for higher-paid jobs. 2. There is no evidence that the distinction between a 2.5 and a 2.25 honor-point average makes any difference whatsoever in teaching ability, so that the standard of the Arts College does not seem harm- fully low especially in the light of the present demand for teachers. 3. For many years teachers have been called upon to teach too many subjects. Until the situation is cor- rected, training should presumably be sufficiently broad to meet pos- sible contingencies. The postpone- ment of professional training un- til postgraduate years is a dubious solution, though worth trying ex- perimentally. 4. Lay critics usually assume that method is means, and sub- ject-matter is end, whereas in re- ality both are means. If either is faulty, the pupil loses, and the ob- jectives of education are not at- tained.- 5. The social acceptance of per- sons who are teachers is probably about what it would be if they Bureau of Appointments, 3528 Admin- istration Bldg., Ext. 371. Academic Notices Doctoral Examination for Stanley Ja- cab Segal, Psychology; thesis: "The Role of Personality Factors in Voca- tional Choice: A Study of Accountants and Creative writers," today in Room 7611 Haven Hall, at 10:00 a.m. Chair- man, E. S. Bordin. Doctoral Examination for Richard Loyd Cutler, Psychology; thesis: "The Relationship between the Therapist's Personality and Certain Aspects of Py- chotherapy," today in Room 7611, Haven Hail, at 1:00 p.m. Chairman E. S. Bor- din. Doctoral Examination for Howard William Neill, Physics; thesis: "The Infrared Spectrum and Structure of the Cyclopropane Molecule," today in Room 2038 Randall Lab, at 2:00 p.m. Chair- man, G.B.B.M. Sutherland. Doctoral Examination for Tori Taka- ki, Education; thesis: "Treatment of Japan and Peoples of Japanese pea- cent in Senior High School American History Textbooks," today in Room 4024 University High School, at 4:00 p.m. Chairman, C. A. Eggertsen. Doctoral Examination for William Kerr, Electrical Engineering; thesis: "A Beta-Ray Microscope," Saturday, Aug- ust 8, 2518 Fast Engineering Bldg., at 9:00 a.m. Chairman, H. J. Gomberg. Doctoral Examination for Harold Swan Edmondson, Speech; thesis: "The Sea- shore Measures of Musical Talents as a Prognostic Guide in Language Rehab- ilitation for Persons with Asphasla," Monday, August 10, 1007 East Huron Street, at 2:00 p.m. Chairman, H. H. Bloomer. Doctoral Examination for Hugh Wiley Hitchcock, Musicology; thesis: "The La tin Oratories of Marc-Antoine Charpen- tier," Monday, August 10, East Counil Room, Rackham Bldg., at 3:00 p.m. Chairman, L. E. Cuyler. Concerts Carillon Recital, 715 p.m. this eve- ning, by Alan Ross, Guest Carillonneur from Culver Military Academy. His pro- gram will include the works of Harty, British Folk Songs, Selections from the opera, Down in the Valley by Weill, Music from Germany, Bach's, Sheep may safely graze, German Melody, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, Mendels- sohn's, On wings of Song, Folk Songs and Peter Sschaikovsky's, Waltz from Serenade for strings. Student Recital: Edward Skidmore, student of double bass with Clyde Thompson, will present a recital in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music at 8:30 Sunday evening, August 9, in Auditorium A, Angell Hall. He will be assisted by Wil- bur Prry, piano, Nathalie Dale, violin, David Ireland, viola, and David Baum- gartner, cello, in a program of works by Marcello, Hindemith and Schubert. The general public is invited. Student Recital: J. Rupert Neary,. clarinetist, with Carol Van Asseltpi- anist, and James Heller, vioinit, 111 present a recital In partial fultlinnt of the requirements for the degreeof- Master of Music at 8:30, Monday ve- ning, August 10, in the Rackham As- sembly Hall. It will include the works of Mozart, Bozza, A. Longue, Jeanjean, Strawinsky and Daniel Gregory Mason. His recital will be open to the public without charge. Exhibitions Museum of Art, Alumni Memorial Hall. Popular Art in America (June 30 -August 7). - General Library. First Floor Corridor. Incunabula: Books Printed inthe Fif- teenth Century. Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. Gill- man Collection of Antiques of Palestine Museums Building, rotunda exhibt Steps in the preparation of ethnolo- gical dioramas. Michigan Historical Collections. Mi- chigan, year-round vacation land. Clements Library. The good, the bad, the popular. Law Library. Elizabeth II and her em- pire. Architecture Building. Michigan chil- dren's Art Exhibition. University High School. Children,' Books from Fifty Countries. Events Today Tonight in Lydia Mendelssohn The- atre, PROMPTLY AT 8:00 p.m., the Department of Speech and School of Music wil present Jacques Offenbach's fantastic opera, The Tales of Hoff- mann. Music direction is by Josef Blatt with the stage direction by Valentine. Windt and the choreography by Betty Pease. LATE COMERS WILL NOT BE SEATED UNTIL AFTER THE PRO- LOGUE. SL Cinema Guild Summer Prograw Dick Haymes-DanaAndrews-Jeanne Cramn in Rodgers and Hammerstein's (Continued on Page 4) Sixty-Third Year Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control of Student Publications. Editorial Staff Harland Britz..........Managing Editor Dick Lewis................Sports Editor Becky Conrad.. Night Editor Gayle Greene..............Night Editor Pat Roelofs................Night Editor Fran Sheldon..............Night Editor Business Staff Bob Miller............Business Manager Dick Aistrom......Circulation Manager Dick Nyberg....... ..Finance Manager Jessica Tanner,...Advertising Associate Bob Kovacs ......Advertising Associate (. 4 I i' 4' I _ _.... CU R RE FIIMO/IES I. i At the Michigan . THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, with Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day and Uni- ted Productions Artists. T'S A TYPICAL-a typical musical com- edy with typical songs, typical dance se- quences (even a few of the dream-type so popular this summer at the local cinema showplaces), typical widower-with-son- meets - gorgeous-blond-and-son-doesn't-ap- prove-until-finale plot, and a typical cast. dance-song sequences, the film never really manages to convey any purpose except per- haps to act as a vehicle for two UPA ani- mated cartoons. UPA cartoons, known for the Mr. McGoo series, deservedly have struck the fancy of the American public. These particular se- quences are funny and spark up an other- wise rather insipid production. So, Hollywood has latched onto another "popular" gimmick for its products. The movie-goer can expect to see frequently this new variation on the musical com- I I I