PAGE TWO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1945
U . I
Ike's Recoi
LAST Thursday evening a folksy, rather
earnest voice came over the radio. It was
trying to tell the American people that dur-
ing the first six months of the Republican
administration much had been accomplished.
This was the voice of Dwight D. Eisenhow-
er, President of the United States.
But instead of facts, glittering generalities
were given. Serious mistakes were glossed
over. Phrases reminiscent of a partisan
campaigner, rather than President of all
the people, made their way into his speech.
The real facts, hidden under a facade of
words tell a different story. This is the story
of a man who arrived with many promises
and a great deal of hope. None of his prom-
ises have been realized, and his hopes have
faded along with the confidence of the peo-
ple in him. Therefore let us look at this sor-
ry tale.
Not one positive action of major sig-
nificance has been accomplished other
than alternations and implementation
of what former President Truman had
done. These included a new Hoover Com-
mission and the new Cabinet post for
Health, Education, and Welfare. The Tru-
man budget has been cut by 12 billions.
This money came from the Air Force and
Navy budget just when strength seemed to
be the key to a safe world.
None of the costly subsidies have been cut
and farm supports are on the increase. Thus
we are militarily weakened at the cost of
satisfying some campaign promises. There
are also prospects of a tax cut during this
inflationary period further intensifying the
price spiral.
The issue of what to do about the East
German riots left the administration wal-
At the Michigan . .
THE BAND WAGON, with Cyd Charisse,
Nanette Fabray, Fred Astaire, Oscar Le-
vant, Jack Buchanan; music, Howard
Dietz and Arthur Schwartz; choreog-
raphy, Michael Kidd; direction, Vincent
Minelli
THIS IS probably the most highly touted
film to come out of Hollywood in a long
time, and for once all reports are true. Its
aim, stated philosophically at the outset
when the principals sing "the world is a
stage for entertainment," is fulfilled with
immeasurable success.
Curiously enough, however, as this aim is
later explained, it becomes paradoxical with
the making of the picture. In the film Jack
Buchanan stands for one of those "arty" ac-
tor-producers who try to bring Carnegie Hall
and the Metropolitan Art Museum to Broad
way with the result'that Musical Comedy be-
comes highbrow, nobody is laughing or sing-
ng, and the show flops.
On the other hand, Astaire is the hoof-
er who puts up with Buchanan's inter-
fering, and when the show flops, he comes
in to save the day with "entertainment"
which has everybody laughing and sing-
ing. When Astaire takes over, the chore.
ographer, who at Buchanan's insistence
was to bring ballet to the show, is fired.
Likewise Buchanan takes a back seat since
Astaire decides that a story with sym-
bolic references or satirical double enten-
dres (Buchanan tried to do a modern day
Faust plot) is not what the public wants.
What is paradoxical is that this is exactly
what the public is buying, and it is what
makes the picture a good picture. The ac-
tual choreographer for the firm was Michael
Kidd, a veteran of the Ballet Theater, aid
a choreographer for many Broadway shows,
including Cole Porter's recent Can-Can,
which is causing such a furor in dance cir-
cles.
Kidd has brought a thorough knowledge
of dance techniques to the film. The main
dance, a satire of Mickey Spillane, consisted
of a story told by movements expressing dra-
matic lyricism, but continually punctuated by
staccato interjections, such as a man hastily
running across the screen firing a revolver
while Astaire and Charisse were doing slow,
drawn-out movements in a seductive em-
brace. These are not techniques of vaudeville,
but have been used for centuries in ballet.
Neither can Astaire's dances be called
without subtlety. His opening dance with
the shoe-shine boy was ingenious in the
rd Speaks
lowing in the morass of their own incon-
sistencies until at last they acted to help
the Germans with food. But this is in line
with the new Republican policy of "no plan-
ning until a crisis arises"-good sound busi-
ness practice.
When Eisenhower applied the pressure
he got results such as continuance of the
old New Deal excess profits tax and the
admittance of 200,000 refugees. But his
failures far overshadow these few minor
victories.I
As a futile gesture the President threw in
such last minute suggestions as extension
of the debt limit, a meaningless move eco-
nomically speaking, and extension of Social
Security coverage. But he failed to get
through such well-prepared administration
measures as increasing postal rates and
statehood for Hawaii. Senator Taft's favor-
ite social measure-~-public housing was for
all practical purposes killed. And the great-
est giveaway of modern times occurred when
Eisenhower signed the tidelands oil bill.
The realities of addition and subtraction
show the failure of this man as President. It
was Eisenhower the man who won last fall's
election. He came in on a flood of votes un-
equaled in American political history. It was
a personal mandate from the people that
cannot be denied by any politician. Yet with
all his immense personal power, Eisenhower
has not carried through one measure bene-
ficial to the American people as a whole. He
has knuckled under to the pressure of such
a man as McCarthy. He has let the plum of
leadership in Congress fall from his grasp.
He has misunderstood and misinterpreted the
office of President. He has not been a failure
yet, but the signs of future progress are dim.
-Dick Wolf
MOVE
way it took off from the popular fad of
recordings with a tap dancer and a drum-
mer, but to the rhythmic sounds of a shoe
brush being applied to shoes. Consequently
when the dance reached a climax, with
Astaire mingling frantically with the
crowd and finally touching off a fireworks
display, it was another case of small,
minute rhythmic movements culminating
in large, gigantic flurries; of contained
rhythms eventually bursting forth. This
too is not without historical preparation,
as not only has it been done in folk dance
for centuries, it is now commonplace on
Broadway.
As far as the film's renunciation of satiric
and symbolic reference, this is exactly what
it does when the Faust legend is dropped in
favor of Astaire's "entertainment."
What could be more satirical than "Trip-
lets" where Astaire, Fabray, and Buchanan
came out as babies and sing of such thWngs
as "I hate mother." Or the Mickey Spillane
take-off where the whole mystery craze of
the country was satirized, even to the point
of "Dem Bones" cafe and a tough, callous de-
tective narrator.
This is not to say the film was "highbrow."
It was entertainment, with the old vaudevil-
lian spirit, such as the inevitable and superb
soft-shoe routine between Astaire and Bu-
chanan.
But rather than a renunciation of New
York circa 56, 57, 58, and 59th streets in
favor of 42nd street, it showed the influence
of these so called cultural avenues upon
the "great white way." For this reason
Miss Charisse's falling in love with Astaire
at the end instead of her choreographer
seemed out of place with the actual real-
ity of the situation.
Likewise the buffoonery of Buchanan in
his "I will give you art" actions could be
called out of place. But scenes like this are
immediately pardoned since by their mock-
ery they bring a satire that is truly funny
and penetrating. Witness especially the
Damnation scene where Astaire and Charisse
dance with clouds of red smoke rediculously
interrupting them.
Needless to say, Charisse, Astaire, Fabray,
Levant, Buchanan, songs, dances, color,
scenery, and for the most part the script,
were all terriffic. This is an example of how
musical comedy can be an exciting and
meaningful satire on the present day, give
popular art a topical meaning, and provide
first-class entertainment.
-Donald Harris
MATTER OF FACT:
Malenkov's
Bombshell
By JOSEPH ALSOP
WASHINGTON - Georgi Malenkov has
told the world that "the United States
no longer has a monopoly of the hydrogen
bomb." The first question is whether Malen-
kov was telling the truth. The answer is
conditional. If he was lying, he is a bigger
fool than he looks.
The earlier tests of Soviet atomic bombs-
the first in September, 1949, and the sec-
ond and third in October, 1952-were first
announced here in Washington and only
confirmed in Moscow. The Washington an-
nouncements were possible because of the
American long-range detection project, first
established in 1948 at the behest of ,the
present chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission, Admiral Lewis Strauss.
The principle, if not the practice, of
long-range detection is fairly simple. The
famous bomb-clouds of the weapons of
total destruction rapidly ascend into the
upper air, and circle the earth in the stra-
tospheric winds. The powerfully radio-
active particles that the clouds contain
can be detected by Geiger counters. Air
samples, taken by patrol planes, tell much
about the bombs that produced the clouds.
Even the scene of the expolsions can be
located, by seismographic and other evi-
dence.
It is almost inconceivable that the ex-
plosion of a Soviet hydrogen bomb has es-
caped this system of long-range detection.
Atomic explosions can in theory be con-
cealed if the bomb is detonated under-
ground-in a mine, for example. But the
essential component of a hydrogen bomb,
the very heavy hydrogen, tritium, is a vola-
tile gas which would escape into the air
somehow. A method for detecting the most
minute quantities of tritium in the atmos-
phere has already been published by Dr.
W. F. Libby of Chicago University. Thus
concealment seems out of the question.
ON THE OTHER HAND, the radioactive
cloud takes some days to circle the
earth. Analysis of the data produced by
long-range detection takes a much longer
time-probably two weeks or more. In short,
we ought to know whether Malenkov was
lying before very long, but our government
may not know now.
Since long-range detection is also under-
stood by the Soviets, it has to be as-
sumed for tlTe present that Malenkov was
not lying. The next question, therefore, is
whether his news is as serious as it looks.
THere the answer is again conditional. Un-
less past American government estimates
of the scale and speed of Soviet atomic
development have been ludicrously wrong,
Malenkov's news is deadly serious, cer-
tainly; but it does not justify despair.
Here again, tritium is the key to the prob-
lem. The chief limiting factor on an atomic
program is the incredibly costly, massive
and time-consuming process of uranium se-
paration. How many atomic bombs you have
is ultimately determined by how fast you
can separate fissionable uranium-235 from
the far more common isotope, inert uran-
ium-238. By the same token, the chief lim-
iting factor on a hydrogen bomb program is
the need for the very heavy-hydrogen, tri-
tium. How many hydrogen bombs you have
is determined by your supply of tritium,
which plays the part in a hydrogen bomb
of the paper and kindling in a dampish log
fire.
TRITIUM IS NOT the only component of
a hydrogen bomb, to be sure. It is mix-
ed with the other heavy hydrogen, deuter-
ium, which contributes explosive power too.
The whole contraption has to be triggered
by an ato'mic bomb of great size, which pro-
duces the sunlike heats and .pressures in
which hydrogen fusion takes place. For these
and other reasons, the explosive potention of
the tritium that goes into the bomb is not
an accurate measure of the explosive po-
tential of the completed hydrogen bomb.
The fact remains, however, that inor-
dinately heavy sacrifices have to be made
to get the tritium for a hydrogen bomb.
You may gain one hydrogen bomb with
the power of two megatons, or 2,000,000
tons of TNT. But by using your reactors
to produce tritium instead of plutonium,
you will lose a larger number of atomic
bombs with a much greater explosive
power. Very crudely and approximately,
one hydrogen bomb of two megatons,
might cause the loss of 100 plutonium
bombs with a total power of ten mega-
tons, or 10,000,000 tons of TNT.
This is a poor exchange at best; for a
big atomic bomb is quite big enough to des-
troy all but a very small number of targets.
A nation like the United States, which al-
ready has an ample atomic stockpile, can
afford to make this exchange of large num-
bers of atomic bombs for one hydrogen
bomb. But a nation whose atomic stock-
pile is not ample already, will be distinctly
short-sighted to make this exchange.
If our intelligence has not ridiculously
under-rated the speed of Soviet atomic
build-up, the immediate effect of this first
Soviet bomb may not be wholly unfavorable
to this country. It will allow the Kremlin to
boast about its new terror weapon, but it
m-- ]trnrlalv +an wr-- nl nvof nf+-mi
ON THE
WASHINGTON
MER RY-GO-ROUND
WITH DREW PEARSON
I.
"Talk About 3-D! I Could Almost Feel It"
WASHINGTON-So many congressmen have been calling up the
Defense Department for free transportationo to summer climes
that Undersecretary of Defense Kyes decided to do something about it.
He called in Secretary of the Air Force Harold Talbott.
"Where in hell are they all going? What are they going to do?"
stormed Kyes.
It was embarrassing, he indicated, to have the Air Force flying
congressmen all over the globe after its budget had been cut to the
bone.
Secretary Talbott pointed out that congressmen couldn't very
well be banned, as long as Defense Department officials were doing
the same thing. Kyes demanded to know what officials were taking
junkets, but Talbott knew of only one scheduled trip at the moment-
an overseas trip by Assistant Secretary of the Army John Slezak. Im-
mediately, Kyes issued orders for Slezak to stay home.
As for the congressmen, Kyes and Talbott agreed to cut out
special airplanes for congressional trips unless the Defense De-
partment is convinced it is strictly business. However, they meek-
ly decided not to offend any powerful congressmen who are will-
ing to travel on planes that may be going their way anyhow.
This means over two dozen congressional committees, which plan
to investigate everything from uranium in South Africa to statehood
in Alaska and the information program in South America, may have
to put up with the inconvenience of Air Force schedules. However,
such groups as the armed services, foreign relations and appropriations
committees, taking legitimate overseas trips, will still get special
planes.
I
t
DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN
4
The Daily Official Bulletin is an
efficial publication of the University
of Michigan for which the Michigan
Daily assumes no editorial responsi-
bility. Publicationdin 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).
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11. 1953
VOL. LXII, No. 36-S
Noices.
PLEASANT SEA VOYAGES
in entomology, plant pathology, horti- HE MOST INTERESTING vacation trips at the taxpayers' ex-
culture, botany or forestry are eligible _y
to apply. pense, however, are planned by individual congressmen who have
wTVB in Coldwater, Mich., is accept- asked the Defense Department to furnish transportation for them-
have majored in Radio for the following selves and their wives. In most cases, they will travel by military
positions with the station: Continuity transport vessel, sometimes families have waited several months to
Writer, Salesmen, Salesman-Announc- join their husbands and fathers oversea, but will be bumped from the
International Harvester Co. of Detroit sailing lists again by sight-seeing congressmen.
is looking for men graduates to fill job For example, GOP Congressman Robert Wilson of California has
openings in Sales, Accounting, and s
Credit. arranged passage to Hawaii for himself, his wife and three children,
I
I
For appointments, applications, and]
addi tonal information about these-and
other openings, contact the Bureau
of Appointments, 3528 Administration
Bldg., Ext. 371.
To all students having Library books:
1. Students having in their posses- The University Musical Society will
sion books borrowed from the General observe its Diamond Jubilee season by
Library or its branches are notified the inclusion of the following twenty-
that such books are due Wednesday, six major artists and organizations in
August 12. its several concert series for the season
2. Students having special need for of 1953-54:
certain books between August 12 and Roberta Peters, Metropolitan Opera
August 14 may retain such books for Coloratura, Oct. 7
that period by renewing them at the Guiomar Novaes, Brazilian Pianist,
thatrioDebs enwngtema teOct. 12
Charging Dc.sk. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles
3. The names of all students who Munch, Conductor, Oct. 22
have not cleared their records at the Virtuosi Di Roma, Fourteen Instru-
Library by Friday, August 14 will be mentalists. Nov. 2
sent to the Cashier's Office and their Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell,
credits and grades will be withheld until Conductor, Nov. 8
such time as said records are cleared De Paur Infantry Chorus, Leonard De
in compliance with the regulations of Paur, Conductor, Nov. 24
the Regents. Guard Republican Band of Paris,
Francois-Julien Brun, Conductor, Nov.1
I
Scholarship offer for study at the Free
University of Berlin, Germany during
the academic year 1953-54. Covers tui-
tion, room and DM 170 per marks, plus
round trip air transportation between
West Germany and Berlin. Open until
August 16. Application should be made
to the office of the Secretary of the De-
partment of Political Science, Univer-
sity of Michigan. For study in any
field within the social sciences. Ade-
quate knowledge of German required.
Applicant must be unmarried and not
older than 26, either sex, must have
satisfactory academic record at college
level. Personal interview to be held
with each applicant.
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,bRoom 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,tSchool of Music,
School of Public Health:
Students are advised not to request
grades of I or X in August. When such
grades are absolutely 4mperative, 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.
LIBRARY HOURS AFTER SUMMER
SESSION
The General Library will close at 6
p.m. daily, beginning Friday, August 14.
Evening service will be resumed on Sep-
tember 21.
It will be closed for repairs from Au-'
gust 31 through September 7; and on
all Saturdays and Sundays, August 15
to September 20 inclusive.
It will be open from 8 a.m. to 6
p.m. Monday through Friday except at
the times noted above.
The Divisional Libraries will be closed
from August 15 through September 12,'
with the exception of Bureau of Gov-
ernment, Engineering, East Engineer-
ing, Hospital, Mathematics-Economics,
Natural Science, Physics and Transpor-
tation which will be open on short
schedules. Information as to hours will
be posted on the library doors or may
be obtained by calling University Ex-
tension 653. Requests for material from
the closed libraries will be taken care
of at the Circulation Desk in the Gen-
eral Library.
PERSONNEL INTERVIEWS
A representative from The Mead Cor-
poration of Chillicothe, Ohio, will be
at the Bureau of Appointments on
Thursday, August 13, from 1 to 5 p.m.
to interview women graduates for the
position of Assistant Plant Editor of
their monthly magazine, and men grad-
uates for their Sales Training Program.
The Whitehall Pharmacal Co. in Lin-
coln Park, Mich., will have an inter-
viewer at the Statler Hotel in Detroit
on Aug. 12, 13, and 14 to talk with
men interested in a position as Sales-
30
Messiah (Handel) Maud Nosler, So-I
prano; Carol Smith, Contralto; Walter
Fredericks, Tenor; Norman Scott, Bass;
Mary McCall Stubbins, Organist; Uni-
versity Choral Union and Orchestra; and
Lester McCoy, Conductor; in two per-
formances, December 5 and 6.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz
Reiner, Conductor, Dec. 13
Marian Anderson, Contralto, Jan. 10.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Sir Er-
nest McMillan, Conductor, Feb. 10.
Paul Badura-Skoda, Pianist, Feb. 17
Chamber Music Festival, Griller
String Quartet, Feb. 19 and 21, Regi-
nald Kell Players, Feb. 20
George London, Metropolitan Opera
Bass, Feb. 28
Boston Pops Tour Orchestra, Arthur
Fiedler, Conductor, Mar. 4
Elean Nikolaidi, Greek Metropolitan
Opera Soprano, Mar. 12
Myra Hess, British Pianist, Mar. 17
Sixty-first May Festival, six concerts,
Apr. 29, 30 and May 1 and 2
Detailed information may be had
by communicating with Charles A.
Sink, President, University Musical So-,
ciety, Burton Memorial Tower.
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.rInstructions is in
English. Interested persons contact the
Bureau ofr Appointments. Room 3528
Administration Building, extension 2614
for additional information.
EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
In Eight-Week Courses
leaving on the S.S. Barrett and coming back on the S.S. Altman Sep-
tember 8. Four congressmen are' planning to take their wives on
vacations to Europe, largely at the taxpayers' expense. They are
William L. Springer, Illinois Republican, leaving on the S.S. Butner
August 19, returning on the S.S. Geiger October 13; Hubert B. Scud-
der, California Republican, leaving on the S.S. Patch August 25, re-
turning on the SS. Gibbons September 22; William J. Green, Jr.,
Pennsylvania Democrat, leaving on the Gibbons, returning on the
S.S. Rose September 14; and L. Mendel Rivers, South Carolina Demo-
crat, leaving on the S.S. Patch with no definite return date.
Three other congressmen, also accompanied by their wives, have
arranged government transportation to both North Africa and Europe.
They are Republicans Errett P. Scrivner of Kansas and Edward T.
Miller of Maryland, who will leave on the S.S. Gibbons and Democrat
Robert L. F. Sikes of Florida. Congressman Gerald R. Ford, Jr., Mi-
chigan Republican, has also asked for free transportation to Japan
and India.t
an* * * *
WHAT IT COSTS
TECHNICALLY, THESE congressmen are supposed to pay for their
wives' passage, but all that is charged is $50 per person to Europe
or the Mediterranean-just enough to cover the cost of meals and
clean linen. The congressmen aren't charged a cent for themselves,
on the theory that they are on government business.
Irony is that most of the junketing congressmen voted to cut
the military budget on the grounds that the armed services were
wasting money.
(Copyright, 1953, by the Bell Syndicate)
lette'4 TO THE EDITOR
The Daily welcomes communications from its readers on matters of
general interest, and will publish all letters which are signed by the writer
and in good taste. Letters exceeding 300 words in length, defamatory or
libelous letters, and letters which for any reason are not in good taste will
be condensed, edited or withheld from publication at the discretion of the
editors.
4'
Time of Class
Meeting
8:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
Other hours
Time of Examination
8:00 a.m., Thursday
8:00 a.m., Friday
2:00 p.m., Thursday
2:00 p.m., Friday
4:00 p.m., Thursday
10:00 a.m., Thursday
10:00 a.m., Friday
4:00 p.m., Friday
K Ynterpretih9th e ?tel&'
By J.tM. ROBERTS JR.
Associated Press Staff Writer
WESTERN AUTHORITIES are expressing
their usual skepticism about the rela-
tionship of the figures in the new Soviet
budget to her actual military program.
In addition to the normal covering up of
military spending, there is suspicion that
Moscow may have adopted a sly propaganda
trick this year in an effort to make it ap-
pear she is only trying to match Western
military efforts, instead of the other way
round.
frhis suspicion was created by the fact
teha4 ha 1 .vv 4 .ao n n-- cn - 1 w
purported Russian reduction is about on
the same order as that of the United
States.
American experts believed this was offset
by a miscellaneous item in the Russian bud-
get which was practically doubled as com-
pared with last year.
It has been known for years, too, that Rus-
sia spreads her funds for military purposes,
other than direct charges for the armed
forces, over several other categories. Mili-
tary research, including that on atomic en-
ergy, is listed under education.
Early studies of the budget indicated it
was about the same as usual.
Lectures
+ TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
Lecture, auspices of the Department
of Civil Engineering. "The Analog
Computer in Structural Analysis." Leo
M. Legatski, Associate Professor of Civ-
il Engineering. 4:00 p.m., Room 311,
West Engineering Building.
Linguistic Forum. "Linguistic Cate-
gories and Culture." Alf Sommerfelt,
Professor of Linguistics, University of
Oslo, 7:30 p.m., Rackham Amphithea-
ter.
Lecture. Institute for Mathematics
Teachers: "Fundamentals of Quality
Control in Industry." Arthur Bender,
Jr., Delco-RemyDivision, General Mo-
tors Corporation, 11:00 a.m., Room 130
Business Administration Bldg.
Lecture. Institute for Mathematics
Teachers: "Mathematics and Art," Phil-
lip S. Jones, University of Michigan, 7:30
p.m., East Conference Room, Rackham
Bldg.
Academic Notices
Doctoral Examination for Katherine
Lucy Washburn WilcoxrPsychology;
thesis: "Intellectual Functioning as Re-
lated to Electroconvulsive Therapy,, to-
day, 7611 Haven Hall, at 8:00 a.m. Chair-
man, E. L. Kelly.
Birth of a Nation. . .
To the Editor:
N HIS letteer of the 6th, Prof.E
Boys, while commendably striv-
ing to justify the showing of The
Birth of a Nation by the Popular
Arts program, rather misses the
point of Luce's heavy-handed dia-
tribe of July 31. By insisting that
the film needs no defense as a
milestone of movie history, Boys
fails to counter Luce's assertion
that no matter how great the
film's significance -as an historic
work, it just is not fit to be shown.
Thus a closer look at Luce's facts
and reasoning is in order.
1) Luce insists that "to defend
the movie as a piece of art is im-
possible" and further that "any-
one who sees 'art' in such a film
shows a remarkable tolerance for
bigotry." Here he is guilty of the
familiar totalitarian simplicism
that every aspect of life is justi-
fiable only by its social "useful-
ness" and that therefore the ar-
tistic merit of a work is deter-
mined by the acceptability of its
"message." In rejecting this state-
centered single-criterion approach,
most of the rest of us accept the
possibility that a work can be ad-
mirable in some aspects, such as
photographic technique and cam-
era-handling, while bad or even
repulsive in others, such as social
responsibility.
2) It is true, as Luce states, that
the NAACP has taken an official
position-tho not strongly em-
phasized - against showing the
Birth, but it is well known that
many in that group differ with
this position and feel that it is
preferable to accept what limited
amount of harm showing of the
Birth may produce in unsophisti-
cated audiences rather than to be
criticized for serious inconsistency
in the fight for civil liberties. Fur-
expression, for the reason that by
being continually exposed to them
we may retain our relative immun-
ity to them. In that "perfect"
state wherein no dissident idea
are allowed, it is clear, as Brave
New World so neatly points out,
the merest breath of unconven-
tional opinion would upset the
whole social order.
3) One last -instance of Luce's
phony-liberal reasoning-"to tol-
erate this movie is to tolerate an
insult directed against every Ne-
gro man and woman." Here it
need merely be pointed out as
counter-examples that we 'are no
more "tolerating the insult" of the
Birth by viewing and studying it
as an important work of art than
we would be approving the bloody
imperialistic march of the Tsars
across central Asia by seeing Eis-
enstein's propagandistic Ivan the
Terrible.
-Al Hunting, Grad.
Sixty-Third Year
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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
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