College News, 1938-04-20, Vol. 24, No. 22

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COLLEGE
VOL. XXIV, No. 22
BRYN MAWR AND WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1938
Copyright TRUSTEES OF
BRYN   MAWR COLLEGE.  1938
PRICE 10 CENTS
Laski   Stigmatizes
English Government
As Anti-Democratic
Popular Control is Threatened
By Reactionary Legislation
t        Against Labor
SOCIALISTS  HOPE  FOR
PEACEFUL REVOLUTION
Goodhart, April 14.�Speaking on
The British Labor Party and De-
mocracy, Mr. Harold Laski, of the
University of London, declared that
Labor will utilize the machinery of
democratic government as long as
this means is open to hS True de-
mocracy can only survive if all parties
are willing to abide by the declared
will of the people.
If the constitutional machinery is
deliberately altered so as to restrict
Labor, or if "attempts are made to
sabotage the declared will of the peo-
ple, it will be the duty of a labor
government to maintain its authority,
even to the-extent of suspending nor-
mal constitutional processes."
Looking at England today, said Mr.
Laski, there is reason to doubt that
the Conservative party would respect
the fundamental rules of democracy
if- a Labor government came into
" power. He believes that the present
government is more allied in sym-
pathy and purposes with Germany
and Italy than with the democracies
which are struggling all over Europe.
Mr. Laski cited some of the evi-
dence for his belief that the Con-
servative and Liberal parties are seek-
ing to restrict democracy. The Trades
Disputes Act of 1927 is a serious
blow to the organizing power of
unions, particularly in the political
field. Also, since 1919 many convic-
tions for "incitement to riot" have
been obtained on the weakest evi-
dence. It is ^notable that sentences
inflicted on leftists have been far
more severe than those on British
fascists.
Continued on Page Three
Council Hears Petition
For Senior Automobiles
Plans   to   Lengthen   College    Year
Suggested at Meeting
Brand Blanshard Speaks
For   Collective  Security
Helps Formulate College Peace Day
Resolutions
Common Room, April 19.�Collective
security is the only means of pre-
venting another general war within
the next few months or years, stated
Dr. Brand Blanshard, head of the De-
partment of Philosophy at Swarth-
more. He spoke at a joint meeting
sponsored by the Peace Council, the
International Club-and the A. S. U.
No other method, Dr. Blanshard be-
lieves, will be effective in "slowing
down the general acceleration towards
a general conflagation."   Besides col-
In the general discussion of the
College Council, the two major prob-
lems were: the question of a longer
college year, and a senior petition for
permission to have automobiles. After
the discussion, Miss Park showed the
members of the Council the archi-
tect's sketches for the new Library
Wing.
Miss Howe said that the bedroom
furniture for Rhoads North and
South has been generally approved,
since she has not yet heard any ad-
verse criticism. A sample bureau,
desk and chair can be seen in the
downstairs stage dressing-room in
Goodhart. One of the windows of the
Science Building bas been painted
greyish-white to blend with the color
of the stone, and to give an idea of
the possible total effect. The archi-
tects-plan was to have all the win-
dows this color, but many people like
the effect of brightness given by the
red frames.
In connection with the question of
a longer college year, it was suggested
that Commencement Week be short-
ened to give students the few extra
days before Commencement. Miss
Schenck thought that what they need-
ed was a longer period in which to
organize material. Miss Ward's plan
was to shorten the examination period
to one week; the first week of the
ordinary two week period would then
be used to study for examinations,
and in the case of the seniors, as a
reading period.
Mary Sands brought up the senior
petition for cars, as a means of re-
laxation in times of stress. Miss Park
gave her reasons against this: that
such a privilege should extend to all
the undergraduates and not a hier-
archical few, and that parking prob-
lems would therefore become difficult;
that the country surrounding Bryn
Mawr is dangerous for driving be-
cause it has much of the traffic and
none of the police protection of a city;
finally, that the free use of cars by
students in colleges seemed every-
where to create a kind of restlessness
which is a poor background for the
semi-professional work thejr do. Bryn
Mawr in its short year asks its stu-
dents to work fairly hard and would
like to begin there a kind of life
which makes that work, possible. Miss
Petts suggested that the Bryn Mawr
barn is an excellent place to relax
and thsnt is an ideal distance for a
healthy walk or bicycle ride. She also
promised that the holes in the roof
Continued on Page Four
ANNUAL GERMAN DAY
COLLEGE CALENDAR
Saturday, Ajrril 23.�Camera
Club Exhibit. Common Room.
Intercollegiate German evening.
Goodhart, 8 p. m.
Sunday,   April   24.�N adiayi
Boulanger Concert.    Deanery, 5
p. m.    Leslie Glenn will  speak
in chapel.    Music Room, 7.30.
Monday, April 25.�Fourth
Flexner. Lecture by Dr. Edwin
Gay.    Goodhart, 8.20.
Tuesday, April 26.�Current
Events, Mr. Fenwick. Common
Room, 7.30. Peace Council
Meeting. Common Room, # 8
p. m.
Wednesday, April 27.�Peace
Day. Vera Dean will speak.
Goodhart, 11 a. m.
Friday, April 29.�Glee Club
performance of Patience. Good-
hart, 8.30.
Saturday, April 30.�Patience.
Goodhart, 8.30.
Sunday, May 1.�Lecture on
Russian Folk Music by Prof.
Alfred J. Swan. Deanery, 5 p.
m. Leslie Glenn will speak in
chapel.    Music Room, 7.30.
Monday, May 2.�May Day.
Fifth Flexner Lecture by Dr.
Edwin Gay.   Goodhart, 8.20.
Tuesday, May 3.�Current
Events, Mr. Fenwick. Common
Room, 7.30. Two-piano Recital
by Edward Steuermann and
Michael Zadora.   Goodhart, S.30.
Wednesday, May 4.�Indus-
trial Group Supper. Common
Room, 6.30.
f> %
Completed Plans for New Library Wing
Are Announced by Miss Park in Chapel
Addition   is   to   Contain   Quita   Woodward   Memorial   Reading
Room, Space for 20,000 Books, Offices, Seminaries,
Classrooms  for   Art   and   Archaeology
HOPE SOON TO BUILD
OPPOSITE ROCKEFELLER
"lective security, two other courses are
generally advocated: Pacifism and
neutrality.
Pacifism is advocated by a large
and increasing group, both in Eng-
land and the United* States, ft Se-
lieves first, that "peaceful persuasion"
is the only course compatible with
Christianity; secondly, that the only
way to appeal to a reasonable human
being is by reason; thirdly, that
pacifism has worked when it has
been employed, as it was by Gandhi in
India and by the Jews in the Roman
Empire.
In nine cases out of ten, Dr. Blan-
shard admits, this point-of-view is
the sound one. In the tenth case,
however, pacifism is a complete
failure, and so cannot be generally
accepted. He pointed out that reason
can succeed only when the appeal can
be made to a rational being, not to
"homicidal maniacs or sadists," while
the cleansing of the" Temple and the.
denunciation of the Pharisees seem to
refute the idea that Jesus was a
pacifist. As for the "success" of pa-
cifism, there are hundreds of inA
stances in history of non-resisting
movements or individuals crushed by
force, as were the Protestants in
Spain.
The second method generally urged
Continued on Pace Five
Social Change Caused
Agrarian    Revolution
Enclosures  Only  Minor   Cause
Of Breakdown of Mediaeval
Economy, Says Dr. Gay
Goodhart, April 18.�In his third
lecture on the Economic History of
England during the Renaissance, Dr.
Gay discussed how the changes in the
agrarian structure were affected by
the enclosure movement and by the
new position of the social classes. The
breaking down of the old manorial
system, he explained, caused a much
more fundamental and widespread
change than did the enclosure system,
notable only in a relatively small part
of England.
Since this revolution in the posi-
tions of social classes began early
in the fifteenth century, the great
price rise of the next century should
only be considered an accelerating
force to the movement's growth.
The chief characteristic of the Eng-
lish movement was the development of
a new attitude. Out of the medieval,
self-sufficient, economic communities,
based on the principle that every man
should have equal opportunities, grew
HERE the sixteenth'cetrhir/ .r>M*eteI -so-
ciety.    Besides this break from per-
Representatives from seven colleges
will gather at Bryn Mawr on April
23 for the annual Intercollegiate Ger-
man 6ay? The college is' invited * to
a program including plays, dialogues,
folk dances, songs and skits, to be
given in Goodhart Hall at 8 p.-m.
Admission is free.
The program was arranged by
Mary Howe DeWolf, '38, president,
and Ruth Mary Penfield, '40, secretary
of the Bryn Mawr German Club. Be-
tween the performances on the stage,
Dr. Ernst Feise, of Johns Hopkins,
will lead general singing of German
songs for which Gordon Grosvenor,
'39, will play the piano. Although
they are not presenting a part of the
entertainment, members of the Dela-
ware College for Women will attend.
The only clue to Swarthmore's-per-
formance is that they have asked to
have a piano on the stage for
Wedekind's Der Kammersdnger. With
"the co-operation of two men from
Johns Hopkins, Goucher will give
three short dialogues by Morike, Flex
and Goethe, and also a part of
Schneewittchen, which, from their re-
quest for seven chairs, cups, knives,
forks and spoons, promises to be
Snow White.
Continued on Pasre Three
USERS AND CREATORS
BATTLE OVER DETAILS
sonal relationships, the period is also
marked by the technological change
from the open field to the enclosure
system.
But, Dr. Gay emphasized, the move-
ment toward agrarian change was
general and tendencies similar to \he
English struggle can be found in the
history of the continent. By the late
fourteenth or early fifteenth century,
landowners everywhere demanded a
freer hand with their tenants and
wished to turn services and payments
in kind to cash.
This was particularly true in the
great grain section of northwestern
Germany. The serfs there were freed
against their will and their strips of
land consolidated, although n�� en-
closed as in England. Freeholders
then obtained these strips through
hereditary leases.
By the sixteenth century, prices
rose, and the rents, previously con-
sidered as economically fair, decreased
in actual value. Any attempt to in-
crease the rents, however, met with
the strong opposition of the tenants
who were dsuatty backed by the courts.
The reason for this court backing
lies in the refusal of the landlords to
pay taxes.    Under the old manorial
Continued on rage Six
(The following article is an extract
from Miss Park's communication to
the May Alumnae Bulletin in the new
Library Wing.)
Taylor and Goodhart Halls and
the M. Carey Thomas Library are
composite buildings, each serving
under one roof several ends. The li-
brary in particular not only looks
after Bryn Mawr's books, but supplies
the large working room for under-
graduates, the seminaries for gradu-
ates, arid the offices for the faculty;
that is, it fulfills these three functions
as far as its space allows. For lack
of space, fifteen thousand volumes are
housed on the third floor of Taylor,
and the scenic libraries in Dalton. At
least one seminary must be shared
inconveniently by two departments;
the number of offices is far short of
the number of the faculty who need
them, and if the one hundred addi-
tional undergraduates are to ask even
occasionally for space in the reading
room they will, to be plain spoken, not
find it. But, as all Bryn Mawr gradu-
ates know, across the back cloister
wall toward Rockefeller the uncut
stones have always silently bespoken
additions to all these resources.
However, our ambitions have soared
higher than the fulfilling of these
needs, and in 1935 the board asked the
architect, Mr,- Sydney E. Martin, to
draw plans for a building completing
the present resources of the library
and, besides, housing adequately and
acceptably the two departments of
Art and Archaeology which have done
their work in crowding and discom-
fort. These plans were drawn. Stacks
in the basement, more stacks with a
few seminaries and offices on the first
floor, more offices and special stacks
for the tfbraries of the Art and
Archaeology Departments on the sec-
ond, the two departments' seminaries,
offices, lecture rooms and library on
the third floor, and on the fourth three
exhibition rooms for permanent or
temporary use.
The cost of this building was esti-
mated to be about $350,000. Toward
this sum out of our Million Dollar
Gift we counted $180,000, approxi-
mately $100,000 from the gift of Dr.
and Mrs. Woodward in memory of
Quita Woodward, 1932, $50,000 given
in honor of President Thomas by Ella
Riegel, 1889, $10,000 from Mr. and
Mrs. Bigelow in memory of Elizabeth
Bigelow, 1930, and a *n$Mh|r of
smaller but especially designated
gif,ts. Miss Riegel's later bequest to
Bryn Mawr, though by its terms it
could not supply funds for the con-
sttttction 9{ the building, �ould ftro^
vide for its maintenance. So by the
difference between the cost of the
building and the money in our.treas-
ury we hung between desire and ac-
complishment. We devised unsatis-
factory plans to meet the dilemma�
the completion, for instance, of the
hb'alement and the first floor, or the
erection of the shell of the whole
building with, we feared, an all too
gradual progress toward the finishing
of the interior.
Continued on Page Three
Goodhart Hall, Apiil 14.�In chapel
Miss Park outlined the somewhat
changed plans for the new Library
Wing which is to be started this
spring. The addition will be smaller
than formerly reckoned and the Art
and Archaeology Departments will
have temporary quarters on the sec-
ond floor until a separate building can
be erected for them on the green
across the street from Rockefeller.
Means for raising funds for this new
building are already under discussion.
The former plan for the Library
was to add a large wing which would
provide more room for books, more
offices and a permanent place for the
departments of Art and Archaeology.
However, an addition which would
fulfil all these requirements could not
be covered by the 180,000 dollars
allotted to this purpose by the mil-
lion dollar drive. With this in mind,
Miss Park devised the present plan
which has been adopted.
The new wing is to be added to the
south end of the cloister. The base-
ment and first floor include stacks,
cloak rooms, which will be installed
later, and a large reading room. Re-
movable partitions are being put into
the second flo6r which will, provide
Art and Archaeology lecture rooms,
offices and studios. When these de-
partments move out, the partitions
may be removed and the space used
for other purposes. The third floor
has a long gallery, receiving only
north  light,   for  picture   exhibitions.
Underground passages connect the -
basement of the wing to the rest of
the Library. At the southwest cor-
ner the now unused door will be
opened up to provide a main entrance.
Just inside this entrance the large
reading room will be placed. This
room is to be a memorial to Quita
Woodward whose parents contributed
largely to the fund for the building.
Residents of the new hall will have
access to the Library through two
doors on the south end of the wing,
which will save them many a step.
Miss Reed is overjoyed at the increase
in reading matter this addition will
allow. She estimates a jump in our
book capacity from 56,000 to 70,000
volumes.     /�
Meanwhile, the battle between the
Plan Committee appointed by Miss
Park and Thomas Martin, the archi:
tect, is in progress. I'Lis,J&5Jin~
evitable battle over details Detween
user and creator. However, ground
will be broken before we leave col-
lege and the noisy construction com-
pleted before_ouEixe^urn.   .
DARROW SPEAKS ON
ATOMIC MAGNETISM
Mile. Boulanger in Recital
The Deanery Entertainment Com-
mittee will present a program of
choral music by Mile. Nadia Boulan-
ger on Sunday, April 24, at 5 p. m. in
the Deanery- Mile. Boulanger is head
of the Department of Music at the
Ecole Normale de Paris and Professor
of Harmony at the American Acad-
emy of Fontainbleau. She is in the
United States as visiting professor at
Radcliffe College. She will be as-
sisted by Mme. Gisele Peyron, so-
prano; M. Hugues Cuenod, tenor, and
M. Doda Conrad, bass.                    ,  .
Musio Roork, April ig|� Dr. Karl
K. Darrow,, /of the Bell Telephone
Laboratories^ Inc., and author of The
Renaissance of Physics, spoke to the
Science Club on Magnetism in the
Atom. He explained two experi-
ments on the magnetism of small par-
ticles which have had an influence so
important upon modern physics, par-
ticularly in the realms of light and
quantum mechanics, that their impli-
cations have not yet been fully de-
veloped.
Dr. Darrow gave the evidence for
the modern theory to explain magnet^
ism and other related aspects of
atomic behavior. In 1829 Ampere
had linked electricity and magnetism
by showing that the fields of force
produced by a magnet and by a cir-
cular current in a coil of wire were
identical. The coil had a field cor-
responding to a bar magnet through
Continued on Puce Three
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