College News, 1938-02-23, Vol. 24, No. 15

              J
The college

VOL. XXIV, No. 15
BRYN MAWR AND WAYNE; PA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23,  1938   BRcY0Ryfch^5RcUoSLTLEEEGSE?r938
PRICE 10 CBNTS
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Dr.   Putnam   Finds
Clue to Mediaeval
Life in Legal Data
Criminal Records Are Substitute
For Non-Extant Current
Literary   Works
OLD TRIALS TOOK PLACE
OF    MOVING    PICTURES
Goodhart, February SI.�Under the
title of" The Usefulness of Crime in
Mediaeval England, Dr. Bertha Ha-
ven Putnam, Professor Emeritus of
History of Mount Holyoke College,
discussed the normal life of the coun-
try people of England in the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries. They
are revealed "not as a static, deeply
religious people, but rather a profiteer-
ing, vociferous, turbulent people."
The criminality of the Middle Ages
was really the contemporary obses-
sion for litigation. "People went to
court as we go to the movjes," and
the most respectable people were con-
stantly being indicted and bringing
cases for violent crimes. Crime was
useful, therefore, Dr. Putnam ex-
plained, because the records of fel-
onies and misdemeanors and of the'
legal measures dealing with them fill
in the almost complete lack of liter-
ary material which has always made
the English middle class of this period
seem unknowable.
The use of English in the law
courts was required by the fourteenth
century, but the. records continued to
be in extremely bad Latin frequently
interspersed with French and Eng-
lish. Concerning literacy, said Dr.
Putnam, we have'Tuily the negativeT"
evidence that books werfc~amqng the
few articles that were seldom stolen.
Manuscripts held by church libra-
ries, which had a high material value,
were occasionally stolen�and the
thieves    were    usually    ecclesiastics.
The court records show ^the large
number of murders and thefts and the
frequency of such illegalities^ packed
juries, bought pardons (an extremely
profitable trade for the crown), forged
licenses and charges.
Peace was constantly menaced by
large gangs ready for murder, rioting
and housebreaking on the slightest
provocation. Governing officials were
often murdered and maltreated, "bail-
iffs, made to eat their warrants," and
court sessions broken up. A vast un-
derworld of cheating gamblers, eaves-
droppers, poisoners, and the like, was
revealed, but we do nqt know what
class of people most of them were.
The amount of litigation which re-
sulted from the attempt to enforce the
Statute of Laborers of 1351 throws
light on economic conditions. Normal
and excessive wages are listed, and in-
dictments for such crimes as buying
an article for three pence and selling
it for eight, or "taking money for an
unsuccessful attempt to cure illness,"
Continued on  Page  Four
Peace Council Meeting
Mass meeting for the ratifica-
tion of the Peace Council con-
stitution will be held on Thurs-
day, February 24, in Goodhart
Auditorium. The constitution
will be found on page 2. For
the democratic ratification of
this constitution it is essential
that every student attend this
meeting.                               .  .
Isabel Stearns Speaks
On Individual's Nature
Existence  and  Change  Depend  on
Dynamic  Relations
At a meeting of the Philosophy
Club, Isabel Stearns, member of the
Philosophy Department at Smith Col-
lege, spoke on the nature of the in-
dividual. The nature of the indivi-
dual, Miss Stearns believes, is such
that it is indefinite and unlimited, but
becomes definite and undergoes limi-
tation. Its whole life is dynamic, for
in its striving it never realizes the
end, which is to be complete, realizing
only subsidiary ends. The individual
both contains and tends towards the
object of its endeavor which it con-
tains in the form of a question.
The apposition between the self and
the not-self is felt in resistance, but
is never complete opposition. The self
merges, but never completely, with
aspects of the not-self. Knowledge of
the not-self is only through relations;
thus, since pure other is an ontolog-
ical impossibility, the preservation, the
existence of the individual, depends
upon the fact of its entering into real
relations.
The individual in motion, insofar
as it is aware of itself, is aware of
a- struggle or an endeavor. There is
never complete rest, but varying de-
grees of motion. The conatus, or
power to maintain existence, is the
power thi-Siigh which the individual
controls itself through itself. THie co-
natus is manifested temporally, as a
drive towards something as yet un-
realized. It is transition, the content
of which is effort. Since die effort is
towards attainment, the drive is
to-wards a further existence which is
necessarily different from the present
mode of existence. Thus the conatus
is an attempt to change the mode of
existence. Modes of existence cannot
be changed without the addition of
something new. It is for this reason
that the individual goes outside itself
towards other individuals. Through
contact, the individual's mode is
changed, but the individual keeps it-
self from complete fusion with another
by maintaining its tendencies. It is
the individual as the source of motion
which maintains the identity of the
individual.                        ^~
RICHARD and BERENGARIA
JULIA, JULIAN, and CHORUS
The individual is intension with tem-
poral existence.    The bare element of
extension separates these stages and
separates   individuals   as   intensions
Continued on Page Four
M. Kimball Discusses Artist's Technique;
Illustrates Lecture  by  Painting  in  Oils
The Deanery, February SO.�Fol-
lowing the fn*thod used in 1934 by
Mr. Charles Hopkinson, Maulsby
Kimball, Jr., not only discussed an
artist's technique, but also demon-
strated it by painting a picture in oils
while he lectured. A former instruc-
tor at the School of Industrial Art
in Philadelphia, he is the present
director of the Bryn Mawr Art
Center.
Technique, stated Mr. Kimball,
while only ."a ��e<""- "f =*ap�f.yib# -b
things an artist has sensed," is never-
theless as important as subject-mat-
ter, since it too is "the result of his
coordination and balance, an epitome
of his whole spiritual development"
Good art, he believes, can consist only
in a perfect balance between subject
and technique. Bad art, on the' other
hand, results when the "vehicle" has
been over-emphasized.
To illustrate fcis points, Mr. Kim-
ball   painted  a  landscape  at sunset, power.
showing a bay surrounded by hills,
"in that'strange envelopement of eve-
ning light." The subject-was chosen
because it represented a mean be-
tween realism and abstraction, and
also carried certain impressions of
line, color, and rhythm.
First placing the sun as "the center
of light," he sketched a rhythmical,
curved motif of heavy clouds. This
was echoed by the shore of the bay
and three sharp hills sloping diagon-
ally across the canvas. The interest,
jowever, was kept horizontal by the
straight line of tha ocean horizon.
The dominating colors were blue,
blue-green, and salmon-gold,. They
were laid on rather roughly and
loosely in order to avoid losing "the
vitality gained by the interplay and
vibration of one color with another."
Mr. Kimball disregards brushstroke
except to keep it free and in the gen-
eral rhythm, since he believes that
overconscientious    treatment    dilutes
Miss Strack Discusses ~
U.S.S.R. Peace Policy
Speaker Traces its History, its
Relation to Collective
Security
RUSSIAN AIM PACIFISTIC
Trio Classique to Make
Appearance at Deanery
Graduates of Curtis Institute  Have
Varied Repertoire
Freshmen   Present
Smoothly Produced
But Dull Crusade
Good  Scenery,  Staging,   Music
Expended on Pointless'
Dragging Plot
FOX "LAYS OBSCURE"
UNTIL  PROPER   TIME
Common Room, February SI.�Miss
Celeste Strack, national secretary of
the Young Communists' League, spoke
at a joint meeting of the International
Relations Club and the A. S. U. on
the peace policy of the U. S. S. R. and
its relation to collective security.
Miss Strack maintained that Commu- j
nists and the Soviet Union work for
peace as essential to the welfare of
the world.
Miss Strack says that, from the
standpoint of a Marxian Communist,
there can be no^ true peace until so-
cialism has been established through-
out the world. A peace gained now
by collective action against the ag-
gressor nations might be continued
into a permanent peace by defeating
the forces of reaction and giving the
nations of the world opportunity to
develop without violence into socialist
states. If the democracies acted now,
though economic forces, the growing
"Fascist International," might be
destroyed.
In tracing the history of the Soviet's
peace* policy, Miss- Strack divided it
into three periods. At first Russia
asked only peace for herself in order
to do reconstruction after the war.
During the 20s the Soviet made suc-
cessive proposals to other nations for
reductions in armaments. In the
crisis^ which has existed since 1931,
with the members of the Rome-Tokio-
Berlin axis no longer in the League
of Nations, Russia has joined and is
now one of the many peace organiza-
tions in action against war and
Fascism.
When, in 1917, the Bolshevik seized
the power in Russia, they demanded
immediate    negotiations    for    peace.
The war continued, however, so Russia
Continued on Page Three
On Sunday afternoon, February 27,
at 5 p. m., the Trio Classique will
give a concert in the Deanery. The
trio is composed of graduates of the
Curtis Institute. Ardelle Hookins,
who played in the Boston Women's
Symphony Orchestra under the direc-
tion of "Ethel Leginska and studied
under Kincaid and Barrere, will be
remembered at Bryn Mawr as the
flutist in the Greek play directed by
Madame Sikelianos in 1935. Eudicc
Shapiro won the violin prize of the
National Federation of Music Clubs
Contest and is soloist this year with
five symphony orchestras. Virginia
Majewski is a graduate of the East-
man School of Musjc as well as of
the Curtis, and is a member of the
Marianne Kneisel Quartet in New
York City.
The programme at the Deanery will
include:
I.  Serenade Trio in D Major, opus 25
t                         Beethoven
Allegro   *"
Menuetto
Andante con variazioni
Adagio�Allegro vivace
II.  Prayer ...................Bach
Allegretto and Polonaise-----Bach
Andante...............Taneiev
Summer Night   ......Cornelissen
Aubade...............de Wailly
ill. Suite in A Minor, opus 21
Jungniann
Three  Pieces.....Walter Piston
Allegro scherzando
Lento                                            ^
Allegro
HINDEMITH   WILL   PLAY
IN GOODHART TONIGHT
!
COLLEGE CALENDAR
Thursday, February SU �
Summer School tea. Common
Room, 4.30. International Club
meeting, Common Room, 8 p. m.
Saturday, February S6�Hav-
erford Glee Club Concert. Mu-
sic Room, 8.30. Pembroke dance
in Wyndham and dance in
Rockefeller.
Sunday, February S7�Trio
Classique Concert. Deanery, 5
p. m.
Monday February S8�Voca-
tional tea. Talk by Miss Elea-
nor Bliss on laboratory work.
Common Room, 4.30.
Tuesday, March 1�Mr. Fen-
wick will speak on current
event*. Conv.� �o�fl^wT!So.
International Club meeting,
Common Room, 8 p. m.
Wednesday, March S�Peace
Council Panel Discussion. Good-
hart, 8.30.
Thursday, March S�A. S. U.
meeting, Common Room, 8 p. m.
Wednesday, March 9�Sci-
ence Club meeting, Comnum
Room, 8 p. m.
Paul Hindemith, famous composer
and noted soloist, will give his only
concert in this vicinity in Goodhart
Hall -tonight at 8.30. Mr. Hinde-
mith's program consists of four of his
own compositions: Sonata for the
Wola�opus 28; Piano Sonata No. 1;
Sonata for viola and piano�opus 11;
Piano pieces�opus 37 No. 2. He will
play the viola himself and Madame
Lydia Hoffman-Behrendt will play the
piano.
According to Mr. Horace Alwyne,
of the Department of Music, "Hinde-
mith is one of the two outstanding
modern German composers." (Schoen-
berg is the other.) The Pro Arte
Quartette, in their concert at the col-
lege in 1935, played his quartette ppus
32 No. 4, and, while Mr. Alwyne was
the head of it, the Society for Con-
temporary Music, in Philadelphia,
gave the opera Hin und Ziiruck.
Tfte bulk of Mr. Hindemith's" pub-
lished work is large. Besides cham-
ber music and music for orchestra, he
has written operas, operettas, and
numerous compositions for voices and
solo instruments. A translation of
his book, The Craft of Musical Com-
position, is to come out in^this coun-
try soon. Mr. Hindemith will speak
briefly at the concert on his "ideas
and ideals of the future progress of
harmonic relations."
Goodhart Hall, February 19.�The
Freshman Show adhered strictly to
its original, the Third Crusade. The
Tbjrcl Crusade was only a moral vic-
tory. In former years there has been
an effort to spice the shows with
pointed take-offs and jocular farce.
The class of 1941, preferring more
artistic entertainment, chose rather
take-offs without point and farce
without jokes. In addition they sup-
plied excellent scenery, mild but tune-
ful music and quiet amusement.
The plot of Asleep and .Better To
Be That Way revolved slowly around
four dead kings. The scene was laid
in camp where two of the kings,
Philip of France and Richard Coeur
de Lion, were crusading with their
lusty wives. The nebulous tale on
which the story hung was the Anglo-
French quarrel over the death of
Barbarossa, former ruler of Ger-
many.
As a result of-this enmity, the sol-
diers went on strike and the queens
grew restless. Meanwhile queer little
D. T. animals trembled around read-
ing a constitution out of a bound copy
of the New York Times. Eventually,
however, mediator King Arthur, a
ghost, and solution King Barbarossa,
another ghost, looked in on the melee
and settled the situation.
Dramatic honors-were divided be-
tween Elinore of Aquitaine (Rosemary
Sprague) and Berengaria (Ernestine
Gallucci). Reminiscent of Amphy-
trion 38, Act 2 was the scene between
them while they discussed the aridity
of desert life and threw peas on the
floor in fits of passion.. Speaking of
custom's officials, Berengaria said
with a^hrug more readily associated
with Clara Bow than an English
monarch, "Oh, how I hate to have
men going through my things!" Out-
standing in the show was Elinore's
speech as she threw open the hanging
of her tiny tent, "I don't care what
you say, Philip, / think it's hot in
here."
Against this sultry background of
queenly plots and counter-plots,
minced two attractive, if meaningless
young lovers, Julian (Louise French)
and Julia (Anne Kidder). Together
they sang two very pleasant songs
about spring and love, smacking
heavily of Gilbert and Sullivan. Kid-
der, especially, sang with assurance
and gestured in true G. & S. shy-little-
maiden style._________
The two ghostly monarchs, King
Arthur (Virginia Sherwood) and
Barbarossa (Ruth Ann Goldberg)
provided an interesting contrast. Bar-
barossa exuded such ecstasies of de-
light in his beard and his Rhine
maidens that he was in constant dan-
ger of charging headlong into the
footlights. The English spectre, in his
bored British way, was completely
convincing, even down to his aloof
and distant voice.
Scenery, as we have said, was ex-
cellent. The lighting for the third
act was certainly effective, as was
the very handsome herald leaning
against his spear as an electric dawn
Continued on Pace Three
Memorial Fund
The senior class is.arranging
an annual economics prize as
a memorial to Jeanne Quist-
gaard" to be given iorK.!.- .'��^
time this year. Cards will be
put around in each hall, and if
anyone wishes to contribute will
she please tell the person who is
collecting money in her hall so
that it may be put on Pay Day,
or send a check to Margaret
Howson,' Merion. Any contri-
bution, regardless of size, will
be greatly appreciated.