College News, 1937-12-15, Vol. 24, No. 10

              '
The College News
VOL. XXIV, No. 10
1
BRYN MAWR AND WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1937
Copyright   TRUSTEES  OF
BRYN    MAWR   COLLEGE.   1937
PRICE 10 CENTS)
Miss Park Suggests
Giving More Plays
s   At  Lower   Prices
Says  Way   to  Arouse   Interest
Is to Give Many a Chance
To See and Act
ADVOCATES   STARTING
FUND TO LOWER COSTS
.�Ws
Music Room, December 9.�Miss
Park stated that the main small com-,
munity problem in giving plays is
to interest a large enough number of
people in dramatic production- to^back
any play wholeheartedly and yet in-
telligently. "Acting can never carry
the interest of the whole group when
it is confined to a small number," she
believes. As a solution to this problem
at Bryn Mawr, lower admission rates
and frequent experimental productions
were suggested.
At present, the movies and plays
in Philadelphia and in New York
seriously rival campus performances,
but if some fund could be established
so that admission here would be lower
or even free, far more people would
attend. Also, more individuals would
become interested if they had a chance
to see and take part in many different
kinds of fairly informal productions,
such as Shakespeare in modern dress,
and pantomime, episode, and skeletal
plot experiments.
When only a few plays are given
yearly by one small group in the col-
lege, it is almost impossible to find a
play satisfying to both the audience
and the actors. The latter want a
chance for semi-independent acting in
a modern style, but this does not
usually answer the demand of the
spectators, who come chiefly out of
personal interest and want to see a
production which is at least good of
its kind.
The "Broadway type" of play, said
Miss Park, very naturally appeals to
college actors, but it needs men, and
the audience is apt to be hypercrit-
ical because the play is associated in
their mirtlds with some particularly
great performance. On the other
hand, the "academic play," usually
costumed and of a definite period, can
be given quite successfully by a cast
of women, and a finished production
attained, due mainly to strict direct-
ing by an experienced coach. The
actors inevitably are not satisfied with
this type of play.
Bryn Mawr's best productions of
cither type have been done in com-
bination with mens' colleges, but this
has not really solved the problem of
Continued on Page Two
Council Approves Plan
For    Record    Library
Theatre     Workshop,     New     Hall
Furniture Discussed
The President's House, Tuesday,
December 7.�The Mrs. Otis Skinner
Theater Workshop and a proposed
college record library were the two
main topics of discussion at the De-
cember College Council meeting. The
meeting was shorter than usual and
the business Was carried on around
the dining room table cfuring din-
ner.
Laura Estabrook, '39, vice-president
of the Junior Class, read the min-
utes of the last meeting, when the
Council considered the suggestion of
establishing a circulating library of
records. Miss Charlotte Howe had
written to Radcliffe to ask about the
administrative details of their very
successful library; she reported that
Radcliffe's records were acquired by a
gift of money, and are used in co-
operation with their music depart-
ment. A small rgj�tal fee takes care
of the maintenance of the . library.
As the present collection of the Mu-
sic Department is for demonstration
purposes and would not be available
to the proposed library, the Council
suggested that some of the funds of
the Bryn Mawr Music Department
might be used to establish such a
library here, and everyone felt it
would be very popular.
Mrs. Chadwick-Collins reported
that the New York committee for the
Mrs. Otis Skinner Theater Workshop
fund has been organized, and that
3,000 of the necessary 22,000 dollars
has been raised, mostly through the
efforts of the friends of Mrs. Skin-
ner. Tne enthusiasm among the stu-
dents at Bryn Mawr has not been
great so far, and as this is an extra-
curricular, non-academic project, most
of the Council agreed that the un-
dergraduates should cooperate active-
ly in the drive. Mrs. Collins showed
the members of the Council a folder
with pictures of the completed plans,
which provide for a well-equipped lit-
tle theater and lofty studios on the
second floor.
Miss Howe and Julia Grant, '38,
reported on a meeting of the com-
mittee on furnishings for the new
dormitory. The committee is com-
posed of representatives from the
Alumnae, Faculty, and Undergradu-
ates. The two student delegates will
primarily be interested in the furni-
ture for the bedrooms and suites.
They are Sarah Meigs. '39, and Julia
Grant. Miss Howe asked the Coun-
cil's opinion about the possibility of
choosing modern furniture for the bed-
Continued on Page Four
Peace Council Hears
Boycott   Discussion
#                    *
D.    Naramore    Predicts    Effect
On    Japanese,    Mr.    Rogin
That on Hosiery Workers
FENWICK LACKS PLAN,
STAPLETON    OPPOSED
Skit at Deanery Party Reveals Chaos
Brought to Bryn Mawr by Three Marxes
Harpo  Delivers  Silent  Flexner
Lecture; Stapleton Writes
�And Directs Skit
Deanery, December IS.�The chaos
which would ensue should the Marx
brothers ever visit Bryn Mawr was
riotously apparent in the faculty skit
which climaxed the Deanery party's
varied program. The plot of The
Marxo Lectures or Mrs. Swinburne
Comes to Town centered about the
consequences of such a visit, as con-
ceived by Miss K. Laurence Staple-
ton, and acted by 16 faculty members.
That Dr. Leslie Hotson, who, in the;
words    of    Roger   Wells,    "combines
sound   Shakespearean   qualities   withj
the antics of Ed Wynn," is wasting!
his talent upon the male population of
Haverford  was evident from his ar-
dent pursuit of Mrs. Swinburne (Mrs.
Chadwick-Collins).    As  Groucho,  he
effectively manipulated eyes, mustache
and cigar.                "
Mrs. Chadwick-Collins gave her au-
dience an entirely new slant on the
possible meaning of the familiar
"mistress and mother" (All hail Bryn
Mawr)! She introduced herself, how-
ever, as a Bronxville�not Bryn Mawr
�mother, here to save her unfortu-
nate daughter, Theodora, who had
passed "her intelligence test, her at-
titude test, and her comprehensive
body-mechanics, all with a mark of
108." The eventual salvation of Theo-
dora was easily foreseen, but not so
her appearance. Despite the peasant
dress and figured handkerchief, Miss
Park was distinctly recognizable, and
was greeted w,ith howls vof,. delight.
Nor did the audience anticipate the
burst of song with which she cele-
brated her "regeneration:
"Who wants an I. Q.?
An eyeful will do."
Eloquent, despite the confines of
pantomime, Harpo (Miss Bettina
Linn) replaced Groucho as the Flex-
ner lecturer. His first gesture, as
he seized the pointer and struck an
en garde attitude, had to be inter-
preted to the audience by Chico (M.
Jean Guiton), who hissed, "No, this
isn't Hamlet. That's � different lec-
ture." But thereafter Harpo held his
audience spell-bound as he scattered
��..i.ityux pages- of notes on the floor,
pressed rfiV buzzer again and again,
and consumed an unbelievable amount
of water.
When the faculty impersonated
students, and Groucho announced to
Augusta Arnold (Miss Josephine
Fisher), "we won't need plural is �
metzphysics wh^n the goos-
high," they w re applau-'
Continue "ii  1'*w T�
Common Room, December IS.�The
Peace Council presented four speak-
ers, each giving a different aspect of
the proposed boycott on Japanese ex-
ports. Dewilda Naramore, '38, the
first speaker, explained the effect this
would have on Japan's trade and mili-
tary strength. She was followed by
Mr. Rogin, Educational Director of
the American Federation of Hosiery
Workers, who discussed the repercus-
sions of such a boycott (which would
he aimed primarily at raw silk ex-
ports) on American hosiery workers
and the southern share-croppers^
Mr. Charles Fenwick. supported the
move as necessary to lessen the pos-
sibility of future wars. He felt that
such restraint now would make other
nations unwilling to become aggress-
ors. The last speaker, Miss K. Lau-
rence Stapleton, opposed the boycott
because she feared that the Japanese
would be unable to understand our
reasons for taking this punitive action
and that it would only increase na-
tionalistic bitterness.
A boycott, Dewilda Naramore point-
ed out, wOuld not be effective with-
out an embargo. The latter, however,
would be unusually successful against
Japan for two reasons: Nearly all her
trade is with the United States and
England, and she has no natural re-
sources except sulphur and raw silk.
All the cotton and rayon raw ma-
terials, imported for American manu-
facture, is again exported as piece
goods so that Japan is dependent on
foreign trade.
Japan has already tried to open
markets in South America, but these
countries have prohibitive tariffs, and,
moreover, offer in return, goods that
she. does not want, such as coffee and
grain. For war materials, among
other supplies, she must have our
wool, manganese, oil, salt, and cotton.
However, a boycott would be too
slow to control the present situation.
Japan has stored up enough materials
to hold out for six or nine months.
The only solution would be to com-
bine an embargo with the boycott.
If she were cut off from buying as
well as selling, we would not have
to wait for the international ex-
change mechanism to make the lack
felt.
Mr. Rogin compared the position of
the hosiery workers to that of guinea
pigs. Silk is by far our most im-
portant import from Japan, and
though we get a little from Italy and
China, more than 90 per cent is Jap-
anese. Full-fashioned stockings are
made entirely from silk, although less
attractive- lisle and more expensive
wool   stockings   are  available.
The alternative would be to begin
making stockings of lisle, wool being
out of the average buyer's reach. For-
ty-five per cent of existing machines
spukl be used for lisle .manufacture,
leaving 55,000 workers unemployed,
while those 45,000 who would continue
to work would have their salaries cut
because lisle weaving is a much slow-
er process than silk weaving.
The boycott, if effective, would be
an unnecessary loss for sharecroppers,
who would "be cut off from the Jap-
anese cotton market, as well as for
the hosiery workers. A boycott on
Japanese-made toys, he believed, would
be more effective and less harmful to
American industry.
We certainly cannot feel today, Mr.
Continued on>Page Three
COLLEGE CALENDAR
Thursday, December 16.�
Christmas parties in the halls.
Friday, December 17.�Begin-
ning of Christmas vacation.
Saturday, December 25.�
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, January 1.�Happy
New Year!
Monday, January S.�Christ-
mas vacation ends.
Faculty  and Staff
Take Divided Stand
In  "Bust"  Crisis
Questionnaire    Elicits    Answers
From Only Half; 32 Pro,
33 Con, 9 Neutral
Unionization Discussed
At   Industrial   Supper
Workers      Describe      Organization
In Their Various Fields
REPLIES SHOW EMOTION,
WIT,   AND   COMPROMISE
Common  Room,   December   8.�The
questions Why a Union? and Why Are',
They Needed? formed the basis for a'
panel    discussion   at   the   Industrial
Group supper.    Owing to the illness
of  Martha  Van   Hoesen,   '39,- Agnes j
Hunter, of the Germantown Y. M. C.
A., was chairman of the meeting.
Practically every branch of labor
was represented among the 35 guests
of the group. Several were alumnae
of the Bryn Mawr Summer School;
:the majority were union members, and
an* were in favor of organization.      '
The first and most eloquent speaker
was an alumna of the Summer
School who has been in industry for
30 years. She described the long
hours and small pay in an unorgan-
ized hosiery mill; the exploitation of
new mill hands and the injustice of
firing old workers because of age.
Then she pointed out the remedying
of these ills by unionization. A laun-
dry worker told of the organization
of her shop, stating the workers had
not been helped much despite the
union. The low wages and frequent
lay-offs were cited as examples of ex-
istent difficulties. However, as organ-
ization of laundries was only begun
last August, time is still needed to
correct the many faults still prevalent
throughout the city. _
The pros and cons of a company
union were vigorously discussed .by
the group. The reasons back of the
recent Philco lay-off of five thousand
men and women were exprained by
two girls who have just lost jobs with
that plant; while the racial angle of
unionization was presented and dis-
cussed by Marion Anderson, one of
the negro members of the German-
town group.
Every one of the girls, although
recognizing the failings and shortcom-
ings of the unions, displayed a great
sense of loyalty to the union ideal.
They feel there is some sort of pro-
tection, an organization working for
their ultimate benefit, and they, there-
fore, willingly pay ^pr union dues
and strive to become "one hundred
per cent union members."
Furthermore, the increased oppor-
tunities for education were stressed.
Witnthe leisure time afforded by the
44-hour week, they pointed out, there
is a chance to attend the free classes
conducted by their unions. It is the |
uninformed worker who is the hin-
drance and trouble maker in the
union. It is he who refuses to co-
operate, and seeks to secure gains for
himself without united action. He is
the worker the unions are trying to
eliminate by education.
(The News' policy on the question
of the plan for removing the busts
has already been made public. To
reiterate: we are not in favor of it.
Quite impartially, however,, we offer
you the returns of our questionrmire
to the faculty and staff.�Ed.)
The questionnaire which the News
sent to the faculty and staff on the
busts question took the form of 181
index cards inscribed as follows:    ,
"For the enlightenment of Mr.#
Stokes and especially of the College
News, -will you please be good enough
to check and sign this card, and re-
turn it by campus mail?
"I approve the proposal to remove
the busts from Taylor.
"Yes.                                No."
They were distributed Thursday,
December second, by members of the
business board. The returns came in
slowly twice a day up to the end of
the week of December sixth to thir-
teenth. That is, 76 of the original 151
came in.
Although the cards distinctly said
Ch-eck and Sign, 23 of them were re-
turned anonymously. The total num-
ber of people in favor of removing
the busts was 32, the total number
in favor of retaining them, 33. Eleven
people were either indifferent or ad-
vocated some sort of a compromise.
The bust partisans of the News hoped
to prove something about the coward-
liness of people who answered Yes,
but the statistics show a majority
of -only 10 yes's to 9 no's among the
anonymous answers.
Under the general heading of in-
different or compromise come signed
replies from some of the most im-
posing names of the college. Miss
Park answered the qnes ttun-i^Yes, in
the summer, as an experiment^nHss
Ward replied: "Yes, some�but not
all." Mr. Guiton and Mrs. Jessen dis-
played a concern for the future of
the busts. Mrs. Jessen veers toward
the yes's, but qualifies this attitude
by saying: "// they can be put into
another more suitable place and used
to better advantage." Mr. Guiton, on
the other hand, says: *'No (unless
you have a home for them.)" Mr.
Stephen J. Herben and Mr. A. C.
Sprague of the English Department
are both magnificent in their indiffer-
enceto the question, and signify this
by neat little checks in the exact mid-
dle of the space between Yes and No
on their cards.
One unsigned comment  in  red  ink
says:  "Distribute  them in  Goodhart,
Continued on  1'ago TwiT
SKATING CLUB OFFERS
B.  M.  SERIES  TICKETS
The Peace Council is holding
a ballot to obtain the opinion
of the students on a Japanese
boycott. The ballots will be
placed on the doors, and all stu-
dents are requested to fill them
oujt so that a complete count can
be made.
WATERBURY OILS ON
EXHIBITION
(Contributed in News tryouts.)
Common Room, December 6.�Mem-
bers of the Art Club and many of
the faculty met Miss Florence Water-
bury, a Bryn Mawr alumna of 1905,
at an exhibition in the Common Room.
Her 10 oil paintings will" be in the
Common Room until December seven-
teenth.
The pictures  showed  some variety
| of technique.    The only brilliant one,
Ballot on Bays""   ^j^lpij* with a palette knife and much
red, showed the harbor at Province-
town. Those representing the desert
were painted, Miss Waterbury said,
at top speed to catch the swiftly
changing lights on the mountain
peaks. In these the paint is spread
thin, almost as in watercolor, and the
colors are hazy pastels.
E.  M.
Bryn Mawr students will be able
t<\ slj-atx a,t the Philadelphia Skating
Club rink, at Haverford, on Mondays,
from five to six p. m., free of charge,
beginning January tenth.
Students may purchase cards for
10 dollars enabling them to skate at
20 of the regular club sessions. This
includes morning and evening hours,
the Saturday afternoon session for
dancing, at which tea is served, and
all day Sunday.
Special tickets for morning hours
only can be bought for 15 dollars.
These are go�d for 30 mornings. On
Tuesday andfSaturday evenings stu-
dents are in%ited to skate by the club.
Invitation^rerds must be presented
and thefewill be a charge of 75 cents
each evening.
Invitation cards and tickets may be
obtained frdm Miss Elmer, in the
bookshop, in Taylor. They art non-
transferrable.
Students may take skating lessons
for 3 dollars for a half-hour. Two
or three students may share one les-
son.
�M