College News, 1939-02-15, Vol. 25, No. 12

              /      *
The College News
2-615
VOL. XXV, No.  12
BRYN MAWR AND WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1939   i&gJJBftJfljfEBBtfm    PRICB 10 CENTS
it
i
College Hears
Piano Recital
By Myra Hess
Subtlety    of    Interpretation
Distinguishes Pianist's *
Performance
ENCORES INCLUDE
SCARLATTI,  BACH
Goodhart, February 7.�Myra
Hess's piano fecital proved to
be another highlight in the College
Entertainment Committee's Series. In
a well-chosen program her exquisite
taste appeared to better advantage
than ever and sustained the standards
of excellence already set by the Trapp
Choir and Ruth Draper.
The Bach D minor Toccata which
she played first was unfamiliar to
most listeners. It was not the thun-
dering Bach of the Organ Toccata and
Fugue in the same key; it contained
rather the elements of straightfor-
ward simplicity and clarity which
heightened its melancholy nature. Its
generous length encompassed four dis-
tinct sections, the first and third pre-
ludising, each followed by a fugue.
The third seemed especially lovely in
its use of a quiet, deeply felt theme,
while the fourth emphasized a light,
quick touch.'
Schubert's Sonata in B flat major
was almost as novel to the audience
and was well received. Miss Hess ob-
viously took extreme pleasure in its
delightful arpeggio figures, quick
turns from major to minor, and put a
great *deal into her performance.
Although one would hesitate to rank
it with Schubert's greatest composi-
tions, its beauty is undeniable.
The _rest of the program was de-
voted to conCert-hall favorites. Bee-
thoven's Opus 13, the "grande sonate
pathetique" as he himself termed it,
was the mo6t ambitious undertaking
as far as interpretation was concerned.
JJiss Hess's wonderful ability to make
every note real music, every phrase
clear, made it memorable. She did
not force any of it, even the ominous
opening phrase, and the slow move-
ment's noble beauty came out with
real artistry. In both this and the
Schubert one was conscious of the dif-
ference between hers and the usual
masculine.interpretation: while she in
Continued  on  Pane  Four
Library Wing Will Be
Started This Spring
Council   Discusses   New   Plans
For Undergraduate Forums,
Athletic   Building
The,President's House, February 8.
�The first Council meeting of the sec-
ond semester met at* Miss Park's
house last Wednesday. The chief top-
ics under discussion were: the new
Library Wing, the benefit to be given
for the Theater Workshop, under-
graduate chapels, the work of the Cur-
riculum Committee, the new athletic
building, and the'German Scholarship.
The minutes of the last meeting were
read and discussed in greater detail.
The final plans for the new Library
Wing have been seen and approved,
and the portrait of Quita Woodward,
by Violet Oakley, is progressing.
Work on the building is to be started
about April first. The wing is ex-
pected to be completed next spring.
The question of the need for gen-
oral undergraduate discussion meet-
ings was again raised. It was felt
that an outside speaker or an under-
graduate leader should summarize
these problems, and present them to
the meetings. Every undergraduate
Continued on Page Three
Progress is Subject
Of Dr. Hart's Talk
Claims Individual Advance Will
Eventually Solve Social
Problems
Music Room, February 12.�"Prog-
ress and Religion�Public and Per-
sonal," was the subject chosen by the
Reverend John Robbins Hart, lecturer,
consulting psychologist and minister
at the Valley Forge Chapel, for his
talk in chapel.                   n>
Progress, in the modern sense, was
not understood or believed in by the
ancients. The world, as they saw it,
moved in a cycle, rising under a great
leader or a great culture and falling
when such props were removed. Dr.
Hart likened world histpry to a
spiral which moves up and down but
always forward. As the world ad-
vances in this way, the huhfan race
becomes increasingly aware of the
ways in which to save itself. The
ancients regarded poverty as per-
petual and incurable; today we make
definite attempts to rid ourselves of
Continued on Page Three
Record Collection Opens in Rhoads Hall;
Inspiration Music Popular During Exams.
The arrival of the Carnegie record
collection at Bryn Mawr just after
Christmas vacation was particularly
opportune. It seems that students
were in need of some external stimu-
lation to study, for the Brahms' Aca-
demic Overture was noticeably popu-
lar during mid-year examinations.
Equally in demand during this period
was Bach's sacred music, particularly
the B minor Mass. We see in this an
indication that the students take their
examinations a lot more seriously
than they are willing to admit.
The � collection is very representa-
tive, although-not over large; there
are about one thousand records. Com-
posers range from Wagner, Bach and
Beethoven on one extreme to Gersh-
win, Duke Ellington and Benny Good-
man on the other. The history of
music is covered from the earliest folk
and cliurch music to present day com-
positions. The card catalogue, which
is divided^into four listings as to
Composer, Medium, Form, Title, shows
that every form of musical construc-
tion is included. There is even a list-
ing for Yodels, but the collection has
not as yet acquired any selections of
this somewhat frustrated form of mu-
sical expression.
Two important features of the col-
lection are the library and the hand-
some Capehart victrola. At present
the Capehart is not in working order,
having perversely entered into a per-
iod of great silence after only a few
days of utility. It is being repaired,
however, and should be ready soon.
The library includes some two hun-
dred books, a good partrof which are
scores for the great symphonies and
operas. There are critical studies of
music in relation to art, science and
literature. Other books deal with the
lives of well known composers, and
the history of music development in
foreign countries such as China,
Africa and Russia.
The selections that Myra Hess
played were popular before and after
her performance, especially Beethov-
en's Sonata Pathetique. The concerts
at the Academy of Music also seem to
stimulate the students to use the li-
brary more frequently. There have
recently been quite a few requests for
The Gondoliers, which is unfortu-
nately absent from the collection.
However, there are other Gilbert and
Sullivan operettas in their entirety, as
well as many of the more popular
Straugs waltzes.
The collection is in Room 156,
Rhoads North. It is possible to get
records there from seven to eight
o'clock every evening except Sunday.
The records may be taken out for
three days at a time at two cents a
record, but there is a heavy fine of
five cents a day per record for over-
time. The money collected is to be
used for repairing the equipment and
for replacing and enlarging the col-
lection.                                 R. C.M.
COLLEGE CALENDAR
Thursday, February 16.�
Folk dancing by Douglas Ken-
nedy. � Gymnasium, 8.30.
Friday, February 17.�Inter-
national Club meeting. Com-
mon Room, 7.30.
Saturday, February 18.�Pre-
mature Lilies.    Wyndham, 8.15.
Sunday, February 19. � Re-
cital by Miss Helen Rice's string
quartet. Deaneiy, 4.30. Don-
ald B. Aldrich will speak in
chapel.   Music Room, 7.30.
Monday, February 20.�Flor-
ence Allen will 'give the third
Shaw Lecture.    Goodhart, 8.20.
Tuesday, February 21.�Cur-
rent Events, Mr. Fenwick. Com-
mon Room, 7.30.
Wednesday, February 22. �
Philosophy Club meeting. Com*,
mon Room, 7.30.             4
Thursday, February 23. �
Dance Recital by Martha Gra-
ham.    Goodhart, 8.30.
Indian Poetry Deals
With Supernatural
Tlie Deanery, February 9.�Ruth
Murray Underhill, Ph. D., limited her
lecture on Indian Poetry to that of
the Southwest, where she has�been
working for a number of years. She
began by explaining that among the
Indians the poet, in our sense of the
word, does not exist. A person deal-
ing with the supernatural uses poetry
as a vehicle for spells, charms and
prayers. The embellishment and con-
ventionalization of these utilitarian
forms came secondarily in the devel-
opment of Indian poetry, as it has in
all other forms of Indian art. Dr.
Underhill grouped the poetry of the
Indians of the Southwest in three
main forms, pure lyrics, .saga, and
ritual.
The first, or lyrical type, is written
to be sung, and is inseparable from
music. It appears in spells to cure
illness or to guard against supernat-
ural powers, and is composed during
a trance or a vision. It has rhythm,
in a very long and complicated form,
but never rhyme in our sense of the
word. In Papago the actual words
are changed by the addition of sylla-
bles to produce the desired effect of
emotion. By this alternation of the
words the sense is often completely
lost, and a magic language results.
Another trait peculiar to Papago
lyrics is the br&vity jjjf description.
A single image is used with other
parts of -the subject matter - under-
stood. Navajo lyrics, on the other
hand, 'rely on repetition for their ef-
fect.'
The saga, said Dr. Underhill, re-
sembles the romance of Aucassin and
Nicolette in form: prose, with songs
to mark the emotional parts. Stand-
ardization of prose or verse varies a
great deal with the tribe. The dia-
logue is like that of our modern
I        Continued on Page Three
FRESHMAN DEVJL TO
GRIN IN GOODHART
The coming freshman show to be
given on Saturday, February 25, re-
turns in theme from the wanderings
of long-lost kings to the usual chaos
of the smoking room. The familiar
scent of freshman intrigue is pre-
valent, but the class of 1942 seems
bent on keeping their politics behind
closed doors.
"The Devil Did Grin" was written
by Madelaine Daly, Jocelyn Flem-
ing, Joan Gross and Deborah Martin.
The play is being produced under
the direction.of: M. Daly, director;
C. Waples, general manager; J.
Fleming, stage manager; M. Gumbart,
business manager; M. Hollis, posters;
M. Gilman, costumes; M. Catron,
lights; M. McGrath, rcenery; E.
Stone, properties; V. Williams, danc-
ing.
Jacqueline Wilson and Louise Lewis
have charge of the music. The most
important parts which have been cast
are�Gabriel, A. Loewe; The Devil,
L. Horton; St Peter, V. French.
K. Hepburn to Star
In W orkshot) Benefit
Theresa Helburn and Katherinc
Hepburn, Bryn Mawr alumnae, will
devote the afternoon of February 28
to the cause of the Bryn Mawr Thea-
ter Workshop with a benefit matinee
performance of Philip Barry's The
Philadelphia Story, a new Theatre
Guild production staged by Miss Hel-
burn and co-featuring Miss Hepburn.
The Barry play opens at the Chest-
nut Street Opera House on February
27. For students attending the bene-
fit performance there will be a special
bus leaving from Pembroke Arch.
Students are invited to a cocktail
party at the Warwick Hotel, in Phila-
delphia after the performance. Re-
freshments are not free of charge but
it will be possible to meet Miss Hep-
burn, other members of the cast, Miss
Helburn and Mr. Barry.
Tickets for the special performance
may be obtained either through the
Publication Office or from the follow-
ing representatives: Denbigh, Marga-
ret McGrath; Merion, Juliana Day;
Pembroke East, Ethel Clift; Pembroke
West, Sarah Meigs; Rockefeller, Pen-
nell Crosby; Rhoads, Adele Clement;
and non-resident, Lucille Sauder.
Also as part of the program for
raising money for the Theater Work-
shop, an Amateur Night will be held
some time in April, and two one-act
plays are to be presented by the Play-
ers Club in March, Riders te the Sea
and The ^ew School for Wives. Fur-
ther details about these projects will
be announced later.
Dr. Chodoff Speaks
On Spanish Struggle
fcriuds Integrity of Loyalists and
Traces Development of
> Rebellion
Common Room, February 8.�At a
meeting sponsored by the A. S. U.,
Dr. Richard Chodoff^ spoke on the
critical military and political situa-
tion in Spain. A veteran of the Abra-
ham Lincoln Brigade, he served five
months in government hospitals dur-
ing the year of 1937.
Dr. Chodoff began his discussion by
describing the conditions in Spain
that led to the establishment of the
first republic in 1931. Up to that
time, he stated, the country was vir-
tually a feudal monarchy, divided into
great estates worked by the peasantry
and completely under the control of
absentee landlords, who were either
hereditary nobles or church officials.
The first republic attempted to reform
the agrarian system, but its laws were
not drastic, enough. .As a result, the
Conservatives gained an" election in
1934 and, once in power, abolished the
first republic's reforms altogether. In
1936, however, a Popular Front Gov-
ernment was elected, and again at-
tempted the reforms for six months,
or until the rebellion broke out.
The rebellion was not spontaneous,
but was engineered by the regular
army and the Moors. It was most
successful in the 'Southern garrison
towns. The navy, which had been re-
organized, was loyal to the govern-
ment; so was the great mass of the
common people. Rather than live
under Franco's government, they
evacuated their villages as he ad-
vanced and retreated into Loyalist
territory. As a result, the govern-
ment now has to care for more than
half the population of the country. .
The government, Dr. Chodoff
pointed out, has refrained almost en^
tirely from the atrocities of the Fas-
cists. There have been no outrages
against the Church "except in the
first few days of the rebellion when
there was no police force and anarchy
broke loose. As soon as the govern-
ment collected an army, such out-
breaks were promptly suppressed."
The people, he emphasized, are not
protesting against either religion orj
Catholicism as such, but against the
tyrannous and aristocratic hierarchy
fcf the Church.
Continued on Page Three
Current Events
Main Interest
Of Workers
Summer     School     Director,
Hilda Smith,  Discusses
Its   Problems
TRAINED TEACHERS
ARE BADLY NEEDED
Common Room, February 10.�
"What is happening, why it is hap-
pening, and what can be done about
it": these are the problems which in-
terest labor education groups, accord-
ing to Miss Hilda Smith, former dean
of Bryn Mawr and director of the
Summer School. Practical teaching to
suit workers' problems and democratic
|�organization of teachers and students
were stressed by Miss Smith in her
discussion of the whole movement.
The recent decision of the Bryn
Mawr Summer School to move and be-
come the "Hudson Shore Labor
School" was made with great reluc-
tance, said Miss Smith, as the move-
ment was founded in Bryn Mawr.
Greater experimental progress will be
possible, however, when the school can
run all year and organize short, week-
long courses and frequent week-end
conferences and forums, for many
active labor leaders cannot get away
for a whole summer's course.
The Bryn Mawr School for Indus-
trial Workers was the pioneer in this
field. Spreading from it, students and
faculty, inspired by new possibilities,,
went out and organized study groups
in their own communities. These
groups, often faced with wretched fa-
cilities and political opposition, were
carried on by the enthusiasm of the
students. A seconS! step, due to the
impetus of the Bryn Mawr school, was
an appropriation by the Federal gov-
ernment in 1933 to provide work for
40,000 unemployed teachers. One
thousand of these have been teaching
workers' classes every year.
The demand for schools is now fully
aroused,  but  trained  instructors  are
lacking.    Miss Smith emphasized the
need for college  people  who have  a
Continued on Page Four
Mrs. Miller Advises
Government Employ
Common Room, February IS.�
Eight hundred thousand people are
now employed by. the government, said
Mrs. Helen Hill Miller, Bryn Mawr,
'21, in introducing her informal ^talk
on Government Service. Authoress,
senior agricultural writer of the De-
partment of Agriculture, and admin-
istrative secretary of the National
Policy Committee, Mrs. Miller is em-
inently qualified to discuss civil
serviee.         v
Leaving particular information to
be brought out in answer to ques-
tions, Mrs. Miller first emphasized the
need for potential candidates to de-
cide whether they wanted an interim
job for a few years, or a permanent
position with chances of advancement.
The general type of work wanted
must also be considered, no matter
what particular field interests the ap-
plicant.
Three general .groupings of jobs
were made by Mrs. Miller: technical
research, administrative work,-which
consists in correlating research activi-
ties and-relaying the results to policy
makers, and finally, political appoint-
inents. The best approach to the lat-
ter is by the long route of local activ-
ity and step by step appointments to
state and national offices.          �
Specialized examination* are offered
for research jobs, and after passing
these, one "may work up in a particu-
lar department. Personnel work, or
employment as a junior civil service
examiner, is also available following
examination. This'Tpves general ex-
perience and contacts which may later
lead to a desired job in a particular
field.