College News, 1941-12-10, Vol. 28, No. 11

              V-
The College News
Z-816
VOL.  XXVIII, No.  11
BRYN MAWR and WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1941      Br&py%Z, ft"�&'� of"'   PRICE  10 CENTS
U. S. WAR DECLARATION STIRS CAMPUS
Drastic Naval Losses in Pacific
Sustained by U. S., Says Sheean
Germans Are Behind
The Japanese Attack
Goodhart, December 8.�During
the past 36 hours the United States
has suffered its greatest humilia-
tion, said Vincent Sheean, famous
war correspondent, in his lecture
Monday evening. "In 36 hours we
have lost more ships to the Japan-
ese than England has lost during
the entire war," he said, and de-
scribed the Hawaiian attack as
"the greatest reverse of its kind
in the history of the world."
This attack has been planned for
weeks. The Japanese attacked in
the German fashion. They struck
everything possible at once. "The
Germans made the plan, and they'll
come into this when they are
ready," stated Mr. Sheean.
"Although the attack itself has
taken place, the realization of its
significance has not yet reached
the American people." A few
weeks ago when he was talking
with naval authorities, they stated
that in the event of war, Japan
would "withdraw everything to her
own bases."
Experts believed that the East
<-oaat would be bombed last night.
Between September 9, 1940, and
April 22, 1941, the Pan-Siberian
railway was open. During this
time German planes, better than
any we possess, and thousands of
German technicians went into Ja-
pan.
Japan's ally, Germany, has been
.successful in every venture so far
except in the Rostov campaign
this past week, stated Mr. Sheean.
He is mystified by the dispatch
from Berlin stating that the Ger-
mans have given up the attack on
Moscow for this winter, believing
it may lead to a Russo-German
truce.
Guam, Wake Island, and Mid-
way Island, our stepping stones to
Japan, have all been captured. And
"with our present naval forces in
the Pacific, we are unable to re-
capture them."
"Tonight," said Mr. Sheean, "I
hope American bombers are flying
over Tokio, from Vladivostok,
with  loads  of  incendiary  bombs."
Sheean Reemphasizes
Fears  in  Interview
We rode into North Philadelphia
with Vincent Sheean, to help him
catch his train. He did not enlarge
on the facts and indicated figures
which he had presented in Good-
hart; but his conversation and
state of mind were even more ser-
ious than we had felt before. He
believes the United States has suf-
fered the greatest defeat it has
known, that our prestige is gone
and that we are on the defensive,
completely.
For one thing, Mr. Sheean was
deeply alarmed by Russia's failure
to declare war on Japan. He be-
lieved that Stalin may come to
terms with Germany and we may
have to do without the base at
Vladivostok which, he declared, we
must have.
We asked about retaliation on
Japan. He said that we can bomb
Tokio; but that the city burns
every winter, and every winter is
rebuilt � that therefore bombing
Japan is not efficient. He was
more concerned about the possibil-
ities that San Francisco, the Pan-
ama Canal, and the eastern sea-
board, were to be bombed that
night; he said that the Roosevelts
had expected such bombings on
Sunday. He admitted, however,
that he had not spoken to the
President at all. He did not give
any of the sources of his rather
sensational news from Washington.
We liked Mr. Sheean very much.
We are sure that he believes im-
plicitly that the facts and the sit-
uation that he revealed to the au-
dience in Goodhart on Monday
night were true. We admire his
Continued on Page Six
Calendar
Thursday, December 11
Arundell. Esdaile. The
History of the British Mu-
eum. Goodhart, 8:30  P. M.
Friday, December 12
French Club Christmas
Pageant, Wyndham Music
Room, 8:00 P. M.
German Qub Christmas
Pageant, Common Room,
9:00 P. M. .
Saturday,  December  13
Margin For Error.     Hav-
erford, Roberts Hall, 8:30
P. M.  .
Sunday, December  14
� Christmas  Chapel  Service.
Reverend   Andrew   Mutch,
Goodhart, 7:45 P. M.
Monday, December  15
Carol Concert by the com
bined choirs of Bryn Mawr
and    Haverford,    Roberts
Hall,      Haverford,      8:30
P. M
Tuesday, December  16
Bryn Mawr Summer Camp
Christmas Party.  Common
Room, 4 to 6 P. M.
Maids'  and   Porters'   Car-
olling.
Currents Events, Miss
Reid. Common Room, 7:30
P. M.
Thursday, December  18
Hall  Christmas  Parties.
Choir  Carolling.
Alliance Enlists Many;
New Courses to Add
To  Defense  Activity
The Alliance hall meetings held
on Monday evening to enlist work-
ers were met with great response.
Eighty per cent of the student
body enrolled immediately for
service on the committees for
Forum, Speakers' Bureau, Re-
search, and community work.
The declaration of war gives the
Alliance added momentum and
added responsibility. Its board is
considering work on emergency
measures�among them a course
in occupational therapy for shell-
shock victims. New activities which
the Alliance should sponsor will
arise, and the scope of the com-
mittees now formed has already
been enlarged. Announcements of
immediate innovations will soon
be made. Suggestions of all kinds
will be received by Mary Gumbart,
Denbigh, or by any other members
.of the executive board.
i      \
Health Problems and
Pay  Day  Discussed
At Council Meeting
The Infirmary�its functions and
relation to college life, and possi-
ble changes in the Pay Day sys-
tem�made up the chief business
of the December meeting of the
Council. A college, Miss Park
said,- ought to train itself in keep-
ing well; health should be a major
concern of every student.   .
The most discouraging aspect of
her work at the Infirmary, Dr.
Leary said, is to see that a large
percentage of all illness is a direct
result of students having let them-
selves get run down. There is
nothing glamorous about staying
up all night, nothing interesting
about being run down.
Possible changes in the Pay Day
system were discussed. $15,532
($3,448 in cash) was the total
amount collected from the first
Pay Day this year. Such a large
turnover means that there is likely
to be a great deal of money in
students' rooms before Pay Day,
and also that the Pay Day mis-
tresses are given too great respon-
sibility. To remedy these prob-
lems, it was suggested that every-
one be required to pay by check;
that the Inn and Deanery send out
their bills separately; that a one
per cent interest be charged to or-
ganizations using the convenience
of Pay Day; and that organiza-
Contlnued on Page Six
Problems Described
By  Past  Presidents
Of Self-Government
Goodhart, December 10.� Fifty
years ago, Self-Government was
begun at Bryn Mawr. President
Eliot said to Miss Thomas, then
Dean, "I give you six months be-
fore you will have to close the
doors of Bryn Mawr College." To-
day at the anniversary assembly,
Kitty McClellan introduced Presi-
dents of Self-Government, who
each explained the problems in her
<jime of the organization which was
to have been the "downfall of the
college."
Mrs. Richard Fitzgerald, was
President in 1893 "when the atten-
tion of the world, as well as of the
funny papers, was focussed upon
us." The problem then was to re-
lieve the faculty of disciplinary ac-
tivities while conforming with the
standards of the day.
Mrs. Edward Evans, president
in 1907-08 felt "horribly superior"
at the first intercollegiate Self-
Government conference at Vassar;
installed proctors in Taylor to keep
students quiet in the halls between
class rooms and when cuts were
announced; and controlled cheer-
ing in the dining room.
In 1914 Mrs. Russell Wilson
found noise her chief concern.
A young man who constantly
swooped over Taylor in the newly
invented aeroplane, attractive
Haverford Youth, smoking and the
"Young Temptations" added to her
worries. The latter were young,
unattached professors, against
whom Miss Thomas warned the
studens at the opening assembly.
In 1928-29 Self-Government, un-
der Miss Rosamund Cross, now
head-mistress of Baldwin School,
shook the civilized world by per-
mitting smoking, simplified the
rules, allowed athletics after two
o'clock on Sunday and tried to curb
sloppy dressing.
Continued  on   Page  Two
College Assembles in Goodhart
To Heai* Roosevelt's War Speech
Mr. Cameron States
Air Raid Precautions
The college at the request of the
Federal Government has instituted
a system of air raid precautions.
To this has been added an organi-
zation to provide emergency first
aid. The problem of fire fighting
is scheduled to be taken up immedi-
ately.
We print below the statement of
Mr. Alister Cameron, chief air raid
warden of the college, and the in-
structions issued to the college at
the general meeting in Goodhart
on Wednesday at 1.30 P. M.:
"Air-raid precautions are being
taken in the college because the
country is at war. In itself the
fact that we are at war is sufficient
justification for an immediate and
thorough establishment of an air-
raid protection system. Our hunches
about strategy or our sensitivity to
unfounded reports should have no
effect on procedure. The college is
now ready to deal with an air-raid
alarm. The success of our execu-
tion of our emergency plans de-
pends upon the efficiency of our air-
raid wardens and the intelligent
response of the whole college com-
munity to the directions of the
wardens.
The general statement of our ar-
rangements, thus far, follows:
The air raid wardens for the
area of Bryn Mawr College have
been appointed and are as follows:
Senior Air Raid Wardens: Alister
Cameron, Donald W. MacKinnon, Julia
Ward.
Air Raid Wardens: Karl I*. Ander-
son, U .Joe Berry, T. R. S. Broughton.
Anne Coogan, Winfleld Daugherty.
Alice Hawkins, Dorothy Macdonald,
Kleanor Nahm, Cleta O. Robbins, Jos-
eph C. Sloane, Jr.. Arthur C. Sprague.
Edward H. Watson. Dorothy WyekotT,
Dora Benedict, Patricia Saint Law-
rence.                                             � �
Air Raid Wardens  for the  Halls:
Denbigh Hall: 1. Mary Gumbart, 2.
Sally Jacob.                                               �
Merion Hall: 1. Jocelyn Fleming, 2.
Edith  Vorhaus.                             _    ,
Pembroke Kant: 1. Christine Waples.
2.  Barbara  Bechtold.
Pembroke West: 1. Vivl French, 2.
Frances Matthal.
Radnor Hall: 1. Mabel Long. 2. Rosa-
lie Hoyt.                              ,       n            �
Rhoads North: 1. Helen Resor, 2.
Betty Nlcrosl.                            _   ,
Rhoads South: 1. Barbara Cooley, I.
Josephine Perry. �
Rockefeller Hall: 1. Eleanor Harz. I.
Katharine MacAusland.
Wyndham: 1. Janet Dowling, Z.
Laura Schlageter.               ,.,.�.  ,,�
The air raid wardens for the halls
will work with the regular wardens.
In case of an alarm the signal
Continued   on   Page  Two
Motionless,  Silent
Students Hear News
Faculty, students and graduates
gathered in Goodhart to hear the
President's war message to Con-
gress. The meeting was silent, mo-
tionless, during the long description
of historical precedent, of the Pres-
idential escort, and during the
speech- itself. Impressive was the
unanimous restraint of the college,
and its quiet reception of the Na-
tional Anthem at the end.
Sunday, the aftermath of the
dance disappeared quickly. As word
of the Pearl Harbor attack spread
through smoking rooms and show-
case's, Army and Navy escorts of
the previous night left precipitously
for their posts. Far into Monday
morning people sat around radios.
At lunch tables Congress' decision
blared from portables.
In smoking rooms crowded with
listeners the silence was broken
only by scattered remarks-: "My
brother is in Honolulu." Then more
silence. But by Monday the inertia
had been translated to a need for
action. There was talk about leav-
ing college; people called up their
families; rumors circulated, emo-
tion mounted.
Although some classes considered
the subject of America's entrance
into the war, there was a general
lack of co-ordinated discussion. A
meeting on Tuesday evening for the
planning of air raid precautions
was the first step taken by the col-
lege as a whole in the direction of
united action on the war emer-
gency.
May Day Defeated
Fifty-five per cent of the
undergraduates voted last
Thursday not to give a Big
May Day in 1942. Forty-six
per cent voted in favor of the
1942 production. Most halls
were fairly evenly divided
with the margin against May
Day. Rhoads showed a much
greater percentage con,
Rockerfeller pro. There will
be no May Day this spring,
the president of the Under-
graduate Association an-
nounced.
Faculty Voices Back to Work Sentiments;
Remembers College Reaction to Last Wai
Faculty reactions were super-
ficially scanned after the first two
days since the outbreak of the war.
The opinion most often expressed
was that students should not allow
their emotions to obscure the im-
portance of what at present may
appear to be unimportant � their
academic work.
Mrs. Manning
The war will not immediately
affect the college, Mrs. Manning
explained. It will take some time
before facts are tested in Washing-
ton and regulations put into effect
here. "People had better work
very hard and get their minds off
of it," she said.
Miss Gardiner
Miss Gardiner was a jun1^r_at
Bryn Mawr at the time th>
United   States   declared   war   on
Germany in 1917. War was de-
clared, however, at the beginning
of spring vacation so that when
students returned a week later
there was nothing comparable to
the situation here Sunday and
Monday. There were then only
six weeks remaining in the college
year, so that despite talk of insti-
tuting preparedness courses imme-
diately, little was actually done
until the following fall. Miss
Gardiner remembers particularly
that there was always an Ameri-
can flag flying from Taylor and
"We sang the Star Spangled Ban-
ner every time we turned around."
Miss Thomas in chapel continually
stressed the importance of trained
minds in the next generation and
'urged students to remain at col-
lege rather than follow their first
Continued on Page Six