College News, 1943-04-14, Vol. 29, No. 21

              The College Mews
2-615
VOL. XXIX, No. 21
BRYN MAWR and WAYNE, PA., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1943
Copyright, Trustees of
Bryn   Mawr  Collsge,   1943
PRICE 10 CENTS
Reporter's Life
In Air Force Told
By Bourke -White
'Life' Photographer Relates
Story of Torpedoing
Off Africa
Goodhart, April 13.�The photo-
graphing of American Air Forces
in action in both England and
North Africa, an escape from a
torpedoed transport, and a bomb-
ing trip over Tunis air fields, fig-
ured in Miss Margaret Bourke-
White's lecture on Tuesday eve-
ning. She described her life as
war correspondent attached to the
12th American Air Force during
its service overseas. Miss Bourke-
White is the outstanding woman
photographer of the present time
and her work is published in Life
magazine.
Recounting her spectacular ad-
ventures, she began with the early
difficulties of defining her Army
status, and reached the dramatic
climax of a flight in a combat mis-
sion over Tunisia. Miss Bourke-
White left for England in July,
1942, and took many photographs
of Air Force routine and action
there. She told of the first formal
christening of a bomber, and her
shots of the first American combat
mission of Flying Fortresses.
Continued on Page Six
Faculty to Describe
Best  Technique   of
Reading Newspapers
Several facujty members in co-
operation with the War Alliance
will present a series of four lec-
tures and demonstrations on news-
paper reading. Mr. Miller, Miss
Linn, Mrs. Cameron, Miss Rob-
bins, and Miss Stapleton will con-
duct the lectures, which will begin
on Monday, April 26.
Mr. Miller will lead the first
meeting with a discussion of the
ownership and politics of the lead-
ing newspapers and news agencies.
The second demonstration will be
given by Miss Linn on reading eco-
nomic news. Mrs. Cameron will
explain the characteristics and
relative merits of various news
periodicals in the third lecture.
The last of the series will be a
joint demonstration by Miss Rob-
bins and Miss Stapleton on how to
read a newspaper.
The audience will be limited to
twenty-four people. Seniors who
are interested will register for the
course next week through the War
Alliance.
One lecture will be given each
day from 5:30 until 6:15, begin-
ning on Monday, April 26.
Iswolsky to Discuss
USSR and Catholicism
Miss Helen Iswolsky will speak
on "The Soul of Russia Today"
in the Common Room next Sun-_
day afternoon at 4:30 for the
Catholic Club. She is a free-
lance journalist and an author,
and has written two books: "The
Soviet Man Now" and "Light Be-
fore Dusk." The daughter of the
late Alexander Iswolsky, the for-
mer Russian Minister of Foreign
Affairs and the Russian Ambassa-
dor to France, she is well qualified
to speak on conditions in Russia.
Miss Iswolsky lived in Paris and
worked with Jacques Maritain, the
famous philosopher. She is now
connected with the Tolstoy Foun-
dation in the United States.
David Mallery's Performance Exceptional
in Convincing Production of Saroyan Play
By April Oursler,   '45
The Beautiful People, by Wil-
liam Saroyan, was written to be
enjoyed, and the Haverford-Bryn
Mawr production did it full justice
in an understanding and well-
expressed interpretation, carried
along mainly by the exceptionally
well-finished portrayal of young
Owen Webster by David Mallery.
Under the judicious direction of
Anne Denny, the cast avoided the
obvious pitfalls of mawkishness,
over-rhetorical seriousness and
pure slapstick that beset all
Saroyan plays, achieving a con-
vincing atmosphere of naturalness
and simplicity.
David Mallery, playing the part
of the fifteen-year-old monosyllabic
writer, struck the keynote of the
evening, with a sense of humor
and earnestness that characterized
the whole production. Eleanor
Borden, as Saint Agnes of the
Mice, was well cast as far as her
contrast to Owen Webster went,
for they both played up each
other's main points, balancing the
mood of the play well. Agnes was,
however, a little too saint-like, and
took herself too seriously for a
Saroyan character.
Henry Funk, as William Prim,
played to perfection the part of
the ineffectual bank vice-president
fainting over a mouse in his
clothes, and Edward Irving gave
the role of Dan Hillboy the proper
mixture of conviviality and pathos,
in spite of the slightly unconvinc-
ing drunken scene.
The other parts, taken individu-
ally, were not particularly well-
done, even though, altogether, they
made a more than adequate back-
ground for the two main charac-
ters. Judy Novick managed to
give her part as Harmony Blue-
blossom the right touch of humor
to prevent the old lady's golden
memories from becoming too senti-
mental, but there was an almost
monotonous lack of variety in her
acting, which may have arisen
from the difficulties before any
young person's interpretation of an
older one. Although James Haden
did  not  have  the  bombastic  and
Seven Colleges Meet
To Discuss W artime
Activity Curtailment
Specially  contributed  by   Patricia  St.
Lawrence,  '44, and Katharine
Tappen, '44
The main point of discussion be-
fore the Seven-College Conference
this year was the question of stu-
dent activities in war time. Bar-
nard, the host college; Connecticut,
Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith,
Vassar, Wellesley, and Bryn Mawr
participated in a discussion of the
particular manner in which cam-
puses had met the challenge of
war problems.
This centered primarily in the
question of how much power the
chief undergraduate associations
had in determining student activ-
ity and policy. Bryn Mawr, with
its autonomous Alliance, differs
greatly from the other colleges,
all of whose student associations
are chartered, organized, and con-
trolled by a central college council.
Thus, many of the problems of
legislative power, conflicts of au-
thority, and policy formation did
not concern Bryn Mawr.
In the course of the discussion
each college presented its plan and
policy for war activity. These
plans differed greatly in the degree
of curtailment and control of stu-
dent activity, varying from tlutf of
Continued on Page Flv
pompous qualities of the father as
Saroyan wrote him, he handled the
role with the necessarykimfliness,
giving a rather subd/Jea air to his
end of the play. / J. Bronson
Logan's cornet-playing ability put
a fine finishing toujch on the per-
formance.
Taken as a whole, it was ex-
traordinarily well done in spite of
inadequacies in many of the
actors. The staging and lighting
contributed greatly in their sim-
plicity, and the whole tone of the
evening was one of sympathy and
understanding for the real inten-
tion of the play. The cast did not
make the mistake the audience
seemed to make, for they were not
afraid to laugh at what was re-
puted to be a serious modern play.
It was not a well-finished perform-
ance, but with an almost profes-
sional sense of interpretation the
Cap and Bells and the Varsity
Players have succeeded in a pro-
duction above the usual standard
of college plays both in aim and
achievement.
Calendar
Thursday, April 15
Henry James Centennial
Celebration. Deanery. 4:30
P. M.
Saturday, April 17
Wyndham Dance.
Sunday, April 18
Catholic Club. Miss Helen
Iswolski. "The Soul of
Russia Today." Common
Room. 4:30 P. M.
Chapel. Rev. Malcolm Van
Dyke. Combined choirs of
Bryn Mawr and Haver-
ford. Music Room. 7:30
P. M.
Monday, April 19
Mrs. Harriet Seymour.
"Music for Health Today."
Deanery.   4:30 P. M.
Harris Discusses *
Prospects of U.S.
Russian Relations
Allied Invasion of Europe
Will Eliminate Several
Problems
Miss Bourke-White
Answers Questions
About Soviet Union
"What about Russia?" was the
question uppermost in the minds
of everyone who adjourned to the
Common Room after Margaret
Bourke-White's lecture on her ex-
periences as a war correspondent.
In her four trips to the Soviet
Union she saw the growth of the
country's power. She spoke first
of the strong impression Stalin
made on her. After seeing im-
mense pictures and statues she
was surprised to find a small, pock-
marked man who "seemed to be
made of stone." He is silent and
self-contained, a "leader who really
does decide policies." Only once
did his stern face change when he
burst out laughing as she crawled
around on the floor with her flash-
bulbs.
In her last trip to the U. S. S. R.
as the only foreign photographer
allowed in the country, she had to
get special permission for every
picture, but found the authorities
very reasonable. As a correspon-
dent she prefers definite censor-
ship, rather than running the risk
of letting out vital war secrets. In
her trip to Russia in 1930 to make
industrial photographs she was al-
lowed considerable freedom, but
could not investigate any military
preparations. Yet she felt then
that the Red Army was strong and
the people united behind the gov-
ernment.
Margaret Bourke-White has
great faith in the future of Rus-
sia. After the war they will only
want to regain certain territories
and then go back to building their
country. They admire the United
States and in many ways model
Continued on Page Five
Marriages
Natalie Bell, '43, to Avia-
tion Cadet Samuel Houston
Brown.
Irma Pines, '44, to Arthur
Brisher.
Agnes Martin, '43, to En-
sign Frank Ridley Whitaker,
U.S.N.R.
Engagements
Anne Aymer, '45, to Lieu-
tenant Robert Lee Bullard,
III, U.S.A.
Carol Herndon, '46, to
Noble Burford, Jr., Haver-
ford, '42.
Deanery Celebration
Honors Henry James
Henry James, noted novelist,
will be honored at a centennial
celebration of his birth. The com-
memoration will take place at the
Deanery on Thursday, April 15, at
4:30 P. M. Speakers for the occa-
sion will be Mr. W. H. Auden, Mrs.
George Vaux, Jr., Mr. Leon Edel,
and Mr. Donald Brien.
Mr. Auden will read his own
poem, "At the Grave of Henry
James." He is a noted contem-
porary poet and is now a professor
of English at Swarthmore. Mrs.
George Vaux, Jr., warden of Pem-
broke West, is a niece of Henry
James and will relate her mem-
ories of him. Mr. Leon Edel, critic
and scholar, will speak on some
aspect of Henry James' work, and
Mr. Donald Brien, a collector of
Henry James, will tell of his ex-
periences.
Henry James is the author of
"The Portrait of a Lady," "The
Ambassadors," and "The Turn- of
the Screw." He received most of
his education in Europe and, after
a brief time at Harvard Law
School, embarked on a literary
career. In his later life, he lived
in England and finally renounced
his American citizenship to be-
come a British subject.
Goodhart, April 7.�Mr. Thomas
* L.  Harris,  National   Secretary of
the  American  Council  for  Soviet
Relations,  asserted that an  inva-
sion   of   Europe   by   the   United
States and Great Britain would be
I more effective than any other sin-
i gle action  in cementing  relations
| between   the   U. S. S. R.   and   the
i United  States.      Speaking to the
| third  of the college  War  Assem-
blies,   Mr.  Thomas   said   that  we
must  realize  that  the "causes  of
friction" between the Soviet Union
and the United States are "mutual
difficulties,"   which   can   best   be
overcome    by    "actual    collabora-
tion."
The chief cause for friction, he
stated, is over the question of par-
ticipation. While the main ques-
tion in this country is "why the
Soviet Union is not at war with
Japan," the Russian people "can-
not understand why we have no
second front in Europe and why
we don't declare war on Finland."
Both countries must realize, he
continued, that "the war is not a
matter of complete participation
for any one of the three United
Nations." "Doubts and suspicions
will be' enormously reduced\when
American troops go to Europe,"
because now the Red Army is bear-
ing eighty per cent of the burden
of war. They feel that they "are
isolated and that they are bearing
the war alone," while we have a
great sense of guilt.
Another cause for mutual dis-
trust, he added, is the question of
boundaries. There is no reason to
ittach any particular sanctity to
boundaries existing in 1939. Be-
fore the first World War the Baltic
countries and part of Poland be-
longed to Russia. In the matter
of the governments of the liberated
Continued on I'aue Five
Reprint From 'Stack,' North African Policy
Debate Give Welcome Variety to 'Lantern'
Specially contributed by
Lenore O'Boyle, '43
The new Lantern, despite some
poor   short   stories,   does   include
features   of   exceptional   interest.
Reprinting articles from the Hav-
erford Stack should be continued
as long as what is'^jhosen is as
good as this selection, and debates
on current problems should cer-
tainly be encouraged. The Lan-
tern has frequently seemed little
more than a collection of poems
and stories contributed by a never
changing group. Discussions like
this on our North African policy
would at once bring in new con-
tributors and prove a welcome
variety, conceivably improving the
mental habits of the Bryn Mawr
student body so admirably criti-
cised in Doris Benn's editorial.
The debate in this issue is on the
State Department's policy in North
Africa, the adverse criticism by
Jessie Stone, '44, the defense by
Madge Daly, '42. Readers will dis-
agree on which side is more con-
vincing, but both articles are ex-
ceptionally interesting and well
written. Jessie Stone's arguments
will be familiar to readers of the
liberal press�that the Vichy re-
gime which we are supporting in
North Africa  is undeniably anti-
democratic, and as a result is de-
stroying United Nations' unity
and undermining confidence
among the oppressed peoples of
Europe. Madge Daly points out
the tremendous military advan-
tages of the present policy, the
promise of the United States to
allow France to choose her own
government after the war, and the
necessity of working harder to free
the subjected nations than to en-
courage them, arguments which to
many will seem more realistic and
sensible, and the validity of which
seems to be supported by recent
events.
Helena Hersey's The Scooter
Dike is disappointing. Individual
relations are never clarified, and
the story as a result loses point.
Mariam Kreiselman's For Prom-
ised Joy -is slick and unconvincing,
employing a totally inadequate
trick plotting device to support a
situation with genuine emotional
implications. For Promised Joy
shows up badly when contrasted
with G. F. Morse's The Enemy, in
which the simplest of plots is used
only to further the emotion, rather
than distracting from it. Mr.
Morse's story is far from perfect,
but it does have an impact that the
more pretentious story does not
begin to achieve.