Newspapers / North Carolina Central University … / Feb. 25, 1954, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE TWO THE CAMPUS ECHO THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 1954 "The Time Is Out Of Joint! ff There is a wave of hysteria sweeping the American public-at present, unconfined to any economic grouping, un affected by any geographic limitations, and irrespective of age groups. It is emotional reaction to the current investigations of federal employees—and almost anybody else—by Senator McCarthy and his committee and his ilk which has attracted international attention and repute. Almost every edition of our popular magazines features some story or exclusive on the trial or statements of an accused communist regardless of his importance or insignificance. Ordinary radio serials are now employing communism as the apex of a triangle love problem. Many small, un noticed magazines are reverting to “red sensationalism” to increase sales of their product on the assumption that at this point the American public will jump at the opportunity to read something else about the disloyalty investigations. The object of the whole campaign is to attune the Ameri can senses to the threat which is hanging above the head of our democracy. The net result is the manifestation of a malignant tumor which is eating at the principles and tenets upon which our democracy is founded. The campaign to clean the Augean stables has evolved into a wholesale in strument of propaganda for the communists, one through which the America public will become conditioned to dis loyalty probes and by which a gradual but effective accept ance will be realized in the reactions of the men and women of the next generation. And it is about this next generation that we are concerned. It is about these children who, having no true conception of . communism, no longer play “cops and robbers” but now play “cops and commies,” who, when desiring to insult a fellow playmate, do not hesitate to replace the old fashion epithets with “red” and “commie.” It will be these children who, having grown into adulthood, .and at the same time having be come conditioned to the presence of this threat to our demo cracy and the principles which we hold dear, will accept these concepts, foreign to America ideals. For, to them, their pre sence will no longer be foreign, nor repulsive but will be an integral part of the American scene, the ingredient which sells the paper, the spice in the cake of politics. How can we protect our children and also protect the rights and privileges inherent in the American way of life? Only by awaking to the realiaziton that although these probes and the sensational are the vogue of the hour and the panacea for all present political ills, the theory of “Guilt by Association” is diametrically opposed to our fundamental democratic principles. Leading probers notwithstanding, we must still believe that a man is innocent until proven guilty. From there we must proceed to check this panic which causes hesitancy in our day to day social intercourse because of the fear of subversive association, and then we must approach the problem with calm and rational minds. Thomas Jefferson once said^ “Educate and inform the whole mass of pe^e. They are the only sure reliance for the pre servation of our liberty.” Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself!” Combine the two ideas and arrive at the right philosophy for our national emotional ism: THE PRESERVATION OF OUR LIBERTY DEPENDS UPON THE EDUCATION OF THE MASSES, NOT IN THE WAYS OF FEAR, BUT IN THE WAYS OF FAITH IN DEMOCRACY. Magnificent Promise Many persons that have been denied educational opportuni ties have educated themselves by judicious selections of read ing material. Before you, my reader friend, is the world in all its interesting and well-written selections for your choice. Let your reading be done on a purposeful basis, and your enjoyment of litera ture and our fund of knowledge will increase surprisingly. Read ing is like religion and music a source of new vigor, a stimu lus of higher thought and better deeds, an inspiration ever ready for a mind open to it, a source of contentment, profit, peace, and companionship. Books, magazines, and papers are companions that stand un- obtruisively silent until beckon ed for their eloquent wisdom. A good book is a counselqr-genius, a genial instructor, a convivial intellectual, an attorney who de fends your every right thought, a pal alert to cheer, to inform, and to direct you. With even fifty well-chosen voltmies on your library stand, you need never feel the absence of worthy minds with whom to confer. Camp***® Echo "JUnti 'Du’tiMm JVORTH CAROLINA COLLEGE AT DURHAM Membei PlssocKiled CoUe6iate Press NORTH CAROLINA COLLEGE AT DURHAM The CAMPUS ECHO, official student publication at North Carolina College a Durham, is published nine times during the academic year. EDITOR YVONNE SCRUGGS BUSINESS MANAGER IREDELLA MEETZE MANAGING EDITOR W. SHERMAN PERRY EXCHANGE EDITOR '. BERNICE SAWYER ADVERTISING MANAGER ERNEST WARD NEWS EDITOR PHERIBY GIBSON FEATURE EDITOR MARJORIE TAYLOR SECRETARY CLEOPATRA TURNER CLERICAL ASSISTANT JAMES RAILEY REPORTERS Margaret Battle, Barbara Broadnax, Alberta Coor, Alfred Fisher, George Griffin, Jeanette Green, Ernestine James, Rose James, Mary Mebane, Betty Redding, Emma Bullock, Evelyn Wilder, Frank Sowell. TYPISTS CIRCULATION STAFF Juanita Thorpe, Florence McCall Jekeline BlackneU, Carolyne Self Book Review: ‘‘Negro Slave Songs In The United States” - By Miles Mark Fisher t Negro Slave Songs In The United States can be compared with a symphony that has re corded the history of a bond ed race. It is obvious that Dr. Miles Mark Fisher has com piled and edited the ideas and material presented in this book through painstaking research. The number of footnotes to be found on almost every page is astonishing. The bibliography of this work would do justice to any book ten times the size of Negro Slave Songs In The United States. Dr. Fisher has forwarded the theory (which is by no means original) that African music and the songs of the slaves relate the history of the Ne gro people. From this theory, the story is developed by analyzing and interpreting Ne gro spirituals. Through this method, the reader gains an appreciable knowledge of the conditions under which Ne groes lived in this country until emancipation. It is noted that the Negro population in America had no means of communicating ideas except through the medium of vocal or instrumental -music. Messages could be carried a long way through the use of drums or other primitive in struments—the same method widely used in Africa prior to the importation of Negroes to the United States. But many restrictions were placed upon the Negroes in certain areas of the country, especially re strictions concerning com munications. Many white people expected, and sometimes justifiable so, insurrections of the slaves. So the slaves used song, not only a a means of communication but as a method of relating everyday events, thus a way of recording history. Dr. Fisher has a passage in his book which goes so far as to say “the Negro spirituals are historical documents from the Negro people.” How authenic these “historical documents” are is another matter. It is agreed on that single individuals wrote these spiritual or Negro Folk songs But if we are going to accept one Negro’s composition as conveying the feelings of the Negro race in general, we may go astray historically. First o^ all, the Negroes, from necessity, were utterly sub jective in their way of think ing. Consequently their songs were quite capable of embody ing fundamental untruths. Secondly, I find it difficult to imagine one slave expressing the national feel of all the slaves. Dr. Fisher’s book is not con cerned with Negro slave songs alone. The songs of the slaves were so interwoven with their daily intercourse that as D> Fisher analyzes and inter prets the songs, the reader catches many intimate glances into the life of these people. The book is full of accounts of the activities of the slaves. They range from midnight se cret sessions in the woods to preparation for military duty during the Civil War. Dr. Fisher has written sym- pathyetically of the slaves in the United States. He has de lved so deeply into the person ality of the slave that a lay man would feel extremely un comfortable, to say the least, by contradicting anything Dr. Fisher has said in Negro Slave Songs In The United States. The book, at all times, is ex tremely powerful. At times it is poignant. At other times it is elating. There are passages which incite great anger be cause of treatment the slaves received. Best of all, there are moments when the Negro is triumphant over all adversar ies, if by no other means than completely ignoring them. It is then that this great sym phony of Dr. Fisher’s rises to a crescendo, and the voices of the people join in the phophesy of a better day. Only then does the sophisticate, who has been wondering what, sustained the slave, realize that it was- ’ an abounding faith in the. spiritual. W. SHERMAN PERRY Bricl(er Proposal By DUDLEY FLOOD The Bricker proposal is, in effect, a movement to revamp the treaty-making powers of the president through constitutional amendment. The major implica tion of the movement seems to be that the treaty-maldng pow ers granted the president by article two of the Federal Con stitution are somewhat ambig uous and have in several in stances been the basis for “en croachments” on the rights re served to the states by the tenth amendment. The congressional record dat ed February 4,1954, lends sup port to the contention that the major defense for the proposal is based upon “states rights” cases in judicial history. In the discussions in Congress on this proposal, certain specific cases were pointed out in which the treaty-making powers of the president have nullified or over ridden state laws. Some cases pointed out were: The Pink Case, in which the courts disa greed with a treaty an execu tive agreement between Presi dent Roosevelt and Commissar Litvinoff, and held that it over rode a New York State Law; the Capps Case, in which the Attonery General seeks to re verse a Federal Court decision that an executive agreement may not repeal internal law and void an act of Congress through the implied powers of the presidental office; and the Missouri V. Holland Case, where the Supreme Court ruled that a treaty with Great Britian gave congress the right to enact leg islation in an area supposedly re served to the states by the Tenth Amendment. From the arguments against the proposal, one might gather Peering Through The BirfTs Eye BY “BONNIE’ ^.,:SS=S5=SSSSS!=S=SSSSS^ Co-eds Respond The attendance at the Job Op portunities Clinic was really gratifying to those who labored so diligently to make the venture a success. Almost 90 per cent more women attended the forum and the individual discussion groups this year than atten.ded last year. Per-i haps the in crease in attend-' a n c e was prompted by the; outstanding per sonalities who were featured,' and if this is true. Dean Latl\- ^ ? am is to be com-i^^^^^ | mended on her Bonnie ingenious idea and her untiring efforts to engage these cejebri- ties for the women at North Carolina College. I hope th^t this is only the beginning of more and better programs of this type. If the women at NCC con tinue to respond favorably, I am quite sure that other occasions like this will be experienced. Orchids To The Dining Hall It has been my observation lately that both the service in the dining hall and the decorum in the lines have improved great ly. I have no idea what has prompted this improvement, but at any rate, I am sure that we are all pleased with it. There are more and cleaner glasses, and the line is moving much more rapidly. Orchids to the staff for that such an amendment as pro posed, if ratified, would be a handicap to the president in that it would retard the progress of his program of foreign relations, it “would damage his prestige abroad, and would become an excellent tool for tthe spreading of unfavorable propaganda. their conscientious attention to their work and orchids to the students for their cooperation. The Constitutional Tooth-Ache The Committee on Objectives has been working very diligent ly trying to complete revision of the Student Government Con stitution so that the students for the remainder of this year and for many years to come will not be plagued with the prospect of undefined power or no pow ers at all. It is my opinion that Mr. Palmer is taking a very nice step in insisting that this job be accomplished as soon as pos sible to eliminate any future con fusion. However, be that as it may, the entire process is a tedious one and very very often the fatigue evolves into a great big ache in the jaw. “Dress Circle” rarcfc It is really amusing to note the different connotations which are given words at North Caro lina College. For example, I have been under the impression that a “dress circle” at a concert or play was the portion of the audi torium or theatre reserved for all patrons who attend the af fair is evening attire. From (all appearances, and on the basis of the procedure followed at 'he concert Friday, February 19, \he “Dress Circle” is anywhere ex cept the first ten or twelve rov/s in the center which are r e served for the choir wh >- ther they are formally dres:;- ed or not. Now there is really no need of telling the students that they will be permitted to s. i in this section because the choi'" has first preference. I have n objection to the choir’s prefe' \ encial status, but let us not to encourage other students dress in formal attire under Ip, pretenses.
North Carolina Central University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 25, 1954, edition 1
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