Pe Two
THE DAILY TAR HEEL
Thursday, November 7, 1 929
dTft a tlti fiT-vr' Tafrfrl
i,V)l XUaU Sal V?Wl
Published daily during the college
. year except Mondays ana except
Thanksgiving, Christmas and
Spring Holidays.
TTia official newsnaner of the Publi
cations Union of the University of
North Carolina. Chanel Hill, N. O.
Subscription price, $2.00 local and
$4.00 out of town, for the college
year.
Offices in the basement of Alumni
Building.
Glenn Holder :: ..... ......J- ..Editor
Will Yarborough.JH7?". Editor
Marion Alexander. ....Bus. Mgr.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
John Mebane-v Harry Galland
ASSISTANT EDITORS
J. Elwin Dungan J. D. McNairy
Joe Jones B. C. Moore
J. C. Williams
CITY EDITORS
E. F. Yarborough K. C. Ramsay
Elbert Denning Sherman Shore
Jo j Eagles Crawford McKethan
Henry L. Anderson
REPORTERS
Howard Lee
Holmes Davis
Louis Brooks
Charles Rose
Kemp Yarborough
Mary Price
J. P. Tyson
Browning Roach
Al Lansford
Joe Carpenter
Peggy Linther
E. C. Daniel
W. A. Shulenberger
G. E. French
Frank Manheim
Mary M. Dunlap
Clyde Deitz
George Sheram
Robert Hodges
John Lathan
B. H. Whitton
Nathan Volkman
George Stone
George Vick
Jack Riley
T. E. Marshall
R. T. Martin
J. S. Weathers
Stanley Weinberg
Thursday, November 7, 1929
"Ars Gratia Artis"
And The Collegian
In the latest issue of the Caro
lina Magazine there appeared a
short essay entitled "In Defense
of Poetry." Such a piece comes
at the right time and certainly
at the right place. As the author
remarked "poetry should need
no defense," but on the campus
not only poetry buf all literature
needs defense, vigorous defense.
To the ' average undergraduate
here Chaucer, Milton, Pope are
merely names learned in English
3 and forgotten after the ex
amination; Byron, Shelley, Keats
are remembered perhaps, but
never read; their names are
familiar only because of the
popular conception of them as
libertines. The names of the
Victorians are fainter; Brown
ing (and only his name) is
, known; of the works of Rosseti,
collegian is in utter ignorance.
Of the existence of a modern
poetry there seems to be no
knowledge. The mention of vers
libre or The Imagists is greeted
with silence ; the names of Lind
say, Frost, Sandburg, Amy Low
ell, Fletcher, Sarett, of Masters,
Robinson, T. S. Eliot, Millay, are
unknown. As for actually read
ing "that sort of stuff" for en
joyment perish the thought!
rru n : j. -i
j. ne cunegiaii seems iu nave
no understanding of literature
whatsoever. The glorious and
splendid panoply of life great
authors present, the reading of
which offers a constant and per
renial joy, is non-existent for
him. He is puzzled by litera
ture; he regards literary art
istry as something which exists
only for the esoteric pleasure it
affords, and he believes firmly
that those whom this pleasure
reaches only affect to enjoy it.
A conception of "art for art's
sake" in literature, in the faith
ful presentation of life, is utter
ly beyond him. The restraint
and beautiful artistry of the
French and Russian realists
mean nothing to him; give him
instead a copy of Liberty. A
performance of opera? Instead,
a musical comedy, a "leg" show.
Faustt No, nothing at all
rather than that. Dante's "The
Divine Comedy" ? Service, Guest,
perhaps "The Sweet" Singer of
Michigan" ; they represent his
most sublime poetry. Al Jolson
preferred to Shakespeare almost
invariably. . . . From his shallow
rut of inane complacency the col
legian only occasionally. . even
thinks about the matter ; he
turns to Pursue again his inf an-
tile routine, suph pleasures as he
can enjoy mixed in with the pur
suit of culture. He revels in
the recreation afforded by the
weekly football game and the
daily picture show where, iron
ically enough, he gravely reads
Ars Gratia Artis at the begin
ning of the picture. And that
truly seems to be the height of
his artistic conception ; the pain
fully impossible acting of those
sriblv-termed "actors of the
screen."
The Undergraduate
And His Books
Text books are not the jnost
attractive adjuncts to a college
education from an undergrad
uate point 01 view, Dy any
means. Indeed, many students
regard them as necessary evils,
things to be endured rather than
utilized or enjoyed. Elective
courses requiring expensive
books and considerable reading
are usually ignored at registra
tion time.
A large proportion of the Uni
versity undergrads sell their
text books, not realizing, or dis
regarding, the actual and asso
ciational values that will be at
tached to these volumes after
college days are over. Economic
necessity forces some of the stu
dents to sell their books, but the
vast majority can well afford to
keep them.
Very fortunate are those who
begin a collection of books dur
ing their early years , and con
tinue to add to it throughout
their lives. Every volume has a
distinctive charm of its own, re-j
calls experiences and pleasant
episodes which would otherwise
be lost in the vagaries of mem
ory. A personal library can be
come the most valued possession
of any man, no matter how small
or how large his means, even
though it consist of only a dozen
or so choice volumes.
In the modern era of mass
education and factory-like insti
tutions of higher learning, books
have lost something of their
charm and meaning. Far more
likely are they to be regarded
as dull compendiums of dry facts
and unpalatable fiction, to be
read only when absolutely nec
essary. .A rebirth of undergrad
uate interest in books, a keener
realization of the innate charm
that a printed volume may come
to possess for those who know
and understand it, a renaissance
ol the personal library among
students, would do more to over
come the evils of mass education
than all the antidotes of the cur
ricula experts.
Mooney-Billings
Up Again
,. That' the wheels of ' justice
grind exceedingly slow and fine
is the weight of an old maxim.
Dean Inge is of the belief that
truth does not always win in the
long run, and there have been
cases in history which bear him
out in this ; it is something to
think about, at least.
Now, the straight-forward
and liberal governor of Cali
fornia, Governor C. C. Young,
has re-opened the Mooney
Billings trial. The two . men
were convicted, if you remem
ber, thirteen years ago in a re
actional hysteria directed
against the bolsheviki.
To those who have not read
of the affair, a suit-case of
bombs was exploded as a preparedness-day
parade was pass
ing the corner of Stewart and
Market' streets in San Francisco
July 22, 1916. Because of their
radical activities, Tom Mooney
and Warren K. Billings were
sentenced to death and life im
prisonment respectively upon
circumstantial evidence. Gov
ernor Stephens later commuted
Mooney's sentence to life im
prisonment. For thirteen years the two
prisoners have been the center
of a storm of protest that has
been entered into by practically
all the civilized countries -of the f;
world. Since the trial, it has
been discovered that the chief
witness against the condemned
men, Frank C. Oxman, was
guilty of attempted subornation
of witnesses in an attempt . to
collect a 17,000 reward. This
fact alone has led the - trial
judge, Franklin A. Griffin, to
join the movement to free the
prisoners. Nine-of the ten sur
viving jurors have allied them
selves with the movement. John
B. Densmore, director of em
ployment for the United States,
in a report to the Secretary of
Labor at the time of the trial
said that the explosion cases
were "tainted with manufac
tured evidence."
Whether Governor Young will
have the courage to release the
men,, is a matter of conjecture.
There are still some bigots to
whom circumstantial evidence is
convicting, and the question is
whether Governor Young, the
politician, will be strong enough
to obey the dictates of the reason
of Governor Young, the man.
The Governor has : given the
state of Calif orniaa just, lib
eral, and able administration. He
now has the opportunity to
erase a very large blot from the
escutcheon of the state. Justice
demands the release of Mooney
and Billings ; most people desire
it, and we believe Governor
Young, as a thinking and reason
able man, can do no less than
give to these two the freedom
that has been withheld from
them for the past thirteen years.
E. D.
REMINISCENSES
From the Tar Heel Files
By Howard M. Lee
Twenty-five Years Ago This
Week: -
Georgetown defeated Caro
lina by a score of 16-0. This was
Carolina's first loss of the sea
son on .the gridiron.
Professor Baskerville re
turned from New York, where a
banquet was given in his honor
at the Hotel Astor.
Several members of the fac
ulty and a few advanced stu
dents organized the Modern Lit
erature Club.
President Venable announc
ed that when window lights are
broken in the future, they will
not be paidout of the general
damage fund, but must be re
placed by the occupants of the
rooms.
Ten Years Ago This Week:
Carolina and Tennessee
broke even in a scoreless tie at
Knoxville, playing on a field two
inches deep in mud. ,
Professor Winston of the
University won the tennis cham
pionship of North Carolina.
The University's total reg
istration was 1,313, a record up
to that time.
An orchestra from France
gave a performance in Gerrard
hall.
The Chapel Hill post of the
American Legion of Honor was
organized.
Arrangements had been
made for a concert at Gerrard
hall to be given by Joseph Kon
echy,. the world famous Bohe
mian violinist.
Five Years Ago This Week:
The University of S.( C.
beat the Carolina Tar Heels 10
7. Houdini, the world famous
magician, wrote the authorities
here stating that he would an
swer all questions relative to
spiritualism, fortune-telling, etc.
after his performance in Ger
rard hall, provided the questions
were, written out;
The Red Cross started its
annual drive for memberships.
The freshman football team
fought the N. C. State fresh
man team to a seven and seven
tie.
The Campus
By Joe Jones
A little less than 30 years ago
there came to Chapel Hill a
young professor of botany who
had not been here long before
J he was possessed of a fair. vision,
a dream. Moreover, he was
newly out of Johns Hopkins with
a doctor's degree and a great
deal of that youthful fire which
a man must have to make the
dream come right.
. Now the beginning of the
matter was a five-acre tract of
boggy swamp land -which lay on
the immediate eastern borders
of the campus. This noisome
area was known as Governor
Swain's pasture, and no good
thing came out, of it. Several
attempts had been made to
drain the place, only to be given
up each time as a hopeless task.
The sterile fen seemed invincible.
"Some day I shall transform
this incurable blemish into a
thing of beauty," was the dream
of the young professor of bot-
any. Then ne oegan to worK.
He won the consent and encour
agement of Dr. Battle. He
planned and had dug a la'byrinth
of drainage trenches such as the
old swamp had never before ex
perienced, and bit by bit the bog
was reclaimed. There was al
ready a sparse growth of yellow
willows and swamp gums, and
to these were added other species
that flourish in sour soil. Fin
ally, after years of drainage and
renovation of the soil the young
botanist-was able to introduce
enough shrubbery and trees to
make the place appear a park
rather than a swamp. A system
of paths supplemented the trans
formation and completed the
first stage of the "Augean task.
Meanwhile the skeptic Hillians
were beginning to say, "Well,
maybe" this fellow can do some
thing with that old swamp, after
all." ,
Then came the patient years
of growth and caretaking; prun
ing mowing, delving, planting,
spraying., A steadfastness of
purpose and a scientific knowl
edge of what he was about fitted
the professor for the labor. With
little encouragement he had
been working against great
odds, had used money from his
own pocket and plants from his
own nursery but backed by the
favorable results of his early
labors he enlisted the interest of
alumni and friends of the Uni
versity, and so continued toward
his goal a University arbore
tum, a collection of native and
foreign trees, shrubs and plants.
More than 25 years have
elapsed since Dr. William C.
Coker dreamed this dream and
set out single handed to accom
plish its fulfillment. Concern
ing hi success let the arboretum
bear mute and eloquent witness.
Where once the hellgramite
and terrapin dragged' their
slimy lengths there now creep
periwinkle, and grill-o'er-the-ground,
and trillium; and a bed
of fern clothes the spot where
the tadpoles swam. Where mos
quitoes swarmed above reeds and
sawgrass now sing woodthrush
and mockingbird from the dog
wood branch, and in spring there
is a mingled fragrance of wis
taria, and magnolia, and wild
plum where of yore was only the
swamp's stench. The morass is
become a shaven lawn; the de
spised slough is become a lov
ers' trysting place. Trees from
the earth's far places are here,
and' plants from the islands of
the sea : tansy from the kitchen
gardens of France, barberries
and flowering quince from Ja
pan, paper-blossomed althea
Emily Rose Knox To
Appear In Raleigh
' University students and mem
bers of the faculty who remem
ber Emily Rose Knox, who in
past years has been a great fav
orite among musicians, will
be interested to know that Miss
Knox is giving a special concert
at Raleigh on November 18.
Professor Frank P. Graham,
in recalling today her past per
formances in Gerrard hall, told
of her gracious custom of play
ing several additional numbers
on the front steps of the build
ing after the regular perform
ance was over. People leaving
the hall would stop with feet
poised on running boards of
automobiles to listen. Someone
wrote a poem to her entitled
"The Angel in the Doorway."
Her home is in Raleigh. Miss
Henrietta Smeeds, librarian in
the rural economics department,
is her aunt.
Former Baseball
Star Is Married
Torn C. Coxe, Jr. of the class
of 1929 was married to Miss
Behan yesterday afternoon at
Edenton. A large number of
people were present at the cere
mony, among them "Mac" Gray
and George Shepard of the Uni
versity. Tom Coxe will be remembered
as star baseball player for three
years. He achieved a reputation
in his sophomore year for hit
ting homeruns. He was inter
ested in many campus activities
and was a member of the Kappa
Sigma fraternity. - He is now
working and living in Bennetts
ville, S. C. N
Bridge Party
Mrs. Charles T. Woollen en
tertained at her home Wednes
day afternoon and night for the
benefit of the Lucy Payne circle
of the Episcopal Auxiliary.
Fourteen tables of bridge were
sold during the afternoon and
evening.
Mrs. Woollen was assisted in
serving- the refreshments by
Mesdames Anderson, Connor,
Dey, Emory, Foerster, Mangum,
Hoeffer, Bernard and Hobbs.
trees from India, roses from
Cathay, wormwood from Eu
rope, sage plants from Mexico,
a sage palm from Java, parsley
plants from the shores of the
Mediterranean, and castor-oil
plants from Africa and Persia.
Of evergreens there are pines,
and firs, spruce and Hemlock,
junipers and arbor vitae, cedars,
balsam, and cypress from all
over the world. There are flowers
and flowering shrubs innumer
able, and of vines a great host
both' of forms native and forms
foreign. In a sheltered corner,
upon a trellis especially erected
for it, clambers that most native
plant, yellow jasmine, symbol of
the south. The final proof of
Dr. Coker's conquest of the
swamp is a healthy bed of prick
ly pear cactus transplanted from
the desert sands.
he Prof 5s voice
drone off into nowhere when
you're fortified with a breakfast
Of SHREDDED WHEAT, the food
that imparts pep and lets your
mind focus on the subject in
hand.
J jn. re
an th
o bran o
Mortar Exhibit
The pharmacy school recently
achieved a large old mortar
wrhich was donated by H. L,
Hicks of Raleigh.
Formerly, wThen there were no
drug mills, thedruggist, with
the aid of a large mortar and
pestle, ground his own crude
drugs. This mortar is a relic of
those days. It wras used in the
Williams and Hayward drug
store, one of the best known old
drug houses in North Carolina.
It is about 18 inches across and
12 inches deep. It is hewn from
solid stone and weighs about 90
pounds.
This mortar is on exhibit at
the museum of the pharmacy
building. The school is seeking
to secure exhibits of this type
to show early "day methods of
the drug store.
Walker In New York
Dean N. W., Walker left yes
terday afternoon for a business
trip to New York. He will
probably return sometime Sat
urday. ,
LAST
TIMES
m " t 1
a A KJ U 1
The
supreme all - talking
drama of the air with
a love theme that will
reach right into your
heart.
(6
FLIGHT"
With
Jack Holt Lila Lee
Ralph Graves
Added
Paramount Sound
News
Hours
of
Shows
1:30
3:25
5:05
7:05
9:15
FRIDAY
Janet Gaynor in
"LUCKY STAR"
AFTER YOUR- jfl-zVL
With the approach of cold
weather you will enjoy one of
-
our hot chocolates and a
sandwich for your late supper.
at the
Carolina
Confectionery
and Coffee Shop
won't
jl
7M Ull!l
IIP
CLASSE
ceo
o whole wheat