The Illinois standard. [volume], January 15, 1949, Page 3, Image 3

About The Illinois standard. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1948-1949

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
Janice Kingslow stars here
in drama on racial hatred
Trial by Fire, a drama on
racial intolerance, will be spon
sored by the Civil Rights Con
gress on Friday evening, Janu
ary 21st, at the Eighth Street
Theatre, 741 S. Wabash Ave.
The play stars Janice Kings
low, radio actress and former
member of the cast of “Anna
Lucasta,” and Fred Pinkard,
radio actor.
Other members of the cast are
from the Mull House Players,
Shell House, Columbia College,
Friendship House and the Chi
cago School for Expression.
“Fighting” Father George H.
Dunne, S.J., a former Chi
cagoan, wrote “Trial by Fire”
from the record of a Los Ange
les coroner’s inquest into the
deaths of a Negro family in a
fire of “mysterious origin,” the
plot unfolding the sinister forces
of race hatred involved.
MAESTRO ARTURO TOSCANINI,
seen here on a television screen,
had these words to say about
Wilhelm Furtwaengler as far
back as 1937: "Anyone who
conducts in Germany has not
the right to conduct Beethoven."
Local union will
fight for top
farm supports
ROCK ISLAND, 111.—(Spe
cial)—The executive board of
Farmall Local 109, CIO Farm
Equipment Workers, unanimous
ly went on record this week for
farm legislation guaranteeing
farmers full 100 percent of pari
ty for farm products. They said
if any reductions must be made
in acreage it should be made on
the large farms.
The resolution was approved
shortly after President Truman’s
State of the Union message in
dicating the White House had
decided to fight for legislation
that would cut parity payments
to farmers.
ose Three Babies
BEREAVED by the death of three
of their four children when a
flash fire swept their Chicago
home, Herbert Nichols, who res
cued their five-months-old baby,
Dale Jay, is shown comforting
his grief-stricken wife, Bernice.
WHAT LABOR SAYS OH
T-H IMPROVEMENTS'
Reaction of Chicago labor leaders to President Tru
man’s opening messages to Congress this week ranged from
“wait-and-see” endorsement to charges that the President
is “already back-tracking on his election promises.”
From the large bloc of labor chieftains who thumped
for Truman in the election came —
statements of support approach- labor legislation. But in his
ing enthusiasm, but bearing a speech to Congress, he advocated
strange paradox. laws to‘cripple labor, such as
They hailed the Missourian’s ^he prohibition of strikes in es
call for “repeal” of the Taft- sential industry,’ and the outlaw
Hartley Act, yet they omitted ing of ‘secondary boycotts’ and
reference to Truman’s proposed ,'urisdictional strikes,
“improvements” which they “in addition, his proposals
roundly denounced when he first with respect to wages laid the
made them two years ago. basis for wage freezes at a time
Suggested amendments to a when increases are more neces
r>stored Wagner Act got the sary than ever before to sustain
main attention, though, from un- our economy at full employment
ions which had aimed fire at levels.”
Truman during the campaign. DeMaio concluded: “His pro
Ernest DeMaio, peppery dis- posals for universal military
trict president of the CIO elec- training and continuation of the
trical workers, typified the re- cold war indicate he still per
action of one group of unions, sists in catering to big business
DeMaio told The Standard: instead of responding to the
“Before he was re-elected, needs of the American people.
Truman promised outright repeal Delegations from UE-CIO will
of Taft-Hartley. He led workers go to Washington next week, De
to believe he opposed all anti- Maio announced, bearing union
Concert celebrities explode:
'It's Furtwaengler or us!'
The air-tight scheme to Kulturize the Chicago Sym
phony Orchestra by bringing Conductor Wilhelm Furt
waengler here from Berlin suddenly splattered wide open
this week,
A roster of musicians reading like a gilt-edged program
ror an international music iesti
val has served public notice on
■Edward L. Ryerson, symphony
president: “It's Furtwaengler or
us.”
Among the celebrated virtuosi
refusing to collaborate with
Furtwaengler’s swastikaed ba
ton are Andre Kostelanetz, Lily
Pons. Artur Rubinstein, Fritz
Busch, Vladimir Horowitz, Gre
gor Piatigorsky and Nathan
Milstein.
First internationally known
musician to declare that his art
will remain unblighted by
Naziism was Isaac Stern, in a
statement for The Illinois Stand
ard three weeks ago.
DEMANDS PAYCHECK
Ryerson, it appeared mean
time, will pay heavily in sym
phony funds for his belief that
the music world would be un
interested in Furtwaengler’s
Nazi past. Reports were ramp
ant that the steel magnate
impresario has retreated before
the anti-fascist salvo, but that
Furtwaengler is demanding
$50,000 due him under his
eight-week contract whether or
not he plays here.
George L. Kuyper, symphony
manager, told The Standard that
the orchestra’s board has not
met to make a final decision on
cancellation of the offer. New
York newspapers have reported,
however, that Ryerson has made
up his mind to withdraw. Tradi
tionally, his decision is tanta
mount to a vote of the board.
Among the artists’ statements
of refusal to play under Furt
waengler, are these:
ARTUR RUBINSTEIN: “My
feeling against the Nazis is deep
seated. They burned my entire
family alive. Furtwaengler was
at the service of Hitler and
Goebbels constantly, played for
them, shook hands with them.
He certainly doesn’t belong in
the United States.’’
FRITZ BUSCH: “He is man
without character and I don’t
think that a man without char
acter should be allowed to con
duct Beethoven, Mozart and
Haydn.”
ANDRE KOSTELANETZ: “If
the Nazis had won the war,
Furtwaengler undoubtedly
would have been conducting in
the United States. Under the
present circumstances, however,
I feel that both the American
public and American musicians
should be spared from this
Nazi culture.”
LILY PONS: ‘Furtwaengler
does not belong in this country
which gave many lives to fight
the Nazis.”
Young Progressives of Illi
noise announced they are con
ducting a campaign to get sym
phony subscribers to refuse re
newal of their support for the
1949 season should the appoint
ment be effected. They reported
that 200 signatures of protest
against the Furtwaengler offer
were obtained outside Orchestra
Hall at one recent concert.
BRAVO, ISAAC STERN!
The Standard sent the following telegram this week to Isaac
Stern, distinguished young violin soloist:
MR. ISAAC STERN
NEW YORK, N. Y.
YOU WERE FIRST OF MOUNTING LIST OF DIS
TINGUISHED MUSICIANS PUBLICLY PROTESTING FURT
WAENGLER OFFER WHEN YOU TOLD ILLINOIS STANDARD
"I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT LOOK FORWARD TO PLAYING
UNDER FURTWAENGLER.” HEARTIEST CONGRATULA
TIONS ON YOUR PROVEN COURAGE AND DEMOCRATIC
SPIRIT.
ROD HOLMGREN, MANAGING EDITOR,
ILLINOIS STANDARD.
ONLY NEGROES in 81st Congress are Representatives William L.
Dawson (D., III., left), and Adam C. Powell (D., N.Y.). Rep. Daw
son, who was named chairman of the House committee on execu
tive expenditures, becomes the first Negro to head a congres
sional committee.
petitions for full scrappi g of
the Taft-Hartley law. As the pe
tition gathering continues, it was
reported that well over 10 000
union members have so far
signed in Chicago alone.
Ralph Helstein, international
president of the CIO packing
house workers, withheld attack
on Truman in a cautious ap
proval of the message.
“It is apparent from his ad
dress to Congress that the Pres
ident intends to stand behind
his campaign promises,” Helstein
stated tersely.
AFL circles boasted little more
decisiveness than the CIO in
their feelings about the propo
sals. Illinois Federation Secre
tary Victor A. Olander stood
pat on:
“I want to see what kind of
bills are introduced before I de
cide whether they’re good or
bad,” he said. “They can mean
enforced labor, depending on the
nature of legislation enacted.”
In sharp contrast, AFL Presi
dent William Green whooped it
up: “The AFL will be glad to
cooperate in such a constructive
program.”
Michael Mann, regional CIO
director, sided with Truman in
regretting “abuses” of unions
leading to the restrictions the
President wants. But he added,
“We’re confident ways and
means will be found to handle
them consistent with the best
democratic traditions.”
Mann thus fell in step with
his chief, CIO President Philip
Murray, who out-hailed the field
in praise of Truman:
“The President has kept full
faith with the people who elected
him. The program is in the best
tradition of constructive Amer
ican liberalism. It will offer hope
to democratic peoples through
out the world and assure do
mestic prosperity.”
As for Truman’s labor curbs,
from Murray: no comment.
Truman collides
with Truman
Henry Wallace
Henry A. Wallace, former
presidential candidate of the
Progressive Party, said this
week that President Truman’s
proposals for domestic reform
come into “headlong collision”
with his foreign policy.
Pledging the Progressive
Party’s support for the domestic
program the people voted for
on Nov. 2, Wallace warned that
“abundance and security for the
American people is unattainable
so long as we pursue a course
that spends our substance and
our manpower on a huge pro
gram of militarization and arm
aments for ourselves and west
ern Europe.”
Commenting on the labor sec
tion of the President’s State of
the Union message, Wallace said
it was “a fatal retreat from pre
election commitments.”
The President, he said, “re
tains the language of his repeal
Taft - Hartley campaign slogan
but destroys its substance. His
call for Wagner Act amend
ments for curbing strikes means
that he proposes to continue to
hold the dagger of Taft-Hartley
injunctions against workers.”
Wallace said that the Presi
dent’s message indicates he “in
tends to continue and intensify
the cold war policy whose bank
ruptcy is daily confirmed in
China and Greece.” In those
countries, said Wallace, America
is wasting “billions of dollars
which could and should be de
voted to meeting the needs of
the American people.”