"Fools Are My Theme, Let Satire Be My Song"

(Ed. Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld.)

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I wish to make a few comments in regard to an editorial which appeared in the CRIMSON concerning the Orosco murals at Dartmouth.

The writer states that the murals are morally weakening to the student body of that college. A mural, whether it is good or bad, is no more morally weakening to the beholder than is "Gulliver's Travel's" to the reader. No student will be made any more immoral than he already is by looking at a graphic representation of the development of an American civilization, whether it is well done or not. As the writer is representing Harvard--which spends a good deal of its time delving into local college history and perpetuating local tradition,--he is certainly in no position to reprimand Dartmouth for having a mural which covers a much wider field--that of America.

Also, the writer is afraid of what might happen if students are allowed to come in direct contact with creative art outside of a museum, although why it is better to see art in one place than another I do not know. And he extols the very inadequate method of art appreciation through books (which no matter how well written can give only slightly the beauty of the original), lantern slides (which because of their lack of color can only vaguely suggest the perfection of a work of art), and, lastly, hard work (which without the painting is next to useless from the point of view of appreciation). The writer seems to forget that the idea of any university should be the enrichment of life not only through contact with fine books and enlightened professors but also through the visual arts. Therefore in letting a good artist, which Orosco is, do a series of murals, Dartmouth has approached one step nearer than Harvard to being a center of culture and enlightenment.

In conclusion the writer states that he is glad Harvard will probably never patronize a living artist. If this were true, and I am sure it is not, Harvard would be closing to its students many of whom, unlike the writer, appreciate good art a very large and rich field of experience. William Parker, Jr. '38.

(Ed. Note--"Satire or sense, alas! can Sperus feel? Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?")