NOVEMBER,1946 Thisobtusenessastothewholeinacriticwhoissosensi- tivetothequalityofthepartproceedsfromL.-P.'sidentificationofStalinismwithrevolutionarysocialism.So,too,Sartre, inthecourseoftheleadarticleinthesameissue,acloselyreasonedandmostimpressiverefutationofdialecticalmaterial- ism,takesStalinseriouslyasaMarxianphilosopher,criticising hisformulationsasthoughtheywereatleastthoseofa Kautsky.Evenwhentheyarecritical,asSartreis,French intelectualsfrequentlyseemtohavethegrossestilusions aboutStalinism,toshrinkfromanygeneralcriticism.(Anotherinstanceistheextremecautionnottouseaharsher terminmatersconcerningRussiaandStalinism,of La RevueInternationale, theinterestingnewmonthlyfoundedby PiereNavileandotherMarxistswhowereonceofaTrotskyistorientation.)France'spositionininternationalpolitics doubtlessexplainsthistimidityonthepartofmanyofher intelectuals,but ithardlyjustifiesit.Andtheresultsare bizarrewhen,asinthecaseofL.-P.,thecriticseesclearly thespecificqualitiesofStalinistculturewithoutitoccurring tohimtoexaminewithequalrigorthecoarselyfabricated mythofStalinism. D.M. NOTESONTHENEWCENTEROFWORLDCULTURE (1) Homemadewitandavulgarmusicalstewfillsnearlyall thepro- gram. . .PerhapsthiscanbetoleratedinforgotenplacesofWestern EuropebutnotontheSovietstage. . .Trivialityandbanalitycannotbe toleratedinSovietvaudevile.(Izvestia'sjazzcritic,asquotedinTime. Sept2.) (2) ToGeneralissimoStalin50,000Tuviniansinditedanoteofthanks foralowingthemtowithdrawfromthecapitalistworldandenterthe SovietUnion.TannuTuya(pop.65,000)isnowaMongolianfarming, miningandcattle-raisingareaaboutthesizeofNevada,betweenSiberia andOuterMongolia. . .TheTuvinianspromisedtoturntheircountry into"oneofthebloomingcornersof theGreatSovietUnion."They addedthatsinceRussia"provideduswiththeopportunitytobypass thecapitalisticpath,"TannuTuyahasorganizedstateandcolective farms,tractorstations,wagonworks,shoefactories,anddevelopedgold, coalandsaltmines.Saidtheletter:"Wenowhaveourownintelectuals." (Time,Aug.26.) (3) Aftera5,500milejourney,theMongoldelegatesarrivedforU.N.'s openingsessionatLakeSuccess. . .TheywereencampedatManhatan's HotelPlaza . . . Theironlyrecordedcomment:Pariswasthemost beautifulcitytheyhadeverseen,"butso old. InUlanBator(Outer Mongolias' capital)now,thereissomuchbuilding—somethingnewpoppingupallthetime."(Time,Sept. 9.) (4) "Generalyspeaking,"saidrecentlypurgedSovietwriter,Mikhail Zostchenko,"itisratherdifficulttobeanauthor."(Time,Oct.14.) TOTHEMTHATHATH,SHALLBEGIVEN Thenamesofmorethan5,000womenwhocrackedchampagnebottles andacceptedgiftsinlaunchingwar-timeshipshavebeenturnedoverto theSenateWarInvestigatingCommitee. . .Someofthenameswerejust names—wivesofmenwhodiedinaction,girlweldersselectedforexcellent productionrecords.Someshipyardsscaledthegiftupwardinaccordance withtheprominenceofthesponsor.Therangemightbethusindicated: Mrs.FrankRabas,"addressunknown,"receiveda$15trinketbox,and Mrs.WiliamD.Leahy,wifeofthePresident'sChiefofStaff,adiamond braceletworth$2,516. --N.Y.Times,Sept.10. rilEP.M.TEMPO Itisrefreshingtohavesomeoneadmitthat"P.M."doesnotrushhastily andblindlyintoeditorialpositions—buttakestwoorthreedays,ifnecessary,togetitsfeetontheground. leterfromJohnP.Lewis,P.M.'smanagingeditor, inTheNew Republic,Oct.21. BibliotecaGinoBianco 357 • FreeandEqual ASTORY IHAVEafriendwhohasanoldcoloredservant.Myfriend nevermarriedandherbrothernevermarried.Theylived togetherandbothworked,sobothwereawayalldayfrom theirStatenIslandhome.Whentheycamebackintheevening,itwasMarywhowaswaitingforthem.ItwasMarywho realymeant"home"tothem,andformanyyears.Onedayshe astonishedmyfriendbysaying:"MissElinor,Ihavenotbeen sendingallmymoneytomyfamilyinVirginia, Ihavebeen puttingsomeofitaside.AndnowIwanttoseetheworld.I wanttotravel."Elinorsaid:"WhyMaryyouareafraidtogo toNewYorkalone,howcanyoutravel?""Oh,"shesaid,"I haveenoughtotakeyou,too, Ican'tgowithoutyou,Miss Elinor."Thenmyfriendsaid:"Andwheredoyouwantto go?"AndMarysaid:"IwanttogotoParis.IhearinParis theytreatcoloredpeopleliketheytreatwhitepeople,andbe- foreIdieIwanttogotoaplacewherecoloredpeopleare treatedjustthesameasotherpeople."Elinorsaidtomein tellingmeaboutit: "Ideterminedthatshe should go.Of courseshehadnoideaofhowmuchitwouldrealycost,but Isoldabondandthatmadeitpossible.IwenttotheFrench LineandsaidIwantadjoiningstateroomsandIwantherto betreatedineverywayjustasyoutreatallyourpassengers. Theoficialsofthelinesaid:'Weare,ofcourse,wilingtodo everythinginourpower,butonecannotcountonthegood breedingoftheAmericanpassengers.'Thefirsteveningtwo orthreeAmericansplacedatthetablewereveryrude,butthe othersandElinorprotectedMary,andElinorsaysshedoes notthinkMarysawtheirrudeness.Theseatsoftherude Americanswerechangedanditwastheywhowereostracized fortherestofthevoyageandMarywasthequeenoftheboat. HerhairwasalreadywhiteandElinorsaysshelookedso pretyinadarkgray-bluesuitandwassosupremelyhappy thatshecharmedeveryone.Theystayedthreeweeks,wentto apensionfrequentedonlybytheFrench,avoidedcafesandall placeswhereAmericansmightberude,andsawthebeauties ofParis,andeverywhereMarywastreated'justthesameas otherpeople.'Shecamebackrejuvenated.AtthetimeElinor said:'IthinkitwilladdtenyearstoMary'slife.' Ithas.That wasin1932.Sheisstilllivingthoughnowveryold." AnnaMelissaGravesintheforewordto"Benvenuto CelliniHadNoPrejudiceAgainstBronze:LettersfromWest Africans."(Baltimore,1942) SOUTHAFRICANRACISM Sir, Recentgraveincidentsofracialpersecutionhaveoccurred inDurban,SouthAfrica,andweshouldliketodrawtheattendonofyourreaderstothesedisturbingfacts. TheseincidentshavearisenasaresultoftheAsiaticLand TenureandIndianRepresentationAct,bywhichtheSouth AfricanGovernmenthasrestrictedtheacquisitionoflandby Indians.Thisisthelastofalongseriesofdiscriminatoryde- cress,ofwhichthemostimportanthavebeentintin1896, removingtherightoftheIndianstoParliamentaryrepresen- tation,andthatof1924deprivingthemofMunicipalfranchT ishé. eIndianshavenomeansofdemocraticrepresentation.At
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