Evening star., 1954-05-30
News Of Music

11L1C al IS U1I1S uOW UC1UIG
Congress are scheduled to start
June 3. H.R. Oil is called by
It's sponsor, Representative
Charles r. Howell, Of New
Jersey. similar or related to-"
the other Is. and indeed It
seems to be q verbatim dupn-
cate Of the Senate bill intro
duced last month by Senator
Lehman.
The purpose Of the act is set
forth in 20 clauses, which may
be classified as social, eco
nomic, artistic. and propagan-
distic, Social, for example, are
clauses 13 and IA: Ito encour-
age and assist in the Develop
ment Of the creative and fine
arts for children :" and
then ito encourage and assist
in the development Of the
creative arts for older per-
sons" Economic: "tD to IA
cilitate the formulation of
plans for the preservation, en-
hancement, and further devel-
opment Of the fine arts in
time Of war. depression. or
other national emergency, in
order to prevent our cultural
institutions from shrinking in
Importance or passing out Of
existence and to avoid the
often deplorable standards ex-
empli11ed by art projects Of
Federal agencies at such times
in the past. and in order to
Offset declining employment"
AS for artistic. we may
cite clause seven: Ito encour-
age the development Of strong
American theatrical and musi-
cal arts though maximum use
of the English language in pro-
ductionS assisted under this
act :" And clause IA: Ito
encourage and assist in sur
rounding our houses with
a maximum of beauty by able
and far-sighted urban renewal
and redevelopment planning
for slum eradication"
To Destroy a Myth
The propaganda purpose OF
the bill is expressed in clause
20: ito destroy finally the
Communist myth that Ameri-
cans are insensitive, material
istic barbarians."
Now follow SO pages detail
ing how these ends are to be
accomplished. The American
National War Memorial Arts
Commission will be estab-
lished, with the President OF
the United States as chairman.
Commissioners will be selected
from the ranks of public serv-
ants and of eminent citizens" }"
OF the two score former will be
the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Labor and Pub
lie Welfare, the Public
Printer. the Chairman OF the
District of Columbia Redevel-
opment Land Agency, and
others; the latter will be ap-
pointed by the President and
approved by the Senate. The
Commission will be directed to
initiate and support both pro-
fessional and amateur activ-
tiles In all fields Of fine arts by
making contracts or other ar
rangements dncluding grants.
loans, and other forms Of as
sistance) for the conduct Of
activities in the fine arts, and
to appraise the impact Of such
activities upon the general
welfare and cultural develop
ment Of the Nation" Specif-
ically. one Of the many duties
Of the Commission will be to
build q theater and music CEN
ter here in Washington. and to
employ artists and other per-
sonnel and generally to do
such things as may be nee
eSSary to encourage the devel-
opment Of contemporary art
and effect the widest distribu-
ton and cultivation of such
art by professionals and anna
teurs alike" It will assist A.
nancially and otherwise in the
presentation of opera in this
theater by Federal, State,
county. and municipal agen-
y cies, by accredited non-proflt
colleges and universities. and
by other non-profit organiza-
tions in the field of the fine
arts"
Argued for Years
This is by no means the en-
tire scope Of H. r. Oil, but
let us stop at this point for the
time being, for here we have.
officially envisaged and pro-
mulgated, what so many of us
have long wished fora local
opera house.
Whether or not state opera
would be a worth h-while en-
deavor in this country has been
argued for years. and neither
side seems to have a monop-
oily on reason. In the 350-year
history Of opera in the western
world, subsidy either by the
state or private institution has
been the rule. and at the pres
ent time most opera houses in
Europe are owned by the gov
ernment. AS for the arts in
general, they have 1lourished
in times Of patronage and they
have flourished equally in
times of governmental neg
lect. Even though there. is no
tradition of state-controlled
theater in the United States.
even though 1t is not evident
that because other countries
enjoy it, it should therefore
be a part Of our destiny. it
still may be that an intelli-
gently administered fine arts
program would be Of value to
the artist. the public, and even
tn noSteritV.