Evening star., 1955-03-13
News of Music

cultural status OF our NatlonaI
Capital Is q challenge to the
loyalty and patriotic love OF
country which is present in
each and every one Of US"
recently wrote Representative
Frank Thompson. jr., Of New
Jersey to the editor of the Wall
Street journal.
Mr.. Thompson was some
what upset by the tempered
enthusiasm expressed edito-
rally by the Journal for a
civic auditorium in Washing
ton encompassed by several
current bills before the House
and Senate.
Mr.. Speaker. there are two
ways of doing things" he said
later in the Congressional
Record under the headline
"Wall Street Journal Shoots
From the Hip and Misses"
"the right way and the wrong
way" Several papers, includ-
ing The Star, had handled a
story about a subcommittee
hearing on one of the bills the
right way; the Journals
editorial was a striking ex-
ample of the wrong way"
Question Of Tax Origin
Mr.. Thompson then sug-
gested to me that lit would
help If you could comment on
the Wall Street Journal edi-
torial of February "a"
Glad to be of assistance, I
read the article with care. 1t
is opposed to the bill primarily
because it doesn't think the
Federal Government should
spend money acquired by the
tax-collector in Seattle. Sara
sofa or San Antonia for an
opera house In Washington.
The difficulties the State
Department is having in its
cultural exchange program.
with no suitable auditoriums
here for French "troupes" to
appear in, are seen by the
journal as something less
than catastrophe. and the
argument that the Russians
have an advantage over us
because they use the arts as a
weapon of propaganda; there
fore we should do likewise, finds
the Journal torn between scorn
and rage.
Mr.. Thompson thinks the
journal editorial inaccurate
in several respects" but with
the best will in the world
can see no error in its report
ing, and to be of help to the
Congressman / can only fall
back on feeble but pointed
suggestion that the eminent
New York paper stick to its
stocks and bonds, and leave
Washington opera houses to
those qualified to have an
opinion about them.
Objections in Two Cotesories
Objections to Mr.. Thomp-
sons plan fall in two catego-
ries. There are those who feel
that the Government should
not spend money on fine arts
certainly to no greater extent
than now This position is. OF
course, entirely divorced from
the question of whether or not
federal fine arts would be
meritorious. 1t is a matter
of civic principle. and to pursue
1t would lead us far from the
subject of music. Let us as
sumo as an undebated hypoth-
esis that it would be good for
the Government to build the
proposed civic auditorium in
cluding an inaugural hall of
Presidents. and a music,
drama, fine arts and mass
communications center" if,
as the bills proponents con-
tend. it would bring culture to
town.
1.-THE Nations Capital is
particularly disadvantaged and
underprivileged in cultural
matters" says Mr.. Thompson.
who comes from Trenton, and
who has been in town as
member of Congress since
January.
This may be somewhat of a
surprise to old-time Washing
tonians, many of whom prob
ably haven't thought of the
word culture" since Henry
Adams left Sixteenth street to
go and swap yarns with Robert
Louis Stevenson in Tahiti, or
since the chef at Harvey's had
to get information about how
to shuck an oyster.
"Disadvantaged and under
privileged" we may be, but
Webster says culture is "the
intellectual content of civili-
Zation." and in a city like
Washington an inaugural hall
of Presidents, and a music,
drama, fine arts and mass
communications center would
raise the level of culture no
more than a gallon jug would
raise the level of the Potomac
In flood.
Here in Washington we have
fellow residents from every
country in the world. many OF
whom are very sociable; we
have several libraries, all with
books in them; we have a fine
insane asylum. What more
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