Terrorized Teachers

Into Chicago's big commercial Palmer House 1,500 delegates of the Music Teachers National Association and other music bigwigs swarmed last week to spend four days arguing and agreeing, airing big plans and uttering big grievances. U. S. Commissioner of Education John Ward Studebaker urged them to support a proposed $98,000 budget for the new U. S. Department of Music & Fine Arts. The teachers managed to agree, and raised $1,100. They showed less agreement but much more emotion when Leo Fischer, executive secretary of the American Guild of Musical Artists, appealed for the Dickstein Bill which aims to limit foreign competition with U. S. artists.

While the teachers were bickering over such momentous musical concerns, a situation arose for them all to feel anger on the same side. Author of the situation, and its villain, was fat, horny-handed James C. Petrillo, who heads the Chicago Federation of Musicians and forbade them last fortnight to make recordings after Feb. i (TIME, Jan. 4). As Draconic as ever, Mr. Petrillo refused to have 12 young students and teachers play for the convention because they did not belong to his union, would not let the Carl Schurz, High School Choir sing for the teachers until its three accompanists had each paid a $12 "standby" fee. Officials in the; Teachers Association grumbled that Mr.' Petrillo had "practically eliminated" Chicago as a future convention ground. The Chicago News bit deeper: "Mr. Petrillo's ungracious act will suggest to some that a form of terrorism is still rampant in Chicago."

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