That all was fair in love and show business seemed to be the consensus of opinion at the Hasty Pudding Club last night, following accusations of plagiarisms from dramatic aspirants down at Columbia, where animosity was reported to be growing hourly.
Subject of the controversy was "Fair Enough," which in addition to being the title of Westbrook Pegler's daily column, appears to be the title of both the Pudding show and the Columbia Varsity production. Southern thespians claimed to have released their title on December 20, whereas the first Hasty Pudding press hand out was dated February 18.
H. Gaylord Dillingham '40, president of Hasty Pudding Theatricals, generously gave the Lions permission to use the title, adding that "we'd also be glad to help them patch up their plot, which seems pretty weak." Both musicals deal with the forthcoming New York World's Fair.
Pointing out that they had been in the business 47 years longer than the residents of Morningside Heights, members of the cast made unkind and unprintable comments on the rival production, which features reincarnated "Founding Fathers" revising the Constitution. The Pudding has produced 92 shows to Columbia's 46.
Brushing aside the plagiary charge, authors Morgan Preston '39, David Lannon '39, and Alan Lerner '40 stated that they had written the play last Spring, borrowing the title from a Pudding show produced during the Franco-Prussian War. I. A. L. Diamond, sophomore author of the Columbia book, admits lifting his title from Pegler.
Confronted by a statement of Sid Luckman, Columbia grid star and prospective chorine, that "out maidens are fairer, we're all fairer," Bobby Green '39 and Cliff Wilson '39 pronounced unanimously, "Raw, Lion Raw."
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