'fi .. GOT*mtrla 3i4ial &zi Let the Students Decide: Once too Often? Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS .k Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, MICH. Truth WillPrevail NEWS PHONE: 764-0552 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 1968 NIGHT EDITOR: JOHN GRAY I Kennedy Candidacy: Time for Realpoliti k IN THE GOOD old American political tradition, liberals everywhere are con- fused as to whether or not to support a winner. Undoubtedly, Bobby Kennedy is an un- principled opportunist. You may not know what you are getting with Bobby Kennedy, but the minimum that can be expected is that he will end the disas- trous war in Vietnam and redirect fed- eral funds away from the military and toward the urban ghettos. His entry into the Democratic Presi- dential sweepstakes didn't take much courage after Sen. Eugene McCarthy stunned President Johnson in last week's New Hampshire primary. He can never be touted for political conviction. But Kennedy may be able to snatch the nomination out of Johnson's hands. And if he cannot do that, he can deny an in- cumbent President the nomination of his own party by throwing his support to a compromise candidate. THERE IS NO love for Johnson among Northern Democrats, even among the reactionary elements of the AFL-CIO. There never has been. The sectional dif- ferences have always been irreconcilable. However, the dominant labor wing of the party has been unwilling to break with an mcumDent President over what they saw as the challenge of a little- known, over-idealistic McCarthy. The pragmatic American labor movement when faced with a choice between the charismatic Kennedy and the worn-out Johnson will make a fast switch. McCarthy risked his entire political future in entering the primaries. For pull- ing the rug out from the President he has earned the respect and admiration of the anti-Johnson forces. But the objec- tive is to get rid of Johnson. To stop the war immediately. And McCarthy can do neither. McCARTHY IS admittedly a better candidate. To back the Kennedy can- didacy is admittedly expedient. But need the anti-Johnson forces be reminded that a Johnson-Nixon race is imminent. That Nixon's smashing victory in the New Hampshire primary has all but assured him of the Republican nomination. And that the war goes on. Westmore- land has asked for 206,000 additional troops. And that the long hot summer is rapidly approaching. --MARK LEVIN Editor By URBAN LEHNER Editorial Director I THE REFERENDA results in this week's Student Govern- ment Council election did not signal the death of the student power movement at this Univer- sity, they did emphasize dramati- cally the need for a fresh analysis of the ultimate and immediate goals, tactics, and alliances the movement has utilized in its brief and tenuous two year history. No one was surprised and few discouraged with the election of Michael Koeneke as SGC presi- dent. One of the best known stu- dents on campus, Koeneke spent last semester talking up SGC at every fraternity, sorority and dormitory dinner to which he could wangle an invitation. Furthermore, Koeneke's long hours of gut organizing work as chairman of Student Housing As- sociation paid off this winter when the boycott against Apart- ments Limited catapulted SHA into campus prominence. And while hard core radicals insisted that Mark Schreiber was better equipped by temperament and philosophy to assume initia- tive, Koeneke's record has been more or less consistently liberal. With SGC dominated by excellent liberal and radical members, the theory goes, Council won't need a strong president. THE RERENDA results, not the Koeneke victory, are prompting the new and detached look at the "movement." The uneasy coalition of moder- ates and radicals which now exists was formed in November of 1966 during the crisis over draft rankings. In a referendum which attracted a record of 10.000 voters, students demanded by a margin of 2-1 that the University cease complying with a Selective Service order to compile and pro- vide class rankings to local draft boards. Although the University ignored the results of the referendum, the size of the vote and the massive turn-out for subsequent sit-ins and teach-ins left a lasting im- pression on radical and moderate students. The draft ranking crisis taught them that they could organize the student body - not over the war or civil rights-but around issues like the draft, which af- fected students personally. THE UPSHOT was the drive for the abolition of women's hours, student-made pariental rules, and an end to student driv- ing regulations which SGC un- dertook last fall. The radicals supported the campaign whole- heartedly. Peter Steinberger, former Voice head-man, engineered the student power drive in April of 1967 from his position as chairman of Joint Judiciary Council. Steinberger and a majority of the other mem- bers of JJC pledged to enforce only those rules made by students themselves. SGC began passing rules for JJC to enforce, while Steinberger, a graduate student in sociology who already had, a law degree from the University, sat in the back of the room during SGC meetings, occasionally offering Council advice about the legal implications of its actions. The JJC-SGC campaign was remarkably successful. Not all the legislation was efficacious, of course. But the administration was forced to abolish women's hours and loosen up parietal re- strictions. Some students were frankly shocked at the attitude of sweet reasonableness the ad- ministration seemed to take to- ward the whole thing. The administration's new-found penchant for compromise took the wind out of the radical's sails. They had unconsciously if not explicitly hoped that organiza- tion around issues of student self- interest would serve as a spring- board to education. THUS, IN A SENSE, success spoiled their efforts. Had the ad- ministration been intransigeant, students perhaps would have been forced, eventually into an- alyzing not only women's hours but the structure of education as it now stands and, ultimately, the structure of the society that produced that education. Somehow, it was more than a coincidence that Bruce Kahn exited as president of SGC with the message "In many wads, I think SGC is now the wrong bag" during the same week when Rob- ben W. Fleming, a labor. arbitra- tor and thus the symbol of the spirit of compromise, was inau- gurated President of this Uni- versity. As it was, the radicals overesti- mated the success of their at- tempts to educate students. The A move to abolish classified re- search and University participa- tion in IDA was premature be- cause the work of education has not yet passed the stage of self- interest. While students now can be persuaded to rally behind is- sued like women's hours, just as laborers automatically support collective bargaining, the fight for women's hours and stugent driving privileges has been won too easily. The results of the referenda on classified research and IDA made it crystal clear that the education process-in which the radicals, rallying around peripheral issues like women's hours, had put their hopes-had failed. The Ballad o f Bobby an d Ge'ne {'Ad And Leave the Driving to Us HE REGENTS have continued to miss the point of. what students at the University want. Friday's refusal to end driving regulations for freshmen and sophomores was just another manifesta- tion of this situation. University students feel that they are adults and wish to be treated according- ly. Yet the Regents have continually by-passed acceptance of this criteria and instead made decisions on issues on the basis of peripheral factors. The elimination of freshman women's curfews is one example. Although it is impossible to be certain, the Regents seemed more impressed at the January open hearings by the favorable recom- mendation given by the Board of Gover- nors of the Residence Halls than by the Board's reasons-that students are ma- ture enough to take care of themselves. Indeed, they seemed even more im- pressed by the red herring thrown into the dialogue by Student Government Council member Sharon Lowen. Miss Lowen told the Regents that women who did not return to the dorm by curfew were forced to remain out all night. THE OPEN hearing on traffic regula- tions was very similar. Again there was the appearance of a faculty member who noted the maturity shown by stu- dents. Again the Regents were told stu- dents were disobeying the rules. This time, however, the Regents man- aged to find an extraneous issue to latch on to. At Friday's meeting they called re- laxation of the rules "detrimental to the health and safety of members of the community." While it is tautologically true that a student is more likely to be involved in an automobile accident if he is allowed to drive, and while lifting restrictions might add to Ann Arbor's traffic prob- lems, the issue is merely another red her- ring. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor. Michigan. 20 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. The Daily is a member of the Associated Press, Collegiate Press Service and Liberation News Service. Daily except Monday during regular academic school year. Daily except Sunday and Monday during regular summer session. Fall and winter subscription rate: $4.50 per term by carrier ($5 by mail); $8.00 for regular academic school year ($9 by mail). Editorial Staff MARK LEVIN, Editor STEPHEN WILDSTROM URBAN LEHNER Managing Editor Editorial Director DAVID KNOKE, Executive Editor CAROLYN MIEGEL ....... Associate Editorial Director WALTER SHAPIRO ...... Associate Editorial Director WALLACE IMMEN.................... News Editor PAT O'DONOHUE .................... News Editor DANIEL OKRENT ................Feature Editor LUCY KENNEDY...... ........Personnel Director NEAL BRUSS .................. Magazine Editor ANDY SACKS .. ... ....... ..... Photo Editor ROBERT SHEFFIELD ................... Lab Chief What Student Traffic Court Chairman Ken Mogill contends is probably true: that students have completely ignored the regulations and, therefore, lifting re- strictions would have no effect. However, this too is irrelevant. The Regents have argued they may re- quire a student to go without an automo- bile as a condition of admissions. But that student may be licensed by the state to operate a motor vehicle. WHETHER THE University may legally legislate against automobiles is ques- tionable, but not at issue. It is the unfair- ness of the Regental decision method which disturbs students. The University is discriminating against a minority segment of its community in what it sees as an attempt to avert a traffic crisis in the city of Ann Arbor. Certainly the University has some ob- ligations to the city in which it has such great influence. This time, however, the Regents have chosen to administer that responsibility inequitibly. Why is it, one might ask, the fac- ulty, being employes of the University and therefore more subject to "working restrictions," are not barred from operat- ing motor vehicles. Perhaps, if it were really necessary, a lottery would be the solution to the traffic problem. This lottery would in- clude not only members of the University community, but the entire city popula- tion. Thus the burden of the problem would thus be borne by all those affected. BUT THIS radical solution will not be needed, because traffic congestion will create its own cure. Students and other members of the community will realize the problems involved with using a ve- hicle and limit themselves. University people and Ann Arbor residents can learn their lesson. But one thing is certain. The Univer- sity has no right to stop a student from' driving towards a megatropolian auto tie- up as long as that student knows what he's getting himself into. -MARTIN HIRSCHMAN Cost Accounting SAIGON, SOUTH VIETNAM, March 14- American casualties in the Vietnam- ese war have exceeded those in the Ko- rean conflict, according to a report an- nounced today by the United States com- mand. The report said that 509 American serv- icemen were killed and 2,766 wounded last week, pushing the casualty total since Jan. 1, 1961, to 139,801. A'mprinn n 1+ tip wrp.1R _914 in thp By WALTER SHAPIRO POLITICS IS the only field in which men are forced to bare their emotions in public. Therein lies its brutality and much of its fascination. It is this quality of politics which has been strikingly apparent in 1968. First there was George Rom- ney resolutely admitting before blazing television lights that he had failed in his great crusade to revitalize America. Now on the heels of the sur- prising New Hampshire primary there is the suddenly developing clash of ambitions between Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy for the mantle of Democratic chal- lenger to unseat LBJ. Here too is a great deal of legi- timate pathos. There is good, gray liberal Eugene McCarthy sudden- ly confronted with an unexpected challenge from the youthful and glamorous Robert Kennedy. Senator McCarthy's s e v e r a 1 months of campaigning have es- tablished an image of a quiet, sincere crusader. If there is one thing his rumpled, earnest look can convey it is sympathy. Especi- ally if McCarthy suddenly appears as a dedicated idealist beset by opportunists on both sides. Contrasted to this is the far from uncommon image of Robert Ken- nedy as the Richard Nixon of the Democratic Party. Consequently many will conclude from this week's events that McCarthy has taken all the risks and now Ken- nedy has come along merely to reap the benefits. YET IT WOULD be a serious error to see the three-way split in the Democratic Party as being based entirely upon the realities and ambitions of the moment. For the cleavages which are now rend- ing the Democratic Party have existed for at least the past decade, although until recently muted by the party's political ascendency. It is a split based partially on ideology, partially on style, and largely on long-lasting personal animosities. Southern conservatives are linked with Northern mod- erates and party loyalists to form the Johnson camp. The distinction between the two anti-war groups are more difficult to discern. The Kennedy propo- nents are men who are prag- matists first and liberals second. united with a coterie of hardboiled eggheads. And the real McCarthy supporters are the lately reassem- bled coalition of academics and suburbanites who represent the last pure gasp of Stevensonian lib- eralism. Six months ago the effect of a Kennedy challenge to the Presi- dent would have been relatively easy to assess. Since' then, Mc- Carthy has mounted his white charger and now it is difficult to unravel the intracacies of the three way race for the White House with the present incumbent still overwhelmingly on top. Yet it is clear that it is easy to overestimate Kennedy's elec- toral support. Kennedy's reputa- tion for political opportunism may take on unmanageable propor- tions as the result of this week's events. And the fervor of Ken- nedy's quote-laden speeches will never totally obliterate the knowl- edge that McCarthy had to dem- onstrate the extent of the disaf- fection with Johnson before Ken- nedy would enter the fray. AMONG YOUTH, the constitu- ency which Kennedy has been try- ing to stake at his own, the New York Senator's reputation may have been seriously sullied by the ineffectuality of the game he has been playing of supporting John- son while dissenting on the war. Some observers have contended that it was the spectre of steadily diminishing support which has in- duced the usually prudent Ken- nedy to make the fateful plunge. The excitement generated by Kennedy's candidacy must not ob- scure the substantial political ad- vantages of the President. He con- trols the national party machinery and commands the loyalty of the professional politicians who will comprise a large portion softhe delegates in Chicago in August. This support among party lead- ers was illustrated by only three Democratic State Chairmen en- dorsing Kennedy, while the major- ity stood adamantly behind the President. WHILE HISTORICAL parallels are fraught with danger, it should be remembered that Teddy Roose- velt, chaffing from four years of inactivity, won every primary in the country in 1912 but William Howard Taft, the incumbent Presi- dent, won the Republican nomina- tion. But, the Kennedy candidacy does significantly alter the pre- -Convention complexion of the Democratic Party. The new chal- lenge will minimize the accusations of heresy from party loyalists and challengers will serve to legitimize the other's dissent. However, the New York Senator has several key political advan- tages over his rival from Minne- sota. Scattered in key states across the country are leading Democrats who have taken oaths of fealty to the Kennedy-family. Already Jesse Unruh, the chief Democrat of fac- tion-ridden California, has avow- ed his support to Kennedy. Men like Senator Joseph Tydings of Maryland and Birch Bayh of In- diana will probably soon follow suit. The potencyand mystique of the Kennedy name and image should also be successful in luring many into the anti-Johnson campaign who otherwise would have waited apathetically on the sidelines. ALL THIS, coupled with the at- tention that Kennedy continually receives from the press, could com- bine to give Kennedy the image of a winner, even in a tilt with Presi- dent Johnson. However, neither Kennedy nor McCarthy are in a strong enough position to carry their own per- sonal conflict, into many of the primaries. What therefore will un- doubtedly ensue is a complicated ballet of political maneuvers as each attempts to arrive at an 'ad- vantageous modus vivendi with the other. McCarthy has made major sacri- fices of time, money, and political capital in his challenge of Presi- dent Johnson. It ;would be saintly beyond reason for him not to be irked Kennedy's attempt to polit- ically upstage him. Furthermore McCarthy has been impressed by the support his campaign has gathered and is unlikely to with- draw without a significant test of strength with Kennedy. Another consideration which will keep McCarthy in the race is that while there is still time for Ken- nedy to enter some major pri- maries-notably Oregon and Cali- fornia-McCarthy's will be the only name on the ballot in im- portant contests like Wisconsin. AND IT IS so important for Johnson to be beaten in the pri- maries that Kennedy will probably disown any write-in campaigns in primaries it's already too late to enter. Consequently it is quite prob- able that the Oregon primary which precedes the California test will be the scene of the epic battle between McCarthy and Kennedy. While the odds currently favor Kennedy, some imponderable con- siderations make the outcome less than certain. These include the ef- fects of the backlash produced by the apparent opportunism behind Kennedy's candidacy and the im- pact of further primary victories by McCarthy. BUT UNDERLYING any con- sideration of the relative merits and demerits of Kennedy and Mc- Carthy is the knowledge that each represents at best a very outside chance of defeating Johnson at the Convention. Admittedly Kennedy's candidacy increases the chances of this un- likely upset, but what's really at stake in this polite battle between Kennedy and McCarthy is control of the Democratic Party in '72 and thereafter. And the youth of Amer- ica are the battleground. 4 4 Fighting for Gold and Country By JENNY STILLER E INTERNATIONAL finan- cial system is in the worst shape it's been in since 1929, but this time we're not heading for a depression. The reason is simple: the American banking system has changed in the intervening years. Stocks are no longer bought on a 10 per cent margin on the New York exchange because the lowest legal rate is now 85 per cent. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corpo- ration backs up most bank de- posits. Finally, the Employment Act of 1946 pledges the govern- ment to the maintenance of full employment as a matter of policy. These and other safeguards should guarantee against a repeat of such a major failure of the eco- nomy as was precipitated by the events of 1929-33. While the gold crisis should not produce massive unemployment, it probably will have visible effects on the American consumer. If the proposed 10 per cent income tax surcharge is adopted,.it will de- crease disposable income by an estimated total of $9 billion. The Federal Reserve's action of boost- ing interest ratesto an all-time high of 5 per cent will have the short-term effect of tightening the housing market, and may de- crease investment in the long run if it is kept at that level for any length of time. IF DECREASED consumer ex- If the United States were to devalue the dollar, the only sub- stantial effect would be the rapid devaluation of most of the major currencies of the world-of which the British pound and the West German mark would most likely be the first. The only real result of this would be a 'wholesale re- evaluation of the values of cur- rencies with relation to gold-but very little to each other. For this reason, and because the only real parties who stand to gain from such an action would be the spec- ulators and the gold-mining na- tions, devaluation seems unlikely indeed. With speculators hoping that the United States will be forced to raise the price of gold to as much as $70 an ounce, a conference of the central bankers of the inter- national gold pool convened in Washington yesterday to discuss the crisis. Shortly after their meetings began, President Johnson an- nounced his intention to fight the American balance of payments problem with cutbacks in the do- mestic economy in the form of the proposed income tax sur- charge and curtailment of govern- ment spending' to the tune of around $9 billion. THE CHANCES that the Presi- dent can railroad the tax increase through Congress over thet oppo- sition to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Wilbur Mills seem' slight, but nonetheless the economy-minded Congress may be persuaded that the measure is necessary. And the President should have no trouble at all con- vincing the Congress that domes- tic government spending must be cut. Whether these measures alone will be enough to restore confi- dence in the dollar is unlikely, since the European speculators all consider the Vietnam war to be the root of our balance of pay- ments troubles. No statement will be released by the conferees in Washington until this afternoon, but it seems possible at this point that setting two prices for gold might well be their solution to the immediate crisis. UNDER THE two-price system, the United States would continue to buy and sell gold to central banks at $35 an ounce, but the free markets in London and else- where would be allowed to fluctu- ate. This would be accomplished if the seven countries participating in +he rnn+-aranrrP__ +heTUnited uation or drastic cutbacks in mil- itary spending. Since the latter is unlikely, they reason, the former course of action will ultimately be the only one open for the United States, so they continue to buy and hoard gold in the hope of profitting from devaluation, APART FROM the Vietnam issue, there are important political implications to the crisis. George Brown, Britain's out- spoken foreign secretary, resigned his position in the Labor govern- ment Friday in an impassioned break with Prime Minister Har- old Wilson. Brown's stated reason for resigning was that he was not consulted over the closing of the London gold market at the re- quest of the United States. While Brown, a colorful and impulsive trade - unionist, was never considered a serious threat to Wilson's leadership of the Labor Party, his resignation opens the door to backstage manipula- tions by kingmakers who see Mi- chael Stewart, Brown's successor -and predecessor-as foreign sec- retary, or Chancellor of the Ex- chequer Roy Jenkins as potential Prime Ministers. IN ADDITION, dissatisfaction with a Labor Party which has grown increasingly conservative since it took office may now cry- stalize around Brown. Trade-un- ionists have been becoming dis- illusioned in a Labor government which has adopted policies detri- m-na to he et.nAnrA of+living 0 Michael Stewart to it to private hoarders and speculators. The plan is said to be favored by West Germany and Italy. The United States has not made its plans known. ONE MAJOR disadvantage of the two-price plan is that in the long run speculation would prob- ably not be halted. Nothing could prevent any one of several small countries from cashing in their dollars for gold at $35 an ounce, then selling it for a profit on the free market. Forunndarlvin- +the whnaecrisis * Emmmiaaamsesasemm5