Wednesday, March 20, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five Wednesday, March 20, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five -Associated Press Senator Robert F. Kennedy greets University of Kansas students waiting in the rain to see him after a speech on the Kansas campus. Kennedy assailed the Administration's Vietnam policy in his address. Kennedy is opposing President Johnson for the Democratic presidential nomination. His campaign opened Saturday. Farmers Protest Low Prices, Boycott Markets, Bur t Crops Report Hits Air Force's Promotions Cite Ten Year Delay I Grade Advancement To Non-com Officer WASHINGTON () - A House Armed S e r v i c e s subcommittee1 says the Defense Department'sa skimpy allocation of non-com- missioned officer grades is a ma- jor cause of promotion stagnation in the Air Force. In a report released yesterday, the subcommittee said it "fre- quently found cases of men who spent 10 years or more in grade without promotion despite excel- lent records, and has received complaints from time to time of men who have spent more than1 20 years in grade without promo- tion." Take Steps for More NCO's a The subcommittee said, how- ever, the Defense Department has taken steps to increase the NCO authorizations for the services. Rep. L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.), said the subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Alton Lennon (D-N.C.), "has made many valuable recom- mendations for administrative changes and the military services have begun to put these changes into effect." In addition to promotion poli- cies and procedures, the subcom- mittee studied a variety of re- lated matters having a bearing on enlisted morale, prestige and re- tention. Among its findings and recom- mendations, the subcommittee: -Found that promotion op- portunity for men in Vietnam is better than elsewhere in the armed forces. Keep Borderline Cases -Had high praise for the De- fense Department for the opera- tion of Project 100,000, the pro- gram to make effective soldiers out of men who were previously disqualified for mental or minor physical deficiencies. -Found that proficiency pay, which provides extra monthly payments to men in hard to re- tain skills, is significantly improv- ing retention. WASHINGTON (A")-The White House said yesterday President Johnson consults various people on Southeast Asia policy, includ- ing some who do not fully agree{ with him, but no serious consider- ation is being given to creating a commission to examine this policy. Press secretary George Chris- tian told reporters that in a lengthy discussion touched off by a question whether Johnson was considering the possibility of nam- ing a commission to assess Viet- nam war policies, as recommend- ed editorially yesterday by the New York Times and Washington Post. Kennedy Idea It has been reported that com- mission idea developed in the campaign camp of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York, and that he offered to stay out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination if Johnson would name a commission to study and make recommendations on chang- ing the policy. Kennedy has said the White Housedistorted the proposal and his part in it. Value of Dissent "On the question of asking out- side viewpoints on matters of policy," Christian said, "the Pres- ident very much values this type of consultation. All of you are CORRECTION Today is the last day of petitioning for literary college steering committee, not March 12 as previously printed in The Daily. Petitions are available in 1210 Angell Hall. aware of some of the people he has been calling in for discus- sions on the Southeast Asia situa- tion . . . I would expect he would continue to do so. "As for setting up a special commission like the one we have been hearing about recently, .I don't know of any intention now to do that, not in the nature that's being discussed around now." Christian said a distinction has to be drawn between a knowl- edgeable group advising the Pres- ident and making certain he gets a variety of views on the subject and a public committee or com- mission with certain powers, broad or limited, of some inde- pendent stature. "I think the President has been open minded on having con- sultations with people of varying viewpoints and ideas on South- east Asia policy," Christian said. "He has consulted with individ- uals who don't fully agree with his policies on Southeast Asia. These have been valuable discus- lions. He mentioned Edwin Reis- chauer, former ambassador to Japan and now a Harvard pro- fessor and authority on China as one of those consulted who doesn't see eye to eye with the President. Also mentioned was Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and former ambassador to Vietnam. Christian noted too, that John- son has talked with members of the Senate Foreign Relationa Committee who are not fully in agreement with him. Discussions in this field will continue, Christian said. "The formation of a specific commission," he said, "is some- thing that thus far has not been given serious consideration here for a variety of reasons." Christian agreed that one rea- son was that the President thinks creation of stch a commission would constitute an abdication of his constitutional authority to conduct a war. The press secretary said he did not think that legally or consti- tutionally Johnson could give up his authority as commander in chief. '1~ \xI I' CONSULTATIONS TO CONTINUE: Deny LBJ To Form Vietnam Commission CORNING, Iowa (P) -A cam- paign of hog killing and crop burning to dramatize the National Farmers Organization's drive to increase prices by boycotting markets is being coordinated here by a "victory control center." "This is production the packers will never get" is the universal slogan suggested by NFO head- quarters for militant chapters which have shot and buried hogs House Probes U.S. Employes WASHINGTON (') - The House Committee on Un-American # Activities is probing an organiza- tion of federal employes who op- pose the U.S. role in Vietnam. The employe group, "Federal Employes Against the War," has circulated a petition signed by more than 900 workers protesting the war. * Chairman Edwin E. Willis (D- La.) of the Committee on Un- American activities said, "If such a thing is going on within the government, the country should be advised of the facts." Willis is also sponsoring a bill to give the President more author- ity in dismissing government of- ficials whose actions are judged as dangerous to U.S. fighting men. in Iowa, Indiana, Georgia and South Dakota within the past 10 days. Northern Indiana members set fire to an estimated 6,000 bushels of grain on three farms near Elk- hart Monday in a calculated dis- play of dissatisfaction with prices. Grain, livestock and poultry have been the objects of a 35 state boycott called by the NFO two months ago, The withholding ac- tions have had negligible effect on major markets to date, according to market specialists. NFO Not Instigator NFO headquarters contends that it did not initiate the slaughters or burnings. President Oren Lea Staley, who answers calls on special long dis- tance telephones with "victory control center," said as long as local chapters are intent on pro- duct destruction to "express their determination" it may as well be handled right. Must Kill 200 for Effect He said members are advised on publicity and told that hog kills "certainly will not have any impact unless you bury a mini- mum of 50,000 pounds." This would require some 200 sacrificial animals. "People are trying to make this an emotional issue," Staley said. "It is not an emotional issue, it is an economic issue." Local chapters announce that 50,000 pounds of hogs will be killed. The number of animals is not mentioned. In each case, pro- cessors are told they can stop the kill at any time by agreeing to the NFO's target price of 23,cents per pound. "This shooting is really being caused by the packers who refuse to pay the prices they should," Staley added. "We are trying to make the public aware that farm- ers are getting 19 cents a pound for pork and 27 cents for beef and want only four and five cents more." Staley claimed that the boy- cott's failure to boost prices so far is the result of price manipu- lation by grain buyers and pack- ers eager to beat down the with- holding action. t 4 SALE WHO) WILL ANSWER For the sorrow*... the pain ... the hate .. VA suits for Miss J! $18 to $32 originally 23.00 to 40.00 Wonderful savings on spring suits with young, lively looks. Light-weight wools and blends in pastel-to-navy herringbones, checks and solids. Sizes 5-13. I REMINDER: PETITIONS for GENERAL CO-CHAIRMEN UNION-LEAGUE of the '69 CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL DUE: 5:00 P.M., FRIDAY, MARCH 22 Some do try. Consider: Career as Priest or Brother For information write: Box 4559-MU, Wash., D.C. 20017' ... _<<:: ;, «; '} . . :{: