Friday, October 18, 1968
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three '
Friday, October 18, 1968 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three
CIVILIANS APATHETIC
Corruption rampant in Saigon government
By D. GARETH PORTER
College Press Service
SAIGON (CPS) - After many
years of war, Saigon is still de-
feating itselfat the, level where
the government must deal with
the Vietnamese people. Indiffer-
ence and corruption among mili-
tary officers and civilians-as well
as the careless and brutal behavior
of the South Vietnamese Army-
continue to be primary causes of
the staying power of the National
Liberation Front.
Although the lack of trained ad-
ministrators contributes to the low
quality of its local government,
Saigon has not even used the
talent.available to it. More fun-
damental is the fact that too few
province and district officials are
motivated by genuine concern for
the welfare of the /people.
Many of them owe their jobs to
some powerful figure in Saigon
and look upon them as a means
of personal enrichment, status, or
even as a way of avoiding the
draft.
The American agricultural ad-
viser in one Northern province, for
example, estimates that only five
or six of the 16 agricultural offi-
cials in the province really care
q about improving rural standards
of living.
Corruption is nearly universal
within the South Vietnamese gov-
ernment. "It's pretty common
knowledge," says one U.S. Prov-
ince senior adviser, "that every
province Chief has to develop some
additional means of income."
Most of them come from well-
to-do families, went to French
military school, and now have
sons and daughters in private
schools or universities. They are
expected to entertain guests fre-
quently with food and drink. All
of this takes more than the
monthly salary of the chief.
Most American advisors are
tolerant of a certain level of 'of-
ficial graft; in one province near
Saigon, the Province Chief ex-
plains frankly to his counterpart
the ways in which he obtains his
extra spending money. These ad-
visers hold that the Vietnamese
accept modest graft as a way of
life and that only excessive graft
is condemned.
Over public reaction to corrup-
tion is infrequent but may be
spectacular when it occurs. In
Long Khanh province, 3000 people
demonstrated in the streets of the
capital early in July to protest
against corruption and oppressive
practices.
Americans are often reluctant to
press charges of corruption, even
when they have clear evidence of
it. They must get along with gov-
ernment officials in order to get
the programs administered suc-
cessfully; and it is the output-
sacks of cement delivered or police
operations conducted - which
counts on their record. "If you do
recommend that some officials be
removed, it will take six to eight
months while Saigon lines up a
new job for him," says one pro-
vince adviser, "and during that
time, you can forget about the
program he is running."
District Chiefs have a fiefdom
all to themselves. In the usual
case, the chief has bought his job
and continues to pay off some
combination of the province chief,
the Corps Commander and per-
haps a patron in Saigon. He in
turn is free to exploit all the op-
portunities for profit within the
district.
aUntil this year there were a
number of able graduates of the
National Institute of Administra-
tion serving in the position of Dep-
uty District Chief. They tended to
be idealistic and critical of corrup-
tion. In one case,' the Deputy
caught his chief in a flagrant
abuse of power and declined to
take a bribe to remain silent,
whereupon he was forced to leave
the district under threat of being
shot.
Now, however, almost all of.
these young administrators h a v e
been drafted under the new mobil-
ization law, leaving only those
with political connections g o o d
enough to evade it.
Far more serious in its poli-
tical implications than corruption
is the 'careless brutality, theft and
extortion which continues to char-
acterize the behavior ,of govern-
ment troops in the hamlets. In-
terviews done for the U.S. in one
hamlet in Binh Tuy Province last
year revealed that a high percent-
age of the people had serious grie-
vances against the military.
-Associated Press
VIETNAMESE CIVILIAN GUARD units like this group of high school girls near Ben Tre have been
the Saigon's government's showpieces of civilian support. Thus far, such groups have not seen any
action, but they will be used for local guard duty as they improve their markmanship.
MOVE TO LEGALIZE POWER-
Mao r'ead to rebuild stability
.
i
TONIGHT and SATURDAY at
Frank Allison
(from Miami, Florida)
1421 Hill St.
8:30 P.M.
By WILLIAM L. RYAN
Associated Press Special Correspondent
If there is substance in Peking
Radio's latest claim of victory in
the cultural revolution, Mao Tse-
tung's forces are just about ready
to legalize their seizure of power
and try to rebuild stability in the
nation of 700 million.
According to an unofficial
Singing blues,
ballads and,
folk-rock music
accompanied by guitar
$1.00 cover includes free food!
I
E
PAULSEN-FOR-PRESIDENT
Gigantic Political Rally
Say NO
to THE BIG 3
NO-To the Imperialist Wars
NO-To the Racism at Home
Volunteers are needed to
distribute literature for the
CLEAVER-HOCHMAN CAMPAIGN
translation of a broadcast editorial
from Red Flag, Peking's main the-
oretical journal, "China's Khrush-
chev" - President Liu Shao-chi -
has been stripped of party and
government positions in a "com-
plete victory" for the forces of
Party Chairman Mao.
The editorial - reflected confi-
dence that Liu's end is at hand.
His final overthow may await the
calling of a Communist party con-
gress, and for this reason Llu may
still not be denounced by name
even though in fact he may be
thoroughly defeated.
The Chinese party's statutes re-
quire a congress every five years.
There has been no congress, how-
ever, since the eighth in 1956, a
dozen years ago. A congress, sup-
posedly the supreme party body to
which provincial organizations
send delegates, is required to name
a new central committee, which in
turn names the Politburo and
other ruling organs.
There have been signs that
Mao's followers wanted to call a
congress this year, and were wait-
ing only until they felt victory
secure enough. A propitious date,
Oct. 1, already has passed. That
was the anniversary of the Com-
munist takeover of the mainland.
If, however, the Maoists have
imposed "revolutionary conmit-
tees' on all the provinces as they
claim, it would be easy enough to
transform those committees into
the present-day party and call a
congress. That congress could of-
fically remove Lin Shao-chi from
his post of vice chairman of the
party. It would then be simple
enough to have the National
People's Congress, a sort of par-
liament, remove him as its chair-
man-president of China.
The signs now are that China
is in the hands of a group of 13
leaders under Mao, with defense
minister Lin Piao wielding the real
power in the name of "Mao Tse-
tung's thinking." Lin has been
designated Mao's heir apparent.
If China is going to seek sta-
bility after two uproarious years
of violence, it must reconstruct a
ruling party. The party as it existed
at the Eighth Congress in 1956 no
longer exists. Of its 99 central com-
mittee members, about 75 have
been purged or denounced. Of the
20 Politburo members in 1956, 13
have been denounced in the
course of the cultural revolition.
the
news today
b The Associated Press and College Press Service
BOMBING RAIDS CONTINUED against North Viet-
nam while American and South Vietnamese spokesmen
met for the fourth time, presumably. on the question of
suspending the air strikes.
U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker conferred for an hour
yesterday w i t h South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van
Thieu after Thieu had balked at signing a joint declaration
proposed by Washington at an earlier meeting on Wednesday.
Informed sources said Thieu wants further concessions
from Hanoi before he will agree to a U.S. bombing halt.
The lull in the ground fighting, which has lasted for more
than two weeks continued as the number of Americans killed
in action was the lowest for eight weeks.
DESPITE SAIGON'S RESISTANCE, the United States
continued its bombing halt consultations with its allies
yesterday but the White House kept tight silence on the
latest developments in the new peace moves.
Details of the latest U.S. offer to the North Vietnamese
in Paris have not been made public, but President Johnson's
avowed policy, reaffirmed by the White House Wedpesday, is
to halt the bombing if this would quickly produce serious
peace negotiatioms and "Hanoi would not take advantage of
our restraint."
The United States is consulting its war allies under the
normal practice of discussing potential policy --practical or
diplomatic moves with them. However the final decision still
rests with Johnson.
RICHARD NIXON offered Republican support yester-
day for a pause in the bombing of North Vietnam - if
President Johnson were to take that action.
Nixon said he would support a bombing pause if it would
not endanger U.S. troops and if it would enhance the chances
for an honorable peace.
He added it was for Johnson to determine whether stop-
ping the bombing would enhance peace prospects without en-
dangering American lives.
AS APOLLO 7 enters\ the seventh successful day of its
mission a top Space Agency official in Houston said the
final decision to send Apollo 8 around the moon or not
will not be made until mid November.
The decision will be made after a complete analysis is
made of the data from Apollo 7.
If Apollo 8 does attempt a moon orbit, the earliest pos-
sible time the launch can be attempted is Dec. 20 when the
moon will move into a favorable target position.
SOVIET TROOPS began settling into permanent
quarters in Czechoslovakia yesterday under the terms of
the new treaty dictated by the Kremlin.
As Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin returned to Moscow,
Czechoslovak Premier Oldrich Cernik and other Czech leaders
maintained their cool but correct attitude toward the Rus-
sians.
Although the exact terms of the treaty were kept secret,
it is known that some Soviet forces along with troops from
Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria will be with-
drawn in the coming months.
HURRICANE GLADYS churned harmlessly in t h e
Gilf of Mexico yesterday due to a high pressure zone to
the east of Florida.
Until yesterday afternoon it was feared that Gladys with
her 90 mile per hour winds would veer into the heavily popu-
lated Tampa Bay area.
The storm has already killed one person and inflicted
considerable damage in Cuba.
There was evidence that Gladys had already reached the
peak of her development and was weakening. A hurricane
hunter aircraft later measured her winds at a maximum of
75 m.p.h.
THE MOSCOW DRAMA THEATER h a s 'dropped 'a
production by Yevgeny Yevtushenko, apparently because
of the poet's outspoken protest of the Soviet policy toward
Czechoslovakia.
Although no reason was given for dropping the work,
which condemned Stalinism and anti-semitism, observers be-
lieve the move was a reaction to a violent protest telegram
which Yevtushenko sent to the Kremlin last August following
the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia.
JACQUELINE KENNEDY plans to marry one of the
world's richest men, Aristotle Onassis, more than 20 years
her senior.
The wedding is expected to take place next week, but the
time and place were said to be as yet undetermined.
The announcement was made by Mrs. Kennedy's mother,
Mrs. Hugh D. Auchincloss, in Washington yesterday after-
noon.
IN PERSON
PAT PAULSEN
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EXPANDED CINEMA is a revolution. A new way of seeing. A new way of thinking. A new
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rachel, rachel is a double-barreled triumph! Joanne Wood-
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