w E1 Sixty-Ninth Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Vhen Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS Truth Will Prevail" STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. "What's All the Fuss About a Little Carpeting ---- VISITING AMERICA Belgium's Baudouin Silent, Withdrawn By FRED CHEVAL Associated Press Correspondent BRUSSELS (P)-If monarchs still were tagged with descriptive labels, the youthful King of Belgium might go down in history as Baudouin the Silent. For His Majesty the King, Baudouin Albert Charles Leopold Axel Marie Gustave, Prince of Belgium, is stern and withdrawn. He seldom I1 \1 I "'N 1r .TURDAY, MAY 16, 1959 NIGHT EDITOR: JUDITH DONER Smeekens Bill Merely Stopgap .- 4 r'HE RECENTLY approved Smeekens bill is a patch-but a necessary one-in view of the fact that partisan politics are blocking any remedy to the state's financial ills. The bill authorized the treasurer to pay out some $10,600,000 to the 26,000 state employes who missed last week's paycheck by diverting funs earmarked for other purposes. Those who expected more from the bill will be disap- pointed, for it was intended to provide a "short respite" and not a long-range solution to the deplorable condition of the treasury. Although the patchwork device to "quick cash"- may be disparaged for what it is in theory, it cannot be criticized for what it does in practice. For without the Smeekens bill state employes might be minus a month's pay. As it Russian Note SOME OF THE: educational advances noted by President Hatcher in his inspection of seven Soviet universities could well be applied here, although on a somewhat more limited scale, if the rumored Michigan-Kiev professor- ial exchange is effected. In summing up his impressions of the Soviet educational system, President Hatcher noted many favorable ones. First, he believes that the, rapid advance- ment of Soviet society has been motivated by superior educational standards. Next, he praises the drive, energy, pioneering spirit and high competence of Soviet higher education, as well as "a spirit of competition all the way through the Soviet education sys- tem." At the universities of Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Tiflis, Tashkent, Samarkand and Irkussk, he notes the impact of the scientific attitude on the humanities. The latter are not being skimped for the sake of science, but rather benefitting from it, he said. And the students? They enter college "won- derfully well prepared," with "excellent study habits" and "widespread and good" reading habits, he said. President Hatcher calls their use of libraries exceptional and their pursuit of extracurricular activities, which are tied into serious subjects, broadening. With a professorial exchange, trends in University education might systematically and chronologically follow the development of the first sputniks. -NORMA SUE WOLFE now appears the next paycheck, due Wednes- day, will not be met. The facts are clear: people must eat to live and have money if they are to eat. It is better to miss one paycheck than two, especially when the possibility of missing a third is not out of the question. HOWEVER, the Legislature will not have Smeekens bills around forever . . . and patches do not make the strongest quilts. As of June 30, the state will face a $100 million deficit . and as of now there is no plan acceptable to both parties to offset it. Although the second defeat of the "use tax" in the House has prompted Governor G. Men- nen Williams and other Democrats to express confidence that a compromise can be worked out, strong statements by Republican legisla- tors directly contradict these. Those at the helm of the House- GOP sales tax drive insist they "haven't given up" and Senate Republicans are adamant, "No income tax of any kind." Until the time when both parties realize that compromise is inevitable the Conlin Plan-a. $140 million tax package geared to a fiat rate personal income tax-will not even be seriously considered. 'Pet it, is this plan, or a variation of it, that offers the best solution to the crisis, incorporating into it features of both Demo- cratic and Republican tax proposals. Proposed by Rep. Rollo G. Conlin (R-Tipton), chairman of the House taxation committee, the plan basically follows the tax recommendations. of Gov. Williams and the Citizens Tax Study Committee, except for its flat rate feature. Both the governor and the dommittee favor a gradu- ated personal income tax, exempting low in- cqme groups. T[HE WILLIAMS and Conlin proposals are alike in that they both request a five per cent corporate profits levy and a seven per cent tax on the net incomes of financial institu- tions. On the other sides Conlin has modifiedI the Republican "use tax" plan to a mere exten- sion of the sales tax on some items which are now exempt. There is no reason for the state to go from bad to worse when the Conlin Plan offers a workable solution to its financial problems. If the men in Lansing were to get off their respec- tive elephants and donkeys for even one legis- lative meeting, it is possible that such a com- promise could be realized. -JUDITH BONER Lyh l -ro 41 19 i c t # CON w -1