Seventy-First Year EDITED AND MANAGFD BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MIChiIGAN Where Opinions Are Free UNDER AUTH[ORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBI ICATIONS Truth Will Prevail" STUDENT PUB ICATIONS BT DG. * ANN ARBOR, MiCH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Editorials printed in The Michigan Dail y ex press the individual opinions of stag writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. FARM LABORERS: Employment Practices Need Reform 4w TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1961 NIGHT EDITOR: RUTH EVENHUIS Soblen Verdict Harsh, Inhumane THE ESPIONAGE TRIAL of Dr. Robert Sob- len, which set one brother against another, ended tragically for the 61-year-old psychia- trist yesterday. United States District Court Judge William B. Herlands sentenced Soblen, already doomed by cancer, to life imprison- ment. Soblen was charged with turning over secret American data to Soviet agents over a 20-year span, including information from the Office of Strategic Services, a top secret World War II agency. ONE OF THE KEY WITNESSES in the case against Soblen was his 57-year-old brother Jack, who ns now serving a seven year term for participation in the same spy ring as his brother. The elder Soblen is suffering from cancer of the blood and is not expected to live another year. In passing his sentence, Judge Herlands, interestingly enough, bypassed the death penalty he could have imposed. Reporters interpreted this as an attempt to "spare" Soblen from the severest possible sen- tence. Surely, for all concerned, the' death penalty might seem instead, the most merciful and economic course of action. FOR SOBLEN, a year of slow and painful dying could have been bypassed. As a free man, outside prison bars, he might even had made the decision to cut his life short rather than undergo severe pain and be a financial burden to his family. That freedom, too, has now been taken away. As a prisoner with cancer, Soblen will be denied even the comforting hope of eventual recovery from his fatal organic disease. In the back of his mind, (if he is lucky enough to hold it there) will always be the knowledge that his physical recovery only leads to existence in a cell, closed forever. He faces either im- minent death or a living death. HERLANDS further frustrated his family and Soblen himself by setting an excessive bond - $100,000. Defense attorneys called the figure prohibitive and said Soblen had no chance of posting it. Thus, while the defense appeals his con- viction and sentence, Soblen will remain be- hind bars, uncertain of his legal future while cancer makes deeper inroads within his body. He will again be denied the sustenance and love of his family, the comfort of his home. If Soblen remains a prisoner as his cancer grows more severe, he will cost the taxpayer quite a bit of money to hospitalize and take care of. At home, under private medical care, he would obviously be given more attention and medication and it would be at private expense. The state then is in a dilemma: to be hu- mane, it must either execute Soblen or set him free. But neither of these choices is acceptable. Capital punishment is nowhere justified. But Soblen is a convicted spy, and his conviction will doubtless be upheld. THE SENTENCE of life imprisonment be- comes for Soblen the worst possible sen- tence, the most stringent and painful. Is this the function of the court system and justice? Some people would argue that it is just this: to meet severe infractions of the law with equally severe physical and mental punish- ments. Without here delving into problems of this position (for example, how do you properly "equate" a theft or a murder with a given number of prison years) I would reject it and claim that the courts should exist to regulate behavior according to the law and help those who break it to recognize and display the ac- ceptable reactions to the law. For Soblen, the courts and the prisons can not do this. A dying man with a long career of espionage will gain nothing from a few months of "institutional correction." The law must be flexible and humane enough to allow even the suspension of sentence for convicted spies. For they, too, are men and our society exists for their ultimate good, not punishment. -MICHAEL OLINICK The Dave Brubeck Quartet Jazz Greats Star in Festival T HE AMERICAN MUSIC FES- tival, which many persist in terming simply the jazz festival, hit Detroit last weekend with the biggest array of talent seen under one roof in years. Featuring both vocal and in- strumental music, Producer Ed Sarkesian brought in a variety of nationally-known top artists and two local groups that got the program off to a swinging success Saturday. The big names were there: Dave Brubeck, Four Freshmen, Julie London. Equally well-known to jazz buffs of any degree, Wes Montgomery, Pete Fountain and Bobby Troup entertained the au- dience of some 11,000 that braved the rain to visit the Cobo Hall Convention Arena. * * * THIS WAS THE THIRD annual festival but the first to be staged in the recently-completed Cobo Hall. Past shows had been held in the State Fair Ground Col- liseum. The colorful seats and lighting provided a perfect back- drop for the all-star presentation but the acoustics proved unsatis- factory in part of the arena. Vocal renditions were especially difficult to decipher due to the distortion by sound reflection. Australian-born Jack Brokensha started the four and one-half hour festival with his quartet. Broken- sha's performance on the vibes set the crowd for, an exciting evening. Another example of excellent local talent was the Father Dus- tin Septet, gayly bedecked in glazers as loud as the Dixieland they played. Leader of the group, Father Joseph Dustin, dressed in the somber black of the clergy, plucked his banjo and. belted out LAND REFORM: Iran Undertakes Long-Rang9e Program Study Abroad Valuable TE NEW junior year in France program to be co-sponsored by the University and the University of Wisconsin is an excellent prospect -- and, hopefully, only the first step in a con- tinuing expansion of this type of program. A junior year abroad for students majoring in a foreign language, especially students who plan eventually to teach the langauge, should be mandatory. In most European universities the cost of tuition and room and board is no more than the same costs at the University for out state students. With the exception of travel costs, ,which for students seldom exceed $400, it is really true that a year abroad costs no more than a year at home. AND the benefits to be gained from a year in Europe are immeasurable, even if the student is not majoring in a foreign language but studying literature or the social sciences. At the present time an ever-increasing num- ber of University students are spending their junior years in France and England. A few are also going to Spain, Germany or some of the-Scandinavian countries. However, with most of the present junior year abroad arrangement, students must de- sign a course of study in the foreign country by themselves and then, having carefully gone over each credit hour with an advisor, wait un- til they return to the University before they can be certain their credits will be accepted. Keeps Mum BRAZIL'S PRESIDENT JANIO QUADROS ordered his justice Ministry Thursday to warn United Press International against trans- mitting what he called "distorted, inexact and malicious news." The press service, which teletypes thousands and thousands of words everyday, probing every side of any controversial issue, questing and demanding answers from embarrased or uncooperative public and private officials, took the role of its own worst enemy. Its reaction to Quadros' attack was a flat "No Comment." -M. O. HE MAIN PROBLEM seems to be that most European universities do not require regular attendance and do not give examinations. In some instances, instructors agree to give a special examination for the American students or correct papers they write. In such cases, the credit students receive upon their return usually depends on the rec- ommendation of the European instructor and the kindly disposition of the University de- partment to which the returning students pre- sent their credits. In certain cases this is not true. Most stu- dents taking their junior year at the Sorbonne (and at some other schools) know in advance exactly what requirements they will be ful- filling and exactly how many credits they may be assured for their senior year. But in other instances, the University is un- derstandably reluctant to make any promises beforehand. WITH A JUNIOR YEAR ABROAD becoming economically feasible for so many stu- dents, however, the University ought to make an all-out effort to encourage travel. European universities should be contacted and requested to furnish enough information so that the University could, in nearly every case, advise the student what courses to take there and assure him of the minimum number of credits he will earn. All foreseeable obstacles should be met by the University so that students, instead of tak- ing a junior year abroad at their own risk, do so with the blessing and encouragement of the University and without having to sacrifice credit hours. If necessary, certain distribution requirements might even be waived, if doing so would permit a student to study abroad and still graduate in four years. THE PROGRAM with France is an excellent beginning. Similar programs with England, Germany, Spain, the Scandinavian countries and, if possible, the Soviet Union should be organized as soon as possible. A first-hand look at another country and a real speaking experience with foreign languages are worth a great deal more than many hours in the language lab or the library. -JUDITH OPPENHEIM iTEHERAN, Iran - The noisiest people in Iran, politically, are the students. With Iran's teachers, they toppled the government that preceded that of Ali Amini. Premier Amini recognized their importance a few days ago by promising a deputation of Teheran University students a special hall and a special public square where they would be free to demonstrate and "vent their feelings and grouses." But for the long run, the Amini government is seeking the support of the great silent mass of Iran's peasants who constitute 80 per cent of the population. They are relatively silent be- cause only five per cent of them are literate. They are accustomed to having their landlord think and speak for them and tell them how to vote. BUT AMINI - with the ap- proval of Shah Mohammed Riza Pahlevi - believes the new gener- ation of Iranian peasants who own their own land will think for themselves. The Shah has recognized throughout his nineteen - year reign that the system must change. As the biggest landowner of all he began giving away his own lands to peasant tenants and has urged the few hundred land- lords who dominate the country- side to do likewise. No one took him seriously. Now the Shah, having distri- buted the land of about half of the 1,000 villages he owned, has de- cided that the time has come to bring other landlords into line. S * * * THE DISTPTBUTION of the Shah's own lands is to be finished by the end of the year. Land in the public domain is to be dis- tributed in the next three months and the break-up of big private estates is to start within a few months. The main obstacle to this social and economic transformation is not resistance by the landlords. They are resigned. The :eatest obstacle is the ig- norance of the peasants and the lack of trained men to work as agents in the villages and help to organize cooperatives. This is in sharp contrast to the Far East, * * * OTHER OBSTACLES in Iran are the lack of precise records that show who owns what. Also the maintenance of an elaborate irrigation system based on wells requires central direction or co- operation that is beyond the abili- ties of most peasants. The distribution of the Shah's lands has gone well thus far. Par- cels of land are apraised and then discounted 20 per cent. The re- cipient has twenty-five years to pay off the price and his payments go into a fund handled by a bank. The fund will be used in perpetuio' for land improvement. A pilot project in thirty-eight villages of the Shah's former lands fifteen miles soLth of Teheran has cost $11 million, mainly for special training and communications. The agricultural college at Ka- raj outside Teheran is gradually expanding at a rate of 250 stu- dents a year. * * * HERE IS WHERE United States aid is most directly influencing tlje future of Iranian peasants. There five Americans from Utan, headed by Clark Ballatd, advisor to the dean, are instilling an American "get your hands dirty,- farming philosophy among stu- dents previously accustomed to a French theoretical approach ttiat was meant to lead to an appoint- ment in a government office. Copyright 1961, The New York Times old standards in a husky voice with unmatched enthusiasm. * * * TO SAY that the Brubeck Quar- tet was great is only to repeat the obvious. With Paul Desmond on sax, Gene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on drums the ;roup proved, as expected, to be the highlight of the evening. Morello captivated the audience with his drum solo performance. The Four Freshmen, with a combination of jokes, instru- mentals and vocals lived up to their reputations - but it was clear that their performance was a little longer than some would have liked. Jazz guitar, still among the step- children of the jazz world, is dif- ficult to put over in a large au- ditorium. It demands the intimacy of a small club. And so Wes Mon- tegomery was immediately at a disadvantage in attempting to demonstrate his ability wik the strings. But the technical perfec- tion which he possesses was evi- dent to those who could see his flying fingers. He, too, suffered from the sound distortion of his amplifier. COMPOSER-ARRANGER Bobby Troup appeared next. His "inging efforts were definitely not of the caliber of thecother artists. His voice is not exceptional and it was extremely difficult to understand his lyrics. Troup persisted in fall- ing into a whispering voice for effect, but the only effect was a disinterested audience. Troup's wife, Julie London fol- lowed. With a mixture of sounds ranging from the slow and misty to the sweet and swinging, she re- captured the ears 'of the crowd. Miss London even sang two en- cores, the only artist who did so. Then as the crowds dwindled, Pete Fountain's group came on to present a rousing collection of music from the 'forties. The group, led by New Orleans clarinetist Fountain, provided an excellent ending to the first night of the third annual Detroit jazz extra.va- ganza. -Michael Burns Unreasoned "I.4Fear SPEAK most respectfully when I say that I do not propose to let the population of West Ber- lin determine this issue for the Western powers. It was not so many years ago that there existed in Europe another form of totali- tarian government known as Nazi Germany, which killed thousands upon thousands of American boys and boys of other Western powers, and exterminated some six mil- lion Jews. "Here is one senator who has always taken the position . . . that it is not safe for the peace of the world to give nuclear weapons to the West Germans." -Sen. Wayne Morse By FREDERICK ULEMAN Special To The Daily G RIDLEY,California-There are basically three kinds of agri- cultural workers: migratory, local and imported. The migratory farm labor force, although the best known group, is estimated to have shrunk from 113,000 to 65,000 people be- tween.1949 and 1959..It is this diminishing group which travels from state to state, following the crops throughout the year and having no real home. The locals have a permanent residence and go from there to their various jobs. They usually make their homes in an area cen- tral to the work and are eligible to vote. Their children attend a single school during the year. The imported workers, known as braceros and distinguished from the domestics, are brought to the United States under Pub- lic Law 78 from Mexico as sup- plementary workers. Under the bracero system, the Mexican male is issued a temporary permit to live and work in the United States; his, family must stay in Mexico. He is brought to a farm labor camp and isolated from the outside world except for the time he is working. When he will work, where he will work, how long he will work, what he will eat, where he may go, how much he shall be paid, and other aspects of his life are all regulated. * * * BECAUSE the typical bracero speaks only Spanish, it is com- mon for him to be paid less than the correct amount and then charged a fee for having the check cashed. Thus the Mexican worker who is supposed to be supporting his family in Mexico is barely able to support himself in the United States. Should he- try to escape from the system after having been imported, he isaimmediately considered an illegal immigrant and sent back to Mexico. Contractors play the role of middle-men between growers and laborers. Their function is to find workers for the farmers and see that the work gets done. In ef- fect, contractors agree to do the work at a set rate and thenhire workers at a slightly lower rate. Once the job is agreed upon, there are three ways workers can be obtained. * * * THE FIRST METHOD, and the least used, is to send a bus to the city and pick up those unemployed who want to work in the fields. This recruitment method only can take a limited number of people and leaves many of those without any other means of transportation jobless. It is increasingly used to get scab labor in the event. of a farm labor strike. Another way for the contractor to obtain workers is to hire imported braceros. The most common method is for the domestics to arrive at the field and sign up with the contractor to work. Under this plan, the only work the contractor does is write separate checks for the workers from the master check which he receives from the grower. Under Public Law 78, domestic labor must be hired in preference to braceros. In theory, the em- ployed braceros must even be re- placed to make room for any do- mestics seeking work. In prac- tice, however, it is very difficult for domestics to replace braceros in the fields. This employment conflict is one of the main issues facing any group which tries to organize farm labor. * * * IN THIS CONFLICT there have been numerous grower associations helping to thwart organization at- tempts and two major groups on the side of labor. The Community Service Organization (CSO) is composed mostly of people of Mexican origin and was the group which tried to get enforcement of the law requiring replacement of braceros by domestics. The other group, which was affiliated with the AFL-CIO, is the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). This group began oper- ations in June of 1959, with the CSO's withdrawing in favor of it, with the purpose of unionizing the farm laborers to replace bra- ceros, get higher wages and im- prove working conditions. At that time, AWOC was given an allotment of $100,000 for the first year by the AFL-CIO Execu- tive Committee with another $100,- 000 promised for the second year. Since then, AWOO has reduced the number of braceros employed by 75 per cent and wages have been raised by approximately 25 cents per hour in its area of operation. During the course of two years it had more than 100 strikes among its membership and collected approximately $50,000. BUT IN JUCE of this year, the AFL-CIO executive council term- ed the AWOC ineffective and with- draw both financial support and recognition. As a result of this action, the farm laborers' union has several possible courses of ac- tion open to them. It is very like- ly that the Teamsters Union would be anxious to organize farm labor. Another alternative is to allow former AWOC members to join an established branch of the AFL- CIO and stop trying to separately unionize. Such a branch might be the Amalgamated Meat Cut- ters and Butcher Workmen - a small union with neither the man- power nor money of the Teamsters for organization purposes. A third possibility is to have the farm laborers attempt to form their own union, without outside aid and domination. In any case, the pos- sibility that the vast numbers of agricultural workers will remain non-union for an extensive per- iod of time is very small. THE POSSIBILITY that the farmers fear most and which seems most likely is that the Teamsters will attempt to union- ize agricultural wokers. It seems most likely in view of the strength of Hoffa's attitude about unioniz- ing unorganized labor and the weakness of the other possibilities. And it is feared because of the vast power and resources at the Teamsters' disposal. Should they decide to enter the field, they would be able to utilize their pow- er in both the shipping industry and at the canneries to insure the use of union-picked produce. They would also' be able to pre- serve picket lines against scab la- bor more easily than would the other unions. There is even a feel- ing among some farmers that it would have been wise to recognize and negotiate with ,AWOC in or- der to have avoided the Team- sters. * * * IF THE TEAMSTERS were to unionize farm labor, they would also be able to get favorable leg islation passed in the California legislature, which is presently dominated by the growers. Not only would they use their own power, but cooperation from Har- ry Bridges' longeshoremen's union is likely. The only group favoring farm laborers which presently has a strong voice in California politics is the CSO. This group, with its approximately 2,600 membership, is partially able to offset the growers' dollars by vast voter reg- istration drives and is said to have been responsible for the election of the present Los Angeles mayor and several members of the state legislature. Some of the, legislation which would most certainly be beneficial involves the inclusion of farm workers under a minimum wage bill, the establishment of mini- mum workin gconditiols, the right to unionize, and the right to en- gage in collective bargaining. One of the main problems is that many of the bills which are passed to improve the lot of the working man have a clause to the effect that the law does not apply to agricultural workers. #4, 1 FEIFFEP 06 v6c*f AM69ICAP~ lourfH! Loyal Opposition? W&6~6 ATT1ACK ,14 A LArCOI- OUT T'HAN CAMC' THE COINaO THAT tWAFL WAS INCVJ%36V0.- 106 K M12tZHAD -To 61CV6 P PA2(Ai6THE PAP R5 L' GC~T eA51CE5 2 x CAu" 1 CM' s i CAM fC L 1' vFo e6'rf TFOP P41 6W5 r 00002 SNAPS' - AML? 16 CAME -ft LWAoIAI4 CR6J15. IT 566w*THAT WOAP, WAe 1NEVITABL.C Mu 86ARI07G %AMrev aoTrte'~jo6 ME'A00 Z12FAD TOC 61V6 OPP 14%CUJG TW 1RAU'IO MJW; UP fit A OWARN& Alp. WHAT DO 1R~q MN AO~ OUT OF SHAPE'? I GOOK L)pop .)M(.S W' A4 -MG AK)t} IT IS HARD to understand the reasoning of the Republican opposition in Washington. It eagerly supported President Kennedy when he asked for more money for an arms build-up. Because of the Berlin crisis, the need for a greater military "deterent" is universally ac- knowledged. R fn colv.._ -nt- - - ni nn- of n t-rr -t~r publicans want to cut down on goes to support the things we should be defending - schools and conservation and water supplies. An opposition party might be expected to look over the request for more military funds with suspicion, to say the least. But when it comes to guns there is no opposition party - that would be treasonnous. National suicide is EVJ1 OU1fSIQ6 OF BUMPIIJ& 10T4 THI~gc7A&W' INEVER Q0156 0300WK WAT WAS eC-010 QTHNEAR- QT~ SRTA1NW i%