---piip block
E1 e £iiriigan Daily
Seventy-nine years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
Harvey prepares for battle
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News Phone: 764-05521
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1969
NIGHT EDITOR: JUDY SARASOHN
-1
Let's
put the bookstore
in North Hall
THE LEADERSHIP of the left on this
campus is badly splintered by conflicts
both of personality and of politics. SDS
refuses to take on the issue of a Univer-
sity bookstore. Radical Caucus refuses to
wholeheartedly support anti-ROTC, anti-
war research agitation.
Bad politics! Bad tactics! Elitism Ir-
relevant! It has become almost impos-
sible to tell who is calling who what these
days.
TWO NIGHTS AGO less than sixty stu-
dents took the ROTC building in the
middle of the night, and within two hours
nearly 2000 people were there. Two hours
after that at least 500 had made a defin-
ite commitment to stay the night and
face police in support of their brothers
and sisters inside.
Typically, the momentum bogged down
in leadership rhetoric later and everyone
became disheartened-but the action was
already a clear success because it had
provided a phenomenal show of strength
unprecedented on this campus. On short-
term notice with no newspaper, radio or
tv, more people showed up to commit
themselves for an unknown group of
people with unclear demands than the
usual "leadership" can draw to t h e i r
much-publicized noon rallies.
WHAT NOW? Monday night we saw a
spirit of camaraderie and joy that
must not be lost or dissipated. What has
distinguished our generation is not its
lucid demands or carefully argued rhe-
toric but a spirit of togetherness and
energy directed in force against the war
and authoritarianism that plague our
world.
On this campus we have the opportun-
ity to draw the fragments of our move-
ment together within the next few days
on issues that most students on the left
can endorse in whole or part without
much problem. Because of the nature of
the splintered leadership here, there have
been problems in tying the issues to-
gether, but a comparison of the members
of Monday night's crowd with the crowd
at the Regents' meeting on Friday indi-
cates that there is a great, great degree
of overlap in the people supporting each
movement.
THE TIME is ripe to demand that the
"leaders" of the left on this campus
either get themselves together or get
away from the microphone. We as stu-
dents should make the following demands
on the administration of this University
and follow them up with militant action:
* The University bookstore - L a s t
Spring's referendum and peaceful nego-
tiations have been met by a cagey ad-
ministration with half-truths and coopta-
tion. We demand a student-run univer-
sity bookstore to be financed as approved
in the SGC referendum of March, 1969.
" ROTC and war research - We find
ourselves saddled with a University Presi-
dent who delivers smooth speeches de-
manding withdrawal of the United States
from Vietnam while he significantly sup-
ports that presence allowing the ROTC
program and the University's very size-
able - defense department contracts to
continue unabated. We demand the term-
ination of the University's ROTC pro-
gram and all contracts with the Depart-
ment of Defense within one year.
* Judicial oppression - In a bizarre
statement a couple of weeks ago Presi-
dent Fleming announced that people who
take unsavory action against the func-
tioning of the University would be -sub-
jected to the double jeopardy of civil and
University prosecution. To justify the
statement he used the sham of the Uni-
versity's inability to prosecuty non-stu-
dents, but clearly the intent of the state-
ment was or scare students out of partici-
pating inasuch action. Since then the jeo-
pardy has again been doubled by in-
nuendo to include both faculty and stu-
dent judiciary prosecution.
These clearly are terrorist tactics.
If the President were concerned about
the presence of non-student he c o u I d
specify civil prosecution for all and no
University prosecution for those who are
officially affiliated. We demand that the
double jeopardy statement be revoked.
IT IS OUR feeling that these three
demands reflect the general sentiment of
the students on this campus. There are,
of course, significant disagreements on
tactics and ultimate goals, but even YAF
chairman Mike Modelski has said that he
considers ROTC "obnoxious."
The leadership of the left on this cam-
pus and throughout the country has be-
come splintered and competitive, but the
main body of young people is unified in
spirit and direction, if not in rhetoric.
On this campus, these three points can
be presented to the administration as
concrete demands, and if they are not
granted then we feel students have no
choice but to act. We therefore propose
that the bookstore rally today consider
not just the bookstore, but also some sort
of ratification of these and/or similar de-
mands to be presented the administra-
t ion.
If rejected again, we feel students have
no choice but to occupy the administra-
tion building until the demands are met.
The demands have been patiently and
justly presented. The building belongs to
the students.
-JOEL BLOCK
-PHILIP BLOCK
-JOHN GRAY
LATE MONDAY night, I watched Sheriff
Douglas Harvey mobilize his vast com-
mand in anticipation of the arrest of 57
anti-ROTC demonstrators barricaded in
North Hall.
It was a sight for the sore eyes of
every good citizen. After all Washtenaw
County citizens are paying nearly $1
million for Harvey's antics and we're na-
turally curious to know how it's spent.
For last night's planned escapade, Harv-
ey mobilized an army of approximately 65
deputies-30 dressed in the latest "riot
control" gear with armored vests-36 inch
riot clubs, helmets and masks, shotguns,
two police dogs, eight squad cars, a van
loaded with teargas equipment and a bus.
Harvey's mobilization exercises show-
ed an almost childish approach to t h e
problems of "law enforcement." Report-
ers and interested spectators were denied
access to the sidewalk adjacent to the
Sheriff's Department parking lot where
the deputies massed. In true paranoic
fashion the deputies reckoned that ac-
curate estimates of Harvey's troop strength
and weaponry could prove harmful to his
offensive.
AT 12:30 A.M. two deputies carried a
heavy black trunk to a sheriff's van
parked in the lot. One deputy saw me
across the street with notebook in hand
and yelled: "Hey, what are you doing
there? Do you think this is a free coun-
try?"
I said nothing; apparently they saw me
as a potential spy. Then they returned the
black trunk (undoubtedly filled with tear
gas grenades) into the building's garage
and backed in the van. They continued
loading the van in privacy.
An important aspect of the- escalating
war with the police is Harvey's persistent
morning. It is possible that Harvey had
to compromise his original intent for an
immediate bust. It's tempting to believe
that Harvey is feeling pressure from more
establishment-oriented Ann Arbor lead-
ers. But his original plan to bust North
Hall on his own indicates how he will act
in the future.
THE MOST amazing aspect of the rela-
tions between the left and the police is
their collapse into open conflict; and the
police recognize this. Just as the left views
the police and the capitalist establishment
as a monolithic opponent, the police feel
or think they feel the unflinching hatred
of the left, bent upon their constant ha-
rassment.
Harvey's troopers yesterday exuded the
spirit of a football team. Harvey's call for
deputies met a tumultuous response. A
hundred cars poured into the two park-
ing lots located near the Sheriff's depart-
ment building. The Deputies were in high
spirits and joked about how easy "this
one was going to be."
In their minds there was no question
of whethar someone was breaking the law.
They only had ,to know that the "hippies"
and the "lefties" were causing trouble
again and that they had to be stopped.
IT IS AN open war and you are on one
side or the other. Police administrators are
ceasing their efforts to pour out public re-
lations statements claiming their interest
in defending everyone's rights. I am not
contending this conflict hasn't existed for
many years. But no longer is there even
the pretense by the police of playing
a disinterested party. They acknowledge
their roles as preservers of the status quo.
We have only to look at Richard Daley's
famous outburst: "The police are not here
to create disorder; they are here is pre-
sorve disorder."
attempt to emerge as the militant Sheriff
trying to do his duty despite the hind-
rance of the "liberal civilian authorities."
At 11:30 Monday night Harvey told me
he definitely was going to make arrests as
soon as his men were mobilized. At 1:50
a.i 65' of his min left the station in
parade formation apparently to make
Harvey's promised arrests. But the troops
only went to a staging area somewhere
north of the city where they eventually
received word that the protesters had "es-
caped from the building."
Harvey had more thon enough time to
make arrests on his own. Perhaps he
hadn't acted after his men were mobilized
because a joint effort with the Ann Ar-
bor Police had been set for 5:00 that
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
In support of the Conspiracy
To the Editor:
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 24, is the
first day of the trial of the Chi-
cago Conspiracy. The eight men
who make up the Conspiracy are
the first to be charged with viola-
tion of the new federal "Anti-Riot"
Act. Among the men are leaders
of the student, youth, anti-war,
and black movements. When the
"Anti-Riot" Act was passed as
part o fthe 1968 Civil Rights Bill.
it was intended to be used against
H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael.
and other black leaders. This law
makes it a crime to "intend" to
encourage "any person to parti-
cipate in . . . an act of violence
by one or more persons part of an
assemblage of three ... which ...
shall result in . . . injury to the
property of any other person . . ."
"Hurricane Camille? . .. No,
hurricane Mitchell !"
.j
In other words, no damage or in-
jury need actually occur for a per-
son to be liable for conviction
under this Act. His "intent" is on
trial, not his deed.
This new law is A direct threat
to the. political freedom of all
citizens. It ignores the fact that
the sources of frustration (and
consequently disruption) in our
society are the militaristic Amer-
ican foreign policy, racism, unem-
ployment, inflation, and a cor-
porate system which exalts profit
over the lives of human beings.
The "Anti-Riot" Act does not at-
tempt to understand these in-
equities in American society. It
imposes penalties on people for the
effects of the inequities (le, riots),
rather than making any attempt
to correct the ills themselves.
Americans must 'ally to support
the efforts of the Conspiracy Eight
to defend our basic freedoms.
These men are fighting for rights
which Black Berets, White Pan-
thers, and the "Argus" staff in
Ann Arbor are losing.
PEOPLE FROM Ann Arbor have
responded to thisbnationwide and
local repression by forming the
Ann Arbor Conspiracy. We will
raise money for the Chicago Con-
spiracy and will inform others
about the nature of the "Anti-
Riot' law and nationwide oppres-
sion. We are organized to try to
stop political repression. The loss
of free speech, which is implied
in the new federal law, is the fore-
runner of fascism, and must be
stopped.
-Ann Arbor Conspiracy
Sept. 23
Mob anger
To the Editor:
THE FRIDAY NIGHT (Sept. 19
Teach-In in Hill Auditorium leaves
me worried. I went to the Teach-
In out of real concern about this
terrible war and the urgency of
ending it. I came away with a new
concern.
The mob anger shown by so
many of the students filled Hill
Auditorium with an atmosphere
of hatred and violence. All of us
were there as opponents of op-
pression. Yet most of the audi-
ence crushed with hisses and bones
any of the speakers' remarks which
went contrary to what they wanted
to hear. That, to me, is oppression.
It was like being in the middle of
a movie of the Third Reich's Hitler
Youth organization, which wanted
to issue in the perfect world-
except the Nazi youth, in the
movies I have seen, were not puff-
ing cigarettes or putting their feet
on the seats.
When President Fleming fin-
ished speaking, (and he spoke
eloquently againstthe war) one
girl shreiked, "It's all words!"
Obviously, the militants among
these students have no respect
for words, or sincere thoughtful-
ness about the many problems in
our society. They want only im-
mediate action in the campaign
Rennie Davis described to "bring
the war back behind the lines," to
wipe out all the institutions that
structure our society.
THE WAR in Vietnam is un-
reasonable and cruel. The ready
hostility shown a great man like
President Fleming at the teach-in
was also unreasonable and cruel,
I hope my letter does not seem still
another rebound of hatred, but
can be taken as a sincere expres-
sion of very great concern.
-Shirley Konieezka
Platitudinous crud
To the Editor:
IN HIS EDITORIAL of Friday,
Sept. 19, entitled "Politics and
Platitudes: Fleming Speaks To-
night," Bruce Levine delivered up
to his readers thirteen paragraphs
of platitudinous crud. He con-
demns a speech he has yet to hear
and then on the basis of his pre-
dictions goes on to to prattle about
the "intended tone" of the anti-
war teach-ins. I wonder if we
might draw upon the wisdom of
Mts. Levineto enlighten as to
what we should know to end the
war in Vietnam. Must we await
the final destruction of the mili-
tary-industrial complex and the
'e-making of American society be-
fore we get off the backs of the
Vietnamese? In lieu of irrespon-
sible and vapid pontification,
Levine might try thinking about
the intent of the anti-war teach-
ins; maybe he should simply try
thinking.
-John Waterbury
Letters to the Editor should
be mailed to the Editorial Di-
rector or delivered to Mary
Rafferty in the Student Pub-
lications business office in the
Michigan Daily building. Let-
ters should be typed, double-
spaced and normally should not
exceed 250 words. The Editorial
Directors reserve the right to
edit all letters submitted.
Sports Staff
JOEL BLOCK, Sports Editor
ANDY BARBAS, Executive Sports Editor
BILL CUSTJMANO ...... Associate Sports
JIM FORRESTER . . Associate Sports
ROBIN WRIGHT .. Associate Sports
JOE MA RKER.............. Contributing
Edi tor
Edit ca
Edi tor
Editor
Regents, student bookstore and candid capitalism
By BRUCE LEVINE
CAPITALISTS are getting candid;
it is not refreshing.
Not so long ago, big business in
America was uneasy about how much
to tell the public about itself - its
interests, its outlook, its power. It
was even nervous about t h e label.
The American people, we were in-
formed, lived in "pluralist post-in-
dustrial society" (to the academics).
or "open, democratic free enterprise"
(for the magazine ads and high
school textbooks). To see the word
"capitalism" in print, you h a d to
swipe a Weekly People.
In those days, everybody was sup-
posed to have power equal to every-
body else's. And when, in 1956, a so-
ciologist named Mills wrote a book
called the Power Elite, the reaction
was almost universal: How did this
jerk get into print? What's this non-
sense about centralization of power?
This twaddle about "ruling elites"?
The reigning orthodoxy dictated that
and political thoughts of the nations'
business executives. Why should any-
one care? Fortune anticipates t h e
question. These are the men, it ex-
plains, who sit at the top of the pow-
er pyramid. They run industry. They
decide how many men work, h o w
many men do not. And where the
work is done. And what is produced.
And how many of t h e m. And for
whom. And under what working con-
ditions.
These are the men, we are inform-
ed who decide; if you want to know
where the country's going, read our
article. The only difference between
Forbes and Fortune, on the one hand,
and Mills and Marx, on the other, is
normative. The magazines think the
present arrangement optimal. Marx
and Mills - had other thoughts.
All right, let's press further. Given
minority rule, how is that rule main-
tained? "Force" is an inadequate
answer.
The vast majority of the American
people accept American capitalism
and the ideology which justifies it..
Forbes and Fortune have nothing to
fear from them now. And that is why
the new candor is less refreshing
than depressing.
"Now hold on!" say those who've
plodded along with me this far.
"Look, this is all well and good and
even mildly interesting, but what
the hell it is doing on the editorial
page of a student newspaper on a
sunny Wednesday in September?"
A fair question.
THE ANSWER LIES in the fact
that nothing which concerns the
workings of this society can be shut
out of the student's life. And con-
versely: even the most seemingly tri-
vial campus matter usually mirrors
in miniature some aspect of the
society-at-large.
A handful of Regents at the Uni-
versity just voted again to kill a
student-run and student-owned
runlike California's Board, which
contains the owner of Hunt foods,
oil companies, etc.) Our Regents are
lawyers and petty businessmen.
The Regents vote with the private
business in mind because that is the
way all such planning goes on in this
society.
We are socialized to think that way
from the time we begin schooling.
Economics, law, sociology: Given:
that the best way to run our society
is on the basis of capitalism; Corol-
lary: All societal decisions are made
with an eye toward enhancing (cer-
tainly not subverting) the principle
and reality of private enterprise.
ON THE LOCAL level, fight a co-
operative bookstore and low-cost
housing.
On the national level, throw "anti-
poverty" to the corporations. Remake
"anti-trust" to fit the need of busi-
ness to trustify. Tax loopholes fo' the
rich. ABMs for the arms economy.
Rotten working conlitions, inflation,
"The military man as well as
the scientist, the public adminis-
trator as well as the labor leaderj
grew up in a world that basks
in the business sun, that is raised
and nurtured by the hand of
business, that turns to business
for its daily wherewithal, that
engages in business for its ad-
vancement, and that looks to
business for its central form of
organization; and it is little won-
der that to disbelieve in the
rundamental arrangements of
the system, or to advocate radical
curtailments of its privileges, or
to espouse alternative means of
arranging for production and dis-
tribution, employment and re-
numeration, advancement and
returrement, far, far exceeds the
reach of mind of all but a very
few ."
MORE THAN A HUNDRED years
earlier, a certain German social scien-
tist (Ok - we confess - it's Marx)
same problems and solutions to which
material interst and social position
drive the latter practically. This is
in general the relationship between
the political and literal represent-
atives of a class and the class they
represent."
SO WHETHER they own stock or
not, whether they're businessmen or
lawyers or professional Flemings,
those men who (like the Regents,
administrators, legislators, and presi-
dents) refuse to see past the logic of
capitalism can be expected to act pre-
cisely as though they were them-
selves ranking members of the capi-
talist class.
They will never make an impor-
tant decision which conflicts w i t h
that logic. They will never make de-
cisions which fall outside that logic.
Where the needs of Blacks, Vietna-
mese, workers, students, the poor, the
sick, et al, conflict or even compete
with the priorities of capitalism -
then theFlemings. MvonrsHaris