g4r Mirti gan DaiIJ Seventy-nine years of editorial freedont Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan ------under the ru The death of non- violence by %ele 0Me 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. News Phone: 764-0552 Editarials prmt( in The Michigan Daily( xpr, s We individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1969 NIGHT EDITOR: DAVID SPURR I Anotlier day, inotier travesty TJ'HE J US'T'ICE Department once again displayed its propensity to act blindly as it announced Tuesday its intention to investigate leaders of the New Mobiliza- tion. Deputy Atty. Gen. Richard Kleindienst, whose name is fast on its way to becom- ing a household word, declared that the department is investigating whether cer- tain New Mobe leaders are guilty of vio- lating federal anti-riot statutes. It is tempting simply to scoff at Klein- dienst's stat ement, but unfortunately it is backed by his undeniable power and inscutable sense of injustice. EFUSING TO name names or elabo- rate examples, the deputy attorney general was sphinx-like (or McCarthy- like, if you prefer) in his presentation of the government's position. But his mean- ing was clear: The Justice Department, acting under the aegis of the present ad- ninistration, is seeking to inhibit free expression, organized dissent, and even conscientious protest. Kleindinst vaguely alluded to the fact that the New Mobe had the authority to allow three of the defendants in the Chi- cago 8 trial -David Dellinger, Jerry Rub- in and Abbie Hoffman---to take part in t he Washington demonstration. The Jus- ti ce Department seems to have reasoned that if those people are already accused of crossing st ate lines to incite to riot (and they must be guilty), then they s h o u l d not be permitted to protest. Kleindienst accused the New Mobe of exercising poor judgment in yielding the microphone to "a person like Mr. Del- linger, who has a background and a his- tory ofi violelice." Of course, nothing could be further HjIE KIWANIS Club is doing its bit for Christmas charity this year by spon- soring a football game-dubbed the "Pig Bowl"-between the Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies and the Ann Arbor Police. Harvey's Horrors and the A-square Goats vow to come to the game well- equipped. In fact, the only thing the teams seem to lack is a good referee. I W ABOUT Bill Ayers? -J.,. and I1.G. C EE E itAN r LANIE L IPPINCOTT~ Asociate Manatting Edit or LESLiE WAYNE . Arts Editor MAY P Al KE Contr iung Ed LAwRENCE lOBBINS Photo Editor WALLrEli SHAPiRO .Dail Washington Corresponden from the truth - Dellinger pacifist. But what can one Justice Department? NEW MOBE speaks well defense: is a lifelong expect of a in its own "We are shocked at the arrogance of the government in its belief that a clear- ly peaceful demonstration for peace . . is a possible violation of the law. "The government was unable to deny the constitutional right of these people to march in order to express their dis- sent. Now after the act, the government is stooping to illegitimate means and to innuendos in an attempt to discredit a demonstration of public opinion against the war. "Clearly, an investigation such as that announced by Mr. Kleindienst is uncalled for." But Mr. Kleindienst counters that "Any time you have to determine if persons you suspect come across state lines to engage in violence, then you have a duty to investigate to see if they violated the anti-riot laws." THIS CLAIM is a pretext. As New Mobe effecively argues, the demonstration organizers obviously did all they could to encourage peaceful protest. The deputy attorney general's investi- gation, aimed at no one in particular, and therefore at everyone, must be prompted by other considerations. The Justice De- partment seems bent on intimidating dis- senters with threats of harassment. That in this case the threats will probably not be made good is little comfort. The illogic might be: If these guys are oing to criticize us, then we will harass back. But the results are more profound. The government will extend full freedoms only to those citizens -- the great silent maiority to be exact -who do not fully exercise them. Citizens who utilize and exhaust all constitutional liberties will be treated no differently than organized criiminals who flaunt the law; the Mafia and the Mobe will be harassed with equal intensity . IHE JUSTICE Department is thus guilty of perverting the law, changing it from a device for protection to an instru- m nt of repression. It is thus driving the Social Democrats into the camp of the Po l'4 heviks. Tf the long-predicted -wave of govern- ient repression is making itself mani- fest. it has not happened as foretold. The ,overnment is not insidiously depriving the masses of civil liberties; it is clumsily, onenly infringing on the rights of minori- ties with the silent support of the silent 1malority. -HENRY GRIX Editor NOW THAT THE Washington ego trip is finished, and all the bleeding heart liberals have purged their consciences by wearing buttons, carrying signs, marching, rallying, and singing; it's time to think about where this movement should go from here. One thing should be clear: the Mobe-style mass marches and rallies have fulfilled their political usefullness--they aren't going to end this war--- and more important, they aren't going to change this society. One of the reasons is that the government, the police, and other authorities have learned that it is counter-productive to "over-react" with physical force against these non-militant tactics. They employ farmoire subtle (and effective forms of repression to deal wtih dissent. Rather than beating the heads of peaceful (and innocent-looking) protesters, the administration resorts to neo-McCarthyism, impugning disloyalty and other bad motives to the demonstrators. Then, after framing charges of violence and "inciting to riot," the government and its agents emasculate the movement by arresting its leaders and trying them before specially arranged Kangaroo Courts. (The fact that Judge Julius Hoffman is presiding over the 'Chicago 8' trial is no accident). The days when police would indiscriminately club and jail peaceful protesters have for the most part disappeared, and when they do react with force, the authorities are careful to document how the protesters "provoked" it with rock throwing or window smashing. The Martin Luther King ideal of nonviolence was effective primarily because of the cattle prods and water hoses of Bull Conner and his counter- parts. The Yippies, Weatherman, and other ultra- radical groups have realized this fact, but they have nonetheless misinterpreted the political reali- ties of the situations. They believe--and rightly so-that more mili- tancy is needed. But when the Weatherman faction responds with apolitical sprees of violence, rock- throwing and pointless confrontation, they play right into the hands of Spiro Agnew and his lawnorder freaks, while isolating themselves from practically every potential ally on the radical left. BALANCING the non-analytical violence of Weatherman is the equally apolitical "mass move- ment" approach of the New Mobe and its liberal backers, who are so worried about alienating potential supporters that they usually fail to pro- vide any political and social analysis of American society. Words like "imperialism" and "capitalism" are taboo because Sen. McGovern and the other liberal hacks shudder at the thought of such language. So instead everyone talks only about how horrible it is that all those American boys are dying in that Asian war. And on the other side, the Weatherman faction throws rocks and rhetoric, and leaves the political analysis to New Left Notes. BOTH THE Mobe and the self-styled ultra- radicals seem to have forgotten the need for grass- roots organizing, education, and political dialogue among workers, students, black people and other potentially radical groups. The Washington march cost at least 5 million just to transport the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to Washington. A little arithematic will reveal that $5 million is enough bread to hire 1,000 full-time organizers for the next year. Such an expenditure would most likely have been far more productive in the long run, but it wouldn't have served as a cathartic for' all the middle-class, liberal students who make the annual trek to Washington for a mass march. The Mobe holds its rallies, the Weatherman its rampages, and the war goes on, the military con- tinues to squander $80 billion a year, and the U.S. continues to oppress people throughout the Third World. THE MOBE AND the Weatherman should realize that they are fighting the most resilient political system in the world. American capitalism has proven to be incredibly adaptable, using co-optation and reformism to emasculate threatening radical movements. In the face of radical unionism 50 years ago, the American ruling elite developed and nurtured the concept of the management union. To meet the threat of Big Bill Haywood and Gene Debs, the capitalist kingpins produced docile and non-militant unions which did their own share of exploiting the workers while making them believe the union is fighting for the workers benefit. The political parties carefully adopted selective reforms taken from the socialist candidates of that day, while still maintaining their manipulative control over the electoral process. SOCIAL SECURITY, minimum wage, and child labor laws were used to disarm that potentially revolutionary situation. Now that discontent is on the rise again, similar measures are in the offing. Nixon will revise the draft. Sen. McGovern will acquire funds to combat hunger and starvation, and the Pentagon will pull ROTC off college campuses. The power structure believes such measures will severely undercut the present movement and return alienated youth and workers to the folds of the silent majority. Unless the Mobe and the Weatherman are able to take more effective action, McGovern and his cohorts may prove to be right. Unwittingly, groups like New Mobe are signifi- cantly aiding the liberals in this process by pro- viding them with a forum to reach youth and use it to ride the tide of discontent into office with vain promises for phony reforms. Moreover, if antiwar protesters are not careful, they may find when the Vietnam mess finally does end that they are left with neither a cause nor a constituency. AMERICA HAS developed the most sophisticated techniques for repression that the world has ever seen, and this society cannot be overthrown by wishing it away. Our society maintains control mechanisms far more clever and equally as effective as George Orwell's scenario for 1984. Coercive thought control is unnecessary, for in America we have a school system which is astonish- ingly effective in repressing unAmerican ideas and activities by its inmates. By the time they reach puberty, most Americans are thoroughly imbued with the sentiments of patriotism, anti-communism, religion, and male chauvinism; Despite the much-touted youth revo- lution, the rebellious are still a minority. Later in life, institutions like the draft, the military, the capitalist business structure and its pressures for success shape the great silent majority to serve its purposes. American political institutions are controlled by machine politicians whose election is based more upon their ability to solicit funds and support from the wealthy capitalists whom they are to serve. THE NEW MOBE'S liberal followers should re- member that their hero Gene McCarthy consistently voted in favor ofhthe oil depletion allowance, and that Seni. Fulbright consistently opposed even the most innocuous of civil rights legislation. Weatherman, on the other hand, should under- stand that it is facing an incredibly resilient sys- tem, one which requires more than cant rhetoric and window breaking to destroy. There are viable alternatives to apolitical peace peace rallies and senseless rock-throwing sprees. They are more painstaking and require a great deal more commitment, but they at least have some hope for restructuring this repressive society. WHAT IS needed is a new and creative militancy and massive radical education drive. Sit-ins, lie-ins, and lock-ins can replace timid marches, but they must be accompanied by tho- rough dialog, analysis and political justification. "Capitalism,' "imperialism," and "repression" are not dirty words and the movement leaders must discuss them. It should be remembered that it is difficult to characterize such tactics as violent. They involve civil disobedience, but they are neither destructive nor violent. If a little window-breaking does take place, we should ask others to weigh that minor destruction against the wasting of whole villages and popula- tions by the U.S. military. And lastly, such antiwar activities can be organ- ized and fought on local levels without the need for a lowest common denominator approach to mass movements. -Daily-Thomas R. Copi If Sptro T. run TV By NADINE COHODAS VICE PRESIDENT Spiro Agnew, the man of the month - or is it mouth? - is upset with the nation's television networks. They have too much power, he says. And they malign his b o s s too much with "instant analysis" and "querulous criticism" of the Pres- ident's speeches. Besides, Agnew maintains. the majority of these "self-appointed analysts" express "hostility" to what Nixon has to say. X''HAT'S A Vice President to do? There seems to be two choices - either accept the criticism like the other 36 Pr'esidents and their Vice Presidents have done. Or, buy up the networks and staff them with pals. Number one apparently is im- possible. This. of course, leaves number two as the viable alter- native. With that in mind we jump a few months in to the future to watch the March 10. 1970 post- Nixon Vietnam address discussion aired on the nation's newest net- work - ABS --A new Broad- casting System. "GOOD EVENING, ladies and gentlemen. This is Strom Thur- mond, ABS anchor man at ABS headquarters in the Blue Room at the White House. "With me to provide an objec- tive analysis of t h e President's magnificent, perceptive and won- derful 30-minute address is Viet- nam expert David Eisenhower, who just returned from a seven- week tour of duty'in Vietnam as a bellhop in the Saigon Hilton. "First, however, I will briefly summarize Mr. Nixon's fabulous speech for those viewers who had the misfortune to miss a great. great performance. "WITH HIS customary per- ceptiveness and sensitivity, the Presidentsnoted early in his re- marks that 'presently, we are in a war. This w a r Is costing us many, many dollars and many, many lives. This is real sad and what I would term a shame.' "Ladies and gentlemen, I feel I must depart f r o m my objective summation to point out the glor- iousness of such verbiage. Doesn't this capture the real essence of the turmoil? - Doesn't this hit that old nail on the head in a way you've never seen it hit before? "TO CONTINUE, President Nix- on then outlined what magnani- mous and truly gentlemanly at- tempts at negotiating peace he has made - attempts like writing Ho Chi Minh a letter on the Pres- ident's very own White House sta- tionary with his very own BIC pen. "Nixon concluded his studen- dous address with a creative and heartening plan f a r withdrawal sometime before the turn of the century if H a n o i agrees to go away. "This in brief, then, is a cap- sule version of the President's ex- cellent speech. "AND NOW DAVID, do you agree w i t h the President's re- marks concerning Vietnam a n d plans for withdrawal?" "Yes, Strom. I think Dad has made some g o o d points in his marvelous speech. He called it on the nose when he said there's a war a going on, Why, in my first week at the Hilton I saw four gen- erals, three colonels and a lieu- tenant walk through t h e lobby. And besides that there were two convertible Air Force jeeps park- ed in the Hilton driveway. "Now as far as Dad's withdraw- al plans go - well, I think that's something he has to figure out for himself - furthermore I --" "EXCUSE ME for cutting in David, but we must break away for a word from our sponsors, 'Pat 'n Julie's Frozen Pies.' But we'll be right back in a jiffy with more analysis of President Nixon's fan- tastic speech . ." Letters: 'Pushed around by a gang of armed men' I , To the Editor: THIS EVENING (Monday , about a quarter to six. I happened to be standing on the sidewalk near the corner of Washtenaw and East University when a group of Pershing Rifles --- the elite ROTC drill team - came march- ing along the sidewalk. As I stood there, watching in curiosity, the platoon marched up to me and with nary a warning nor an attempt to avoid hitting me, one of them struck me on the shoulder, knocking me aside and out of the way of t h e i r march. The platoon kept right on marching with no notice of what had been done. and when I ran after them and called out, "Who's your leader? Who's your leader?" I was totally ignored as they kept on marching. I later found out they were under orders not to permit civilians to break up their line of march. NOW. UNDER military law this action may have been perfectly le- gal and proper. But this university is not a military base and under civilian law, this action consti- around by a gang of armed men. I HAVE identified the m a n who actually struck me, and if such an apology is not forthcoming, I am ready to file charges of as- sault and battery against him. I don't want to do this unless I have to, because these very serious charges could wreck his career. But I will, if need be, because the Pershing Rifles simply have to be taught that the streets belong to the people. -T. A. Heppenheimer Nov. 17 Por'tentis? To the Editor: A LOT HAS been written about. the marches in Washington this past weekend. I will therefore be brief -_ describe a moment, and make a suggestion. The mnoment was that when my wife, three children and I -- dur- ing the March of Death on Friday - walked by the south facade of the White House, and each of us, following instructions. shouted the name written on the placard across of the March of Death marchers crossed the bridge over the Poto- mac from Virginia to Washington, but we did not see it. We did, however, standing in front of the Capitol at the march's end, feeling at loose ends, see the sky clearing in the west, present- ing a red band as an edge to the black storm clouds overhead, and luridly illuminating the needle of tht Washington Monument. We hope the one, or the other, were signs of a better future.. AND A SUGGESTION. Why not practice what we have preached for 20 years, and turn over the matter of Vietnam to the UN for arbitration, an arbitration whose results we promise ahead of time to accept? An extraordinary step, but the situation calls for it. It could cut the knot of Mr. Nixon's dilemma. Is is too much to hope--and work-for? -Prof. John A. Bailey Near Eastern Languages and Literature Nov. 18 relevant question concerns the role of the degree and the oppor- tunities it affords. If the student is interested in graduate work in any discipline, I think it reasonable to expect that the admitting department will look at the courses the student has taken and not at his departmental concentration. As long as the re- quirements for admission to a graduate school program are com- pleted, concentration, I feel, will not be necessary. IT WOULD be appropriate for the LSA honors council to allow a student to receive a BGS with honors. I would think it also pos- sible for a department to award departmental honors to a student who did outstanding work in that department, without regard to the student's field of concentration. This should be the case, even for the standard B.S. or B.A. de- gree. Why should it be the rase that only majors receive recog- nition for outstanding work in a particular field? Since the BGS is not an in- ferior degree, students enrolled in the BGS should have every op- have made inquiries abut the BGS degree have met, I think, wvith un- fair responses from those of us re- sponsible for helping the student make decisions concerning his academic career. I've heard altogether too often the suggestion that the BGS is an inferior degree. There seems to be an underhanded effort to denigrate the whole concept. Frankly, I think such efforts to undercut the program do the stu- dent and the university a disserv- ice. Those of us who proposed the BGS degree feel that it provides a reasonable alternative for t h e student who wishes to take greater responsibility in planning h i s educational program. Further, we had hoped that, if the BGS became popular, depart- ments would compete for students in an open market. This in turn might lead to a total reevaluation of the undergraduate educational enterpr-ise, something which I per- sonally feel needs at least as much attentionn from faculty and stu- dents as other current campus is- sues. --Prof Ronald T. Tikof'sky - Ali %ba T