Seventy-Sixth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Relations with State Need Examination
4
Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN A.Bo, MICH.
Truth Will Prevail
NEws PHONE: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers,
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1966 NIGHT EDITOR: JOHN MEREDITH
'U' Versus Unions:
Fair Play?
AS A START, the University's
lobbyist in Lansing, Bob Cross,
should be removed from his pres-
ent position. Next, the whole area
of University relations with the
state should come under careful
examination.
As the eyes and ears of the Uni-
versity in Lansing, Mr. Cross has
left the administration blind and
deaf to the political realities of
the state legislature. And as a
result University relations with
the state are at an all-time low.
Rather than keeping pace with
the reapportioned Democratic
legislature, the University's policies
in Lansing are geared toward the
Republican Legislature of the
fifties. Although he is not by any
means responsible for all of our
problems in Lansing, Cross man-
ages to reinforce legislative an-
tipathy toward the University.
ACCORDING TO ONE state
legislator, the University's pro-
gram in Lansing is aimed at
"people who don't exist. The Uni-
versity is lucky to have anybody
up here supporting it."
The basic premise of our policy
toward the legislature is that the
University must preserve its
autonomy by keeping head and
shoulders above the political pro-
cess. And in large measure this
attitude is justified.
When a State Senate runs
around passing resolutions barring
Communist speakers on campus,
one has reason to doubt their edu-
cational vision.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND,
much of our problem comes from
a communications breakdown be-
tween University officials and
state legislators. -
With Bob Cross and the rest of
the University administration
hanging around with the "old
guard" of the legislature, there is
no doubt that the "young turks"
from the reapportioned urban dis-
tricts were suspicious about the
University from the beginning of
their terms.
And alienating the "young
turks". unnecessarily can be dan-
gerous business now that the trees
in the Michigan peninsula have
stopped counting more than people
in determining legislative districts.
FOR EXAMPLE, last year the
University had a hearing in the
state Senate on its budget requests.
Traditionally the House listens in
to the Senate hearings, but the
"young turks" were not reared
in this tradition and did not show
PUBLICK
OCCURRENCES
By BRUCE WASSERSTEIN
up. The University made no budget
presentation before the House, and
the "young turks" felt they were
being slighted. As it happens the
University would have been quite
willing to make another presen-
tation if it knew the way the
"young turks" felt. But it did not
know because Cross did not have
his hand on the pulse of the
legislature. That is his job, and he
was no longer able to flfill it.
Another example is the night
last year the University budgetf
was slashed by some six million
dollars from the Governor's rec-
ommendation. Cross was appar-
ently caught by surprise when he
heard about the budget cut. Why
didn't he know that it was forth-
coming?
Again, when the University de-
cided to hike tuition this summer,
our relationship was severely
strained because no one told the
legislators in advance that a fee
rise was in the offing. Result: a
legislative committee came to Ann
Arbor to "investigate" the Univer-
sity. The University administra-
tion mistakenly thought that they
had made it quite clear that there
would be financial problems if
our budget requests got signifi-
cantly cut. Mr. Cross, it would
seem, did not provide an adequate
link between the legislature and
the University.
BUT IN ADDITION to the in-
adequacies of our communications
with the legislature, there are
deeper problems in the relation-
ship. Lansing sources have in-
dicated recently there is a good
chance our capital outlay requests.
from the state will be spurned be-
cause of the University's refusal
to abide by Public Act 124, which
stipulates that the state controller
select the architect for building
projects.
The Regents claim that this act
is a denial of the University's con-
stitutional autonomy, and I am
personally sympathetic to their
claims. But it is not surprising
that the legislature seems to be
deaf to the University's cries while
the administration using the au-
tonomy issue to defend its unten-
able position of not recognizing
unions as the collective bargaining
agents for employes in accordance
with Public Act 379.
Where is the University going
to fight its battles? It has been
said that to protect your king one
has to sacrifice a pawn. The Uni-
versity should be willing to sacri-
fice its autonomy in some areas
to strengthen its overall position.
* * *
"P U B L I C K OCCURRENCES
Both Foreign and Domestick."
founded by Ben Harris in 1690,
was the first newspaper in the
American colonies.
The first And only issue of
"Publick Occurrences" was pub-
lished without a license and con-
tained two stories highly offensive
to the colonial authorities. One
story was about the Mohawk In-
dians, who were supposed to be
on peaceful terms with the British,
massacring some colonists, and
the second was about the king of
France sleeping with his son's
wife.
Although the specific content of
the original "Publick Occurrences"
were of dubious legitimacy, I dedi-
cate this series of columns to the
spirit of dissent which found its
humble origins in Ben Harris'
paper.
N
WHY HAS REGENT Carl Brablec de-
manded a change in the University's
attitude on unions, and why has Vice-
President in charge of Business and Fi-,
nance Wilbur Pierpont been so quick to
defend the status quo?
And exactly what has happened to the
University's suit against Public Act 379
which permits public employes to be rep-
resented by a collective bargaining agent?
At the moment the case is dragging
forward very slowly, but a resolution on
the act's legality by either the court or the
State Labor Mediation Board will be
stalled for at least another month and
possibly longer. Why there have been so
many postponements in the cape is as yet
unclear, but the attorney general's of-
fice, the University and the mediation
board itself have all contributed to the
delay. Only the unions have been pushing
for a speedy decision.
At a mediation board hearing Tuesday,
Feb. 15, absolutely nothing was accom-
plished but the setting of future' hearing
REGENT BRABLEC
dates when the board would finally con-
sider petitions which were filed by the
unions last August.
Judge William Ager of the Washtenaw
Circuit Court heard the same arguments
a month ago. He then denied a University
request for an injunction to stop the
mediation board from holding any hear-
ings on the case until it was decided in
court,
MORE DISTURBING than the mediation
board delay is the delay in actually
trying the case before the courts. In De-
cember the University finally brought its
position to the courts. At that time it
asked for an injunction to halt the board.
from holding any hearings and to declare
Public Act 379 inapplicable to the Univer-
sity. In January the injunction was de-
nied, and Assistant Attorney General Eu-
gene Krasicky said that he would file a
summary judgment within a week so that
the legality of the act could be tried
quickly.
The court can schedule the case only
after the statemen't is filed.
As of today, Mr. Krasicky has still )not
filed the statement, and he said yester-
day that he hoped to have it filed within
a month. For a man who was in quite a
hurry to have the case tried, this is a re-
markable change.
The number of delays in the case is re-
m'arkable. The law was passed in June,
1965, and the first petitions filed as long
ago as last August. Public Act 379 (passed
by a Democratic controlled Legislature)
allows public employes to be represented
by unions for the purpose of collective
bargaining with employers. Four unions
filed petitions in August and September
asking that they be designated the bar-
gaining agent for the various units in
which they claimed to have a majority.
MEETINGS WERE SCHEDULED for Oct.
4, Nov. 23, Dec. 29 before one hearing
was finally held on Feb. 15. The Univer-
sity, the attorney general and the media-
Acting Editorial Staff
MARK R. KILLINGSWORTH, Editor
BRUCE WASSERSTEIN, Executive Editor
CLARENCE FANTO HARVEY WASSERMAN
tion board itself have called these post-
ponements. While these hearings were
being postponed, Attorney General Frank
Kelley wrote an opinion saying that the
act is legal and that it does imply to the
University.
Eastern Michigan and Central Michi
gan Universities joined the University in
its suit before the court on Dec. 15. Judge
Ager denied the University's petition for
an injunction saying that the University
would not be hurt by attending the me-
diation board hearings.
The University claims that the act in-
fringes on its constitutional autonomy.
The feeling is that only the Regents have
the right to control and supervise its
funds, and the mediation board does not
have the right to interfere in the deter-
mining of University internal policies.
When union officials came to the hear-
ings, they expected the board to consider
the actual petitions. Ben Moore, president
of the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employes Local
1583, said he brought all his records to
show the board that he represented a ma-
jority of non-academic employes in vari-
ous units in the hospital.
A. L. Zwerdling, attorney representing
the union, said yesterday that he saw no
reason for the board's not considering the
validity of the petitions and into what
appropriate units University employes
should be divided. By putting off hear-
ings on the petitions for another month
and a half, the board hinders the unions
from organizing, and lets the University
keep the status quo.
WHAT IS WRONG with the status quo?
The University administration claims
that this is the proper situation, but Re-
gents Carl Brablec and Irene Murphy dis-
agree with that opinion: At the Regents'
meeting last Friday, Brablec called on the
administration to recognize the unions,
and Regent Murphy inquired as to why
the University did not recognize the un-
ions on its own. Brablec said that the
University was not following the demo-
cratic principle of collective bargaining
and that Public Act 379 is "no more viol-
ent to University autonomy than the So-
cial Security Act, or universal military
service."
The act itself specifically states that
the University is not required to give any
concessions; it only has to bargain in good
faith. In the month delay the University
wins time and nothing else.
The delay, however, is only causing
more resentment toward the University
on the part of its employes. Moore ex-
plained that if the University claims it
is not covered by the Hutchinson Act and
its amendment, then employes can strike
to gain recognition for their unions. He
added that the employes are restless and
want some action. While everyone else
stalls, the unions are trying to organize
more employes and have promised to help
the University Student Economic Union
organize student employes.
But perhaps more importantly, the de-
lay does hurt the unions' chances for or-
ganization. Employes are afraid to join a
union which will be of no benefit to them
if the University wins its case. The only
thing the employes see are more delays,
and more feet-dragging by even the so-
called impartial mediation board.
ONE PARTICIPANT in the case has stat-
ed the University must be quite a pow-
erful institution to dispute a law that
both Wayne State and Michigan State
Universities have accepted.
Zwerdling described the real reason be-
hind the University's opposition as being
"the Regents are afraid collective bar-
gaining will end their tradition of exploit-
ing employes individually. That has noth-
ing to do with constitutionality-it's just
the classic position of every reactionary
employer."
With all the delays from the attorney
general's office and the mediation board,
one wonders how impartial they really
are. From the delays, the evasive answers
from state officials, and the numerous
meetings between the mediation board
and the University and attorney general's
office (but not the unions), it would seem
that impartiality is not being adhered to.
Why should the University fear the
union? If the mediation board were really
impartial and acting in unbiased good
faith in judging emplove claims, then the
Of
U..
frfoum
To Pull Out
Regardless
Of Situationl
Secretary Declares
Vietnamese Can Win
Only by Themselves
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The United
States will pull most of its
troops out of Viet Nam by 1965-
regardless of; who is winning the
war, Secretary of Defense Robert
S. McNamara told Congress, ac-
McNamara
iVieti
cording to testimony revealed yes-
terday.t
Saying that "the war can only
be won by the Vietnamese them-
selves," McNamara told the House
Armed Services Committee in se-
cret testimony two weeks ago that
the United States would not keep
its forces in Viet Nam even if the
war is going badly.
"The Johnson administration
has no intention of seeing another
Korea-with hundreds of thou-
sands of United States troops
pouring into Viet Nam," he said.
Small Percentage
At the most, McNamara says he
foresees a small percentage of
Americans staying on as advisers
after the bulk of United States
troops leave.
In large part, McNamara was
repeating a policy stated by him
yam
by
1965
Withdrawal
and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, in October, after they tour-
ed South Viet Nam.
'I don't believe that we as a
nation should assume the primary'
responsibility for the war in South
Viet Nam," McNamara said. "It is
a counterguerrilla war, it is a.
war that can only be won by the
Vietnamese themselves. Our re-
sponsibility is not to substitute
ourselves for the Vietnamese, but
to train them to carry on the
operations that they themselves
are capable of."
Some Would Stay
"Those portions of our person-
nel functioning as military . ad-
visers in contrast to trainers would,
I think, have to stay there until
the counterinsurgency operation
has been successfully completed,"
he said.
But he noted that the advisers
are "a relatively small fraction of
the total number of people we
have there."
McNamara said that keeping all
American troops in South Viet
Nam "would be a waste of our
personnel."
"I think it would give the South
Vietnamese a crutch to lean on
that in the end would weaken
them rather than strengthen
them," he continued.
Asked if the Vietnamese caved
in, did he contemplate another
Korean war., he replied, "I don't
believe that pouring in hundreds
of thousands of troops is the so-
lution." He stressed the United
States had no plans to do so.
Reprinted from The Michigan
Daily, front page lead article,
February 19, 1964.
--submitted by Pat O'Donohue
I
TWO YEARS AGO TOMORROW:
ROBERT S. McNAMARA
4
FEIFFER
4
GOT I I 60~Tc cT
PAIN\T,
KM~OW WH4
TrO 0,
MAD
blue OF
PCMO?3-
STRATOP.5
60 BV'-
fAT
IowT~jWReL2 MOT
CONIA1e-
1AWO MP A
OWW CF
~fKr
Z N[ UJ rT FYoT 16 E 6
W j $EXAP,'IF hYEIL
YOU YNt(G (2Re LO T* L
OFAI
PTfATU Fc'I 1
AU. IMA0!
CAE OF
P*CAY!
MORAL
DOW!-
I.r
V
/
4
LETTERS:
On Regent Power
Violence, Feathers, Furs
To the Editor:
WHILE On A RECENT visit to
Ann Arbor to participate in
a UAC Program, I read with some
distress a number of articles in
The Daily concerning Mr. Eugene
Power. Inasmuch as I was a mem-
ber of the faculty of the University
of Michigan for sixteen years and
since I know Mr. Power well, I
wish you would permit me to de-
scribe a small but significant in-
cident that in my opinion indicates
a facet of his character.
During the year 1955-56 I rep-
ressented the University at the
Tytitifso'f 'Pi'ihin ,Asrw,4',4tAfin,,
appeared to be in existence: at
least one or two were in private
hands; and the one available to
scholars was beginning to dis-
integrate. Mr. Power immediately
offered his assistance. We secured
a good reading copy of the debates
which were reproduced at Mr.
Power's expense. Microfilm copies
were made available for study and
the original document was pro-
perly stored. In an academic com-
munity it is not necessary to in-
dicate the value of this contribu-
tion.
I AM CONFIDENT that
+1-i ,-,n, io+inc -ti notin wmill un -
IT'S NOT EVEN SAFE in my
own nutshell anymore. Every-
day I plod through the danger-
laden streets of Ann Arbor, co-
cooned in my brown habitat; and
I still cannot escape the violence
which surrounds me.
It begins in the early morning
when I play my daily game of
hide-and-go-seek from under the
fender of an Ann Arbor vehicle, or
the handlebars of a speeding
cyclist.
It continues with all those be-
nevolent vegetarians who come out
strong for kindness to animals and
are the most cannabilistic offen-
ders in cafeteria lines where furred
and feathered society ladies claw
IN A NUTSHELL
By BETSY COHN
y ,E
dence, we can always turn our
grovelling noses up to "culture"
and its prudent followers. Perhaps
I picked a wrong night to become
acculturated; nevertheless, at- a
recent theater production where
there were no reserved seats, I
realized that theater goers, tho
restrained in speech still have an
amazing amount of power. This.
realization came to me as I lay
firmly ingrained within the bani-
ster of the Lydia Mendelssohn
staircase.
other's heads, beat the referee,
and flinghpucks and punches back
and forth.
In this day and age of "Ban the
Bomb" bumper stickers it is a
strident paradox to hear passion
ridden voices at football. games
screaming "kill-stamp-mangle!'
And it is confusing to watch the
gurgling Boy Scouts and Brownies
playing with their electric torture
kits and plastic hand grenades
("Be Prepared?")
I am faced with a dilemma:
either we are all inherently vio-
lent, and hide behind, guises of
manners, scholastics and furs, or
we are living in a degenerating
generation, soon to be overrun
I