Seventy-Fifth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD ST., ANN ARBOR, 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.
)AY, JUNE 8, 1965
NIGHT EDITOR: JOHN MEREDITH
Democrats and Tax Reform:
A Matter of Conscience
State Democrats, who campaigned as fiscal reformers, can now
choose either to follow a relatively safe path through inaction or
to benefit the people-with some political risk-through action.
OF
-Associated Press
PEASANTS, MARINES, VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS FEEL BRUNT OF WAR
-Associated Pvsw
Rightfully, they can only do th
THEMAJORITY DEMOCRATS in the
state Legislature are in a bind. They
are stuck with a problem they must solve,
but one which has no solution favorable
to them.
It is a fiscal reality that a tax reform
program must be enacted as soon as pos-
sible in order to keep Michigan in its
present "solvent" position. The political
reality, however, is that passage of a fis-
cal reform plan-which would surely con-
tain a statewide personal income tax-
would have dire political consequences for
.the Democrats.
The state's Democrats have two paths
to follow in the question of fiscal reform
-both,'unfortunately, leading to political
disaster.
On the one hand they can pass a fis-
cal reform package now, in this session.
Such a package would not necessarily
provide any immediate new income for
the state, but would provide a much
nmore flexible tax structure to allow for
future growth.
THE PLAN which the Legislature would
pass would probably include a state-
The Catholics
And Birth Control
RATHER THAN the Malthusian forces of
war, famine and disease controlling
the size of the world's population, man-
kind now has access to cheap contracep-
tive devices. Yet the extensive use of these
devices in areas in which they are most
needed have been stifled by outdated re-
ligious dogmas.
The most prominent force preventing
the dispersion of birth control informa-
tion has been the Roman Catholic
Church. In advocating its position, the
Church, allegedly a humane force, con-
demns many underprivileged families to
unbearable poverty.
Not only, however, does the Catholic
Church prevent its members from using
birth control methods but it also hinders
other people from having access to in-
formation about contraception.
Local governments limit or abandon
plans to establish birth control clinics out
of fear of alienating their Catholic con-
stituents.
The liberal attitudes of the present
pontiff lead one to hope that the dog-
matic position of the church will be modi-
fi d to allow the use of certain types of
birth control pills.
MEANWHILE THE FORCES supporting
birth control are marching forward.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court struck
down a Connecticut state law preventing
the use of contraceptives or the dissem-
ination of birth control information. This
is hopefully just the beginning of the
crumbling of walls which contain the
birth control movement.
-BRUCE WASSERSTEIN
ie latter.
wide flat-rate personal income tax of
about three per cent, enactment of a flat-
rate corporate profits tax, repeal of the
present inequitable business activities tax
and the package of "nuisance" taxes
which brought the state from a $50 mil-
lion deficit to a $120 million surplus in
its general fund.
Such a package would be similar to
those introduced by former Democratic
Govs. Swainson and Williams which were
defeated by Republican Legislatures. It
would also be very similar to a program of
Gov. George Romney's which a Republi-
can Legislature voted down in a 1963 spe-
cial session on fiscal reform.
Many Democrats now in the Legisla-
ture campaigned on a platform which in-
cluded a promise of fiscal reform, but
once elected realized that they could not
pass such a program.
The party in control of the Legislature
when fiscal reform passes would surely be
saddled with the label of "new tax" par-
ty, a label that could prove fatal at the
polls. And many of the Democrats in the
Legislature-from Democratic districts as
well as "close" or normally Republican
ones-are unsure enough of their chances
for reelection that they don't want the
added stigma of being responsible for
an unpopular new tax.
SO THAT WHILE the figures show that
new revenue must be raised if the
state is to carry out the liberal spending
programs it needs in areas such as educa-
tion and mental health, politics forbids
passage of the fiscal reform program
which could provide the needed addition-
al funds.
The Democratic legislators of course
have an alternative to passing a tax
change package. They can simply not pass
one.
Such inaction on the part of the Legis-
lature could prove financially disastrous
for the state. As Romney has so nicely
detailed for the Legislature, present
spending programs alone will deplete the
general fund surplus and plunge Michi-
gan back into the "red" within the next
few years. If this were to happen, people
would look back and blame the Demo-
crats for not taking action when it was
needed.
Although this latter plan would prob-
ably not be as disastrous at the polls for
the beleaguered Democrats as the for-
mer, it certainly wouldn't help them any.
OF THE TWO POSSIBLE alternatives,
then, both would be bad for the Demo-
crats, but only a lack of immediate ac-
tion would hurt the people of the state.
Although the governor hasn't helped
the situation by playing the tax reform
issue close to the chest, the Democrats
forced themselves into the position they
are in by so adamantly-if rightfully-
supporting fiscal revision plans in the
past.
Now they must keep their promise and
pass a fiscal reform plan-no matter
what the political consequences.
-THOMAS R. COPI
Is Vi t
By CAL SKINNER, JR.
First of Two Articles
SINCE UNIVERSITY professors
and students decided to "Stop
the War in Viet Nam" I suspect
that most have limited their in-
formation intake to self-reinforc-
ing sources.
While I would agree that think-
ing Americans should read I. F.
Stone's Weekly and the New Re-
public, I would argue that to limit
one's intake to this one-sided pre-
sentation is not conducive to criti-
cal thinking.
For this reason I would like to
present some thoughts on the
Viet Nam situation taken from
the June 7th issue of "U.S. News
and World Report." This is the
issue that my liberal friends will
remember as featuring the Uni-
versity in anrarticle entitled
"Where Reds Are Busy on the
Campuses." The article is an in-
terview of Kahn by ten senior edi-
tors and writers of the news mag-
azine.
Just who is this person who
dares to challenge the views held
by the eminent professors of the
Inter-University Committee for a
Public Hearing on Viet Nam?
None other than Herman Kahn,
self-proclaimed "liberal" thinker
about strategic planning. No dilet-
tante he; rather a "master strat-
gist" for the Department of De-
fense, as well as a physicist and
mathematician.
SINCE THE PROFESSORS are
discussing Viet Nam now and have
been crying for "the opposition"
to speak to the issue at hand
rather than engaging them on
procedural grounds, i.e., attacking
their strike threat, this article
will attempt to meet their chal-
lenge.
Although not aimed at our vocal
professors, Kahn's parting shot in
the article could have been. In
answer to the question that the
Inter-University Committee stead-
fastly refuses to consider, "Just
what should the U.S. be doing to
guarantee the future security of
the country?"
Kahn replies, "First of all, more
long-range and harder thinking
. . . more hard work and less
wishful thinking on arms control.
r'tory
An
Un hinkable Idea?
0
More willingness to accept short-
run costs and even human losses
to further the long-run national
interest."
Kahn rejects "pre-emptive sur-
render" as a viable policy in either
Viet Nam and with regard to the
U.S. proper.
KAHN SUGGESTS that cau-
tious aggression by the U.S. can
be a successful strategy. "Nothing
succeeds like success, and nothing
fails like failure. Some countries
already have a belief that Com-
munism is the wave of the future,
and that insurgency almost always
succeeds. If we get pushed out of
Viet Nam today, it would be a
near disaster to U.S. morale and
to the morale of our allies every-
where."
Although he agrees with the
professors that our engagement in
Viet Nam is unfortunate, he dis-
putes their contention that it can-
not be won. Kahn argues, "The
best thing to do if it is possible
is to win, and in some meaning-
ful sense, I would guess it can be
done."
He continues, "I'm willing to
make a categorical statement that,
properly led and supported, be-
tween 10 and 20 American divi-
sions should be able to turn back
any practical Communist attack
and occupy North ,Viet Nam. I
would also conjecture, although
this would be more controversial,
that we could pacify the entire
country. That's my impression."
Howlong would it take to win?
"At least a couple of more years
-if we do very well."
I submit that Kahn's "impres-
sion" should be given more weight
than those of the part-time think-
ers of the Inter-University who,
since the teach-in movement be-
gan, have expended more time
thinking about the situation in
Viet Nam itself.
NOW THAT it has been settled
that the U.S. can win in Viet Nam
(not just in South Viet Nam!)
how can this victory be accom-
plished?
When asked about the role of
bombing North Viet Nam, Kahn
replied, "It makes sense partly
because of this morale question-
it raises morale in the South-
and partly because it makes the
North Vietnamese nervous, and,
it must discourage their escalating
the war."
According to R. G. K. Thomp-
son who was in charge of the
successful British anti-insurgency
campaign that defeated Commun-
ist guerrillas in Malaya in the
1950's, "The South Vietnamese and
Americans have now to all intents
and purposes lost the guerrilla
phase of the war." (U.S. News &
World Report).
Kahn counters with the sug-
gestion that government tactics
are not being pursued with enough
vigor. He suggests treating guer-
rillas more as "the kind of problem
you find when you're policing a
big city.
"THE WAY to break up a gang
of mobsters in a big city is to
capture the leader. When he is
replaced, capture the replacement,
and so on. Like the Canadian
Mounties 'get their man' you
track him down and put a price
on his head . . . This is mostly a
question cf intensity and dedica-
tion," said Kahn.
But are Americans capable of
following this line of strategy?
The State Department and our
military often do not have any
aptitude for this kind of war,
Kahn admits.
"But we do have people in this
country who can do it. Many
members of our police depart-
ments, or intelligence ught to be
able to do it. That's how they
operate normally though admit-
tedly, in a different environment,"
Kahn revealed.
IN DEALING with the profes-
sors' key point-morality-Kahn
has this to say: "I don't want to
be on the side of saying, 'Let's
get rough.' I'm on the other side,
typically. But in this kind of
war, you must either drop your
standards or get out."
This is no answer to the moral
absolutist, but I doubt if many of
the intellectuals calling for a pull-
out in Viet Nam would allow
themselves to be put into such a
position.
Other than outnumbering the
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese
regulars 20 to 1, how can we de-
feat the Communists? Kahn's an-
swer is to find the Viet Cong
weaknesses and exploit them.
This is an easy answer, but the
recognition that guerrilla forces
have weakness is important.
KAHN POINTS to an example
of exploiting the weakness of such
a force while utilizing relatively
few men: "For example, in the
spring and summer, the Indians
were the best light cavalry this
country has ever seen. But they
couldn't get anywhere in the wln-
ter. So the government generals
learned to campaign in the win-
ter."
Admittedly a similar weakness
has not been found for the Viet
Cong, but they can still be de-
feated by superior military
strength. ("Without logistics,
roughly 100,000 to 200,000 combat
troops. With logistics, something
less than a half million men-
about the size of the Korean
effort-perhaps a bit smaller.)
Another primary task if the
war is to be won is to "teach the
Vietnamese army to be aggressive
. . . Before that can be accom-
plished, you have to raise morale."
KAHN SUGGESTS making cer-
tain the soldiers are paid and
giving battlefield commissions to
espec'ally effective enlisted men.
TOMORROW: The problems
of the U.S. relationship with
Communist China and Viet Nam.
FREE LOVE?
A Man's Heart
Turns to Sweden
By ROGER RAPOPORT
Special To The Daily
STOCKHOLM-Contrary to pop-
ular opinion morality does
exist in Sweden. 'Aside from the
sidewalk vending machines selling
contraceptives, advertised with the
slogan "Kan Hon Lita Pa Dig"
("Can she trust you?) there is
little to suggest that love here is
free for the asking.
The bare truth about Swedish
girls is that they have an average
life span of 75 years and thus live
longer than any other human be-
ings on earth. This is a good thing
too because Swedish girls are also
probably the best looking human
beings on earth.
To truly understand the Swed-
ish women, one must try to under-
stand the Swedish man who can
best be likened to the man with
oil in his backyard who doesn't
drill a well because it's too much
trouble to remove the shrubbery.
While this attitude is unfor-
givable, it is understandable. The
blond (in reality only 40 per cent
of Swedish women are blond)
Swedish girl with pensive blue
eyes, a perpetual pout and the
Nordic high cheekbones is as hard
to find here as a Swede with rel-
atives in Minnesota.
THUS the same girl here who
would be actively sought after
anywhere else in the civilized (or
uncivilized for that matter) world
is simply common here. There-
fore the Swedish man becomes im-
mune to his good fortune.
Enter rich romantic Italians,
Frenchmen, American college stu-
dents and the sensation-starved
press. At this point, fact and fie-
tion separate.
The unknowing confuse sexual
straightforwardness with immoral-
ity. The Swedish girls have grown
up in a country where parents are
smart enough to know that when
a girl reaches 17 she is going to
do, or not going to do, what she
wants-and there is very little
the adult world can do about it.
Unfortunately this information
does not answer the question most
people have about the "Svenska
flickor" (Swedish girl)--does she
or doesn't she?
UNTIL SOMEONE like George
Gallup comes along and asks the
question of a representative sample
of Swedish women, is is unanswer-
able. More important it is really
none of our business.
The individual moral attitudes
of Swedish girls is sort of a pri-
vate thing. Perhaps this is the
nicest thing about Sweden. No one
(at least conspiculouslyl seems to
be trying to impose his or her
moral attitude upon anyone else.
It's sort of a "love and let love"
atmosphere, devoid of the Ann
Landers, the Roman Catholic
Church and Mothers for Moral
America syndrome.'
If one is thinking in terms of
outright promiscuity with regard
to the Swedish girl, he is deluding
himself. In reality the Swedes'
have a rather enlightened and
open view of the subject par-
tiality due to compulsory sex edu-
cation and state sponsored birth
control clinics. This open mind-
edness does not mean that the
Swedish girls lack a sense of
morality.
Say what you will about Swed-
ish morality-but at least one
can walk down the street without
being propositioned by an, enter-
prising young woman-and that's
more than can be said for Paris.
In Sweden I personally found
the girls much more respectable
than they are reputed to be. Many
quietly say goodby by whispering
in your ear that they have school
tomorrow, need to catch a sub-
way or accompany their girlfriend
home. Then tooInrecall'the lovely
girl I never met because she
couldn't understand my English
when I asked her to dance.
IN RETROSPECT I must con-
fess that the most action I ever
got in a Swedish bed was when a
bee in Gothenburg decided (at 6
a.m.) to sting my left foot.
4
*
MATTER OF FACT:
U.S. M(ust Face Real Risks'
Civil Servant or Public Slave?
By JOSEPH ALSOP
WASHINGTON-The first thing
. to strike a returning traveler
is the astonishing gap between
the hard reality of the Vietnamese
war and the vision of the war
that prevails in Washington.
Consider,' for example, the re-
cent flap about Soviet antiaircraft
missiles around Hanoi. The con-
struction of SAM sites in the Ha-
noi area has been presented as a
grave new factor in the situation
which is causing much heart-
searching among the higher policy
makers.
But, in point of fact, Soviet
weapons deliveries to North Viet
Nam, including SAM deliveries,
were clearly foreseen by the pol-,
icy makers long befoi'e the Presi-
dent's decision to bomb the North.
This allegedly new development
is also no less than two months
old. And the missile sites, under
construction as yet, number ex-
actly two, of which one is so badly
placed in relation to the other
that it is only about 50 per cent
effective.
THAT does not mean that more
missiles will not be sent in later,
and it does not mean, either, that
the North Vietnamese will not
eventually be given better aircraft
than the obsolescent planes pro-
vided in small numbers to date.
But it most emphatically. means
that instead of being in a flap
hbnt an nminns neu factor in
in the generally prevailing vision
of the Vietnamese war, the real
risks remain unperceived.
IN PART THIS is because of
the sheer lunacy of the Byzantine
rules governing the American or-
der of battle.
Two confirmed identifications
are required before a new enemy
unit can be added to the order of
battle. A confirmed identification
is virtually impossible unless the
new unit is committed in a fight.
Thus, the enemy can double his
"main force" units, bringing in
new battalions, regiments or even
divsions from North Vietnam, for
instanceg If he merely refrains
from committing the new units,
ae can be sure his added strength
will not appear on the United
States order of battle.
It is one of the jokes of Saigon
headquarters that a new enemy
unit can easily take up to 14
months to be finally added to the
official U.S. estimate of enemy
strength.
IN THE FIRST and second
corps areas of South Viet Nam,
which this reporter visited at
some length, both the Vietnamese
field commanders and their Amer-
lean advisors were convinced that
the hidden enemy strength in
"main force" units was indeed be-
ing gravely underestimated.
The "main force" units, re-
member, are not guerrillas but
regular troops, regularly armed
and eaninned.o ften with mnmor
upon a
force.
THE GOO-GOOS are panicked. (Goo-
goos are those who support "reform"
without analyzing all the, potential ef-
fects of such reform.) Their sacred civil
service system is supposedly in jeopardy.
The Michigan Legislature has finally
decided to come to the aid of the politi-
cal eunochs who work for the state gov-
ernment. If passed, the bill introduced by
Rep. Dominic Jacobetti (D-Negaunee),
would allow civil servants to work for
political parties just like everybody else
in the political system can.
At present a Michigan employe is per-
mitted to vote, express any opinion he
holds, wear campaign badges while off-
duty, contribute to the candidate or par-
heavy initial superiority of
of interest might develop between his job
and his politics. Interestingly enough, the
goo-goos rarely define "conflict of inter-
est." They should.
The second class citizenship that public
employes must endure to keep their jobs
is intolerable for anyone who wants to
take a full part in the democratic process.
jN THIS ERA of increased political rights
for minority groups, the huge minor-
ity group made up of civil servants should
be "enfranchised."
True, they have the right to vote, but
that is a precious small part of a citizen's
potential participation in the democratic
process. Civil servants should be allowed
BEFORE THB RAINY season
this enemy advantage could be
counterbalanced by air mobility
and air striking power. This is
why the enemy offensive has been
delayed until the rainy season.
The opening phase of the of-
fensive began just after this re-
porter left Saigon. Judging from
the inadequate reports permitted
by the heavy-handed news-crook-
ing machinery now in place, the
opening phase has been decidedly
disturbing.
Vietnamese army 'units under
attack have suffered losses of 50
)r 60or even 70 per cent of their
men, despite determined resist-
ance in all cases.
Such losses in American units
would be enough to cause the
;ravest army-wide and nation-
wide repercussions. The risk of
such repercussions in the Viet-
namese army has certainly not
been decreased by the extremely
gingerly use of U.S. power since
the February decision to bomb
the North.
MEANWHILE, the enemy plan
for victory is clear.
The plan is to break the Viet-
namese army with a crescendo of
"main force" attacks, probably in
the northern part of South Viet-
nam, comprising the first and
second corps areas.
If the Vietnamese army is
broken in the first corps area. for
'BARBARA,' 'SAPPHIRE':
S in and Salvation:
Ol1dies but Goodies
At the Campus Theatre
IT'S NOSTALGIA TIME and what a great time it is indeed. Two
excellent old English films in one program with enough laughs, chills
and excitement between them to last a long long time.
To begin with, anyone who hasn't seen Shaw's film version of
"Major Barbara" had better hustle himself over to the Campus right
away. In spite of the fact that it is dated in many places, and
regardless of the miserable shape that this print is in, "Major
Barbara" remains one of the most delightful and entertaining of the
attempts to film Shaw.