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 Yet the extensive use of these devices in areas in which they are most needed have been stifled by outdated re- ligious dogmas.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.