94e i ihjan Daih
Seventy-eight years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of Michigan
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
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.
WEDNESDAY JULY 23, 1969
NIGHT EDITOR: MARTIN A. HIRSCHMAN
Foreign policy and
the prospect for accord
HOPEFUL SIGNS have opened up over
the last two weeks for increasing
good relations with the Soviet Union. But
this country's traditionally mismanaged
foreign policy may fail to respond in any
satisfactory fashion.
The first break came July 11 when
Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko
spoke before the Supreme Soviet. Al-
though his speech ran over a wide range
of topics his main subject of discussion
was relations between his country and
the United States. He stated plainly the
desire of the Soviet leaders to improve
their relations.
"We are in favor of the development of
good relations with the United States,"
said Gromyko. "We would like to have
friendly relations with the United States
since we believe that this would be in
keeping with the interests of both the
Soviet and American peoples."
This appeal for a new period of peace-
ful relations was strengthened substan-
tially Monday when Soviet Premier Alexei
N. Kosygin told former Vice-President
Hubert Humphrey that the Soviet Union
wanted to cooperate with this country
"in the cause of peace."
Mrs, Mhoon
MRS. JOSEPH D. MHOON has resigned
again. With luck this will be the last
time.
Mrs. Mhoon's tenure as director of the
Ann Arbor Housing Commission has been
marked by complaints highly inconsis-
tent with the role she must play as chief
administrator of the, city's public housing
program. That post requires a. deep sense
of humanity and an understanding and
sensitivity of a high order. Mrs. Mhoon
has displayed few of these qualities.
Mrs. Mhoon has been charged repeat-
edly by the residents of public housing
with improper enforcement of'a federal
housing statute. The statute makesit 1-
legal for more than one family to live in
federally funded housing' designed as
single family units. Mrs. Mhoon has tak-
en it upon herself, so public housing resi-
dents claim, to enforce t h is ,statute by
personally evicting guests, visiting rela-
tives, and in one case, a son home from
Vietnam.
By these and other actions Mrs. Mhoon
has totally alienated herself f r o m the
families who dwell i Ann Arbor's public
housing. She has proven herself a med-
dlesome and inefficient bureaucrat un-
suited for her position.'
THIS IS THE fourth time in two a n d
one-half years that Mrs. Mhoon has
resigned. Each of t h e first three times
she was coaxed into coming back. Hope-
fully,. since the Housing Commission has
accepted her resignation this time, Mrs.
Mhoon will never have the opportunity
to resign again.
-C. S.
Suunner Staff
MARCIA ABRAMSON ....................... Co-Editor
CHRIS STEELE .......................... Co-Editor
MARTIN HIRSOIMAN .. Summer Supplement Editor
JIM FORRSTER........... Summer Sports Editor
LEE KIRK ........ AssociateSummer Sports Editor
ERIC PERGEAUX ...................... Photo Editor
IT MAY BE argued by some of President
Nixon's advisers that the statement
from Gromyko was simply a Soviet prop-
aganda speech designed to make the
United States look bad. But the state-
ment made to Humphrey indicates a sin-
cerity which cannot be ignored. By pri-
vately discussing the prospects for arms
negotiations and the hopes for peace in
Vietnam with Humphrey, the Soviet Un-
ion should have confirmed, beyond even
the skeptical judgments of Nixon's for-
eign affairs advisers, their desire for im-
proved relations.
One problem which has long stood in
the way of successful Soviet-American
arms limitations talks is the war in Viet-
nam. Gromyko made clear in his speech
before the Supreme Soviet that bringing
an end to that war was a primary con-
cern of the Soviet government. In years
past such remarks have been followed by
vows that only when the war in Vietnam
is over could serious arms negotiations
begin. But now, although disturbed by the
continuation of the war, the Soviets are
willing to go ahead with attempts to seek
accord on nuclear arms limitation. By
this reversal in policy the Soviets indicate
the intensity of their desire for improved
relations.-
The reasons for this move on the part
of the Soviets is quite plain. As well as a
genuine desire for peaceful cooperation
the leaders of that country are under
severe pressure on two primary fronts
which compel them to seek accord with
the United States.
The relations between the Soviet Union
and the People's Republic of China have
deteriorated to a disastrous point. News
reports indicate that both countries have
sent substantial contingents of troops to
the disputed border area and tension in
the two capitals has become enormous.
THE SOVIETS have long feared the
prospect of being surrounded by ene-
mies. With the Chinese looming very
near that now, the Russian leaders feel
compelled to ease the pressure on them
in other parts of the globe.
A second motive for this intensified
drive for peace by the Soviet heads is the
mounting cost of the arms race. The de-
velopment of anhanti-ballistic missile
and a multiple warhead nuclear delivery
system would tax the Soviet economy to
unbearable levels. The Soviets gave up a
year ago in their attempt to beat the
United States to the moon. They were
forced to do so largely out of economic
considerations. If this country and the
Soviet Union do not reach some accord
' on arms limitation the Soviets will have
no choice but to develop the extremely
costly ABM and MIRV systems. For this
reason the leaders of that country are
pressing for immediate arms talks.
The United States should take all pos-
sible advantage of the Soviet's situation
in order to reduce international tensions.
But there is a strong tradition in the his-
tory of this country's foreign policy to
treat promising situations as opportuni-
ties to establish international dominance.;
IT IS VERY likely that any attempt to
use the Soviet position in this way-to
bargain from a position of strength in
order to score political points-will end
all possibility of accord.
-CHRIS STEELE
In the streets
By MARCIA ABRAMSON
YESTERDAY a letter arrived here addressed to Judy Sarasohn and
me from the wife of a local merchant who was very worried by
what we had said in some editorials about the street people, the
merchant and the South University disturbances.
She was afraid that we were a priori condemning all merchants
in Ann Arbor for the blind prejudice of many against a new culture
which they refuse to even attempt to understand. The lady said-and
I am sure it is true-that she and her husband have always tried to
help young people and get them off to a good start in life.
But her problem, she said, was that she cannot understand or
sympathize with this new kind of young who are not simply trying to
become more successful replicas of their parents. And she invited us to
come down and explain them to her, because she has always tried to
keep an open mind.
But I am notdquite sure what she meant when she asked us "to
help me to help you." I hope she is not plotting to convert us to the
straight and narrow path and lure us away from this sinful life full of
underground newspapers with four letter words in them.
That simply cannot be done. The change has come, and it keeps
spreading all the time. Instead of less rock and roll, public intercourse
(as she euphemized it) and four letter words, there will be more. Until-
we hope-sex becomes as natural as it was meant to be, and the last
taboos are exorcised from the human body.
Like many-but not enough-of her generation, this lady admitted
that young people are perfectly justified in their disillusionment with
existing society. But she only meant this in the social sense-as far as
racism, corruption, and materialism are concerned. Otherwise, she
suffers from the same middle class hangups that have brought out the
staunch resistance rapidly developing against the cultural revolution.
OUR SOCIETY is very sick, and it has been sick for a long, long
time. William Blake told of this in his poems in the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth century. D. H. Lawrence wrote of it People talked of
a revolution in the 20s, but there was really not much change. They
talk of the revolution of the 60s, but there is still not enough change.
The double standard is almost as strong as ever. Irate parents all over
this country are crying out against sex education, because they would
rather see their chlidren struggle in ignorance. Beauty contests evaluate
breasts size and shapes of legs, and women are still inferior to men in
too many minds.
What the cultural revolution aims for is an end to all this. It means
the acceptance of life as it is. Life has sex in it, just like it has
$reathing, eating and sleeping; why hide it, or make it into a dark
secret ritual? We are tired of being banished to the back seats of cars.
Back seats aren't very comfortable, after all.
SOCIAL CHANGE is simply not a cure-all for what the new rebels
ars asking. John Sinclair wants people to feel free, and to feel good, and
says that dope, sex and rock'n'roll are good ways of getting there. And
his ideas are spreading.
That is, I think, one of the reasons that the older generation so
fanatically is erecting barricades against the revolution. They know
that their children listen to their radios as much -or more than to
their parents, and the radio has got the message. There are many
fourteen and fifteen year olds who listen and believe, because the new
message is so much more appealing, so much more natural than the old
restrictions and taboos.-
I don't think it is that difficult for anyone who thinks deeply on
the subject to realize that what is happening is one of the best things
that could possibly hit this perverse country. We need more John Sin-
clairs and no Jacqueline Susans.
TOO MANY of us have already been hurt by the amazingly con-
tradictory and restrictive social standards that have been perpetrated
on each succeeding generation, and many have suffered deep emotional
scars in the struggle to cast off these standards.
I don't know if the lady who wrote that letter can understand any
of this. It is difficult to change value systems, especially when they
have been firmly molded for many years. But she should not be afraid.
In countries that have become freer, like Sweden, strange things are
happening. Rape, for example, has virtually disappeared, and psychia-
trists are, reporting less and less incidence of sexually-based disorders.
Sex education is complete and comprehensive, but Sweden is still there,
even though no words or pictures are considered obscene and people
run around on beaches with no clothes on at all.
It's nice to think about while listening to the concerned parents of
Ann Arbor tell how their innocent children have been subjected to the
dirty literature of the White Panthers.
People, poi
\
°t
;
]" >, _ "
,' ' '
' . 1
_ ^ ..
F
b x
f.
f k 3 '
.S
8
F.'
,
b
., _ 1 _ Y 'yt.
-...
I {
r i L
K~
. f ,
-T
, Irv:
"
.
_ _ .
a
, -'
,.q
,t
tt
r' 3
:'
l
d
.. ..
E-1
4
3
J
b;. .
l}
'a
it:
4
,f
. 4.
V',
a
:
V
'ii-
~Yp
ti4
yi
Y jI 1
' . .
(~1.
Z
y
IM"
. -
,
1
" : rr
' .
yy: .g _
:3;'k
"
<
¢ "
:.
':
s
s" t
,st.
t
I
4.
IA[
i
~a1.JAMES WECHSLER.
Man 's quiet desperation
W HEN 49-YEAR-OLD Jo h n
Gunkle. door-to-door sales-
man for Excelsior Products, left
his Bronx apartment and stepped
into the street at a few minutes'
after 8 yesterday morning, his legs
swayed momentarily and he feared
he was about to faint. He steadied
himself, debating whether to go
back upstairs and take at least
part of the day off. It had been a
long time since he had so indulged
himself; he took a certain pride
in the fact that he' refused to yield
to minor indispositions.
The full heat of the new day was
just warming up; but Wednesday
had been suffocating and by the
time he had arrived home he was
so drained that he could not even
eat dinner. His wife, Rose, had
looked at him-as she always did
when he manifested exhaustion--
with mingled anxiety and reserve,
as ifuncertain, he guessed, wheth-
er his fatigue was the product of
wearing footwork or some chance
encounter with a lonely house-
wife.
THE MOMENT of hesitation
ended; John Gunkle recalled that
he had pampered himself the pre-
vious day by remaining home until
nearly 10 a.m. to watch the begin-
ning of the Apollo flight, and, in
mid-afternoon, paused in a saloon
to watch two innings of the Met-
Cub game. He knew such lapses
could too easily become. habitual
and, in his field, any time-out for
sickness or indolence was at his
own expense.
Perspiring now, worrying about
the disintegration of his shirt col-
lar-he learned early that a fasti-
dious appearance was a crudial
asset in his work-he entered the
IRT subway. A crowded, steaming,
stifling express arrived a moment
later and Gunkle fought his way
aboard, clutching his valise of
samples and catalogues..
Shortly before 96th St., where
he was to get off, the train
abruptly stopped; for nearly half
an hour it remained motionless.
"I will not faint, I will not faint,"
Gunkle kept murmuring to himself
throughout this eternity. "I made
it," he murmured joyously as the
train finally moved.y s
The day's pilgrimage was long
and largely uneventful. As he had
anticipated, there was no answer
at many of the apartments he
visited: for some tenants of this
middle-class area vacations had
begun, and for others it was a
day for the beach.
AT 5:30, according to custom,
he ended his tour. Again, recalling
that he had been thwarted in the
morning extravagance of a cab, he
decided to look for a taxi for the
long voyage home; "it won't do
Rose any good if I collapse in that
miserable subway," he explained
to himself. Again the cabs were
either full or "off-duty."
It hardly seemed fair or possible\,
that the subway he took would
stall almost as long as the morning
train had; surely there was a law
of averages against such injustice
to one man. But it did-a little
more than two stops before his
station.
By the time he reached his
apartment he was stumbling; each
step had seemed more unsure than
the last. Rose was there, watching
Huntley and Brinkley repeat and
reiterate the uninterrupted glories
of the moon journey. And sudden-
ly, as if in a voice other than his
own, perhaps imitative of all the
soap operas they had watched to-
gether in loneliness all their
lives-John Gunkle was shouting:
"Why were some men born to go
to the moon while I have to ride
the goddamn subway to sell those
goddamn brushes?"
(c) New York Post
-,
41
itics and the street
By DANIEL ZWERDLING
RADICAL STUDENTS, like peo-
ple of other shapes, sizes and
political affiliations, a r e human
and therefore make mistakes just
like ordinary mortals.
But in yesterday's Daily, Ron
Landsman neatly strapped them
to the whipping post and lashed
on their backs all the burden and
guilt and responsibility f o r. de-
stroying the sweet liberalism -he
says the new city administration
could have promised us. For by
polarizing public sentiment over
"trivial, selfish and unrealistic de-
mands" says Landsman, the radi-
cals have strung a political tight-
rope the administration m u s tt
walk, hands tied, unable to truly
help the disenfranchised citizens
w i t h o u t provoking obstructive
public outbursts.
"The greatest threat to the im-
provement of the plight of the
Ann Arbor black community," he
concludes, "are t h e radical stu-
dents and the street people. ."
No.
The greatest threat to the im-
provement of the plight of the
Ann Arbor black community -
and the student community, and
the street people and all the peo-
ple who realize their human sanc-
tity counts for nothing beside U.S.
Steel and the GNP - are the eco-
nomic and political elite, the dep-
uties and police, and every little
smoldering Douglas Harvey w h o
bolsters the PTA's, Elk picnics and
American Legion p a r a d e s of
Washtenaw County.
These are the threats: the in-
dependent political police who
club their opponents in the streets
with no community checks, the
businessmen who suck customers
for enormous profits, and the
whole historical process of solidi-
fied status quos, reactionism, and
muscled law. And the radical
whites and the poor blacks are
both among the victims.
"STUDENTS DON'T need help
nearly as desperately as do t h e
blacks," says Landsman. But the
students are people and citizens
too - and both they and the poor
blacks have dire grievances which
they have a right to solve. Per-
haps independently if they want,
but grievances that must be solved.
True, if we measure their plights
in terms of econgmic success, pres-
tige, job potential and college
board scores, white students may
live in American paradise and the
poor blacks in hell. B u t aren't
those standards the very s a m e
standards we have been struggling
to destroy - cheap standards
which clamp us into conforming
molds? The comparison means
nothing as long as we define it in
terms of invalid standards we re-
ject.
But when we define ourselves
in our Ideal terms - the power
of the people to control their own
lives, paint their own life styles,
and measure success in terms of
personal, not plastic, satisfactions
- then students, poor blacks, and
even the Harvey-ites are all in the
same social prison. Because none
of them can live in any style ex-
cept one-dimensional society style
-without fighting it all their lives.
and in the end losing.
WHO HAS the power to change
all this? Landsman argues Mayor
Harris and the democratic City
Council have the power - or at
least did have it until a "group
of foolish kids" came along and
squandered it over their "crim-
inal" demands.
Before South University explod-
ed, Landsman claims:
- T h e administration could
have built a base for continuing
crucial support of the Model Cities
Program, which he says was on
the verge of disintegration just
before the election.
The Model Cities Program was
conceived under the administra-
tion of Wendell Hulcher, a mayor
famed for neither his power nor
dynamic progressivism. Hopefully,
Harris and his council have at
least enough power to maintain
the support the federal govern-
ment promised Hulcher.
But although the Model Cities
Program is important-the North
Central residents do have a crying
need for low-cost housing, and
II
WANTf
6~W
UPS ?
A RED UTION I'ST 7
A/DET
A/
=APPI.7,
tire city is so sensitive to the is-,
sue.",
The radical students did not
invent or provoke police autonomy
and repression-they challenged
them, and brought them onto the
streets where people could see.
The choices open to social dis-
senters are non-choices: either
submit to the silent threat of
physical force, keep quiet and out
of sight and refrain from "pro-
voking" violence by yielding to
contraband desires; or attempt to
live their rights and let the police
club their dissension into submis-
sion in a more visible spectacular
way.
BOTH RESULTS spell coercion:
The people cannot have their way
unless it is the police way.
The radicals and street people,
which required police action had
to explode' into a confrontation,
since Harris and the police ad-
vocate such antithetical responses
to social dissent. It would have
been a disaster for local radicalism
if the street people had tried to
mask the conflict, as Landsman
suggests.
IF IT HADN'T been for the
street people, Landsman insists
further, Harris "might have been
quietly effective behind the walls
of city hall"--yes, where are all
the Mayor 'Daley's, the Hum-
phrey's, and the Strom Thur-
monds of rotten American politics.
No, exposing the conflict is pre-
cisely what radicals must try to
do-rip apart every facade, every
rotten alliance in American politics
and show who really .wields the
power and who does not. If Har-
OfPO OU V VAK5
tTO GO (INTO'T W
nfr -Prt in
'V
POz~V'~ TOr
1