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May 13, 1969 - Image 4

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Publication:
Michigan Daily, 1969-05-13

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"Son, what you
doing IN there . .

Seventy-eight years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students of the University of,Michigan

"Dad, what are you
doing OUT there . ..

martinNOhirschan
No No, NO

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

News Phone: 764-0552

A

Editorials printed in The Michigan Doily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.

TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1969

NIGHT EDITOR: JOEL BLOCK

On defeating parochiaid
and facing a crisis

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THE NOTION of providing state aid to
parochial schools has proved a volatile
issue, splitting educators and legislators,
priests and, taxpayers into clear-cut
camps. Since the issue first raised its
head cautiously last year, debates on the
constitutionality, the propriety and the
necessity of parochiaid have raged.
The question is deceptively simple:
should the state provide aid to parochial
schools to teach secular subjects?
The catch is that the state's parochial
schools (educating nearly 315,000) may be
forced to close if they fail to garner state
support. And closure would cost the state
-ultimately, the taxpayer-millions.
Defenders of parochiaid dodge sticky
constitutional issues and hit hard on this
eqonomic catch which they hope will lure
the taxpayer into buying parochiaid.
HOWEVER, A heretofore silent majority
has not bought the argument. Despite
the support of William Ryan, House ma-
jority leader, and the evidence of a Joint
Legislative Committee on Non-Public
Schools which revealed it would be more
economical to maintain private schools,
opposition to parochiaid has addressed
Noo hu'nting
so far
ERSTWHILE campus investigator Sen.
Robert Huber (R-Troy) released an
eagerly awaited "interim report" of his
special committee last Friday, but the
most significant thing Huber said con-
cerned the formation of a "disaster plan"
in case of an "invasion (of Lansing)
from Mar-if it comes from the great
unwashed..
The expected invasion from Lansing
by the great witchhunters, Huber seemed
to be good naturedly hinting, is just not
going to come. The highly publicized Hu-
ber committee, assembled last winter to
begin a meticulous investigation of cam-
pus protests has obviously not yet begun
to pry. Huber's group, which has only met
four times since January - less than a
mildly active chapter of SDS or even Col-
lege Republicans-has made it abundant-
ly clear it does not intend to tread lightly
on the state constitution and go around
violating civil liberties and inciting the
ACLU.
Indeed the spirit of the committee
seems characterized by Ann Arbor's own
Republican Gilbert Bursley who said
"I've had some reservations about the
committee all along, but there has been
no witchhunting so far."
BUT WHAT the senators aren't telling is
that there really needn't be. Enough
legislation has been introduced to curb
campus disorders and keep radicals under
wraps indefinitely. Among the highlights
(from the AP):
-revoking state-funded college scho-
larships to recipients who participate in
campus disorders.
-setting penalties for interference or.
disruption of classes or other campus
functions at colleges or universities. s
With bills like that, who needs investi-
gating committes?

itself to the more relevant and pressing
constitutional question.
Article I 'of the Michigan Constitution
clearly states no money should be appro-
priated or drawn from the state treasury
for the benefit of any "religious sect or
society, theological or religious seminary."
While parochial schools are hardly semi-
naries, they are religiously based and
oriented. Indeed they were organized to
give members of religious minorities, on
a selective basis, a slanted education.
Catholic schools have always stated their
objective was to turn out strong, educated
Catholics.
Futhermore, Article VIII of the Con-
stitution maintains that "The legislature
shall maintain and support a system of
free public elementary and secondary
schools . . ." Clearly the state's first obli-
gation-to which it has been notably lax
-is to propagate a non-sectarian school
system. As Sen. Gilbert Bursley has stated,
the legislature has no business appropri-
ating money to nonpublic schools until
public schools are fully and adequately
supported.
THE CURRENT state aid bill recently
passed onto the floor of the House
should be defeated. For the bill has an
attached rider endorsing aid to nonpublic
schools "in principle" and authorizing
$44.5 million to parochial schools in the
following years.
Hopefully, the entire bill has been so
butchered as to nearly ensure its over-
whelming defeat-at least in the House.
But the legenthy debate over parochiaid
is meanwhile stalling legislators from
considering the real issue at hand-re-
form in the funding of education.
Without parochiaid, it is clear the
parochial schools will soon be out of busi-
ness and a crisis in funding education will
be precipitated. Forty six thousand non-
public school students have enrolled in
public schools in recent years and the en-
rollment jump is already costing the tax-
payer an estimated $30 million a year in
additional state and local taxes. Mean-
while education costs rise, teachers or-
ganize and parochial schools close. Thus,
parochiaid is at best a stop gap measure
which will prolong the agony of Michigan
schools. Inevitably, nearly all parochial
schools will be forced to close and stu-
dents will flood public institutions in even
greater numbers.
At this point, a crisis in funding is
necessary and even desirable. Coupled
with the overwhelming woes which al-
ready exist in public education, the clos-
ing of parochial schools will alarm even
the most economy-minded legislature. If
and when Detroit schools fail to open in
the fall, legislators-and taxpayers-will
have to come to their senses and realize
that education has been seriously short-
changed.
RATHER THAN re-debate the question
of separation of church and state and
squabble over funding parochial schools
of questionable quality, the legislature
should be about its business of developing
a worthwhile public school system-and,
incidentally, making sure Detroit's schools
open this fall.
-SHARON WEINER
-HENRY GRIX

-I

..
t

Letters to the Editor

i

THERE IS A GROWING and unhealthy tendency among commen-
tators of all political persuasions to equate the actions of left
wing student groups with the militant and mindless events of other
eras.
IN A SPEECH YESTERDAY for example, Gov. William Milliken
lashed out at student radicals who, under the guise of "social-justice"
are, he says, posing a greater threat to academic freedom than even
McCarthyism had. Meanwhile,'Congress, in fact, is posing the greatest
threat to academic freedom in legislation which may cut off aid to
schools experiencing disruption.
What is more dismaying than the vacuous rhetoric of the right is
that similar responses are cropping up in the rhetoric of even America's
most liberal ideologues.
I am thinking specifically of an article by New York Post columnist
and editorial page editor James Wechsler which appear in the current
issue of the Progressive.
The article, entitled "Liberals and the New Left" condemns the
New Left for its attacks against liberalism and its proclaimed "con-
tempt for the rights of those who reject both its slogans and its
tactics."
WECHSLER THEN CITES the tragedy of pre-Hitler Germany as
an example of the "calamitous misjudgment" of radicals who believe
the real enemy is the liberal, rather than conservative element in the
body politic.
"Now, as in Adlai Stevenson's time, there are 'no cheap and easy
solutions,' " he continues. "But there are standards to which men can
honorably rally if they choose to remain relevant to the political arena.
The first premise of relevance is an acceptance of the awareness that
diversionary disruption is a 'no-win' policy, destined to produce only
a sterile polarization in which the Right has the biggest weapons."
Thus, with a single pass at the typewriter keyboard, Wechger has
tragically misread and distorted thepreponderance of Far Left student
sentiment and action as it exists today.
WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, the militant actions of student
activists have been directed at specific, remediable diseases in the
academic community. And in almost all cases, action was taken only
when more peaceful courses had already been tried and failed or
were never available in the first place.
A notable exception has been the senselessly recurring building
seizures at Columbia in recent months. But in almost every other
case, militant (though not necessarily violent) action has resulted from
the disenfranchisement of the students from their school's decision-
making processes.
It is difficult to say, as I believe Wechsler would admit, that these
students were morally wrong in their actions. Rather, he argues that
they were politically wanton and bound to provoke devastating reaction
from the Right. But, in fact, this need not be the case. And within
the academic community itself, there has been very little reaction. The
foremost defenders of students activists from governmental interference,
have been the University administrators and faculty members them-
selves. Reaction from the government and the people has', in fact, re-
sulted from the sorry portrayal of student activist in the so-called
liberal press which has consistently presented a distorted picture of
student uprisings, and from articles like Wechsler's which provide con-
servatives with all the ammunition they could possibly want.
The student Left is not so far left as Wechsler thinks. And it
is primarily grievance-oriented, not revolutionary. The tactics employed
have been, on the whole, not very different from the non)-violent civil
rigths sit-ins of the early '60s, and virtually all the violence surrounding
campus activism can be directly traced to the actions, not of the
students, but of the police who arrested them.
"Honorable" standards certainly exist as rallying points for
Liberalism. But all too often, these standards have been forgotten or
diluted until they are unrecognizable. The sorry saga of Hubert Hum-
phrey is a poignant example.
I AM NOT RADICAL. Rather, I am a liberal apologist for the
radicals. The existence of a vocal radical left is important, if not es-
sential to the creatiof of a formidable liberal Left.
Every true liberal is merely a mature radical who has suppressed
his exuberance for reform in a frank realization of the enormity of
the task. But the radical remains his conscience, embodying the ideals
of his youth. If the liberal strays to far from these ideals he is simply
lost in the swirling maze of moderation and status quo which char-
acterizes the dismal state of American politics.
WECHSLER NOTES THAT it was only by accident (i.e. the as-
sassination of Robert Kennedy) that liberals did not succeed in taking
control of the Democratic Party last summer. But, indeed, was it not
the vocal nature of radical youth whidh spurred to opposition to
Lyndon Johnson, and gave liberals a new lease on political power.

Ir

Boa ing Croaking
To the Editor:
AT THE NEXT Michigan Daily
Awards Dinner I am planning
to present the First Annual Boake
Carter Medal for Creative De-
spondency. (Readers under 30 will
probably not remember the news-
caster and Hearst columnist who.
according to a popular limerick,
made "Boaking" as synonym for
"croaking.")
The race has been very close
in deed, but Mr. Martin Hirsch-
man is now the obvious frontrun-
ner.
Mr. Hirschman's May 10 edi-
torial, entitled "DOWN, Down,
down," comments on the latest
AAUP survey of faculty salaries.
Noting that Michigan has dropped
front 23rd place to 24th, he fore-
sees that because of budgetary
shortchanging, we will be unable to
compete for quality faculty and
will steadily sink into mediocrity.
I YIELD TO no one in deploring
inadequate operating appropria-
tions. They create many problems,
but substandard salaries is not one
of them. Here are some facts the
editorial might have noted: ,
1. The University of Michigan
has the highestaverage salaries
among publicly supported univer-
sities, excepting only CUNY. The
movement of Michigan faculty to

CUNY is not exactly a mass mi-
gration.
2. The 23 higher-paid schools
include Massachusetts, California
and Case Institutes of Technology.
Salaries in engineering-including
our own School of Engineering-
are characteristically higher than
in most other disciplines.
3. Among the 23 are the Union
Theological Seminary, the Hebrew
Union College, and the new
School for Social Research. not
major competitors as compared
with the University of Illinois,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, SUNY,
California, Washington, Colorado
and Iowa, where salaries are lower
than at Michigan.
The editorial reveals that Gov-
ernor Milliken's proposed increase
in faculty compensation will be
"to some extent illusory" because
part of the money will be used for
non-salary items like police and
fire protection. This was news to
me, perhaps because no such ex-
pedient has been discussed. Police
and fire protection will not be
purchased with faculty salaries.
MARTIN HIRSCHMAN'S May 9
column "Cohen Cometh," likewise
contains much inside dope, but
not always accurate. Reversing his
earlier editorial stand, he grants
that the scheduled closing of Uni-
versity School "was probably a
necessary cutback." Yet "some of
the newly available funds have

already been spent-for the in-
stallation of Cohen's new offices
in the Education School."
It is true that, as urged by the
External Consultants, Wilbur Co-
hen will have offices in the School
of Education rather than in a
neighboring bank building. The at-
tendant costs are not being met
out of savings from the University
School, which in fact are not yet
niewly available.
Mr. Hirschman's suggestion that
any increased operating funds al-
located to the School of Education
will come from "robbing the cof-
fers of other, equally needy schools
and colleges," is equally incorrect.
"MOST DISMAYING," we are
informed, "is the widely accepted
report" that Cohen will hold the
deanship only briefly until a better
job, maybe a university presidency,
turns up. This discloses truly re-
markable powers of insight. Cam-
pus communities are ripe with
gossip, so that non-widely accept-
ed reports are difficult to imagine.
But if Wilbur Cohen entertains
such a curious ambition, he has
not informed anybody else. In any
case he has not been a proficient
job-shopper, having had only three
employers in the past 35 years-
Social Security Administration,
the University, and HEW.
-Arthur M. Ross
Vice President, State
1 Relations and Planning

4

of

That was the week that was no exception

EVERY week there a r e events
which strike me as distortions
or ironic twists of law - whether
they be natural, science, jurispru-
dence or those that govern human
decency. Take last week for ex-
ample.
THE "HOLIER THAN THOU"
attitude of Congress with regard
to the "impropriety" of Supreme
Court Associate Justice Abe Fortas
for accepting a $20,000 fee from
the Wolfson Foundation is a clas-
sic case of the pot calling the
kettle black.
Fortas' impropriety was a com-
mission he received from Wolfson
to conduct a study on race rela-
tions in the United States. Unfor-
tunately Wolfson was involved
with possible violation of certain

regulations established by the Se-
curities Exchange Commission.
This is not the first time For-
tas has fallen under Congressional
scrutiny. While Fortas was under
consideration as a nominee f o r
Supreme Court Chief Justice, an
issue was made of a $15,000 fee
procured by lawyer friends to de-
liver a series of law lectures at
various law schools.
CONGRESSIONAL vituperation
aimed at Fortas has been of a
harsher nature than that directed
at Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Fortas' critics have lashed out at
the man on a personal level,
whereas Warren's critics were up-
set because the Court's increasing
liberalenss was viewed as "under-
mining American democracy and
freedom."
I wonder if the heavy criticism

I

directed at Fortas is because crit-
ics fear him as a bearer of the
liberal badge in a more intense
degree than Warren. Yet a review
of Fortas' voting record, w h e n
compared to the rest of the judg-
es, is not the most liberal. Asso-
ciate Justice William O. Douglas,
the sole judge who supported
draft card burners defending their
actions by quoting t h e first
amendment, would be a m o r e
suitable sacrifical lamb for Con-
gress.
Neither is Fortas the only Su-
preme Court Justice to accept fees
for lectures or other services. Jus-
tice Douglas, who is no stranger
to the lecture circuit is now in
Brazil delivering a series of lec-
tures.
Congress justifies its posture by
saying that since our justices are
the interpreters of our Constitu-
tion, the American creed of right
and wrong, they should be of a
particularly strong moral fiber.
The fact that Fortas returned
the fee to Wolfson and on another
occasion left the Wolfson home
the day after he learned t h a b
Wolfson had been indicted for vio-
lation of SEC regulations suggests
that Fortas suspected a bribe, and
had no desire to be a part of it.
I THINK Sen. Robert Griffin's
(R-Mich.) resolution that the Su-
preme Court Judges issue a public
statement about all outside funds,
whether they be fees or gifts is
an excellent one. But it should ex-
tend beyond the Supreme Court to
Congress and indeed to all elected
officials.
Since Congress is in an investi-
gating mood, let it turn its pry-
ing tentacles inward. I would be
interested in knowing the rational
used by Sen. James O. Eastland
(D-Miss.) in deciding to award

not true - that the Congressional
persecution of Fortas is a not too.
well disguised case of aiti-Semi-
tism,
* * *
PROSECUTING Attorney John
Howard appealed to t h e jury's
sense of outrage. He reminded the
jury of the 11 children who were
now fatherless, of a nation depriv-
ed of their great leader, and a
family who had already suffered
so much grief. Death in San Quen-
tin's gas chamber was the only
fitting end for such a, such a, . . .
Defense Attorney Grant Cooper
appealed to the jury's sense of
moral dignity, and asked that the
Lorna
Cherot
defendant's life be spared as "a
kind of posthumous tribute" to. a
man who abhorred all forms, of
violence.
The jury's sense of outrage pre-
vailed over their dignity. T h e y
were unimpressed by the volumes
of psychiatric testimony. The de-
fendant impressed them as being
"a conniving brat" and "an ani-
mal."
So now the state will act the
role of avenger and Sirhan Bis-
hara Sirhan will await his turn on
death row at San Quentin.
IT IS IRONIC to note that the
jury determined psychological evi-
dence (Sirhan was said to be suf-
fering from" paranoic" tendencies)
"stunk" because jurymen respond-
ed the same way the suspect did
to ink blot tests,
Then the jury - after convict-
ing Sirhan-threw their own par-

crew, called the White Hats, pa-
trol the black section of the city.
2) A black soldier who was arrest-
ed for being AWOL was found
hanging in his cell by his o w n
shirt. Police files investigating the
case were mysteriously missing
from the files. 3) Rev. Larry Potts,
a Baptist minister, battered his
72-year-old gardener to death
with a baseball bat when he found
him raping his wife. State attor-
ney Peyton Berbling, Cairo's lead-
ing citizen, dismissed the case as
being justifiable homicide with-
out benefit of any investigation.
The "White Hats" shot up Pyra-
mid Court, a black residential ar-
ea and killed one - Floyd Park-
er!
Stenzel's statement, and Cairo's
actions are not what puzzles me -
I find it rather typical. What I
find bewildering is the fact that
Cairo's blacks only form of retali-
ation is an economic boycott of
the downtown business district.
"When will they ever learn. .
"The times they is a changin'..."
AS PART OF HIS economic aus-
terity program, President Richard
Nixon has ordered an oveihaul-
ing of the tax system. The presi-
dent has declared semi-all-out-
war on millionaires who pay no
taxes.
If President Nixon is really ser-
ious about having Americans share
the tax burden more equitably, I
suggest that o u r fearless leader
check into present oil depletions
which allow oil companies up to
27 per cent decreases in corpora-
tion tax.
Another untapped source of
revenue is the churches. Religion
is big business, with endless ser-
ies of bingo games and extensive
property holdings.
But I do think that Governor
R~nna1A Parav nmi',c~r1the hot

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