"Mutations May Occur" Atrigtgau Daily Seventy-Second Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS "Where Opinions Are Free STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. " ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 Truth Will Prevall" Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This mus t be noted in all reprints.' SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1961 NIGHT EDITOR: HARRY PERLSTADT The Peace Vigil: Two Views Matter of Action ... Matter of Balance... * - 4 * ~.. 9 * - . -. " * * e * * i. . - *9- t1LiLI- '- Q t "-s 40 4- +- ยข- *s - . ,, "- { -A 7 - * - NUCLEAR FALLOUT: Shadow2vf, over the Future A GROU of kids hold a peace vigil on the Diag-a petition for peace is circulated and sent to Khrushchev by students in San Fran- cisco-classes strike at Brandeis In protest against nuclear testing in the atmosphere- mothers in New York City demonstrate in front of the Russian delegation's UN headquarters. These incidents are the spark which may ignite public reaction to combat the inertia of a nation and a world headed towards war. The American people do not want war. The Europeans and the Russians, after experiences with two world wars, want it even less. Yet ever since 1945, the two opposing camps have been following foreign policies which must eventually bring them into some kind of conflict, with the great possibility that it will be the last. The world situation has degenerated to the point where neither side attaches much credi- bility to the other's threats. Ultimately one "of the participants will be forced to carry out a threat to show it is not bluffing. THE DECISION MAKERS have limited pos- sible choices. Their decisions have to fall within boundaries that they themselves have established by decisions over the past 15 years. If a country's foreign policy is based on the policy of -military retaliation, it cannot easily be changed to concentrate on an economic offensive. The possibility that the time for atiy kind of major policy change will be avail- able getsslimmer every day. The value of peace demonstrations lies in their potential for forming a concerted effort to mobilize large groups into a force strong enough to combat the present inertia towards war AN ISOLATED INCIDENT here, and there will be regarded as the work of a few fanatics. Their motivations, no matter how valid, will be disregarded. It is a characteristic of human nature that people do not like to work for something by themselves but pre- fer to be, part of a movement. But multiply this incident across the coun- try with mass media coverage and it will start people asking questions-just what needs to be done, how it can be accomplished? Somebody has to be first. But once the basis for a peace movement is provided it should-blossom into a nationwide protest, stemming from the grass roots. By the nature of our political system, de- cision, makers are forced to keep an eye on the moods of the public. Up to now there has not been any particular mood. The people and institutions which have a stake in the continuation of the arms build-up, the mili- tary and the armaments industries, have had a clear opportunity to lead the decision makers down a dangerous path. It is time that an alternate route was provided. THE CHIEF VALUE of such demonstrations lies in their potential, but that is by no means the only reason for conducting them. They are positive proof that a sense of hu- manity and concern for other human beings has not left this country with the advent of the bomb-shelter hysteria. The campaign of the government and the nation's press in favor of fall-out shelters is making the American public accept the idea that war is probably inevitable. Once they fully accept the idea, war will be inevitable. When one adds to the shelter craze the idea of taking guns and killing other people seek- ing shelter, one is tempted to lose all faith in our ideals. The peace demonstrations are a welcome, and 'necessary contrast. DEMONSTRATIONS also have an effect on our image overseas. Many people in other nations have the idea of Americans either as militantly for war or apathetic in the face of current events. To have Americans demon- strating for peace and against atmospheric nu- clear testing along with people in other coun- tries helps to offset this impression. It is true that demonstrations in the United States will have no effect on the Kremlin unless they are first translated into policy by Washington. One can say that even then Khrushchev will do just as he pleases. However, Western observers have recently come around to the idea that he is beginning to be aware of Russian public opinion. One manifestation of this growing opinion took place when students in Moscow university would not let their teachers cancel a program being presented by a group of American peace marchers. If the public gets behind the move for peace in both countries then the chances of achiev- ing it will improve markedly. S0 THE NEXT TIME you go past the flag- pole don't give a superior smirk. Those kids are trying to start something that may in in v i hin alive f a,. 'I,' 'pr, han + the'f THIS WEEK, several students have been freezing their toes on central campus, stag- ing a vigil for peace. Similar vigils, and other types of demonstrations, have been occurring at scattered points across the nation; usually their subject has been a more limited one- opposition to nuclear testing, sometimes Rus- sian, sometimes American, often both. Another sort of demonstration will be held on the Diag today. According to the plans, there will be a' program consisting of a brief religious service sand speeches by three Uni- versity professors, all concerned with the prob- lems of peace.a After the main event, signatures will be solicited for an anti-test telegram to President John F. Kennedy and a petition, for a Uni- versity course in the problems of peace. These events have some merit. They mean that every thoughtful person should take some sort of stand about the problems of peace and testing, problems too often dealt with by many platitudes and little hard thinking. If the purpose of such demonstrations-or telegrams or petitions-is to influence Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev, then they are ridiculous. Khrushchev does what he wants, and pays attention to public opinion only when he wants to, especially if it is American. What about a demonstration aimed at Ken- nedy? The vigils and various wilder ideas and statements of so-called "peaceniks" will be ignored by Kennedy, and detract from the "cause" of peace in the eyes of most con- ventional Americans. SUCH DEMONSTRATIONS as the campus groups will stage today is of a more prom- ising nature. First of all, the participants won't be part of a so-called "lunatic fringe.' the term with which most Americans dismiss extreme liberal activitists. This makes a difference-"average" people will pay more attention to today's assembly. The assembly's educational value will inform the participants, enabling them to state their position more effectively. It may also give them the information for writing to Con- gressmen, and even to Kennedy, advancing their own arguments for the cause. The assembly today is part of an attempt, as it has been quaintly said, "to move peace on this campus." Though the sponsors stress that it will not be emotional in content, such a meeting must take on some emotional char- acteristics. It will be held on the Diag rather than in a quieter auditorium. Many partici- pants will view the matter emotionally, no matter what the sponsors say. The addition of religion makes for emotion. And, most of all, the assembly will take place within a develop- ing nation-wide emotional context. The assembly can therefore generate both emotional excitement and intellectual interest. Are either a good thing? The answer lies within an analysis of the nature of peace itself. PEACE HAS BEEN defined as a "balance of existential forces." The balance is ever changing as the power of nations changes. A new discovery, an epidemic, a brilliant gen- eral, all can change the balance. War is the forcible method to redress the balance-making political arrangements conform to the new situation. Politics is the peaceful method. This definition springs from the nature of man, avaricious, egocentric, self-seeking. It assumes peace to be an absence of war; lack of conflict and greed is just impossible, given what nian is. Peace is ensured by balancing forces against one another, by making lack of peace un- profitable to the peace breakers. If demonstrations or assemblies have the effect of inhibiting the balance by keeping one nation from carrying out the policies necessary to maintain it, then they don't serve the cause of peace. A popular movement against atmospheric testing might keep the United States government from testing-at the very time tests were needed to maintain the balance of power and therefore peace. Emotional action in this situation could mean disaster. The balance of power cannot be destroyed for sentimental hopes that peace can be created in any other way. ; On the other hand, an impetus is needed if nations are seriously to seek a viable ac- commodation that will cut off armed conflict. In the United States, this is a political matter. Information is first needed, and today's as- sembly will have a favorable effect propor- tional to the amount of information dissemi- nated and absorbed. The fact is that a real impetus for peace can come only from a rational and know- ledgeable appreciation of what peace is and what its implications are. By JILL HAMBERG. Daily Starr Writer "WHY are they just standing there?" "Well, what do they mean by 'Vigil for Peace'?" "Aren't they cold?" "Do they really think they're accomplishing anything anyhow?" A group of concerned individ- uals, reacting in "shock and fear over the spector of annihilation. that looms today before hundreds of millions of people throughout the world," felt the need to ex- press and demonstrate their pro- test of Soviet nuclear testing and to call upon the United States to desist from resuming atmospheric bomb tests. From Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., they stood, of- ten for several hours at'a time, near a sign in front of the flag pole, bearing the words "Vigil for Peace." * * * THESE PEOPLE chose to show' their conviction through the vigil, a form of demonstration which has been widely used since the early days of Christianity. Its origins can be found in the Middle Ages when a watch in prayer and other devotion was kept on the night before a feast. Vigils in recent times have been held for more secular purposes, although they still carry with them an air of meditation and sometimes prayer. "Vigils are thought to be the result of a basic response of the human spirit to times of crisis when people have sought. gui- dance," states Mrs. Kenneth Boulding, a participant in the cur- rent vigil. When vigils are compared to other forms of protest demonstra- tions, one finds that they exhibit very distinctive characteristics. Methods such as picketing and mass rallies try to persuade people by attacking their minds with slo- gans, attempting to convince them with a kind of passive force.. Vigils utilize symbolic communi- cation to provoke individuals to give thought and consideration to the issue at hand. * * * SPEAKING FROM her exten- sive vigiling experience, Mrs. Boulding says they can reach two levels of effectiveness. The first involves the personal self -satisf ac- tion that the "vigiler" receives from participating in such action. Equally important, the com- munity reacts to the vigil. Here in Ann Arbor, this response has taken many forms ranging from com- plete support to indignant dis- dain. Mild amusement and indif- LONG HISTORY: Vigil: A Revived Tactic for. Peace ference were the most usual re- actions to the current vigil. Worse still, have been the sev- eral anti-vigil vigils, or WAR Vig- ils (as they have called them- selves) sprung up across the path. These were started in an attempt to mock the more sincere Peace effort. This can probably be attributed to most people's lack of familiarity with such forms of expression and broad skepticism as to the purpose of the action and its tang- ible results. IT IS GENERALLY acknow- ledged that supplementary educa- tional materials and programs must be used in conjunction with a vigil if it is to be effective on a community basis. At the Uni- versity, the Friends Center, Bran- deis Co-operative, and the Con- flict Resolution Center, among other places, are distributing in- formation and literature. Mrs. Boulding says the trend of public opinion can have a marked effect on government policy. For instance, she feels President Ken- nedy really doesn't want to re- sume atmospheric nuclear testing. The pressure for such action, however, from the military and other interest groups is consider- able. There must be some Indica- tion of popular 'opposition to the resumptionpofutests shown, so that Kennedy will have evidence that the American public is against such action. * * * SINCE WORLD WAR Ii, the use of vigils as a political techni- que has increased immeasurably, as in the campaigns of Ghandi and Bertrand Russell. Ins this country, the Southern sit-in move- ment has put vigils successfully to use. Recently, the Quakers, long associated with vigils have revived their use in Peace demon- strations. The Peace Vigil just concluded here represents the first large scale demonstration of its kind in Ann Arbor and the second, in- stance of vigiling (several years ago Prof. Boulding held a small vigil). IT APPEARS that vigils are finding a perranent place in the tactics and techniques of the peace movement. It must be realized, however,that their effectiveness cannot be measured in quantitative terms, and often results are long delayed. The size of the turn-out at this afternoon's Peace Assembly in the Diag though, will be a fair indication of the extent to which the Vigil for Peace has affected" the University Community.. 4 ii I 'I By ROBERT SELWA Daily Staff Writer AFTER KHRUSHCHSV dropped The Bomb, the Washington Post and Times-Herald ran an obituary notice on its editorial page for the "unnumbered hun- dreds of thousands" who will be its victims. These victims, the newspaper asserted, "will die before their time. will carry on beneath the burdens of incurable disease they otherwise never would have had. Some born even a thousand years from now, will bear the mark of this beast." THE PUBLIC Health Service, on the other hand, has said that there is no cause now for "undue public concern"sabout the hazards of radiation but that present fall- out levels warrant continuous and intensive surveillance. Atmospheric nuclear tests are apparently causing more worry than harm-so far. But the suf- fering of humanity due to in- creased radiation will be spread over the years and generations to come, if they continue. RADIATION is a movement of energy from one place to another which can not be seen, felt, tasted, smelled or heard. Its presence can be detected only by instruments. When radiating particles pass through living plant or animal cells, they disturb the delicate chemical balance, and can change the normal life processes or kill the cell. Test bomb explosions and nu- clear piles produce radiation that can damage human life in several ways. Strontium 89 and 90, constitu- ents of radioactive fall-out, col- lects in the bones like calciuni and produce bone tumors. Iodine 131 collects in the thy- roid gland and can damage them. Cesium 137 spreads over the en- tire body. Radioactive carbon 14 is be- lieved to be able to get into the molecules of deoxyribonucleic acid, which governs the process of heredity. VERY HIGH doses of radiation as in the area of a nuclear bomb exploded at low altitude-destroy the central nervous system and bause death in a few hours. FIRE STORMS: No Shelter in Cities By ROBERT FARRELL Daily Staff Writer CIVIL defense shelters in large cities are no good, a Rocke- feller Institute scientific report in- dicates. Against little bombs-atomic or small hydrogen devices- they are a great protection to the popula- tion. But if there is a big- bomb attack on the United States, shel- ters would give little aid to any- one. EVEN IF A relatively small 20- megaton bomb were to be used on New York, six million of the city's DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan for which The Michigan Daily assumes no editorial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3564 Administration Building before 2 p.m., two days preceding publication. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 General Notices Concert: Yehudi Menuhin, Violinist, will be presented in the sixth concert in the Choral Union Series Sun., Nov. 12, at 2:30 p.m. in Hill Aud. A limited number of tickets are available at the offices of the Univer- sity Musical Society in Burton Tower Saturday until 11:45 a.m. and on Sun- day after 1:00 p.m. at the Hill Aud. box office. Women's Research Club will meet on Mon., Nov. 13, at 8:00 p.m. in the West SConference Room, Rackham Bldg. Mrs. Kenneth Pike will talk on "Some Lin- guistic Research and the Bilingual Schools in Peru." Summary of Action Takel by Student Government Council at its Meeting of November 9, 1961 Approved: Minutes of previous meet- ing. Adopted: Motion to suspend the rules to make seating of new members the first order of business following offi- cers' reports. eight million inhabitants-shel- tered or not-would die, many from asphyxiation rather than the direct effects of the bomb. The primary danger is what scientists call "fire storms"- found primarily in forest fires and similar natural phenomena, physi- cist Thomas Sonier's report says. This "storm" is created when many small fires are concentrated in one area with a certain critical amount of inflammable material per acre. The fire's heat sends the air directly over them upwards, and causes tremendous winds from all directions into the area. These winds fan the flames un- til the entire area is ablaze-but the actual burning is not the worst danger to humans (or ani- mals in a forest fire). Instead, as- phyxiation threatens - the fire burns so thoroughly that there is not enough oxygen left in the at- mosphere to breathe. And what there is is in the higher levels of the atmosphere, since the com- busion products, particularly car- bon monoxide-are heavier than oxygen. Also, the heat reaches, many thousands of degrees-even with- out the effects of the bomb's fire- ball itself. * * * FIRE STORMS are known to have actually hit large cities only twice in history. Once was in an air raid on Hamburg during World War II, once the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Both occurrences confirmed the report's conclusions. If the 100-megaton bomb that Soviet Premier Nikita S. Khrush- chev has bragged of were to be used on an American city, it would cause fire storms throughout an area 140 miles in diameter. * * * THIS NEW report on the effects of massive nuclear bombing leaves open questions of national policy. If the United States were to support so-called "hard" shelters High doses that are less than lethal produce blood and intes- tinal disorders such as leukemia and other cancer, ulcers or loss of hair. Radiation injury has been found to be difficult to treat, although some success . has been achieved with antibiotics (to prevent sec- ondary infection) and blood trans- fusions. * * * WITH LOW DOSES, the inher- itance mechanism is the most sensitive of all the biological pro- cesses, according to the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Mutations in genes, the instru- ments of heredity, are almost in- variably harmful when caused by radiation. However, these mutated genes are usually recessive, the Council found. Thus, in combina- tion with a dominant gene they usually will not cause harm. But from generation to generation, and they will continue to be passed on will eventually emerge, causing the premature death or the handicap- ped life of a descendant or pre- venting his ability to have the normal number of children. * * -* ANY RADIATION DOSE, how- ever small, can induce some mu- tations. There seems to be no min- imum dose to be exceeded before mutations occur. Radiation absorbed over long periods adds up, and the damage is cumulative. Exposure to moderate levels of radiation shortens life expectancy. Radiologists live five years less on the average than other phy- sicians. Radiation apparently low- ers immunity to disease, damages tissue and leads to premature ag- ing, in the process of shortening life expectancy. Of the producers of beta rays.- iodine 131, strontium 89 and 90, and cesium 137-strontium 90 is stressed most often in releases about the danger of test explo- sions., Strontium 90 is one of the more abundant fission products, and it is carried up into the atmos- phere and spread over the entire earth after a test explosion. It has a half-life of 25 years, making it a strong radiator that stays active for a long time. (A half- life is the period of time required for a substance to lose half its radioactivity.) * * * FALL-OUT from the current Soviet tests is expected to increase the amount of radioactive stron- tium 90 in children's bones in the northern hemisphere by as much as-or more than-50 per cent, This is below the danger limit suggested by the International Commission for Radiological Pro- tection. But to set such a ceiling is illogical, for any exposure to radiation can cause damage. Radioactive material does not come down from the atmosphere in a uniform, predictable pattern, but is concentrated in areas in which there is much rain. This factor would be particularily sig- nificant in the event of a nu- clear war. FROM THE MANY factors and statistics involved, it is possible to draw these general conclusions: The effects of the current at- By WALTER LIPPMANN THE SOVIET nuclear explosions, which have been in the open air, have posed the question ,of our resumption of testing in the open air. The President's state-" ment of Nov. 2 'deals with this question and, so it seems to me, defines it accurately. Since the Soviet Union has bro- ken off the negotiations for a treaty, the United States must decide for itself whether, when,; how, and how often it needs to conduct open air tests in order to protect its vital interests and its essential responsibilities. These decisions, have to be made here in Washington. They cannot ,be made by the United Nations in New York because the United Na- tions cannot meet our paramount responsibility should we become unable to meet it. I Our paramount responsibility is to maintain the nuclear force needed' to preserve without sques- tion the nuclear balance of power. If we do that, co-existence will continue to be practised and a world war will continue to -vbe highly improbable. We can, there- fore, never take the chance of losing the race of armaments, and the question of testing must be decided by that criterion. THIS IS, as I understand, the position taken by the President. He will resume testing in the open air if and as it is necessary to the maintenance of our "rela- tive position." He will not resume testing in order to make a big noise, or propaganda or psycho- logical warfare. He will not, I take it, order a test because some group of nuclear scientists and weapons makers have had a, bright idea which they would like to try out. If the United States tests in the air, it will be only because it deems the tests essential to main- tain the balance of power. This means that the decisions will have to be made by the Presi- dent, that they cannot be made TODAY AND TOMORROW: The U.S. Position On Nuclear Testing of our own tesinological capa- bility. Also, he knows, what our best intelligence believes about affairs in the Soviet Union. In preparing for these decisions the President should, it seems to me, make a searching study of the record of the advice given to President Eisenhower and to.Con- gress and to the public during the past few years. That record would throw light on where among the experts and civilian insiders he, should look now for advice. The record since 1955, which is when the Soviet Union tested suc- cessfully a hydrogen bomb, is not a happy. one. For in these years, when our postion has been that we would rather have no nuclear treaty if it was not perfect and foolproof, the Soviet Union, which was way behind us in 1955, be- came a great nuclear power. To be sure, it is not nearly so great a power as we are. The re- cent tests are an admission by the Soviet Union that they are far behind us. But the Soviet Union is already a sufficiently great nuclear power to hold up its end in the balance of terror, It is strong enough to have cie ated a stalemate in which we, who possess superior power, are still not able to use nuclear power as an instrument of diplomacy. The Soviet Union has been com- ing up from behind. Tn general, it is almost certainly true that the more tests there are by both nu- clear powers, the more the gap- which is now in our favor-will tend to close. THIS WILL BE a consideration of the greatset importance as the President makes his decisions. There is no doubt that he must test if and when it is clear to him that our relative position Is involved. But these occasions will be -comparatively rare. There are likely to be many more times when the issue is not clear, when it would be merely interesting and fltnfl'9l fl in+ R. +0+.,' h an +ae.+nr A