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Seventy-Fifth Year
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
OUTSIDE THE SPOTLIGHT:
Injustice and Change in a Southern Town
Where OpinionsAre 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.
WEDNESDAY, 17 MARCH 1965 NIGHT EDITOR: LEONARD PRATT
The Proposed Voting Act:
A Good First Step
PRESIDENT Lyndon B. Johnson's ad-
dress to Congress Monday marks a
significant turning point in the Negro's
battle for civil rights and political equal-
ity in the United States. It was first a
victory for the direct-action methods of
Negro protestors in the South.
Just as happened three years ago-
when President Kennedy delivered a spe-
cial civil rights message to Congress
after the Birmingham crisis-the ad-
ministration has been forced to take ac-
tion as a result of Negro protest action
and Southern white brutality.
In Birmingham, the protests were
planned to force federal action on pub-
lic accommodations. In Selma, the ulti-
m te purpose of the protests was also to
effect federal intervention-this time in
the field of voting rights.
President Johnson made no secret
about the fact that his stepped-up ef-
forts stemmed directly from the recent
developments in Selma and were hast-
ened by the "outraged conscience of a
nation."
THE PRACTICAL EFFECT of the pro-
posed voter rights legislation would
be to eliminate literacy tests and other
methods of voter qualification whenever
these methods are used in a discrimina-
tory manner.
The bill could be applied to states
where either of the following conditions
existed:
-Where completion of a literacy test
or other qualification test-for example,
Virginia's very complicated registration
forms-was required before registration.
-Where less than 50 per cent of the
voting age population of a state, or of
an elections subdivision within a state,
had been registered to vote in the 1964
elections.
But even if 50 per cent of the voting
age population was registered, the bill
could be applied in any state or district
requiring a discriminatory test, if 50 per
cent of the voting age population had
failed to vote in the 1964 election.
THOSE WHO CLAIM that the new law
would represent unwarranted federal
intervention have no ground to stand
on. Federal officials would intervene
only in cases where the government de-
termined that state and local officials
were continuing to discriminate in voter
registration. In such cases the attorney
general would have legal grounds to re-
quest the Civil Service Commission, a bi-
partisan federal agency, to appoint fed-
eral officials to step in and handle voter
registration. If state and local officials
did their job, they would be allowed to
continue doing it.
The President's speech and the forth-
coming voting rights bill hold deep im-
plications for the future of political for-
ces in the South. Casting aside legal re-
strictions on voting rights is only a par-
tial step toward mobilizing the Negro
as a powerful political influence in the
South. Once discriminatory bans have
been lifted it will still take a significant
effort on the part of Negro leaders to
popularize voter registration and to mold
the Negroes into an organized and ex-
tensive political force.
For it is a big problem to get voters to
the polls even if they do not face dis-
crimination. Recently in Mississippi the
Freedom Democratic Party has been
fighting the dual battle of eliminating
voter discrimination and getting South-
ern Negroes interested in their political
fate.
Once the discrimination is removed,
the party will have to greatly expand its
Freedom Schools and voter registration
efforts if Negroes are to make their po-
litical voice felt. Many Southern Ne-
groes have been so dulled by years of
political limbo that it will take a Hercu-
lean effort to make them care.
THIS IS THE GREAT TASK that lies
ahead of the civil rights organiza-
tions, and they cannot depend on the
federal government for assistance. For
the government cannot force unwilling
citizens to vote.
-ROBERT HIPPLER
Acting Associate Editorial Director
-DAVID BLOCK
THE NATION'S interest is now
focused on the struggle for Ne-
gro rights in Selma, Ala., but work
on other projects throughout the
South is continuing without let-
up.
These other, smaller projects re-
ceive less emphasis and person-
nel from the Congress of Racial
Equality, the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee, and thu
Council of Federated Organiza-
tions than do large-scale opera-
tions like Selma.
For this reason the workers in
volved actually face greater dan-
ger than those in Selma, because
the publicity given the Selma
demonstration serves as a safe-
guard for the civil rights workers:
Southern law enforcement offi-
cers are likely to be more care-
ful of what they do if they know
that their actions are being wide-
ly publicized.
BOGALUSA, La., is the site of
one of these "minor" CORF
projects. It has been the scene
of 33 incidents, ranging from
bomb threats to serious beatings
in recent months. Very few peo-
ple hear about the injustices com-
mitted in Bogalusa; in Selma, or
the other hand, if police so much
as order a group of Negroes offt
the street, coverage of the inci-
dent is likely to appear on th'-
front page of many major news-
papers.
This is just a symptom of the
overall problem the smaller free-
dom projects face. For if beat-
ings and bomb threats are not
publicized, it becomes obvious that
the very problems of local segre-
gation and discrimination whicl,
the civil rights workers are com-
batting will not be publicized
either.
As in many small Southern
towns, there is one major eco-
nomic and political force in Bo-
galusa - the Crown-Zellerbach
Paper Company, which employ.,
o-r 8000 men. The Crown-Zel-
lerbach plant is segregated, as i
everything else in Bogalusa: there
are segregated bathrooms and
segregated drinking fountains
segregated drinking fountains.
Even the time clocks are segregat-
T [E TWO UNIONS in the plant
-the International Pulp, Sul-
fite and Paper Union and the Pa-
per Workers' and Paper Makers'
Union-are segregated into white
and Negro locals, thereby forming
the bastions of segregation in the
plant. Each union provides rep-
resentation for certain classes o'
jobs and has its own system of
seniority and advancement.
Since the white locals refuse
to represent Negroes, the Negroer
are restricted to a few job cate-
gories-necessarily, due to the
white power structure, the mosl
menial and lowest paying. A Ne-
gro can progress only so far in
the plant, because after he reach
es a certain point, further ad-
vancement is impossible-it woul(
take him into a white job cate-
gory.
Several years ago, Crown-Zel,
lerbach instituted a token inte
gration policy which in theory al-
lows Negroes to enter jobs repre-
sented by the white unions; al'
the Negroes have to do to qualify
for this plan is pass a test and
agree to give up their senior-
ity. They then are put into an
"extra-board" of men to be used
as substitute workers. But this
policy has not worked: so far only
two Negroes have "benefited"
from the plan, and one of these
was told by a company official he
could not work full-time.
The Bogalusa plant is not an
isolated example. Crown-Zeller-
bach, in conjunction with Time
Inc., also owns a paper plant in
St. Francisville, La. The condi-
tions at this plant are similar to
those in Bogalusa - but much
worse. Negroes are restricted to
only seven job classifications
while the white union represents
71.
THE CROWN-Zellerbach issue is
more than one of a local com-
pany discriminating against Ne-
groes. The company not only
holds federal contracts, but is als(
a member of the President's Com-
mittee for Equal Employment Op-
portunity. As a member of this
group, Crown-Zellerbach must
submit a yearly report detailing
what it is doing to end segrega-
tion.
But the committee does not
have the power to change the
economic and political facts of
life in Bogalusa, so the present
conditions show no signs o'
changing, even though CORE is
organizing protests by local Ne-
groes. CORE's Bogalusa project
has been unsuccessful like most
of the other small projects in the
South.
WHAT METHODS can be used
by civil rights groups to find
solutions to the problems that
plague Bogalusa and other small
towns like it?
Arousing outside public opinion
by organizing local protests seems
the best plan at present. Wide-
spread public opinion against lit-
tle-known situations like Bogalu-
sa's is now nonexistent.
Outside pressure must be used
because left to its own devices,
Bogalusa's white power structure
will continue just as it has for
the last hundred years, exploit-
ing the Negro populace.
The power of outside public
opinion alone can't solve the
whole problem, but it could con-
tribute greatly toward solving
problems like the existence of ar-
bitrary local laws which were
passed only to maintain the white
power structure, the lack of vot-
ing rights for Negro citizens, and
the lack of enforcement of fed-
eral laws by federal and local of-
ficials.
Mass arrests resulting from the
arbitrary local laws, and the sub-
sequent challenging of these laws
in federal courts are what gain
the most public sentiment for the
Southern projects.
This public opinion, expressed
through letters to local Southern
officials, officials of powerful, dis-
criminatory companies, congress-
men, and federal officials pro-
vides the original pressure that
will cause changes not only in
Bogalusa, but throughout the
South.
ONCE THESE CHANGES begin
to lessen the injustices in their
lives, Negroes like those in Sel-
ma and Bogalusa alike may be-
gin to live the kind of life which
comes with equal treatment un-
der just laws.
--THOMAS R. COPI
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LETTERS:
SGC Elections Director
Replies to Criticism
mss. "- _ - ,-__.
,~U.
K- . " M:' k - yrI..9z rC CJTw..
A Foundation for the Arts
THE GOVERNMENT has finally realized
that it must support and stimulate
cultural endeavors in this country. Evi-
dence of this new outlook is President
Lyndon B. Johnson's proposed cultural
bill which would establish a National
Foundation on the Arts and Humanities,
similar to the National Science Founda-
tion set up 15 years ago to support work
in the natural sciences.
This comprehensive bill must be pass-
ed. In its first fiscal year, 1966, the bill
would authorize $10 million in grants and
loans to groups and individuals, plus ad-
ditional federal funds to match private
contributions.
This would mark the first time since
the New Deal that the government would
provide direct aid to creative artists.
There is one difference, however. The
Federal Theatre Project, the Federal
Writers' Project and the Federal Art
Boy Voyage
SEN. TERRY TROUTT (D-Romulus),
apparently after lengthy considera-
tion, has come up with a plan that would
relieve somewhat the blow suffered by
the University when it had its money
request for next year cut in Gov. George
Romney's budget.
Apparently Troutt feels that the Uni-
versity can absorb the loss more easily
by simply cutting costs. He said yester-
day that "the loss of 20 classrooms will
be felt strongly by the students," but
nonetheless, the professors involved in
the proposed Viet Nam protest "should
be given a one-way transportation ticket
to the University of Hanoi in North Viet
Nam."
AS LONG as we're on an economy kick,
Senator, why not save the state some
money and have a few of the legislators
'nnamnnnv ih +h-m --
Project of the '30's were temporary in-
stitutions to give jobs to unemployed art-
ists. The NFAH would be a permanent
organization and would encompass a
greater range of activity.
Included in the bill's definition of "the
arts" are drama, creative writing, pho-
tography, costume and fashion design,
motion pictures, radio and television. Un-
der the label "humanities," are language,
literature, history and philosophy, ar-
chaeology, criticism, theory of the arts
and social sciences which have human-
istic content and methods.
SIGNIFICANTLY, the bill does not pro-
pose to interfere with the content of
the artistic achievements of this coun-
try, as so many anti-big government ad-
vocates might fear. It would merely cre-
ate conditions under which the artist
and scholar can flourish.
As a safeguard, one section of the
bill specifically forbids any department
or employe of the government from exer-
cising the slightest control over any non-
federal group dealing with the NFAH.
An example of one benefit of the bill
-if and when it is passed-might be es-
tablishment of regional repertory theatre
companies, similar to the Professional
Theatre Program, through federal grants
to universities. The "sticks" could then
not only take advantage of Broadway
entertainment; more important, they
could also create their own theatre mil-
ieu, such as the PTP's New Play Project.
THIS BILL COMES at a crucial time in
our history. Sociologists and psychol-
ogists are predicting the hazards of mon-
strous social upheavals that might ac-
company the immense gains in leisure
time as a result of automation. The gen-
eral stimulation of the arts and the cre-
ation of new museums, theatres and or-
chestras will enable Americans to chan-
nel their leisure into worthwhile, fulfill-
ino, ativities.
" .. I Love a Parade ... !"
TODAY AND TOMORROW:
Raising the Threshold of Violence
To the Editor:
IN REGARD to last Sunday's
editorial about the SGC elec-
tion, my remarks as Elections Di-
rector that were quoted there need
some clarification.
I did kid the people in the
SGC office about not being sure
of the number of people elected
to the Council on the occasion of
the call from The Daily. After
having given the number as nine,
I asked them to confirm it, and
I was then given another number
by someone there.
This answer prompted me to
make the remarks auoted. Under
the circumstances, though, it was
not unusual that there was some
doubt. There was the question
during the election of whether or
not Gary Cunningham would run
and be successful in his bid for
the Council presidency and so re-
sign his seat on Council. Thus the
question as to how many seats
would be vacant and how many
people would be elected. There was
also the question of whether the
person calling was referring to
Council members being elected or
both members and executive of-
ficers.
IN MY OWN defense, I would
say that I knew enough about how
many people were to be elected to
be able to set up the SGC ballot
and write the voting instructions
for it.
In any case, none of my remarks
were directed to the caller from
The Daily, so he cannot have had
an accurate knowledge of what I
said. The remarks quoted are not
the first that I gave by any means,
although the editorial indicates
that they are. The tone of the call
was not the lightheaded one im-
plied by the taking of these re-
marks out of the context of the
conversation. Finally, my not
knowing the number could have in
no way affected the running of
the election.
Whether I knew the number or
not, the unfortunate thing about
the editorial is that the person
writing it would exaggerate the
importance of the two allegations
he makes: 1) that I didn't know
the number of vacancies and 2)
that there was a miscount of 150
votes in tabulating the ballots, to
the point where he feels he can
conclude that the election had
been inadequately run.
THIS CRITICISM is unjustified,
and the person who wrote the
editorial realized this himself
when he felt he had to include
such an impractical idea as utiliz-
ing the computing center to tab-
ulate the ballots simply to rlieve
the entirely negative tone of his
writing and give it some semblance
of being constructive.
The important facts about the
election are that somebody on The
Daily staff worked all afternoon
and most the night to compose the
platform statement in time for
the Sunday edition prior to the
election, or that the plant de-
partment, in spite of the fact that
the order for tables and chairs at
the voting locations had been held
up by Thursday's heavy snow
(the first they knew of it was
the morning of the election), still
managed to get them delivered
and set up. These people should
be praised, not Council criticized.
IT IS too much the idea of hav-
ing to criticise the Council which
SACUA Story
To the Editor:
I FEEL OBLIGED to point out
that the article entitled "SACUA
(Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs) Plans to Fill
Chair" on page two of The Daily
of Friday, March 12 is grossly in-
accurate.
As was made clear in the issue
of "Senate Affairs" for December
1964, the proposal for a mechan-
ism to select persons to fill va-
cant University Professorships
came from the Office of the Vice-
President for Academic Affairs.
The procedure contemplated has
been fully described in the Decem-
ber and January issues of "Sen-
ate Affairs."
-Prof. Richard V. Wellman
Law School
SACUA Chairman, 1964-65
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily ar-
ticle incorrectly stated that SACUA
would make a "University Profes-
sorship" appointment. SACUA
members are simply aiding the
Office of Academic Affairs in pub-
licizing procedures that have pro.
posed to make such appointments.
R.J.
A Lament
To the Editor:
YOU MIGHT be interested in
this "modern folk song." I
wrote it one evening after the
unpleasantness at Yale.
THE ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR'S
LAMENT
Tune: The Streets of Laredo
As I walked out in the streets of
New Haven,
As I walked out in New Haven
one day,
I saw an associate professor all
dying,
Surrounded by students, but cold
as the clay.
"I see by your blue books that
you're a professor."
These words he did speak as I
boldly stepped by.
"Come sit down beside me and
hear my sad story,
For I didn't publish and now I
must die."
"It was once to the classroom I
used to go laughing,
Once to the classroom I used to
go gay,
Giving my lectures and leading
discussions,
But I didn't publish so I'm dying
today."
"Oh, ring the bells slowly and
play the fife lowly,
Play the dead march and "The
Wiffenpoof Song,"
Take me to the arboretum and
lay the sod o'er me,
For I didn't publish and I know
I've done wrong.
"Get six full professors to carry
my coffin,
Six lab assistants to bear up my
pall,
Put volumes of journals all over
my coffin,
Journals tondeaden the clods as
they fall."
"Get President Brewster to talk
about teaching,
The tenure committee to march
all the way,
Bring all my colleagues so loud
in their praises,
But I didn't nublish and they'll
I
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THE LAWLESSNESS of the Ala-
bama authorities in Selma has
provided a lurid background to
the opening of the President's
campaign against crime. A society
in which the legally constituted
authorities use violence to deprive
citizens of their lawful rights of
assembly and petition is not lPkely
to make much headway against
private crime. For the indispen-
sable condition of law and order
is that law and order prevail, and
in Alabama be restored, within
the lawful government.
In his message to Congress the
President pointed out that in the
past 25 years the crime rate in
this country has doubled. In the
past seven years the crime rate
has increased five times as fast
as the population.
In trying to make up our minds
what to do about the rising ride
of crime, we have to begin by re-
alizing there is no one thing that
can be done about it.
FOR HUMANE PEOPLE, an un-
derstanding of the complexity of
the problem of crime can, if we are
not on guard, lead to a paralysis of
will. Men find themselves saying
that since there is so much that
needs to be done, what good is
it to do any one thing.
A certainwconfusion of this kind
exists and will have to be cileared
away if we are to do something
about the crime wave. To deal
with the causes which produce
criminals, we have to make all the
efforts to improve the worst con-
ditions of our society, syndicated
crime, the slums, broken families,
the school dropouts, the wild birth
rate among the disinherited, ig-
forces - against governors and
mayors and legislatures, against
the police and the courts.
The righting of this balance is
the primary business of each com-
munity and of the nation. Thus,
there are not nearly enough well-
trained policemen, detectives, mrag-
istrates and judges. Our r.ourts
have been so overburdened and so
entangled with legalisms that no-
body expects a criminal to receive
a quick, just, effective trial. The
law's delays which intervene be-
tween the crime and the verdict
deprive the law of its majesty and
rob punishment of a very great
part of its deterrence.
THS TASK of the peace forces
in our society is directly compli-
cated by the licentious freedom
with which anyone can buy arms
and by the loss of control over
exciting and narcotic drugs. The
President's campaign will, we may
hope, make a modest beginning in
the control of the traffic in arms
and in drugs. But we must have no
illusions. There is a low threshold
of violence in American society,
and we shall not soon see any
effective disarmament of crim-
inals.
The raising of the threshold of
violence is one essential aspect of
the task, which will never be fin-
ished, of civilizing ourselves.
-WALTER LIPPMANN
(c), 1965, The Washington Post Co.
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MAOIST TACTICS:
A Good Way To Educate
Better Monsters
TWO MEN converse in a small, dark, smoky room.
"At last we've done it. We've found the perfect way to make
people subservient to our teachings.
"It took long years; money; experimentation. We had to be
careful. We couldn't let them know what we were doing. We used
some wild excuses. Sometimes they sensed it and yelled. But what
could they do? We succeeded.
"It's really simple. First, it's essential to isolate them; to put
them somewhere where their only companions are people in a
similar state-a place where we can indoctrinate them with our
views and values every waking moment. They must be taught to
think our way.
"Of course, we try to avoid physical torture. Instead, we keep
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