.I 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 I '4 'I rC aY ' - .-- - -- c - ..s: +- .... . 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 ) r 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. I 4 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 i I 4 x I