Mir Et~tan aItj A~ MAAGED Sevty-Third Year E=Trzv AND MAxA= !!!Y STmen' o T E Urrrr OFMmAN UNDm AvTmOr TZ of BOARD N CONTLaL o STUDENT PEULCATION bere OPiatofS mA A e STUDENT P umjcAToNs &DG. AN Aaam, MCH., PHoNE No 2-3241 Truth Will Piea#l" dit6ria s printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1963 NIGHT EDITOR: GAIL EVANS 'U' Should Back Fiscal Reform Plans IT IS TIME for the University to speak out for fiscal reform. The University has a vital stake in Gov. George Romney's tax revision program and thus far it does not look good for the Univer-. sity. The plan's failure to raise revenue threat- ens the University with more years of tight budgets and inadequate growth just when demands upon the University are rising. Virtually all of the University's funds for undergraduate instruction and faculty salaries come from the state appropriation. This amount-$38.2 million this year-has not risen fast enough to meet the pressure of a one- third increase in applicants. The approximately $1.5 million increases of the last two years have gone to raise faculty salaries slightly and little else. WITHOUT MASSIVE INCREASES in the state appropriation, the University cannot continue to give the same caliber education it offers today. Larger and more depersonalized classes will result as the University tries to enroll as many students as it can and still maintain educational quality. Good faculty members will be harder to recruit and retain. Fiscal reform points a way out of present crisis and future stagnation. If properly ar- ranged, a revision of the state's taxation system can yield more revenue which can be spent on higher educration and other state services. An income tax, added to a more equitable tax structure, has unlimited possibilities .for future revenue. It will have a flexibility that can maintain a high level of state services during all economic conditions. This structure will also spur economic growth, easing the tax burden. BUT ROMNEY, hemmed in by varied political considerations, has only attempted to re- arrange the state's fiscal structure. His- pro- posals for adding and subtracting $306 million still leaves the state $580 million next year. Romney had cut a $610 million "minimum" budget, computed this summer by Comptroller Glenn S. Allen, to $580 million and $17 million in required pension funding. The University set $41 million-$3 million more than this year --as its "minimum" figure. The Allen budget gives higher education only $1 million more than last year. But $13 million has been slashed from this overall budget. Higher education stands to lose under Rom- ney's meat axe. Unlike many state services, it has neither earmarked funds nor, fixed ob- ligations to ensure a steady flow of income. The Legislature can easily trim the University's and other colleges' and universities'.appropria- tions to fit a $580 million ceiling, regardless of these institutions' needs. THE UNIVERSITY has only feebly reacted to this threat. Its general policy is to avoid involvement in messy political issues that do not clearly and immediately involve the Uni- versity. There are no plans to lobby during the special session. Regent Paul G. Goebel has done most in this area when he reminded Romney Monday of the University's need for money to educate a rising number of students. To date, he is, the only University spokesman to warn against the implications of Romney's standpat fiscal reform. THE UNIVERSITY should act now to avoid future appropriation squeezes. It should make clear that any fiscal reform program must yield new revenue for higher education. It should also endorse a state-wide income tax as the best means of obtaining this needed money. The University need not support a specific program, but should continually reiterate these two basic principles. The details, which could lead the University into hot political water, should be left to the Legislature, but the gen- eral principles must be rammed home and ac- cepted. If the University fears that public state- ments would be politically unwise, it should quietly lobby for these principles. Such lobby- ing would not hurt the, University and may even answer a long standing legislative com- plaint that the University always asks for money but never suggests how to raise it. TIMIDITY on fiscal reform can be costly. The University need not be involved in legislative politics, but it must stand up to these basic principles, important to its survival as a first-rate educational institution, or suffer the consequences. -PHILIP SUTIN National Concerns Editor To The Ebwr To the Editor: as many as five calls in five min- MR. HERSTEIN in his editorial utes. There was even that 11:59 on the law and demonstra- p.m. call. We still haven't decided tions states that "it is probably why anyone would call for a sub- necessary that juries place the law scription to The Daily at mid- above the justice of an action ex- night. cept in the most extreme cases." The direct implication is that he IN SHORT, we have had a mis- condones the action of the council erable time of it. It is pointless chamber sit-in. He must feel that to change our number since all this manner of expression is jus- calls to this number are then given tified In a larger sense even the new one. We do feel, however, though the momentary and im- that The Daily can do two things plicit legality of the issue is not to maintain its fair name: 1) Re- justified, quest that the copy editor write Mr. Herstein uses a ludicrous the correct number of The Daily example to fortify his point. He 100 times, and 2) Send us a free claims that local juries in Alabama subscription for the remainder of could consider the killing of a the year. (We think you have a Negro girl just if they were to very fine newspaper.) look at it with no consideration of -Mrs. V. Patrick Braden the law. This point is only an extremely prejudiced statement about Alabama values and nothing CINEMA GUILD: more. The real issue lies in wheth er violation of a law is in direct T h il 9t l moral contradiction of the law being broken. That is, the question comes down to this: is revolt moral when moral authority is specific- ally insensitive to public com- plaint? A GOOD comparison can be REVIEWING a suspense movie a akalmost as delicate as made between the Southern lunch making the movie itself.The se- counter sit-ins and the Ann Arbor cretin both cases is to tantalize sit-ins. In the South the action of the audience; one must reveal just sitting at a counter ;where it was enough to stimulate interest, yet forbidden for Negroes to sit con- stituted a direct violation of the withhold the essentials to create law which the demonstrators suspense. "Diabolique," at the Cinema wanted repealed. Ultimately, the Guild tonight and tomorrow, is an Supreme Court prohibited the seg- impeccably slick little thriller. If This justified the morality of you liked "Psycho," you'll love sit-ins down South. In Ann Arbor this one of the suspense- the sitlwns violated the criminal horror genre is simplicity. Extran- trespass law, but this charge has eous matters must not intrude not been used, rather one of loiter- upon the central question. "Dia- ing. Nevertheless, the demonstra- bolique" is far simpler. than tors are not contesting the moral- "Psycho," and therefore is the ity of the trespass and loitering superior thriller. laws, they are contesting the fair r ri . housing ordinance. THE HEADMASTER of a boys It seems then that the Ann prep school has the best of all Arbor sit-ins cannot be equated possible worlds with a wife and a with the Southern, sit-ins on either mistress, both in residence, to legal or moral grounds. The dem- choose from. That is until the onstrations. here are no more than women decide to do him in.. bids for attention and if atten- There is n wasted motion in tion Is not given then the situa- t he chatersm'arenren this film. The characters are re- tncn only lead to more ex- vealed immediately: cynical hus- sensv "law breaking.H to say that band; icy mistress; pious, sub- saysh"Butthis r i no th s t lat servient wife. The women get a their breaking of the loitaering tlawt rgfo h ilg a n h was not justified." I cannot agree drug from the biology lab and the with him since I see no direct Fantastin though the story is legal or moral justification, superb characterizations add the -Harvey Wartosky, '64 necessary element of reality. These are real people on the screen. Misprint .. . Simone Signoret does a particular- To the Editor: ly fine job as the mistress. WE WOULD like to set the rec- CONSTRAINED from revealing ord straight. The telephone of what happens, let me say some- The Daily is numabered 662-3241; thing about how it happens. ours is 663-3241. Twice in the past Director Henri-Georges Clouzot week-and-a-half The Daily has is in perfect control of the film. misprinted its own telephone num- Having reduced the story to its ber. Approximately 150' times in essentials, he embellishes it with this period has someone in the numerous deft touches which add family, politely, and with the immeasurably to the final effect. cheerfulness born of hopelessness, He has mastered perfectly the answered a usually irate Daily art of revealing while withholding, customer to give him the correct and he knows just what to do number. with background music: throw it The baby (aged three) has also out. suffered. She has not had an un- Best line in the movie: "Our interrupted nap in this time, alibi still holds water." Meals have been interrupted with --Sam Walker TODAY AND TOMORROW: Exploring the Moon Together? V t '1 FISCAL REFORM PLAN:- Dividing the Income Tax K1aiazoo and Barnett Too MISSISSIPPI Gov. Ross T. Barnett stole the march on his disrespectful audience Tues- day night in Kalamazoo, and what is more he did so without their knowing it. Slyly, he baited his audience with a hell-fire and brimstone speech that was worthy of a Baptist evangelist. He carefully skirted direct reference to segregation and concentrated his fire on state's rights, which he termed "as vital today for the preservation of our freedoms as it was in 1776. "Disagree (on segregation) if we must," he entreated. "But let us unite against the on- slaught of totalitarianism in Washington, and let us defend those local rights which are clearly ours." ITH THESE and many other indirect but obvious references, he set the stage for the emotion-packed question-and-answer per- iod that followed. In his lengthy but honey- smooth address he tore into such "great Ameri- can institutions" as the Kennedys, old Supreme Court decisions and "the great American tra- ditions." As such, the question-and-answer period was characterized by sassy questions, conceived in haste and delivered in folly. Such questions as "Do you consider Negroes people" or "Are there integrated cemetaries in the South" were met with laughter and catcalls, while Gov. Barnett waited patiently for the din to subside. He then proceeded to reply with answers so clever and pat that his examiners were obviously, even to the most hostile critic of the governor, neatly put in their place. Quite clearly, Gov. Barnett had anticipated such ridiculous questions and was quite pre- pared to reply. UT THE IMPORTANCE of his appearance lies not in what was said by the governor, nor in the questions and answers that followed, but rather in the reception that the whole matter received. In this score, Gov. Barnett was quite clearly the victor. Placed on a podium, surrounded by an almost totally hostile audience of thousands, Barnett endeavored to convey the image of the dignified and patient Southern gentleman molested by the uncouth and ill-bred rudeness of a group of teen-agers. In this, his audience obliged him: they showed him a very minimum of respect. The state of Michigan obliged him: Gov. Romney clj4r £i4tjit Batty brazenly attempted to prevent his appearance -to abridge his freedom of speech. And the local and state civil rights brigades obliged him: they turned out to picket, lending the air of unrespectability that demonstrations. seem to lend nowadays. He took on a pleading tone, then a magnan- imous one. And any who were watching and/or listening without a mind pre-filled with hate would have found it hard to find this kind and dignified Southern gentleman anything but a good man. He appealed for an end to violence, to bitter- ness and a restoration "of the dignity of the races." He invoked the patriotic sentiments of Americans to "restore our constitutional liber- ties." He quietly but surely put down the crudeness of his critics. IN A VACUUM, such a situation would enlist the sympathy of any decent person. Here is patience and dignity being threatened by rude- ness and folly. And I submit that many within the earshot of the Hon. Ross. T. Barnett got the image he sought to convey. Many resented his rude reception and were ashamed at the attempts to abridge his freedom of speech. And because of their negative reactions, they were less inclined to agree with his enemies. This is in fact the intent of Ross Barnett. He hopes to cause his violent opponents to alienate enough potential supporters by their outspoken conduct that support will be drawn off to a third cause-a cause that will split the control of the government to the point that in an election the South would hold the swing votes. HOW SUCCESSFUL his course will be re- mains to be seen, but the success of his, image-projection is becoming more and more apparent. Such leading journals as the Satur- day Evening Post, Newsweek, The New York World Telegram and the Sun and the Christian Science Monitor are currently reporting that the uncommitted are cooling off on the race issue. Such comments as "too much, too fast" seem to be characterizing more and more citizens' thoughts on civil rights. And the same journals report a citizens' dis- taste for the violence, the demonstrations and the disrespect which is pretty generally at- tributed to the pro-civil rights faction. Now while this alienated support will not shift to Barnett and his group, it will also be quite slow in realigning with the liberals. This is the best Barnett can hope for-that enough people lose interest in advancing the cause of civil rights that it will die a.disinterested death. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of articles investi- gating Gov. George Romney's pro- posed fiscal reform plan.) By STEVEN HALLER A GOOD DEAL of the ill will centered about Gov. George Romney's 12-part plan comes from the Detroit area. The main reason for that city's strong opposition to the plan is the eleventh specific legislation, which calls for De- troit's current city income tax to be cut down the middle. The local option legislation pro- posed by Romney has three major provisions, and it is the first of these that is causing all the con- troversy. The governor requests "legislation for optional city in- come taxes establishing uniform authority, standards and rate of one per cent; providing state ad- ministration and re-distribution; with the ordinance to be enacted upon approval of the governing body of the city." * * * UNDER THIS proposal, Romney further suggests that "within the area of a city's income taxing authority, two principles be firmly established by legislation: that the state pre-empt the field of taxing corporation income, and that the taxation of personal in- come by cities be on a shared basis -one-half where the taxpayer works, one-half where he lives." The governor explains that "vil- lages, counties, townships and other local units are not practical governmental units to install an income tax." Although he does not clarify the rationale behind this statement, some insight on the matter is provided by House Speaker Allison Green (R-King- ston). Green has pointed out that the idea of school districts being al- lowed to levy income taxes for their use is not a feasible one. "Many districts are located with- in more than one county, creating a jurisdictional problem: if the power is given to such districts to collect taxes other than property taxes, who would collect it?" * * * ON THE OTHER HAND, if such taxes are levied by city and county governments, there is no way at present in which the funds can legally be channeled into the school system, Green adds. He notes that current school revenue ("if one counts retirement bene- fits, and one must include them") is fairly equally divided between state and property taxes. Romney suggests that those cities which do not have an in- come tax at the present time not have the authority to collect the levy until after Jan. 1, 1964. He also proposes that the matter of what a city shall do with the in- come tax be left strictly up to the local government, which is prob- ably the most sensible part of the entire local option plan. According to the governor, his plan "will free. (cities') existing property tax base for use by school districts, counties, townships, vil- lages and other units of local gov- ernment. The results should be THE GOVERNOR'S desire for a more uniform plan is commend- able, but to follow through with it will mean a severe restriction on the cities' authority to levy such a tax. If the Legislature passes this part of the program, however, it will nullify the State Supreme Court decision of last year stating that no body could disallow cities the right to levy an income tax. In addition, it can be said of non-incorporated businesses-part- nerships or single proprietorships -that they "frequently rest with- in several local taxing jurisdic- tions, and their tax liability should be on a uniform basis," just as with corporations. The problem is not avoided merely by avoiding a city-imposed corporate income tax. As it is, such non-incorporated concerns are not liable to the taxes imposed on incorporated firms, al- though the individual partners face the usual income and pro- perty taxes. Many salesmen, doc- tors and milkmen fall into this general category. THERE ARE two relatively mi- nor provisions encountered in Romney's local option package. One calls for the establishment of 'uniform authority and stan- dards for county real estate trans- fer tax ordinances and county motor vehicle fees." Romney notes that this move would "provide elbow room for county government and permit further property tax relief or more adequate financing of county services" The other suggestion would "en- able adoption of fixed allocation of property taxes among counties, school districts and townships within the new 18-mill limitation." Since it would be up to the coun- ties to decide by popular vote whether the fixed allocation would serve the area well, this should not be greatly decried. THE PORTION of Romney's lo- cal option proposal on which the most newsprint has been frittered away of late, however, is also the one on which the most attention will surely be focused this fall. This is the idea that Detroit's city income tax should be cut down the middle so that it may be shared equally between the city and the neighboring suburbs. Says Romney, "Each of us owes certain responsibility for taxpay- ing support of the community where he works, and also to the community wherenhe lives and where his children go to school. It would be unfair for one city to usurp the entire taxpaying ability of the individual. "The logical and fair answer in the case of those who live in one community and work in another is to share the responsibility-half of the tax on earnings where the taxpayer lives, half where he works. This is tax justice." The total loss to the city of De- troit is so great that it is not surprising that Romney devoted HOOT': no little space to that city's prob- lems in his speech to the Leg- islature. Romney noted that De- troit would lose $5-6 million from this plan and from the loss of the city corporate income tax, but he said that Detroit should have no trouble making up the deficit somehow by the time the plan would go into effect. Even if Detroit were able to make it up with dispatch-which is not a foregone conclusion-the initial shock to Detroit taxpayers was nothing compared to that which seized Mayor Jerome Cava- nagh. He immediately denounced the whole idea, pointing out that a loss of $5-6 million would have been bad enough, but Detroit would lose at least $10 million through Romney's proposal. The immediate reaction to such a statement might have been to chalk it up to the fact that Cava- nagh is a Democrat; but as it turned out, Cavanagh was right. The hitch is that Romney was operating with an inaccurate set of data about Detroit's financial situation to begin with. * * * THE MAIN REASON for the mix-up was Romney's insistence upon keeping his plan a secret until he announced it. When his aide called City Controller Alfred Pel- ham to find out how much the city had collected from corpora- tions last year, the figure quoted was about $2 million. According to the aide, Pelham failed to point out that most cor- porations had been granted a de- lay in paying their taxes until six months later. According to a Detroit newspaper, the aide did not expand upon the question any further than finding out the fig- ure of $2 million. In any case, the error meant that the governor was basing his estimate on a total $6 million loss to Detroit THE AIDE added that even with the figures straightened around, the basic philosophy behind the local option plan has not changed in the governor's mind. The gen- eral idea remains that Detroit would not be hit by the loss the first year, and by that time the county would have assumed a larger share of the total respon- sibility. The one item overlooked in the talk about the fairness of the share-the-income tax plan is the fact that the commuters involved are already paying a property tax to the suburb in which they live, whereas they are not responsible in any comparable way to the city in which they work. This property tax is levied on a higher rate than the income tax in question, so that the "fair and equal division" of the income tax actually places half of an in- come tax on top of a property tax in one city and leaves only the rest of the income tax for the commuter to pay where he works. If the idea is to equalize the pres- sure on both sides, levying the in- come tax entirely in the business area would come closer to the mark. By WALTER LIPPMANN TVHE PRESIDENT has made his suggestion of collaboration in going to the moon at a time when there is some improvement in USSR-United States relations. It happens also to be a time when there is a growing doubt among American scientists and among the people generally about the commitment to put an American on the moon by the year 1970. The President's proposal at the United Nations is excellent, it seems to me, even if the joint effort proves to be technically and politically impracticable. It is ex- cellent because it may offer an honorable way to correct the mis- takes of our original commitments about going to the moon. There were two big mistakes. One was the commitment to put a man, a living person rather than instruments, on the moon. The other mistake was to set a dead- line-1970-when the man was to land on the moon. * * * THESE TWO mistakes have transformed what is an immensely fascinating scientific experiment into a morbid and vulgar stunt. The use of living man rather than instruments has given a gruesome color to the whole enterprise which is akin to that of the circus, performer who shoots a flower.out of his daughter's mouth. For this is showmanship and not science, and it contaminates the whole affair. We shall be back in the realm of honest science when we proclaim as our objective the land- ing and orbiting of instruments which can send back exact data. The setting of 1970 as a target date turned the enterprise into a race in which the objective is not mids has a society devoted such gigantic sums to a purpose which has almost nothing to do with its security or its welfare. AND YET, the exploration of space will bring a new under- standing of the universe and of life, and this is a noble end for which to work. But all this will be done best-all this, it may be, can be done only-if the impulses of the project are purified, if they are cleansed of showmanship, chauv- inism and morbid commercialism. Opening up the heavens is too big an enterprise to be mixed with concern about which nation gets the first headlines and the biggest ones. As I see it, the best way to purify the moon project is to do what the President has suggested, to work out with the Soviet Union at least a common program with growing exchange of scientific data and increasing consultation. It does not matter much whether the first trip to the moon is made by an American astronaut and a Soviet astronette. What does mat- ter is that we should agree to treat our separate efforts as a scientific and not a cold-war operation. (c) 1963,',The Washington Post Co Idealis THERE ARE those who say, and sometimes with reason, that social fraternities have so de- generated that they bear little resemblance to the ideal I have presented. There are others who say that materialism is "the wave of the future" so why fight it? But, let us not accept evil Just T' ',T ,'t