Page 4-Tuesday, September 25, 1979-The Michigan Daily



Ninety Years of Editorial Freedom

Even as his reignof error ends
Rizzo dominates Phily politics

Vol. LXXXX, No. 17.

News Phone: 764-0552

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Passing up continues

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HERE WAS more than the dismal
T performance of the Wolverine of-
fense that the University community
has to lament after Saturday's
Michigan-Kansas football game. The
truly sad aspect of that game is that,
despite the recent wave of pleas and
p0rotests, two more women were -in-
jired in the process of being passed up
through the stands in the notorious end
zone.
*These most recent injuries, albeit
not as serious as the injury at the Notre
Iame game, are even more shocking
since the "passing up" seemed to be a
d'eliberate act of defiance and a display
of immaturity in the face of pleas for
restraint by the stadium announcer.
According to most observers present,
tke announcer's call to end the,
"Massing" was only an encouragement
tQ those perpetrating the dangerous
a3rt.
It seems that those senseless and
immature fans who find some cheap
thrill in exerting male domination over
women are unswayed by logic. They are
unswayed by the danger of their
sophomoric "game," because the
traumatic experience of the fresh-
Woman from Bay City-who lost the
feeling in her left arm - would have
been enough to persuade logical minds
that passing up is truly dangerous.
.And those fans in the end zone who
still passed women through the crowds
last Saturday apparently are uncon-
cerned" with the degrading effect the
experience has on women. The actions
of a few mindless hecklers during the
September 15 protest against passing
up demonstrated that to some males,
the obvious degradation to women is
either not to be taken seriously, or is
inggnificant.
So unfortunately, the calls to stop $he
passing up fall on deaf ears. Thus it
appears likely that the only way the
practice will ever leave Michigan
Stadium is if women begin taking the
initiative to press charges when they
The canal
AST WEEK, A bill that was to
carry out the terms of the
anama Canal Treaty was defeated in
the House. The Treaty is to go into ef-
fet in less than a week, and unless the
Nlouse decision is reversed by then the
fssues of operation and administration
inder the treaty remain unsettled.
Although the legislation will not
prevent the eventual transfer of the
banal to Panama, it is deplorable that
et another hindrance should block
e progress of a treaty already long
gver-due. The treaty was passed
ilarely last year by a two-vote margin
ip the Senate after intense lobbying
tom the administration and the
Ianamaian people.
. But even with the treaty, Panama
dill not receive complete control of her
banal zone until the end of the century.
What Congress should hesitate even
fbrther can only indicate a tendency to
enege and can only be catastrophic
$r the already-shaky image of the

Tnited States in Latin America.
One factor which influenced the
dejection of the bill is the presence of
oviet troops in Cuba which raised the
question of Panama's ability to protect
herself. Such an argument cannot be
ken seriously. The Soviets would no
more attack Panama from Cuba than
hey would the coast of Florida. Even
the unlikely event of such an attack,
the treaty leaves the canal zone no
z iore vulnerable than at present, since
t provides for a joint United States-
Panama body to administer the Canal
lor the next twenty years at least. The

are passed up against their will. And
once women press charges against
their assailants, they must follow
through as they would pursue any such
case of blatant molestation..
Of course, in a crowded dormitory
block at a packed football game,
"fingering" and identifying all those
who aid in the passing is a next to im-
possible task. And many women are
grabbed and passed up by dorm frien-
ds and acquaintances, and are thus
reluctant to pursue the matter.
But the time for such tolerance en-
ded when the Bay City freshwoman
was dropped on the cement steps and
lost the feeling in one arm.
The tolerant attitude on behalf of the
police as well must now become a show
of force in the end zone. But the police
will not move in to break up an act of
"passing" unless they can be sure that
the victim is being harassed against
her will. If every woman makes it a
point to resist passing, and if every
sensible male makes it a point to aid in
ending this deadly "game," then the
fan who grabs a woman in the aisle will
no longer be able to retreat into the ob-
scurity of the boisterous crowd.
Ending the passing now requires a
united effort - first on the part of all
women, including those who tolerate it
and those who see it as the deplorable
act it really is. It requiresathe
cooperation of all the male fans as
well, including those who have until
now encouraged passing up if only by
their silence. And, lastly, ending the
deadly. sport requires the cooperation
of the police, who must be ready and
willing to discourage the instigators by
their presence in the stands in force. A
few arrests made on complaints in a
crowd of thousands has an important
deterrent effect.
Hopefully, the dangers of passing up
will not have to be rehashed. With the
exercise of common sense and decen-
cy, last Saturday's injuries, added to a
list of dozens over the years, will
really be the last.
treaty vote
at a time when pro-military politicians
are losing ground in the SALT II
negotiations, the canal legislation
seems to provide an opportunity for
them to promote their "keep-America-
strong" attitude on yet another issue.
Implicit on any argument for
delaying the treaty is the assumption
on the part of narrow-minded
politicians that the canal zone right-
fully belongs to the United States. One
representative who voted against the
legislation went so far as to say "I
want history to record that I had no
part in this giveaway of American
property." But recall how that proper-
ty came to be called "American,"
when Teddy Roosevelt and a small
army went to Panama, planted a flag
on a strip of land between the two
bodies of water, and claimed it for the
United States. Panama and many of
her neighbors, including Guatemala,
El Salvador, and Nicaragua, don't
seem to think that the action con-
stitutes ownership. It seems more like

an act of colonialism.
Hopefully, both the logic and decen-
cy of the members of the House will be
more intact as they take another vote
on Panama this week. Maybe they will
correct last week's mistake.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Sue Warner......... .................EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Rlichard Berke . Julie Rovner ...........MANAGING EDITORS

In less than two months the city of Phila-
delphia will elect a new mayor. And the reign
of Frank Rizzo will end.
No discussion of the Philadelphia mayoral
race can begin without a review of the Rizzo
administration. His eight years in office were
marked by racial strife, corruption, and in-
competent management.
A former beat cop and police com-
missioner, Rizzo rose to power as a hard-line
"law-and-order" conservative. Probably the
most enduring symbol of Rizzo is a
photograph of him in a tuxedo with a night-
stick in his cummberbund. He had a tough-
cop reputation and he earned it.
While still a policeman, he was nicknamed
"the Cisco Kid" for singlehandedly breaking
up a gang fight. As commissioner, Rizzo
prevented almost certain race riots by
rushing busloads of policemen into potential
trouble spots at the first signs of a disturban-
ce.
ELECTED TO HIS FIRST term as mayor
in 1971, Rizzo easily defeated liberal
Congressman William Green and state
representative Hardy Williams in an
emotional Democratic primary. In the
general election, Rizzo breezed by his G.O.P.
opponent, former city councilman Thacher
Longstreth.
As his victory celebration, the "toughest
cop in America" was elated. "But I'll always
be a cop," Rizzo proclaimed.
Clearly for nearly a decade,
Rizzo was the great political
issue in Philadelphia.
Although he is ineligible to
seek another term, the Rizzo
legacy permeates the cam-
paigns of those who wish to
succeed him.
With Rizzo in office, the nation's fourth
largest city.continued slipping into the bog of
a terrible school system, an increasing crime
rate,; and "'faltering economy. The late
Richardson6Dilworth, Philadeiuia's reform
mayor of the 1950's, charged that Rizzowas
turning the City of Brotherly Love into a
"police state."
ONE OF THE MOST alarmng incidents of
the Rizzo administration came in October of
1972 when Richard Nixon was scheduled to
visit Philadelphia. Although Rizzo was a
Democrat, he called Nixon "the greatest
President this country ever had."
Taking steps to insure there would be no an-
ti-Nixon demonstrators, Rizzo's police force
seized forty peaceful demonstrators, hauled
them away in paddy wagons, 'and put them in
jail. They were released ten hours later
without charges.
During the summer of 1973, a remarkable
series of events unfolded that made Rizzo the
only scientifically certified liar to head a
major American city.
Long time Democratic city boss Pete
Camiel, who had broken with Rizzo, accussed
the mayor of offering him control over
lucrative city contracts in exchange for going
along with the mayor's choice for District At-
torney. Rizzo denied the bribe and mutual
name calling followed.
The Philadelphia Daily News then offered
to sponsor a lie detector test to resolve the
issue. Ignoring his advisers, Rizzo agreed.
Camiel passed the test; Rizzo failed.
RIZZO APPEARED TO'BE a political cor-
pse. In fact, shortly before the 1975
Democratic primary, the Philadelphia Daily
News published an article estimating that
Rizzo, who earned $40,000 a year, had spent

$410,000 in costs and improvements on a man-
sion he recently bought.
But city Democratic chairman Camiel was
unable to find a strong candidate to challenge
Rizzo. Camiel finally backed state Senator
Louis Hill, a respected legislator but an inef-
fectual campaigner.
Although Rizzo lost a majority of the city's
wards in the primary, a low black turnout and
large Rizzo pluralities in Philadelphia's
ethnic neighborhood enabled him to defeat
Hill by 33,000 votes.
Armed with a $1.2 million campaign chest,
Rizzo's re-election was assured when two op-
ponents challenged him in Novem-
ber-Charles Bowser and G.O.P. Councilman
Thomas Foglietta. Rizzo won by a 177,000
plurity over Bowser.
During the general election Rizzo offered a
succinct view into Philadelphia's future.
"Just wait," he said, "after November you'll
have a front row seat, because I'm going to
make Attila the Hun look like a faggot."


By Bruce Brumberg

ty taxes; 30 per cent in city wage taxes; and
33 per cent in business taxes.
At the same time, Rizzo unsuccessfully
sought a court order restraining publication
of a satirical column on his Administration in
the Philadelphia Inquirer. Five days after the
article's publication, a pro-Rizzo union
blockaded the Inquirer building for ten hours.
The union demonstrators, who had no con-
tracts with the newspaper, refused to allow
employees to enter the building and forced
the cancellation of two editions of the paper.
Although the paper's management asked for
help from the police, uniformed officers
stayed away on orders from high city of-
ficials.
The combination of the backlash against
record tax increases, and the resentment
against Rizzo's attempts to intimidate the
Inquirer touched off a recall drive. Former
Philadelphia Mayor and U.S. Senator Joseph
Clark signed the first petition at Independen-
ce Square.
"RIZZO HAS BEEN a menace from the
moment he surfaced," Clark said. "He is the
greatest threat to democracy in
Philadelphia's history."
Most observers were skeptical that recall
forces could raise the required 145,448
signatures needed to force a recall. In the
end, however, 210,806 signatures were
gathered.
It looked like Rizzo was in big trouble. A
poll published in the Philadelphia Bulletin
reported that Philadelphian's gave Rizzo a 63
per cent disapproval rating.
But Rizzo got luck. On a legal technicality
the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a
recall election violates the State Constitution.
Controversies continued to surround Rizzo
and his administration. An article hostile to
him had been torn out of 40,000 copies of
Hustler magazine by the United News Co.,
Philadelphia's largest news distributor.
In 1975, Philadelphia's newspapers began
exposing police brutality in the city. The
Philadelphia Inquirer implicated 66 officers
in 32 beatings occuring over a period of a few
months. The story earned the paper a Pulitzer
Prize.
At this point, Rizzo's popularity dwindled to
the vanishing point. His two hand picked can-
didtes in the Democratic.primary election for
District Attorney and City Controller were
defeated. The newspapers continued to ex-
pose scandals in his administration.
YET RIZZO HAD another problem. The
Philadelphia City Charter states that a
mayor can hold office for only two successive
terms. To stay in office, Rizzo would have to
get the charter amended by a ballot referen-
dum.
But in almost seven years as mayor, Rizzo
infuriated almost every voting bloc in the city
except the blue-collar ethnics who helped
elect him. Amending the City Charter would
be an almost impossible task. Businessmen
raised $200,000, primarily for radio and T.V.
ads. Black leaders conducted a registration
drive that signed up about 100,000 new voters.
The charter change amendment was
defeatedbynearly 2 to 1. Philadelphian's
cheered in the streets. Many people gathered
in front of City Hall singing, "Ding-Dong, the
Witch is Dead."
After the charter amendment was solidly
defeated, Rizzo was psychologically woun-
ded. He went into seclusion, fading from the
front pages.
But the U.S. Justice Department's un-
precedented civil suit accusing the mayor and
top city and police official's with establishing
policies that condone police brutality brought
Rizzo out of his shell.
"The suit is complete hogwash," Rizzo
said. "This is not Iran. We will get our day in
court."
DEFENDING THE Philadelphia Police
Department against the Justice Department
suit on the Tom Snyder show, Rizzo was in
vintage form. "The Police Department in
Philadelphia," the mayor said, "could invade
Cuba and win!"

Clearly, for nearly a decade, Rizzo was the
great political issue in Philadelphia. Although
he is ineligible to seek another term, the Rizzo
legacy permeates the campaigns of those who
wish to succeed him. Each of the three
mayoral candidates is runing against the Riz-
zo era.
Democrat William Green, a former
congressman who once ran against Rizzo,
believes Philadelphians are tired of the
polarized political climate during the last
eight years. The central theme of his cam-
paign is an appeal for unity.
Republican David Marston, a former U.S.
attorney, is convinced that the voters are fed
up with the corruption of the Democratic
dominated City Hall. He speaks of a political
change, a clear sweep.
Consumer Party Candidate Lucian Black-
well, a city councilman and labor leader.
fmiltc the A Pv,'q mivnicfratiny, fnr wzhat hp.



THE LIST OF GREEN'S tangible assets
could continue, but Green brought most of
them into the May Democratic primary, only
to receive a far narrower victory than he had
anticipated over Charles Bowser, a black
former deputy city mayor. Green polled 52
per cent of the vote to Bowser's 42 per cent.
Blackwell and Marston take heart from the
primary results. "It's a sign of weakness,"
Marston says, "when a candidate raises a
million dollars, outspends his opponent
(Bowser) 3-to-1 and still gets only 52 per cent
of the vote."
Green was shaken by the primary results,
especially by his failure to get even 10 per
cent of the black vote. Green, who supported
every piece of civil rights and progressive
social legislation during his 13 years in
Congress, was confused by his inability to at-
tract black votes.
Marston, seeing the sharp racial patterns in
the Democratic primary, perceived Green
was vulnerable in the black community.
Seizing the opportunity, Marston promised to
appoint a black managing director as a sym-
bol of his commitment to partnership with
blacks in government.
MARSTON'S PROMISE WAS originally
criticized both by whites, including Gree-
and by blacks, including C. De Lores Tucker,
Bowser's campaign manager. But Green
quickly realized that if he was to rehabilitate
himself in the black community, he also,
would have to make some deals.
So in July, Green pledged to appoint a black
managing director as part of an overall
"commitment of conscience" to increased
black participation in government. Standing
at Green's side when he made the announ-
cement was Mrs. Tucker. She called the
commitment, typed out in a 10-page
document, an "historic compact."
Bowser was scheduled to appear with Mrs.
Tucker at that July endorsement, but he
decided to drop out of politics an hour before
the scheduled press conference. He has
remained on the sidelines ever since.
Also in July, Lucian Blackwellemerged as
the draft candidate of the Black Political.,
Convention, a group of black community and.
professional organizations. He subsequently
obtained the nomination of the Consumer
Party.
Blackwell has strongly criticized his whitef
opponents for playing racial politics,
"There's something wrong," he says, "to,,
stand before you and say I will appoint a cer-
tain person to a certainposition."
IRONICALLY, THIS IS precisely the
argument Rizzo made during his mid-August,
tirade against the two white cadidtes wh.
want his job. Rizzo then launched a highly
publicized search for a conservative can-
didate to succeed him.
Rizzo found a potential surrogate in James
McDermott, a Republican Common Plea
Court Judge. But McDermott, known around
City Hall as the "hanging judge," declined to
enter the mayoral derby.
McDermott's decision was a setback for
Blackwell; a relief for Green, and a reprieve
for David Marston. McDermott's announ-
cement means Rizzo will have no horse in the
field. However, Rizzo hinted that he might
support Marston.
By the end of August, Marston, quiet most
of the summer, bolted from the starting gate
as full fledged law-and-order candidate. He
criticized the U.S. Justice Department suit
against the police, he came out against forced
busing, and he called for a cap on annual in-
creases in city spending.
MARSTON IS NOT badly positioned With
both Green and Blackwell appealing to
liberals and blacks, Marston is wooing the
vast middle and right.

Blackwell is trying to use the same appeal
Bowser made in the primary: form a
coalition of poor whites and poor blacks.
Bowser, however, did poorly in the white
neighborhoods.
Blackwell contends that he has a bigger
base in the white community because of his
labor background. But he has yet to demor-
strate any significant labor support.
Moreover, many black leaders have endorsed
Green.
As forGreen, he will spend the fall trying to
run a defensive, mistake-free campaign.
Green's. consensus politics could be a
dangerous strategy. His quiet unity theme
may get lost in Marston's cry for a clean
sweep and Blackwell's call for a poor peoples'
coalition.

I