ElyeAirliigan Daily
Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
fut ures past
Looking for a way to bury the bomb
by dave chudwin -
I
1d dv_ _udwi
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
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.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: ROBERT SCHREINER
Half-time at Homecoming
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following editorial
went to press before The Daily was informed
last night of the decision to alow a short
anti-war demonstration during half-time
this Saturday.
HOMECOMING, 1929 - the term con-
jures up images of class games, tra-
ditional rivalry, a gala homecoming
dance, and a parade with numerous
floats, all climaxed by an exciting foot-
ball game with Harvard.
Homecoming, 1971 also conjures up
images. Images of a string of not very
exciting concerts, floats in a parade label-
led anti-war, a game we are almost
certain of winning, and a bitterly con-
tested half-time show by the Marching
Men of Michigan.
This year, as the concepts of school
spirit and collegiate pranks on the order
of inter-class games have faded, Home-
coming has taken on a new meaning.
Student Government Council has en-
dorsed an anti-war theme for this year's
homecoming, as suggested by the Ann Ar-
bor Coalition to End to War. With an
overall theme of "Let's work together,"
Friday's parade has the theme "L e t' s
work together to bring the troops home
now."
Several anti-war floats have been reg-
istered for Friday's parade, and although
anti-war - organizers have complain-
ed about the placement of these floats,
they have been accepted by the parade
committee and integrated into the tradi-
ional homecoming parade.
BUT CONTROVERSY still rages over the
half-time program to be performed
by the University's all-male marching
band. Athletic Director Don Canham has
as usual relinquished his authority on this
matter to the band director; George Ca-
vender. The members of the band voted
against presenting an anti-war .program.
They say they are not against the anti-
war movement, pointing to such "re-
cent" anti-war presentations as the half-
time shows at the 1969 Ohio State game
and the 1970 Rose Bowl.
Despite the Athletic Department's
sloughing off this issue, the department's
athletes have publicly registered t h e i r
support for the anti-war homecoming
program. Indeed, over half the football
team has signed a petition in support of
such a program, much to the chagrin of
Cavender and Athletic Department of-
ficials.
Billboard
.HE IMMINENT passage by the State
Legislature of billboard legislation
proposed by the advertising industry it-
self shows the amazing ability of private
concerns to mislead the public.
The bill, S.B. 517, already passed by
the State Senate and pending before
the House would comply with federal
standards for interstate highways. Yet
this law, .because of its ambiguous lang-
uage, would actually allow more signs on
the highway rather than less. It is clear-
ly a windfall for the outdoor advertising
concerns.
The irony of all this is that most legis-
lators, the mass media, and the general
public all believe they are, by this bill,
helping relieve the congestion of unsight-
ly billboards along our roads. The adver-
tising industry lobby has been billing it
as an effective means of controlling road
signs and the public and legislators be-
lieve' them.
The bill allows for signs as large as
one seventh of an acre to be built. It
allows 500 feet spacing between signs in
"industrial and commercially zoned
areas." Yet this definition is so ambig-
uous that the entire highway from Ben-
ton Harbor to Detroit can be zoned. Fin-
ally, the bill does not allow for towns and
cities to establish their own local codes,
The bill complies with the federal stan-
dards established in the so-called "Lady-
bird act." Yet the intention of that act,
to beautify the highways, is contravened
by the ambiguities in this legislation.
With the additional signs that this bill
will allow on the highways, the natural
scenery that the federal act intended to
preserve will be further blighted.
+ r . A44 -_ --r
The willingness of the football team to
tend its weight to the anti-war move-
ment's aims only makes the movement's
requests more convincing. Athletes have
long been stereotyped as politically con-
servative, but by signing the petition they
tave illustrated their growing political
interest. They are the ones who will be
performing in the spectacle on Tartan
Turf Saturday; it is by reason of their
playing that the band has a half-time
in which to perform. It for no other rea-
son, then, their opinions ought to be
granted credence.
In addition, the mandate lent t h e
movement by SGC's endorsement ought
not to be taken lighly. Among those who
voted for the anti-war theme were two
members of the conservative Student
Caucus, both of whom are no longer coun-
cil members. It seems increasingly clear
that the University community has unit-
9d on this issue. Only two weeks ago, at
the Oct. 13 Moratorium, President Robben
Fleming agreed that nearly everyone here
opposes the war
FOOTBALL GAMES have far less of the
intense social meaning they once
held, despite the fiery spirit that ignites
itself each week at Michigan Stadium.
Homecoming today 'may be no more than
a weak echo of a time when it was a
grand event. There might be little, in
fact to distinguish this football game
from any other game.
But by working for an anti-war half-
time performance, the University com-
munity can demonstrate a committment
to ending U.S. involvement in Indochina.
For unlike one-day marches and rallies,
this performance would reach a captive
audience of University alumni and local
persons unaffiliated with the University
-a vast potential group of persons for
whom the war may not be quite as clear
an issue as it is to many students here.
Here, then, is a chance for us to inject
a meaningful political mess.age into what
might be an archaic college event of no
political significance, a pleasant enough
afternoon at the stadium.
AND, IN VIEW of the support already
registered for making this year's
Homecoming half-time show an anti-war
events, it is inexcusable for University
officials to ignore the request. When
athletes concur with SGC, the topic at
issue must be compelling indeed.
-ROSE SUE BERSTEIN
deception
The advertising lobby is so powerful
that it has confronted Gov. Milliken head-
on and appears to be the winner. Milli-
ken, who has proposed amendments to
the bill, expresses doubt they will be
passed because of, "the powerful interests
in the billboard field who are trying to
pass a weaker bill." The lobby has gath-
ered leaders across party' lines to insure
passage of the bill.
THERE IS AN alternative bill, S.B. 4360
which would suitably regulate bill-
boards. It allows for signs strategically
placed before exits informing drivers of
nearby restaurants and hotels. Such a
plan has worked successfully in Vermont
and Virginia. But, because of an expect-
ed loss in revenue the billboard lobby has
strenuously opposed this bill,
While the billboard issue may seem in-
significant, the broader question of pri-
vate vs. public interest is not. Indeed,
it shows the continuing dilemma of legis-
lative bodies patronizing private con-
cerns where these concerns exert pres-
sure. Only by equal counter-pressure from
the public will such situations be recti-
fied.
-ROBERT BARKIN
Bible lesson
THAT BEST-SELLER of all time, T he
Bible, is a bottomless well of appro-
priate analogies. A California legislator
recently drew on it to provide a chilling
vision of the end product of sexual dev-
iance.
The California Assembly was consider-
in a hill thnt nuldleoali'zo all fnrms off
IN PEKING Henry Kissinger is finishing
discussions with Chou En-lai and
other Chinese officials. In Paris Leonid
Brezhnev is visiting with President Pom-
pidou and the French. In Canada Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau is playing host
to Alexei Kosygin. In Washington Presi-
dent Nixon is preparing for trips to both
Moscow and Peking.
As diplomats around the world are
scurrying tb follow these high-level ne-
gotiations, it, is apparent that the whole
fabric of international relations is chang-
ing.
Even the most diehard Red-baiter has
been forced to realize that the Cold War
perspective of the world - a monolithic
Communist bloc opposed to the United
States and its allies-is completely out-
dated.
We'are going through a fluid period in
the chess game of internastional politics
that holds both risks and opportunities
for the United States and for world peace.
The major opportunity for the current
diplomatic manipulations is the possi-
bility of new disarmament agreements
that would allow both the United States
and the Soviet Union to reduce both the
billions of dollars they are spending on
new weapons systems and the possibility
that they might be used.
One of the major risks is that should
such negotiations fail, the prospect of a
new arms race that would be both costly
and dangerous would become likely.
ALREADY THE Defense Department
and friendly legislators are issuing omi-
nous warnings about the military strength
of the Soviet Union. "There is one fact
which hangs like a sword of Damocles over
our head and that is the serious and grow-
ing threat of our potential enemies,"
warned Sen. Thomas McIntyre on the
Senate floor.
"While I cannot say definitely at this
moment we are second to the Soviets,
we are so close that it frightens me,"
Sen. Barry Goldwater remarked as the
Senate last month began debate on a
$21.1 billion military procurement bill that
was recently passed.
This authorization bill, and the wea-
pons it funds, demonstrates how we have
mortgaged ourselves to the development
of increasingly expensive weapons sys-
tems that do not do the job for which
they are built, do not .significantly pro-
tect our country, and might help re-ignite
the arms race.
Some of these boondoggles provided by
the bill and their funding for the next
fiscal year include:
" The Safeguard anti-ballistic missile
(ABM) system - $1.1 billion. The Sen-
ate bill authorized construction of four
sites for ABM, supposedly to protect mis-
sile launching silos. There are serious
doubts whether Safeguard will actually
work or whether its mission is necessary.
* The F-14 fighter plane - $1.02 bil-
lion. Defended as necessary -to replace the
F-4 fighter now in use with a more ad-
vanced aircraft, the F-14 will cost five
times as much-$16 million a plane-yet
its performance will be only marginally
better. Furthermore, the Phoenix missile,
which is the F-14's major weapon, has
been under development for 10 years and
still does not work.
* The B-1 bomber-$370 million. In an
age of advanced missiles, the Air Force
is pushing a new long range bomber to
replace the B-52. Anti-aircraft and elec-
tronic defenses make bombers almost an
anachronism.
9 The C-5A transport plane - $396
million. This plane has been one of the
great disasters of American military pro-
curement. After massive cost overruns,
the planes have been repeatedly ground-
ed because of multiple structural and
mechanical defects. Despite the C-5A's
failure, money continues to be poured into
it.
4 The Minuteman III missile - $999
million. The Minuteman III is equipped
with MIRV warheads --- multiple inde-
pendently targeted reentry vehicles that
allow one missile to deliver several nu-
clear bombs to different targets.
Economics Prof. Frederic Scherer in a
recent symposium pointed out that MIRV
is an extremely destabilizing influence on
the balance of power between the United
States and the Soviet Union because it
allows a major increase in strike capabil-
ity using existing missiles.
The only hope for maintaining this
power balance, and preventing the U.S.
from spending up to $300 billion on arma-
ments now on the drawing boards, is
through international disarmament agree-
ments.
Such agreements seemed impossible a
decade ago, but a number of factors have
brightened the hopes for successful ne-
gotiations.
FIRST, THE SOVIETS have increased
their military strength to a point where
it approximates our own. Thus, they are
more willing to halt arms development
than when they were clearly in a No. 2
position.
Second, the costs of weapons have put
tremendous strains on the economies of
all the major powers. With peace senti-
ment here, an increasing demand for con-
sumer goods in the Soviet Union and the
need for development in China, there is
some economic incentive for arms agree-
ments.
Finally, the spread of nuclear weapons
has raised the possibility of accidental
war. Any disarmament agreements would
be unlikely if the Japanese, West Ger-
mans, Indians. Egyptians, and Israelis
join the nuclear club. There is some ur-
gency for agreement before these nations
o nuclear.
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Placed in this perspective, the diplo-
matic waltzes that are now going on be-
tween Washington, Moscow, Peking, Paris
and London raise the hopes that the cli-
mate of detente between the major powers
has reached a point where' some kind of
arms limitation agreements might be pos-
sible.
In fact, many observers believe a high
point of Nixon's Moscow visit will be to
sign a preliminary agreement that is ex-
pected to come out of the Strategic Arms
Limitations Talks (SALT) which have
been going on between Moscow and Wash-
ington.
It is important that the United States
do what it can to advance both the in-
ternational political climate and these
negotiations. For example, the U.S. SALT
negotiators have refused to discuss MIRV,
concentrating instead on "defensive" sys-
tems such as Safeguard.
This is only dealing with part of the
problem, however. While any agreements
will probably come in stages, the entire
range of arms limitations must be ex-
plored.
AND WITH THE current climate of
negotiations, at long last there is some
hope that arms expenditures can be re-
duced, the balance of terror between the
major powers can be stabilized and that
the awful moment when the nuclear trig-
ger is pulled be made a little more remote,
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Letters: Protesting scalping of Iaez tickets
To The Daily:
I WOULD LIKE to take excep-
tion with the way the sale of tick-
ets for the Joan Baez concert was
conducted. I realize that the U-M
Folklore Society needs to and
should make money. But I thought
another primary concern of theirs
was to bring the University and
the community good performers at
reasonable prices.
Why, then, do they make a
practice of selling inordinately
large numbers of tickets to in-
dividuals who obviously will not
use them personally, but w ill
probably sell them at a profit?
While I don't care to make claims
I can't substantiate, I was t o 1 d
by people in line at the Union
that some students (or others)
were buying 100 and 200 tickets at
a time.
Given the length of the line and
the time it took to get through
it (I know of at least one person
who waited four hours to get four
tickets), it would seem likely that
the delay was caused by individ-
uals making unusually large trans-
actions, which would be very time-
consuming.
As an employe of the Univer-
sity, I have one hour for lunch,
during which I must complete the
day's chores. Obviously, I can't
spend half the day waiting in line
to purchase two tickets. W n i 1 e
one of editorial over-kill; rather
like shooting at rats with an ele-
phant gun, it you'll excuse the
analogy. (I'm not sure the com-
parison of the Daily with an
elephant gun is all that- fitting,
perhaps a large Saturday n i g h t
special would be more appropriate.
The other part of the analogy is
probably a little too kind, too.)
In any event, I would like to
suggest that the Daily's reaction,
while perhaps understandable -
in just the same terms that SGC's
reaction to TheDaily was under-
standable - would have been bet-
ter were it more forgiving, more
detached.
Rather than score SGC's new
journalistic efforts (roughly on
the same level as their political
efforts) (you may construe that
comment however you wish), The
Daily should rather welcome them.
The Daily has too long enjoyed
a virtual monopoly in campus pub-
lications, administration efforts to
to the contrary notwithstanding. I
doubt that is entirely the result of
sheer, unequaled success in t h e
open, competitive market, but ra-
ther the result of other, more
mundane factors. Well, be that as
it may, The Daily has not been
enlivened in the way that good,
healthy competition might enliv-
en and challenge it. While com-
nniinmh n mif - -mnrip
It is ironic, of course, that The
Daily, so long both the scourge
a'nd favorite whiping boy of lib-
erals, moderates, conservatives and
right-radicals, should finally find
its competition coming from the
left rather than the right. That,
I suppose, is a fairly direct result
of SGC's myopia (or perhaps as-
tigmatism). Be that as it may.
another newspaper now exists.
whichtis more than not existing.
As the careful reader may no
doubt be able to discern, I am
not too taken by the SGC's Stu-
dent Action. In time, though, per-
haps it may yet prove to serve
some useful function. The most
optimistic mayuretain some feeble
ray of hope.
-Eliot Malden, 74Law
-Henry Burlingame, 73Law
Oct. 20
0rn SSlOfl
To The Daily:
THE SPECTRE COLLECTIVE
quite' properly expressed indigna-
tion at your omission of that
newspaper in your discussion of
the Ann Arbor underground
press.
Other omissions suggest, how-
ever, thatosimple ignorance rath-
er than mere prejudice may have
guided the writing of the piece.
The article state that "The un-
Marcos
To The Daily:
THIS WEEK, Mrs. Imelda Mar-
cos, wife of the President of the
Republic of the Philippines, is
scheduled to arive in Detroit as
a guest of the Fords. We take this
occasion to publicly protest t h e
announced candidacy of Mrs. Mar-
cos for President of the Philippine
Republic.
Her husband, Ferdinand Marcos,
has now occupied the Philippine
presidency for almost a full six
years. During this time, he has
amassed power and wealth at the
expense ofthe masses of desti-
tute Filipinos.
During his campaign to regain
office two years ago, President
Marcos spent millions of pesos, in-
cluding those belonging to the
Philippine treasury, to the amount
that he has contributed greatly to
the severe inflation problems the
Philippines faces today.
During his term of office, the
peace and order situation in our
country has deteriorated. More
than two months after some op-
position party members were ser-
iously injured in a bombing, and
some others killed, no suspects
have as yet been apprehended.
Yet in the meantime, President
Marcos has suspended the writ of
habeas corpus and placed hund-
L.~ " _F - - .r+ - ;i -l
May Imelda Marcos have a fine
time in Detroit. May she enjoy the
company of Cristina Ford and her
social set. But may she now leave
the task of nation-building a n d
leadership to other worthy and de-
serving Filipino men and women,
Filipinos who will work for their
country's growth and the people's
welfare.
During our struggle for achiev-
ing economic development and a
higher quality of life, it is very
obvious to us that the Marcoses
have not poven to the country
that they are the kinds of leaders
the 'Philippines needs.
-Victor Gamboa, President
-Veronica Nieva, Secretary
-Samuel Gregorio, P.R.O.
-Ramon Henson
The Philippine-Michigan
Club
Oct. 18
Nixon and history
To The Daily:
THE SECOND STAGE of the
Nixon wage-freeze has been pro-
claimed. What Nixon does not
seem to realize is that history does
not operate on a time-table that
can be shouted from the moun-
taintops of the imperialist night-
mare-world.
4