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. d 4 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, I C ,-DCOM6 TRUE~ INAT LaYDUU9You WISH? WI IOA' [UOL-L /~2 G 0 So 0 Li r3 A&)L AK) UML2 TO AC ISM11 HAT ULD4~ STAR Ib * A&P -MEU P0OWER CAF U(FU AMJP 7HU u~LA c'p- W)T FALY. !F MY 3 05N£565CAME -RE Tm F6 (k) A FD~i TM T MAKE5YOUR '3 W3I ES COH6 7O- 8UT fH6ECi2 IUi EU cO1UTfiI 1K) T Fi5AMg. a G6 r / 9 -=, Co s a a m , m , ,a a «: *0 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