RUTHLESS LANDLORDS See Editorial Page t I!3ZtU A6V AL, :43atly SIBERIAN High-20 Low-3 below See Today for details Eighty-Jour Years of Editorial Freedom Vol LXXXV, No. 107 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, February 7, 1975 Ten Cents Eight Pages They beat themselves, then collect Z2JSEE NWWS PAth c yLLXDTh Pilot refueled Dick Munson, director of the Pilot Program, re- ported yesterday that 140 more letters protesting the possible elimination of the program were sent yesterday to Vice President for Academic Affairs, Frank Rhodes. Over 300 letters supporting Pilot have already been delivered to Acting LSA Dean Billy Frye. This flurry of student response was prompted by a report last month that, due to an impending 4 per cent budget cut, Pilot would be among the first to go at the 'U.' Munson added that he has contacted all the Regents on the matter of Pilot Program and several have expressed a particular interest in avoiding its elimination. Check! Steve Feldman and Bob Beinish, the two men trying to break the world's marathon chess playing record, got a mild shock yesterday morning when they began their assault on the mark. They found out they will have to play an additional six hours because the standing record of 81 hours was sur- passed last year by a pair of Southwestern Louisi- ana University students. But the local pair re- mained confident and undaunted by the news. 0 732 and 913... .. .are this week's winning lottery numbers. If you have both numbers, you qualify for the super drawing where you can win up to $200,000. The winning numbers in the turkey bonus drawing are 780 and 418. Winning tickets in the $1 jackpot draw- ing are 149736, 53170, and 346. Happenings .** are attractive today. Jean-Pierre Debris, a one-time prisoner of the South Vietnamese gov- ernment, will speak at 8 p.m. tonight as part of a documentary presentation on North Vietnam en- titled "Year of the Tiger" at the Ecumenical Coun- cil Center . . . a luncheon with Donald Hall will take place at noon today at Guild House, 802 Mon- roe. Hall will be talking about his new play, "Bread and Roses." Home-made soup and sand- wich will cost 50 cents . . . Peter Van Dresser will lecture on "Biotechnic Recentralization" today at the Residential College Auditorium, from 3:15 to 5:00 p.m. . . . East Wind will sponsor a showing of the film "Guilty by Reason of Race" tonight at 8 p.m. The film will be followed by a discussion of Japanese-American camp experience during World War H. The program will take place in the Coman Lounge at Baits H on North Campus. Refresh- ments will be served . . . a seminar on "The Artist and Environmental Law" will be presented by two attorneys today from 3 to 5 p.m., at room 2113 of the Art and Architecture Building on North Cam- pus . . . a free concert will take place at 8 p.m. tonight featuring the University Contemporary Di- rections Ensemble, conducted by Uri Mayer. The concert will be at Rackham Auditorium, and will feature works by David Foley, Lloyd Rogers, and Dinu Ghesso . . . the Rackham Student Govern- ment will sponsor a "Grad Happy Hour" at the Law Club lounge today from 4 to 6 p.m. On the inside* * the Editorial Page features a look at the Citizens' information service by John Staniszew- ski . . . the Arts Page includes the traditional Cine- ma Weekend wrap-up of campus movies . . . and an insight into Women's intercollegiate athletics by Marcia Merker highlights the Sports Page. On the outside... Don't let the frost bite. As the arctic air fin- ally moves in, temperatures will remain on the arctic side. Bright sunshine will dominate the aft- ernoon skies, interrupted only by a few scattered clouds and an occasional flurry. Fair skies and bit- ter cold temperatures are expected for tonight. Highs today will reach 15-20, with a possible new season low of -3 to 2 above. Chances of measure- able snow will be near zero through tonight. Sat- urday, a storm moving in from the west will cause increasing cloudiness with a chance of snowy evening, i NEW YORK, (Reuter) - A man smashed up his car. Then hechiseled against his teeth with a screwdriver and also banged his head with a grape- fruit, raising a lump. He did it on a regular weekly basis. A woman complained that the food in. a restaurant was un- wholesome, rushed to a toilet to vomit and in the process, dropped and lost her false teeth in the toilet. She has done it numerous times. THESE ARE just two exam- ples cited by investigators of what seems to be a favorite American pastime: trying to cheat insurance companies. According to the Insurance Crime Prevention Institute (ICPI), financed by a number of insurance firms, insurance Fraudulent insurance claims increase fraud costs the industry more than $1 billion a year. And the variety of fraudulent practices is bounded only by imagination. THE aforementioned screw- driver and grapefruit man had automobile casualty policies with a number of insurance firms and took turns filing against each, literally and pain- fully using his head to try to increase damages in "acci- dents" around the nation, inves- tigators said. The toothless woman filed in- cessantly against companies which insured the hapless res- taurant she patronized in her travels about the United States, seeking money to replace the teeth she said she lost, investi- gators said. And then there is the claim- ant who attempted to collect from his insurer for a knee in- jury that he said prevented him from kneeling at mass in a Ro- man Catholic church, thus de- priving him of the joys of com- munion with his god and reli- gion. The company might have paid, but it discovered the man was a Methodist. THERE'S also "Nub City," a small Florida town that insur- ance investigators decline to identify by its real name be- cause of continuing disputes over claims. More than 50 people in the town have suffered "accidents" involving the loss of various or- gans and appendages and claims of up to $300,000 have been paid out by insurers. Their investigators are posi- tive that the maimings are self-inflicted and Nub City resi- dents have trouble these days getting insurance coverage. BUT MORE classic and us- ual cases of insurance fraud involve persons who regularly slip and fall in front of places they know or believe to be heavily insured against such accidents, or rings of doctors and lawyers who combine to il- licitly raise the damages in- curred in real or staged auto accidents. ICPI has already broken a number of such rings. One of its biggest cases in- volved a ring in Detroit that ICPI said swindled auto insur- ers out of more than $1 million. More than 70 people have been indicted in the case since it was broken in 1972, including doctors, lawyers, private inves- tigators and even policemen act- ing as "runners" - agents who direct accident victims to par- ticular lawyers and get a kick- back in return. IN addition to the ambulance- chasing operation, the ring is alleged to have forged doctor's reports and collected for "vic- tims" of bus crashes who, it developed, hadn't been on the buses at all. James Ahern, ICPI director, said several of the ring mem- bers also had ties to organized crime whose role in insurance fraud is reported to be growing. Organized crime has appar- ently found out what lone-wolf operators learned long ago: that insurance companies would rather pay off a small claim than go to the greater expense of going to court. BUT while the collective amount of small claims was See INSURANCE, Page 2 Fleming 14 contender Dading for U Cal. p By DAVID BURHENN University President Robben Fleming is reportedly one of three or four candidates for the presidency of the nine-campus University of California system. One California source indicated that Fleming was the front run- ner for the prestigious post. According to officials in the California s y s t e m, Fleming, Michigan State University pres- ident Clifton Wharton, Univer- sity of Utah president David Gardener, and UCLA vice chan- cellor David Faxon are the top contenders to head the nation's second largest university sys- tem. FLEMING acknowledged last night that he had been inter- viewed by t h e presidential search committee in California last weekend. "The committee members asked 'would I have an interest in the position?", Fleming said. residency MSU president W h a r t o n, reached at his East aLnsing home last night, would not com- ment on his candidacy. Ile said that a statement released last week declaring. Wharton "has had no contact with any Cali- fornia officials with respe-t to his possible interest in such a position' was still valid. WHARTON, according to the California sources, is consider- ed a long shot for the presi- dency. The next president of the Uni- versity of California will be re- sponsible for the administration of 120,000 students. The current president, Charles Hitch, is re-, tiring on June 30. ' tense as GEO begins walkout vote Daoily Photo by STEVE KAG.AN THE ANNUAL KIWANIS sale always draws a large and varied crowd. A number of people ex- amine the wares during the event's opening yesterday. It will run through tomorrow. Rummage sale hits infation "I always tal bargaining, hook fished through m footballs andy crowded opening Rummage Sale. Ice-skates sold for $8. Antique the-century lamp seemed pleasing "the longer you get." "THE ONLYI By SUSAN ADES you can't get close enough to buy anything with- k 'em down," boasted a hard- out forcing yourself through." The crowding in ey-playing twelve year old as he the three-story Kiwanis warehouse kept a good nounds of used clothing, deflated number of people waiting in line outside. yellowing books at yesterday's Twenty year veteran Kiwanis Rummage sales- of the local three-day Kiwanis man Stan White felt sure that "the first day, right after people get out of work there will be for $2 and a "new" men's tux another mad rush. They'll all be crabbing that freaks crowded around turn-of- they hadn't gotten here early enough." ps and $10 sausage mills. Prices Chairman of this year's sale, Harry Kenwor- and according to one shopper, thy, appeared confident that the large number hang around, the cheaper they of customers guaranteed a financially successful sale. "It's too early to tell but it seems they are paying asking price," he said. PROBLEM," she noted, "is that See SALE, Page 2 He indicated word had been candidacy. that no farther received on his CONFRONTA TION BREWING: congress hits tax plan Fleming refused to Say wheth- er he would accept the position should it be offered to h!m. It was announced last week that Fleming was one of 10 prime candidates for the Uni- versity of California presidency. At that time, it was expected a final decision would rot be reached until sometime later this month or in March. HOWEVER, sources said last night that the name of the new president might be announced as early as next Friday, at a meeting of the 26 University of California regents in San Fran- cisco. One of the regents, William Coblentz, said yesterday that Fleming was "certainly being considered" for the post and that "the number of names has been narrowed down." But Coblentz would not con- firm whether Fleming was the leading contender, or whether he would accept the $60,000 a year post. "I have no idea," he said, and then asked, "Why would he want to leave Mich- igan?" By JIM TOBIN The tense, waiting atmos- phere which has surrounded the mounting Graduate Employes Organization (GEO) crisis for the past week was shattered today by the announcement that the union has begun a strike vote. As the strength and steadfast stance of the organization be- came apparent, department chairpersons were forced to consider their options in the event of a strike. THE IMPENDING walkout by the University's 2,200 Teaching Fellows, and staff and research assistants was hotly debated in classrooms throughout the cam- pus, as professors and the grad- uate workers presented their positions to students. The union began a strike vote yesterday and the balloting will continue until Monday. A strike if authorized by GEO would go into effect on Tuesday. Many department heads indi- cated that while they hope a strike can still be avoided, they have considered contingency plans for covering classes. Most claim the impact of the strike will be felt most severely in the large introductory courses where teaching assistantshan- dle the bulk of administrative work. THOUGH chairpersons plan to do all they can to cover un- dergraduate classes, they intend to leave the decision whether to report striking GSAs to in- dividual professors. In a letter to "members of the academic community," Vice By The AP and Reuter WASHINGTON-Congress, ac- cused by President Ford of do- ing "basically nothing" about the ailing economy, drove on yesterday toward crucial com- mittee votes on an emergency tax cut. Shaping its remedy for reces- sion, the House Ways and Means Committee rejected bids to give businesses, including such finan- Newsman snags Fed "bomb squad" carrying shoebox gag cially troubled giants as Chrys- ler Corp., Lockheed Aircraft Corp. and Pan American World Airways, a $1 billion tax break. BUT White House Press Sec- retary Ron Nessen said Con- gress, controlled by Democrats, wasn't moving fast enough. He quoted the President as saying it "really has done basically nothing. . . on anything" dur- ing its first month in session. The criticism s h a r p e n e d Ford's confrontation with Con- gress, where his economy- energy program is in trouble. The House voted 309-114 on Wednesday to suspend Ford's increase in oil import tariffs, part of the President's effort to curb consumption by driving up prices. FORD has countered such op- position by challenging Congress to come up with an energy- economic package ofits own. Nessen said Ford wanted Con- gress to 'stop wasting all this time." Noting a House recess sched- uled to begin Friday, Nessen declared: "Congress is going home. 'They've been here a monthrand all they've done is vote for a delay." .He said the President spoke "with practically no support," Nessen said, "the 114 is more than he expected . . . The bad news is that he didn't do as well as he hoped he would." NESSEN ALSO asserted that the inflation rate this year would be "a shade over nine per cent," rather than the 11.3 per cent cited in the 1976 budget Ford presented to Congress Monday. In criticizing rejection of the proposed increase in food cou- pon prices, Nessen said the ac- tion by Congress would add 600 million dollars to the budget See CONGRESS, Page 8 President for Academic Affairs Frank Rhodes directed faculty members to take the same mea- sures in regard to absence and lack of fulfillment of degree re- quirements that they would un- der normal circumstances. Chemistry department chair- man Thomas Dunn stated that chemistry 'professors are on their own in regard to lowering grades of striking GSAs. "THAT'S ENTIRELY up to the individual professor," Dunn said. "You can't make a rule about things like that. It will See 'U', Page 2 Daycare' measure on ballot By DAVID WHITING Two proposed City Charter amendments, calling for door- to-door voter registration and local government funding of child care, were certified by the city clerk's office yester- day to appear on the April bal- lot. In contrast to a controversial rent control proposal which has already been challenged by lo- cal landlords, the child care and voter registration propos- als are not expected to be challenged and are almost cer- tain to appear on the ballot. THE HUMAN Rights Party (HRP) sponsored child care proposal would require 1.7 per cent, or $306,000 of the city's total budget to be appropriated to day care. The door-to-door registration initiative, backed by the Uni- versity's Pilot Program, would require the city to accept vol- unteer deputy registrants who would be allowed to register' voters anywhere in the city. Larry Moloney, chairman of the Voter Registration Commit- tee of the Pilot Program, em- phasized his committee is non- partisian with support from HRP, Democrats, and plans to ohtain GOP and League of Wo- WASHINGTON (R') - The agency re- sponsible for protecting federal buildings from bomb terrorists expressed dismay but little surprise yesterday to learn that a bearded newsman carrying a suspicious- looking shoebox had penetrated tough new security precautions. "We have said all along that anybody who is determined to make violence can do so," said Rich Vawter, spokesman for the General Services Administration (GSA). VAWTER added, however, that he had warned his agency just two days earlier to "tighten up like hell because we would be tetedagan." Department and GSA itself, the agency that trains and deploys 3,500 guards across the country to protect federal property. "Oh no! I can't believe it!" a young wo- man exclaimed when the newsman arrived at the offices of GSA Administrator Ar- thur Sampson and explained what had hap- pened. Sampson was the man who issued new security measures in the wake of last week's State Department explosion. Guards were told to deny entrance to anyone who didn't disnlay a government ID card and submit his briefcase or pack- pge for inspection. THE REPORTER slipped past three Youth center may lose license as director faces charges By CHERYL PILATE The University C e n t e r, a much-maligned psychiatric f a- cility for emotionally disturbed adolescent males, will probably not be re-licensed at the end of this month, according to sources in the State Department of So- '.Aj gp,Vj.- DURING THE past jear, the University Center has been in- vestigated by three state:aen- cies and a U.S. Senate suocom- mittee for a variety of ;dleged offenses, including questionable billing practices, patient mis- treatment and rampant traffic- king in illegal drugs. " .. .. .. .. .. t