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Erhe Sfhigan Dail
Eighty-three years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
News Phone: 764-0552
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1973
Support petition drives
THE PETITION DRIVES recently begun
by the Women's Political Committee
and the Human Rights Party to place
charter amendments on the city election
ballot are important actions which will
hopefully negate some of the results of
last Spring's disappointing city elections.
The Women's Political Committee pe-
tition proposes that the city charter be
amended to establish the right of initia-
tive and referendum. Such an amend-
ment would allow private citizens to
place city ordinances on the ballot
through petitioning.
Initiative and referendum would be a
great step forward in bringing democracy
to the people of the entire community
and allowing them greater control over
their own lives. .
The HRP petition to place the city's re-
cently repealed five dollar marijuana
fine in the city charter is unfortunately
a necessity to return the city to a more
reasonable stance on the personal ques-
tion of indulgence in marijuana. The ar-
guments for reducing or eliminating the
penalties for this victimless "crime" are
well known and it 'certainly is wearying
to have to continuously restate them.
BUT THE NECESSITY for this amend-
ment to be placed on the ballot has
increased in importance since the recent
marijuana arrests and hard-line state-
ments by Mayor Stephenson and Police
Chief Krasny.
The drive to place pay for city council
members on the city ballot also deserves
support. In a city of this size the work of
council members should be considered
important enough to merit some compen-
sation.
More importantly, $5,000 should enable
more people with lower incomes to serve
on the Council. Council work is (or should
be) time consuming, and thus is an ex-
tremely heavy burden for those with low
incomes unless it provides some salary.
A LL OF THESE proposed charter
amendments would provide a greater
degree of democracy and self-government
for the community. Therefore, when your
friendly petitioners approach you, we
urge you to sign.
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Food prices skyrocket,
but let them eat cheese
More broadcast propaganda
U.S.S.R. dissidents:
Suppressed, quieted
as everywhere else
By ERIC SCHOCH
A LEKSANDR SOZHENITSYN and Andrei Sakharov. The names of
these two Soviet dissidents have not yet become household words
in the United States, but if the Soviet press and governmental campaigns
continue against them, such may soon be the case.
It is easy, at first, to wonder why the powerful Soviet government
feels it necessary to take such strong actions against dissidents like
Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov.
The number of Soviet citizens who openly criticize Soviet domestic
and foreign policies and engage in such activities as the publishing of the
underground dissident newsletter The Chronicle is not particularly large,
perhaps numbering only in the hundreds. Nor is the government any-
where a state of imminent collapes.
Yet the Soviet government-controlled press has launched a broad-
side campaign against the two men, one an outstanding author and the
other an accomplished physicist who helped develop the Soviet hydro-
gen bomb.
IN ADDITION, Soviet authorities recently convicted two dissidents
of crimes against the state and somehow influenced the two, Pyotr Yakir
and Viktor Krasin, to publicly confess their sins and announce they had
reversed their thinking completely.
A researcher who helped Solzhenitsyn comb archives for his novel
August 1914 has been arrested, and according to the author, one, of
his unpublished manuscripts was confiscated by authorities after secret
police interrogated a Leningrad woman continuously for five days to
determine its location. The author asserts that the woman subsequently
committed suicide.
All of this gives the non-Com-
munist world the impression that
the Soviet government is suffering
from severe paranoia regarding
the damage such dissidents can do
to the Soviet state. .
In addition, of course, all this
has given heart to many of the kt^.
more conservative writers in this
country, who now have added fuel
for their warning beacons against
detente with the Communists. They
are joyfully rushing to their type- * " '
writers to pound out renewed vi-
sions of the Soviet "iron fist in a s
velvet glove", waving 'Sakharov's
statements in their hands.
IT CANNOT be denied that the
Soviet regime is politically repres-
sive, whether through the actions
of the K.G.B. internally or the
army in Czechoslovakia and Hun-
gary. Political dissidents are put Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
on trial and convicted of crimes
against the state and/or are determined somehow to be mentally de-
ranged and stored for safekeeping in mental institutions.
If it says anything at all, the Soviet press gives inadequate and
distorted reports of the dissidents and their trials, usually approved by
Tass, the government news agency.
However, to look for-suppression of dissent, the view is much clearer
when it is seen at first hand-here in the United States. The list of ac-
tions by the Federal government alone could take up this entire page.
Such government action has not been limited to times when govern-
ment agencies somehow convinced themselves that the government was
in danger from such groups in any direct way.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. criticized 'the FBI and promptly had
his phone tapped. Alger Hiss did nothing at all and was branded a Com-
munist, resulting in his being sent to a federal penitentiary for denying
the charge before a Congressional committee.
Some of the Founding Fathers themselves got off to a bad start When
they passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to prevent the French revolu-
tion from spreading to this country.
And more recently there has been the rash of political trials in this
country-The Chicago Seven, the Gainesville Eight and Angela Davis, to
name three.
NO GOVERNMENT or governmental system, obviously, has any
monopoly on political suppression. All governments have, or at least
claim to have the right to protect themselves, as a Soviet official re-
cently explained to Sakharov, in the manner of a warning.
There does seem to be one difference betwen political trials here
and those in the Soviet Union, however; more and more, the juries in
this country are seeing through the political and absurd nature of gov-
ernment prosecutions and are refusing to convict. The Gainesville Eight
trial was the most recent example of this encouraging trend.
Because of the lack of Soviet press publicity and the closed nature
of their political trials, there is little chance of such occurrences there.
It is because the Soviet people are kept ignorant by the controlled Soviet
Press, that political repression in the Soviet Union must be exposed by
the American press. If only the American media were so diligent about
American repression.
Eric Schoch is an editorial director ofThe Daily.
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iN A LITTLE-NOTICED action this week,
the Senate overwhelmingly approved
a bill authorizing continued federal fi-
nancing of Radio Free Europe and Radio
Liberty.
The 76 to 10 vote appropriating $50:2
million for this year's operations of the
Editorial Staff
CHRISTOPHER PARKS and EUGENE ROBINSON
Co-Editors in Chief
ROBERT BARKIN .....................Feature Editor
DIANE LEVICK . ......- Arts Editor'
MARTIN PORTER .................... Sunday Editor
MARILYN RILEY.....Associate Managing Editor
ZACHARY SCHILLER .... . ...... . ..Editorial Director
ERIC SCHOCH........... ...Editorial Director
TONY SCHWARTZ ................... Sunday Editor
CHARLES STEIN ........City Editor
TED STEIN....................... Executive Editor
ROLFE TESSEM .:.,................., Managing Editor
Businen Staff
BILL BLACKFORD
Business Manager
RAY CATALINO..............Operations Manager
DAVE LAWSON ...............Advertising Manager
SANDY FIENBERG..............Finance Manager
SHERRY ,KASTLE ..............Circulatiopn Director
JIM DYKEMAE........Sales & Promotions Manager
DEPT. MGRS.-Caryn Miller, Elliot Legow, Patti Wil-
kinson
ASSOC. MGRS.-Joan Ades, Linda Coleman, Linda
Cycowski, Steve LeMire, Sandy Wronski
ASST. MGRS.-Chantal Bancihon, Roland Binker,
Linda Ross, Mark Sancrainte, ped Steig, Debbie
Weglarz
STAFF--Ross Shugan, Martha Walker
3ALESPEOPLE-Deva Burleson, Mike Treblin, Bob
Fisher, Debbie Whiting, Alexandra Paul, Eric
Phillips, Diane Carnevale
Photogra phy Staff
DAVID MARGOLICK
Chief Photographer
KEN FINK.....................Staff Photographer
THOMAS GOTTLIEB..............Staff Photographer
STEVE KAGAN................Staff Photographer
KARIM KASMAUSKI ............. Staff Photographer
TERRY McCARTHY............Staff Photographer
JOHN UPTON..................Staff Photographer
Sports Staff
DAN BORUS
Sports Editor
FRANK LONGO
Managing Sports Editor
BOB McGINN ................Executive Sports Editor
CHUCK BLOOM ...............Associate Sports Editor
JOEL GREER...............Associate Sports Editor
RICH STUCK ..............Contributing Sports Editor
BOB HEUER.............Contributing Sports Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Jim Ecker, Marc Feldman, George
Hastings, Marcia Merker. Mark Ronan, Roger Ros,.
liter, Theresa Swedo, Robin Wagner.
STAFF: Barry Agenbright, Jeff Chown, Clarke Cogs-
dill. Brian Deming, Leba Hertz, John Kaler,
Mike .Lisull, Mike Pritula, _Bob Simon,
two stations sends the bill on to the
House, traditionally more conservative on
foreign affairs issues.
Sen. J. William Fulbright, (D-Ark.)
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, aptly characterized the two
stations as "simply a remnant of the cold
war."
Both of the stations broadcast to social-
ist nations, and were secretly funded by
the Central Intelligence Agency until re-
cently. /
It is particularly disturbing that in an
era supposedly marked by a lessening of
tension between the capitalist and social-
ist world, the Senate still passes such a
measure by an enormous margin.
FULBRIGHT'S AMENDMENT to send
the bill back to committee failed by a
56 to 29 vote. The Arkansas senator had
moved to consider financing the two sta-
tions in connection with the government-
operated Voice of America.
The current Congressional considera-
tion of funding for the. stations'makes it
particularly important for both Congress
and the American public to conduct an
examination of U. S. propaganda activi-
ties abroad.
Outstanding in such an investigation
would have to be the United States In-
formation Agency, a $200 'million global
enterprise with 176 posts in 101 coun-
tries.
Sen. Charles Percy's (R-Ill.) eontention
that Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty
have long ago abandoned cold war tactics
is one which deserves more scrutiny.
ESPECIALLY IN view of the President's
continual warning that the federal
budget must remain balanced this year, it
is highly questionable that the United
States 'should pay $250 million to main-
tain operations around the world whose
function is spew forth a continual stream
of anti-communist propaganda.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Prakosh Aswani, Christopher Parks,
Judy Ruskin
Editorial Page: Zachary Schiler, Eric
Schoch
Arts Page: Diane Levick
Photo Technician: Jim Fink
By ZACHARY SCHILLER
HE CHAIRMAN of the Federal
Reserve Board suggested in
February that "the American pub-
lic would be just as well off if it
spent less on meat and more on
cheese."
He added that, "On a purely vol-
untary basis, I think we would
be just as well off if we had
one meatless day a week."
Friday's Labor Department an-
nouncement of the wholesale price
index shows, however, that such
abstinence may be something less
than voluntary. Wholesale f a r i
prices soared by 23.1 per cent
during August, the largest monthly
increase on record.
Poultry rose 42 per cent, eggs
35 per cent, grain 60 percent, and
livestock 22 per cent.
Taken as a whole, farm prices
were 66 per cent higher last month
than a year earlier.
Government spokespersons be-
lieve some prices have dropped
since the August statistics were
taken, and Secretary of the Treas-
ury George Schultz said "My in-
stinct is that we have seen the
,worst of the food price prob-
lem."
SCHULTZ PREDICTED s e v e n
months ago that food prices would
be no higher at the end of this
year than they were at the begin-
ning.
!Other officials are more b l u n t
than Schultz; Earl Butz, Secre-
tary of Agriculture, said Friday
that food prices'have been "ridi-
culously cheap" for years and that
Americans spend less of their
take-home pay for groceries than
any other people.
Although edibles lead off t h e
price rise, they are far from te-
ing the single category in which
buyers must spend more than
formerly.
Shoppers for fall clothing, for in-
stance, find that prices are at
least 10 to 15 per cent higher then
last year. Shoe prices have risen
from $1 to $6 a pair.
The overall wholesale price in-
dex jumped 5.8 per cent last month
alone.
AS FOOD PRICES spiral high-
er, some have been forced to take
drastic measures. Recent n e w s
accounts from Miami Beach, an
I
George Schultz Earl Butz
area with a large proportion of
older persons living on fixed in-
comes, told of elderly persons tur'-
ing to shop-lifting in the super-
markets.
A food store manager in New
York 'City remarked, "There's not
much they can buy, and that's the
truth."
"It's not the price of steak thyt
bothers you," said one older resi-
dent. "We haven't been able to
eat that for years. What you notice
is when potatoes go to $1.09 for
five pounds."
Dr. John Dunlop, director of the
Cost of Living Council, Friday pre-
dicted another surge in f o o d
prices will occur starting at mid-
night tonight.
AT THAT TIME, food proces-
sors, wholesalers and retailers will
be allowed to pass on to con-
sumers rises in costs - such as
labor and transportation - other
than the cost of. the raw agricul-
tural product.
The beef price freeze will ex-
pire at the same time, three days
ahead of schedule.
With wholesale prices rising dur-
ing the last three months by an
annual rate of 32 per cent, it has
become increasingly clear that the
(Administration has no inflation
remedy.
The Agriculture Department pre-
dicted in February that the rate
of increase in supermarket prices
would taper off as the year pro-
gressed. Meanwhile, since a year
ago grain prices are up 167 per
cent with live poultry close be-
hind.
Reciting the rising percentages
is more sickening than it is il-
lustrative:
HOWEVER, at the same time as
we learn of the latest round of
price rises, it turns out that the
Cost of Living Council has grant-
ed automobile manufacturers the
right to increase car prices be-
tween $50 and $74.
Automobile companies, of course,
have been making profits this year
almost unmatched previously.
The question of what those af-
fected by the price surge can do
is a difficult one to answer. It is
a question, though, which w i '1
take on greater urgency with each
trip to the supermarket.
Zachary Schiller is an editorial
director of The Daily.
Letters to The Daily
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clarification
To The Daily:
FOR FEAR of being further mis-
quoted and misunderstood, and in
hopes of being taken seriously, I
would like to clarify the not-quite-
accurate interpretation of t h e
"component system" in the August
24 article on the Title IX complaint
filed by a group of us against the
University on grounds of "gross
discrimination against w o m e n
in athletics." Let me say emphat-
ically that I have never said that
there should not be components for
women in contact sports, or, for
that matter, that women shouldn't
compete in contact sports - with
women or with men. In fact, I am
trying to get a state law changed
that now permits girls to play on
teams with boys (and apparently
with other girls) only in non-con-
tact sports. Specifying that females
may not participate in opportunities
afforded males certainly runs coun-
ter to all constitutional guarantees
essentially female component. (I
say "essentially" because I doubt
that a qualifying person may legal-
ly be kept off a squad on the basis
of sex.)
A components - type method,
which ensures the recognition and
the comparable training of wo-
men as well as of men in athletics
is used by the Olympics, by the
AAU, by some high schools in sou-
thern states and in Iowa, and by
the new professional Tennis or-
ganization of which Billie Jean
King is a member. It isn't far-
fetched that it should be used by
our public colleges and universi-
ties. Having both sexes participate
in an event would probably pro-
duce increased revenue (one of the
main concerns of those worrying
about intercollegiate athletics for
women) and would permit women,
at long last, to play in Crisler Are-
na before an appreciative audience.
The report is 58 pages long and
is accompanied by 24 readily avail-
curate statement about the Wo-
men's Political Committee. T h e
article states that HRP was the
originator of the Initiative and Re-
ferendum campaign, and "turned
(it) over" to the Women's Poli-
tical Committee.
Actually, WPC and HRP were
planning this campaign independ-
ently, and neither was aware of
the other's actions. HRP was sim-
ply the first to publically announce
its plans. After a dialogue be-
tween the two groups, HRP de-
cided to withdraw in favor of
WPC, and concentrate its efforts in
other areas.
The Daily has followed a con-
sistent policy of ignoring or dis-
torting news concerning the wo-
men's movement, and it .appears
that WPC is no exception. The
Daily has made no use of a press
release sent to them by WPC, and
has also made no attempt to con-
tact any members of the group.
Women are certainly newsworthy:
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