,1 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 The HRP petition to place the city's re- cently repealed five dollar marijuana fine in the city charter is unfortunately a necessity to return the city to a more reasonable stance on the personal ques- tion of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. r sl ~.1-1--s 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. I 4 S 4 a 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 $74. Automobile companies, of course, have been making profits this year almost unmatched previously. The question of what those af- fected by the price surge can do is a difficult one to answer. It is a question, though, which w i '1 take on greater urgency with each trip to the supermarket. Zachary Schiller is an editorial director of The Daily. Letters to The Daily (orNJ6Ef$ W6V(c 60oT 'K v pDNaw t j 5 V_ C62F 6 f')b WEd kW VOUR WVF CUT OFF 4v6 CT OFF V80; OF F6k6 ~VWOT MV6 Wi K~ AROMW iWU ^,- w1IVE CurOFF A[ fL/VC &)[0 O c0). SAN {w 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: i I I