I stif Sfr4tgan4 + Eighty-three years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan OEO legal help program faces attacks k] Al 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 News Phone: 764-0552 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1973 The polities of resignation WHILE IMPEACHMENT efforts progress slowly in the House of Representa- tives, there is increased discussion of an- other solution to the present national leadership crisis, Richard Nixon's resig- nation as President. Across the country political friends and foes alike are calling on Mr. Nixon to give up his office and let the task of lead- ing the nation fall to cleaner and more effective hands. Even the conservative Detroit News, staunch Nixon ally in the newspaper world, has advocated the President's resignation. It appears Republican stal- warts have come to the conclusion that Nixon is a liability, both to the nation and to the GOP. PROPONENTS of Nixon resignation emphasize the paralysis of govern- ment created by the Watergate scandal and its countless ramifications. With trust in President Nixon and hence the American government at an all-time low, relations with other nations are clouded by uncertainty. It is also doubtful whe- ther the administration is capable of pro- viding leadership in domestic matters. Mooreover, Nixon's resignation would avoid tying up both the executive and legislative branches of government in a long agonizing battle over impeachment. To those familiar with Nixon's long quest. for the presidency and the arro- gancy he has displayed regarding his power as chief executive, the suggestion that the President would step down from office may seem ludicrous. HOWEVER, IT IS entirely possible Nix- on would not wish to remain as President minus the power and prestige he so obviously has enjoyed. Advice from close aides and pressure from political allies could indeed weaken the Presi- dent's resolve to go down with his sink- Ing ship. While we would welcome Nixon's resig- nation, the apparent political deal it would involve raises some disturbing is- sues. Many advocates of Nixon's resigna- tion feel the President should step down only after his nomination of Gerald Ford for Vice President has been approved by the Congress. THE POLITICAL LOGIC of this idea is hard to fathom. It places President Nixon in the rather peculiar position of a man who is generally considered to have betrayed the public trust, is forced to give up his office, but is first allowed to name his successor. For a short time several weeks ago, it Editorial Staff CHRISTOPHER PARKS and EUGENE ROBINSON Co-Editors In Chief 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 STAFF WRITERS: Prakash Aswani, Gordon Atcheson, Dan Biddle, Penny Blank. Dan Blugerman, Howard Brick, Dave Burhenn, Bonnie Carnes, Charles Cole- man, Mike Duweck, Ted Evanoff, Deborah Good, William Heenan, Cindy Hill, Jack Krost, Jean Love- Josephine Marcotty, Cheryl Pilate, Judy Ruskin, Ann Rauma, Bob Seidenstein, Stephen Selbst, Jeff Sorensen, Sue Otephenson, David Stoll, Rebecca Warner DAILY WEATHER BUREAU: William Marino and Dennis Dismacnek (forecasters) appeared the Ford nomination would be delayed in Congress because of the drive for Nixon's impeachment. Now, the re- verse seems to be true, Congress is rush- ing through the nomination to create the preconditions for a Nixon resignation. This apparent desire to replace Nixon with a virtual carbon copy in Gerald Ford reveals the hidden complexity of the resignation issue. While a speedy end to the Nixon presidency is a desirable goal, resignation should not occur for reasons of political expediency. Undoubtedly Nix- on's resignation would be for the good of the nation and perhaps the Republican party, but these effects should constitute the by-products and not the rationale of resignation. RICHARD NIXON should resign because through a consistent policy of de- ception, obstruction of justice and abuse of power he has forfeited any right, either moral or political, to lead the nation. As a result of the Watergate scandal, the American people and much of the world has come to see the Nixon admin- istration as the most corrupt in the na- tion's history. The spectre of this cor- ruotion cannot be erased through a politi- cal deal that lets Gerald Ford enter the White House through the back door. Congress has three responsibilities in dealing with the current crisis of the Ad- ministration: to continue impeachment efforts, to reject or delay of the Ford nomination and most importantly to pro- vide the nation with the open, effective leadership it has lacked in the Nixon years. Nix Nichols TODAY DETROIT voters will make a . crucial decision about their future. The mayoral race between State Sen. Coleman "Young and former Police Com- missioner John Nichols is much more than a clash between opposite personali- ties and campaign styles. It is a battle of diametrically opposed philosophies. Nichols ran an inefficient, corrupt De- troit police department and promises to do the same with the city administration. His approach to government is a straight- ahead, tough-guy program which offers few solutions to the city's many prob- lems. Nichols has made race a major is- sue in the campaign, and has further di- vided a dangerously polarized city in the few brief monthe of the campaign. COLEMAN YOUNG has for years been a driving force in the state's Demo- cratic Party. With his considerable ener- gv and sound ideas, he has been a major progressive force in the state. Young has campaigned on issues, not on fear. His assertion that the major problems of Detroit are economic in na- ture is, we believe, an accurate one. Young has sound plans for the revitaliza- tion of the city, and his record gives hope that he will carry them out. Coleman Young may not be able to save Detroit, but at this hour he seems its only chance. TODAY'S STAFF: News: Chris Parks, Cheryl Pilate, Chip Sinclair, Ted Stein, Becky Warner Editorial Page: Nick Ferraro, Subrata Ghoshroy, Zach Schiller, Chuck Wilbur Arts Page: Angel Baby Photo Technician: David Margolick By TERRY ADAMS THE DISCOVERY by academics and so- cial planners in the 1960's that poverty still existed in the United States has had at least one important but unheralded by- product - that in terms of crucial services like medical and legal assistance, depriva- tion extends a long way up the income ladder. The purpose of these three arti- cles is to discuss attempts that have so far been nade to make legal services available to the great majority of the population that is not rich, alternatives that are still available, and actions being taken by the Congress right now that ser- iously affect those alternatives. This first part discusses the structure of and attacks on the Office of Economic Op- portunity's Legal Services Program for the poor. The second will discuss the struggle that began in Congress this past spring and will reach a climax within a few weeks over legal services for the poor. And the third will discuss the options available to working- and middle-class people. OEO'S LEGAL services program w a s really an afterthought of Lyndon John- son's War on Poverty. With very little dis- cussion, LBJ's landslide Congress accepted Sargent Shriver's suggestion and added a brief phrase to the Economic Opportunity Act of 1965 authorizing such a program. No additional legislation on the subject has become law since then, and this v a s t program (2,200 lawyers in 936 offices in all 50 states, serving about 2 million people a year at a cost of $180 million) is govern- ed by regulations issued by the director of OEO. From the beginning the program has con- sisted of contracts between local (now re- gional) OEO officers and local non-profit private corporations; the local OEO offices get the money from Washington, and the local corporations hire a staff of attorneys and others to provide legal services to the poor in the particular geogrannical area of the local OEO office. The local legal serv- ices projects are allowed to take only non- criminal cases that a private lawyer would not take, and generally serve only people with incomes below the federal poverty line (now about $4,500 for a family of four}. ELIGIBLE CLIENTS get the full range :w s::::.'":JJ: : ::J ~::::::: ::::: . :}:.::w ::} : .,. : :-....Y:.":J:". . ..........:::L...J J..":}..:: J::::J:":"l J\4L {4 ..1 y'l "Being sued frequently . . . is regarded as a very unpleasant experience by many local politicians and bureaucrats, and they have aggressively counterattacked by trying to kill or at least maim the most vigorous local legal services projects." .......":::::..::. ::a ::"}::::: ..:......................... ...'s L:": of legal services any private attorney would give - advice, negotiation, and litigation-- and there is no fee charged; in addition, many project attorneys have acted as lob- byists for groups of poor people such as tenants' organizations and welfare rights organizations. Despite the comparatively low pay (averaging $10,000 to start com- pared to $15,000 with a traditional law firm) the project attorneys are not allowed any outside practice of law. As a practical matter, 70 Der cent of the cases handled by project attorneys never get to court - as in the case in private practice, they are settled simply with ad- ticians and bureaucrats, and they have aggressively counter-attacked by trying to kill or at least maim the most vigorous local legal services projects. THE MOST FAMOUS such attack was that of California's Gov. Reagan on Cali- fornia Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA)', which had successfully prevented many of Reagan's attempts to cut back on welfare programs and to break the farmworker's strike. This incident is instructive because it set a pattern for the attacks made on the whole legal services program during the past year. Step one of the attack is to find some- vice or through negotiation. Of the cases that are tried, three-fourths are won and half settled before they actually go to trial. Only one per cent of all the cases are ever appealed to a higher court, but much of the praise and damnation of the entire program grows out of that tiny fraction of the cases. MANY OF THEM have gotten the label "law reform" or "test" cases, since often the purpose of them is to establish some new rule of law that will change the con- duct of government officials a n d private economic interests in order to benefit great numbers of poor people. Typically the case is based on the claim that government officials are violwing the federal constitution or some federal statute. A, lot of important cases have been won (and a lot lost, but seldom are the poor worse off as a result) and the procedural rights of the poor in the areas of welfare, housing, education, and protection against creditors have substantially increased. Being sued frequently, particulariv when it means losing and having to change an es- tablished policy, is regarded as a very unpleasant experience by many local poli- one with proper ideological credentials to evaluate the program and recommend its discontinuance; Reagan and all the other governors have an initial veto power over OEO projects in the state, but until recent- ly the governor needed some strong evi- dence backing up the veto to convince OEO not to override it and fund the pro- gram anyone. REAGAN'S MAN for the attack on CRLA was Lewis K. Uhler, a former official of the state John Birch Society. In 1970, Uhler reported back with a document of several hundred pages charging CRLA with a range of improper activities including em- bezzlement, support of left-radical political groups, and litigation against the state for purposes of harassment. Reagan immed- iately vetoed the CRLA funding, and the project had to endure several crippling months of partial funding while trying to justify its actions and refute the Uhler renort. Eventually OEO appointed a committee of three retired Supreme Court judges from other states to make a decision on the matter. Despite the incredible number and 'peace' in, variety of the ,charges, the three judges found them "completely without founda- tion" and "irresponsible". They no, only cleared CRLA of the charges but commend- ed it as a model for other legal services projects to follow. WHILE A GREAT many of the Uhler charges were complete fabrications and the rest distortions of the facts, they didn't die. They are yet today being repeated and elaborated by Congressional opponents of the legal services program, and were a favorite topic of Spiro Agnew's attacks The CRLA affair did have the effect of warning supporters of the legal services program in Congress and national OEO that the program was politically quite vulner- able in its present form, and they began to propose legislation that would place OEO's funding and supervisory powers in an in- dependent National Legal Services Corpor- ation. At this point, 1971, neither the Nixon administration nor the Congressional lib- erals led by Senator Mondale (D-Minn.) proposed making any changes in the way the local projects were run; the only real differences were whether the President would have a free hand in appointing the Corporation's Board of Directors or whe- ther a majority of the seats would be de- signated for representatives of professional, poor people's, and project attorneys' groups. THE MONDALE "designated seats" bill won, and passed theCongress as part of an omnibus OEO bill that the President vetoed primarily because of his opposition to parts of it. It seemed to most observers that a slightly modified bill, standing on its own, would get the President's approval. That estimate did not forsee the radical shift in the staff and tone of OEO that took place after the 1972 elections, how- ever. When the new administration bill came to Congress in June, 1973, it began a whole new ball game. Terry Adams graduated from the law school last year, and has worked as a volun- teer for the Washtenaw County Legal Aid Society. SE Asia .4 I I Corporations By BARBARA HOWELL former Bank of Amerin FOR THE first time in history, dent Rudolph A. Peterson the First National Bank of Chi- timism about investmen:c cago will hold its annual B o a r d tunities in the larger Pacifi meeting in a foreign country. Plan- area. . ned for Singapore in November, Speaking in 1968, hes the meeting symbolizes *he grow- "There is no more vast o ing interest of investors and in- area for resource developm dustrialists in the mineral resourc- trade growth in the world es and new markets of Southeast than this immense region, an Asia. virtually our own front yard With the ashes of the Vietnam Were we California busine war still warm, the industrial na- to, play a more dynamic r tions are rediscovering that in helping trade developmenti terms of profit potential, peace al- Pacific Rim, we would have so has its assets. At a recent con- hungry new markets for ou ference in his island republic's ducts and vast new profit Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore Prime tials for our firms." Minister Lee Kuan Yew assured 450 Western and Japanese business DURING THE October Sing and government leaders that conference, organized by the "there are opportunities to be don Financial Times and seized, for fortune awaits the en- "Business Opportunities in terprising in this part of the Pacific Basin," Western bu Pacific Basin." men waxed enthusiastic abo Ratification of the Indochina profit potential in the area. Peace Treaty and the establish- William H. Hurst, Vice-PR ment of conservative governments of Bank of America's in*.erna in many of the resource-rich coun- division, spoke enthusiast tries of the Pacific Basin provide about the growth of U.S. comforting assurances to Western with Southeast Asia. "We and Japanese investors. The spec- become a Pacific-looking nal tre of future expropriation of fore- trade . . . For the U.S. aln- ign assets is at present a minor way trade with Asia jump threat in such key countries as per cent in 1972 . .. Trade fi Marcos' Philippines or Suharto's provide a firm foundation f Indonesia. optimism with respect to t velopment of Southeast As INDEED, political stability s The most alluring asect often mentioned as the biggest plus Tems luigarc factor of rapid development in Southeast Asian region is it Southeast Asia. Whereas only a supply of natural resurces few years ago the region was be- supplies of needed mineral set by political turmoil and mili- timber wealth just scratcn ti conflict, now most of the face of the area's potential tary colcnwms fte there were naturally disagrei countries have governments firmly the grwere lee in control and are seeking Western at the Singapore conference investments. The Nixon-Chou talks. how these resources shouldt and resulting opening un of rela- tions with China seem to be uni- JOSE M. SORIANO, Phi versally acclaimed. President of Southeast Asia's There has been so much recent est mining company, Atlas American enthusiasm about t h e solidated Mining and Develo business prospects in the region Corporation, and chairman that most industrialists now share Board of many other industr find Presi- 's op- oppor- c Rim stated: r rich ent or today nd it is A ... ssmen role in in the giant, ar pro- poten- gapore t Lon- titled the siness- out the .esident rationa] ticall.' trade have tion in e, two- ped 21 figures or our he de- ,sia.' as the ts vast Oil, Js and he sur- d. And ements as to be ex- l'ppime s larg- s Cci- 'pment of the ries in . the Philippines, urged fewer gov- ernmental 'restrictions on foreign investments in mining and a more liberal attitude toward the extrac- tion of natural resources. "I believe," he said, "that des- pite its mineral wealth the region- al mining industry court h a v e grown more rapidly had govern- ments taken a more realisti; atti- tude in attracting as much risk capital as required . . . If capital is to be attracted for mining, gov- ernments would do well to en- courage as much as possible the profitl ty of these desired in- vestmemts." In reg':rd to the ext-action of minera,s, Mr. Soriano said 'Te must i;) forget that in giing up an irrepcce-ibie mine ~A de )sit, great epportumries have b e c :i spawned in return. nd rither than dwe'l on the loss of irreplace- able wvealth, let us n-j ioe sight of the fact 'tat tremendis ocne-s ficial .ftcti have been generated." IT WAS THAT "econorn , ani- ma" "Japan which invoked most criticism and anxiety by the Southeast Asian speakers. Tfe necessity of assuring a steady flow of natural resources i order to continue Japan's present standard of living and the need for unskilled labor and more export markets make the proximity of the resourc- es-rich and populous Southeast As- ian countries attractive to Japaci. Trade in the region is expanding rapidly, and by 1980 more than half of its exports will go to Japan. Overseas private inverment, still in its infancy in Japan, has seen a marked increase in the last three years. Prime Minister Lee d st.:ibuted a graph to the conference which showed how trade with Japan, the U.S. and European Econo', Comn- munity (EEC) have expanded. "Southeast Asia's trade with the EEC is like a D-C 3 taking off," he said. "That with America like a second-generation jet, and that with Japan almost like a STOL (short take-off and landing air- craft which can climb almost ver- tically)". ALTHOUGH THESE Asian gov- ernments welcome Japanese capi- tal and technological expertise, there is in the region a deep sent- ed mistrust partly traceable to a remembrance of the harsh Japan- ese occupation during the Second World War and an underlying fear of another Japanese takeover - military or, more likely, economic. It was left to a British banker, R.A.S. Lane, Managing Director of The Chartered Bank, who chaired the last day's meeting, to men- tion social justice: "this cannot be stressed too often, growth without social justice makes for an empty figure - growth with soe'al jus tice is the right of any country. Those who try to ignore this right will, very properly, find that their money and skill are not wanted." Whether this concern for social justice was shared by any of the other delegates present at the con- ference is uncertain. In the past, economic growth in the Pacific Basin has rarely provided m u c h benefit for the people of the area. A local critic in Singapore, reflect- ing on the probability of massive new investment inm Southeast Asia by foreign powers stated: "If his- tory is any teacher, we wl dis- cover again that foeign capital means only one thing: the rich will get richer and the po )r will grow poorer." Barbara Howell is the Singapore correspondent for American Re- port. Copyright Pacific News Ser- vice --1973. Disappearing tapes:*Do they really think we're so stupid? vi AKA r Mi ODUT! PPE, w'66 Vou l AOAur'(01). i I 9-2.c~ I cur! SCUT1 LOPA7 "f OUR_? II- .. .v u 12 -Ar7F111I Ar5 A rR!PI 1 By PETE HAMILL I WANTED to write a piece today about Nicholas Ferraro, who is running for district attorney of Queens. I wanted to tell you about his fine record, his eight years as an assistant DA and his hard work in the State Senate since 1965. But it's very hard to write with any hope or confidence about electing a man of the law when the national government in Washington is in a state of criminal insurrection. We have worried for a while now about the possibility of a coup d'etat in Washington. Perhaps we will never recognize it when it happens, because we expect to see tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. In fact, the coup d'etat might already have taken place. WHAT ELSE are we to make of the Case of the Missing Tapes? Last week Nixon's lawyers were tell- ing us that all nine tapes would be turned over to Judge Sirica. General Haig announced on TV as late as Sunday that all nine tapes would be given to the judge. Now we are told that there are only seven tapes. The one phone call was taken on the only unbugged phone in the White House and the tape ran out during another crucial conversation. I Mean, who the hell are they kidding? They have had months to look at those tapes. When H. R. Halde- man needed tapes to prepare his testimony before the Ervin Committee they had no trouble finding them. But now, at this late date, the Banana Pepub- licans are telling us that the two key tapes, which conceivably could show whether Richard Nixon is guiltv or innocent don't exist? Do thev rea1v think him. Those tdpes have probably joined all the other evidence against Nixon that was fed into paper shred- ders, or dumped into the Potomac or burned before reading. But what do we tell people like Nick Ferraro who are running to become lawmen? How does he ever in- dict anyone in Queens, as long as Nixon and his people can flagrantly obstruct justice? How can he ever ask a judge to sentence someone to the maxi- mum, if evidence in a criminal conspiracy in Wash- ington is witheld, tamepred with, or destroyed? The answer is simple. He can't. BECAUSE IT IS clear now what Nixon has done to this country. He has destroyed the delicate balance of its laws. That balance worked for almost 200 years, until Nixon and his crowd got their hands on the instruments of power. They secretly bombed Cam- bodia. They impounded funds that were legally au- thorized by Congress. They put burglars on the national payroll. They defied the counts until "the fire storm" for impeach- ment rose around them. They hired Archibald Cox to investigate crimes and then fired him when he actually began investigating those crimes and then, in a move straight out of Kafka, Nixon, the prime suspect in these crimes, hand picked another man to investigate them. Under Nixon it is impossible for any man of the law to function. I think Nick Ferraro is a good man. If I lived in Queens, I would vote for him. But as long as Nixon is President, as long as his lieutenants walk the streets while other people inhabit prisons, 7 MOTiVA1c41)2 W) REPCE~ SOC Au . AC, o f G /".