Qihe r gaff mun
Eighty-Four 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


SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 1974

Another hat in the ring

QO FAR, THE ONLY announced candi-
dates for Congress in the Second
District are incumbent Republican Mar-
vin Esch, and Democratic hopeful John
Reuther. Ronald Egnor plans to an-
nounce his candidacy for the Democratic
nomination sometime in April.
One is content with the Ypsilanti city
attorney's responses to questions put
forth for a while. Distrust of the major
oil companies and the Nixon adminis-
tration, honesty in government, and the
need for the congress to reassert itself
in the face of increasing executive power
weigh heavily on Egnor's mind.
But when trying to approach specifics,
Egnor falls short of the mark.
Maybe his intentions are good, maybe
he just isn't all that informed. Nonethe-
less I couldn't help but sense the poli-
tician's tango as he seemed reluctant to
speak in substantive terms.
Editorial Staff
DANIEL BIDDLE
Editor in Chief
JUDY RUSKIN and REBECCA WARNER
Managing Editors
TONY SCHWARTZ...............Sunday Editor
MARTIN PORTER .................Sunday Editor
SUE STEPHENSON...............Feature Editor
MARNIE HEYN.................Editorial Director
CINDY HILL .................... Executive Editor
KENNETH FINK ..... .......Arts Editor
STAFF WRITERS: Prakash Aswani, Gordon Atcheson,
Laura Berman, Dan Blugerman, Howard Brick,
Bonnie Carnes, Charles Coleman, Barb Cornell,
Jeff Day, Della DiPietro, Mike Duweek, Ted Evan-
off, Matt Gerson, William Heenan, Steve Hersch,
Jack Krost, Andrea Lilly. Mary Long, Jean Love,
Jeff Luxenberg, Josephine Marcotty, Beth Nissen,
Cheryl Pilate, Ann Rauma, Sara Rimer, Jim
Schuster, Bob Seidenstein, Stephen Selbst, Chip
Sinclair, Jeff Sorensen, David Stoll, Paul Ter-
williger.,
DAILY WEATHER BUREAU: William Marino and Den-
nis Dismachek (forecasters)

AS EGNOR SEES it, "the elimination of
the draft was one of the most
wretched things Richard Nixon has ever
done."
While he did go on to explain that he
was expressing his reservations over the
idea of a ,professional army, I felt un-
easy.
Egnor claims that he would vote for
impeachment if he were in the House in
order that the President "receive a fair
trial;" however he hopes for resignation.
His next remark sounded like the White
House line.
"I have not heard anyone give us, other
than innuendo, the direct connections
needed to convict the president."
"Hold on there Mr. Egnor", I said.
"What about Nixon's secret bombing of
Cambodia? Isn't that illegal, isn't that an
impeachable offense?"
"WELL," HE REPLIES, looking confi-
dent as though he had practiced in
the mirror that morning "you can't say
that every time a president exercises
what he believes in good faith to be an
act necessary under his executive power
that you're going to impeach him."
It's amazing how many lawyers can ig-
nore the constitution when they smell
a political office.
-BRIAN COLGAN
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Dan Biddle, Jack Krost, Sara Rim-
er, Judy Ruskin, Chip Sinclair, Becky
Warner
Editorial Page: Clifford Brown, M a r n i e
Heyn, Sue Wilhelm
Arts Page: Ken Fink, Jeff Sorenson
Photo Technician: Karen Kasmauski

Is rael
By SUE WILHELM
ONE OF THE most popular people in
Israel today is an American journalist.
So says Allan R. Wilhelm and well he
should know. Mr. Wilhelm, a writer for
the Booth Newspapers, recently spent two
weeks in Israel on a fact finding tour
sponsored by the United Jewish Appeal.
The Israeli's have many reasons for be-
ing especially receptive to American jour-
nalists, During the October war, the Unit-
ed States was the source of Israel's most
unswerving support.
"The Israeli's are presently in a position
where they are extremely interested in win-
ning friends and influencing people," Mr.
Wilhelm remarked. "They are afraid they
might lose U.S. support due to the Arab
oil boycott and the resulting petroleum
shortage. The Israeli's are concerned that
all Americans, not just Jewish Americans,
will become isolated from Israel. (One
must not forget that Israel receives much
of its financial support from the United
States.)
"SOME ISRAELI'S expressed surprise
that the Americans are not blaming the
formation of the state of Israel for their
problems at the gas pumps."
The Israeli's are also looking for ways
to combat the Arab public relations cam-
paign going on presently in the United
States. Obviously, American journalists are
the Israeli's surest way of conveying their
story to the Americans and to make knwn
to them the Israeli view of the Middle East
situation.
The Israeli's knocked themselves out on
making government officials available to
American reporters, Mr. Wilhelm com-
mented.
"That is why they make a point of show
ing the physical evidences of modern Is-
rael's economic development. The new
port city of Ashdid was little more than
sand dunes a decade ago, now it is their
second largest port.
"This is why they want Americans to
interview newcomers; especially those from
the U.S.S.R.
"THIS IS WHY they want Americans to
interview Arabs who have lived in Israel
since 1948. In effect they are saying,
Look! We're just like you, we're pattern-

ing our nation after the United States."
All Israeli guides are good, but t h e
guides provided for American journalists
are exceptional. They not only know their
way around the country, but often have
personal relationships with top government
officials. "There are guides and there are
guides," Mr. Wilhelm said. "Our guide was
not only on first name basis with many
public officials, but also was fluent in five
languages."
Mr. Wilhelm noted that the Israeli peo-
ple were especially friendly to American
journalists. The Israeli's feel a bitterness
towards the Europeans for deserting them
and therefore tended to be more coopera-
tive with Americanwriters than French or
English. Mr. Wilhelm said he heard com-
ments on the French attitude twards Is-
rael both during and after the war from
all levels; from government officials to Is-
raelis that he talked with on the streets.
COMMENTING ON the Israeli people
themselves, Wilhelm stated that he had
not seen evidences of discrimination against
non-Jews. He was quick to add, nowever,
that this did not mean it did not exist.
"The treatment of the Druze commun-
ity though," he observed, would provide the
best example of non-discrimination." The
Druze are a small religious minority in
Israel who, nevertheless, are represented
in the Knesset (Israel's Senate).
"And was I aware," he asked this re-
porter, "that there are Arab~s (Christian
ones) also in the Knesset."
"The big question of 'What is a Jew?'
is continually being debated and is the
one question the national religious party
keeps forcing on the country". This is ano-
ther issue that is causing conflict among
the Israeli people.
MR. WILHELM said that he was ex-
tremely impressed with what he saw during
his trip. "If you took away the symbols
of the late twentieth century, you would
find the same drive and determination your
found in this country one hundred years
ago - to create something substantial and
worthwhile
-SUE WILHELM

woos

Us.

journalists

Ste Wilhem is astaff
Daily.

writer for

The

I


Assert Tenant Rights!

Editor's Note:
A major Ann Arbor landlord told a group of stu-
dents that dui to a provision in their leaser either
their dog must go, or they must go. The students
did neither, but instead went to Legal Aid which
made a motion in court to dismiss the suit based
on unconscionability of the lease provision, aad on
the fact that whereas dogs were prohibited in the
lease, the landlord could merely sue for damages, not
evict the tenant The landlord's lawyer did not wait
for the court's decision, but voluntarily dismissed
the case. The tenants and their dog remained, and
no damage suit was filed.
The above case illustrates both the limitations and
the existence of tenants rights. It is still true that
landlords can make rules which dictate how a ten-
ant will live, and with whom (or what). But there
are also at leash some inroads established by tenants,
giving them some rights. After the Riots in Detroit
in 1967, the Michigan legislature passed the "Ten-
ants Rights Acts" which among other things gave
tenants the right to withhold rent in order to get
landlords to make repairs. These acts were the basis
for the massive rent strike in Ann Arbor from 1968-
1970, in which hundreds of thousands of dollars were
with-held from landlords. The real purpose of the
rent strike was to make tenants aware of the fact
that the relationship between landlord and tenant
did not have to remain as it always had been, and
that collective *argaining could work. Tenants did
not remain in f rce long enough for collective bar-
gaining agreements to be effected, although one
major landlord came close to financial disaster, and
another began negotiations for Tenants Union recog-
nition. More successful, however, was the result in
most of the individual tenants' cases: rent reduc-
tions of between $25 and $1,000 and more for an
apartment.
The following article by Alan Blomquist is a re-
minder to tenats that they do have some rights and
that they should assert them, while also working
for more substantial reform in housing, such as rent
control. Blomquist is a student. in Course Mart 310,
"Law of Landlord-Tenant and its Alternatives. -The
course instructor is Jonathan Rose, who is a lawyer for
Student Legal Aid, was a Tenants Union lawyer
during the rent strike in 1970, and a member of the
Rent control Commission, and co-author of the HRP
Rent control charter amendment.
By ALAN BLOMQUIST
A RE YOU A renter in Ann Arbor? Do you
know your rights as a tenant and how to
gain them? Your primary right and the best
way to assert all of your rights is the use of
1 e g a 1 assistance. Here in Ann Arbor good,
inexpensive legal help is available in the form
of a tenant's union and two legal aid associa-
tions.
The Ann Arbor Tenant's Union is located
on the fourth floor of the Michigan Union (761-
1225) and is a good place to get advice on your
rights in landlord hassles. A place for non-stu-
dents to seek help is the Washtenaw County
Legal Aid Society, located downtown at 209
E. Washrington (665-6181). Student Legal Aid,
in room 4310 of the Michigan union (6S-6146),
is for students at the University. Their service
is free, and almost anyone who is a student
qualifies.
MORE IMPORTANT than whee you get as-
sistance is the fact that you get some informed
legal advice. It is available, USE IT!!! You
should never attempt to negotiate disputes with
your landlord before you are aware of your
rights and have sought legal aid. Some land-
lords feel that it is their job to get as much
money out of you as possible, for as little as
possible. You're dealing with your landlord on
your landlord's turf, so you need expert edvice.

low a tenant's withholding of rent and suggest-
ed tactics. First, you - the tenant - decide to
withhold your rent for whatever reason (lack of
heat, broken windows, poor plumbing your land-
lord harresses you or invades your privacy,
etc.). The landlord must take the next step.
Usually he/she sends you i paper called a
"Seven Day Notice to Quit" telling you to pay
your rent in seven days or move out. The law
says you can ignore this notice and wait for
the landlord's next move. The landlord must
now sue you in court for the rent that he or
she claims you owe.
THE LANDLORD will file suit in the Fifteen-
th District Court if you live in Ann Arbor, and
you will receive a summons to appear in court
on the date set. The court is on the 6th floor
of City Hall, which is the building. When you
receive the summons, you should get some legal
counsel immediately, if you haven't already
either from a private attorney or one of the
groups mentioned above. Many cases are lost
in court by default because tenants don't know
that they should and can fight a landlord's suit.
However, in almost all cases that are properly
defended, the tenant wins a rent reduction. Stu-
dent Legal Aid reports that evictions are rare
(zero evictions in their office in 1973) and ten-
ants have received rent savings up to $1500.00
for an apartment.
You may file a countersuit, claiming that
your landlord has failed to keep the premises in
repair or has failed to provide you with the
services that you are entitled to. It is prefer-
able for tenants to demand a jury trial. This
privilege will cost you a $10 jury fee. Past court
records show that juries are more likely to favor
the tenant in a case, while judges tend to favor
landlords; judges are often landlords themselv-
es while juries tend to be made up at least
in part of tenants.
MOST CASES are settled "out of court" with
the help of the lawyers after the lawsuit has
been started. Landlord and tenant lawyers, hav-
ing seen many cases, are able to evaluate a
case and arrive at settlement compromises.
The best settlements occur, however, because
you are ready for trial. If you deal with your
landlord outside of court, know your rights and
refuse to be intimidated. With sound legal aid,
your chances in court are at least as good as
his.
Another approach is filing a class action law-
suit (a case with many unnamed plaintiffs)
against unfair practices by your landlord. This
action by one or a few renters, can correct an
ill for many tenants. One class action suit
recently started by Student Legal Aid and
now pending, will try to force a landlord to
return late fees and damage deposits which the
suit alleges were improperly withhetd from
hundreds of tenants. Be prepared for a long
drawn-out fight in the courts if you start a
class action suit, but the results if you win will
be worth the effort.
You can fight to change the plight of the ten-

He's Number One
By KIRKE WILCOX
DISGUISING MYSELF as a highly-skilled and intelligent news-
paper reporter, I conned my way past Ronald Ziegler, num-
ber two perpetrator of falsified information, and got to see
Number One. Numero Uno was in voluntary solitary confinement
in the Oval Office.
"I'm Number One! I'm Number One!"
"Excuse me, Mr. President, have you got a minute?"
"I've got a million of 'em"
"Well then, perhaps you could shed some light on a few
relevant questions."
"Try me."
"Putting your terms in office in historical perspective, you've
never had an easy go at it. Would you say that the Viet Nam
was was an unwelcome Johnson legacy?"
"CERTAINLY. It was not a crowd-pleaser at all. Once we
heard that the athletes and pom-pom girls had joined the demon-
strations, we knew we were in trouble."
"But, how do you account for the unconstitutionality of Viet
Nam, Laos, and Cambodia?"
"Listen once you get the ball, you run with it."
"Do you think that you'll still be made an honorary member
of the Football Hall of Fame?",
"No comment."
"Very good. Now concerning the authoritarian-type surveil-
acnle
lance systems turned upon the citizens of the U.S., how do you
justify the violation of the Fourth Amendment?"
"My lawyers told me to say stare decisis. I was just following
precedent."
"What precedent?"
"The Gestapo's".
"WELL THEN, what do you have to say about the ITT scan-
dal?"
"Communications corporations are really making the world
smaller aren't they?"
Alright, Number One, what about illegal campaign contribu-
tions by Gulf and Western, TWA, Mr. Vesco milk-producers and
others?"
"All for One and One for all."
"Mr. President, how do you explain the impounding of 40
billion dollars allocated by Congress for domestic purposes?"
"It was an anti-recessionary measure. I've said it once, and
I'll say it again, 'We will have no recession in the United States
of America'."
"What about you tax situation? Every day it gets worse. Rep.
Wilbur Mills said your tax returns alone are enough to impeach
you."
"A penny saved is a penny earned, you know."
"Sir, all of the aforementioned points are impeachable offens-
es in the eyes of the House Judiciary Committee."
"HOGWASH. They'll never touch me."
"Seven former aides indicted, several in prison, and George
Schulz, the last of your cabinet members resigns. What do you
have to say for yourself?"
"Those men explicitly said to me, 'Captain, don't give up
the ship.' I can't let those men down."
"What about the American people? All the polls show they
feel you let them down. They're not exactly going ape over you."
"I don't care what those polls say. Nobody is going to make
a monkey out of me."
"Mr. President, a confident of yours, who wishes to remain
anonymous, said that you don't know when to quit, that you have
a tendency to overdo a good thing."
"Let me make myself perfectly clear. 'I will not be a party
to the destruction of the presidency of the United States.' And,
I will not be impeached."
"WOULD YOU rather be a party to the destruction of the
constitution, the economy, and the people o fthe United States?"
"I'll take the fifth on that one."
"Is it not true that if you resign or are impeached, you have
contracts with advertising and pharmaceutical companies to do
aspirin and deoderant commercials?"
"Professionally, speaking, there's not a grain of truth in
it )

McGee allow the landlord to charge more,
even thoigh the landlord gets an
To The Daily: additional income tax deduction
for the interest his tenant pays
THE RECENT article and edi- for him.
torial on the ever-changing posi-
tion of Colleen McGee with regard So Mary Richman not only re-
to rent control was fine as far as fused to sign the petition, she was
it went, but it neglected to point vehemently against it - for bid
out virtually the same practice on reasons.
the part of the Democratic candi- But hope springs eternal amo;g
date in the Second Ward, Mary candidates; and the Richman cam-
Richman. paign decided that in order to have
Back in December, when Mary a politically tenable posi:ion in
knew she was the hand-piked the Council race they had better
candidate, she was approached on endorse both Charter amendments.
three separate occasions to sign Or at least they had better do it
both the rent control and $5 mari- in their leaflets. But curiously
uana fine petitions. On all three enough, the Richman campaign ac-
occasions she refused. The reasons tually failed (as did the McGee
she gave varied with who she was campaign) to file any candidate's
talking to. statement with the Ann Arbor
News, a statement which wonid in-
On one occasion she said that "it evitably have required a statement
doesn't belong in the Charter.' But on rent control and the $5 fine.
after she was told that Ann Arbor
has no provision for initiative and Now, while Richman endorses
referendum on city ordinances she the amendments in her leaflets, she
dropped that line. She also tried tells her non-student audience at
"the whole thing will be tied up Northside Center how bad the pro-
in litigation for years" tacK. But posal is (as the Daily has already
when we asked her whether air reported). And while leaflets say
good rent control law would get she will vote for the proposals, her
by unchallenged, she had no an- Northside statement is only t h a t
swer. she will probably vote for them.
She also objected to the propos- This is in line with the Demo-
ed limitation of 8 per cent onlcratic non-stand all over the city
mortgage interest payments t h a t on this most crucial of issues, The
could be passed on to the tenants February 28th meeting of the De-
by the landlord. She felt we should mocratic Party considered a reso-

lution of support for the ballot is-
sue offered by the Tenants Union
and rejected it. Instead, they ac-
cepted a proposal that refused to
commit the party one way or ano-
ther but let the candidates say dif-
ferent things in different wards.
Why did Richman not organize ten-
ants and students to come to that
meeting to make their views
known? Why was there no adver-
tising at all in the campus area
that the meeting was to take
place? Was Richman reluctant to
involve her own constituents in de-
cising-ma ing in the Democratic
Party?
It came as no surprise, then,
when we found out that thi pro-
poser of the take-no-stand-but-say-
different-things-to-different-people
position was Richman's own cam-
paign manager.
-Human Rights Party
March 20
Letters to The Daily should
be mailed to the Editorial Di-
rector or delivered to Mary
Rafferty in the Student Pub-
lications business office in the
Michigan Daily building. Letters
should be typed, double-spaced
and normally should not exceed
250 words. The Editorial Direc-
tors reserve the right to edit
all letters submitted.

Letters to The Daily

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